RalphiusMaximus

What's Geelong's first pick?

Thrilled to see Fitz in the side. I really hope they use him as a forward and not just a backup ruck. He's worked really hard at Casey, his game is improving and he deserves the chance. Also, watching Tynan play last Saturday, he looks to have a really good build for an AFL player. He's bulking up nicely and I think he may turn out to be a bargain given he was taken in the third round. I think playing Jamar is basically self-defence. If we go up against Freo with Spencer in the ruck they will demolish us.

What were the comments on Jurrah?

True, but he wouldn't cost all that much, he's not a first choice player at the Bombers, he's had years in the system and he's finally starting to show a bit. I'd give them a third round pick for him quite happily. Maybe thrown in one of our tradeable players as well.

Don't be too quick to bag Gumby. He might wind up playing for us next year :D

I note that after 9 pages the pro NikNat people still haven't been able to come up with any comparative statistics that support their stance. The simple truth is that Watts, despite playing in a truly awful side, is matching up very well statistically. The difference is that he is not a gigantic deadlocked black man and as such is not as eye-catching. Now, to those who sing his praises, I am perfectly happy to say that NicNat has the potential to be an amazing player. His speed, strength and athleticism are astounding, which is why he continues to make headlines despite his skill level. But therein lies the problem. His lack of games sense means that he rarely gets into space or spreads from a contest, so too many of his disposals are contested. His skills are abysmal. He still struggles to take a mark in his hands, he still struggles to hit a target by hand or foot. Much of this is mitigated by the quality of the personnel surrounding him, so he is still looking pretty good, but if he is every going to deserve the hype, he needs to drastically improve in both his ball-handling and game sense. In comparison, we have Watts. His skills are light years beyond NikNat's. His disposal efficiency is well above, despite paying in a team that regularly makes even the simplest pass into a clanger through sheer ineptitude. Despite the oft-repeated claims of some media personalities, he does have an opponent when playing on the HBF (or do people think that his man has dropped back to be the spare defender at the other end? Against Melbourne!). His style is far more subdued and as such less eye-catching, but his effectiveness can be measured by the very claim his detractors continue to make. They never notice his opponent, and as such assume there isn't one. Those of us who pay attention know that his opponents are rarely sighted because they can't get the ball. Obviously Watts continues to have issues he needs to work on. His core strength would be the primary issue for me. While he can and will beat his man to the ball on most occasions, if he is forced to wrestle or fight on the ground, he often finds himself outmatched. Greater core strength would help in this area. He also needs more confidence in the air. Despite his athletic ability, he rarely jumps for the ball, preferring to use body positioning, which is often beaten again by his lack of core strength with which to hold his ground. If he is to continue playing as a rebounding defender then this is the primary area he needs to improve. If they want to move him forward again at any time, the biggest issue will be teaching the midfield how to hit a leading player so that he isn't forced to wrestle against player like Rutten. All this goes to show that they are two very different players, playing in totally different positions in teams which are poles apart in terms of quality. As such, there is little point in trying to compare them. Looking at the statistics for both players, both for their respective careers and for this year, there is really little difference in their output. They have both had times where they have impacted the result of games, and far more frequently, they have both failed to do so. In all honesty, the only difference I see between them at this point in their respective careers is that one is far more marketable.

I have seen it and I admit he looks very impressive. Given another couple of years he could well be living up to the hype. He just needs to get more of the ball and improve his disposal skills. A lot. I just object to people raving about how much more advanced he is that Watts when the stats simply don't support that stance.

So you prefer the guy who does bugger all but looks good doing it?

I suppose you think that Justin Leppitsch was a failure as well? He was recruited as a key forward. Those AA noms don't really count if they're not in the position you were recruited to play right? As I have pointed out in the other Watts thread started this week, He stacks up pretty well next to NicNat right now. Personally, I think that that is pretty impressive given that Watts has played 2/3 the games and is almost a full year younger. While NicNat is a competitive beast and wins in tackles and contested ball, Watts has him hands down in Disposals, Marks and Efficiency. I am perfectly willing to admit that he doesn't look like being another Davd Neitz, but what we have is a sublimely skilled young man who can play wing, HBF or HFF and use his speed, height and skills to set up our attack. I'm pretty happy with that to be honest.

I'm surprised the MRP is game to cite a medical report from the crows after last time. Surely having been so badly duped by Dangerfield's serious concussion they would take anything Adelaide submits with more than a grain of salt.

Comparison stats. Overall, they look to be fairly even over this year. NicNat has played more games obviously, and has had more scores (playing as ruck/forward vs HBF), but Watts is well ahead in disposals and efficiency. Watts wins rebound 50's, Nic Nat wins inside 50s. Again, pretty obvious. Watts has more uncontested while NicNat has contested. NicNat has tackles won. Watts has Marks. I think the best possible answer to this poll is that we were right to pick Watts, and would also have been right to pick NicNat. Two very different players who are both coming along quite nicely.

The guy is second in tackles, second in handballs and third in overall disposals this year. He can't be doing too badly. Watch how he goes about it on the field. He's always looking to do the team things, sometimes I think a little too much. JT is going along nicely.

You do understand that Lynch was taken before our first pick that year, right? That being said, yes, it's hard to watch knowing that he almost made it to our pick. Would have loved him on our side.

Totally agree on the umpires today. We were always outclassed, but they gave the Crows five goals through dubious frees by my count. Shocking display. On other fronts... Jake Spencer is improving, but did anyone else notice that EVERY hitout went to the same spot at centre bounces? The crows were setting up to run into that spot and got there before our mids every time. Luke Tapscott looked really good in the first half. He faded a bit, but he took some really good grabs and gave us good forward 50 entries. Not only was Frawley pretty awful on Walker today, but he was constantly running off and leaving him unattended. Watts was left to drop back and try to out-wrestle the guy on a few occasions. Dude needs to go back to school and re-learn how to defend. When someone has the ball on a tight angle in the forward line, our guys in the goalsquare set up a few meters behind their opponents. How the hell are you going to do anything useful from there? No wonder we hardly ever take marks close to goal. I liked seeing Watts moved forward in the last, but I wish they would use him properly. Pretty sure he was only hit on the lead once. He can run rings around Rutten, so why were they bombing long and asking him to outmuscle an All Australian Gorilla? Overall, it was a pretty annoying day at the footy. We started well and put up a fight for a quarter and a half, but when it went bad it went really bad. We saw some amazingly bad errors, often from players who should know better. Our forward structure and tactics continue to be a massive concern (why the hell do we keep looking to take set shots from the pockets?). We are desperate for some quality in the midfield to help out Jones. Even though we were up against a pretty bloody good side, I am not at all happy with the team today.

I see no real value in playing some teams once and others twice. It skews the results. It's just an excuse to get more money out of the fans. A balanced draw would see every team play every other team once or twice, not this halfway rubbish. Since I can't see them every doing a 34 week home and away season, it should be dropped down to 17 rounds + finals.

Nicho for sure. Watts. Mitch Clark.

Well, don't spoil it for me. I'm catching the delayed telecast.

Sack the coach!! Seriously though, given that the Saints need percentage to push for a finals spot, they should be going at it right to the end, so this could be a monumental blowout.

Fitz was very impressive today. I've been wanting to see him get another game for a while now. Surely he's done enough to earn a spot playing as FF given how depleted our forward stocks are? The commentators were talking the Gys up quite a lot today. He was pretty decent in some horrible conditions and got a couple of goals. I also think Bate may have done enough to earn another contract. His mark on Clark was special (and Clark flinching was golden).

The dogs are in a far worse mess than we are with their list. Their best half dozen players are all looking retirement in the face and their younger player haven't been stepping up to take up the slack. Look at their contributors on any given day and you will see guys like Gia, Murphy and Lake topping the votes. How much longer can they keep carrying the puppies who can't pull their own weight? Give it a couple of years and they will find themselves with no midfield to go with their serious lack of worthwhile talls.

There has been significant improvement this year. If you look at the stats that Neeld wants us to improve, things like clearances and contested possessions, we are well up on last year and are actually quite competitive compared to the top sides. We've had more inside 50's than in previous years, and by and large have been preventing sides from getting those massive scoring runs that used to destroy us. A number of our younger players have improved drastically, which is a great sign. We now have a decent rebounding back pocket in Nicholson to offset Bartram (should he still be playing), Watts is showing signs of being dominant in the HBF role, and the move to recruit Clark looks like it may have been genius. All in all good signs. Regarding our abysmal ladder position, I defy any side to do better with the injury run we've had. The bombers have been farcical as their injuries mounted, despite supposedly having a better list. We have played almost half a season without a single specialist forward in the side. Before that we had 1. No side can be judged on their results when they've had a year like we have. If we want an accurate gauge of how the side is going, we'll have to wait until next year and hope that we manage to keep a few more players on the park.

He's a good runner, has a massive kick and can hold his own in a physical contest. All of these are things we need in our side. Neeld's move to try him off half back seems to be working pretty well as well. Give him at least one more year.

When a player says that his manager is dealing with that, he is in no way saying that the decision on which club he will be at next year is in his managers hands. He is saying that he has told his manager what he wants to happen and his manager is trying to get that outcome for him. In this case, given that other clubs can not make contract offers to him, this effectively means that he is planning on staying at Melbourne and his manager is hashing out the details with the club, trying to get the best possible deal for Sam. His recent form is only going to help on that front.

Seriously people, a little less negativity would be a wonderful thing here. Does anyone have any concrete news that LJ plans to leave the club? If so, please feel free to enlighten us, but otherwise how about giving both he and the club the benefit of the doubt and accepting this at face value? Personally, I think that if Liam were planning on giving up on the AFL he'd tell the club up front. Likewise, if he wanted a trade to another club he'd ask for one. I have no concrete information to base this on, but everything I have ever read or heard about him says that he is a good guy, so I'm happy to think the best of him until he shows me otherwise. Personally, if I were facing court with a chance of going to jail, I'd be sending time with my family too. It doesn't matter if the lawyers think he has a great case, the doubt is going to be there until the results are official. I have absolutely no problem with him spending time with his loved ones before the trial.

Seriously, there's a hell of a lot of hysteria over a tiny bit of news here. Neeld told the world already that Liam was done for the year as far as AFL goes. Why shouldn't he go and spend some time with family given that he's not needed at the club and has a trial in a few weeks? To assume that this means he's throwing in the towel is ludicrous without more information. For now, I say Best of luck to you Liam, and I hope after the trial is sorted out we see you fit and firing on the training track with the rest of your teammates.