Do we have a genuine back pocket?

[bulldogtragic]

Just looking at everyone's teams and looking and thinking about our players, and which smalls get the nod. For some reason it just occurred to me as to whether we've got a genuine small back pocket type of player?

Off the top of my head it doesn't look like we do. Is this by design, is the spot dead or should we be looking at turning a Honeychurch type hard small into a specialist small?

[LostDoggy]

I'm not sure what a back pocket is these days, but Morris would be close enough under our defensive set up I'd reckon.

[Rocco Jones]

Yeah I don't think 'back pockets' really exist. It's more about defensive roles I guess in general.
- KP defender to play against monster forward type
- KP defender that is more mobile
- 3rd tall/medium type defender
- then you want your small defenders to be as well rounded as possible including attributes like metres gained, disposal, poise, defensive ability etc

[Twodogs]

Usually we have a seven man defence of three talls and four smalls. The smalls work to try and free up Murph.

But to answer the OP we don't really have any defensive positions because we guard space in defence under Bevo. So no we don't have back pockets.

[SonofScray]

No real back pockets anymore, just a back six versatile enough to cover the space and run to support each other and limit one v one contests.

[Dry Rot]

Usually we have a seven man defence of three talls and four smalls. The smalls work to try and free up Murph.

But to answer the OP we don't really have any defensive positions because we guard space in defence under Bevo. So no we don't have back pockets.

Will that work against Betts?

[Remi Moses]

Just like numerous positions it's gone the way of the dodo bird.

[soupman]

Will that work against Betts?

It doesn't have to "work" as such. As long as all the run generated from the backline creates more scoring opportunities than the lack of defenders concedes then we will be fine.

Aside from Kennedy has anyone really dominated thanks to our team defence?

[LostDoggy]

In regard to our team defence, I have heard it said that the 'tipping point' number of goals is 14, in that if you concede 14 or more you usually lose, if you kick 14 or more you usually win.

In the first 10 games of the year under the new systems, our success was hit and miss and we conceded 14 or more goals 6 times in 10 games, resulting in our status as a mid-table team.

Since the bye, we have conceded 14 or more just twice in 12 games, which absolutely places us amongst the best teams in the comp.

Our only 2 defensive 'fails' in the past 12 weeks were the WCE blowout and the Bris game where we were clearly in bruise-free mode, as focussed on finals as the match itself.

The take out: As long as our midfield is competitive, we can rely on our defensive unit to hold our opponents to a losing total consistently.

[Doc26]

Since the bye, we have conceded 14 or more just twice in 12 games, which absolutely places us amongst the best teams in the comp.

Our only 2 defensive 'fails' in the past 12 weeks were the WCE blowout and the Bris game where we were clearly in bruise-free mode, as focussed on finals as the match itself.

The take out: As long as our midfield is competitive, we can rely on our defensive unit to hold our opponents to a losing total consistently.

Possibly there is some bruise free mentality given recent blowouts but given the length of the season our very young and undeveloped list may simply just be hitting a wall against more mature and hardened bodies. Whilst a number of our older guys have been rested in recent weeks many of our younger guys are still soldiering through.

In recent seasons our young list was struggling to see through 3 quarters, a season on and we're now accustomed to seeing a fight to the end of each match.

Hopefully there's still a few good weeks left in their bodies and the excitement of finals may help given them a bit of a boost.

[LostDoggy]

The take out: As long as our midfield is competitive, we can rely on our defensive unit to hold our opponents to a losing total consistently.

Spot on PP.
As long as our midfield pressure is up and about and the Men of Mayhem are on song,the poor delivery coming into the Crows forward line should make it easier for us to repell and nulify any potential risk of the Blows kicking a winning score against us.