Morton and Bate

[Old Gregg 1]

Bate is an interesting one. Up until today I was still convinced he was entrenched in our best 22 on the half forward line...now I'm not so sure. He lacks intensity and has the turning circle of the Queen Mary. The problem is - we know what he is capable of...I remember Gary Lyon rating him a chance to be in the top 50 players in 2009 or 2010...his booming kick is a delight to watch, that goal on Queen's Birthday to put us in front comes to mind. He has next year to prove himself, and keep his spot with Petterd coming back in, or he'll be well and truly on the trade table.

[DeezMan 4]

Morton oozes class. An amazing overhead mark (especially in packs and especially for his slight frame!!).

Bater is struggling. Kicked one 50m+ monster goal but he is really failing to play to his full potential. Very concerning now...

[Friday 71]

was in a corporate box and had the fox sports commentary on..

can't remember who said it (could have even been healy?) but they hinted at bate being shopped around. if you can't get in the side by round 18 and you're brought back in for round 22, it's because the club is hoping he'll show something.. for trade

[bing181 9,411]

Morton oozes class. An amazing overhead mark (especially in packs and especially for his slight frame!!).

Bater is struggling. Kicked one 50m+ monster goal but he is really failing to play to his full potential. Very concerning now...

Morton, Bate and Wonna have ALL been in and out of the team a lot this year, what with injuries, form etc. etc. How many games did it take a superstar like Riewoldt to find his touch again after half a season off?

All these guys need a solid pre-season, then some consistency ... then we'll see. All of them have at times had great games, and to be writing them off at the moment is just short-sighted, especially as they're still comparatively young. Especially in the case of Morton ... there's a very useful player in there somewhere, just waiting to get out!

[The Big Ticket 94]

Morton is all class. He took some great contested marks today and made very good runs for us.

Bate is struggling. He can't keep his feet and is slow so when he doesn't win the ball we have lost the contest.

Oh and whoever said Newton was better than Morton today needs to get off the crack.

Yep.

Bate put on too much muscle over the summer. He's looked slow all year.

Needs to get back to his playing weight of last year.

[Disco Demons 92]

i heard bate was offered extra cash via west coast but he rejected to take a deal with melbourne.....good source.

but bate is to stay wit melb

[DeezMan 4]

P.S. Morton named in Melbourne's "best" (again) on the Dees' website.

[two sheds jackson 3]

Bate is struggling. He can't keep his feet and is slow so when he doesn't win the ball we have lost the contest.

Oh and whoever said Newton was better than Morton today needs to get off the crack.

I was starting to think I was the only one who thought Morton was alright today. Maybe I need to watch the game again, because the resounding consensus seems to be that he was awful, but I thought he was lively, provided run and generally used the ball pretty well despite the odd bad turnover. He wasn't brilliant, but he was far from being a liability.

I agree with you about Bate; when he has a poor game it's like we're playing a man down at times, because he offers so little in terms of defensive pressure. Without having seen the stats, I also tend to agree with the OP that he loses too many one-on-one marking contests and that he's not as good of a contested mark as people think. We all know he's a dangerous player when on song, but if he's going to be a regular in the team he'll want to seriously improve the defensive aspects of his game.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Morton, Bate and Wonna have ALL been in and out of the team a lot this year, what with injuries, form etc. etc. How many games did it take a superstar like Riewoldt to find his touch again after half a season off?

All these guys need a solid pre-season, then some consistency ... then we'll see. All of them have at times had great games, and to be writing them off at the moment is just short-sighted, especially as they're still comparatively young. Especially in the case of Morton ... there's a very useful player in there somewhere, just waiting to get out!

Bing, you said the magic word,,, touch. Some don't have the ability for 'good touch',,, it requires good hands,, & good feet. You have them or you don't.

[Rogue 585]

I also felt the players had lost confidence in these two- a huge pre season for both or out the door they go.

Come off it.

Morton's only ~20 years old and has played some good footy, while there are at least 10 guys to delist before Bate over the next couple of list culls , as things stand now.

As for trading, while most guys are available for the right price, I have to ask what we're going to get for Bate if the consensus is that Bate isn't in the best 22 of a 10th ranked team..?

[H_T 3,049]

10th ranked ?

[e25 5]

I was starting to think I was the only one who thought Morton was alright today. Maybe I need to watch the game again, because the resounding consensus seems to be that he was awful, but I thought he was lively, provided run and generally used the ball pretty well despite the odd bad turnover. He wasn't brilliant, but he was far from being a liability.

I agree with you about Bate; when he has a poor game it's like we're playing a man down at times, because he offers so little in terms of defensive pressure. Without having seen the stats, I also tend to agree with the OP that he loses too many one-on-one marking contests and that he's not as good of a contested mark as people think. We all know he's a dangerous player when on song, but if he's going to be a regular in the team he'll want to seriously improve the defensive aspects of his game.

Bate is understandably rusty at AFL level IMHO.

Morton I agree on. Good without being great.

I think his problem at times is trying to thread the eye of the needle and it getting picked off.

He does it sometimes and when it comes off it is fantastic. When it doesn't (more often) he looks shite.

He did seem a bit more accountable today, but still got a huge spray from Frawley when he got caught trying to cover 2 guys to help Morton and the roos got an easy "Joe-the-goose".

[Adzman 2,154]

Cale Morton has talent to burn. He needs to find a way to apply it. Morton could be anything from a also ran to an AA. If he applies himself, has a big pre-season then he could really bounce back.

Bate just needs to pick up a step or two in peace, and work on his aggression.

I think the Axe is much closer to Bate than it is Morton.

[titan_uranus 25,174]

Bate was rubbish yesterday. Gave us nothing. Couldn't tackle, wouldn't chase, didn't give us any sort of meaningful target, and has no idea what he's doing when we don't have the ball. Nowhere near our best 22, and probably didn't deserve a game yesterday.

Morton's first half was good, his third quarter was OK, his fourth quarter was crap. I counted 4 fourth quarter instances of Morton either making a poor decision or being easily 'out-strengthed', for want of a better word. Not one of our best players IMO, but certainly not our worst (that honour goes to Newton, with Bate an honourable second).

[praha 11,253]

Both had injuries and lack match fitness. Moloney was poor yesterday, but no one is jumping on his back?

You're basing performance on the last game of the season, which was essentially worthless.

Give them a pre-season to prove their worth.

[Jaded No More 68,975]

My dream is to see Morton at CHF with an extra 15kgs on his frame.

[Demon Tragic 0]

My dream is to see Morton at CHF with an extra 15kgs on his frame.

I wholeheartedly agree! I would love to see him and Watts swap positions for half a season to help aid in both thier developments.

[Keyser Söze 0]

My dream is to see Morton at CHF with an extra 15kgs on his frame.

I've been having that same dream for some time.

If only.

[1858 285]

Going forward I have my worries about both players. A good pre-season and the benefit of new facilities will give all our players the best opportunity to develop and perform but I just don't like the body mechanics of either player in the modern game - both very inhibited players who severely rely on space and time to be effective. Size is not the issue with Morton it's power. If he can strengthen his legs and his core significantly then he'll have more confidence to do what he wants to do on the footy field.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Bate was rubbish yesterday. Gave us nothing. Couldn't tackle, wouldn't chase, didn't give us any sort of meaningful target, and has no idea what he's doing when we don't have the ball. Nowhere near our best 22, and probably didn't deserve a game yesterday.

Morton's first half was good, his third quarter was OK, his fourth quarter was crap. I counted 4 fourth quarter instances of Morton either making a poor decision or being easily 'out-strengthed', for want of a better word. Not one of our best players IMO, but certainly not our worst (that honour goes to Newton, with Bate an honourable second).

Agree with you Titan.

Going forward I have my worries about both players. A good pre-season and the benefit of new facilities will give all our players the best opportunity to develop and perform but I just don't like the body mechanics of either player in the modern game - both very inhibited players who severely rely on space and time to be effective. Size is not the issue with Morton it's power. If he can strengthen his legs and his core significantly then he'll have more confidence to do what he wants to do on the footy field.

Right on the money.

Have said it a million times. Bate needs to improve a hell of a lot in other areas of his

game if he wants to be part of the future. Yesterday was shocking. I'm really getting sick of

the injury excuses too. Next year will say a lot for where he is at with Petterd, Watts, Jurrah,

Green, Sylvia and potentially another key forward. Bate is an extremely limited player.

Morton did take a few nice marks yesterday but also made equally as many clangers when kicking.

Also still needs work on the defensive side of his game as well as his want for the contest.

I don't care how thin he is. He at least has to show that he wants to get the ball when he is required

to.

All in all I still have hope in Morton and think he does have a lot of room for improvement. It's a matter

of whether or not that will happen though and if he wants it badly enough.

Bate on the other hand is a major concern for me. Next year will give us a better indication I feel.