Personally i'd have Cripps in as the sub, rather than Ellard in the team.
Cripps' time will come, he'll be ok with somre more time and pre-seasons.
I don't know his level of fitness. All I heard i the pre-season was how poor his endurance was.
If it's somewhere around Menzels fitness last year he might be ok, any less than that he might struggle.
Not many kids can step up to AFL level fitness in the space of 1 off-season. And by 'not many' i mean like 1%.
Given that Cripps is a tall lad and is bigger than most 18yo kids coming into the game and is an in and under extractor. You'd expect he would suffer in both speed and endurance coming into AFL level. I dont think he is worse off than most coming into the league. Yarran is playing his 6th season this year and still doesn't have AFL level midfield fitness.
That's an example but not the be all and end all obviously.
Not sure how much you can overrate him when he was the first bloke to steal away a B+F from Judd. Clearly shows he has talent. How much talent, and how good he is compared to the rest of players in the league is a question that everyone will answer differently.
What Murphy does on and off the field is good enough for me...i expect he will continue to improve.
Come to think of it, I seem to recall a private jet carrying a prominent pro golfer did the same thing ages ago. It just kept flying with no one being conscious until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
Yes he is in today's game for sure. An a very good one at that. I don't remember Everitt ever playing as a key defender (I could be wrong).
Disagree.
To me a key forward takes contested marks, marks inside 50 and kicks goals. We struggle for key forwards on our list, but here is a comparison of a couple, and a few other similar-ish type players to westhoff.
I added the riewoldts, as they are leading type forwards and less physical types. Ditto Vickory, who has also had stints in the ruck, which westhoff has had to a lesser extent.
Westhoff has worse %'s compared to everyone on that list except for Waite. He spent a large part of his career in defence which hurts both of those numbers. Interestingly though, he kicks as many goals as Westhoff does, suggesting he is more prominant when used forward.
What that shows me is a) Casboult can't kick b) Hampson can't kick and plays ruck c) We wasted Waite playing him in defence d) the Riewoldts are genuine key forwards e) Vickory, despite more ruck time is more of a key forward f) Westhoffs numbers suggest he is a tall flanker, not a genuine key forward as his numbers don't stack up against the others in terms of 'key forward' material.
McInnes is very much the negative defender...gives no drive and I'm starting to think Simon White who at last has some grunt and muscle might be the better man as your 3rd tall defender...
Given who else is around in that backline, do we need to rely on McInness to give us drive??
Simpson, Walker, Tuohy....find me 3 players from any other side who will provide more run and carry! Won't be able to do it. McInness can stay at home.
Don't forget the Yazz Krudds!
I'm not forgetting, he just plays further up the ground. The other 3 play almost exclusively in the backline and generate the run from there. Thus, why McInness doesnt need to worry about running.
Both are tall, agile and use that to exploit their opponents.
There will most likely be very little body on body contests, and more chasing tail.
Would we not be better playing someone who puts him in an uncomfortable position with body contact rather than playing to his strengths? I don't see everitt beating him at his own game without help.
Everitt is someone that can match him. Like for like.
Watson is someone that could out body him.....so you reckon Westhoff will stick around and try and outbody him? No, he'll get on his bike and use his strengths which happens to be watsons weakness.
We have Watson and Jammo playing deep and if Westhoff wants to play down there they will be there to help out everitt. If he wants 1-on-1s with everitt he will have to run. The further he runs, the further away from goal he is, the better off we will be.
I think Mick and co will happilly take Westhoff getting the ball 60m+ out from goal, rather than closer in.
McInnes is very much the negative defender...gives no drive and I'm starting to think Simon White who at last has some grunt and muscle might be the better man as your 3rd tall defender...
Given who else is around in that backline, do we need to rely on McInness to give us drive??
Simpson, Walker, Tuohy....find me 3 players from any other side who will provide more run and carry! Won't be able to do it. McInness can stay at home.
Given Westhoff likes to float around the ground, I was thinking Walker or Everitt would be better match ups.
And it's no slight on Watson that he can't take Westhoff. I wouldn't even trust Jamo on him.
Hendo played forward in the VFL - to me that indicates mick wants Lachie as a forward.
Walker is a little bit undersized and would be better suited to someone under 2m tall. Everitt, although shorter than Westhoff, would be a much better option IMO.
We could have Watson being the 3rd man up, and have Everitt locking down on Westhoff which would probably be the opposite of normal goings on.
#3 - Matthew Watson Seems to have kicked it up a notch and becoming more confident in his abilities. We desperately need big blokes to stand up and he (and Andrejs) appear to be doing that which leads me to...
He desperately needs 5 exceptionally reliable back man working with him. No speculative players, no maybes. Jammo, Touy, Walker, Simpson, Henderson. No Scotland, no Buckley, No Yarran, no Everitt (further up the ground).
Watson can work........if.
Ideally, i reckon the back 6 would look something like this.
Simpson Jamison Tuohy Walker Watson xxxx
Now xxxx would depend on who we were playing against and what kind of setup they had. If they had an extra tall we could use McInness/Everitt....or Hendo/Waite if we get desperate. If they had an extra small it could be Gibbs/Buckley/Curnow/Scotland/Carrazzo who would all change through the middle at stages too.
If Watson can prove himself to be reliable at CHB, then he could be THE most important player on our list when it comes to structures. Without him, we have to completely alter our lineup.
