nutbean

(I mentioned the war once but I think I got away with it)

Shepherding is a fast disappearing play in football. The choice has become shepherd and hope that it is successful to allow your teammate free passage as opposed to not shepherding but create your own space to take the ball as your teammate takes the tackle. Where we have been poor is we haven't shepherded or made space to take the receive. You have got to do one or the other.

Is that a New Zealand backman ?

Over many years we have had quality and potential come into the club only to see that potential never realised. Finally, I believe we have the coaching expertise in place, that will eek every bit of talent out of these youngsters. I am very excited. (slap me Old Dee - I'm getting too giddy)

I cannot quite remember who ( I believe it may have been prodee in a former life) accused me of waffling so I thought my avatar should be appropriate. ( Also, I couldn't find a pic for vacillating, obstruficating or pontificating)

Being of the Jewish persuasion, I can do a quickie conversion for you, so you don't have to buy any presents. The conversion is guaranteed to wear off just before Easter so you are not excluding from taking those holidays.

We talk about turnover merchants. There are those who can be iffy by foot - dropping the ball too short to a player on the lead, too wide or over his head meaning a ball in our possession can end up contested as the opposition has been given a sniff. Then there are those who constantly pick out opposition players with precision. Terlich unfortunately fits into the second category.

I go to China twice a year and I avoid China Southern like the plague. They are good value in terms of pricing but as the old adage goes - "you get what you pay for"

I recall enormous amounts of pressure being put on GA Jnr to say something about his intentions, to the extent that Bomber Thompson and he had a spat. Ga refused to say anything except "end of the season". He appears to also have made his deal well in advance but at least he didn't stare down the camera and say I love the club and want to remain a one club player. At least GA didn't stare down the camera and say no deal has been done. It was never about the money for me - it was about the outrageous press conference statements he made.

I think it is pretty simple. He had his good moments last year and his not so good. I think he needs to improve to stay on the list after 2016. The question worth arguing is will he improve next season ? (when I say improve I am talking him about bridging the gap between his best and worst - he will never be a crash/bash player - but if he can play the majority of games like the game he played against Collingwood in our win last season then he has value)

it's not like I am actually losing sleep over it....

probably the two he sits behind is Matthews and Carey. I can't comment on Whitten as he was just finished when i started watching. Bob Murphy has been the current day comparison. I also see a lot of Robbie in Harley Bennell (on field only !). Pure Silk. I cant remember who the coach was but one of the first real tactics I saw involved RF. When setting up for a kick out from full back after an opposition point he would push everyone to one side of the ground and leave Robbie one out with his opponent on the other wing and the full back would kick out to him and 13 times out of 10 he would outmark him then take off, take a couple of bounces to kick the ball beautifully into the forward line ( to see the mark spilled , rebound straight back over his head for an opposition goal..sigh...alas...). I remember Robbie playing CHF against the much taller and heavier Ross Glendenning in a state of origin match and towel him by running him ragged. The only time I remember him getting badly burned was when Barassi thought it a good idea to start him at full back against Malcolm Blight who wasn't taller than Robbie but had 15 kilos on him in weight and got outmuscled in the first three contests.

The four you mention were superstars - Robbie played through a period where besides a couple of false dawn under Skilton and the very beginnings of Northey we were exceptionally poor. Robert Flower also dominated games through his freakish abilities and could change the course of the games. The problem he faced is that it takes more than one talented footballer to turn a game and he had many ordinary footballers around him ( as opposed to the four you mentioned) I do wonder if he had played in a great team and importantly successful teams ( Carey and Voss - premiership players, Buckley and Ablett played in teams that were constantly in the finals) if he would be spoken in the same sentences as those you mentioned. This is rhetorical pondering as he was genuinely as good as anyone who played the game and through no fault of his own, the only things missing from his resume is perennial finals performer/premiership player. ( you only have to look at the first two finals he played - body was breaking down - he kicked 4 goals and 5 goals. In the preliminary final he did his arm.)

my mentor told me that sometimes people get the truth confused with opinion.

Poetry in motion...

you forgot the all important "trashed"

And I am angrier than you as I for one didn't think he was lying ! grrrrrrr

I am pretty level headed about my football and whilst I have passion, footy is a part of my life amongst other things and I move on pretty quickly. I am not sure why but that little rodent still upsets me. Not because he took the money ( good on him I say), not because he is gone ( we did much better out of the deal) but because, as you said he could have fudged the leaving scenario but went outright lies and deception.

In the absence of facts, conjecture is a pretty handy back up.

I have seen one genuine superstar play for the MFC and Robbie Flower is it. The only thing stopping him being the greatest wingman of all time along with Greig and Bourke was his limited finals appearance. Even with his broken down body in his last season he was still a pleasure to watch kicking 47 goals.

it's gonna get ugly - I am prepared to be right royally shafted

shhhh ! Col IS an axe murderer

And yet you mention Big Carl - his influence on the field could never be measured by marks or kicks or taps - if those were the measuring sticks Carl would have come up very short. Big Carl was a great captain by virtue of the fact that the team played significantly better with him being on the field. To use the old cliche - every player walked a foot taller with him on ground. I was in favor of the Ox over Neita by virtue of his inspiration and presence on the field both before and after his knee injuries but I suspect his indiscretions cost him the captaincy. I for one am happy to admit that I wasn't that stoked with Jones being touted for captaincy all those years ago ( when Trengove and Grimes got the gig) as I thought he was, if you will pardon the expression, "too bogan". I wondered how he would have the respect of his players. And yes - i was judging him by his rather inane tweets. I think it is very obvious that he has the utmost respect of the players and coaches both in the way he plays on the field and his training efforts. It has been mentioned in the training threads last year that he is very vocal when players are both good or he believes they arent going hard enough. Whatever reason he had for having a year below his best of the last two years is immaterial in my opinion. His year was still quite good and he absolutely has a presence on the field. I for one am very happy with him as captain and do not think we are "settling".

There is a "Soundwave" broo-ha-ha going on. It has been cancelled for next year and looks like this year is under threat. Damn - I bought a new black t-shirt and have been in an anti-tanning booth ( makes me white and pastey) in anticipation.

I'm tipping, better......