Jaded No More

I rather Bell, Bartram, Petterd etc... Bizzell has a year, max, left in the game. Whether or not he gets a contract extension is irrelevant, as with a fully fit side, he won't be getting a game. I'm sorry but I can't get excited by 30 year olds who decide to come to life when their careers are finished. Nobody here is raving about Ward shutting down Betts, and IMO he was just as good/poor as Bizzell today. Good on Bizzell for making the most of his opportunities, he deserves to finish his career on a high.

I never said he was a terrible player. A very good player? That's stretching it. You are clearly blinded by the fact that he is obviously a favourite of yours, which is fine, we are all guilty of that sometimes. He is an ordinary defender, if he wasn't, he wouldn't have spent over a year at Sandy. His disposal is ok, he knows how to zone off and help the other defenders, but one on one he gets beaten more often than not. He doesn't have the strength to play on big forwards, or the pace to keep up with small forwards. He does what he can, he works hard, he is courageous, but more often than not he gets caught behind his opponent, and that's not good enough when he is playing CHB. I remember what happened to us when Robbo was playing CHF and Bizzell was at CHB... we came 14th.

I'm going to watch the replay later on, but from what I saw out on the ground, Miller didn't make any stupid stuff-ups, he didn't panic when he had the ball, he even made some meaningful kicking decisions. He also did a good job on a pretty good opponent in Fisher. Bizzell had a few shockers, and went through a number of opponents. As a third man up, he's good, but he is very poor one on one. The reality is, he is only getting a game because so many others are injured. I want Warnock to get a game next week, and it doesn't matter if Ward, Brown or Bizzell get the chop for him. Having said that, Brown did little wrong today.

Yeah and I was happy to see Riley using him all over, instead of rotating him between half back and the bench. With Ricky now out for the season, there is no reason why we shouldn't play CJ and give him a serious chance to prove himself.

He could easily do what Bruce does, and play all over the ground. IMO his best position is on the wing pushing forward. Was stiff to get dropped, and should now get the opportunity to play every match for the rest of the season. With him on the wing and Miller down back, there should be no issue with playing those two alongside Newton, Bate and Neita when he returns.

I thought Brad Miller was actually pretty good. Give him a break, if he's going to become a permanent defender, he deserves time to settle into it. He showed good composure IMO, whereas I thought Bizzell's defensive work was very poor. He is good at creating attacking play, but he has no idea how to shut down an opponent. Ward infuriates me, but he has been surprisingly accountable recently. Bate, Sylvia, Jones, Newton and Dunn were just fantastic today, and a big congratulations to Riley for instructing us to play on in the last instead of shutting down the match and inevitably losing.

I wish him a full and speedy recovery! Poor kid, he was really coming along nicely....

He was great, especially in the first half. Missed a few gettable shots, but overall worked hard, kept his feet, marked well and looked like he really felt comfortable at FF. He is just a natural forward and you can see that he thinks through the play, which is a rare commodity in our forward line.

Did I say that? I said he has a favourite in mind, just like the rest of us, but that does not mean the club will put a stop to the process. They will interview everyone and anyone and a whole host of people will come to a decision.

Cheers for the reports. News on Dunn, did he or didn't he play... anyone?

That is brilliant! :D Do we know what's in the Juice Newton? I'm on the hunt for a 21st venue too....

Karma's a b***h.

But Gardner has a favourite in mind...

Yeah, and you can bet that if CJ was picked up at #3, he'd be getting equal treatment to Sylvia because the club would feel compelled to prove their draft selection was correct.

Weather would have had a lot to do with final selections as well. If it's going to be wet (which is likely), you don't want to have Miller, Dunn, Newton and Frawley sitting on the bench. Brown's disposal will look excellent if the weather is nasty And an official congratulations to Simon Buckley for making his debut. You've grown up loving the Dees, now it's time to win them some damn games... no pressure

Yes he does need to perform Rhino, but not every player comes in and dominates straight away. He has never been given a meaningful stretch of games to get comfortable and show his ability. Most others have, despite showing as much (or as little if you like) as CJ, and many have come good. Patience is a virtue we don't always seem to possess.

I find that going each way leaves less room for disappointment

So basically Nathan Carroll's going-out outfit? *Please note: I have never actually seen Carroll in tight leather pants

-Is everybody over this season? Very much so. Sorry, but I am. -Does anybody care if we lose this Sunday? Nope, as long as the kids show something and we don't get belted, I'm happy. -Do people actually want us to lose to get the best draft picks possible? I never want to see us lose, but I really want the best possible draft pick as compensation for this horrible season. -Will you be upset if we lose? Not really. -Are you going? Silly question. Of course. -Crowd? If the weather is ugly like today, around 38,000

CJ has all the right elements to make it, at least skills wise. IMO his biggest problem is confidence. Much like Bell and Carroll, who spent a lot of time in the obscurity of Sandy (apologies to the mighty Zebras), all he needs is the backing of the coach to say "you get the rest of the year, go play and prove to me you deserve to be here. Don't worry if you make mistakes". Don't understimate the value of feeling like you belong. CJ must be terrified of stuffing up, and being dropped. How many times did Bell get caught with the footy last year, and people were screaming that he had no awareness and should be banished from senior footy. Like Bell, CJ needs to let the fear of failure go and start to believe that there is a reason why he got drafted. It must be hard seeing players like Sylvia who got drafted alongside him, get so many opportunities. If he has the backing of the footy department, and their belief, he'll make it.

Actually I think it went something like this: ND: So Aker.... (Thinks to self: how do I break the news to this guy that he is slightly off centre...)... I'll talk to my leadership group about you Aker: What you talkin bout? ND to Leadership Group: I spoke to Aker, you're right, he's mentally unstable. ND to Aker: Sorry mate, my boys are dead against you *cough*

Damn straight! To be honest, on most current form, only Junior deserves it. McLean has had an ordinary two weeks, and Bruce... well... he can't kick *ducks*. The problem is, we are not moving forward if we let Junior captain. We need to use the opportunity while Neita is recovering from multiple injuries to test the leadership water.

I rest my case...

How's the youth policy going when Brown, Bizzell and Ward are in the team ahead of Dunn, Newton and Frawley? Miller to play CHB, with Pickett, Holland and Dunn to miss out. BTW, with Neita and Green both out, who captains the side? Junior will probably get the nod given he played a great game last week, but I'd like to see McLean get another go before Neita returns (if he returns this year).

CJ has to get a game, seriously, who else needs to fall over and get injured before he gets a go? Let's not forget, there could still be more outs. At the moment only the injured players have been named as outs, but there are a whole host of players who should probably be omitted. I'd drop Brown and add CJ to your ins.