Brown & Frost?

[Darkstranger]

So watching the Eagles game now on Fox footy and both missed the second half with injuries ... Not the reason for the thread but do you think the 2 of them who I would assume are our 2 key position backmen, are they good enough and will they lead us to our next flag?

My thoughts not strong or agile enough..

[rad]

I would think Brown and Reid are our 2 key defenders. They have lead us to a flag therefore why change it. I am a strong believer Reid needs to play back, we need a strong defence.

We need a Maxy replacement for mine.

[Pies2016]

Good thread !
My thoughts are that every team list needs a monster backman to play on a monster forward. Im ok with brown in that role and it also may mean that he doesnt play every week either against teans with the more mobile KPPs.
Im very happy with frosts development. Supposedly put on muscle mass over summer and i thought he held his own in the position in his debut season and only really dropped off when he suffered that knee injury that he played through with. I thought i read that frost was the only player to play every pies game last year and thats a big ask for a KPP debutant.
We would love them to get more of the ball but not many teams have a harry taylor, michael johnson type on their list.
I think the key to their futures, like any key position back man in modern footy, is up field pressure. If the pies mid field apply more pressure than we did last year ( and that wont be hard ) our two key position players are going to be much better off, no matter who they may be.
They arent world beaters but throw in reid, keefe and maybe darcy moore in a year or two and im comfortable with them being part of our climb back up the ladder. ( but thats as far as i will go : )

[Tannin]

Fair enough to ask the question, but key backs isn't where the problem is. We will be fine for key backmen. Frost is AFL standard and still just starting out. Put him down for 200 in black and white. Brown ... well, I'm not the greatest Nathan Brown fan, but FFS he's a premiership full back and, if reasonably injury-free, there is no reason he shouldn't have five years left. Keeffe held us together when every other bugger was injured; he's young yet, still learning, and now in his second year back from an ACL - i.e., can be expected to be much closer to his best form now. And of course there is a fellow named Reid who has won a flag and an All Australian. He can probably play a bit. There are three or four untried kids who might be able to fill a hole if they had to (just as Frost did when he was our only choice). Moore is one, Gault could swap ends at a pinch. Then you have a few good mediums who have been known to play tall when they have to (Tooves and Goldie). Not your first choice-talls those two, but hell, we are talking tenth and eleventh in line, how many key position defenders are you thinking we might injure all at once? And finally we have at leas three young medium defenders who might grow into a role playing as medium-tall types: Oxley, Langdon, and 'Berg.

If we have a problem finding key backs, no-one will notice, 'coz if it ever crops up we will all be talking about the Ebola epidemic which just took out 28 senior players in a week.

If you want to talk about a problem we might have, keep looking in the same direction you are looking and wait 30 minutes - 'cause after quarter time when we swap ends, you'll be looking in exactly the right place.

[Bob Sugar]

Frost is our starting FB as far as I'm concerned, but we all know how talented Brown is, but his LTI gave Frost the opportunity and now Brown has to take it back, that's football guys.


I honestly don't see room for both though.

[ronrat]

Brown is as slow as treacle. But his mind his sharp and he just matches up so well on the gorillas. He plays to his strengths whereas Frost has potential to be that Jason Cloke/Maxy spare man we have used so well. And by spare man I mean the bloke used because Cloke has been double teamed yet again in the other other end.

[droversdog65]

For those with doubts on Brown's ability and speed just revisit the '10 replay GF again. He simply smashed 'the golden boy' - he's not terribly slow otherwise he couldn't have done that but he has had injuries.

As regards the snowman well geeze he has done all that could be asked and more as a first year KPP and will only get better.

[Tannin]

Everybody goes back to Brown smashing Sookwaldt in '10. Yep, the lad did brilliantly, but the Sook was coming off injury, playing at 60%, and far, far below his best. Brown, to his great credit, figured out a strategy to outfox a significantly faster player and we won a flag, but we shouldn't let that fool us into thinking that Brown beat a champion at the top of his form; he beat a shadow of the champ. Beat him well, yes, but the Sook was playing on three cylinders.

I retain an open mind about Brown. He's quicker than some people say, and he is both smart and experienced. Should he be our starting full back? On balance, I'm thinking yes, but mostly because Frost can play a roving role further up the ground and I'm not sure that Brown can.

[jackcass]

Very happy with a combination of Frost, Brown, and Keeffe in the KPD posts. Apparently Reid will also be in that mix. I think we have greater need for him forward but can understand the reasoning of playing him back, at least initially.

As others have indicated, defense isn't our issue. Break even or better in the midfield and we'll show much improved performance across the board.

[Darkstranger]

Some good comments, only issue I have is that a lot of the comments talk about the two coupled or complimenting other defenders along side them, I still think one on one for big blokes they don't instill a lot of confidence in getting the job done

[droversdog65]

[jackcass]

[droversdog65]

Again no contest jack, we have the bones of a fine backline.

I believe our injury run - particularly players like Swan and Pendles being out for long periods or carrying injuries has portrayed the backline in a poor light.

Without class in the midfield the ball was often sent rocketing straight for our backline and even when we won the centre battle the delivery into the forward line containing only and injury carrying Cloke and really a 3rd forward in White simply wasnt good enough and again it often rocketed out and back to the backline.

Simply put our backline has been under immense pressure these last couple of years and only really started to rupture in the last half of last season.

Consider for a moment the effect of a fit Brown, Reid, Swan, Pendles and Cloke will have on the team balance and skill level and be comforted that in that circumstance our backline won't be under anywhere near the pressure it has been lately.

[GoWoodsmen]

[RudeBoy]

Brown, Reid, Frost and Langdon are automatic selections in defence imo, with Frost playing the Maxwell type role. The two other small defensive spots will be out of Williams, Toovey, Varcoe, Sinclair and possibly Maynard or Manteit.