Jaded No More

Can you name some incidents where Brock showed a lack of footy brain? His kicking is almost always spot on, as are his handball. He is very good under pressure, unlike say Jones who panics a lot. At the moment he is struggling to adjust to the heaving tagging. We knew this would happen when TJ left. Look at how he played last week when left to his own devices in the first half. He was everywhere and he played extremely well. Brady Rawlings is no dud, he is probably the best tagger in the AFL. He is a dirty player who somehow gets away with holding his opponent at every contest. In the end I think Brock ended up in the top 5 or 6 possession getters today. I think it shows the quality of Brock that the opposition concentrates so hard on shutting him down.

We can win, but should we?

Because he's been at the club for 10 minutes and most of our senior players have been at the club for more than 10 years. In all honestly, how the hell can anyone blame the coach when our players are just incapable of hitting targets? He did not select these players, he inherited them. Now they have a deadline, perform by round 6 or away you go. Bailey is the least of our problems, in fact, I'm glad we're having our downfall now and not under Daniher.

He is playing terribly at the moment and should be dropped. But he is also leading our goal kicking. Just how bad is our forward line??

Was it my imagination or did CJ do a good defensive job on Shannon Grant? He made errors, and that poor kick in front of goal was meant as an attempt to dish it off to Robbo. Showed he is unselfish, but also showed he can't really kick much Jamar- is he a magician? He is the largest man in the world yet he manages to completely disappear when on the field. He is quite honestly just terrible. Miller- anyone who takes cheap shots at you should try and stand up against you in a contest. Not the most gifted player in the world, but tries harder than anyone and took some very good marks today.

Honestly, Sylvia in our best 6? Y_M get off it. I know nobody will give him any credit whatsoever, but I thought CJ did a good job on Shannon Grant down back. Not sure if he played on him the whole match however. But no, lets reward the show pony who takes a couple of marks in the backline in junk time

Pfff Colin Sylvia Try JARED 'the best thing since sliced bread' RIVERS.

Sylvia plays like he thinks he's great. Sadly, he isn't. I liked what I saw from him in the last quarter when he was playing in the backline. At least when you give him a task, he doesn't look so utterly lost in space. However, he will never be a 'gun' if after running for 5 minutes he has to stop and stretch out on the field. While I know this isn't his fault, it's the reality. His fitness is a huge problem, and so is his attitude. Stick him in the backline and make him understand what accountability means. 18 rounds and counting...

If the players can't execute a simple game plan because they have the worst skills in the competition, you get rid of the players, not the game plan. Bailey's game plan is based on where the game is headed. If we can't keep up, we have to change the team. This is exactly the opposite of what Daniher used to do, which was dictate the game plan around the players, and since our players are mostly terrible, we never won anything.

So your suggestion is to bring in another trouble-maker who also happens to be a proven drug-addict to the club? You can watch Cousins like a hawk, but at the end of the day he still comes with a reputation that is going to taint our club's image.

Our list is not in the right place right now to accommodate Ben Cousins. Not only because of his age and where we are at with our development, but also because he is a cultural cancer and I don't want him anywhere near our young and impressionable players.

These 3 might have their flaws, but RR, they are all above the VFL competition in terms of their skills. I have no doubt that the Frankston defense is very worried this week. Newton can and has kicked a bag at this level before, Yze has years of experience in the AFL (and despite his current position, was an elite player once upon a time) and Bate, even though he hasn't played for 5 weeks, can still have a very strong game. These guys are better than their VFL counterparts on paper. If they don't beat their direct opponent this week, it's going to get messy.

Robbo and Sylvia are lucky, but huge changes won't start happening until Round 7. Bailey and Connolly both said that they are giving all players 6 rounds before they start putting a line through their name. Just goes to show that Yze is finished. Wasn't given the same treatment as the rest of the senior group. Lucky for him he had a contract for 2008, because he would be well into retirement otherwise.

That's a strong VFL team right there. An AFL-listed player one every line and that half-forward line is quality! Hopefully Bate gets through the match and is back in the senior for Round 5.

Most of the rotations are player-driven I believe. When a player feels they need a break, they'll come off. This mostly occurs with midfielders. There are also set rotations, where say one player can't be on the ground for more than 20 minutes in a row, so after 20 minutes they'll take themselves off. This has to do with optimal performance and injury management. Someone like Moloney will probably only spend 15 minutes in he midfield at a time, before coming off for a short break. And of course some rotations (mainly positional rotations I'd say) are dictated by the coach according to what is happening on match day.

I'm distressed by this: Ricky Petterd (groin) - 3-4 weeks Terrible!

I had to do some market research down there earlier this year, and it was certainly one of the least desirable places I've ever visited (and I spent 12 years in the Middle East). Mind you, Cranbourne > Deer Park *shudder* (With my sincerest apologies to anyone who resides in either of these suburbs).

But that's just the thing, we don't know if he's been a wasted draft pick, and after 5 years at the club, you'd think we would. I know exactly what McLean and Sylvia can and can't do, how come the same assessment can't be made for CJ? What is his best position? Can he play as a small forward? Does he have sufficient pace to compete at AFL level given Bailey's game plan? Maybe it's my fault for not knowing these things. I have zero time to get down and watch him at Sandringham, and I find it hard to judge a player on 22 games scattered over 4 years (22 games with an average of less than 50% ground time I bet). If he was a wasted draft pick, so be it. He won't be the last and he is certainly not the first. I just would like to know either way, and given that he is still on our list having played just 22 games, you'd think Bailey would like to get the same answer. And Rhino, as far as I'm concerned, there are two kinds of people in this world; those who concede defeat, and those that never lose

He was drafted in 2003, he had three and a half years. Still, the point is that if he wasn't so awful, why wasn't he getting a game ahead of some truly ordinary players who kept getting picked in the side week after week after week? Funny how Bailey could make an assessment on many other players who he chose to trade or delist, but not CJ. I don't buy that. Bailey would have gone through numerous tapes of each player before deciding what to do with them. A fourth round pick could get you a player who is NQR, it could get you another Bartram. Bailey chose CJ over a pick that could potentially help us acquire a very good player. Why did he do that? I bet that CJ will get at least two or three more games before a decision is made either way, but I guess we'll see what happens on Thursday night.

Rhino, all I said was that he deserves more than 1 game under Dean Bailey to show if he has what it takes to stay on our list beyond this year. Who knows, he could become handy depth. Not everyone on your list are going to fall into the best 22 basket, that's just impossible. If I remember correctly we were offered a very low pick for him, around the 50's or so, and we didn't take it. That to me indicates that Bailey sees something in CJ and so I too would like to see it. One game however is not long enough to measure any player, especially someone who has played so little. And no, I don't blame Daniher for his development, but if he turns out to be a wasted draft pick, I'll blame Daniher for not giving him more opportunities so that we could have found that out sooner and got rid of him earlier (maybe even got a better pick in return).

Should I have put a . in front of the 1%?

Terrible news for PJ. Such rotten luck he's had with injuries, even before he came to our club. Hopefully he makes a super quick recovery because god knows our ruck division is pretty weak as it is. The thought of Jamar and White taking over the ruck makes me very nervous, but this could probably Jamar's last chance to shine and who knows... he just might...

There aren't many gorillas left in the game who are also as slow as Ben Holland. Better to play a shorter defender who can keep up on the lead, than a giant who can't keep up. As much as Holland can fill a role, he is also a liability. If his match-up doesn't work, he is left to warm the bench. Since Neita is not going to be dropped in favour of Holland, nor will Robbo or PJ or White, it is a huge risk playing Holland when we are already so one-paced. Can you imagine a less functional forwardline than one containing all the speed and agility of Neita and Holland and all the defensive nous of Robbo? Christ!

How is not playing Holland the equivalent of tanking? Holland is hardly going to win us matches. Yes he is a reasonable player who has a very specific role, but at the end of the day we have to develop a long-term solution. We are not going to win the flag this year. The focus is to continue to develop our list, and playing Holland is hardly going to aid our future development. By the way, Holland is injured as far as I know.

This might sound a bit far-fetched, but bare with me... In fashion, when you purchase your seasons' stock, there is generally a break-down of core, volume and highlight styles. Your core styles generally make up the largest percentage of stock. They are your real value stock, the stuff you sell season to season, year to year, and the items which generate the highest dollar intake despite having a fairly low margin. Your volume styles are the key, must-have items of the season which you buy in bulk because everyone wants a piece. The margin is higher, but the style is likely to go on sale at the end of the season because nobody wants it anymore. The highlight styles are your really fashion-forward, key pieces that draw people into store. They are low margin pieces, but they make your business unique. When you think about it, playing lists are quite similar. 65% of your players are your core players. They are not the best, but you need them structurally and they perform year after year (e.g.- McDonald) 30% of your players are volume players. They are good players who suit a certain playing style, but they go out of style quickly as the game changes and evolves. They are also not as reliable. They can have a great game one week, but they'll have a shocker the week later (e.g.- Davey). 5% of your players are highlight players. They pull the crowds in and they are just exceptionally unique players. They give you an edge over your competitors. I would say that Morton has the potential to be a highlight player. He might not be the next James Hird, but he definitely has what it takes to draw the crowds to the game and give us a competitive edge. Sorry if this is drawing a long-bow, but I find the comparison pretty accurate. In the end it all comes down to having the right balance on your list. You can have 90% highlight players, but that will most likely send your business (club) broke. You can have 90% core players, but that will make you a pretty mediocre and predicable team. At the moment I would say that we are at 70% core, 29% volume and 1% highlight.