rjay

'Bobby', 'Bobby', 'Bobby'....Adelaide gave it a red hot go. Sloane and the Crouch boys couldn't have done more. As for resting players, if you had watched the game the previous week you would have seen that Talia pretty badly injured his ankle, he wasn't rested. Might have got up for a GF but what was the point of rising him in a game with nothing on the line. I'm sure they wouldn't have rested Tex unless there was a good reason, they would be well aware of the possibility that they may only play one game until the prelim and would have preferred him to get some continuation. No...as much as we like to blame the draw, umpires, Adelaide, injury during the season and other side issues...we only have our selves to blame.

Was captaincy the right move? Jack needs to be pulled back at times, the foot injury and early return is case in point. Taking on the captaincy, Jack wants to do the right thing but takes on too much. Needs more maturity.

Sorry 'Red' but that's rubbish. Frost would have turned it over with the best of them. See him (and others) for what he is, not of what you dream him to be. The only mistake we will make is not trading hard and players like Frost, Kent, Tyson, Salem and others with some value should all be on the table.

All clubs have a list issue. The mental side is part of it. We have a list issue and the mental side to go with it...more on this if/when I can be bothered.

Mickey Arthur... I think I will be Shane Watson on this team building assignment.

One superstar player...I know it's negative day on the site but I think we can all agree that Flower stands head and shoulders above and could we ever do with a player of his skill & heart now.

Yes, the first Q effort (lol) was appalling but are we really good enough. As some have mentioned, and I agree, we are a middle of the road side and as such we need everything to go our way to win big games. In this competition no one has the luxury of coasting. A few observations... TMac; he's going to make mistakes but seriously, taking that kick out was not a mistake. It was ridiculous, and probably against team rules. There is no way Tommy Mac is a designated to take kick outs...taking this kind of action on is one of the things that put Dunn on the outer with the FD. Tom owes big time, needs to cut the arrogance and play within his limitations or go play somewhere else. Big Max; needs to get off media street and concentrate on his game. At the moment he is in danger of being Jamar 2, one AA and drift off into obscurity. He's got ahead of himself. Oliver; as I said the other week he is our Selwood/Danger needs some help (got a little from Trac today). Other teams know if they stop Oliver they are on the way against us. More time in the middle for Trac will help. Has to learn how to get back off the mark quickly when he has to take his kick...his first option is to HB but when he gets forced to kick he takes to long. Another sad thing today, with our problems in defence and contested marking Clarry thought he had to push back into some marking contests he shouldn't have. He took one ripper though and figured he needed to keep at it as his defenders were letting him down. Salem; does some great things, a lot of skill but...I don't know where he fits, sometimes he looks a million miles behind it. Gets caught out way too often and doesn't seem to read the play well. Stop watching soccer kid and start analysing the game that's paying for your lifestyle...be a pro. Hunt; the faster he runs, the less his vision & awareness. Really needs to pull that together, he did drop the eyes and hit up some targets today but more often than not runs himself or a teammate into trouble. Lewis; was ok but really should be his last year. Won't make another 2. Vince; probably his last year though I'm not as down on him as some are, wasn't our worst. Tyson; gone backwards the last 2 years. Pedo; if he's getting a regular game next year we are heading nowhere. Has done a great job but is depth. Weideman must step up, if he can't next year than he's a bust. On marking and defence, anyone who doesn't think we need Lever hasn't got a clue... Forget holding on to the players that you love kids, we still need to turn this list over and there are very few safe. The midfield is Oliver, Trac and Viney. Braysh and some others need to step up, or we need to trade in. Jonesy needs to be used a pinch hitter not the main man anymore.

If we only lay 9 tackles in the first Q, none in the first 11 mins of the game, then I know who I will be blaming for todays loss. ...and it aint the umpires.

I wish you would read the post this was about before making ill informed comments. Here's a clue...he's not a wingman (ruck or forward), he likes the ball coming at him (backline).

If Spencer goes I would be more than surprised if we don't bring in another mature option. Hopefully one that's a bit more durable. We also have the forgotten man Filipovic in development.

Whether a long term or short term injury, it's important he's not rushed back. You could see he had lost power which meant he struggled to stick a tackle, couldn't break from the contest & was a liability. Jack wants to play which is admirable but....

Humour 'Demons11'...let me leave you to think about the Queens Birthday.

Depth 'bingers', either him or if he is moved on then I would expect us to pick up another back prospect. Plus I mentioned another 3 players who could come in before him. We are hardly stretched losing Frost if someone goes down...

So, what part don't you get from my post... I said he can't create and make the play and needs the ball coming at him...that's what happens when your at full back. If we went back to when he was playing forward, ruck and in the midfield his possession stats would have been lucky to be out of single figures...

So lets not get Lever and one of them gets injured. Frost has also had his share of injuries. We're in the same boat... We've got Kielty, Smith, Garland or his replacement coming back plus Pederson who can also play back.

I think many forget, yourself included. No he can't... When he was playing forward and in the ruck he could hardly get a touch. That's why the experiment failed. He's one of those players that needs to see the ball coming at him. He can't create play as a wingman should because he's not a natural footballer.

Except he can't get the ball.

Jake is not a quality ruck, not knocking him but he is a battler. Struggles against players with half decent ruck craft and doesn't do enough around the ground. They already have Tom Campbell who I suggest is a better, more rounded player. They also have Tim English developing, probably a couple of years away at least. They would be looking at a walk up 1st ruck and probably will go after someone like the big yank at the pies. Martin had shown plenty when given the number 1 slot here but was unlucky that Jamar was the chosen one and a few side issues got in the way. He looked like failing again at Brisbane until fate stepped in (Big Luey injury) and he got the number one slot and hasn't really looked back apart from a short time where they again thought they could make him a KPP and share the ruck. He needs to work on ball. Simple.

It's not about the match ups 'Fat Tony', it's about the skill level. We can't afford the 3 with kicking/decision making deficiencies along with Hunt in the same backline.

Jake has been smashed by their 2nd tier ruckmen in the past....why would they be interested?

The only club that maybe looking for a number one ruck is the Dogs... Jake's record against their VFL team is not great so I couldn't see them being interested. Good on Jake for trying to better himself but I think he is set to remain the 2nd or 3rd banana wherever he goes. Take the year Jake, it's not a bad gig in an AFL club.

Failed forward/ruck...doesn't have the football smarts to play anywhere else but as a defender. An athlete, not footballer.

I think we're better off putting our work into getting him as a free agent in a couple of years (if we don't already have someone else in our sights)...he is likely to sign a 2 year deal with GWS.