Farewell James Harmes

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,586]

16 hours ago, Bates Mate said:

Not best 22 certainly , but good depth . Definately would have preferred him over Laurie  and Jordon in the finals this year if he was fit 

He was best 22 in a premership team a few years back.  At his best he's a compeditive and capable player.

Agree that this year his senior games were rubbish, but mainly because I think his confidence was completely shot that resulted in him making some mind bogglingly bad decisions and skill errors.

[whatwhat say what 19,225]

i can't see us willingly let harmes walk along with jj

we are light on for midfield depth as it is, let alone senior bodies

inside mids in 2024:

• petracca
• viney
• brayshaw
• oliver
• sparrow
• woewodin

even if you add rivers that's not a lot of depth

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,586]

I actually think Harmes would be a good option for a club like West Coast that has bottomed out and needs a few players with mature bodies and good training attitudes around to help establish culture.

I'm sure his mate Jayden would put in a good word for him.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,586]

26 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

i can't see us willingly let harmes walk along with jj

we are light on for midfield depth as it is, let alone senior bodies

inside mids in 2024:

• petracca
• viney
• brayshaw
• oliver
• sparrow
• woewodin

even if you add rivers that's not a lot of depth

Agree with that.

Particularly with a bit of a cloud over Gus present as well.

We're only an injury to Trac, Viney or Clarry from be exposed for midfield depth.

[Colm 1,481]

13 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

I actually think Harmes would be a good option for a club like West Coast that has bottomed out and needs a few players with mature bodies and good training attitudes around to help establish culture.

I'm sure his mate Jayden would put in a good word for him.

Ok then, Harmes, pick 5,13 and future first for Harley Reid.  

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,586]

4 minutes ago, Colm said:

Ok then, Harmes, pick 5,13 and future first for Harley Reid.  

Yeah, I think that would get it done.

[Colm 1,481]

1 minute ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Yeah, I think that would get it done.

Gotta be close eh. I know they are wanting Curtain but they need a heap of new talent. Might be better to take O’Sullivan and 2 others

[old55 21,394]

23 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Agree with that.

Particularly with a bit of a cloud over Gus present as well.

We're only an injury to Trac, Viney or Clarry from be exposed for midfield depth.

Like this year when Oliver was out for 10 weeks?

[Binmans PA 26,283]

18 minutes ago, old55 said:

Like this year when Oliver was out for 10 weeks?

And during that spell, Dunstan and Harmes played hardly a game between them, and JJ did very little. I'd much rather Rivers in place of JJ if there is a spot for him in the midfield mix.

Meanwhile, we're freeing up cap space to attract players who will be best 22.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Binmans PA

[MoeSyzlak 571]

I don’t understand why we don’t play Harmes in his best role. 
 

He  plays his best footy as a shut down player. We have seen the importance of that type of job in recent weeks. 
 

why doesn’t Goody use him like that anymore?

[adonski 9,192]

4 minutes ago, MoeSyzlak said:

I don’t understand why we don’t play Harmes in his best role. 
 

He  plays his best footy as a shut down player. We have seen the importance of that type of job in recent weeks. 
 

why doesn’t Goody use him like that anymore?

He had a short lived cameo as a tagged vs the Dogs in 2021 in one of our home & away matches

Did the job on Libba and had probably his best game for ages 

[whatwhat say what 19,225]

7 minutes ago, MoeSyzlak said:

I don’t understand why we don’t play Harmes in his best role. 
 

He  plays his best footy as a shut down player. We have seen the importance of that type of job in recent weeks. 
 

why doesn’t Goody use him like that anymore?

because the best teams don't deploy taggers - they use ball winners

in terms of a 'cooler' we tend to send viney to stop the best stoppage player

[Willmoy1947 3,805]

Some good points here, but has the horse bolted, or does the horse have a big limp now?

[MoeSyzlak 571]

4 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

because the best teams don't deploy taggers - they use ball winners

in terms of a 'cooler' we tend to send viney to stop the best stoppage player

Interesting. 
 

It was a good enough tactic for the Scott and the Cats in finals last year. I think they qualified as one of the “best teams” in September last year. 
 

it was a key reason the Hawks beat the Pies a few weeks ago. not doing it was a key reason GWS lost on the weekend. 

[inanunda 323]

Move him on if he wants to go.  Get in a pick and use that for someone else who is younger or can kick in the draft.

 

[Radar Detector 1,339]

5 minutes ago, MoeSyzlak said:

Interesting. 
 

It was a good enough tactic for the Scott and the Cats in finals last year. I think they qualified as one of the “best teams” in September last year. 
 

it was a key reason the Hawks beat the Pies a few weeks ago. not doing it was a key reason GWS lost on the weekend. 

It’s also how the Lions use Dunkley a lot of the time.

[whatwhat say what 19,225]

3 minutes ago, Radar Detector said:

It’s also how the Lions use Dunkley a lot of the time.

yep, another 'cooler'

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,586]

1 hour ago, MoeSyzlak said:

I don’t understand why we don’t play Harmes in his best role. 
 

He  plays his best footy as a shut down player. We have seen the importance of that type of job in recent weeks. 
 

why doesn’t Goody use him like that anymore?

At his best, he's also pretty good at connecting inside 50.

Anyone remember that pass to Fritsch in the 21 GF?

[Ollie fan 2,198]

We are losing Dunstan and JJ, and Brayshaw's future is under a cloud. I say, we keep Harmes.

I don't know if anyone else knows what the story was behind his absences this year for personal reasons. I certainly don't. But it seemed clear to me that, whatever they were, they were affecting him a lot. If he is through that now, then perhaps he can get back to his best form as a big-bodied midfielder with grunt.

[Go the Biff 3,176]

25 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

At his best, he's also pretty good at connecting inside 50.

Anyone remember that pass to Fritsch in the 21 GF?

That's always been Harmsy's problem though.  The gap between his best and his worst is huge. Both in game and in season. Just on ability alone there's not much he can't do. He can take a hanger, can pass lace out to a lead, can explode from a stoppage, can kick goals.  On ability he's pretty much got it all. 

But then he'll also handball to a team mate's feet, miss a target by a mile,  go missing for large parts of a game, get caught with the ball etc etc

For me he's been the most frustrating player due to his output not matching his capacity. 

If he leaves I'll wish him well. If he stays I'll also wish him well and hope he has a year where he consistently delivers at the high end of his capabilities. 

No matter what, he's a Demon premiership hero and I'll never forget that pass to Fritta. 

[beelzebub 22,243]

2 hours ago, MoeSyzlak said:

I don’t understand why we don’t play Harmes in his best role. 
 

He  plays his best footy as a shut down player. We have seen the importance of that type of job in recent weeks. 
 

why doesn’t Goody use him like that anymore?

You're essentially answering your own question.

Goody not big on shutting down players.. genius right there  😉

[Mach5 4,482]

Harmes can shut down or cool opponents but is a liability when expected to be a ball-winning midfield option. Just doesn’t have the smarts.

[Engorged Onion 9,392]

Newish jargon of a ‘cooler’, sounds naff.  Question for those hipster football analysts, what’s the difference between a ‘tagger’? 

Harmesy will be good for depth - the game moves on quickly eh… 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Engorged Onion

[MadAsHell 4,088]

3 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

i can't see us willingly let harmes walk along with jj

we are light on for midfield depth as it is, let alone senior bodies

inside mids in 2024:

• petracca
• viney
• brayshaw
• oliver
• sparrow
• woewodin

even if you add rivers that's not a lot of depth

It's why I suspect we might be big on midfielders in the draft this year. Sanders or McKrecher at 5. Wilson or Leake at 13. Brown later on.

Expect Woewodin and Laurie to get a lot more games next year and more midfield minutes for Rivers, Pickett and Nibbler.

[whatwhat say what 19,225]

45 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

Newish jargon of a ‘cooler’, sounds naff.  Question for those hipster football analysts, what’s the difference between a ‘tagger’? 

Harmesy will be good for depth - the game moves on quickly eh… 

tagger - primarily roll is to stop the opposition player they're assigned to having effect on the play

cooler - someone that you move on to someone when they're getting 'hot' to stop their influence on play

reckon the phrase has been a thing for five or so years now?