Aitken Defense

[RedV Resurgence]

Can we not get Mat Cooper to teach Aitken to say on his man when defending? He pushes in and tries and take the inside runner that is covered by his inside marker.

The other thing he does is he turns his right shoulder forward ( so he faces towards the middle of the field)- this means a long pass and he is stuck without the ability to laterally move as his back is now facing where the ball and the runner are going.

This needs to be fixed or he needs to be dropped before the finals. opposition coaches will target him.

 

[Ben_Kusto_magic]

To me he looks very upright when he goes in for a tackle making him easier to bump off. He should watch a few Mark coyne videos

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

Can we not get Mat Cooper to teach Aitken to say on his man when defending? He pushes in and tries and take the inside runner that is covered by his inside marker.

The other thing he does is he turns his right shoulder forward ( so he faces towards the middle of the field)- this means a long pass and he is stuck without the ability to laterally move as his back is now facing where the ball and the runner are going.

This needs to be fixed or he needs to be dropped before the finals. opposition coaches will target him.

He has been in FG for a number of years now.
No improvement - time to look elsewhere.
Cooper was one of the best defensive centres of his time but can you imagine that the coach is a representative centre.
Why hasn't he been able to fix Aitken?
I'm afraid he just does not have the instinct or the nous to read the play and make the right decisions.

 

[Frank Facer]

I wonder if our coaching staff are aware of Aitken's deficiencies in defence? Many people on this forum were well aware of his deficiencies last season. It looks like most other clubs are aware of his deficiencies.

Aitken having those few good games at the start of the season and even being spoken of as a possible origin candidate cemented his spot for the rest of the year. Mary refuses to drop him or anyone else for that matter, so we need a new coach who can select the right team.

BTW Aitken is too small for the back row.

We need to offload him ASAP, while there still may be some interest in his signature, but will them being aware of his defensive deficiencies put other clubs off signing him?

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

I wonder if our coaching staff are aware of Aitken's deficiencies in defence? Many people on this forum were well aware of his deficiencies last season. It looks like most other clubs are aware of his deficiencies.

Aitken having those few good games at the start of the season and even being spoken of as a possible origin candidate cemented his spot for the rest of the year. Mary refuses to drop him or anyone else for that matter, so we need a new coach who can select the right team.

BTW Aitken is too small for the back row.

We need to offload him ASAP, while there still may be some interest in his signature, but will them being aware of his defensive deficiencies put other clubs off signing him?

Other clubs must know all about his defensive issues because they actively exploit them. You may find a coach who reckons he can improve Aitkens game, but if he can't defend or pass or jump, surely its time we let him go.

 

[Frank Facer]

I was just thinking that the only position that I think Aitken could have a future in first grade would be hooker. He has good front on defence. He would obviously have to learn the art of dummy half play. He looks tough enough to play in the forwards, but lacks the size for backrow.

BTW I don't think that Aitken has a future at hooker for us. What got me thinking of the idea of Aitken at hooker ,was thinking of the idea of Hunt playing hooker and having a replacement come on and give him a rest during the game. I couldn't think of anyone else except Mann. Field would also be a very dangerous dummy half to bring on 10 minutes before halftime.

 

[muzby]

I was just thinking that the only position that I think Aitken could have a future in first grade would be hooker.

Don't hookers need to be able to pass?

 

[ViceVersa]

I was just thinking that the only position that I think Aitken could have a future in first grade would be hooker. He has good front on defence. He would obviously have to learn the art of dummy half play. He looks tough enough to play in the forwards, but lacks the size for backrow.

BTW I don't think that Aitken has a future at hooker for us. What got me thinking of the idea of Aitken at hooker ,was thinking of the idea of Hunt playing hooker and having a replacement come on and give him a rest during the game. I couldn't think of anyone else except Mann. Field would also be a very dangerous dummy half to bring on 10 minutes before halftime.

Lol... You've come up with some shockers in the past... What's next? Field in the front row?

 

[BLM01]

Can we not get Mat Cooper to teach Aitken to say on his man when defending? He pushes in and tries and take the inside runner that is covered by his inside marker.

The other thing he does is he turns his right shoulder forward ( so he faces towards the middle of the field)- this means a long pass and he is stuck without the ability to laterally move as his back is now facing where the ball and the runner are going.

This needs to be fixed or he needs to be dropped before the finals. opposition coaches will target him.

I am no Matt Cooper but there is 2 main resons for that. No Communication with inside half (likley Hunt) and / or from winger and lack of trust in same. And I thought Cooper does have a role with coaching the centres. Dont forget our beloved coach was a pretty good centre too. Go Figure!
As far as being targeted, this has been happening since the beginning of 2017 where defensive issues were highlighted on right hand side. Work in progress

 

[getsmarty]

Do we really need a thread on this??? Discussed enough elsewhere...

 

[giboz71]

We’ve persisted with Lafai and Aitken for a few years now and they’ve managed to eek out contract extensions by playing well here and there and fooling all and sundry to believe they are bona fide FG centres.

They are not. Can we please stop pretending they are.

We have Mann, Lomax and Herbert and even Marsters available who would all be better options.

We’ve seen the light and finally moved Nighty. Time to pull the pin on the other passengers on our backiline.

Would be nice to have backs people fear for a change?

 

[ViceVersa]

People need to understand. The reason why Aitken comes off his line, is because he's forced to make a decision with the 'up & in' defence we have. Haven't you heard for example Andrew Johns talk about how the 'slide' defence won't work in the modern era against 'block plays'. The most effective way to shut down block plays is to 'jam up'. See how it worked against us when we played Warriors and Panthers earlier in the year...

 

[muzby]

Do we really need a thread on this??? Discussed enough elsewhere...

On the plus side it took 10 posts before someone used the L word..

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

We’ve persisted with Lafai and Aitken for a few years now and they’ve managed to eek out contract extensions by playing well here and there and fooling all and sundry to believe they are bona fide FG centres.

They are not. Can we please stop pretending they are.

We have Mann, Lomax and Herbert and even Marsters available who would all be better options.

We’ve seen the light and finally moved Nighty. Time to pull the pin on the other passengers on our backiline.

Would be nice to have backs people fear for a change?

Your absolutely correct mate.....couldnt have put it better myself

 

[Dragsters]

Don't hookers need to be able to pass?

...and um, tackle...

 

[BLM01]

I was just thinking that the only position that I think Aitken could have a future in first grade would be hooker. He has good front on defence. He would obviously have to learn the art of dummy half play. He looks tough enough to play in the forwards, but lacks the size for backrow.

BTW I don't think that Aitken has a future at hooker for us. What got me thinking of the idea of Aitken at hooker ,was thinking of the idea of Hunt playing hooker and having a replacement come on and give him a rest during the game. I couldn't think of anyone else except Mann. Field would also be a very dangerous dummy half to bring on 10 minutes before halftime.

Ha...dummy half, he'd run each tackle and try and bust through em. That is his instinct and go to play. No one would see the ball. He bombed a try last week (in the first half I think) if he had of kept passing back inside where we had numbers in a scrambling Tigers defense instead of playing bulldozer.

 

[Bests Golden Boots]

“Aitken” and “defence” should never be used in the same sentence........unless there’s a “lack of” or “turnstile” used in the middle.

 

[dannyt]

Don't hookers need to be able to pass?

How do you explain Mitch Rein?

 

[nontime111]

I think Aitken is the worst player in the team and must be cut
hes had more than enough time to prove himself he simply cannot defend , Mann would bury him for consistency if given that spot so would Lomax. Next year if were serious we need 2 fresh centres as Lafia does the odd good thing but has too many bad games and is far too slow.
Just get Mann and Lomax into the centres and well see a huge gush of fresh energy and free flowing football.

 

[emack]

The title of this thread is an "oxymoron"...................