Rivers was bad today, but he played exactly as I have come to expect.

He has poor skills, is slow and can not play body on body. When he won the RS award he was the 4th tall defender playing loose in defense, the easiest position on the field. Combine that this a mature body, and he had a good season. 5 years of injuries and many seem to think that he was a superstar, but he was exactly the player he is today.

What he does have is great courage and talk from the club is that he is a good leader. But is that enough to be on an AFL list?

I believe by middle of next year when we are talking about who to delist, we will be wondering how the hell he got two years, like we did with Newton and Meeson last year.

i totally disagree. He did make two crucial disposal errors in the first quarter but he made up for it throughout the game with many great saving marks.

... I though rivers was great today, read the ball well and pealed of his opponent to help out our other defender nicely, liked his game especially early.

... I though rivers was great today, read the ball well and pealed of his opponent to help out our other defender nicely, liked his game especially early.

I would not say great- he made some gastly errors- but,I'd say a very improved game overall.

Two real bad one's early then well on top and had a good game.

Rivers was bad today, but he played exactly as I have come to expect.

He has poor skills, is slow and can not play body on body. When he won the RS award he was the 4th tall defender playing loose in defense, the easiest position on the field. Combine that this a mature body, and he had a good season. 5 years of injuries and many seem to think that he was a superstar, but he was exactly the player he is today.

What he does have is great courage and talk from the club is that he is a good leader. But is that enough to be on an AFL list?

I believe by middle of next year when we are talking about who to delist, we will be wondering how the hell he got two years, like we did with Newton and Meeson last year.

Thomo I don't think you can see the forest for the trees!

I specifically watched him today as he is regularly canned by a few on Demonland.

He had a major clanger in the first couple of minutes and then IMO he played well.

And he has just been given a new 2 year contract till the end of 2012.

Obviously the management think he is a valued player and so do I.

Get of his back!

Totally disagree with you Thomo.

Rivers was as solid as a rock today after his very early poor chip kick resulting in a Neagle goal.

His marking was top notch and his reading of the play sensational - which is why he is a Melbourne Demon key backman.

rivers was good today...i was happy with his performance.

Two real bad one's early then well on top and had a good game.

Agree, yes he can butcher the ball but he isn't the only one footballs a funny game like that and most if it is confidents within yourself. Obviously the club have alot of confidents in him and he now has to repay the club. Some people just live in a glass half empty world!

i think we watched a completely different game, You may have been watching last week or the week before. Rivers was good today taking lots of nice marks in defence and besides the two kicking errors in the 1st quarter his kicking was fine.

rivers played really well today

dont agree with this thread

he had 4 good marks then one bad kick and the people behind me said the same thing

dont agree

he did well

was good overall but once againmade errors early on the coast us dearly. one of the key reasons our starts have been poor recently, but today Essendon did not make us pay.

did come back against a very undermanned Essendon forward line it must be said.

Totally disagree with you Thomo.

Rivers was as solid as a rock today after his very early poor chip kick resulting in a Neagle goal.

His marking was top notch and his reading of the play sensational - which is why he is a Melbourne Demon key backman.

Agree to disagree.

In my opinion Rivers is not fast enough, big enough or strong enough to be a key backman. If we are going to pick a player to play loose in defense, pick someone that is a good kick and has speed.

I'll bring this thread back up in twelve months and see if I need to make an appology, or have been proved correct.

Agree to disagree.

In my opinion Rivers is not fast enough, big enough or strong enough to be a key backman. If we are going to pick a player to play loose in defense, pick someone that is a good kick and has speed.

I'll bring this thread back up in twelve months and see if I need to make an appology, or have been proved correct.

My God "Thomo" my memory will struggle with your plan. I hope in 12 months time we are in the eight and I will not care that you were right or wrong.

Agree to disagree.

In my opinion Rivers is not fast enough, big enough or strong enough to be a key backman. If we are going to pick a player to play loose in defense, pick someone that is a good kick and has speed.

I'll bring this thread back up in twelve months and see if I need to make an appology, or have been proved correct.

Surely your comment is based in honesty about today??? Not about how you feel about his footballing ability generally.

We'll still need teachers out there for the next couple of years as we still rebuild this side, especially those that can alleviate the pressure on teammates.

IMO, the defense will change substantially between now & 2013.

Has been horrible most of the year and I was suprised that he was signed for 2 more years, but today was his best game for the year.

If you want to smack Rivers, this was not the game to do it.

Has been horrible most of the year and I was suprised that he was signed for 2 more years, but today was his best game for the year.

If you want to smack Rivers, this was not the game to do it.

Well said.

Rivers has progressively been getting better as the year has gone on I've found. Slow and steady (yes yes... much like his pace ).

Perhaps his best game for the year IMO. Reliable for the most part, but Essendon's delivery into the forward 50, and their forward line pressure, were very ordinary for most of the game. This probably made life a bit easier for Riv.

Two glaring Rivers mistakes cost us goals in the first quarter. Did I dream that?

Bizarre. I thought he was, at certain points, right back to his best.

Your general criticisms may turn out to be right, but then this is hardly news. And wouldn't it have made sense to bring it up after one of his bad games?

Odd.

Rivers was pretty good today. He wasn't our best back, but he certainly wasn't beaten. He's holding his own quite nicely.

Two glaring Rivers mistakes cost us goals in the first quarter. Did I dream that?

He's not a robot, he's human. Mistakes are an unfortunate side effect of that condition. The proprty steward should make a point of not giving him any boots before each game! He's reasonable by hand, but suspect by foot. You can't question his ability overhead though!

Rivers did little today to suggest he has bedded down a defensive role for the future.

If he indeed is back to his best then this new contract may be his last.

Today was a relatively easy role for defender given a struggling team had so many KP players out that they had no marking targets up forward.

Yet Rivers still made some clangers. The defense was not made accountable for its errors today.

Rivers did little today to suggest he has bedded down a defensive role for the future.

If he indeed is back to his best then this new contract may be his last.

Today was a relatively easy role for defender given a struggling team had so many KP players out that they had no marking targets up forward.

Yet Rivers still made some clangers. The defense was not made accountable for its errors today.

Unfortunately this will be missed by many. His task wsnt huge yesterday. That he carried it out to aceptable levels without dominating as possible his heritage might sugest will aslo fal on deaf ears.

And so many will think its bashing...its just unblinkered reality.

Jared Rivers: Riv started the game really well, backing his positioning and going in for his marks. He’s a really important player for us. He missed a few kicks early, but he helped out with the positioning and helped out with the match ups. Again, his experience down back is invaluable for our young defenders.

People need to start getting over this. Riv is well regarded by the coaching group as the player review above shows and will continue to be a part of this team.

Won't be dropped. Is better than the criticism that he receives.