Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

To be honest, I would like to see Josh in the forward line more, as of next year.

Johnson#26 wrote:Every time Fraser is up forward, we look much more dangerous. He is a forward, and a makeshift ruckman like Rocca and

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Mark Richardson 

in the mid 90's. He can do a good job, but will become our next full forward. Richards is good enough to do 90% of the ruck work now.

Don't bring the giraffe into this dicussion!

Whats wrong with Richo? He was a solid ruckman/defender in his time.

A thing in Fraser's favor is that he is a great leader.

Yeah, not sure what the 3D was actually talking about there. Richo was a very honest, and hard working footballer. Not classy, but honest.

Which is the role that Fraser could play in the ruck.

I agree Josh should stand up next year.

I'm not sure why Josh didnt' keep improving this year, injuries maybe or the wierd and not-so-wonderful preseason the boys went through, but you're right when you say he didn't take the next step. I'm not sure why you keep asking for consistency Joel - he's pretty consistent IMo, and every now and then he has a pretty good game on top of that, what I'd like to see is the level at which he is consistent raised. And he will.

When Fraser is in the forward line, we benefit so much because he is the number one ruckman at Collingwood, he suffers in the middle cause of his body strength and weight, but around the grounds he's pretty damn good IMO.

Those who say Josh wont be a good ruckman are a little premature IMO and I think you'll see he will be an excellent ruckman, and we will be blessed with a great rucking combination.

He will certainly not be trade bait, just sit back and watch the kid mature. It'll be a fun ride

- Ben

On 3AW today there was mention of Fraser being traded (by a caller) and they said it would never happen.

I don't think he is consistent at all. Well okay, maybe he has been consistently average, but I want him to be consistently good - to very good.

Like I said, he has time on his side, but he can't take any backward steps. He has to keep progressing.

Johnson#26 wrote:On 3AW today there was mention of Fraser being traded (by a caller) and they said it would never happen.

pffft!. You hear shit from callers all the time. None of the shit they say is ever true. It's probably some dickhead trying to stir shit up.

How good will Josh actually be? Some believe he is not a ruckman, and more of a rover (if you know what I mean). IMO, he could be very good as a full forward/wingman. He is not a ruckman, and never will be. We always look a hell of a lot more dangerous when he is up forward, especially one-on-one. With Richards developing well, Fraser will continue to spend more time up forward. However, I feel (particuarly in the Wizard Cup) that we should use Fraser on the wing. Half of the game up forweard and half in the middle. He plays very well on his knees, so lets see how well he goes with a free reign.

Your thoughts?

The biggest problem I see with Josh at this stage is he plays his best footy when playing ruck, however he is beaten at his primary objective. Being good around the ground counts for little when you give the opposition so much at stoppages.

Somehow we have to take his rucking play and harness it in another position. He is still totally unproven up forward with a direct opponent and playing him off a wing would see a more agile direct opponent able to use the space to run off him. Johnno, there is no such thing as a free reign when your not playing in the ruck. He will immediately lose all the freedom and space he could find in that position and be made accountable.

Will be very interesting to see what position the match-commitee decide Josh will play next season.

If Guy Richards and Cameron Cloke can handle the ruck Josh Fraser would be very damaging as a half-forward alongside Chris Tarrant, with Anthony Rocca playing out of full-forward.

The new ruck rules will help him out.

So did the old ones. No more excuses for Josh this year. We know what he's capable of now it's time for him to deliver consistantly.

I dont reckon Josh is in a much different boat to McGough. Richards and Cloke are going to be breathing down his neck next year and will end up trampling him. The pressure is on to perform and if he doesnt find a place in the line up soon to excell at it wouldnt be hard seeing him in another clubs colours would it?