Selecting forwards to play in the forward line

[Topdog]

Radical idea i know but it may just be beneficial.

Surely 2 games in a row with less than 10 goals scored* may be a catalyst for change.

*Assuming we don't kick 5 in the last here vs Eagles

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Nah, too predictable.

18 in the back half to confuse the opposition.

[hujsh]

Yeah it would be nice to have some level of confidence that the guy kicking for goal is a chance to kick an actual goal.

It's a very strange position we find ourselves in where I don't see anything that this team does well. Forwards can't kick goals, defenders are caught out of position and struggle to move the ball, mids are equally as good wining the contested ball as they are on the spread, we're outmarked all around the ground, we don't have good foot skills, our handballs put players under pressure and we don't harass or pressure the opposition.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

What about recruiting footballers who can actually kick?

[GVGjr]

I think we need Naughton as a defender but I think he could play forward on a more regular basis

[Rocket Science]

I think we need Naughton as a defender but I think he could play forward on a more regular basis

Please don't take it personally but I want to scream reading this because I'm sure the MC probably shares your view.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I think we need Naughton as a defender but I think he could play forward on a more regular basis

Really? I like Naughton's prospects, but do we really need to add another sketchy kicker into our forward line?

[Topdog]

What about recruiting footballers who can actually kick?

Boyd and Schache

[Greystache]

How will playing forwards in the forward line make us more flexible?

We're aiming to be the most flexible team in the bottom 4.

[bornadog]

Boyd and Schache

Schache has a calf injury, sustained in training.

[Twodogs]

Schache has a calf injury, sustained in training.

We must be doing some fearsome bloody training. Moz, Schasche and Adams all have injurys they have missed games with.

Why do we look so scared of making a mistake on the field when our training is obviously "last man standing?"

[ratsmac]

Great topic.

Today during the game I said this exact thing to my wife. Why don't we have any natural forwards playing. I tried to name some we had playing.

I came up with

Dahl as a crumbling forward (currently playing mid)
McLean (currently playing mid)
Bailey Dale (currently playing wing)
Gowers (nice size but can't kick)

And that's about it. Everyone else are mids or defenders. Resting mids normally go forward and should know how to play forward but I suppose with no permanent forwards playing who's steering the ship there. We are the blind leading the blind.

Redpath will certainly help settle things and possibly straighten us up even though he's never been a powerhouse forward kicking bags of gosls. He will be a welcome inclusion that's for sure. That's if he is selected.

Dickson is the best forward we own and Wallis (yes a mid first forward second) has played in the forward line and kicked goals in the past. Picken is another who has been missed dearly also who is a handy forward. We need them back desperately because we have no depth.

[merantau]

I heard a stat on radio this week that is worth sharing. Up to 2017, of the 45 teams who had begun the season 0 - 2, only 6 went on to make the 8.
So, the odds are stacked against us. If we had a full list to choose from and if all our players were in good form, then it's conceivable we could turn it around. But those are two huge ifs.
The reality is that we are in for a lot of pain I'm afraid. I hope I'm wrong but when you consider we fielded a team on Sunday that was missing 10 players from our GF team then one vital aspect of our predicament becomes crystal clear - inexperience. Richards, Naughtin, English, Gowers, Webb, Honeychurch, Dale, Dunkley, Cordy - there's not a lot of game time there and that's nearly half the team!
I'm normally an optimist but right now I can't see much to look forward too. We need an injection of leadership, we need to get a heap of players back, we need to get our confidence back.
In short, it's a long way back from where we are now.

[Grantysghost]

From last season nominal forwards Cloke, Crameri, Stringer, Dickson, Boyd, Clay Smith, Redpath all not playing for various reasons yesterday so it’s little wonder we are struggling to kick a competitive score. Why did we delist Crameri? Consistent goal scorer (30/year) when fit. Rookie him even maybe was an idea.

[MrMahatma]

I heard a stat on radio this week that is worth sharing. Up to 2017, of the 45 teams who had begun the season 0 - 2, only 6 went on to make the 8.
So, the odds are stacked against us. If we had a full list to choose from and if all our players were in good form, then it's conceivable we could turn it around. But those are two huge ifs.
The reality is that we are in for a lot of pain I'm afraid. I hope I'm wrong but when you consider we fielded a team on Sunday that was missing 10 players from our GF team then one vital aspect of our predicament becomes crystal clear - inexperience. Richards, Naughtin, English, Gowers, Webb, Honeychurch, Dale, Dunkley, Cordy - there's not a lot of game time there and that's nearly half the team!
I'm normally an optimist but right now I can't see much to look forward too. We need an injection of leadership, we need to get a heap of players back, we need to get our confidence back.
In short, it's a long way back from where we are now.

I get we have a young team, but we're picking blokes who, IMO, don't have the talent worth persisting with. Even if the come good, the ceiling for Gowers, Honeychurch, Williams, Webb... isn't very high. Yet Boyd, Schache, Wallis are all either proven to be good or have an elite junior background to suggest they have huge upside.

The main issues currently are:
- blokes being played out of position (better this week than last though)
- picking a squad that has blokes in it with small upside and carrying too many of them
- almost entirely ignoring our forward half as somewhere that needs specialist skills

Let's face it. Even when Red comes back in, his upside isn't close to what Boyd and Schache could be as key fwds.

[The Underdog]

What about recruiting footballers who can actually kick?

Some of our biggest kicking errors yesterday were from some of our best kicks. Caleb's turnover in the 1st quarter was an egregiously poor effort from a dependable ball user. Often I thought that our decision making was as big a problem as the skills. Guys holding on to the ball too long rather than using the first option (looking at you Bont).

As to the forward question. Realistically the players who are options to help are Dickson, Redpath, Boyd and Schache.
Dickson should come back but has been a shadow of his best for 12 months. Redpath will at least halve a contest and can lead at a footy but can't be relied on to kick a bag and isn't a great contested mark.
There's plenty of calls to play Boyd and if he's physically and more importantly, mentally right, then great, but again, he's a 2-3 goal forward at best and has terrible hands.
Schache is essentially a development tall and probably gives us about the same as English in the forward line/2nd ruck. I agree he should play an extended run in the 1sts at some point, but that's for his future. It's unlikely to be a benefit now.
I get it from a structural viewpoint and would play at least 2-3 of them next week, but I honestly can't see those additions doing much more than turning a 50 point loss into a 40 point loss if our other issues aren't sorted out.