Edorion said:

good post

On the Newton subject, I think i have mentioned it previously but wasn't Mathew Lloyd dealt with in a similar fashion? Sheedy kept him back for a bit longer than what people thought was needed to get him 100% as opposed to 80 or 90? not that tyhey are the same type of player but I hope you catch my drift.

You could be right. Juice may need to tidy up his work off the 3m board.

Have enjoyed reading demonland and have just joined up so this is my first post. Would just like to say that there is no point in playing players for the sake of it if the coaching staff don't think they are ready yet. So many young players end up with OP or other soft tissue injuries because they are not quite ready bodywise and some have their confidence shot too early because they are not ready mentally. Maybe this it the case with Newton.

  Edorion said:

good post

On the Newton subject, I think i have mentioned it previously but wasn't Mathew Lloyd dealt with in a similar fashion? Sheedy kept him back for a bit longer than what people thought was needed to get him 100% as opposed to 80 or 90? not that tyhey are the same type of player but I hope you catch my drift.

Lloyd made his debut in Round 14 1995, having been born in April 1978. This would make him 17 years old. So really there is no comparison, it's clutching at straws really. Newton has turned 20.

OK, Sheedy kept him back for 13 games because he was 17, where's the analogy?

  Travis for captain said:

Have enjoyed reading demonland and have just joined up so this is my first post. Would just like to say that there is no point in playing players for the sake of it if the coaching staff don't think they are ready yet. So many young players end up with OP or other soft tissue injuries because they are not quite ready bodywise and some have their confidence shot too early because they are not ready mentally. Maybe this it the case with Newton.

Welcome, and congrats for plucking up the courage to debate with us neanderthals...

On your post, it seems that the only variable that could cause Juice to NOT be selected is his mind. We've eliminated form, talent, hardness, suitability for a role (was just about our only reserve KP forward there for a few weeks), hard work, injury and fitness as possible problem areas. He seems to have checked every box and then some.

But he's paying a terrible price for being a bit of a moody kid isn't he? Look, we could never know what's ACTUALLY going on in his head really. For all we know, it's all just ND and the FDs opinion, or on the other end of the scale it could be Juice's unwillingness to follow instruction. For my part I reckon this one's a bit iffy. There's nothing physically wrong with him in a maturity sense. He's bigger than he looks. Sort of a Norm Smith type... skinny but MUCH more effective that many of the beefcakes, and just as heavy in terms of kgs. And if his mental state were an issue, surely holding him back is JUST as problematic. In the media ND and others are not even MENTIONING him in dispatches, and week by week it's getting harder to drown out the still growing posse of fans he's accumulating. If Juice feels he's not getting enough games, there is a real danger he could jump ship. No, EVERY debut i a roll of the dice... I just can't see him being any more ready in 12 weeks, or even 12 months from now. Most of all, his form WARRANTS a call-up.

One other possibility was raised by Rogue, or Whispering Jack, or nasher... They could be waiting until they can count on the opposition's 2 best defenders to go to OTHER players. For example... you wouldn't want Juice's first game to be against Mal Michael or Dustin Fletcher... So we wait until Robbo and Neita, easily our best and most respected forwards, to return TOGETHER, THEN we play him... I'm not so sure about this being the case, but it is a possibility....

I think Brad Miller plays a part here too. the FD and board probably would have noticed he was under the pump last year, and may have promised him a dozen or so rounds to get a head of steam up again, and do what he did in his first few years. They may be keeing their word with him, and thus denying Juice a go.

All in all, the pros far outweigh the cons in this case... At least that's how I see it. As far as what you say TFC, his mental state is unlikely to be any stronger in a number of weeks time than it is now. Fev's a whingeing peanut, and he won a Coleman. MFC can handle an unpredictable, arrogant player... Hell, MFC NEEDS an unpredictable arrogant player.

debut on queens birthday, 80k fans in the mcg

by the sounds of things he will be a big game player, and there wont be a bigger game for us than queens birthday (no finals )