Goddard and the temporary forward structure

[matrix]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/ ... fault.aspx


Five-goal Goddard happy to be jack of all trades

[gringo]

i have been saying for ages that Goddard is our best player. I love the way Nick applies himself but as a complete package BJ seems the better of the 2. It gets me yelled down a bit but I rate him as more important than Riewoldt. I just wish we could clone him.

[Milton66]

i have been saying for ages that Goddard is our best player. I love the way Nick applies himself but as a complete package BJ seems the better of the 2. It gets me yelled down a bit but I rate him as more important than Riewoldt. I just wish we could clone him.

That's a big call... and not without merit.

Thing is that Roo has been doing it consistantly for quite a few years, whereas BJ is starting to hit his straps.

IMO

[gringo]

I thought Riewoldt and Goddard had break out years last year. Riewoldt seemed to pick up the goal kicking which he was derided over for a long time and became a real leader. Goddard seemed to throw himself at every contest like his life was at stake. Goddard is a guy who for a long time never quite found his spot but now relishes the chance to play everywhere he is needed.

It is like comparing apples with oranges putting them next to each other foer comparison. Nick is a professional, natural leader who gets everything out of himself and works tirelessly to overcome any weaknesses he has in his game. Goddard is a naturally gifted sportsman that can play anywhere on the ground has amazing disposal and competes at a level of intensity that borders on aggression. For mine Goddard gets it on his sublime kicking and difficulty of playing multiple roles.

[Milton66]

One thing many of us haven't touched on is the possibility that Roo may not come back this year (God forbid).

So, IMO we have to make every post a winner as far as winning goes, first and foremost.

That means developing an alternative fwd structure and getting it settled.

Stanley is raw, and this is not the time to experiment. We need to win as many games as possible and I rckon a BJ / Kosi fwd line is the way to go.

[Dr Spaceman]

I try not to be a Raph basher but not sure Zac did much less than him today.

So why mention the two in the same breath?

I'm not sure of the relevance of comparing Zac's performance with that of Raph.

[gringo]

Goddard robs Peter to pay Paul IMO he sets up play into the forward line and cuts off supply the other way.

Dont no if Freo was just really quick but it came back quickly the other way last night and they seemed to score easier than we usually allow.

Im not a statistician but we didnt seem to let many teams score that easily last year.

I would develop Zac Dawson into the second forward and have Blake FB with Fisher Gilbert and Clarke around him to cut off the space around him.

We wont outscore the dominant forward teams with that set up every week and should keep the supply limited instead.

Zac and Kosi could work because you really only need one dominant forward and one to keep the defenders stretched/ to bring the ball to ground for the crumbs. It all relys on kosi doing what he did at the start of last year though.

[Milton66]

Goddard robs Peter to pay Paul IMO he sets up play into the forward line and cuts off supply the other way.

Dont no if Freo was just really quick but it came back quickly the other way last night and they seemed to score easier than we usually allow.

Im not a statistician but we didnt seem to let many teams score that easily last year.

I would develop Zac Dawson into the second forward and have Blake FB with Fisher Gilbert and Clarke around him to cut off the space around him.

We wont outscore the dominant forward teams with that set up every week and should keep the supply limited instead.

Zac and Kosi could work because you really only need one dominant forward and one to keep the defenders stretched/ to bring the ball to ground for the crumbs. It all relys on kosi doing what he did at the start of last year though.

Good perspective Gringo.

Our clearances weren't that crash hot either. Every bounce, Freo had a lone player on the outside for some reason. Worked well for them.

The key with BJ is where he'll be most damaging.

We seem to be playing a real open fwd line at the moment.

Once Kosi comes back, the opp will plan accordingly. So 3rd fwd like BJ will be a must because he will hurt you on the scoreboard.

Playing an extra player up there to fill a void is a waste of time IMO.

Whoever we play fwd HAS to do some damage.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

One thing many of us haven't touched on is the possibility that Roo may not come back this year (God forbid).

So, IMO we have to make every post a winner as far as winning goes, first and foremost.

That means developing an alternative fwd structure and getting it settled.

Stanley is raw, and this is not the time to experiment. We need to win as many games as possible and I rckon a BJ / Kosi fwd line is the way to go.

Right with you there. That will be even better than yesterday, as BJ had to contend with McPharlin for a lot of his time forward. With Kosi back he most likely gets the best/biggest defender, leaving BJ to go against someone less accomplished. The long bombs go to Kosi, leaving BJ to do most of the leading and crumbing, etc.
Having said that, I was also really happy with how Zac went up forward in the 2nd half. He leads with real purpose and speed and crashes packs if he doesn't mark it. Milney, Schneids and Mini will love being there for the crumbs. I just saw the replay and he took 4 marks on the lead for the half and looked much better than he has down back so far this year. He's not great overhead, but he's far from our worst option up there.

[saintsRrising]

Having said that, I was also really happy with how Zac went up forward in the 2nd half. He leads with real purpose and speed and crashes packs if he doesn't mark it. Milney, Schneids and Mini will love being there for the crumbs. I just saw the replay and he took 4 marks on the lead for the half and looked much better than he has down back so far this year. He's not great overhead, but he's far from our worst option up there.

Agree there.

Zac did much better asa key forward than Sam and once Zac got into the swing of things are forward line worked much better.

With 3 small plus a rotating BJ, we need at least one tall to be compretitive.

Last week it was Zac. This week Kosi is back.

But Lyon may retain Zac up forward with Kosi.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

I'd be more than happy to see how that would work. They both lead well, so that would give us two options when going forward. And of course when he's needed there, Zac can go down back.
This week he's probably ideally suited to Tredrea, but if someone else can cover him, I'd probably play him forward. Playing forward will hopefully also give him a boost for when he does go back, as it seems to have for Jimmy G and did for Gilbert last year (after he trained up forward for the preceeding summer). It might make him more inclined to actually go for the ball more, rather than just turn his back on it and focus entirely on the man.

[Milton66]

I'd cop a Zac / Kosi / BJ fwd line.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

It seems pretty clearly our best option at the moment. Yesterday could have been even better if our mids had done better in the first half. They could have persisted with BJ forward in the second half and there's no telling how many he may have kicked. But many of them weren't at their best, I thought (eg Joey, Lenny, Ray) so they moved BJ into the middle, to pick up the slack.

[Ape_Man]

Goddard robs Peter to pay Paul IMO he sets up play into the forward line and cuts off supply the other way.

Dont no if Freo was just really quick but it came back quickly the other way last night and they seemed to score easier than we usually allow.

Im not a statistician but we didnt seem to let many teams score that easily last year.

I would develop Zac Dawson into the second forward and have Blake FB with Fisher Gilbert and Clarke around him to cut off the space around him.

We wont outscore the dominant forward teams with that set up every week and should keep the supply limited instead.

Zac and Kosi could work because you really only need one dominant forward and one to keep the defenders stretched/ to bring the ball to ground for the crumbs. It all relys on kosi doing what he did at the start of last year though.

This is a great point.

But if Goddard played middle would we have been better off than his five goals?

He didn't just play permanent forward, still got a bit around the park. So I think that having BJ in this role is going to be more valuable to us while Roo is out.

I think.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Unless we find a bunch of goals from somewhere else, BJ forward is a no-brainer. Aside from Milne, he was the only one who really looked like kicking multiple goals up there. As he did when he kicked 4, two weeks ago, in his other game this year where he spent about half of it forward.
I know many talk about losing his drive from around the ground, but if all of Dal, Lenny, Joey, Gram, Armo, CJ, Ray etc aren't able to step up and cover for him in that area (or the likes of Fisher, Gilbert, Raph, Gwilt etc down back) it would bean indictment on them. They could and would do it. There will be a likely period of adjustment, but if they commit to it it would/will work.
Then when Roo comes back, we'll have a much more dangerous forward line, and better balanced team, which we'll need, as Geelong, for one, are looking very ominous.
Some on here seem very scared of change, but I assure you there's nothing to fear.

[Milan Faletic]

What did everyone think?

Goddard was superb when he was in the forward line, he is a star.

Dawson appeared to be a decoy forward, I think he got one goal assist so he did his job. He is really struggling down back though... he needs to put on another 5kg and bulk up a bit. He's being pushed out of one on one contests too easily.

Milne was outstanding, really stood up. Schnadzo chipped in too, he popped up with a goal at important stages of the game.

Overall... it worked for today, but I sure am looking forward to Kosi returning next week. We did seem a little bit lost at times, but without a real key forward (the times Goddard went forward aside) I think we played very well.

The thread heading sounds like the next Harry Potter movie:

"Brendon Goddard and the Temporary Forward Structure"

Coming to a theatre near you.

[Sainternist]

À bout de souffle (Breathless) - a film directed by Brendan "Jean Luc" Goddard