Dappa Dan

I tell you what, if he can do what he's done all month, kick 3 and smash his rebounding opponent in Hodge, people will be talking him up. You could almost argue that the addition of him in this role has probably made him our second best defender.

Okey doke. Does anyone think Dunn will go to Hodge on the weekend? I'm for it.

Yep. This is why I ALWAYS go right up to the nosebleed section. Usually in the Olympic stand through Gate 3, and on a pocket. You get away from the nuff nuffs, It's pleasant, comfortable. You see EVERYTHING. The only reason to go the bottom levels is atmosphere... and more than half the time the atmosphere is that of drunken lunatics. Give me Q51 any day. Even in finals.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel. I'm still not quiiiite sold on Dunn. I'd like to see him replicate his 3-goal efforts more consistently against the bigger sides before I put his name in pen on the team-sheet. Bate's done it as well as Dunn (last weekend notwithstanding) for longer, with many more good days in which he kicked bags as well as other games where he just linked up beautifully. I have a lot of faith in Bater, but I do realise that with an up-and-running Watts and Jurrah, there's only really one spot left in there. Maybe two if the matchups require (no second ruck, or maybe longer grounds where we have space for all that tall timber). I think what I meant to say was that I reckon it's a bit too early to imply he's trade material. Dunn's been very good for two weeks and stunning for one. All in all, I just like the fact that if you go on the model where we need 3 tall forwards, then you could say we have 4 in our best 22 in Dunn, Watts, Jurrah and Bate. Which means more competition as well as depth should injury come for us in 2011, which of course it always does. If they can hold their form and never look back, you could go so far as to say they resemble our 4 big defenders. ie Watts, Jurrah, Bate and Dunn = Frawley, Garland, Rivers and Warnock... all 4 of which have been a resounding success.

Yeah, I think what I meant was in the wider football world in terms of reputation, you'd have to assume clubs will now take notice of him. Given he can kick them a long way, and pretty straight now... AND snap them from the pocket. Opposition clubs will rate him you'd think, and amongst other supporters, he'll worry armchair selectors. Only a bag at AFL level does that. I'd also say while he certainly is playing better, I reckon he played much the same kind of footy before he was dropped. He just wasn't kicking anywhere near as straight. Also... The opposition yesterday was no Geelong. I have nothing but respect for the Tiges and what they've done this year, but they still have, and will have for a while some gaping holes that more settled sides like ours can exploit.

I was wondering how long it'd take for this to come up. Bate will be fine. I'm amazed at how little we're seeing written about Dunn. He lined up on Deledio who's in career best form, and has kicked 3, 3 and 5 the last 3 weeks. We bandy around the term "breakout game" a lot, but surely we can use it here?

Garland?

Every season, once it gets down to the last 5 rounds, they award for consistency, not the game they played that week. I reckon that'd be a shame. I'd like to see one of them crack 20 touches so at least THAT week you could say it was warranted. Another vagary of the system. I love following it, but geez it's broken.

Good post STMJ. It's not new, but I'll field it anyway. I reckon a big part o why we struggled was the fact they played man-on-man. Say what you like about the Tigers, but geez they play with heart. It was their delivery which was appalling at time that cost them any sort of sizeable lead. I have a sneaking suspicion Brisbane, heat (was hot according to someone who was there) and the hard ground might have made for a bit of first-half lethargy. But that aside, I thought once we figured our zone out and players like JoelMac got on top, all we needed to do was lean on them. I don't know about you, but as bad as we were playing I felt we always had a leash on them. Still can't believe we were up at quarter-time. Bad as that is, you do need to have that "out." The fact Jamar wasn't getting any air, and Moloney wasn't there to read him probably meant that the younger players had to step into that hole. Notice that Scully did it beautifully after half time. All in all it's not ideal, but when they're maniacally manning-up, having that back door release isn't a bad thing. I'd prefer to see that than dinky 15 metre passes to the boundary, slow play on, then cramped up on the wing and out of bounds. That's an easy one. Davey is more useful linking through the guts. I prefer him finding a target as the ground narrows. That, and Garland hasn't been too bad kicking out. Today aside. Davey did that link-up role very well today too, which might explain why he didn't drift back. Yeah. That was one of the things that led me to the tired conclusion above. Would you say we figured it out after half time though? I reckon a few changes were made that worked well. I liked seeing Bennell in defence on White (45?) What I hope is that regardless of who it is and where it goes, they just move it as QUICKLY as they can. The only way we make finals is by taking every game on. If you stop and wait, the Hodges/Mitchells of this world will moider you. All in all, I don't think it's as bad as you say. I just reckon players weren't running to receive. Why not? Because the Tiges had flooded their HF line in anticipation of a kick in. They had extra numbers, AND were manning up. The trouble with that is that it's risky. If we penetrate that wall we have acres to work into. I've missed a lot of footy this year, but the demons goal of the year for me was that quick succession of handballs out of defence, Bruce finds Sylvia on a flank, he runs into fifty and passes off to Wonna who goals. Coast to Coast stuff that had me out of my chair. I thought it was a valiant effort by Hardwick and the Tiges to play that kind of kamikaze all-out attack like that, and it was unlikely to work given they're all little kids an our defence was on top ALL day. But as far as 2010 goes, against that side, I thought it was sound day, tactically. Had it have been the Hawks, yeah, they might have made adjustments. But we'll worry about that in a week I reckon.

How's his vision? Very confident drilling passes 50 metres. He's certainly a rangey CHF type with a big engine. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact he'll rarely play deep and kick a lot of goals.

Yeah, I wasn't on a headhunting mission there. Sorry to sound like it if I was. I just reckon the phrases "general trend," and "at best/at worst" mean completely different things. But yes, I didn't miss your point. Disagree with it? Yes. Miss it? no.

Thought Garland deserved some credit after a shaky start.

I hate that "at best" phrase. Especially when it's used incorrectly. "At best" Jones' kicking is excellent. He's had games where he's hit tough targets over and over and slammed goals regularly from fifty. "At worst" it's unreliable and up-and-under. It's not like he's Dorotich, who I'm currently watching in the 1986 Grand Final on footy flashbacks. He can have very poor days, and some very good, even match-winning days. There's been plenty of players that sit comfortably in B-Grade territory, then the penny drops and they find a great second half to their careers. Jones won't get a whole lot bigger or stronger, but by gee he can get smarter as a footballer. I'll never understand why people assume a player won't improve just because they've cracked 50 games. If he was traded, I reckon we'd all be looking over our shoulders waiting for him to find the right mentor/fire in his belly to improve by leaps and bounds as a player.

Green definitely. Jamar's had one good season, and so I wouldn't be surprised to see him relegated, though he clearly deserves to be there. Sheahan does like to go with players who've played a couple of years of good footy before he gives them a spot. Likewise he keeps them in the list even if they've had an average season. IMO Frawley deserves to be well ensconced in the top 40 or so. I doubt he will be though. I'd be impressed with Mike if he was. Sylvia needs to put a whole season together, but wouldn't be far off. All in all. Green is the only one he'd have to put in. And even then he'll find an excuse to put him at #49 or something.

Say whatever you like about the pluses and minuses of his game, the big plus, for us fans, is it will answer a lot of questions. Both his game and Newton's game will have the same effect. If any of our enigmatic forwards have average games this weekend, one of the two players will HAVE to come in. Given the youngsters' form, you'd expect one or more of them to be quiet. If one of the two DO come in, the one who does has hope in his career, the other is done.

Aah Jeez. EVERY result went against us this weekend.

I would disagree with that, but it depends on your definition of "good." I reckon we DO have to hang on to players who crack 50 games of pretty good footy, and stick with them. For every Brad Miller, you get 3 Moloney/Jamar/JMacs. I think in this case, there were a handful of players who played worse, but that are in more desperate need of footy education. I'm thinking Wonna, Jurrah, Bennell. These types. Yes they play in a different position, but they all occupy one place in the 22. Jones gets dropped now, it sends him a message for his off-season that he's not a finished product. And that's ok, so long as the dropping of Jones IS constructive. Yeah. I was just speculating a little. IMO I reckon he'll do what he always does. Work his butt off and come back stronger. Be it 2011 or later this year. I think this is mostly a reaction to some posters on here who seem almost excited that Jones has hit a stumbling block. Yep. He has a handful of strengths, and only one or two weaknesses. Being pace and delivery, which in the modern game you can argue are the most important attributes. He may never fix either, but he can work towards getting around them. Chip's a good example of this. Every passage you see him in he seems to play to his strengths. He's not a spectacular kick, but he works around it by placing himself in damaging positions, lifting his eyes, and running like the dickens to give himself space, and a leading player more varied options. I'd like to see Jones take on the tackler only in the clinches, not when he's on the run on a wing or at half forward. And I'd like to see him think about disposing earlier. BEFORE he takes a hit.

Probably a better comparison. But it should serve, for Tiges fans, to show why you shouldn't jump on a tall's back so early. Vickery will be a very, very good ruckman in a few years time. I'd suggest there were people on puntroad end that stuck up for Jack in a similar way. You know. The realists.

So the next thing we hear coming into next season, will be that Jones is only on the periphery, and that he'll be put up as trade bait to lure a KP player from a club who has a surplus, and a dire need for hard inside players. I could be accused of being relentlessly positive, but Jones has been playing in and under, as a teenager and a player in his early twenties. He's done a good job without being great. When he reaches his mid to late twenties, that will be his peak time as a player, particularly one who relies so heavily on his hardness in order to be effective. Are we going to wave goodbye to him, or at best just select him only when we're having injuries or need a bit of extra toughness? It seems like a shame... If he's not getting 22 games a season in the next few years he may even SEEK a trade. If one week off becomes two, and two becomes a month... and then for the next couple of years he really IS out of favour, then it's not ridiculous to suggest a club might want to take him off our hands. If that happened, I bet he'd be one of those players who suddenly finds a gear at a new club. Perhaps a club needing a tough-nut. And once HE'S one of the older players on the ground, the young kids will be bouncing off HIM for a change. He's a good player (note I didn't say great) and I just get nervous when this club lets good players go.

Right now? Ablett. Over the journey? Judd.

I can't believe we, Jim, and the club did this inside of two years. It happened SO fast!

Yeah, that's my point. Haven't there been a couple of occasions this year where a player has a corkie, or sprain, or something not too severe, they're given a week off, and then because the replacement does well, they have to wait a couple of weeks in the VFL? Look, I could be way off the mark here, but it seems to me that when even your captain has to play two weeks in the magoos, then there's obviously a selection policy that goes for the entire team. Not just the second-tier-and-below players...

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but... You say this: Then this: Which one is it? He's contracted, sure, but we can still suggest he's in a bit of trouble. I think he might be a victim of the fact that for the first time in 3 years the 3-6 delistings aren't picking themselves. For once we might find we're losing players we could have perhaps kept for a year or two longer, like Maric or McNamara. Not sure on their contract situations either.

I was thinking today. I wonder how many players this year (not 2008/09, we were inundated with injury) have been easily in the 22, get dropped because of injury, then have to come back through the VFL the week after, as opposed to just being slotted straight back into the side. Not a criticism at ALL. But I'd like to see the stats if someone out there is cleverer with computers. Has it been EVERY player?

Gotch thought he killed it. Take from that what you will. I'm not so certain PJ will go out anymore. Someone above suggested Jamar will be given the week off, but that aside, Vickery is in the 25. He's not that good just yet, but that would be 2 ruckmen, which might give DB a moment's pause.