An AFL great has urged Melbourne to pursue a star key forward amid the club’s continued struggles in attack — naming a prolific premiership Tiger as the ideal prototype.
Demons best-and-fairest winner David Schwarz believes his former club should pursue a “Tom Lynch-style” spearhead to propel Melbourne’s premiership assault, amid Harrison Petty’s continued struggles as a forward-50 weapon.
The 24-year-old Petty has booted just three goals from 10 games as an attacker this season, prompting calls for the South Australian swingman to be moved into defence following the Dees’ shellacking at the hands of Fremantle last Sunday.
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Melbourne kicked seven goals against the Dockers in Alice Springs, with Tom McDonald (two majors) the side’s sole multiple goalkicker on the day. Petty managed one, while the Dees’ first and second leading goalkickers for the season, Bayley Fritsch and Kysaiah Pickett, were held goalless.
However, coming up against a decimated Collingwood forward-line on King’s Birthday next Monday, Simon Goodwin’s Demons might leave his structure unchanged one more time in hopes of a different outcome.
“It’s interesting — there’s the clash against Collingwood, and there’s the long-term for the rest of the year,” Herald Sun journalist Glenn McFarlane began on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle.
“They’re two very different things, because we know Collingwood’s got a very small forward line in that sense, because they’ve got everyone out. But I can tell you tonight that there’s a lot of internal and robust debate about where Harrison Petty plays for the rest of the season.
“They’re thrashing it out. I think the coach would prefer that he stays forward and stays forwards in that particular role. That’s where he’s pushed him, that’s where he wants to keep him in that sense, but I’m sure there (are) a few others internally who are wondering whether a return to defence might actually free him up and get him to play some good footy again, because that is the issue at the moment.
“He’s really struggling to make an impact on the game. We know that he almost left last year — what’s going to happen at the end of this year? That’s going to be the fascinating thing.”
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“He’s officially the worst-performed forward in the competition from Round 4 (based on AFL Player Ratings),” fellow Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph said of Petty’s torrid output as an attacking target.
“So, he’s gone from Chris Judd value — first (round draft pick) — to Peter Wright value; future fourth. They’re ruining his performance and his confidence and his trade value.
“They would love to re-sign him (but) he’s not prepared to re-sign. We’ll see what happens — he’s an unrestricted free agent next year.
“I’ve spoken with (David) Schwartz, a best-and-fairest winner at Melbourne, he says they have to throw him back,” Ralph continued.
“He’s never been a natural forward. (Schwartz) says they have a two-year window right now when you look at (Jake) Lever, (Steven) May, Petty hopefully is in that, their star midfielders and (Max) Gawn as a ruckman.”
Ralph relayed Schwartz’s thoughts on Melbourne’s list state-of-play.
“He says that they need to win premierships,” Ralph continued. “He says they are absolutely underachieving right now.
“As he said, go and buy a Tom Lynch-style of player.
“It may well be that you’ve got to give up a couple of first-rounders for an ageing player, a stopgap until Jacob van Rooyen matures — he’s only 21. He’s pup, he’s really struggling right now.
“None of (Adam) Tomlinson, (Tom) McDonald and Petty are the answers — they’re just good players, according to ‘Ox’.
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“Is he (Simon Goodwin) being strong or stubborn?” Ralph asked of the Dees coach’s hesitancy to swing Petty back.
“Everything that they have tried over the off-season has not failed (but), they brought in (Tom) Fullarton, he’s had no impact. They brought in Shane McAdam, of course he had hamstring and calf (injuries) — he’s had no impact.
“They’ve tried to ease up their gameplan — more fun as Christian Petracca told the guys on AFL 360 — that’s dramatically backfired.
“Is he (Goodwin) stubborn, is he dogmatic, or is he tinkering? They’re big challenges ahead, and this is as testing a time as Simon Goodwin has had, amongst many challenges in his career.”
After the 10th-placed Demons meet the Magpies on June 10, they have their mid-season bye before a Round 15 fixture against North Melbourne at the MCG.
Source Agencies
