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So Dea gets beaten well by the Brownlow medalist and Caddy in one match and suddenly his other performances last year don’t matter and he is out? Ignoring that he is usually excellent one on one.
Should Fletcher have been dropped because Lockett and Sav Rocca towelled him a few times?
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No. Fletch was offensively strong and better suited to playing on the third tall so I don’t buy that comparison. Dea was playing his position and wasn’t beaten, he was destroyed. Limited footballer. A liability against the top teams. Struggled against Geelong as well.
Huh? Fletch wasn’t a third tall back then? You’re argument here is that you don’t rate Dea because Martin& Caddy bear him well, and now you’re saying he played poorly against Geelong (I didn’t see that game so can’t comment).
News flash, even the best like Fletch get beaten. Writing a defender off because of one or two games is ridiculous.
In mythical la la land all defenders are able to go both ways, all mids are inside/outside with a defensive side, all tall forwards are big but agile and never miss set shots and the small forwards are tackling mofos while showing sublime skill at ground level and in the air.
In the real world of salary caps, drafts and players with limitations, you choose a structure which complements you’re players abilities and choose a blend of strengths for different roles.
The reality is that last season we played best when we had a dedicated defender plus Saad and Hooker as a defensive foundation. Some seem to forget how Blitz moaned about our defence in 2017 and early 2018.
I’m writing Dea off because he isn’t very good. I called out a couple of games where he was abysmal, the reality is that he doesn’t rise far above poor to average across all games because of his physical and skill limitations. Fundamentally he is a limited footballer who isn’t quick, poor by foot and can’t make decisions under pressure. His 1 on 1 ability isn’t good enough to save him. As a side note, I’m deeply concerned that one of our all time greats is being referenced in this conversation.
Probably should have put one of the first chosen in a lot off blitz teams. (Blitz influence at work here) Personally, I think he’s a bit smallish and there will now be better options to choose from.
Imo Gleeson is a very important player and is in our best 18.
He will provide us with an intercept mark option, run off half back and decent foot skills.
When all fit we should have one of the best defensive zones in AFL.
Hooker, Hurley, Saad, McKenna, Gleeson and Francis will be u stoppable.
Ambrose off the bench maybe with Riddles, Redman and Hartley as back ups.
Seriously, that is amazing.
I’m a big fan of Redman as well. He showed a hell of a lot in the two games played this year.
Mythical la la land haha lmao…Ryan Gosling as an all action SNAF (sensitive new age footballer) alongside Emma Stone (his off field squeeze) coming to a cinema near you!
Mythical la la land…I like that!
If you’re writing him off because you just don’t think he’s any good, fine. That’s your opinion. But you originally stated that you were writing him off because of the Richmond game. Hence my pointing out that writing a defender off when a champion of the game creams them is a pretty silly criteria.
And obviously you and I disagree on the importance of one-on-one defending. I’d also say his disposal is neat, not poor. I completely agree he is a limited footballer, but if his limitations suit the role we need in the team I’ve never had a fuss with that. My position is pretty clear, I think we have a particular need in the team, and Dea can fill that need better than anyone else has proven so far. I think that’s supported by our better defensive performance when he’s in the team than without him.
For mine it’s not even wether Dea is a decent lock down defender(he is).
But modern non key defenders are required to either provide intercepts or run. If your not, your only ever going to be backup. Those two traits are just too important too have a guy in the team who doesn’t.
Ridley, Redman and Gleeson do have these traits and should be preferred if fit to Dea.