I expect to get bucketed for this but here goes! 

Today's  papers report that WC successfully reduced the influence of Sidebottom and Pendlebury by playing taggers  on them. In the game we played v Dogs, Harmes tagged McCrae with some success after half time. The best tagging job by a MFC player that I can recall, was by Bugg on Pendlebury a couple of tears ago. For some unknown reason Bugg hadn't been used in this capacity thereafter..

i regard Bugg as a capable player.  Ge can get the ball and us tough. Kicking for goal is a problem but in my view he would  offer  more than a couple of Saturday's team if he were to play an old fashioned tagging role. And this week v Cats would be a great place to start

Edited July 16, 20186 yr by Grapeviney

Bucket.

Edit the headline please !! 

Bugg has one more crack at it for me. He scored a lot of tickets with me last year up till the Doggies game, burned most of them in that Sydney game, then torched all but one this year through idiotic goal kicking and all-round poor form.

James Harmes went on to MacRae after halftime last week and shut him down.  Theres your tagger. 

 We cant afford to carry Bugg, we are trying to make finals.  His skills are brutal.

16 minutes ago, Farmer said:

I expect to get bucketed for this but here goes! 

Today's  papers report that WC successfully reduced the influence of Sidebottom and Pendlebury by playing taggers  on them. In the game we played v Dogs, Harmes tagged McCrae with some success after half time. The best tagging job by a MFC player that I can recall, was by Bugg on Pendlebury a couple of tears ago. For some unknown reason Bugg hadn't been used in this capacity thereafter..

i regard Bugg as a capable player.  Ge can get the ball and us tough. Kicking for goal is a problem but in my view he would  offer  more than a couple of Saturday's team if he were to play an old fashioned tagging role. And this week v Cats would be a great place to start

I think your right Farmer.

And i think this will happen mostly, after Bernie is finished, and also Lew.

At the moment Buggy needs to keep working on his engine, and his hand finesse; and composure with ball in hand.

10 minutes ago, Petraccattack said:

James Harmes went on to MacRae after halftime last week and shut him down.  Theres your tagger. 

 We cant afford to carry Bugg, we are trying to make finals.  His skills are brutal.

The poor skills are in his mind.  He can improve this.

The problem with Bugg (despite being limited by foot and decision making) is that we already carry Harmes and ANB. The latter two are inconsistent and when they're off, they're really off. Particularly, ANB. If you add Bugg in there too, the margin for error is too high. 

The more we improve list, the more these players will become fringe players, which is a good thing. It means every game they play is a blessing for them, which ensures they can rarely afford to drop off. 

He might get one more game, but I reckon he's done at season's end. With Taylor's record, I'd be giving him as many picks as possible to unearth another gem that could replace Bugg. 

40 minutes ago, Petraccattack said:

James Harmes went on to MacRae after halftime last week and shut him down.  Theres your tagger. 

 We cant afford to carry Bugg, we are trying to make finals.  His skills are brutal.

He's got a good tank too, does Harmes. He could make it as a tagger and winger. I've written him off before, but if he keeps working on his skills and limiting mistakes, he has enough flexibility to play 100+ games for the club.

2 minutes ago, A F said:

The problem with Bugg (despite being limited by foot and decision making) is that we already carry Harmes and ANB. The latter two are inconsistent and when they're off, they're really off. Particularly, ANB. If you add Bugg in there too, the margin for error is too high. 

The more we improve list, the more these players will become fringe players, which is a good thing. It means every game they play is a blessing for them, which ensures they can rarely afford to drop off. 

He might get one more game, but I reckon he's done at season's end. With Taylor's record, I'd be giving him as many picks as possible to unearth another gem that could replace Bugg. 

We're not carrying any players in our 22.  We don't have players who can replace them with yet.  When we do;  that'll be the time we're carrying them.

 

 

25 minutes ago, A F said:

The problem with Bugg (despite being limited by foot and decision making) is that we already carry Harmes and ANB. The latter two are inconsistent and when they're off, they're really off. Particularly, ANB. If you add Bugg in there too, the margin for error is too high. 

The more we improve list, the more these players will become fringe players, which is a good thing. It means every game they play is a blessing for them, which ensures they can rarely afford to drop off. 

He might get one more game, but I reckon he's done at season's end. With Taylor's record, I'd be giving him as many picks as possible to unearth another gem that could replace Bugg. 

Mate, unfair assessment on young guns like ANB, Harmes and Buggy. They’ve still got dozens of games to mature and fully develop. We carried OMAC, to an extent we also carried Salem, Hogan, Trac and Brayshaw. (Claret is the freakish anomaly here). 

Everyone develops at different rates, cultures change over time. I say give them all a run and see what they can produce collectively together.

29 minutes ago, DV8 said:

I think your right Farmer.

And i think this will happen mostly, after Bernie is finished, and also Lew.

At the moment Buggy needs to keep working on his engine, and his hand finesse; and composure with ball in hand.

Yeah, no don't think so.  Bugg won our 3km time trial this year (be it in the absence of T Mac) and I'm thinking he is now at the point of having a mature body.

Personally I agree with the assertion that he is worth using as a tagger.  Harmes can do and did do the role well, but I think he offers more offensively than Bugg out of the guts.  If I recall correctly, we used Viney as a tagger on Stevens in the first half against the Saints -  now there is a waste.

I'm not prepared to write off Bugg at this point.  His kicking is a confidence thing and he has often played at times the teams confidence has been down.  With the realitive lack of injuries we have had this year our midfeild depth hasn't really been called upon and at the moment that's kept Bugg out.

I agree that he is certainly on the outer and close to out at this point though and no unless something changes dramatically, it certainly wouldn't suprise me to see him traded or delisted at season's end.  But I'm also all for us trying to get the most out of every player on our list and think a taggers role for him could be just what our side needs, someone to get under the skin of the opersition and/or get into the taggers that will come after Oliver, Brayshaw and Co.

47 minutes ago, A F said:

The problem with Bugg (despite being limited by foot and decision making) is that we already carry Harmes and ANB. The latter two are inconsistent and when they're off, they're really off. Particularly, ANB. If you add Bugg in there too, the margin for error is too high. 

The more we improve list, the more these players will become fringe players, which is a good thing. It means every game they play is a blessing for them, which ensures they can rarely afford to drop off. 

He might get one more game, but I reckon he's done at season's end. With Taylor's record, I'd be giving him as many picks as possible to unearth another gem that could replace Bugg. 

Bit harsh on Harmsy, think he's been a solid contributor this year only 50 games in too. As for ANB thats a different story, would bring in Vanders in a heart beat.

1 hour ago, Farmer said:

The best tagging job by a MFC player that I can recall, was by Bugg on Pendlebury a couple of tears ago. For some unknown reason Bugg hadn't been used in this capacity thereafter..

How do you rate it vs Vince's stellar tagging jobs for us a couple of years back, where he was also getting a heap of the footy himself?

Edited July 16, 20186 yr by Rogue

53 minutes ago, A F said:

He's got a good tank too, does Harmes. He could make it as a tagger and winger. I've written him off before, but if he keeps working on his skills and limiting mistakes, he has enough flexibility to play 100+ games for the club.

The only problem with Harmes as a tagger is that he might be too friendly a bloke! 

1 hour ago, Farmer said:

I expect to get bucketed for this but here goes! 

Today's  papers report that WC successfully reduced the influence of Sidebottom and Pendlebury by playing taggers  on them. In the game we played v Dogs, Harmes tagged McCrae with some success after half time. The best tagging job by a MFC player that I can recall, was by Bugg on Pendlebury a couple of tears ago. For some unknown reason Bugg hadn't been used in this capacity thereafter..

i regard Bugg as a capable player.  Ge can get the ball and us tough. Kicking for goal is a problem but in my view he would  offer  more than a couple of Saturday's team if he were to play an old fashioned tagging role. And this week v Cats would be a great place to start

Good call all round, Hermes was super on the weekend and yes the Eagles stopped Sidebottom, even the possessions he had were under pressure, you can’t give that [censored] time and space. I don’t mind Bugg as a tagger, could be a week by week proposition.

There is no role for the likes of Bugg or Tyson - because they turn over the ball too much. These guys have been in the system a while now and their skills have actually gotten worse. Thankfully we have drafted guys like Fritsch and Spargo, who can actually use the football. Garlett is also a welcome addition back into the side. We need players who can use the ball and hit targets (which should be a minimum requirement to get a game in our main side). Bugg is a big NO for me. He joins a long line of players we have who get a kick in the VFL but come into our main side and actually make it worse.

26 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Yeah, no don't think so.  Bugg won our 3km time trial this year.

But I'm also all for us trying to get the most out of every player on our list and think a taggers role for him could be just what our side needs, someone to get under the skin of the opersition and/or get into the taggers that will come after Oliver, Brayshaw and Co.

He has big engine and is very determined.

After his suspension for the brain fade he has come back showing less harassment. That aggression seems to be channelled into him being more of a leader. Would love to see him get back to his nasty best. Till that happens we shouldn't play him. I love it when he is a pest. 

1 hour ago, DeezNuts said:

Mate, unfair assessment on young guns like ANB, Harmes and Buggy. They’ve still got dozens of games to mature and fully develop. We carried OMAC, to an extent we also carried Salem, Hogan, Trac and Brayshaw. (Claret is the freakish anomaly here). 

Everyone develops at different rates, cultures change over time. I say give them all a run and see what they can produce collectively together.

Completely agree RE: players developing at different rates, but Bugg has a fundamental flaw with his kicking and IMO poor decision making is very rarely corrected. If he's still making these mistakes at 25, I'm sorry, but it's not going to click for him.

I can see the horizon for Harmes and ANB might get there one day, although I'm skeptical. The major thing these two guys have that Bugg doesn't, is time. They're both 22.

1 hour ago, Win4theAges said:

Bit harsh on Harmsy, think he's been a solid contributor this year only 50 games in too. As for ANB thats a different story, would bring in Vanders in a heart beat.

I don't rate Vanders either. His disposal is extremely hit and miss, and he's probably the worst handballer I've ever seen at AFL level.

But I suspect Vanders will get a game soon enough for his pressure acts and his ability to bob up with a goal or two.

16 minutes ago, A F said:

Completely agree RE: players developing at different rates, but Bugg has a fundamental flaw with his kicking and IMO poor decision making is very rarely corrected. If he's still making these mistakes at 25, I'm sorry, but it's not going to click for him.

I can see the horizon for Harmes and ANB might get there one day, although I'm skeptical. The major thing these two guys have that Bugg doesn't, is time. They're both 22.

Fair call mate, I’m hearing you. Age is a real factor, rates aside, there’s conventional expectation to consider, and the window of opportunity - let’s hope ANB, Bugg and Harmes take advantage of what is laid out before them!

Give me Vince and Harmes as taggers. 

The only role Bugg has is to stay at Casey until his contract is up. Ball butcher and all round average footballer. 

9 hours ago, Farmer said:

Bugg on Pendlebury

Leg speed like for like, both as slow as treacle.

Bugg couldn't go with the likes of Danger...

The role for Bugg is providing very deep depth in a bottom 6 side, there is no way he should be getting a game in a finals contending side. Seven years into his AFL career I can't see how he has improved his game from his first year at GWS. Sure he's playing a different role these days, but only because his poor skills no longer allow him to play in the midfield, even as a tagger.

The coach is clearly a Vandenberg fan, but he has the same issues as Bugg. He is not particularly young, he has gone backwards from his first season (even before his injury), he is slow and his skills are well below AFL standard. 

10 hours ago, DeezNuts said:

Mate, unfair assessment on young guns like ANB, Harmes and Buggy. They’ve still got dozens of games to mature and fully develop. We carried OMAC, to an extent we also carried Salem, Hogan, Trac and Brayshaw. (Claret is the freakish anomaly here). 

Everyone develops at different rates, cultures change over time. I say give them all a run and see what they can produce collectively together.

Except these guys are rated by most astute observers to be far better players with much higher ceilings than Bugg, ANB or Harmes. The comparison is nonsensical. As is the example of our only fixed KP backman (Omac). 

If by 'carried' you mean that they weren't consistent stars from game 1, then Oliver is the only player on our list we haven't 'carried'.