Where and what role should Riewoldt play in this team?

[linz]

I am becoming increasingly frustrated seeing Roo double and triple teamed with no apparent response from us.

I know he his one of our best players but where are our other forwards who supposedly have no opponents?

Why do our midfielders look to pass to Roo all the time?

Why does Roo lead out to the Half Forward flank, take mark about 60 metres out and then stop and prop and then stop again? Chance gone!!
Who does he pass it to?

For my 2 bobs worth ROO SHOULD PLAY ON EVERY TIME he takes a mark outside the 50 metre ark 'cause he aint going to kick the goal and there's no one in front who will take a mark. Play on & let the runners & crumbers have a chance.

He should also be played as an attacking half backer occasionally to shake his tags.

He seems to be too predictable now though.

[SainterK]

He is just missing a FF, props to Milne for trying to be one, Archer isn't ready yet, Gamble should be as well as...not instead of a FF.

Roo should be CHF, he just needs that deep option.

Kosi will be back soon.

[Con Gorozidis]

Not sure where he plays is the main issue. Main issue is we need more talent to take the heat off him. Our fwd line has consisted of Roo, Milne and 4 hacks. Which means the opposition can safely have 4 on Roo.

We have stacks of back flankers but we need to add some talent in that fwd line. Id like to see him actually take responsibility closer to goal and kick more goals. But thats only possible if we have some talent on the half fwd line.

IMHO Gilbert is the only guy on our list with the raw athletic gifts to cause trouble in the fwd line and take heat off Roo. Hes not a ready made fwd and he needs work but right now its him or noone as far as im concerned.

[bigcarl]

IMHO Gilbert is the only guy on our list with the raw athletic gifts to cause trouble in the fwd line and take heat off Roo. Hes not a ready made fwd and he needs work but right now its him or noone as far as im concerned.

agree re gilbert, but i think you're forgetting goddard who would be a marvellous full forward or centre half forward.

not that he's likely to be spared for that role, even without the injury to lenny.

[Ice Wolf]

Decoy forward, we just have to get our other players not to kick it near him.

[asiu]

Decoy forward,

finally , someone with some effn smarts

[linz]

Maybe we are missing Kosi more than I thought. Regardless we need another marking option up forward or at least someone who can create a contest so that the ball lands on the ground for the crumbers like Milne and Shneider.

[Thinline]

He is just missing a FF, props to Milne for trying to be one, Archer isn't ready yet, Gamble should be as well as...not instead of a FF.

Roo should be CHF, he just needs that deep option.

Kosi will be back soon.

Probably not, but that charging lead in the dying moments showed something...

[SainterK]

He is just missing a FF, props to Milne for trying to be one, Archer isn't ready yet, Gamble should be as well as...not instead of a FF.

Roo should be CHF, he just needs that deep option.

Kosi will be back soon.

Probably not, but that charging lead in the dying moments showed something...

Yes I agree he is showing something, he is just raw.

People still rate Stanley higher for whatever reason, but Archers 8 disp, 2 tackles, shot on goal...were equivalent to most of the games Stanley played last year.

What I like about Darch is his endeavour, you get the vibe he is working hard the whole time.

What was great about getting him in the side was that it structured the forward line better than Rd 1.

[matrix]

Where: CHF.
Role: Take marks

[linz]

Inside 50 and kick goals not points.

[St Chris]

He needs to get on his bike and get the ball out on the lead.

Kicking the ball on his head isn't working. He isn't strong enough in a pack to take on 3 or 5 guys. He can do plenty of things well but taking big pack marks isn't one of them.

[Con Gorozidis]

Inside 50 and kick goals not points.

+ 1

[Griggsy]

"I know he his one of our best players but where are our other forwards who supposedly have no opponents? "

Still coming out of defense. Our zone is great defensively but it is common knowledge that scoring suffers in a massive way. It's a great system for keeping you in the game but it also keeps the other team in the game.

(my first post since sep 30th )

[gringo]

The first quarter was an all out attack, but when we didn't capitalise the Tigers came at us and we reverted. Kosi does take a defender and clears space. Archer while not quite there is going to be a good player. I can see him taking Kosis spot long term. We should look a little more potent with Schnides back. Roo is a mobile chf and looks best when he runs defenders off their feet. He is probably the type of player that is penalised under the new interchange also as he doesn't get to rest up for another charge.

[Con Gorozidis]

Maybe we are missing Kosi more than I thought. Regardless we need another marking option up forward or at least someone who can create a contest so that the ball lands on the ground for the crumbers like Milne and Shneider.

yeah. and kosis terrible defensive and ground skills are made to look worse by the lack of pace when it drops. if we had cyril at kosis feet kosi would look awesome. how many times does it spill from kosi to 3 opposition blokes and no saints which makes kosi look worse than he is.

i think all up we need more talent and a better mix in that fwd line. mcqualter was just a wasted position. put some pace and skill in there kosi and roo will have an easier life.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

IMHO Gilbert is the only guy on our list with the raw athletic gifts to cause trouble in the fwd line and take heat off Roo. Hes not a ready made fwd and he needs work but right now its him or noone as far as im concerned.

Agree with what you've said about Gilbert, except for the part about him being the only one on the list who can do it. I agree with what bigcarl said that Goddard can clearly do it, too, but that ain't going to happen any time soon, especially now that Hayes is out.
Sam Fisher also has the ability to do it, but I'd rather they stuck with Gilbert. I'd rather Fisher stayed down back to marshall the troops there.
They are the only ones (aside from Kosi) who look like making enough of an impact up forward, at this point in time, to mean they'd have to be watched closely, by whoever is playing on them, while also making sufficient impact themselves.
The other, more natural "forwards" (if you'd call Stanley "natural") like Stanley, Lynch, Cahill and Archer just aren't really likely to make enough of an impact up there (yet) to mean they'd have to be closely minded. If they do, great, play them. If not, this of course means whoever is playing on them just zones off them, because they know we're not going to kick it to them and they go straight to Roo.
This is how Roo ends up going up against 2, 3, 4, instead of the one he was going up against in the first quarter and a half on Friday night (when Gilbert was up there with him).
Having Fisher, Gwilt, Zac, Blake and Raph down back gives us plenty of height there, to free Gilbert up to go forward, so we can afford to stick with this till it starts to really work well. Gilbert is still clearly learning the role, but he needs to grow a pair and stick with it and realise that he doesn't need to be getting as much of it up there (as he does down back) to be playing an important role for the side. We need him to take one for the team and make it work up forward.
If we need more run down back (to replace Gilbert), we ought to put someone like Farren Ray there, who runs and carries well, kicks well on both feet and also marks extremely well overhead. And we need Raph to step up. NOW.
Most importantly, we need to choose a path and stick with it. Not just be chopping and changing and confusing the hell out of everyone, which is what seems to be happening at the moment.
Go forward (metaphorically speaking) in the way you believe will work best and go hell for leather in that direction, to see if it works. Not go half assed and quit when the inevitable waters get a bit rough.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

I am becoming increasingly frustrated seeing Roo double and triple teamed with no apparent response from us.

I know he his one of our best players but where are our other forwards who supposedly have no opponents?

Why do our midfielders look to pass to Roo all the time?

They pass it to Roo all the time because he's the one of the best marks of the footy to have ever played the game and because I think it may also be what they're largely instructed to do. It's what they train for all summer, but of course they were also hoping Kosi and Gilbert would be up there as well, to help him.
That hasn't happened, except for 45 min on Friday, (when it worked very well), so they're just left with kicking it to Roo, because they don't have the confidence in the likes of Blake, Archer, Gamble, etc, who have also been up there in this first two games. Roo puts his hand up and says "kick it to me" and they mostly tend to obey, even when it's not a good idea.
The "other forwards" you asked about, are standing nearby, spectating, as those they are playing on go and double, triple and quadruple-team Roo, because they know we won't be kicking it to their guy.
They're not necessarily loose when the kick leaves the boot, so it's not like they're on their own then, but by the time it arrives on Roo's head they are, because whoever is playing on them has gone to Roo, in the meantime (if they're close enough).

[saint patrick]

Reckon its time for Roo to go back to the wing and basically roam between the 50 metre arcs ..restructure the forward line with Kosi /Walsh and Schneider..can knock up being a link player and would be harder to match up on ..won't happen but it would be worth a try

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

I don't believe that is the answer, long term, but it was something I suggested for the GF2 last year, after Roo was ineffective in the first (up forward) and we also struggled to take marks across half back (when kicking it out of defence).
He's every chance of kicking as many goals playing on the wing and pushing forward, though, as he does when playing forward and it would be much harder to double/triple team him, playing that way.
It could be "Ross's Paddock". Kick it over the top and let Roo run on to it.
The problem would be if whoever we were playing put someone loose in our forward 50, to block that space.
I also look forward to seeing Tommy tried at FF in the VFL, as that's apparently where he played in Ireland (relatively) and I expect he'd be well suited to that role in Aussie rules. He's got the speed, the strength, the size and kicks it very long, without having to do too many passes, which he would down back.

[asiu]

Reckon its time for Roo to go back to the wing and basically roam between the 50 metre arcs ..restructure the forward line with Kosi /Walsh and Schneider..can knock up being a link player and would be harder to match up on

onya pat .. (good to see ya again)

thumbs up from me.

he's wasted where he is , doing what he's doing

give kos the focal forward job ... that'll spark his attitude up as well

[SainterK]

Reckon its time for Roo to go back to the wing and basically roam between the 50 metre arcs ..restructure the forward line with Kosi /Walsh and Schneider..can knock up being a link player and would be harder to match up on

onya pat .. (good to see ya again)

thumbs up from me.

he's wasted where he is , doing what he's doing

give kos the focal forward job ... that'll spark his attitude up as well

Who would play second ruck pushing forward then?

Not sure Blake worked, and Gardi is a way off I reckon.

[asiu]

i've got no probs with kos and ben swapping the role , with gardi (when playn) if that works

the point i was reiterating was ... fix kos's 'head problems'

by making him the man

i've been keen on effn rooey out of the forward line since he went down last year ... we worked without him

he would be a major headache for opposition coaches / players running the arcs ... and instrumental in creating opportunity / options in quick ball from fb/hb into our forward line

when our confidence and momentum is on , he'll be running into the forward line as well or reading it coming back out

win / win /win

3 team rooey now.

[FortiusQuoFidelius]

...ROO SHOULD PLAY ON EVERY TIME he takes a mark outside the 50 metre ark...

Wasn't the Ark 300 cubits???

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

IMHO Gilbert is the only guy on our list with the raw athletic gifts to cause trouble in the fwd line and take heat off Roo. Hes not a ready made fwd and he needs work but right now its him or noone as far as im concerned.

Was interested to hear Alistair Lynch last night talk about himself and say that he wasn't a "natural forward" himself and had to work hard/learn the role and also that his kicking for goal wasn't great, but that with work it was good enough. (Ended up with over 600 goals).
Those who reckon Gilbert has "failed" up forward, I take it because he hasn't kicked a bag of goals every time he's been in there, like he's Gary Ablett Snr or something, must have been expecting a miracle from Gilbo. Especially since they almost always kick it to Roo, no matter who is up there with him and it's hard to get a kick when it's kicked to someone else, who's 15m+ away.
I mean it's one thing to say Gwilt isn't the answer up forward, after he had a good 15 or so full games there and showed little, but to basically write Gilbo off, after he's just starting there and has basically only had the odd quarter, here or there, in the role, and has actually showed a lot on many of those occasions, is ridiculous, IMHO.
Many seem to be looking for a "miracle cure" to our forward line. Someone or something that's going to work right off the bat, but the chance of that happening is very, very slim. It's far more likely that whatever is going to work will take a lot of work and practise and comittment and patience.
That's how you get things done. Not by looking for "miracle cures", and quitting if something doesn't work ridiculously well in the first 5 minutes, in my experience.