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samoht wrote: ↑Mon 17 Aug 2020 2:34pm
BR leaving a fast-developing and important young player like Battle out of the side and preferring Marsh or some other player over him at the start of the season, is just as bad as (or probably worse than) AR playing Longer over Marshall - what was it, for 1 game, only??
I mean, AR didn’t have much to go by with Marshall at AFL level - BR, on the other hand, already knew that Battle was tracking beautifully.
If we’re going to be fair and balanced ... BR got this terribly wrong.
As I understand it Marsh was brought in to tag tallish and quick players that Ratts wanted nullified.
Battle has a huge tanked, but is not quick. Battle may have done ok, or better anyway anyway. But one can understand the logic in the selection.
The selection that was not logical was bringing Geary back in to tag Stewart when Geary is a lot shorter and slower. Marsh would have been a better option for that match up. Ratts is obviously doing more than ok, but that tag selection was a brain fade.
Flying the World in comfort thanks to FF Points....
samoht wrote: ↑Mon 17 Aug 2020 2:34pm
BR leaving a fast-developing and important young player like Battle out of the side and preferring Marsh or some other player over him at the start of the season, is just as bad as (or probably worse than) AR playing Longer over Marshall - what was it, for 1 game, only??
I mean, AR didn’t have much to go by with Marshall at AFL level - BR, on the other hand, already knew that Battle was tracking beautifully.
If we’re going to be fair and balanced ... BR got this terribly wrong.
No idea as a supporter, but its not uncommon for young guys to get ahead of themselves or to need a spell out of the team to get them performing or doing what the coach requires.
That couple of games out has not hurt his desire or form, so I'd back the coackroach in on that one.
Proudly assuming the title of forum Oracle and serving as the inaugural Saintsational ‘weak as piss brigade’ President.
Spot on Joffa, there may well have been reasons for his omission that we will never know, and the coach is never going to tell us either. It may not have been attitude, it could have been a niggle...
BR has made it clear that he sees Josh Battle as a swingman - in my younger days he would have been called a "follower" like the great Ron Barassi, and is starting to read the play really well.
The comparison to Brendon Goddard is deserving, they're the same size and if he models his game on BJ he'll become a star!
Battle is one of the big improvers under BR and most emphatically one of the first players selected each week.
"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) American writer and humorist
Sanctorum wrote: ↑Tue 18 Aug 2020 1:09pm
Spot on Joffa, there may well have been reasons for his omission that we will never know, and the coach is never going to tell us either. It may not have been attitude, it could have been a niggle...
BR has made it clear that he sees Josh Battle as a swingman - in my younger days he would have been called a "follower" like the great Ron Barassi, and is starting to read the play really well.
The comparison to Brendon Goddard is deserving, they're the same size and if he models his game on BJ he'll become a star!
Battle is one of the big improvers under BR and most emphatically one of the first players selected each week.
If he can be as good as Goddard then he is going very well.
Want to watch the most boring and devious thing on television and probably in mankind's history, then tune into a daily live press conference at 11am.
Thought it was a great tactical ploy by Ratts using Battle on the wing last week. Essendon have poor wingers and this allowed Battle to use his run to drop back into defence and be the extra intercept player or allow for a tall marking option coming out of defence. Battle was even able to push forward and take an intercept mark and kick a nice goal.
With Carlisle coming back this week, Battle will most likely be used forward more against Brisbane to stretch their defence.
I think this was going to be a learning year for Josh. While he was great at CHB last year, with Carlisle and Howard coming in it was going to take some time for him to find his spot and play to his strengths. I think the weekend showed what lies ahead for him - the ability to roam the ground and take marks at either end. The best part is that he will only get better.
[quote=saynta post_id=1861552 time=1597739993 user_id=126]
Don't worry. Will only take one ordinary game for the usual suspects to start poting him.
[/quote]
For some reason I don’t think Battle is the “have a bad day” type. I think it’s just onwards and upwards for Josh. Thinking about that as I right it it’s probably because he is so solid with his hands and a very good kick. His running allows him to get everywhere and his tackles hard. Hope I’m right
Thought it was a great tactical ploy by Ratts using Battle on the wing last week. Essendon have poor wingers and this allowed Battle to use his run to drop back into defence and be the extra intercept player or allow for a tall marking option coming out of defence. Battle was even able to push forward and take an intercept mark and kick a nice goal.
With Carlisle coming back this week, Battle will most likely be used forward more against Brisbane to stretch their defence.
Good post.
That's the great thing about having someone like Josh in our team. He can play not one or two positions but literally - many of them. I read another poster refer to him as a R D Barassi style follower but, I'd suggest that's not really accurate (I'd say a Follower is a Jim Stynes type player). Josh is more like a modern version of the late-1970s / 80's player who was termed a 'Utility' (which is how WCE described Adam Hunter - the most effective and consistent swingman of the current century).
I actually think that Josh actually plays and reminds me of one of the greatest Saints of all - Trevor Barker. He's not yet got Barks' high marking ability but he has a number of other attributes - tough, great tackler, play forward/back even when undersized and excellent endurance.
What a great asset it is being able to deploy a resource to another area of the ground - in-game - to be able to exploit an oppo's weakness or shore-up an area of our team.
Thought it was a great tactical ploy by Ratts using Battle on the wing last week. Essendon have poor wingers and this allowed Battle to use his run to drop back into defence and be the extra intercept player or allow for a tall marking option coming out of defence. Battle was even able to push forward and take an intercept mark and kick a nice goal.
With Carlisle coming back this week, Battle will most likely be used forward more against Brisbane to stretch their defence.
Good post.
That's the great thing about having someone like Josh in our team. He can play not one or two positions but literally - many of them. I read another poster refer to him as a R D Barassi style follower but, I'd suggest that's not really accurate (I'd say a Follower is a Jim Stynes type player). Josh is more like a modern version of the late-1970s / 80's player who was termed a 'Utility' (which is how WCE described Adam Hunter - the most effective and consistent swingman of the current century).
I actually think that Josh actually plays and reminds me of one of the greatest Saints of all - Trevor Barker. He's not yet got Barks' high marking ability but he has a number of other attributes - tough, great tackler, play forward/back even when undersized and excellent endurance.
What a great asset it is being able to deploy a resource to another area of the ground - in-game - to be able to exploit an oppo's weakness or shore-up an area of our team.
It would seem we both have a man crush on Josh. Straight off the bat be looks like the ultimate and genuine Aussie Rules footballer. And he's getting better with each game. By comparison Barrassi was a plodder and wouldn't have made it in the modern era but Josh could become the games greatest swingman and possibly better than Hunter. At times I've thought he could become our Elliot Yeo although Yeo has really settled into the midfield role after initially being used as a utility. Josh is a little taller and a little less agile at this stage than Yeo and so he may remain a utility that is more versitile than Yeo as he mainly played defence to mid, whereas Josh can also play mid to forward. So time will tell if he can settle into a full time midfield role but I don't think he's suited to just that position soley like Yeo has.
Is flying under the radar as potentially our biggest superstar.
Cant wait to see him playing live again in the full strength comp.
Secret Kiel wrote: ↑Thu 20 Aug 2020 8:15am
Cant wait to see him playing live again in the full strength comp.
3 more sleeps
Nah I mean LIVE, like on the boundary in front of a packed MCG where the boy goes clunk-bang and turns to his team mates and says that's how how you do it boys. For all the recent talk about Steely being captain, I reckon this kid is one his teammates will want to go to war with. He is my pick for our next spiritual leader, ala Lenny.
Secret Kiel wrote: ↑Thu 20 Aug 2020 8:15am
Cant wait to see him playing live again in the full strength comp.
3 more sleeps
Nah I mean LIVE, like on the boundary in front of a packed MCG where the boy goes clunk-bang and turns to his team mates and says that's how how you do it boys. For all the recent talk about Steely being captain, I reckon this kid is one his teammates will want to go to war with. He is my pick for our next spiritual leader, ala Lenny.
1000% agree. I can see the merit in Jack Steele (he's doing everything right) but - if we're looking for a long term Captain (a la North with Carey, Ess with Hird, Bris with Voss - who were all very early 20's when appointed) - then Josh is our man. I've been pumping this idea with my Saints mates since his return in R4 this year.
I know this present generation is all about leadership groups and buy-in etc but, I'd love Ratts to just pick his man and anoint him. My fear is that the players would somehow find a way to vote for Seb
Thought it was a great tactical ploy by Ratts using Battle on the wing last week. Essendon have poor wingers and this allowed Battle to use his run to drop back into defence and be the extra intercept player or allow for a tall marking option coming out of defence. Battle was even able to push forward and take an intercept mark and kick a nice goal.
With Carlisle coming back this week, Battle will most likely be used forward more against Brisbane to stretch their defence.
Good post.
That's the great thing about having someone like Josh in our team. He can play not one or two positions but literally - many of them. I read another poster refer to him as a R D Barassi style follower but, I'd suggest that's not really accurate (I'd say a Follower is a Jim Stynes type player). Josh is more like a modern version of the late-1970s / 80's player who was termed a 'Utility' (which is how WCE described Adam Hunter - the most effective and consistent swingman of the current century).
I actually think that Josh actually plays and reminds me of one of the greatest Saints of all - Trevor Barker. He's not yet got Barks' high marking ability but he has a number of other attributes - tough, great tackler, play forward/back even when undersized and excellent endurance.
What a great asset it is being able to deploy a resource to another area of the ground - in-game - to be able to exploit an oppo's weakness or shore-up an area of our team.
It would seem we both have a man crush on Josh. Straight off the bat be looks like the ultimate and genuine Aussie Rules footballer. And he's getting better with each game. By comparison Barrassi was a plodder and wouldn't have made it in the modern era but Josh could become the games greatest swingman and possibly better than Hunter. At times I've thought he could become our Elliot Yeo although Yeo has really settled into the midfield role after initially being used as a utility. Josh is a little taller and a little less agile at this stage than Yeo and so he may remain a utility that is more versitile than Yeo as he mainly played defence to mid, whereas Josh can also play mid to forward. So time will tell if he can settle into a full time midfield role but I don't think he's suited to just that position soley like Yeo has.
Is flying under the radar as potentially our biggest superstar.
Cant wait to see him playing live again in the full strength comp.
A Qld local by the name of George posted 20+ photos of the main training session in Maroochydore yesterday on a Saints FB group. All of the photos of Battle showed him in a group with Bytel, Steele, Ross, Ryder and Jones. It may not be this week but, I suspect we're going to be seeing Josh as part of the centre square set-up more and more as this season goes on.
I mentioned on another thread last week that I thought Josh would end up being a tall wingman due to his endurance but equally, if he was able to be trained in it then there's no reason as to why he couldn't develop into our version of Fyfe, Cripps, Parker, Kennedy-type big bodied mid. I fully take on board other posters' views that he may not have the agility to become an A-grader in that role by my God - he's got all the size & endurance attributes to become that type of player.
We all know he's a fast learner - he was only thrown into the defensive group in the December of pre-season 2019 after it became clear that Carlisle and Robbo weren't going to play much. Developed into a very competent intercept marking back with only half a pre-season under his belt in that role.
Saintmatt wrote: ↑Fri 21 Aug 2020 1:52pm
... the players would somehow find a way to vote for Seb
maybe they value his leadership - ?
Fair call. You could only assume so then.
Personally though, I wouldn't roll out of bed to get Seb bread and milk from the shops let alone run through a brick wall on a footy field for him. Feels like our leaders of recent times have been more about being solid citizens, good preparers than elite on-field footy skills and output.
Understand completely however that others - incl the playing group - may feel differently.
