Simon Buckley

[titan_uranus 25,219]

Sorry to all the Buckley fans out there, but he was shocking today. He just cannot dispose of the ball. He was torn apart by Wells in the last quarter. He couldn't keep up on the lead, he didn't show much pace at any time, and he missed multiple targets (though he certainly wasn't the only one). He just doesn't strike me as being a bright prospect for the future.

[Jarka 767]

We really don't have a choice this year, especially with injuries

[Doggo 32]

  titan_uranus said:

Sorry to all the Buckley fans out there, but he was shocking today. He just cannot dispose of the ball. He was torn apart by Wells in the last quarter. He couldn't keep up on the lead, he didn't show much pace at any time, and he missed multiple targets (though he certainly wasn't the only one). He just doesn't strike me as being a bright prospect for the future.

Agree that he wasn't too good in defence today, but I actually didn't think his disposal was too bad. I thought his kicking and decision making actually improved on last year, and according to the afl website, he had 15 disposals @ 87% efficiency- in the top 3 for us for the day.

[tez 6]

  Doggo said:

Agree that he wasn't too good in defence today, but I actually didn't think his disposal was too bad today. I thought his kicking and decision making actually improved on last year, and according to the afl website, he had 15 disposals @ 87% efficiency. In the top 3 for us for the day.

Thought same, what i noticed that when he got the ball he was either swamped or targets up field just were like parked cars or behind, not the worst and flet that more senior players need to have a good look at themselves after today more so the last quarter and some

[Eastie Boyz 0]

By the end of last year everyone was talking about how good he was going to be this year, then after one game you're writing him off?

[Demon16 69]

  Doggo said:

Agree that he wasn't too good in defence today, but I actually didn't think his disposal was too bad. I thought his kicking and decision making actually improved on last year, and according to the afl website, he had 15 disposals @ 87% efficiency- in the top 3 for us for the day.

agreed. i think he was the wrong man to play in defense, other than that i thought his game was ok.

[Yze_Magic 3]

Playing him out of defence is a joke.

Should be utilized as an attacking wing man, where the opposition are forced to match up on him.

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,360]

  Yze_Magic said:

Playing him out of defence is a joke.

Should be utilized as an attacking wing man, where the opposition are forced to match up on him.

I agree YM

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

  Yze_Magic said:

Playing him out of defence is a joke.

Should be utilized as an attacking wing man, where the opposition are forced to match up on him.

100% correct.

[Dannyz 3,051]

  Yze_Magic said:

Playing him out of defence is a joke.

Should be utilized as an attacking wing man, where the opposition are forced to match up on him.

Agree with that.

The last thing he needs is to have is the burden of tagging Wells.

[Demon Disciple 12,517]

No, he was useless today. How he is in the team before Sylvia is beyond me. Buckley's Achilles heel is his disposal and it was shocking today. What good is it when you can break the lines, but then give it up straight after.

[DeeM 42]

i don’t know why this topic was brought up at all. Last year he was a shining light for us, and he's had 1 bad game this year in a position he doesn’t play in and people are asking questions.......

There are a lot of other players we could be talking about here. I’m not the biggest Buckley fan, he didn’t have a great game, but he did do a couple of good things.

Lets wait till at least round 4 till we start asking questions about players. (all of them)

[Doggo 32]

  Demon Disciple said:

Buckley's Achilles heel is his disposal and it was shocking today. What good is it when you can break the lines, but then give it up straight after.

He turned the ball over just once today. Check the stats. Just one clanger and a disposal efficiency of 87%.

Agree it has been a huge weakness for him in the past, but today it wasn't an issue. The issue, as McLean4Brownlow has pointed out, was him being played out of position and subsequently being beaten there.

[titan_uranus 25,219]

I think I probably overplayed the disposal issue: today it wasn't his disposal that let him down. But whether or not he succeeds as a wingman (if he gets played there) will rely on his disposal.

[DEE32 100]

For Me he was the big dissapointment today, He was always lead to the ball, his disposal was poor, but what was most Dissapointing was his lack competitiveness one on one. He might have been out of his usual position but when your in the air to compete for the ball you have a go and do your best to bring it to ground. He did not!

[grazman 7,539]

  Yze_Magic said:

Playing him out of defence is a joke.

Should be utilized as an attacking wing man, where the opposition are forced to match up on him.

Even playing him as an attacking wingman he still needs to be accountable, he has no defensive side to his game.

[DeeM 42]

  grazman said:

Even playing him as an attacking wingman he still needs to be accountable, he has no defensive side to his game.

if this is true, than playing him out of defence was a good option, now he knows how to be acountable and will become a better player from it.

[grazman 7,539]

  Mclean4brownlow said:

if this is true, than playing him out of defence was a good option, now he knows how to be acountable and will become a better player from it.

:D

Unlikely. He was dropped for these issues last year, he improved and came back, he seems to have regressed.

[Jaded No More 68,976]

Grazman is right. It doesn't matter where you play these days, accountability is not an option, it's a must

Maybe Bailey is trying to instill that accountability into him by playing him in the backline?

[harry 1]

Don't know what game you guys were watching. Pretty sure he had more of the ball than Wells (Wells also didn't kick a goal). He showed a couple of flashes of brilliance. Anyway, regardless of how he played today, he's going to be a gun. Talk of 'persisting' with him or not is unbelievable to me.

[grazman 7,539]

  harry said:

Don't know what game you guys were watching. Pretty sure he had more of the ball than Wells (Wells also didn't kick a goal). He showed a couple of flashes of brilliance. Anyway, regardless of how he played today, he's going to be a gun. Talk of 'persisting' with him or not is unbelievable to me.

Nope Wells had 20 possessions and eight marks and was one of North's best, Buckley had 16 possessions and wasn't anywhere near Wells when he got his possessions. The defensive aspect of Buckley's game is a concern, he might be a gun one day, but he isn't yet.

[Lord Travis 10,816]

Buckley doesnt have a defensive bone in his body. To play him in backline is either the coach trying to force some accountability into his game, or it's just poor team management that they played him there. If it was a move by the coach, it failed. He was awful today, and wasnt anywhere near his man. Worst game of his I can remember since his debut year in 2007 where he barely got any touches.

His only asset is his pace. It's his weapon. His disposal is average, his decision making is average. All he can do is attack. If he's not playing that role, then he is a liability out there. He was woeful today. The only time he got the chance to pull off one of his trademark sprints, he tore through the middle, then put it straight down the throat of a Roo player while me and the supporters around me dropped our heads into our hands.

In 2007 one of my mates coined him as CK - Clanger King. Still hasn't shaken that name yet. And the stats lie about efficiency. If you handball to a team mate surrounded by players and he receives it, but is then pinged for holding the ball, it still counted as an effective handball, which it clearly wasn't. So don't bother bring those stats into the argument. Buckley does this alot, and rarely puts team mates to advantage. I love his pace, but really there are alot of things wrong with his game that are holding him and the team back.

[grazman 7,539]

  Lord Travis said:

To play him in backline is either the coach trying to force some accountability into his game, or it's just poor team management that they played him there. If it was a move by the coach, it failed. He was awful today, and wasnt anywhere near his man.

I suspect it had a lot more to do with Grimes and Bell both being injured.

[Lord Travis 10,816]

You'd hope they would play somewhere there who has a much better defensive game then? I mean the 2nd half of last season Buckley fired in the midfield averaging mid 20 disposals a match and really causing teams trouble with his pace. To not utilize that, and to play him completely against his natural game to his and the teams detriment just seems stupid.

[jacey 333]

  Lord Travis said:

You'd hope they would play somewhere there who has a much better defensive game then? I mean the 2nd half of last season Buckley fired in the midfield averaging mid 20 disposals a match and really causing teams trouble with his pace. To not utilize that, and to play him completely against his natural game to his and the teams detriment just seems stupid.

"Buckley hasn't got a defensive bone on his body" so it's doubly important to make him accountable.

If he doesn't learn to run the other way, He's out in my book.

I'll keep playing him, as this year is still a development year for MFC but he better start learning.