So you won't be disappointed if Jack Watts ends up no good then?

And speaking of "burdening the player with expectation" - have a look how much hype there has been from MFC supporters about Watts just cos he was pick 1.

Sorry but supporters expectations do correlate with the position a player was taken in the draft.

Agree.

Its unfortunate that a player chosen No 1 or thereabouts will have the expectations of the media, the club that selected him and supporters. However, if a No 1 or first round pick ends up either not playing senior AFL football or plays as a fringe player than cannot hold a regular spot then questions should be rightly asked about the recruitment and development of the footballer. In some cases its quite appropriate to question the attitude and commitment of the actual player.

I am expecting more from a footballer like Watts than I would a player like Jurrah. If Watts becomes a star and Jurrah is better then fantastic. But if Watts ends up a clunker based on lack of performance then the Football department needs to be answerable for the poor decisions. That sort of error can damage your playing list for a decade if they get it wrong.

when the Eagles had Judd Cousins and Kerr starting in the middle who was the tagger? if were good enough he will be to busy attacking

Tyson Stenglein was their tagger, and he did a bloody good job of it.

I reckon you only need one tagger in a side and Bartram should be the one for us. The rest of the midfield has to be strong enough and talented enough to win their own ball, but be accountable for their opponents defensively when we don't have it.

Dunn has height pace endurance and is good around goals. He can run a big defender up the ground or drag a small defender back to the goalsquare.

I agree with Mo, he showed a bit in 06 playing that half forward role, and given the age and inexperience of Watts at this stage, our best setup would be to have Miller deep with Bate and Dunn at half forward, Robertson starting deep near Miller, and the crumbing guys starting up high then getting in.

The simple fact is that after the retirement of Neitz and Robbos injury (please come back as good Rusty!) that we need the Dunns, Bates, Sylvias, Newtons or Millers to stand up an say "kick it to me. I can do the job". Watts is a good talent on the way but how it works out for him won't be known for 3 years. In the mean time if these 20-80 game players can't or won't do this then get rid of them because they've all got the talent but do they have the drive? If they don't then send 'em to Freo for a couple of top ten draft picks.

Dunn has height pace endurance and is good around goals. He can run a big defender up the ground or drag a small defender back to the goalsquare.

I'm starting to get concerned, 2 games in and more of the same from Dunn. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying Dunn has played badly in either game so far but I would have expected to see a little more of Dunn up forward for the exact reasons above.

Simply having him as a run with player in the NAB comps to me is strange as we demonstrated again we have a lack of leading, marking forwards without mentioning that guy with the initials N____ton!

As I have stated before I really rate Dunn as a forward and surely deserves a chance to prove himself there. Even if it becomes a changing role with a bruce/green type role or even bate, there has to be more value there then a run with player in the middle. I wonder if beamer and/or buckley had have played on SAT if Dunn would have been in the middle or forward.

Dunn was definitely given some game time up forward and I think there is a fair arguement that he didn't have enough to see what his full potential could be. In any case, Bailey has identified a very purposeful roll as a negater which Dunn seems to have taken on-board. Despite what others think I personally reckon this has improved his football and I think that is what Bailey was thinking about. There is no doubt that this year the focus is about consolidating Dunn's negating roll and adding a few strings to his bow. There was an article around the time this thread started (apologies if someone has already mentioned this) which outlines his MO. Given our limited options up forward I wouldn't be dissapointed if Dunn was moved forward but I think the club has concentrated on Dunn's specific roll knowing full well that our forward line is not up to scratch and the other forward options are going to take time to develop so I can't see them changing anything. Regardless of how you look at it, the negating roll he played last year did improve his footy and if he can add an attacking side to this then he could be a real headache for opposition teams, good attacking tagger types are reasonably rare.

Good question. He can be utilised in a number of spots, but seems to be excelling at the tagger role. Which indicates to me whilst he is an option, he's not very handy up forward.

He is a good tagger, and good taggers sometimes extend themselves to be decent players. That is what I expect of Dunn.

Yeah Dunn is now a tagger and a part-time forward. In fact, I hope that he spends a bit more time up forward this season (when he's not tagging) and kicks a few goals. About 30+ goals would be a happy return from him.

Yeah Dunn is now a tagger and a part-time forward. In fact, I hope that he spends a bit more time up forward this season (when he's not tagging) and kicks a few goals. About 30+ goals would be a happy return from him.

30+ goal assists as well and we will be well on our way.

I really like the Ling/Dunn comparison. It may never eventuate, but Dunn should be modelling himself on Ling - an aggressive tagger capable of negating an opponent while doing some damage the other way. Note they have a similar build.

I always liked the guy as a player but he really won me over when he bugged Harvey into an Oscar winning perfomance last year. Never hurts to have a player that can drive the best opp midfielder to distraction without getting silly about it. And forget the frees/report from that game that was just umpiring at it's very worst. I look foward to the rematch.

I can remember a game last year here a couple of opporsition supporters were getting into him before a ball was bounced. I guess thats a good thing