Bennell was average on the weekend so I'm glad he is rested/dropped. He needs to get into the game more and apply pressure

46 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

 

Notice how Gerard Healy on the couch and Gary Lyon haven't mentioned Clayton Oliver the last 3 weeks?  and Gerard even pointed out that he is having a great season. it's always very trendy to knock a player after a few shocking kicks. Weideman had 3 butchers of the ball on the weekend and that cost us 3 goals but because they were for goal, they get forgotten. 

knocking oliver because of his kicking is equivalent to saying nick riewoldt needed to be dropped because he had kicking yips that lasted several years. Oliver) has areas to improve in his game but to even mention them is a disservice to what he does offer. elite tackling, power at the stoppages and elite hands. Oh, buddy Franklin had no right foot? would you even bother mentioning it. I mean seriously some people are hard to please. 

Oliver is a jet. His kicking is marginally behind petracca at the moment. Petraccas kicking isn't great but his strengths this season far outweigh his kicking. 

Agree with your Ästute" Summations. Gwd some on this site clearly have no idea!

Ins:  Tom Mac, Sparrow

Outs:  Bennell, Jetta.

Confirmed on the AFL site.

Not good news for Jones to not hold his spot.
Sadly, he may not get too many chances.

 

Edited July 29, 20205 yr by Lucifer's Hero

Oliver is actually a reasonable kick, he's just not a confident kick.  Maybe if our midfielders worked harder off the ball to provide blocks, Sheppard, etc; similarly forwards have to lead to the right spots and at the right moment so that you can deliver that "good kick".  There are so many variables.  I'm sure for every bad an example a good one can be found.

The bigger problem at the moment is that he rushes his disposals.  Needs to wear a hit, but then there will be some that complains about him being caught. 

Note these are all similar things that have been directed at Jones for years.

Interesting selections for a few reasons.

Firstly it will be exciting to see Sparrow in the side.  The kid has a real dip and, while I can't base this feeling on much, I think he might have a real future at the club and I think he can come in and make an impact.  

Secondly, I'm interested to see how we go with Weid, Tom and Jackson in the side at the same time.  Will they push Tom further up field and use his tank?  Or will they move Jackson further up the ground to make use of his athleticism?  Very keen to see what they do with it and if it works for us.

Lastly, neither of the ins are a like replacement for Jetta, so it puts the onus more on Hibberd, Lockhart and Salem this week.  I think they can do the job for us, but who will join them in the rotation?

Not unhappy with the changes and it will certainly give us some interesting options and match ups for tomorrow night.

1 hour ago, JTR said:

Oliver butchers the ball by foot when under no pressure at all, sometimes in crucial moments.

He does it every game, but the most glaring example (which incidentally is where all this talk started) was a few games back vs Richmond.

I assume you actually watched that game rather than just look at his stats afterwards to determine his impact?

If so, surely you recall the moment late in the 4th when we were still in it, he gets a free in the middle, shanks the kick intended for Petracca straight to Rioil who swoops, gets it to Lynch who scores? And with that killing any chance we had for a win?

Plenty of eyebrows raised after that game....

https://www.afl.com.au/video/462040/oliver-embarrassed-tigers-are-home?videoId=462040&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1593935743001

https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/melbourne-demons-clayton-oliver-under-the-microscope-over-kicking-flaws-c-1146697

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/08/is-the-fundamental-flaw-in-olivers-game-a-liability-for-melbourne/

His kicking is my personal gripe and it's probably the gripe of most here that have any problem with Oliver.  

(Some may also argue that a lot of his handballs don't actually hurt the opposition which is why he is rarely tagged).

On balance though, is any of that worthy of him being omitted from the team?  No, probably not as the good he does far outweighs the bad.

That still doesn't change the fact that he butchers the ball by foot when under no pressure at all, and at times it has been very costly.

Thats not good enough for someone that is always in our best 22.

Keep going with your little crusade though.

I think Oliver has the yips ever since he fluffed that short pass in the dying minutes that would have given us a chance to win. I think it was against Geelong or maybe Richmond, not sure. The media pressure was on him with repeated critiques. 

He is a beautiful long kick as his bombs show. At training his field kicking is great.

He is still learning and getting over the yips is part of the process for players.

Has Sparrow been training with the defenders? if not, who takes the seventh defender's spot to replace Jetta? Harmes?

3 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Not good news for Jones to not hold his spot.
Sadly, he may not get too many chances.

 

He's named LH 

2 minutes ago, Hell Bent said:

He's named LH 

Silly me!  Read the team list too quickly.

Glad that he is in again.

Loving the 3 tall prototype forward set up we are going. Jackson could potentially get off the leash as well as Fritta also.

1 hour ago, Redleg said:

Who, Bennell and Jetta out, both injured/managed? 

You heard it first.

Great to see Sparrow in the team.

Has a beautiful kick and is a strong bodied player. 

Hoping he gets lots of disposals and does the 1 percenters.

Would love to see him add to O,iver's, Viney's and Brayshaw's game with shepard's and protection. 

Edited July 29, 20205 yr by kev martin