PDA

View Full Version : Our biggest challenges for Beveridge in 2016



GVGjr
27-12-2015, 10:57 AM
I think most of us would agree we had a terrific 2015 season. Exciting and winning football and a final was probably above our expectations at the start of the year.

It got me thinking about how we can maintain that type of form for next season and the challenges that will come our way throughout the 2016 season.

Challenge #1 - The hunters will become the hunted.
I think we caught a few teams early in the season by surprise and it got us off to a fast start but in 2016 I think all teams will be better prepared for us. They will have a look at the way we set-up defensively and try and work out ways to counter it. They will also have a closer look at ways our dynamic midfield can be curbed.

How Beveridge and the coaches counter vastly better prepared opposition coaches?

Challenge #2 - Providing opportunities for our younger players
The depth of our playing list is possibly the best I have seen in 20 years. We have a pretty good best 22 but we also have another 10 guys that could easily make claims for spots in the best 22 and on top of that we have have a few youngsters that could also push for spots. When you have the likes of McLean, Campbell, Hrovat, Honeychurch, Daniel, Dale, Biggs, Roberts, Jong, Webb, Cordy, Adcock, Minson and Redpath who aren't necessarily in our best 22 I don't think we can question the depth of our squad.
Having that sort of depth does pose a number of challenges especially given we have a number of experienced players likely to leave by the end of the 2016.

How does Beveridge continue to develop the playing list and provide enough opportunities for our younger players?

Challenge #3 - How do we best set-up our rucks
If I had a criticism of LB in 2015 was the way he played funny buggers with our rucking throughout the season.
Minson was sent to Coventry, A.Cordy given and extended run at and then de-listed at the end of the year and Campbell struggled a bit throughout the season but his best was pretty good. Players like Jong and Bontempelli chip in and help as midfielders who are used as 3rd men up and Boyd and Redpath are often the players who provide a chop out.
This year the plan appears to use Roughead as the number #1 ruckman and a lot of seasons fortunes could rest on how that decision pans out. As a ruckman Roughead intrigues me, he has a great leap and decent mobility but offers little when used in the forward line. There is also a question on his durability. Minson can handle the job but I think LB wants a more mobile option. Campbell appears to me as the best option so hopefully he has an injury free preseason.

How should we set-up our rucks this season? Who provides the chop outs?


I've listed just 3 challenges and I'd be interested to hear your views on those and if there are others to consider.

Ghost Dog
27-12-2015, 03:09 PM
These are good points GvGjr.
Living up to expectations and keeping everyone happy. I have read that some will be satisfied if we hold our position on the ladder, but a lot of our rusted on crew are getting quite old now, and the supporters are really keen to get some silverware. With this many quality players, it will be very hard to keep a lid on it. A second year coach, carrying an enormous weight of expectation.

The Talia saga exposed some player dissatisfaction that may or may not have led to some poor decision making. Ensuring that this many quality players are engaged, and involved, not running amuck and doing stupid things might be a concern, because not everyone is going to be getting games. We have a heap of depth.

always right
27-12-2015, 04:33 PM
I think Bevo will simply do what he did last season. If you play well in the VFL you'll be given opportunities at the expense of those whose form drops off. What a great position to be in.

As for our ruckmen, Roughy looks to be our preferred option and whilst he adds little when he goes forward, he will give great support to our defenders. Neither Minson or Campbell do this.

Whilst opposition coaches will do their homework on our game plan....which game plan? Bevo has made statements that we need to evolve our style further after Adelaide exposed some flaws in the final. You know he won't be content to just do more of the same.

bulldogtragic
27-12-2015, 05:14 PM
How we stop Jarrad Grant when we play the GCS.

Also, how to deal with younger players confidence, development and expectation. Port players last year by the account of Hinkley took things a little too easy sometimes, 'believing the hype' and expectation natural development would take them to the next level. Some of their kids probably didn't kick on as hoped for. If Bonts, Macrae, Stringer, T. Boyd and other contemporaries can put the preseason and full season application in Bevo might not need worry too much. But keeping them in the right head space and team requirements is what he did well this year, so in Bevo I trust.

He will also need to manage 'Dads Backline Army'. Those guys can't play full years and I think Bevo has said something like that. If he can manage them a couple of games off during the year at seperate points, that takes the pressure off the backline team from week to week. Or younger guys take the spot on form and don't give it back.

How to play numerous big or inside mids. Libba, Wally, Stevens, Jong, Smith etc, etc. - that's a lot of inside types. So he might need to have a gameplan with a role for them as he seems to love flexibility and similar types to have numerous roles.

Make some hard calls next post season. He was true to his public comments in wanting to make minimal changes with his belief in the group. But if we do well again, all 4 older guys may want to stay and trades and/or free agents might want in and fringe types might just have to be cut. Will be tough making the calls with our core players hitting around 100 games in 2017 (ie. good likelihood of success) but he and JMac are up for it.

Keep being awesome.

F'scary
27-12-2015, 05:28 PM
Great thread GVGjr

Challenge #1 Becoming the Hunted: Try to find a genuine lead-up & kick-to-position CHF among the obvious candidates on the list. I don't mean Stringer or Crameri, I mean someone from the likes of Redpath, Roberts, Hamling or Adams or perhaps best choice of all, former star centre half forward...Bob Murphy! Last year, as it seems to me, we created a game plan that deliberately avoided CHF by a) switching the play, often patiently and sometimes to open the centre corridor, often to go round the outside to HFF; b) fast breaks using lots of handball that aimed to make centre or forward of centre before the longer pass or bomb to position deeper in the forward line was attempted; c) holding up the play and looking to lateralise into the centre corridor within the square to then go deep. All of these methods involved the backline pushing up higher than most teams dare but we were exposed a few times in the year, including the EF. This year, if we can have a Riewoldt approach to playing CHF, it may offer alternatives for moving the ball upfield that we didn't have last year. Easier said than done but Bevo is something of a miracle worker.

Another thing we will have to look out for is countering of our run and spread from stop plays (marks, frees). Teams will try dirty tactics to slow us down, we need to be ready.

Challenge #2 Opportunities for young players: This might not be as great a problem as it may seem. In 2015, if you rank our players by games played for the season, you find our first 22 played 390 games out of the total 506 available (includes EF), averaging 17.7 games. The second 22 (players ranked 23-44 on the list by games played) played a total 116 games averaging 5.3 games. What is more, focusing on the core group and not outliers (such as out-all-season injured players and 1 game rookies, etc), we see that players ranked 23-38 (a count of 14 players) played 110 games between them at an average of 7.9 games.

Still, given the strength of the list, retiring Morris and Boyd at the end of 2016 to open up opportunities and retain emerging players may be more likely than if we had a weak list.

Challenge #3 Ruck Set Up: The key is if Tom Boyd can successfully play 2nd ruck for 5 minutes per quarter so the first ruck can go to the bench, I think we can go with best fit, best form from the 3 rucks we have on our list. I actually think they are not a bad trio to choose from for the 1st ruck position.

GVGjr
27-12-2015, 05:31 PM
He will also need to manage 'Dads Backline Army'. Those guys can't play full years and I think Bevo has said something like that. If he can manage them a couple of games off during the year at seperate points, that takes the pressure off the backline team from week to week. Or younger guys take the spot on form and don't give it back.



That was going to be my 4th Challenge. Morris, Murphy and M.Boyd will need 3 games off during the season perhaps even a 4th. I suspect that's one of the reasons why Adcock was a target of ours because he can play a defensive role and possibly cover Boyd and Murphy.



Also, how to deal with younger players confidence, development and expectation. Port players last year by the account of Hinkley took things a little too easy sometimes, 'believing the hype' and expectation natural development would take them to the next level. Some of their kids probably didn't kick on as hoped for. If Bonts, Macrae, Stringer, T. Boyd and other contemporaries can put the preseason and full season application in Bevo might not need worry too much. But keeping them in the right head space and team requirements is what he did well this year, so in Bevo I trust.



I'm not as concerned about the potential for over confidence to set in because of the fact we fell away late in the season and lost a final. There is plenty of incentive for the younger players to keep improving. What I gave LB a big tick for last season was the way he was prepared to drop the likes of Crameri and Macrae until they demonstrated the right type of form.
In short I think we have the depth within the playing group to keep the better players motivated.

Ghost Dog
27-12-2015, 06:02 PM
Hope he keeps the selections as entertaining as it was last year. Had no idea who he was going to bring in for a while there.

Nuggety Back Pocket
27-12-2015, 06:58 PM
The big challenges would seem to come in our ruck division and attack.
Will Roughead be physically capable of being our number one ruck man given his shoulder injuries in the past?
Will Tom Liberatore quickly become the elite midfielder following missing the entire 2015 season?
What can we expect from Tom Boyd in 2016?
Can we expect the same dominance from Wood and has been mentioned the aging bodies of Murphy M Boyd and Morris?
Stringer Dickson and Dahlhaus were standouts in attack, can we be confident of it continuing.
These are some of the challenges IMO that will go a long way if successful to move us into the top 4 of the competition and ultimately a flag contender.

ledge
27-12-2015, 07:19 PM
Personally I thought we started off slow and I think it will be a different selection process this year as he obviously gave games to players who had been on the list a few years and it was time to see what he had on his list whether they stayed or went (Cordy)
He knows his list now after a year and I don't think that will happen again.

GVGjr
27-12-2015, 07:30 PM
The big challenges would seem to come in our ruck division and attack.
Will Roughead be physically capable of being our number one ruck man given his shoulder injuries in the past?
Will Tom Liberatore quickly become the elite midfielder following missing the entire 2015 season?
What can we expect from Tom Boyd in 2016?
Can we expect the same dominance from Wood and has been mentioned the aging bodies of Murphy M Boyd and Morris?
Stringer Dickson and Dahlhaus were standouts in attack, can we be confident of it continuing.
These are some of the challenges IMO that will go a long way if successful to move us into the top 4 of the competition and ultimately a flag contender.


Great questions, and I will try and answer a couple of them

- I'm not expecting Liberatore to be in our first round game and I think it's likely he will be a late starter to the season. I have modest expectations for Libba in 2016.

- In my opinion Roughead should be our FB having the occasional run in the ruck to support Campbell.

- Boyd's main focus in 2016 is to establish himself as our key forward and play 15 games plus. It's going to take another season before we start to see what he is capable of. 30 goals in 2016 would be a positive outcome.

- Wood won't be given the same space he enjoyed in 2016 in fact teams will focus on the whole defensive unit to see how they can curb the drive it provided the team. It's going to be most interesting to see how we counter that.

- I'm confident our forward line can still be productive and a nightmare for opposition teams but it does hinge a bit on Crameri's availability.

Remi Moses
27-12-2015, 11:17 PM
Keeping it simple
3. maintaining an attitude, and not getting ahead of themselves
2. No inuries to major players
1. Handling expectation.

Great thread G

stefoid
28-12-2015, 12:03 AM
The answer to 2 and 3 is the same - play the best performing players

Ghost Dog
28-12-2015, 07:14 PM
One Challenge for Bevo is getting us enough games at the G.
Think of all the luck and good management you need to get to the final, only to underperform by being not familiar with the ground. Like the Eagles. Can you say they were THAT much worse than Hawthorn? I think they just capitulated on the day.
Is it possible to get practice matches at the G? I want our young group to be familiar with the ground, but with our fixture it's not possible.

GVGjr
28-12-2015, 07:21 PM
One Challenge for Bevo is getting us enough games at the G.
Think of all the luck and good management you need to get to the final, only to underperform by being not familiar with the ground. Like the Eagles. Can you say they were THAT much worse than Hawthorn? I think they just capitulated on the day.
Is it possible to get practice matches at the G? I want our young group to be familiar with the ground, but with our fixture it's not possible.

While I get the point you are making I don't think the draw is within his control for next season nor is getting practice games.

bornadog
28-12-2015, 11:28 PM
I agree with everyone's thoughts on the challenges facing Bevo for 2016.

The biggest challenge we have is how do we improve and go one better in 2016. This will be the expectation of supporters, the media and the FFC Board of directors. The pressure will be on in 2016 and Bevo needs to manage the expectations and the added pressure that brings on him and the players.

It is going to be an exciting year and a very interesting season.

Ghost Dog
29-12-2015, 05:52 PM
While I get the point you are making I don't think the draw is within his control for next season nor is getting practice games.

The way I worded it was wrong. Let's call it 'training and improving for the big stage' then. That's going to be a challenge.
Is there nothing that can be done about it? Sports Psychology might be the answer.

GVGjr
29-12-2015, 06:23 PM
The way I worded it was wrong. Let's call it 'training and improving for the big stage' then. That's going to be a challenge.
Is there nothing that can be done about it? Sports Psychology might be the answer.

That makes sense. Good points to consider

Ghost Dog
29-12-2015, 06:26 PM
That makes sense. Good points to consider

Just so many resources, effort and luck to get us into a final, and would break my heart to see us do a Port Adelaide V Geelong, or a West Coast V Hawthorn.

LostDoggy
01-01-2016, 12:27 PM
I think Bev's biggest challenge this year is to develop our game plan so that it stands up as well on grounds with significant width (most notably: MCG) as well as it does at Etihad.

Having read a lot of player quotes, I am less concerned about complacency/overconfidence than some. The collective mindset seems to be the right one - that is; last year was a good first step on a long journey, but we've got a long way to go and things will get harder.

Team positions are going to be interesting, with our tall structures seemingly very much open for change. I reckon the following are all key issues for Bev and the coaches:

- Do we go with our 2015 forward line structure or try to develop a 2nd tall forward in a mobile CHF role?
- Do we play a tall utility/2nd ruckman (eg Roughy) off the bench? (I reckon one of these 2 possibilities will be trialled through the year, but not both. Interesting to see which way they go).
- Will our recruits (Collins, Adams) or ZCordy jump out of the ground to grab a KPD role early, or do Roberts/Hamling retain those roles? If we get 2 biggish KPDs demanding selection, is Hamling versatile enough to have his role evolve? (I reckon they love Hamling internally, he is the sort of player that is much more respected within footy departments than externally, but it will be tricky to fit 2 talls, him and Morris in most weeks).
- How does Grant's departure affect structures? Is Suckling a straight replacement or do his specific strengths require adjustments to the overall game plan?
- With fringe small forward/mids like Hrovat and Honeychurch having been at the club a few years, they need to cement their position this year or face being considered for trade/delisting by year's end. Presuming no major injuries, balancing adequate opportunity for these guys with all the usual considerations will be tricky, we want to make the right decisions come year's end. The other young smalls like Maclean, Daniel, Hamilton, Dale and Webb also need to be rewarded with games when performing to avoid stagnation, so tough calls will be needed. Hopefully these will be the nice problems we'll be dealing with.

F'scary
01-01-2016, 12:56 PM
Taking up PP's points concerning taller players, I have been watching a number of our 2015 games on Smart Replay and it is very interesting to see the evolution of our team last year. In the first part of the season, the MC was much more prepared to select taller players. In the Richmond game (round 2), for example, we played Roughead at FB, Zoolander Talia at CHB, Tom Boyd FF, Ayce Cordy and Will Minson on the ground at the same time. We won that game (great win too!) but the verve, the precision and the team gestalt that marked our performances in the second half of the season are just not there. These things happened when the selectors went for mobility & skills - the less tall players.

I think it will be a real challenge for Beveridge to include additional taller (stronger, contested marking) players in the team without sacrificing the strengths that took us to the finals in 2015.

bornadog
01-01-2016, 01:53 PM
In the Richmond game (round 2), for example, we played Roughead at FB, Zoolander Talia at CHB, Tom Boyd FF, Ayce Cordy and Will Minson on the ground at the same time. We won that game (great win too!).

Maybe that is the formula for winning at the MCG

F'scary
01-01-2016, 02:02 PM
Maybe that is the formula for winning at the MCG

Interesting point.

GVGjr
01-01-2016, 02:28 PM
I think Bev's biggest challenge this year is to develop our game plan so that it stands up as well on grounds with significant width (most notably: MCG) as well as it does at Etihad.



First up, thanks for the comprehensive response and from a WOOF perspective 2016 is already off to a great start.

I think the point you raise above is what GD was alluding to. How does Bevo turn us into a better team on the bigger stage with a particular focus on the MCG. No doubt this is a real challenge for him.



Having read a lot of player quotes, I am less concerned about complacency/overconfidence than some. The collective mindset seems to be the right one - that is; last year was a good first step on a long journey, but we've got a long way to go and things will get harder.



Like you, I'm not worried too much about complacency as our guys are hungry for success. I think our selection process which relies more on some speculation is more of a threat than complacency.




Team positions are going to be interesting, with our tall structures seemingly very much open for change. I reckon the following are all key issues for Bev and the coaches:

- With fringe small forward/mids like Hrovat and Honeychurch having been at the club a few years, they need to cement their position this year or face being considered for trade/delisting by year's end. Presuming no major injuries, balancing adequate opportunity for these guys with all the usual considerations will be tricky, we want to make the right decisions come year's end. The other young smalls like Maclean, Daniel, Hamilton, Dale and Webb also need to be rewarded with games when performing to avoid stagnation, so tough calls will be needed. Hopefully these will be the nice problems we'll be dealing with.

This point stands out to me. Due to the way we drafted in 2014 we now have a logjam of smaller players. It's going to be be very tricky to balance this going forward and to provide opportunities going forward.

GVGjr
01-01-2016, 02:33 PM
Taking up PP's points concerning taller players, I have been watching a number of our 2015 games on Smart Replay and it is very interesting to see the evolution of our team last year. In the first part of the season, the MC was much more prepared to select taller players. In the Richmond game (round 2), for example, we played Roughead at FB, Zoolander Talia at CHB, Tom Boyd FF, Ayce Cordy and Will Minson on the ground at the same time. We won that game (great win too!) but the verve, the precision and the team gestalt that marked our performances in the second half of the season are just not there. These things happened when the selectors went for mobility & skills - the less tall players.

I think it will be a real challenge for Beveridge to include additional taller (stronger, contested marking) players in the team without sacrificing the strengths that took us to the finals in 2015.

An excellent point you have made and I'd think we would be hoping Roberts, Hamling, Boyd, Redpath and Adams can improve us in that area. Both Redpath and Boyd can add a lot to us and it's particularly interesting to see a slimmed down Redpath focus on his running over the first part of the pre-season. I'd say they have some specific plans for him.

Great observation F'scary and it will be interesting to see if Bevo has this as a focus.

F'scary
01-01-2016, 02:47 PM
Thanks GVGjr, I can see room for only one extra tall this year, CHF. But it may turn out that the best option all-in-all is to play guys like Koby Stevens or Lin Jong there.

I can see Redpath making it a CHF - will need to slim down a few kilos and build up the stamina but this is do-able.

I can't see 2 ruckmen in the 22 if Tom Boyd is playing.

azabob
01-01-2016, 04:23 PM
Agree Key position players are an interesting conundrum for us in 2016.

I'm not so sure we need to bring another one in.

I think Beveridge biggest challenge is the ruck position, who is our first ruck and who will be our relief ruckman. The first ruckman needs to be able to ruck 90% game time, provide a contest and most importantly be able to cover the ground.

At this stage no one player is really standing out as preferred number one ruck. Minson and Campbell are same same, Roughead isn't a great tap ruckman, his durability is questionable but does provide versatility. I think the relief ruckman are easier to come by and this will either be by Boyd or Redpath. However all of Campbell, Redpath and Boyd need to improve their fitness a lot.

I'd start with Campbell as first ruck, Redpath back up ruck and Roughead down back with Morris and either Hamling / Roberts.

I wouldn't be surprised to see early in the season again players come in and out of the team as the match committee try and figure out who our best 25 players are. All things being equal there should be plenty of competition for spots.

The other big unknown is how will the abolishment of the sub rule and reduced interchanges will impact not only our game plan and our 22 players selcted each week, but the rest of the other teams in competition.

If other teams also begin sacrificing key position players for more mobile mid size players perhaps we won't need extra support in the key position area.

Overall I think Beveridge willingness last season to play players in multiple positions has really helped set us up to take advantage of both of the above rule changes.

F'scary
01-01-2016, 06:46 PM
If Redpath is being groomed to focus on CHF, this implies Tom Boyd playing FF. I don't think Redpath can or should be asked to play relief ruck on top of playing CHF. That would be Boyd's role.

I don't know about Roughead as FB, there are some matchups that suit him but a lot of others that don't. I think he will be aiming to be the ruckman going into Round 1. He is more mobile, a better mark and has better disposal than Big Will but he is average in the centre bounce and at stoppages, which are Minson's strengths, including the ability to provide clearances and even goals from his own ruck work.

I haven't thought much about using the 4th spot on the bench for a second ruck but intuitively it does not appeal to me with our list. Likewise, having a resting ruck in the FP instead of Stringer or Dickson does not appeal.

It could be that Roughead, like Minson and Campbell does time in the VFL for the sake of team balance and ruck matchups - this would be pretty awkward if he is VC. Have we named the captains and the leadership group yet?

bulldogtragic
01-01-2016, 06:50 PM
Does he hold the cup up right handed to show off the right gun, or step around and grab the cup left handed showing off the left gun.

Dry Rot
02-01-2016, 01:14 PM
Our biggest challenge has been with us for years - delivery in to the forward line and the forward line system and structure.

We'll never progress while we still just bomb the ball in.

1eyedog
02-01-2016, 01:39 PM
The biggest challenge for mine is more ephemeral. I realise as above that each individual component adds up to a complete whole but to me Beveridge's biggest challenge will be fought out this year inside his head. How does he go one better / two better this year and get us to another Prelim?

I think we have the talent to get there, and another preseason of conditioning and another season of natural improvement should see us within calculations come September, but how does Beveridge counter other teams adjusting to our game plan and does one year of experience in the coaches box provide the breadth of coaching talent that Beveridge will need to counter other teams game plans?

It's not so much about kicking long into the forward line or getting more penetration out of the middle it is a culmination of instances on a daily basis that will test him in his second season as a senior coach. He needs to be able to bottle the romance he injected into the playing group last season and continue to develop our game plan while predicting how each of the other 17 teams will set up come round 1. He has the list but he needs another break out season as coach incorporating his knowledge of the game and his players with the x-factor he displayed last year in the coaches box. He needs to become a better coach and be a better coach than the other coaches?

Does he have the talent and is he experienced and mentally ready for that?

GVGjr
02-01-2016, 01:40 PM
Our biggest challenge has been with us for years - delivery in to the forward line and the forward line system and structure.

We'll never progress while we still just bomb the ball in.

We were ranked 4th for scoring last year and we were number one for defensive tackles in the 50mtr arc as well which argues back against the view that there is issues with our forward line system and structure.
I think there was significant improvement with our delivery into the forward line from previous years. Set shot conversions remain our issue within the forward line and an area we need to improve on and I still believe it cost us the final against Crows.

Dry Rot
02-01-2016, 01:45 PM
We were ranked 4th for scoring last year and we were number one for defensive tackles in the 50mtr arc as well which argues back against the view that there is issues with our forward line system and structure.
I think there was significant improvement with our delivery into the forward line from previous years. Set shot conversions remain our issue within the forward line and an area we need to improve on and I still believe it cost us the final against Crows.

Didn't we rank much better at getting the ball into the forward 50 than scoring? My recollection of last season is that when the going got tough we'd still just bomb in, unlike say the Hawks who take their time.

azabob
02-01-2016, 01:53 PM
Ah Dry Rot, dry sense of humor, unlike the Hawks....

jeemak
04-01-2016, 01:07 AM
There's been some excellent contributions to this thread that have pretty much covered what I'd have liked to say, so thanks to all for the effort thus far.

My main concern, and I think Bev's biggest challenge is instilling a team defensive culture that doesn't stop us from being offensively minded throughout different phases of each game.

Towards the last few rounds of the season and the final we only seemed to be able to execute either defensive skills or offensives skills independently of each other. In my view this was the main issue - aside from goal kicking accuracy - that hurt us most in the first week of finals, and the signs were there against WCE and BRIS where we really struggled to add to the attacking tendencies of our exuberant group.

The best football over longer periods in 2015 was based around hard work around the contest and pressure in our back half that enabled us to spring forward in the first instance, but also put significant pressure on the first ball out of our offensive 50m if we didn't move it cleanly or score. Being able to do this consistently is the only way we will get to the level Hawthorn has displayed over the past three years. They never stop doing that, and that's why they're champions.

If we get the mindset right, we'll be able to do it on any ground in the land. Fitness will help and as we mature we'll be able to deal with the physical demands as second nature, leaving just the mental side to get it right.

S Coast Simon
07-01-2016, 09:24 AM
The one thing I'm interested in is how the interchange rotations will effect our game style. Cutting 30 rotations could have huge consequences to how teams play this year. I just pray it doesn't change our momentum.

azabob
07-01-2016, 12:03 PM
The one thing I'm interested in is how the interchange rotations will effect our game style. Cutting 30 rotations could have huge consequences to how teams play this year. I just pray it doesn't change our momentum.

I mentioned that earlier in this thread. I don't think it will. I think we have semi prepared for it by playing players in multiple positions last year.

LostDoggy
07-01-2016, 01:19 PM
It's a good point SCS, like azabob I suspect it will benefit us on balance. Older and more rigid teams rely on heavy interchange rotations, whereas our flexibility should see us rotating on field more thus needing less interchanges and gaining a relative advantage.

Also the 4 starting on the bench (as opposed to 3 and a sub) may well allow us to play a tall on the bench which may give us more flexibility in our big man rotations (which we never quite nailed last year).

This seems reasonable to me on face value, however these changes sometimes have unseen ramifications, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

whythelongface
07-01-2016, 03:00 PM
For me the biggest challenge is managing the expectations of the playing group, media and supporters based on last year's performances. The current expectation is for the team to continue improvement and push for a top 4 spot. We all know that this expectation brings additional pressure to the coaching and playing groups and if the team doesn't meet these expectations then things can go awry all of a sudden.

Eastdog
07-01-2016, 06:01 PM
Very good thread.

For me the challenges:

Making sure our defensive structure holds up well as now our mids and forwards looking very promising.

Our players being grounded and bringing the strong work ethic to the forefront which was evident in our great 2015 season.

The ruck situation will be interesting. I'm hoping we see more of Campbell next year. Can he improve?

Very excited Libba is coming back - how will he handle Bevo's game plan?