Wow, Allison doesn't hold back, does he? Makes for an entertaining read.

Defensive transition...ball use...intensity...win a spot in the senior side.

Wow, Allison doesn't hold back, does he? Makes for an entertaining read.

Defensive transition...ball use...intensity...win a spot in the senior side.

I would call that honesty; back in the 50's thru to 70's, this is the norm for honesty... its only the baby boomers children, & on, that can't handle honest straight talk..

Ray Jordan would have these guys jumping out of their bodies.

Allison was just 'talking straight talk', after a couple of less than pleasing games on the trot.

Edited May 21, 201411 yr by dee-luded

Agree with everything, but this. He's too slow and a poor decision maker. Given everything you've said above, it's time for an upgrade.

Yes, fair I guess. I've just always felt he, out of all of them, could show something if given a clean run.

If we had a solid coach from the start, Blease would have been a much better player WITH a defensive game.

If we had this solid coach from the start, the question is whether a player like Blease would have been drafted to us at all.

If we had this solid coach from the start, the question is whether a player like Blease would have been drafted to us at all.

when Blease was playing U-18's in the same Vic team as Watts, outside runners with speed where still in demand. the contested footy & zoning where just in their infancy as the game changed.

We were still trying to play an attacking game style when Blease started playing VFL, but the top teams were getting onto the defensive game & hard 2 way running, and the top teams were ahead in Elite fitness training & sports science as well.

IMO, its imperative that all young recruits must be tuitiond into AFL footy by doing all the non negotiable, the basics of playing physical footy, tackling chasing, blocking shepherding, defending hard.

most of our young guys that we recruited since 2007 have had it soft & had games thrown at them w9ithout these values instilled. bleasy got it easy, & is now struggling.

Given the style of recruiting this past

when Blease was playing U-18's in the same Vic team as Watts, outside runners with speed where still in demand. the contested footy & zoning where just in their infancy as the game changed.

We were still trying to play an attacking game style when Blease started playing VFL, but the top teams were getting onto the defensive game & hard 2 way running, and the top teams were ahead in Elite fitness training & sports science as well.

IMO, its imperative that all young recruits must be tuitiond into AFL footy by doing all the non negotiable, the basics of playing physical footy, tackling chasing, blocking shepherding, defending hard.

most of our young guys that we recruited since 2007 have had it soft & had games thrown at them w9ithout these values instilled. bleasy got it easy, & is now struggling.

Given the nature of the past draft I feel this holds true. Quite a few wouldnt be at the Dees, given the current criteria

I feel

Blease, Strauss, Byrnes, Evans, Nicholson, Tapscott, McKenzie and Fitzpatrick all have questionable places on the list.

They won't all go, even if none of them improve between now and season's end, which is unlikely (though not impossible, given some have been on the list for nearly six years).

At worst Barry should be a rookie in 2015.

Nicholson is gone.
Byrnes also.
Clark retired.
I don't expect Blease to stay.
Tapscott has run out of time.
Strauss borderline, but his kicking may keep him in for 1 more go around.
Evans on thin ice.
Agree Barry should be delisted and rookied.
Fitzpatrick to stay.
Spencer to stay.
McKenzie to stay.
Jetta should get an upgrade if he can maintain his form in the backline - this would make it hard to keep Strauss.
Georgiou to stay a rookie.
King stays as rookie.
Harmes potential upgrade.

We should end up with approx 5-6 spots on the list to fill through the draft and trades.
Another young KPP, a couple of tall mids, maybe a ruckman and some blistering pace.

How does Harmes get upgraded before Georgiou? Not saying Georgiou should be upgraded, but I would have thought based on what we've seen so far he's in front of Harmes.

People suggesting Evans being delisted are being silly.

Why?

He has a few limitations and with our list beginning to improve by the week, he's going to be left behind if he doesn't lift his game at Casey.

how quickly things can change , will be good to check out what has been said now and see what really happens

just look at Cameron Pedersen , his last few weeks , most would have now changed their minds on him

I for one wanted him gone

Edited May 21, 201411 yr by markc

Based on current VFL form and Allison's opinion.

McKenzie is the only one in line for a game.

That report from Allison was a real honest eye opener.

He didn't hold back, if they deserved both barrels, he gave it to them.

Based on current VFL form and Allison's opinion.

McKenzie is the only one in line for a game.

That report from Allison was a real honest eye opener.

He didn't hold back, if they deserved both barrels, he gave it to them.

Very interesting read. We are a very different club now. The level of expectation is not only there but its enforced and encouraged.

Liked the bit about Miller giving a rocket. No easy passes now at the Dees....how gratifying

Given the style of recruiting this past

Given the nature of the past draft I feel this holds true. Quite a few wouldnt be at the Dees, given the current criteria

I feel

the thing we have to be mindful of is that the AFL are now in the mood to slowly wind back the rotations, as the game has become less attractive, & less awesome. I love the physical scrapping, but loath the lack of space for running players & more long kicks.

as they do this the outside speedster will become more valuable, but we need our speedsters to be able to run fast, but also weave thru traffic. robbie flower would show them.

we seem to have one guy who is reluctant to change his game. stubborn to his own detriment. must have some Irish in him. maybe thats why he's worth the pain. and shows an indifference. but seems to have more talent than many, but is his own worst enemy. Perfect for Roosy to sort out.

Gawd.

Brett Allison was almost Neeldesque in his level of bluntness there! He doesn't hold back does he?

How does Harmes get upgraded before Georgiou? Not saying Georgiou should be upgraded, but I would have thought based on what we've seen so far he's in front of Harmes.

I don't rate Georgiou like some others do.

In my opinion he's just depth for LTIs, and as such only needs to be on the rookie list.

Won't ever be more than that.

Harmes however could be pushing into the 22 as early as next year, in my opinion.

He might be ahead of Michie, Riley and McKenzie before long.

Might.

Byrnes (retired)

Nicholson

Evans

Strauss

Tapscott

(real trouble)

The player report by BA was unusual to read, and I think it was part of a plan to publicly roast some players who are not getting the 'Roos' defensive mindset. I personally am happy for anyone not buying into or unable to adapt to the game plan to leave. Especially as player effort has been rewarded with respect and trust even when the skills have failed. Personally I dislike players like Blease who have petrol to burn in attack but don't do the defensive things, no matter who the coach is, it smacks of laziness/selfishness and I'm not giving him a pass. In the match report it seems they really fell in a hole in the second half and am curious as to why.

Cross has taken Mckenzies slot in the senior team as our main tagger however I think we will hang onto him as Cross's body is a bit of a time bomb and if he starts having soft tissue injuries ect then Mckenzie will be straight in.

Cross has taken Mckenzies slot in the senior team as our main tagger however I think we will hang onto him as Cross's body is a bit of a time bomb and if he starts having soft tissue injuries ect then Mckenzie will be straight in.

Not only that, but McKenzie is potentially the ready-made replacement for Cross when his body does eventually give out. Unless he gets passed before the end of the year by the likes of Michie & Riley, who can play a similar tough uncompromising type of game, he'll probably stay for another year or two.

Allison's emphases in the Scorps' reviews are (1) "defensive transition" (which I take to mean manning up when the opposition wins the ball, or "two-way running" if you prefer) and (2) ball use. These factors seem to be the "non-negotiables", and it seems at this stage that "defensive transition" is more important than ball use.

McKenzie and Nicholson are having to work on their ball use, but their defensive transition seems to satisfy the coaches.

It seems to me that the ones who are struggling with "defensive transition" are in more trouble at this stage - this would include Blease, Evans, Harmes, Hunt, Kent (surprisingly), Michie (ditto), and probably Strauss & Tapscott. But improving defensive transition is surely just a matter of effort, so these guys have half a season to put in the effort required to hang around.

Based on current VFL form and Allison's opinion.

McKenzie is the only one in line for a game.

That report from Allison was a real honest eye opener.

He didn't hold back, if they deserved both barrels, he gave it to them.

I like it. It's honest, firm and transparent. The coaches are clearly communicating what you must do to get a game in the 1's. He kept talking about "defensive transition". It's an obvious motif. So players looking to get back into the side, take heed.

And I wouldn't call Allison's report Neeldesque. Neeld was clearly giving the players mixed messages every week. The flip flopping at the selection table is proof enough of this. Roos and his team have been consistent in their messages and have stuck by the team. This is part of building that culture everyone is talking about.

Cross has taken Mckenzies slot in the senior team as our main tagger however I think we will hang onto him as Cross's body is a bit of a time bomb and if he starts having soft tissue injuries ect then Mckenzie will be straight in.

Honestly, his body is the least worrying thing for me, he could keep going for another 5 years, he's "apparently" the fittest AFL player there is

Very interesting read. We are a very different club now. The level of expectation is not only there but its enforced and encouraged.

Liked the bit about Miller giving a rocket. No easy passes now at the Dees....how gratifying

I was right next to it....bit of a paraphrase "you have given me nothing that quarter"

I have the feeling the coaches believe Strauss has alot more ability than he is showing

Was interesting to read Allisons review

Also makes more sense as how Toumpas got a call up last week via emergency, he had 15 tackles the week before at Casey

Cross has taken Mckenzies slot in the senior team as our main tagger however I think we will hang onto him as Cross's body is a bit of a time bomb and if he starts having soft tissue injuries ect then Mckenzie will be straight in.

I think a lot of our players development plateaued, as a old culture at Melbourne where reaching AFL standard was enough. I think having Crossy & others holding out players who have plateaued is a good thing to make those players push harder to reignite their efforts & attitudes.

I reckon this will make McKenzie & the like, better players ultimately.

I think a lot of our players development plateaued, as a old culture at Melbourne where reaching AFL standard was enough. I think having Crossy & others holding out players who have plateaued is a good thing to make those players push harder to reignite their efforts & attitudes.

I reckon this will make McKenzie & the like, better players ultimately.

I had a chat to Jordie on Monday night, he is embracing everything, wants to get back into the team, loves working with Daniel Cross, gets "really good and honest" feedback, knows exactly what areas he has to keep working on.