Watching the presser, I had my initial feelings on his game confirmed Ant’s.
Both questioner & Coach gave a good assessment of his efforts tonight.
Basically, . much improved.
Had his ■■■ handed to him, again.
Sure, he’s still okay on the rebound and when he hasn’t got an opponent (and yes, his last quarter was good), but his days of stopping the games best smalls look to be done.
Bag’s greatest weapon was that he brought accountability to the other teams best forward.
he’d blanket them then have good disposal to launch another attack from our backline. I don’t think he can keep it up.
Hopefully we can transition that role to mcniece over the rest of the season.
Once or twice he was contesting the ball alongside Zaka and you could tell who was keener to go harder but that didn’t mean he played a good game. He’ll never stop trying but his best might no longer be good enough.
A lot of previous posters have nailed it but because Baggers has been my favourite player for the past three years I want to offer my opinion to filter out misguided comments.
There’s a saying in Boxing: “Getting old overnight”. That is, losing an edge, a fraction of reaction time, being on the wrong side of time. It happens in all sports, although it’s not as obvious as in boxing.
It is, however, obvious in AFL if you watch closely. Scott Lucas played probably the best quarter of football in the last round in 2007, injured his posterior cruciate ligament in Round 1 2008 and eventually returned as a shadow of his former self. Jason Johnson’s years of being a crash and bash warrior impacted on him like a ton of bricks.
But, the most relevant example is Mark Johnson. He was never blessed with speed. But he was handed the small defender role and for years he successfully hid this deficiency with aggression and his bullying competitive nature. In his last year at EFC he lost “an edge” and fell off a cliff; slick small forwards like LaCras could separate from him with ease.
Today, Baggers showed all of these signs. Efforts that previously have been controlled desperation at a contest were panicked desperation. Attempting low percentage spoils that took him to ground and out of the next contest … it didn’t help that he constantly stood three metres behind his opponent. It was uncomfortable to watch, particularly considering that he has easily handled Elliott previously.
Yes, Baggers played a good last quarter but the pace had slowed and his good moments weren’t against an opponent.
I’m concerned. Aside from standing metres from his opponent and going to ground in unrealistic attempts he occasionally took to the air to attempt pack spoils when it wasn’t needed.
I’m also concerned about Stants, and Zaharakis and Jobe’s not as assured and reliable. Oh, and James Kelly has become a ’ Watch this Space’. But I take Baggers’ struggles much more personally.
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Immense fourth, but yeh if I had a buck for everytkme I screamed ‘get in front of him Bags!!’
Couple of his panic efforts were embarrassing where he could’ve picked the ball up but decided to slap the ball away for someone else to worry about. And these were in dangerous areas of the ground.
He also lost his first two contests easily in the first 3 mins of the last quarter that luckily didn’t result in Collingwood goals, which could’ve turned the match.
He’s one of many senior players yet to find their mojo.
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Looked good in the last guarter because Collingwood kept kicking it straight to him.
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Sad but true.
Yep.
SPOT ON! Excellent summary in every way.
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IIRC Bags has a knee issue. Being managed but it’s clearly hampering his lateral and straight line speed.
He used to play the glove like roles on small fwds but now that metre or two of space he giving up leaving him caught out.
With the inclusion of McGrath and McNeice perhaps now Baguley can play on that opposition HFF who pushes into midfield as an extra and Bags ends up being a spare. Worked on weekend with him always dropping into hole and taking some good marks.
Also if Bags still following that player his possessions up the ground so far less dangerous than back in the forward 50.
I still think he has a lot of value to team. Hoping he can get his knee right, could do worse than speak to Nick Riewoldt whose found a way with his knee.
Please don’t play him on Garlett
He’s played 87 games. I reckon we get him to 100.
Good 4th quarter. No, very good.
Precisely. Roamed around and picked up wayward kicks. Doesn’t lose points for doing that but it doesn’t make up for the first 3 quarters whic were woeful
He’s fallen off the cliff bigtime. What annoyed me most was how far off Elliot he was playing. Like wtf?
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He’ll be right. Hang tough people.
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Think this is his last year. One of those players now I get nervous about when he’s in a contest. Lost a yard of pace and goes to ground too often, too easily. As the contest slips away from him he does stupid things out of desperation, which further compound the situation. I was surprised he was put on Elliott in the first place - if he’s got a spot in the team then it must be in a role with less accountability. He just doesn’t have the defensive chops he used to have.
Had a great last quarter when he basically played the loose man, but must be judged on the first 3 when he was pretty poor.
Reckon you guys are being pretty harsh. I guess I’ll suffer through the replay again tonight to clarify, but I’m almost positive Elliot only kicked one goal on Bags, maybe one or two scoring involvements. I know for certain one of his first half goals was on ooh ahh Andy McGrath.
And also his worst moments were at the start of the last quarter. Two or three W.T.F moments in a row. And from then on played loose.
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