jabberwocky

Lol, have you even seen him play.

Jones actually gets first hands on the footy a phenonemal amount of the time in the clinches unfortunately we don't tend to get a clearance out of it due to a number of factors. First reason is a lack of available options around him. We really only have one player that is capable of consistently delivering clean possession in traffic and that is Davey, he uses his speed, agility, and his ability to get into space. Jones, Mclean and Moloney can stand up in a tackle but who then do they get it out to if Davey is covered. Collingwood however have a number of smooth movers who are capable of finding space to work with in close, Davis, Pendlebury, Didak etc.

I agree....persist. If we can get it in to some contests in the fifty it might help him.

Agreed, but I think we will do OK. 2 of the 3 were 17 year old schoolboys. We won't know if they are going to be any good for a while yet.

We have been inside fifty 492 times in comparison to our opponents 620 times. We have kicked 117 goals to our opponents 163. It equates to a goal every 23% of our inside 50 forays, compared to our opponents 26%. In comparison to how we are travelling in other areas our conversion rate holds up ok. I expected that our foward line would have a much lower conversion rate than our opponents. The main problem is getting it in there. We also average 5.6 contested marks per game, more than our opponents' 5.5 which is a bit of a surprise. We are on the bottom in nearly every stat including tackling which is a concern seeing that the other team is in possession of the footy more than we are. Our forward line has it's issues but IMO the midfield simply needs to get its hands on the footy more, we have a forward line that is being starved of opportunity. http://www.pro-stats.com.au/psw/web/team_home?tid=109

Must agree with that. At the moment those two picks could be a huge win for us. With those two picks and Bennell the recruiting dept have done niclely.

We must never, ever draft a player that is 192cm ever again. Are there any other bogey heights Freak that we should avoid. Brent Grgic was 188cm, I think Garry Lyon was too. I think Grgic was born on a leap year, so was Weetra. We should definitely avoid 192cm players born on a leap year, especially when the moon is in its first phase.

Unfortunately for Juice 80% of footy is played in the head.

There is a third Grimes brother, he is only 13 but he is a class captain and a member of the debating team, he is the obvious choice.

You are kidding me?

We will of course go for "best available" however our midfield is lacking 2 or 3 class players and is the area that needs to improve most. Then a strong forward would be handy, as would a ruckman. We are still those four or five class players short of becoming a good side.

True but given space and kicked to adavantage he would be hard to beat on the lead, as would Watts. I think our forward structure will need a complete rethink if these two blokes are included.

I just wanted to use the "premature evaluation" gag.

I will reserve judgement till they have played a few more than a few quarters each. I think you have a case of premature evaluation.

I am of the opininion that Bailey would push the "we are young, rebuilding and want to be competitive"line for a limited time. I expected that at the midway mark of this season that the bar would be raised and more demanded of the playing group. The signs leading up to the Queens Birthday supported this idea. Bailey has been less satisfied with honorable lossess and lamenting our inability to play four quarters. I would suggest that coaching group is about to put the squeeze on the playing group. The statements won't necessarily be made in the media, but at the selection table. I think the footy dept is currently going through a transition period, where honorable losses are no longer acceptable and apparent youth is no longer an nxcuse. It is a transition that has to happen. Eventually the losing mentality needs to be changed. IMO this remains Bailey's biggest challenge.

Ok NJ, best players and goalkickers?

An indigenous injection might be just what we need against the bumbers. Could be exciting. Jetta has been consistently slotting them too. Benell would have to be a chance against the quick bumber forwards too.

Not when you are the MFC of 2007 you can't. It was apparent to all those who know something about footy that the team needed to be rebuilt. Maybe with our plodders in the side we could have sneaked in a couple more wins but even then my feeling is that we probably wouldnt have. The side needed to be rebuilt, the game plan re-written. That is what is being attempted. No-one knows if it will work yet. I suggest that those in the know knew it was the only option to give ourselves any chance at a flag. The plan that you advocate would have us perpetually reaching for the dizzying heights of mediocrity. And I will say it again you coach your players up to the game-plan, you don't bring your game-plan down to the skill level of your players.

Cooney, Montagna, Shaun Burgoyne, Kane Cornes, Stanton, Tyson Edwards, Jordan Lewis, Brad Sewell, Jude Bolton, Brett Kirk, quite a few of Geelong's midfield get rotated through half back. And if you looked even into the recent past you will find some excellent mids played from half a season to a couple of seasons in the back half. Ricciutto, Buckley, Nigel Lappin etc etc etc.

That's garbage, you might be able to get away with not having a defensive aspect to your game as a gun junior....AFL is a different story. Many good midfielders learn thier craft on the half back line. Fitness can be improved, the pace of the game picked up, acountability developed etc etc. Its a good development strategy that has been used for a long time. Half back is also one of the easiest positions to play, if you can't cut it there you probably won't make it.

I know.....me too. There is nothing to be gained by extending the contract this year.......... as long as Bailey is allowed to continue his mandate of development without feeling the pressure to eke out some meaningless wins to satisfy the board.

Yes. Some hard decisions need to be made about our midfield. We need greater leg speed, quicker thinking and the ability to evade tacklers. We also need forward structure, moreso than a forward target. We need to become winners with a winning mentality and self belief. We need leadership.

I reckon he will go the way of many others and do his apprenticeship at half back. I think he will make a natural progression into the guts patrolling the centre square. He will make an excellent midfielder.

Mate go and look at the tapes of last years games and come back here and try again. He now has a younger list than what he started with. Probably best to refrain from calling people names, particularly when the evidence suggests that what you are saying is plain wrong. What we need is our young players like Grimes, Maric and Watts to get thier hands on the footy more and Bruce, Bell and Johnson to get it less.