Time for Roo to move up the ground

[SainterK]

Everyone looks for him, every single time.

He isn't going to be there for ever.

We have zip midfielders goals, nobody pings it on the run from half back anymore, the other forwards may as well not be there.

I'm not blaming him, he is an imposing presence.

However we don't want the next generation to form the same "kick it to Roo" mentality

Thoughts?

Constructive ones please, it's a long term problem that needs a short term solution IMO.

[Cairnsman]

Everyone looks for him, every single time.

He isn't going to be there for ever.

We have zip midfielders goals, nobody pings it on the run from half back anymore, the other forwards may as well not be there.

I'm not blaming him, he is an imposing presence.

However we don't want the next generation to form the same "kick it to Roo" mentality

Thoughts?

Constructive ones please, it's a long term problem that needs a short term solution IMO.

Why take away one of the best players to have ever played CHF and move him up the ground just so players don't look for him. Why ruin the structure , why not just train players to move the ball into the forward line better. I mean as an example our players were kicking it into the forward line where there were 3 Hawks players and no Saints players.

[BigMart]

He should be smart enough and experienced enough to be able to inject himself into the game when necessary

[8856brother]

I think he needs a rest. He's looked extremely sore the last 2 weeks. Change the whole forward line. Bring in some speed. Get unpredictable. Mind you, if we keep having 24 inside 50's a week it wont matter who plays forward. Tezza time.

[SainterK]

It's been the case for while though CM, I think if you could train them out of it, or it was as simple as "find the best option" it would of been rectified years ago.

[Cairnsman]

It's been the case for while though CM, I think if you could train them out of it, or it was as simple as "find the best option" it would of been rectified years ago.

Yeah I get what you are saying but up until today, (possibly last week actually) we were talking about how good a season he's having and some even saying how he's in career best form and debating if he's one of the best CHFs of the modern game. I reckon there would be a huge backlash if AR put him in the middle and plus I just don't think he's got the agility and mobility to play up the ground, he's a straight line, or arc running type that can't play below the knees and some days he looks like he's flat-out getting below the hips. The argument about replacing him is a different one altogether, he's irreplaceable at CHF which is why I think we are stuck with a game plan that suits him being at CHF until he retires.

Having said that it feels pointless trying to analyse anything from today's game, as I said in another thread it would almost be pointless for the coaches to do a review of this game. Just wake up tomorrow and reset and let's see what happens next week. I'd even play the team unchanged and see how each player responds to today's game...the lesson from that is probably going to be the most important one for the club IMO.

[perfectionist]

I think he needs a rest. He's looked extremely sore the last 2 weeks...

Agree. It won't improve our chances, but he deserves to go out playing rather than injured.

[Bluthy]

I know where you are coming from SainterK. It's that same debate Richmond supporters had about Richo. It annoyed me when he spoiled Billings in a marking contest that he should have hung back from. I don't believe I'm saying this, but we almost need Maister to give a forward target outside Roo. Stanley is getting there but isn't a strong presence in the 50 yet, he tends to push up on the wings. Roo seemed to play better when Maister was hitting packs and presenting and Roo could run more complex patterns behind him.

[Griggsy]

Disagree, he has almost zero presence once the ball is on the floor and while he chases as hard if not harder than anyone he struggles to lay tackles. Both could be attributed to his knee issues impacting his sideways agility. He gets half his possessions on the wing anyway it's just that there is no one behind him. 1 stay at home FF could solve that if we get one that can win a 1v1

[Toy Saint]

I know where you are coming from SainterK. It's that same debate Richmond supporters had about Richo. It annoyed me when he spoiled Billings in a marking contest that he should have hung back from. I don't believe I'm saying this, but we almost need Maister to give a forward target outside Roo. Stanley is getting there but isn't a strong presence in the 50 yet, he tends to push up on the wings. Roo seemed to play better when Maister was hitting packs and presenting and Roo could run more complex patterns behind him.

Yep, I reckon we need another strong bodied forward......last year we bagged Kosi and this year we've been critical of Beau....any other suggestions?

[Bluthy]

I know where you are coming from SainterK. It's that same debate Richmond supporters had about Richo. It annoyed me when he spoiled Billings in a marking contest that he should have hung back from. I don't believe I'm saying this, but we almost need Maister to give a forward target outside Roo. Stanley is getting there but isn't a strong presence in the 50 yet, he tends to push up on the wings. Roo seemed to play better when Maister was hitting packs and presenting and Roo could run more complex patterns behind him.

Yep, I reckon we need another strong bodied forward......last year we bagged Kosi and this year we've been critical of Beau....any other suggestions?

Give Lee a go? He's not exactly a pack crasher but could be worth a try.

[SainterK]

Fisher?
Gwilt?

I'm not convinced they will get delivery if they share the F50 with Roo though?

Funnily enough, when jones has been playing forward I reckon they've kicked it to him accidentally at times.

[Bernard Shakey]

Fisher?
Gwilt?

I'm not convinced they will get delivery if they share the F50 with Roo though?

Funnily enough, when jones has been playing forward I reckon they've kicked it to him accidentally at times.

In that case we need Specsavers as a major sponsor!

[SainterK]

Fisher?
Gwilt?

I'm not convinced they will get delivery if they share the F50 with Roo though?

Funnily enough, when jones has been playing forward I reckon they've kicked it to him accidentally at times.

In that case we need Specsavers as a major sponsor!

Maybe it's as easy as a bottle of peroxide?

[Bernard Shakey]

Fisher?
Gwilt?

I'm not convinced they will get delivery if they share the F50 with Roo though?

Funnily enough, when jones has been playing forward I reckon they've kicked it to him accidentally at times.

In that case we need Specsavers as a major sponsor!

Maybe it's as easy as a bottle of peroxide?

Hahaha!

[PJ]

What we have little of in the forward line is speed. Jack B gives us a bit of presence as he is pretty nippy but generally we are clunky and predictable. Tom Lee will need to put in a big one for sandy and I'd be looking at Dan Markworth (serious speed), I think it's time we gave this kid a shot. We were shown up today and looked very slow, reactionary and uninventive (losing Eli hurts here) - we need spark.

[SainterK]

I must be watching a different game.

If Roo has 3 guys on him, pretty good chance the others are free.

Why do we evade this issue, own it, pretty much every entry into the F50 tonight was to Roo except when he was down the race.

It's not bagging Roo to say he commands too much footy.

Why are we afraid of highlighting the problem, does it upset him?

I wouldn't think so?

[Bluthy]

It kind of does feel like a delicate subject. Is Roo too dominant and stopping the development of our next generation of forwards? Sometimes his body language seems to be all about himself rather than a team approach. He has such high standards maybe he feels frustrated that others can't meet it. And yet due to his incredible work rate he is racking up the scores on the board and we may not even have a win on the board without him. Maybe its about Richo getting tough with Stanley, Sippos etc and saying "You need to get aggressive out there. Don't worry about treading on Rooeys toes. He's only here for another couple of years. Get out there and strut your stuff or you'll be off the list"

[BackFromUSA]

Would love to have him play as a wingman pushing back into defence then using his eleite running to be an option as we exit the backline ...

[clarky449]

He is in line for AA selection.. Would you really move him? No..

[Con Gorozidis]

How on earth did he score 4 goals tonight?
He was in la la land in the 2nd and still somehow kicked 4.
The bloke is unbelievable.
If we had better delivery and he didn't hit his head he could have murdered those clowns and won it for us.
Carlton defence is very poor.

[ROLS-LEE]

Even Hayes did a dickie 10mtr kick to Roo while 55 mtrs out. Another time Dunstan was by himself when Roo marked and kicked his first. Our ball carriers need to be smarter, our other forwards needs to get to more dangerous positions, and Roo needs to learn to be the decoy sometimes

[nw7]

Roo needs support, we must play 3 tall forwards. I know Maister was frustrating in the first 3 games and we were all calling for a change but I must admit I thought the change would be to replace him with Lee. Even though Lee hasn't been great I think either Maister or Lee need to come into the side, it will take pressure off Roo and Stanley and give us another tall option.

[kosifantutti]

It would be nice to see some of our forward entries again from a helicopter view and see what other options there were when we went inside forward 50. I get too involved in the game to give any in depth of analysis but I know Roo presents every time.

I was also disappointed with Lenny kicking 15m to a well covered Roo. What would he have seen if he looked up?

Maybe our other forwards need to be more demanding and more stroppy when they don't get the pass.

[Cairnsman]

Absolutely insane to think moving Roo away from the forward line will fix anything. The idea has no logic at all IMO. Need to fix the problem, not create another one.