Friday, March 13, 2009
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
2009 Season Preview
After a strong finish to the preseason and the surprise signing of Ben Cousins over the offseason the Tigers are riding a wave of expectation that has significantly seen the membership record broken before the home and away season has kicked off. The question is whether or not the Tigers can finally deliver on their potential.
What needs to go right
The young guns need to consolidate and continue their emergence. Brett Deledio needs to confirm his status as an elite player of the competiton, Nathan Foley must burn off the taggers, Jack Riewoldt must kick more goals and get his strong hands on the ball more often and the back three key backs must continue to shut down the leagues best talls.
The midfield could be the key for Tigers this year. Especially if Ben Cousins finds form somewhere near his Brownlow medal best. If Ben can fire he will cause some serious headaches for the opposition as they wonder who to tag as they will not be able to cover all of Deledio, Foley, Cotchin, Cousins and the evergreen Richo.
The Tigers however need some new talent to emerge. There is a serious hole at full forward and while the list has a number of potentials nobody has looked like making the position their own yet. Cleve Hughes is the most likely candidate however there are serious question marks over his work rate and ability to play the ball off the carpet. Jay Shulz is another who could be tried in this position. He has kicked bags before, is a booming straight kick and looks good on the lead. Again he has similar question marks to Hughes, however his recent apprenticeship in the backline may have served to teach him how to effect defensive pressure and make more use of the ball when it hits the ground. In the wings the Tigers have seemingly ample stocks in Dean Putt, a 202cm pacey athlete of a player; David Gourdis a lightning quick tall and their prized 1st round draft pick, Tyrone Vickery, a ruckman come forward who for a 200cm tall is extremely athletic and skillful.
Adding to the forward line dramas is the absence of a genuine small forward. The type of small forward that in the past would have been called a ‘crumbing small forward’ but is now much much more than a ‘crumber.’ The Tigers lack a crumbing, tackling livewire of a small forward. The kind of small forward that will give opposition backs chills as they run out of defence, the type of small forward that will step through and around traffic to banana drible miracle goals from the pocket boundary, the type of small forward that will stand on the shoulders of players that gravity would suggest they have no right to do. The type of small forward that will bring the crowd alive. This hole however will probably not be rectified overly soon. Robin Nahas shows promise but will need to do something special to find his way into the best 22 on a regular basis while Alroy Gilligan will be given time.
And of course there is the usual reliance on Troy Simmonds. If he stands up the Tigers will be much more likely to make the finals.
Bigstyle’s Best 22
FB: Newman, Thursfield, Moore
HB: Raines, McGuane, McMahon
C: Cousins, Tuck, Richardson
HF: Brown, Riewoldt, Cotchin
FF: Morton, Hughes, Tambling
Foll: Simmonds, Foley, Deledio
Inter: Graham, White, Thomson, Bowden
Emergencies: Rance, Edwards, Jackson
Ladder Prediction
6th – 9th
What needs to go right
The young guns need to consolidate and continue their emergence. Brett Deledio needs to confirm his status as an elite player of the competiton, Nathan Foley must burn off the taggers, Jack Riewoldt must kick more goals and get his strong hands on the ball more often and the back three key backs must continue to shut down the leagues best talls.
The midfield could be the key for Tigers this year. Especially if Ben Cousins finds form somewhere near his Brownlow medal best. If Ben can fire he will cause some serious headaches for the opposition as they wonder who to tag as they will not be able to cover all of Deledio, Foley, Cotchin, Cousins and the evergreen Richo.
The Tigers however need some new talent to emerge. There is a serious hole at full forward and while the list has a number of potentials nobody has looked like making the position their own yet. Cleve Hughes is the most likely candidate however there are serious question marks over his work rate and ability to play the ball off the carpet. Jay Shulz is another who could be tried in this position. He has kicked bags before, is a booming straight kick and looks good on the lead. Again he has similar question marks to Hughes, however his recent apprenticeship in the backline may have served to teach him how to effect defensive pressure and make more use of the ball when it hits the ground. In the wings the Tigers have seemingly ample stocks in Dean Putt, a 202cm pacey athlete of a player; David Gourdis a lightning quick tall and their prized 1st round draft pick, Tyrone Vickery, a ruckman come forward who for a 200cm tall is extremely athletic and skillful.
Adding to the forward line dramas is the absence of a genuine small forward. The type of small forward that in the past would have been called a ‘crumbing small forward’ but is now much much more than a ‘crumber.’ The Tigers lack a crumbing, tackling livewire of a small forward. The kind of small forward that will give opposition backs chills as they run out of defence, the type of small forward that will step through and around traffic to banana drible miracle goals from the pocket boundary, the type of small forward that will stand on the shoulders of players that gravity would suggest they have no right to do. The type of small forward that will bring the crowd alive. This hole however will probably not be rectified overly soon. Robin Nahas shows promise but will need to do something special to find his way into the best 22 on a regular basis while Alroy Gilligan will be given time.
And of course there is the usual reliance on Troy Simmonds. If he stands up the Tigers will be much more likely to make the finals.
Bigstyle’s Best 22
FB: Newman, Thursfield, Moore
HB: Raines, McGuane, McMahon
C: Cousins, Tuck, Richardson
HF: Brown, Riewoldt, Cotchin
FF: Morton, Hughes, Tambling
Foll: Simmonds, Foley, Deledio
Inter: Graham, White, Thomson, Bowden
Emergencies: Rance, Edwards, Jackson
Ladder Prediction
6th – 9th
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