Search the Community

I gotta say it. When I start reading threads in which certain posters start questioning Ben Newton's his value after some inconsistency in performances, you know there are some deeper issues surrounding the club. A player with a total of 9 games to his name. Garland Jamar McKenzie Grimes Bail Fitzpatrick Spencer Watts Dunn Howe Gawn Spencer Jones Terlich There's one common theme I see in that group of players. Inconsistency in performance. Some of them have questionable football smarts, talent and skill-level and others have questionable 'effort' and physicality in general. Some of them are our most senior players and still do not stamp their authority in our team with in their approach to the game. Others are unique in that their careers wouldn't have possibly lasted this long had they been at other clubs. Some of them are conditioned. Too used to losing. So much so that it's inevitable that they'll drop their heads as soon as the opposition get on top during a game. Resulting in selfish play for fear of making mistakes. Too used to going throwing in the towel. We've offloaded a whole host who had shown the same symptoms over the past couple of years and I have no doubt we'll see many on this list either traded or delisted. In my honest assessment of our list, I think there are still players on our list who are expendable and there are two areas that we need to address at the end of this season. Area 1: Kicking skills out of defence. I think we are in desperate need for one more backman who can split teams apart with their kicking skills. We've struggled for years with our transitional play from the backline to the forwardline and whilst some may argue there are a few contributing factors, I believe the skill level has been the major concern there. Garland and Howe are expendable. When I watch Garland play, he plays without a sense of purpose and without a sense of assuredness. His kicking is questionable. His form is and has been questionable for too long and therefore his position in the side will be questionable if he remains an irrelevant piece of the puzzle which so far, he is. As a senior player we should expect more. And he is one of many over the years who is yet to consistently get better with age. One great year in the middle of a bunch of 'meh' years and some bad ones. You cannot improve as a side if your senior players have such fluctuations in their form and we've have had far too many of them. Howe is similar in that he hasn't risen to any great heights and hasn't produced on a consistent basis although he has played less games and is younger than Garland. However, he holds more currency as he's out of contract this year and I'm sure sides will make a play for him. We need to go hard at someone like McKenzie at the end of the year. We need a mature body who is a decent one-on-one player but who has exceptional foot-skills. A side must have at least two elite kickers in their back six. Sides need a strong mix of attributes from their back six but kicking skills are unquestionably important. Salem and (insert player) - Foot Skills McDonald and Lumumba - Run and carry Jetta and Dunn - Lock-down defenders Frost - Versatility Unltimately, you'd love to be able to draft players who possess a number of 'elite' attributes. Hawthorn have managed to do it, which is why they are far superior to most sides. Area 2 : A Ruckman Obvious to most, whilst Jamar battles admirably hard in the ruck he offers little around the ground. He's most definitely not as fit as you need to be as a modern day ruckman, especially one who's playing pretty much without support. His skills have always been questionable as well as his decision making and he is another senior player on the long list of NQR's. Form fluctuations, one AA year and plenty of average ones. Again, hasn't done the MFC a whole lot of good. On an even more worrying note we have backup ruckmen in Spencer and Fitzpatrick (who is now playing as a FB in the VFL side which surely says something about the way he Rucks). Spencer as we know competes hard but I have literally seen him do nothing at AFL level that would make me think he'll ever get picked unless all of the above get injured. And then of course there's Gawn. A bloke who without a doubt could be an extremely valuable player. Has size, has good aggression, can take a contested mark and can kick a goal but another who for whatever reason, doesn't quite get what it takes to cut the grade. To me his personality exemplifies the way he plays footy. It's all just a bit of a kick in the park. Happy to be on an AFL list, happy to be the funny guy around the club. Another who perhaps has been affected by the culture that was around upon his arrival. No fierce drive or desire to be the best he can be. Personalities of this nature standout like a sore thumb if drafted into a 'kick in the park' club-like environment which ours has been.. So, without question we'll be going after someone. Leuenberger, Bellchambers and Kreuzer are all players who providing fit, would easily get the gig if at our club. They're all free agents and I'm sure we'll have a crack at one. Lastly, further midfield support: There's no doubting we've been gifted with some genuinely exciting young midfielders. But gosh darn do we need to develop and nurture them the right way. Viney Tyson Brayshaw Petracca JKH Vandenberg and to a lesser extent: Newton Michie Stretch ANB Toumpas There's no doubt we still need more support added. Cross has been a great addition as a standard setter for our younger players but he may not be kicking around next year. Which leaves Jones, Vince and Lumumba - (when playing through the middle) - as our experience which is clearly not enough. We've got to go hard for a genuine A grade gun mid should be... Names have already been thrown around so I'll leave that to posters. I'd also be into going for a second-tier mid/Selwood type player. Someone who will be an upgrade on some of NQR's, provide plenty of run and will be another breath of fresh air to a semi stale list. Obviously we are early in the season, but if we address those areas and we continue to build and develop our younger players coming through and continue to build a really professional environment, next year could be the year we jump the blocks. We'll have ridded pretty much all of the virus and with personalities like Viney, Hogan, Brayshaw and co under the tutelage of the quality coaches we have, 2016 could be the year we finally take off. Dees.