Seems to have lost his one on one ability, undisciplined free kicks annoy the F-rk out of me
Last week got a bath, and then McGrath did a stint on Betts and did a better job.
This week got a bath, and then McNeice did a stint on Elliot and did a better job.
Crossroads.
Was poor tonight. Played ok in the last quarter as a loose man but was horrid in the first 3/4. Has lost a yard or two of pace and just doesn’t have the closing speed he once did. Trailed his man by several metres and lost his feet far too often. Most worrying is that he seems to get beat more in 1 one 1 contests than he once did. I’d prefer Dea or Marty to come in for the Dees game
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I reckon he did plenty of good today Baggers. Mixed in with a few W.T.F moments, I agree but I thought he was ok.
I thought he was pretty good. I blame the mids more then himself. He is playing on the best small to medium player most of game. Look at the amount of inside 50s they had compared to us. The ball is coming in there fast and a lot. In the last quarter he was very very good. no where near crossroads. Wosha talked him up in the presser too. Our backline is in pretty good shape.
I thought until the 4th it was his worst game since his debut.
he was giving up 10 metres to elliot every time the ball was in our forward half, then they’d rocket it out and he’d be nowhere near their most dangerous forward.
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I don’t want him playing on the best small defenders.
When he plays freely he reads the ball so well and can cut off attacks with his marking running back.
It’s when we play him as a lock down defender on the best small forwards that he struggles.
If McNeice/McKenna/Kelly can play the lock down role then he will be a great asset.
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He is just reacting and waiting for his player to do something. Seems like his hearts not in it like it was in the past.
I don’t think he’s the best option on the opposing best small forward but I still think he has value to our backline. He had a few smash ny head against the fkn wall moments but his good outweighed the bad imo. He had a few crucial spoils and marks which I thought was awesome
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He’s lost judgement and confidence overhead more than anything. Spoiling when in space, trying to mark as the smallest dude in the pack, and not throwing himself around as he used to.
Used to be his stock in trade ( he played on and beat A Goodes once or twice giving away a huge amount of size).
With Gleeson, McKenna & Dea still to come back, he’d want to find that form again ASAP.
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Still courageous as ever and full of effort but he’s struggling heaps.
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Did well today. Looks like he’ll be the Bags of old again sooner rather than later now.
Have stopped fretting.
Really?
I swear he cost us 3-4 goals in the first half and whilst he had a decent last quarter as a loose man I thought he was easily our WOG for the first 3/4. I don’t recall him ever playing such a poor game as today
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Hmmm, ok. I’ll get back to you post replay.
We don’t get home until Friday morning so I’ll have to wait until then to see the replay
I don’t think the replay will show my biggest issue with him.
he gave elliott a paddock to run into every single time we had the ball in our forward 50.
which indicates to me, he doesn’t trust his pace anymore.
Just for reference in the mean time. Seems just a few extra CP"s and well,… a fair few more tackles short of where we’d like him to be. Highest DE, which today was again well down across the majority.
Reckon he only had 6 or 7 touches in the first half. In the last quarter he played more of a spare role and probably racked up 7 or 8 touches and dropped back in the hole for a few good marks under pressure. Think McNiece looked far better on Elliott
Yeah, I didn’t say he’s back to his best yet, but I reckon we finally saw him, like Hurley & Hooker, take a step back toward his old self, … and it’s probably not an accident, that as they do, he would too.
Unfortunately I think he’s cooked. Watching him from the nose bleed section, he’s acting like an old player. So in the last when on his own and just using his reading of the play, he was great. Courage still great. Disposal when he had time and space, great.
But earlier when manning a player, he didn’t have the speed, cleanliness, or timing to impact as he used to. So he tried ‘cheating’ in his positioning, which causes problems against someone of Elliott’s pace. He fumbled more and goes to ground more. Still a terrier, but a restricted one.
Classic older player lost a yard and element of cleanliness behaviour.
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