rjay

Couldn't have put it any better 'stuie'.

I'm happy to read the thread but also point out where there are flaws in the logic. If you don't like it to bad, it's what a forum is all about. There is a glimmer of light at the moment but it's certainly got nothing to do with the scoreboard, that's just coach speak when you don't want to tell anyone what you are really thinking. It starts with Jackson tomorrow and the next 6 months are going to make for interesting times. On ground Big Max is a positive, I hope he can stay fit because after just 6 games he looks a real player. Hogan is a positive as is Viney when fit. I have hopes that Kent and Taggert will add another candle by the end of the year. Other than that there is not a lot of positive news, we are pretty bad plain and simple.

It's head in the sand BS mate.

What a stupid comment, because someone thinks the premiss of the thread is based on false logic and says so it doesn't mean the thread is being hijacked.

...and neither do you.

Against a side that has been getting crunched and the doggies beat by over 60 points and GWS who have what defence. It's well and good to be positive but come on lets be real about it. Well now if I'm looking for positives Taggert is one for me, he has played all games at Casey, finally not injured and is playing some good footy. Check some of his work in the highlights this week. Will play this year if he doesn't get injured. The light at the end of the tunnel for me is tomorrow when Jackson starts work with the club.

Sorry to say this but the scores have been a lot higher this year in the AFL. Nothing to do with our light, the game is flowing more due to the new rules.

I'm not sure Neeld has stated this at all but it seems to be the conventional wisdom around here based on a conversation by someone with Kent and the old "needs to work on some things" from the assistants. I would like to see him up for the GC game if he plays a good game at Casey this week against Port. The kid has some serious grunt and the right attitude.

The call for Jones I find amusing, not having a go at Jones here as I think he is a good on-field leader but the captains were named at the start of the 2012 season. Jones only found his way in the game in season 2012, he looked like he could have been another great Melbourne casualty in 2011. High draft pick, what's his best position, does he have a best position, bad decision maker, poor disposal etc. If you were to start again and draw the line starting this year then I think Jones would be the captain....timing is everything.

Would still be at best a 'B' grade one dimensional midfield.

I agree with you on this 'stuie', and he has become an easy target for these DH's. They seem so smart when they take some footage in isolation which you can do from any game on any player to prove the same point. It's a bit like stats.

The difference is he is much better with the ball in his hands than Cale, if they let him settle he will be ok. I see him as a 3rd forward spending some time through the midfield.

Watts is a much better bet forward than Pederson. Rotate him through with Howe when Dawes and Clark come back in.

Work rate and footy smarts are a big part of what is going wrong. I can't remember who had the ball in a tight situation but hand balled on to Pederson who had a Lions player right on top of him. At first glance poor decision to give off to Pederson but in reality it was Pederson's fault, the player with the ball was drawing an opponent, Pederson should have moved off him to create space. Lazy or stupid??? This is just one example...

We're dreaming at the moment if we think anyone will come to the club, we played our big card to get Clark a couple of years back. We will have to do it from within and maybe pick up a bargain trade somewhere along the track. Of this years lot at least Bynes has started to show a little bit, the 2 mature agers have been ok, Pederson, Rodan and Gillies have been a waste. Dawes yet to play, who knows. The kids, Viney and Hogan will be the ones to build a future on Jimmy T hopefully will live up to his potential and I like Kent, has the attitude and game to be more than a very good player.

I think your match ups are about right. Whether they work is another issue but it's about where they will start. With Blease it's hard to tell from the TV but in games I've seen he gets too deep forward with nowhere to go, wing to HB maybe but....has he got the endurance level? no. I think he has a bit to offer but like the team is struggling.

Is it time for Kent and Taggert to get a run at it, maybe the following week against GC. Can't bring them in for a hammering. Dunn will be too slow for the Carlton runners, Strauss has had some good form so deserves a game. Pederson is a waste as is Roden. Sammy Blease is being played out of position. Who knows????

I don't rate a lot of what Mathews says, but his one comment I do agree with is what has happened to the player we had in season one, where has his leg speed gone. It's not just leg speed that's at issue now it's decision making when he has the ball, this wasn't a problem in his first season. It's not that he was lightning quick but he could cover ground and use the ball well. Unfortunately the FD and coach seem married to the idea of him as captain and it just may not be the right thing. What are they going to do? nothing of course. It would prove them wrong and you can't have that. I hope Jack has some really good advisors outside of the club that he can trust, who is his manager? He needs to work out what is the right thing for him and if that's stepping down then he should no matter what the club say. A kid who is just making his way in football doesn't need this pressure but if his people (not the club) say it is not having an adverse effect then he should stay the course. From the outside looking in it seems to be effecting his football and we need him to develop into the player he is capable of being and that's not a B-Grade mid.

Was a Sellar day today.

...no Stringer played his junior and senior VFL footy as a mid and forward. He kicks a lot of goals and with the Doggies at the mo is sitting forward because they struggle there. If he overcomes the concerns of his broken leg which pushed him down the draft order he could well be the best or the crop. I liked us picking up Jimmy T but I always had this feeling in a few years time people will be looking back at the missed chance of picking up Stringer. Good get for the Dogs.

I agree with you on this 'Macca', so then it opens up the question of 'do you build you game plan around the team' or 'do you build the team to fit your plan'. Being a first year coach I suspect, well more than expect Neeld took the later approach and totally deconstructed what had gone before. A senior coach wouldn't have been so gung ho.

Just the way I've seen it for a number of years, just couldn't afford to carry the 3 of them but particularly beamer and Silvia. I understand your point 'Macca', and I guess the only problem the opposition FD have now is who tags Jones. I always felt Moloney didn't work hard enough to run off a tag, Jones has been working a lot harder in this area but he's going to be spent before the years out if he doesn't get some help. He could do with someone like Magna to do some grunt work. A 4 gamer in Viney would probably be our next best but he's struggling with nagging injury and getting a rest this week. Trengove may be able to step up, seems to have been building over the last couple and does get in hard.

I was never a fan 'Macca', I always felt we couldn't afford to carry him in the same team as Silvia and Jones. They all tended to bomb the ball forward, at least Jones seems to have learned better.

Haven't had a good look at Douglas but I hope he is a better kick than Jones who would be up there with Jordie in the kicking stakes.

No problems there 'Stafford'; you are right to say most of the kids coming through are mids, all the small to mid size ones generally are for obvious reasons. They were the class players in their teams. Some are pigeonholed as you say and some just gravitate to the position as it suits their style of game. Milne for example was a discard who found a position as a small forward and made a career out of it. St Kilda have since recruited others (Saad, Milera, Dennis-Lane) who all seem to be specialist forwards and I don't think it is doing them any favours but that's their problem. My position on this is that we don't need this type of player and in fact I believe the position is becoming obsolete. Looking at Geelong now all their small to mid forwards rotate at times through the midfield and it makes them so dangerous. Stokes, who would have been considered a small forward a few years back is now working well up the ground and in contested centre breaks. Johnson many complained was wasted up the ground when he should be kicking goals but look at the drive he gives them. I mean even Harry Taylor (obviously not a small/mid forward) the best CHB in the game drifts forward to kick goals and Pods drifts back. The type of small forward I would want is an Akker, LeCras, Zaharakis, Stokes type who is not one dimensional or pigeonholed that way. We need to develop our team in this way, particularly with restricted interchange on the way. We need to have flexibility and whilst others are calling for Howe to stay forward it is better for the team to have him to move up the ground. It's to easy to get locked out of the game as a small/mid forward, I'm happy to see Sammy Blease selected up on a wing this week for this reason, let him run then drop him back deep forward from time to time. Byrnes worked into the middle a few times last week and did well, it would be good to throw Aaron up there or off half back at times, keep the opposition guessing. With the restricted interchange it is likely we will see a return to something like the resting rover in the FP. So as I say I think the small crumbing forward as a position will be obsolete, we need to develop multi dimensional players. A kid like Billings in the next draft is the type of player, a good mid who knows how to kick a goal.