Yeah i think the best thing for match fitness is to play AFL. As long as you’re not too far off, which i don’t think he is.
1 Like
I agree.
However, I do feel that the side has been showing improvement week on week. As such, I remain more interested in improving and continuing to win, then getting games into talented players who may improve us in the future.
I also dislike it when the club spend all preseason training someone in a particular role, and then don’t play them in that role. As such, if Francis is penciled in as a defender, and he hasn’t made the side in that position, I am happy to leave him out. Particularly if the midfield and forward line are performing adequately.
As a strong critic of our coaching panel, and selection committee, I can back them in on this one for the time being.
2 Likes
2 Likes
I understand its a tough backline to crack, but id still be finding a position for him. anywhere. He’s too good not to play
6 Likes
Nah, his potential is too high not to play him.
If he was too good not to play he would’ve played better than Ambrose or Hurley in the first 3 rounds and held his spot.
3 Likes
He’d improve his fitness in the VFL if he had a few stints onball every quarter. I’d start him onball and let him drift toward the defensive side, the ‘quarterback’-role. Or the Defensive version of the James Hird position.
Has to play AFL. I don’t care where, but he has to play. Fwd back, middle doesn’t matter. Himself and Joe are our future big man pillars
1 Like
I can’t believe the sooking on here about him not getting a game
3 Likes
Absolutely when there are much more inferior players being gifted games each week
3 Likes
Who are these much more inferior players being gifted games of which you speak?
1 Like
It’s just a patience thing for supporters. He’s got a long career ahead. If he plays in the VFL for a few short patches in his first 50 games it’s no big deal.
1 Like
Bags and Myers for starters.
You shift the magnets around to get Francis in that side.
9 Likes
You’ve picked on guys playing very specific roles. As such, the question has to be asked, who plays their roles?
With the absence of Smith this week, it does make it difficult to identify who can play that small pressure forward role better than Baguley.
Myers i can’t argue much because i don’t understand why he keeps getting games. However, there must be a reason. I guess it is around structure and size in the contest. If there was anyone that could play that role other than Myers, I’d imagine he wouldn’t be getting a game at all (which is probably your argument). But because he is, I can only imagine that the coaches think there is nobody else that can play that role within the squad.
Summary : The guys you picked aren’t inferior players being gifted games. They are the best players on the list to play the role they are playing.
So how many guys (including Francis) do you play out of position to accomodate that?
Personally I don’t think Francis is good enough yet to justify that.
I agree that Myers needs to be out of this side sooner rather than later and possibly Bags, bit doing it to justify including Francis in the backline isn’t the answer imo.
And even though Francis has shown glimpses elsewhere I think it’s a bad idea at this stage of his career to go swapping him around when he is clearly so much of a confidence player at this stage and a few bad games out of his natural position could do more harm than good
2 Likes
Clearly something wrong with our list management that a player of his ability can’t get a game.
He was smashing it at the end of last season and now all of a sudden he’s not good enough?
Maybe we need to stop drafting so many medium size defenders or start playing guys like Redman and Ridley further up the ground.
Francis is not a VFL player.
3 Likes
The small pressure forward role doesn’t float with me.
Already have Fanta and Walla floating around and you can swing Guelfi up there for stints. I would argue that even Francis himself could play the Bags role better than Bags. You also have Parish lining up in a HF role, get rid of Myers and play Darcy in the guts where he should be and play Francis as a forward. Plenty of options available
7 Likes
Francis played a lot of underage footy as a forward.
Myers out, Darcy to the middle and Aaron to the forward line, simples 
Already playing guys out of position. Darcy is a mid pure and simple
2 Likes
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. Francis has been thrown around a lot so far in his career and I personally don’t think it helps him at the moment to keep that happening. A few weeks in the 2’s won’t hurt him.
1 Like
Just needs a spot to open up for him. I figure Ridley and Redman retire somewhere around 2029, and he just slots in with 200 games of VFL experience. He’ll be cherry ripe.
8 Likes
I love Aaron and I find it hard to believe they won’t try him elsewhere when they are happy to dik Darcy around and play him out of position
3 Likes