Bennell pulled out of another contest

[Hatchman 538]

Not sure why this has not received any mentions.

In the last quarter on Friday night Bennell failed to put his body on the line. The ball was loose in front of Bennell, a bulldog player came sliding in and Bennell jumped over him instead of attacking the ball. Clearly chose not to contest the footy. I watched the replay again last night to make sure.

I think he has great skill and speed, and hopefully can be come an important player at Melbourne, but after this one I'd send him back to the VFL this week to work on his attitude.

If he had of tried to dive in he would have had a 99% chance of being seriously injured because that Bulldog player was a heck of a lot bigger.

Anyone who has played the game, in those conditions, would have done the same thing given the size of Bennell and the dogs player.

[13thflag 0]

I wish people would leave this poor guy alone! Whats next he runs through the banner wrong? so what give the guy a break

[Guest Rojik of the Arctic]

The only possible outcome would have been to hurt himself or the other bloke if he hadn't have jumped as he did. There is absolutely no way he could've had a significant impact on the contest in the split second he reacted.

He hasn't been allowed to forget about what happened in the Collingwood game (which is probably fair enough), but now it seems we are just looking for instances of doing the wrong thing that just aren't there. Ridiculous thread.

Agreed. I bagged him for the short steps in the Collingwood game but since then I think he has been fine. There is nothing wrong with avoiding the hit to take the ball as the smaller, more mercurial players do on a regular basis. It is when you avoid the hit and give up or don't want the ball that there is a worry. Jamie will be a good player for us as long is we remember that he wasn't drafted to go the kamikaze like some others.

[Nasher 33,607]

Agreed. I bagged him for the short steps in the Collingwood game but since then I think he has been fine. There is nothing wrong with avoiding the hit to take the ball as the smaller, more mercurial players do on a regular basis. It is when you avoid the hit and give up or don't want the ball that there is a worry. Jamie will be a good player for us as long is we remember that he wasn't drafted to go the kamikaze like some others.

It's not just small/mercurial players though. Any player of any size would be mad for not avoiding that kind of contact, because the guy sliding along the ground has all the momentum. There's good times for putting your body on the line and times that are just plain stupid.

I agree with the principle of your post though (of course, since it's agreeing with mine )

[titan_uranus 24,631]

It's not just small/mercurial players though. Any player of any size would be mad for not avoiding that kind of contact, because the guy sliding along the ground has all the momentum. There's good times for putting your body on the line and times that are just plain stupid.

The thing is, you get players like Joel Selwood, Brett Kirk etc. who, though they're considerably bigger than Bennell, go hard at everything no matter who's coming at them, and the public loves seeing it. Thus when you get players like Bennell, who don't have that natural courage, doing the right thing by their own safety, there's a general lack of sympathy for them.

[MikeyJ 60]

How much did we lose by again?

Four points. What's your point?

[Nasher 33,607]

The thing is, you get players like Joel Selwood, Brett Kirk etc. who, though they're considerably bigger than Bennell, go hard at everything no matter who's coming at them, and the public loves seeing it. Thus when you get players like Bennell, who don't have that natural courage, doing the right thing by their own safety, there's a general lack of sympathy for them.

Do Kirk, Selwood et al do it even when there's no benefit at all to the team? i.e. when it won't help them get to ball or protect a team mate who has it?

If they do, then they're stupid, not courageous.

[Dee Fan 3,247]

He's getting better. I think some players just don't have that natural courage or aggression, and for them it takes time. Instead of getting worried about that, let's analyse the rest of his game, which is improving with each week as he adjusts to playing forward. I'm still looking for a 4 quarter effort, but I'm quite happy with Bennell at the moment.

Bennell has some unbelievable skills and if he puts it all together for 4 quarters he will be sensational.

[titan_uranus 24,631]

Bennell has some unbelievable skills and if he puts it all together for 4 quarters he will be sensational.

That would be the point. Right now in most games he's in it for maybe 2-3 quarters, but there are still period where he goes un-noticed. It'll come, I'm sure.

[H_T 3,032]

Do Kirk, Selwood et al do it even when there's no benefit at all to the team? i.e. when it won't help them get to ball or protect a team mate who has it?

If they do, then they're stupid, not courageous.

Indeed. Luke Power, Jonathon Brown, James McDonald, Jack Grimes, even ol' Matty Whelan must be stupid too.

[Eth 4]

Not sure why this has not received any mentions.

In the last quarter on Friday night Bennell failed to put his body on the line. The ball was loose in front of Bennell, a bulldog player came sliding in and Bennell jumped over him instead of attacking the ball. Clearly chose not to contest the footy. I watched the replay again last night to make sure.

I think he has great skill and speed, and hopefully can be come an important player at Melbourne, but after this one I'd send him back to the VFL this week to work on his attitude.

What would you rather, jump over a player or not jump and risk the chances of a severe leg injury?

I would call it quick thinking rather than wussing out.

[satyricon 267]

I'm embarrassed by this thread & several others bagging players. Different players, different talents. Not everyone is Balls Grinter. Do some of you examine every replay for players to bellyache about? This is so out of kilter with the mood & spirit of our club right now.

.

Yes I am afraid you are right, some do only look for the negative, if it was all positive they would have nothing to post about........Bennell did the right thing he could have done serious damage to himself and the opposition player...so either injured or suspended....his pack mark was enough to convince me he has 'grunt'....

[Nasher 33,607]

Indeed. Luke Power, Jonathon Brown, James McDonald, Jack Grimes, even ol' Matty Whelan must be stupid too.

I feel you may have missed my point.

If you can point me in the direction of specific examples where any of these blokes made dangerous bump where there was zero net benefit to the team (which would have been the case had Bennell done that) then I might take your point.

[the_russian 17]

You would think with all the suspensions for reckless head contact the last few years that players would have 2nd thoughts about making a contest with a guy who has his head down or is sliding along the ground

[H_T 3,032]

I feel you may have missed my point.

If you can point me in the direction of specific examples where any of these blokes made dangerous bump where there was zero net benefit to the team (which would have been the case had Bennell done that) then I might take your point.

Point taken Nasher. However, I can point to numerous examples where these blokes sole intention were to go for the ball for the benefit of the team.

Benefits: -

1/ Setting an example

2/ Inspiring the team

3/ Winning the ball by being there first.

PS. No one did it better than Glenn Archer. Then again, no one is cut from exactly the same cloth. But many can strive to get close.

[bing181 8,999]

I think he has great skill and speed, and hopefully can be come an important player at Melbourne, but after this one I'd send him back to the VFL this week to work on his attitude.

FFS, don't we have other things to talk about? He takes the biggest, most couragous mark of the game in a pack situation, and you want to drop him to the seconds to teach him a lesson.

This anal, microscopic dissection of every single play, looking for mistakes is bad enough, but then to propose "send him back to Casey" as some kind of solution to these imagined shortcomings is just mind-boggling.

It's always like this mid-week. Sheesh.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Four points. What's your point?

My point is, and it's directed to all of us re this issue, not just you, is that self sacrificial acts is what ultimately wins flags.

So It would be nice to know the players you have put out on the field will go when it's their turn. And especially when the game is in the balance & dependent on winning these isolated contests of will, to inspire similar committed efforts.

I'm not this time criticizing Bennell, at this point as I haven't seen the replay yet, but any player who doesn't at least reduce the contest to a ball up.

I'm hoping to watch the replay tonight to see what everyone is talking about. After seeing a few minutes this after noon one effort I saw that was very poor was Dunn's weak effort to not contest Sylvia's poor kick to him in the forward 50.

So, the point is, committed acts of courage lead to teams winning hard tough fought close games.

Pulling out deflates the commitment of teammates to show valor in times of apprehension.

[Tony Tea 2,804]

Works both ways. When Bennell got his goal in the second quarter he charged through the pack and Jarrod Harbrow jumped out of his way.

[Sir Why You Little 36,668]

Quit Bagging Bennell all of you. He played a Cracker last Friday..Listen to what Baills said about him in his Press Conference.

The incident in Question here could have resulted in Broken Bones very easily so i am more than pleased with the Decision Jamie made.

Pulled out is a very easy call to make from a Couch Potato point of view. I would rather speak of his Goal & Mark of the year efforts.

Keep Pumping Jamie.... B)

[Eth 4]

This is a pointless and stupid topic that should be closed.

[FlowerPower 3]

Not sure why this has not received any mentions.

In the last quarter on Friday night Bennell failed to put his body on the line. The ball was loose in front of Bennell, a bulldog player came sliding in and Bennell jumped over him instead of attacking the ball. Clearly chose not to contest the footy. I watched the replay again last night to make sure.

I think he has great skill and speed, and hopefully can be come an important player at Melbourne, but after this one I'd send him back to the VFL this week to work on his attitude.

there are no mentions, because what you are trying to infer is ridiculous

[pitchfork 181]

This is total BS.

One thing that we always hope is that young players learn from their mistakes and improve.

Since the filth game Bennell has shown that he recognised that effort wasn't good enough and has demonstrated that he is willing to go in hard.

THE GUY HAS IMPROVED!!!!! and he's also played really really well.

Not every guy can or should be Glen Archer...JB's earlier efforts weren't good enough, he was clearly embarrassed, he has clearly made up for it. (Busted through 2 guys to get a much needed goal on the weekend and has laid countless tackles)

Edited May 11, 2010 by pitchfork

[deanox 9,665]

since bennell pulled out that time against collingwood, i have witness numerous times where he has gone hard enough for the ball, used his body in a marking contest or won the ball in contested situations that have convinced me that he won't have a long term problem with being soft at it.

he didnt back out of a contested loose ball that he had a chance of winning, he got out of the way of a contest that was only going to end badly.

when you see him shirk another marking contest come back and comment on it. he has lifted his game, and he is a player who makes things happen which is valuable. some players crunch otherds. some players use the ball well. be content he does the second well, and generally holds his own at the physical stuff for a guy his size.

Edited May 11, 2010 by deanox

[Go the Biff 3,360]

Not sure why this has not received any mentions.

In the last quarter on Friday night Bennell failed to put his body on the line. The ball was loose in front of Bennell, a bulldog player came sliding in and Bennell jumped over him instead of attacking the ball. Clearly chose not to contest the footy. I watched the replay again last night to make sure.

I think he has great skill and speed, and hopefully can be come an important player at Melbourne, but after this one I'd send him back to the VFL this week to work on his attitude.

Thomo you got this badly wrong. There are a number of posts that tell the true picture. The right thing to do would be admit you're mistaken & then change the thread title. It looks poor.

[Rogue 585]

These are the kind of things players will learn. Consider Sylvia broke his jaw not long ago. I don't think he is the kind of player to back out of a contest.

I don't know that he's the type that backs out of a contest, but I reckon he has a habit of sometimes being happy to let his opponent take the footy first when there's a race to the ball, rather than go 100% to take first possession and wear a tackle.