THE ROAD TO ROUND 1, 2015

[Gator 18,009]

If it's any consolation none of us have.

My view is that if we had a first year player perform as well in preseason as Grimes has this year Demonland would be in uproar if he hadn't got a game.

He's deemed not to be in the best back 6. With Jetta, Howe, Salem and relief from Lamumba it makes sense why he's on the periphery. Would you pick him as a bench player ?

Ultimately, there's only one person Grimes can blame for being out of the side. I'm guessing you know who that is. He had a good game against the Dogs, but others were littered with his typical errors.

[rpfc 28,964]

The inclusions of some more mature bodies allows the FD to play the kids without asking them to do more than they can.

Brayshaw will be the sub IMO - and the 21 will still be young but Salem is the only other teenager. The injection of HL, Garlett, and Newton at 28, 25, and 22 allow the FD to go younger with the periphery players(VandenBerg is being rewarded for his promising halves in the NAB Challenge and has been playing against men for half a decade).

Hogan, Toumpas, Kent, Frost, Viney, JKH, and Tyson are all 20/21 with bodies that are beginning to allow them to do near to a seasoned pro can do.

And when that happens - the form of the seasoned pros like Grimes, Michie, Jones, Bail, Terlich and McKenzie - were always going to more heavily scrutinised.

If this was a decision based on "getting games into kids, and not wasting them on 'pros going nowhere'" - I disagree with that mentality whole heartedly.

If this was a decision based on the form of peripheral role players being 'good enough' compared to those seasoned pros - I am all for it.

And whether we win tomorrow will be mainly based on the performance of Jones, Dunn, Jetta, Garland, McDonald, Cross, HL, Garlett, Jamar, Watts, Howe, and Newton.

Huge tick, tick, tick, tick, massive tick, tick, important goal and presence tick, tick, effective tap tick, huge tick, tick, and tick.

All the kids can properly develop when the established players are shouldering their load and playing great footy.