Jaded No More

If he was a perfect footballer he would have been a number 1 pick (actually there is no such thing as a perfect footballer, but for argument's sake). I agree that pace could be his only worry but if the sub rule stays and the pace of the game is reduced consequently, it may not be an issue for him. I still think he will end up as a half forward because he lacks a bit of pace, but he brings a whole new dimension to the side with his toughness and long penetrating kick. He is totally different to anything we've had coming through in the last 3 years and that's a good thing.

Omg stat heaven for us nerds. Love it!!! How sad

I sound like a chain smoker today. Good excuse not to talk to my annoying colleagues

I'm glad it's not our home game because Sunday twilight games are dead zones, especially for families with young children. It's an awkward time. However we played Hawthorn at the same time slot last years, when both teams were vying for the 8 and the crowd was pretty decent, despite it being damp and cold. Of course nothing will stop me from going... I've waited far too long to not feel guilty about giving Bruce sh*t B)

McBurney is a downright horrible umpire. Seriously, his ineptitude is mind boggling. Thank god sanity prevailed, unlike when Moloney got rubbed out for almost making contact to the head all those years ago (yes, I have a long memory when it comes to the AFL screwing us over! )

I'm pretty sure Hannabal wrote Garland off, so it's not just complete fwits who did

Slow of mind I should have clarified. He was always a step behind. He was basically crap and a lot of supporters were [censored] that we wasted a first round pick on him. Garland wasn't much better either. His debut season was awful. His first game embarrassing. I think we saw yesterday with Tappy what a massive difference a mature body makes. He looked like a 100 game veteran because he had the body to compete. And it wasn't until Frawley became a beefcake and gained physical confidence that he became the gun that he is now. It's always really hard to contain expectations when there is so much hype, but we just have to be patient. Watts is getting better each week, but it's going to be a slow rise to the top. Don't lose the faith. It's very early days.

I'm actually thinking Chippa on Buddy, like last season. Best defender on best forward. Garland will do well on Roughead, because he is a lot stronger than he looks and should be able to match him in the air and on the burst. Rivers could take Hale, but he'll struggle in the air. If you put Martin on him you are basically making Jamar ruck for 98% of the match, and that's risky. I'd look at Warnock for Hale, but gees he was horrible in the pre-season and he is "poo your pants when he has the ball" type of player. In the end I think they'll go with Frawley, Garland and Rivers and McDonald will get the chop. He doesn't have an immediate match up that comes to mind, and he has to stop the brain explosions. When he's good, he's great, when he's bad, he's damn right woeful and he really really hurt us with his stupidity. To be honest though, the Hawthorn midfield is going to be the issue for us, as it is every time we play them. They always smash us, and I would seriously consider giving Maric the dodgy sub vest and bringing in Gysberts. Even if he doesn't do much, it'll be a great learning experience for him.

It's all one of the shame sh*t to me B)

Princess? seriously? that's the best you could come up with? Lame. I will bet you my sparkly princess crown that Tappy plays next week, and for many weeks to come, baring injuries. His defensive game was good, but he did lose some one on one contests. So did Rivers and McDonald, and they are 100 game veterans. For every contest he lost, he put his body on the line and won another. It was a very very good debut and there is nothing you can take away from him.

What....the.... oh heaven help us. It does not matter how good a kid plays on debut, you can always trust one supporter to stick the boot in and nitpick. IT WAS HIS FIRST GAME! FFS!

I keep going back to James Frawley. When he first started he was hopeless, woeful, pathetic, slow, terrible on the lead, terrible on the attack, he looks like a down right [censored]. It took Frawley 4 pre-seasons to make the AA team. Now I'm not saying Watts will be in the same position in 2 years, but in most cases it takes KPP 4 solid pre-seasons to start showing their worth. Jack Reiwoldt is another one. We cannot expect him to play like a champion when he hasn't got the body or the experience to do so. He does a lot of small things extraordinarily well, things that you can't teach and won't find in most KPF. He is superb below his knees, he is quick and agile and smart, and is generally a very good kick. But what people want to see from him is what he can't do yet, he can't burst packs and he can't out-muscle his opponent. But those things will come with experience and with kilos gained. Plus to say he doesn't seem like he wants to be out there is garbage. Garland looks asleep to me half the time, but we know his intensity is manifested in his actions not in his face. Watts is clearly very competitive and very keen to do well, if he wasn't he'd run around lazily and do nothing, he'd be Sylvia circa 2006.

Martin is the perfect 2nd ruck prototype in this sub-rule world we live in. He is flexible enough to play down back or up forward, he is agile enough to give you a contest in the middle (he actually outran some opponents today, and he's 2m tall!) and his ruck work is getting better. He had some fantastic tapouts in the last quarter today that actually results in us getting the ball up forward for a goal. Nice to see him repay the faith. I've always been a fan. Plus the better he plays the less likely we are to see Juice.

Don't mess with Superman. The man can fly FFS!

To be honest, Jared Rivers' kicking into the man on the mark was 10 times worse than any kicking mistake Grimes made today, because Rivers has played 100 games and he still hasn't learnt to use the ball properly, and he got done by every opponent he had today. There are very few <30 game players who are better than Grimes.

Frawley Twitted to say he should be right next week. Therefore. In: FRAWLEY I was disappointed in Maric. His pre-season earns him more than one senior game, but he did a couple of pretty soft things today which are inexcusable. Either way he should be the sub next week and Ricky should start. He was on fire when he came on in the last. McDonald does so many ordinary things that sort of cancel out some of the good things he does, so perhaps he makes way for Frawley. Either way, BRING BACK CHIP!

Pathetic from an otherwise really good crowd today. Bronx cheer a guy who has played 27 games and is constantly under pressure and constantly puts his body on the line for the team. What heroes!

TOP 8 TEAM BABY!!! B)

Oh FFS, are we going to abuse him after every game? It's going to be a loooooong season. He did some good things. He NEVER got outmarked, not even when he had 2 players on him, and if he kicked 2 goals instead of 2 behinds everyone would be praising his performance. I know it's hard to find players to pick on these days, what with Bruce, Miller and PJ gone, but seriously, we can't be picking apart inexperienced kids.

6- Moloney (won drew us the match) 5- Bennell (all class) 4- Jamar 3- Martin 2- Garland 1- Tapscott

To be honest, it was a good ending. We lost the game with wayward kicking, but overall you have to be proud of such a young team missing some key players for managing to claw their way back into the match. We have come a long way from the 100 point thrashing we suffered last year in Round 1. I was surprised with the midfield, and the fact that we broke even. I thought Martin was very very good, especially in the ruck, and without Sylvia, Davey or Moloney staring for 4 quarters (each were good in periods of the game), we still managed to get the 2 points. Jurrah had a quiet game by his standards and we definitely could have done with Frawley (Rivers got done in the first half by a freakin second gamer! ), and Ricky for a whole game. Jamar, Green, Trengove and Jurrah on goal kicking duties this week.

He is a gun, he is a star when you consider how little footy he's played, but just like every young player, he has deficiencies that must be worked on. He'll admit it I'm sure. Agreed with the above suggestion that he would be better in the midfield, and long term I still think that's where he'll end up.

So in love with this kid. What a man-child! Great kicking, great hardness, great awareness, good marking. Excellent debut!

I LOVE him, but I have to agree. However, I have to also say that there were at least 4 situations today where NOBODY presented for him. In that situation he kicks to a contest and turns it over. So sometimes it's a matter of him kicking poorly but sometimes it's a case of teammates not presenting, and he doesn't have the skills to pick a player in a pack like Davey.

I'll take Jurrah 4 goals, Grimes BOG, Dees by 15. Pumped. GO DEES!!!!!