Bennell

[Guest Gareth Keenan]

Considering some of the harsh criticism he has received on this forum, I thought it was worth hearing people's opinions of his performance today.

I think he clearly showed the benefit of having spent the past however many weeks at Casey working on some of his deficiencies.

I saw some relative improvement. Accountability, spoiling, hardness at the contest.

He's far from the finished article, but those who have at times called for him to be sent elsewhere really don't understand what the nature of development and maturity.

[Kento80 83]

Yep Gareth, credit where it is due, Bennell had a pretty decent day today. Coupla blues, but he was in good company there, and all in all he stood up pretty well. I really hope he develops into the weapon I reckon is inside of him. He's not there yet, but hopefully our new coach can drag it out of him.

[Striker475 696]

He was superb. He's underrated defensively, does great things on the Nahas/Betts/Krakouer type small forwards.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Considering some of the harsh criticism he has received on this forum, I thought it was worth hearing people's opinions of his performance today.

I think he clearly showed the benefit of having spent the past however many weeks at Casey working on some of his deficiencies.

I saw some relative improvement. Accountability, spoiling, hardness at the contest.

He's far from the finished article, but those who have at times called for him to be sent elsewhere really don't understand what the nature of development and maturity.

Looks to have had a change of heart and attitude.

A very welcome one at that. We'll make you a player Yet, Jamie. You have all the skills.

Lets see the Man, 'Jamie' come out.

[Dee Fan 3,247]

I don't think his ability has ever been in question it's more the fact he only seems to give about 15 to 20 minutes of good football a week. If he can participate a bit more he could be a good player.

[Steve13 457]

Best game I've seen him play. I'll give him credit, but needs to continue

[Deeoldfart 7,999]

Jamie was good today .... one of his best couple of games for MFC. Like others have said, he has loads of talent, and if he can put it all together consistently (both within games and week to week) then we have a real asset on our hands.

[Dee Dee 1,103]

Best game I've seen him play. I'll give him credit, but needs to continue

Agree, excellent game from the lad yesterday.

On that form I couldn't see him being traded/moved on (as some seem to want).

[old dee 23,506]

Considering some of the harsh criticism he has received on this forum, I thought it was worth hearing people's opinions of his performance today.

I think he clearly showed the benefit of having spent the past however many weeks at Casey working on some of his deficiencies.

I saw some relative improvement. Accountability, spoiling, hardness at the contest.

He's far from the finished article, but those who have at times called for him to be sent elsewhere really don't understand what the nature of development and maturity.

Yes he had a better game yesterday GK.

But he has had good games in the past.

Then follows 5 very ordinary games.

And lets remember we were only playing Richmond.

The jury is still out for me.

I will want to see a lot more of yesterday before I get to worked up.

[H_T 3,032]

From the Blease thread, more suited here:

Off topic - I thought he made some critical contests when the ball was in dispute, good chases and timely tackles to create some much needed turnovers. If anything just needs to get his body behind the ball a bit more and learn to take the hits.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

his breaking of the lines will be a powerful weapon once he gets more experience over the years.

[Buzzy 992]

Always rated him, he just needs to get more of it. 5-12 possessions every week isn't enough, even for a tagger.

Not sure if it's a fitness thing or confidence, but until he regularly gets between 15-25 he will remain irrelevant.

Good on him for having a go yesterday though.

[nutbean 8,838]

I have always been a Bennell fan but my major cross against him was not getting enough of the ball.

Couldnt make it to the game yesterday and I see he had 8 possessions for the game ( and 6 tackles).

Stats nowdays means zip but there seems to be a lot of love for an 8 possession game.

[H_T 3,032]

I have always been a Bennell fan but my major cross against him was not getting enough of the ball.

Couldnt make it to the game yesterday and I see he had 8 possessions for the game ( and 6 tackles).

Stats nowdays means zip but there seems to be a lot of love for an 8 possession game.

Agree. Fwiw, he had 4 x 1%'s which gives an indication as well, considering the leader(s) on this stat had 5.

[Damo 3,265]

Im a Bennell fan but when you expect him to grab a hotly disputed ball, he taps it with one hand to (hopefully) his advantage. Its not right. No-one at Hawthorn, for example would be allowed to get away with it. He plays like he is still 18 years old unfortunately.

If Bailey was too school-masterly then Jamie now needs a whole lot of Old-School HTFU.

[Demon SeaMan 108]

He and ''where u hiding the cash' Neville Jetta should be the key pacemen that we should focus on nxt yr for mine

Makes opposition teams think defensively. Liked him running down players yday. Looking forward to the nxt few yrs already

[P-man 13,366]

Best game I've seen him play. I'll give him credit, but needs to continue

I've seen him play better, but definitely up there with his best. Could become something special over the next few years.

[drdrake 3,126]

With such a poor season it makes you look at the way the team has been coached. One thing that has stood out to me is the way Bailey played our young guys and tried them in different positions. Morton for one is a pure outside midfielder, since we started playing him down back to work on his defensive side he has lost all confidence, so did this move turn a high quality outside midfielder into a player that would be lucky to be rookie listed at the moment.

Same with Bennell, he was drafted as an attacking HBF to me he always looks better down back and only showed brief clmpses up forward. Once again has the Footy Dept's call to swing Bennell around on regular occasions slowed his development?

He does need to stop being the one handed bandit but this will come.

I have the same fear for Taspcott he is the big body midfielder that we need are we playing him somewhere that we aren't going to see his best value to the team.

Lucky for us a new coach will come in, so every player gets to earn their position again.

[Robbie57 2,003]

Again well played but he cant kick, serious it will kill his career.

Someone please fix his disposals!

[Guest Gareth Keenan]

Jamie Bennell - another ripper performance today.

Coming along nicely.

[Rogue 585]

What H_T said.

[tonatopia 278]

One of my favourites

[DeeSpencer 24,825]

Not quite Bartram like, but his kicking lacks penetration. Especially when you compare to a Blease or a Tapscott. Needs to work on this, but I like him behind the ball and his accountability is good (important for young players).

[BAMF 4,167]

Loved his work in the second half today. He and Jetta still flow in and out of the game a bit too much for mine.

I guess he was tagging Matera. Jetta was really good on Harbrow when the game was there to be won.

[Little Goffy 14,096]

For me, Bennell took over the Brad Miller emotional niche. The Richmond fans are calling Miller 'The Almost Man'.

Drives me mad that he can seem so good, yet so often contribute relatively little.

But in Bennell's favour, he's still a kid.

I still find him frustrating, but enjoy the signs of improvement.