i hate refering to sayings but "I TOLD YOU SO". Hang ur heads in shame thoes people who bagged bate. U are all a disgrace

And Jaded, did you see Petterd's suicidal effort at going for the ball in the second quarter (i think) - fearless stuff! Bate doesnt do that - yet.

And Jaded, did you see Petterd's suicidal effort at going for the ball in the second quarter (i think) - fearless stuff! Bate doesnt do that - yet.

I did see it, and I was VERY impressed. But not every player plays in that manner.

Rivers, Bell, Petterd, they are natural-born kamikazes, but there are plenty of great players out there who aren't. We can't punish players for not having that natural instinct to put themselves in danger, as long as they go when it is their turn, and Bate does that as far as I'm concerned.

Pretty much all of his marks today were contested, so you can't tell me he doesn't put himself in the contest. He's had an average month, I'm sure he knows that, but he is just a kid and I don't see the need for anyone to get stuck into him about his hardness, especially given the fact that last week he was leaving the SCG on crutches.

Its amazing how people can be so quick to shoot down a young player.

Sydneys Brett Kirk was delisted by them and returned to the bush and play in the Ovens & Murray league, then got a second chance as a rookie at 23 from memory. And Rodney Eade was going to sack him again until Paul Roos took over and showed faith in his abiltiy as a result he is now one of the AFL's elite players

Cutting players throats for a couple of (or one) bad games, or a form slump is a common problem due to our (maybe) inflated early expectations of our kids.

The way I see it all players, big (who do take longer), small, or otherwise develop at different rates and therefore things will change as they do. Most, if not all have the skills, the heart, the desire, or all of the above, but they still have to find their feet in a very tough environment and sometimes this simply takes time.

Now to us we don't want it to take any time, ever. We expect them all to be perfect (which no-one ever is) as soon as they arrive and forever after, because we need to win (as they do as well) and therefore we don't seem to be able to give these young men the time that some of them obviously need to find their way.

Brett Kirk is one of my favourite examples of persistence and perseverance of a player, who is not particularly highly skilled, but is all effort (something that tends to get under-valued), being given the time to get to where he is now. And he is repaying the faith to the club, coach, supporters and team mates in spades.

He was told in his mid-20's that he was not good enough, which is a sad but common insult thrown at players from the cheap seats around here, and he has proved so many people wrong. So maybe we shouldn't be so bloody critical or vitriolic towards our players, because at the end of the day they are our players.

They should all have our support, all the time. Even if their form ebbs and flows.

If any of them have a bad day, or play a bad game - be critical, but don't ever simply write them off completely, because none of us really knows.

Which is unfortunately a very common throwaway insult towards some players on our list, a group which Bate has been added recently - we hear it all the time - "he is not good enough", "we will never win anything with him", "he has no skill, he is useless" etc.

They are still human and will go throw good times and bad times whether we like it or not. But this is something that we can't seem to get our heads around.

But it doesn't mean for a second that they are not trying to get us what we want to see, its just unfortunately sometimes they will fail.

They at some point make mistakes that we will hate and that we will abuse, but lets not write any of them off for a few bad games.

Because that really is a sad indictment on a supporter base.

Oh, and congrats to Matthew for a fantastic game today !!!

Very good game today, if he keeps on playing that O'Keefe style game he'll be a star. :D

Cutting players throats for a couple of (or one) bad games, or a form slump is a common problem due to our (maybe) inflated early expectations of our kids.

The way I see it all players, big (who do take longer), small, or otherwise develop at different rates and therefore things will change as they do. Most, if not all have the skills, the heart, the desire, or all of the above, but they still have to find their feet in a very tough environment and sometimes this simply takes time.

Well said.

Ironically we seem to have more patience for our experienced players who have shown they're not up to being consistently good players at AFL level compared to our younger guys who are unsurprisingly inconsistent.

He has had the fumbles abit this year, probably due to low confidence. But yesterday he was fantastic. Marked everything that went his way, and had a big impact on the match. His best game thus far I think. He seems to be a confidence player, like Neitz. If he pulls something off early, such as one of his now trademark goals from outside 50, then his confidence grows and he tries to do these unique things more often. If he gets shut down or fluffs a kick, his confidence drops off and he gets the fumbles bad. Yesterday was an example of what he is capable of when his confidence is up. Hopefully he takes some confidence from the match knowing he is capable of having a big impact at this level like he did. He really has the attributes to be a great player in a variety of different positions.

Yep bate was very very good.... Enjoyed watching him 2day.. Played a different position which was good to c...

Perhaps you wont be starting new threads bagging young players from now on.

Jaded, thats saying absolutely nothing, we are one of the softest sides in the AFL. Most of our 25 to 30 year olds are as soft as velvet & have been allowed to get away with it since they started & now it's haunting us & is a real nuisance to eradicate this attitude from a culture. It took Barassi 5 or 6 years to get rid of it in the eighties. We certainly don't need Bate & others youngster's taking the lead from bruce & co.

Breed 'em tough, not soft.

-things may be changing.

I know his loved by alot of members ans supporters, but im sorry to say his a shocker!! His decision making is terrible, he butches the ball everytime he gets a kick.. If if gets a game in our fittest 22 im be stuffed.. He looks lazy and slow and i dont think i`ve seen him play defensive on a player.. I know his a in and under type player and hasnt got the skill as some stars, but i couldnt see him improving our side or to be a premership player.. Still young and may get better but i doubt he could ever be a great player. Weve got enough players that could do his role and be damaging that bate.. Bit harsh and i hope he can improve, but i dont think his AFL standands..

Christ

Thats probbaly the biggest load of [censored] I have ever read, and I have posted my fair share of crap