What is with the bate bashing??

He has just grown pubic hair, he cannot be help responsible for melbournes on field woes. The kid is still raw!!

He will get better, he needs more time. It is not his role in the team to carry passengers. He is STILL LEARNING.

The finger should be pointed at senior players, not the kids.

I am as gutted as anyone about our poor start (AGAIN). But the kids are not to blame.

Give bater a break.

What is with the bate bashing??

He has just grown pubic hair, he cannot be help responsible for melbournes on field woes. The kid is still raw!!

He will get better, he needs more time. It is not his role in the team to carry passengers. He is STILL LEARNING.

The finger should be pointed at senior players, not the kids.

I am as gutted as anyone about our poor start (AGAIN). But the kids are not to blame.

Give bater a break.

Im not sure the fact that his hair is new that that reflects on his footy but i do agree. Bate is very good but like many players ND has him in the wrong possie. PLAY HIM FORWARD U BAS**** ND

totally agree

we lose and people blame a 19yr old kid

He did fluff a few kicks, and drop a few sitters, but overall he was good, especially in the last quarter.

I agree that we cannot point the finger at guys who have barely played 10 games. Their job is to learn from their mistakes, not take the blame for the mistakes of our senior players and leaders.

He and Jones are the least of our worries.

Red Nob's a great little find. Lay off him. In a few years he'll be a superstar (ish) and all you Bate bashers will be silenced.

What is with the bate bashing??

I am as gutted as anyone about our poor start (AGAIN). But the kids are not to blame.

Give bater a break.

That's right Bate can't be blamed, but he should not be played in the same team as Chris Johnson, neither of them can consistantly do it yet. It's frustrating watching Godfrey get a game and wondering why, but he gets it and has a physical influence.

well at least play bate in vfl untill he learns the basics ie) Kick, mark, handpass, man up and tackle.

well at least play bate in vfl untill he learns the basics ie) Kick, mark, handpass, man up and tackle.

I can think of 16 other players who were terrible so lets drop the side then. Drop bate you drop Jamar, Johnstone, Davey, Wheels, C.Johnson etc etc

Bate needs to learn at the top level. The VFL is more to build form. Bater needs to learn how to read the play, and dominate at a top level. The tempo of VFL is much slower. Let him learn in the afl, mistakes will happen from time to time, but in 3 years time he will be a worthwhile investment.

well there a lot of others who dropped marks (possibly all), stuffed up kicks- bruce, green, TJ, wheatley, jone i could go on

He was taken bottom age

Therefore this should be his first year in the AFL

he will be a star

well at least play him in the vfl untill he can learn the basics ie) kick, handpass, mark, tackle, man up.

well at least play him in the vfl untill he can learn the basics ie) kick, handpass, mark, tackle, man up.

Oh good god thankyou Bruce Almighty. Why do people say lay off Bate?! What the hell? He will be a star? Everyone keeps saying "blame it on the leaders, blame it on the leaders". They have been playing in the seniors for quite some time and I agree they should take MOST of the responsibilty, however we need them more than Bate at the moment. They are up to AFL standard and we know what they (Bruce, Green, Yze) are capable of. Yze played reserves on the weekend. Who would you rather drop next weekend, Bruce/Green or Bate. I know my answer. He is not up to AFL standard yet. Why keep playing him in the seniors when clearly he is not benifiting. His confidence will just keep dropping. Why not give him a run in the seconds and get his confidence going and then bring him up. God damn people. He was absolutely woeful today.

Bate should be held to the standard of a young player making his way in the game.

And according to that standard he was a disaster today.

Oh good god thankyou Bruce Almighty. Why do people say lay off Bate?! What the hell? He will be a star? Everyone keeps saying "blame it on the leaders, blame it on the leaders". They have been playing in the seniors for quite some time and I agree they should take MOST of the responsibilty, however we need them more than Bate at the moment. They are up to AFL standard and we know what they (Bruce, Green, Yze) are capable of. Yze played reserves on the weekend. Who would you rather drop next weekend, Bruce/Green or Bate. I know my answer. He is not up to AFL standard yet. Why keep playing him in the seniors when clearly he is not benifiting. His confidence will just keep dropping. Why not give him a run in the seconds and get his confidence going and then bring him up. God damn people. He was absolutely woeful today.

You're a space cadet! Bate's had two sloppy games along with most of the list. He was superb last year. Perhaps in a stronger and less injured list he'd be dropped. But we don't have such a luxury. He's got match winning potential and the best place to learn what it takes to be an AFL player is by playing in the AFL. There's about a dozen players that should have the chop before Bate, but like I said, our lack of depth hardly affords us that luxury.

I shall continue to hurl abuse at Red Nob when he screws up, but wouldn't want to see him dropped. He's learning his craft.

(Don't take offense by the Space Cadet comment)

You're a space cadet! Bate's had two sloppy games along with most of the list. He was superb last year. Perhaps in a stronger and less injured list he'd be dropped. But we don't have such a luxury. He's got match winning potential and the best place to learn what it takes to be an AFL player is by playing in the AFL. There's about a dozen players that should have the chop before Bate, but like I said, our lack of depth hardly affords us that luxury.

I shall continue to hurl abuse at Red Nob when he screws up, but wouldn't want to see him dropped. He's learning his craft.

(Don't take offense by the Space Cadet comment)

He should learn his craft in the reserves.

We lose games like today's game because our senior players go missing, in essence we are a team devoid of genuine quality. We have talented senior players such as Bruce and Johnstone but they lack the consistency that players of genuine quality possess - Johno barely touched the ball today, Bruce racked up the possessions but didn't do much with them, note his passing instead of having a shot at goal when clear and inside 50 or his hospital pass from a free/mark from half back to centre half back which resulted in a Hawks shot at goal. It was telling that our midfield general today was a second year player in Nathan Jones.

Bate had the fumbles today but still did some good things. He did seem to run out of gas so his endurance base has to be questioned. With Neita and Robbo out I can't see that next week is the time to drop him, he can take a mark and kick a long goal - as he did do today.

If Bate had a shocker what of Brad Green. Not quick, can't get his own ball, plays as a receiver - and his disposal today was poor for a 150 game player with his supposed kicking skills. I am coming to the view that Green is a forward, I don't think he is quick enough to play the receiver role and he certainly is not capable of playing as an inside midfielder. For mine Green is a very disappointing player - he really has not developed into the genuine quality player most of us thought he would. He is one of Jack Dyer's 'good ordinairy footballers'. Maybe a return to the forward line in Robbo and Neita's abscence is the go.

Bate is a peaheart, pure and simple - got the body, the athleticism and the kick, that will allow him to play at this level, but he will never amount to anything if he is this soft.

I don't blame Bate.

He should not have been playing. I blame the weak as water match committee and coach for formenting a weak and unaccountable attitude.

The continual reluctance to punish any player who squibs a contest, who puts themselves before the team has shown the younger players that these acts are acceptable. Just like Yze's insipid efforts where he continued to flinch week after week and not be punished (well until this week, a year or two late), Bates effort where he neeed new underpants when he was on the wing against the saints should not have been acceptable. He should have been dragged and given a tongue lashing. Then he should have had a week at Sandy. This did not happen because the coach and his cronies accept weak half arsed efforts and have for too long. This cancer starts at the top and is now infecting younger players, if not rectified now (if not already) it will be too late, another generation of players will be soft.

Bate just does what he has learnt. He follows the example set by others and accepted (and defended) by many here.

He was absolutely woeful today.

Davey was woeful. Trav was woeful. For every fulff, or incorrect decision Bate drilled a sensational pass or kicked a 55 metre goal from the boundary. Learn about football before you come on here having a go at the young guys who actually play SOME good football.

He should learn his craft in the reserves.

Why? He's played a number of matchwinning games in the seniors, and he's been far from our worst in these last 2 weeks. He actually looked dangerous a couple of times in a position he hasn't played much (out of the square) because of necessity.

Bate is a peaheart, pure and simple

Go to Bigfooty you troll. Fair Dinkum worst post I've read in ages. Posters like you give this site a bad reputation.