#11 David Zaharakis - Surviving half-Ironmans

Sounded pretty defensive to me.

Gotta be last chance saloon.

Surely.

Hmmm . OR, the knockers have no idea what his actual role is, and whether or not he’s doing exactly what the Coach is asking of him, & you’re all wrrrrr, … wrrrr,…wrrro …

Again, … , outside runners like Zaka need the plan to be clicking, o/wise, no matter how many times they run to the right spot, they can’t receive it.

With the emphasis on like rather than outside, I agree.

1 Like

I know you see it as your role on here to be overly positive and forgiving of our players BSD but you can’t by any metric condone or be pleased with what Zaka is dishing up this year.

8 Likes

Maybe Woosha should try him inside again.

2 Likes

Zaka’ best is awesome but it’s disappointing he wasn’t dropped this week. If your gonna drop Stanton twice after sub par games, and Gleeson twice now too, I don’t see why zaharakis doesn’t get the same treatment.

7 Likes

I certainly haven’t gone into bat, but I do know that what I just bolded there^^ is true, … and as we all know,… he still keeps getting picked,… & not just by Woosh, as some erroneously seem to believe,… but by a whole panel of coaches, … so to me, … logic would say it’s likely the cause.

If you are looking for David to be the hard in guy … you’re on the wrong horse, It’s never been his role, … although when forced into it last year, he did actually impress.

Of course, … you can believe it just must be some “Photo” thing, … :wink:

We’re not looking for Zaka to be the hard guy, but we expect him to contribute to the team in some form or manner and perform, and at minimum earn his spot in the starting 22. He’s 27 and will be 28 not 19 turning 20 this year, he must perform week in week out. And we also expect him to go in just as hard as any player on the list when it’s his turn. Unfortunately it’s been a horror show for the majority of the year form wise for him. You’d have to be pretty delusional to think he’s in good form, if contributing nothing and barely racking up 13 possessions as a senior midfielder is performing a role, then I guess he’s been doing it well for weeks now. No amount of smileys or digging to find excuses can hide the fact he’s been one of our most disappointing players this year. The good thing is he still has another 12 weeks to turn it around and make something of the year, which I hope he does.

1 Like

This should happen given his output last year.

But unfortunately we have a whole heap of other players suited to inside ONLY and very little depth of outside type.

Woosha has tried him inside? Is this the salacious video we’re talking about? :wink:

What you are saying is true for the offensive side of the game, but not the defensive side. Someone posted earlier regarding Bomber Thompsons comments on his bad running habits and it is spot on. He does not work nearly hard enough defensively for an outside midfielder. He is one of those players that is quick when we have the ball, but very slow defensively.

Just on him not getting dropped, I have a wacky conspiracy theory. If he has accepted a free agency offer somewhere else, could they be playing him in order to get a decent compo pick i.e. 2nd rounder? If they drop him and he stays at VFL level it is pretty easy for the AFL to give Essendon squat in compo. But if they play him, the argument can be made he is best 22 and a bnf winner. It is pretty out there.

Simply, he has been under whelming.

Outsides running mids are dangerous when they run and carry, and deliver the ball accurately.

Most disappointing to me has been his his disposal in general when not under pressure. Been scratchy at best.

And ■■■■■ kicking for goal when on angles near 50,not even looking for an better option.

Guess he’s getting backed in to turn it around.
I’m hoping it happens every time he’s picked.

3 Likes

Well in my opinion you got one thing right - it is a wacky suggestion!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, don’t think of Zaka as a pure mid. Merrett, Watson, heppell, parish, Goddard are mids in front of him, so his midfield time is more a cameo. And he is still averaging 18 touches - he certainly has things to work on, go in harder, hit the scoreboard but for those expecting 30 touch games, it just ain’t gonna happen … often

1 Like

Just play him forward or fk him off

The fact that hes not getting dropped worries me, looks like Woosha doesnt think theirs much else coming through.

Id rather blood a couple of kids just to get some experience

Zaka is the type of player who would be a good player in a good team.

Unfortunately for him and us, we are not a good team thus he is a not a good player. If a top team were to offer him a deal good enough to get us a 2nd round FA compo pick we would be stupid not to take it.

1 Like

Damo reported on the Footy Show that rivals are showing some interest and are monitoring the situation. Personally I don’t see him leaving and if he does the compo pick will be low.

Loves the club, would be sad, but do we have room for him in our forwardline?

Give him a spell in the vfl to find out. Taking up space in the team atm.