I think the key to a really good backline is to have guys that defend first and foremost. Then they need to be attacking when we have it. All 6 of them. Opposition sides need to have pressure on them the entire time when we have the footy. It makes them have doubts of when to attack and when to defend.
When we have players like Astbury, Batchelor, Hunt, and Ellis in our backline sides know that when they get the footy its 99% of the time going to be a slow play, a kick sideways and backwards.
Some on here think Batchelor is a good defender and I agree he does ok at that but he is next to useless on the way out. Same goes for Astbury, he is to slow to move the footy on and to slow to link up on the rebound. The other two just are not good at either.
We need to find 6 guys that can defend really well but can also put the opposition under pressure when we have it.
We have Rance that is the best KPD in the game and he is not afraid to move the footy when he has it. He makes things happen because he thinks quickly which intern makes the players up the field move and give him an option. Creating run and overlap and easier entries into our forwardline.
We have Grimes, he can play on smalls or talls which is super important but he also tries to move the ball on. He makes some mistakes but his good outweighs his bad by a long shot.
We have McIntosh who seems to be ok at defending on mid to smaller guys but needs to work on playing on bigger guys. But he also is very good at helping move the ball quickly on transition.
We need one more tall defender that can play the roll like Grimes. A guy that can play on smalls and talls. We need a guy that can change opponents in a split second and can compete with either size forward so we can cover each other when teams create overlap and a loose man.
We also need two smaller defenders that can hold the Eddie Betts types but can run and get involved. It would be a huge advantage if we could use Lids in defense as the 5 defender as he can do just about any roll.
The other guy on our list at present is Conca. If he could get his body right and settle in down back I think he could make a decent smaller defender. He has a good crack, he defends pretty well and he really needs to own a position because he doesn't have many options left. I think he showed in the pre season he could potentially be a good running defender.
And Yarran is the 6th defender.
So it looks something like this
Grimes Rance Conca
Lids McIntosh Yarran
That is 6 guys that can all defend but just as important, 6 guys that can all contribute when we have the footy.
If we could get Hurley next year, Lids moves back forward, McIntosh goes to HB and Hurley the CHF.
Not to shabby!!
