ArtificialWisdom

Heard this too apparently he did some run throughs with a strapped calf then just returned to the main session with the rest of them. Dont think he is in any doubt

I would hope so, if i was in charge i would have Clayton and CP5 more or less take turns following gaz around and learning off him. If disaster strikes we are losing and gaz is getting out of hand put vince or viney on him but other than that let the kids learn from the best.

I know that Wright is going to outreach almost anyone he stands near but idk about everyone else but id much rather it in his hands than Lynch... And i also feel like everyone was angry about how big and slow we were last week and now they pick a quicker side and everyone is angry we are too short... I'm happy to look at the side say we are backing in out mids to keep up their clearance dominance and use that our advantage.

Yeah but the ball barely went near his end of the ground, not much he could do as a forward when the ball was always at the other end

Well I'm not convinved on him but he takes the chance prove me and any other doubters wrong.

haha get used to it because right now it looks like thats about where we will be sitting but it is not as annoying as losing and falling from 9th

2016 Stats ONLY!! Player Avg Disposals Avg Turnovers % Turnovers Dunn 13.8 3.8 27.5% Lumumba 17.2 4.2 24.4% Viney 29.2 6.8 23.3% Vince 25.4 5.4 21.3% Watts 14.5 2.7 18.6% Tyson 22.7 4 17.6% N. Jones 26.7 3.8 14.2% T Mac 16.3 2.2 13.5% Garlett 11.3 1.5 13.3% Gawn 14.7 1.8 12.2% These are our top ten players in the afl player ratings ordered by thier turnovers. I understand that some of these will be free kicks which wont be registered as disposals however disposals is just indication of how much they have the ball. The point is Tom is far from the worst. When you look at the only 2 better than him on this list, Garlett is kicking for goal alot meaning he wont register many turnovers and Gawn handballs to a bloke 2/3m away or takes a mark and kicks under little to no pressure. So all things considered i think Tom is doing alright. I would like to see each individual's scores off turnovers but i cant find that stat anywhere, if somone has it or can link me to it id much appreciate it. Side notes: - I know the player ratings arn't exactly the greatest but it gave me a nice little sample set - Tom is averaging over 1 turnover less per game than last year. - Numbers are copied from "player stats" section on the AFL App - Jones' % is pretty incredible based on his disposal count! - Yes stats are not everything but they can help put into perspective the number of mistakes Tom actually makes especially compared to a coupe of his fellow (and more senior) defenders looking at you H and Dunn.

Toms defencive work far outways his poor offencive efforts, he is not alone in his bad turnovers hell in the last 2 weeks i think Viney has had 2 of the worst turnovers, the one on sunday was embarassing, but id have a heart attack if someone suggested trading him (im sure you would too). The reality is Tom needs to keep it simple with the ball and understand leadership isnt doing it all which is what he tries to do at the minute. Given his ability to win 1 on 1s when out of position why would you trade him? I think if we sat down and counted you would find he stops more scoring opportunities than he causes. The mistakes he makes can be fixed remember just a couple of years ago we were hearing about "rance" moments and now he is arguably the best KPD in the comp. I think we need to realise how good it is to finally be in a position that we need to polish off the rough edges of players rather than desperately find talent. I want to see success quickly too but throwing talent away for a quick fix just cos the player has a flaw is a bit dangerous.

This is a very good point, we can talk all we want about defence and we seem to be improving with the ball in hand but we are still the second worst in the comp when it comes to scores given up off turnovers. Good luck defending when you turn it over with everyone runnning the other way.

watched them live saturday night and they were worse than useless. So naturally as a melbourne supporter im very worried

He is young and has the talent i just think we should let him play the year at casey continue to get better then we can bring him in next year. Maybe give him a few games later in the year so he gets a taste but there is no sense rushing the kid in just to show him off when we dont need to.

Yeah exactly. I dont really want the weed in either i would be content with him not playing a game all year but if they have to play one that is not up to it would rather a player bursting with skill/talent playing underdone than a player who is no more than an athlete. On a solution type note: I would play Dunn as a forward and bring in OMac to play down back

I used to think I was rational and used common sense but the longer I spend here the more irrational I become haha.

I would love that but Blicavs plays in the midfield, something that i think Frost could do but if they are not gonna give him a run there then he wont ever develop the same attributes required. I would just like them put Frost on a wing for a game and see what happens

Yeah i agree weed shouldnt be in i was just using him as an example because i think frost is just as far off the pace. Pedo is always gonna be the better option for now because he can clunk a mark. If frost was taking more marks a game i wouldnt have a problem especially playing 60-80m from goal where his poor kicking is hidden, i think he would be super damaging but right now, whether through lack of skill or confidence im not sure, we are seeing him drop 2/3 or more sitters a game. He is costing us more scoring opportunities than he is creating. When he starts grabing a few marks laying a few tackles and create more opportunities for those around him he will be very much worth while having in but at this stage he is becoming too much of a liability. Give him another week but if he doesnt show improvement against the Suns i would be looking elsewhere for the time being.

While i agree he can possibly one day get there, i am starting to think that he needs to give more consistantly to prove his worth now, otherwise we are falling back into the trap of gifting games. Granted after 2 goals on the weekend im not sure he should be dropped this week but i want to start to see a goal a game and a few more marks to show that he should be in the team. Because if they wanna continue play a key forward who, for now, isnt up to it, I would rather see the weed (who also isnt up to it) atleast he has the skill to cover his deficiencies.

My understanding was Essendon hadnt made a bid but I share this concern

I also hold my breath when Tmac or frost are involved.. If we had an end to end passage of play that was Tmac on to H then him give to Frost i think I'd pass out

He got bored making changes at the end of the year... now he has to make one every week!

that's alot of changes after 1 bad one, however i have to admit those are some exciting Ins.

Just speaking to a friend about this they pointed out currently the inform team of Etihad is the bulldogs, only 2 losses in so long (against none other than hawthorn and an undefeated north). Surprise, surprise they have the best mosquito fleet in the game right now. Supports your point pretty well I would think.

based on our form so far this year id be more likely pencil in a win against the doggies, sydney or hawthorn than the suns this weekend

I agree to a point i would have rathered an extra small forward looking back on it now. But I was also there when north played the night before and their key forwards were all very good, one of those won them the game. I think that it was our players performance that was more dissapointing than 20 20 hindsight selection decisions. I thought the side was correct based on the last 3 weeks performances. Kent, Garlett, Harmes and Kennedy were all more disappointing than talls Watts and Hogan. So saying we were too tall i feel is throwing Pedo and Frost under the bus...

I hope they back their system, it has worked 4 out of 6 weeks so why wouldnt they? I know we lost to north but i think we all agree they are simply a better side.

Lets face it when he first came to the club Roos said it was his job to take the heat while they develop a decent list. We all know the above is bull shite but its his job to take ownership when the players under perform. He comes out, talks crap and then internaly they will be looking at what the players did wrong not who the coaches did and didnt pick. Those who were poor may be dropped and we move on. Roos cops the heat and the players get to review and reload without all the media heat they would have had if Roos had come out and said "they were just not good enough" which we all know is the case (hogan excluded this week)