I honestly don’t have any time for talking about 15 years ago.
Or one, for that matter.
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You obviously didn’t watch the VFL, Langers had 10 possies 4 clangers to 3 qtr time.
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Sorry… Where’s the positive? He’s fallen off a cliff and you’re saying he only has 4 good years in him if he turns it all around this second? After taking forever to get it together the first time?
That doesn’t change the fact that he’s 20 and has contributed as much as Myers or Howlett in every senior game he played this year.
Basically every game gifted to Myers and howlett is a lost opportunity to develop Langford in my mind
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I think only one player has come back from suspension to his previous form, and that’s Hurley.
You could argue Hooker. I would not.
Four years is a lot of good football to look forward to.
I’m bullish about him.
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Actually agree, again vs the crows we were as good as them, but gifted easy goals through simple footy mistakes that killed our momentum and eventually gave the game away
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While I agree, it’s context.
And the context is that the slowest of those mids has been there for 15 years. And we all love him, but it’s no coincidence that his best years we’re when the team set up to keep the ball inside the contest as much as possible. Once it’s outside the contest the lack of pace hurts. Worsfold and Knights have been happy to play a more expansive game than Hird’s team. Both versions have scored more freely, but also been prone to conceding goals in a row with little midfield pressure.
In 8 months I expect our midfield will look and feel quite a bit different (and I’m not just talking about Jobe), and we’ll hold our own more than we have. (Although some of the kids I worry about in terms of whether they are the modern types required)
(And none of this is to put Jobe down. When a coach recognised that he had to build the game plan to his strengths he was the best player in the league. Knights was trying to build something else (I’m not even sure he knew what), and Worsfold rightly recognises that the future that he was building for was not one revolving around Watson)
Which I eluded to, but we need a Rance type that can play on the best opposition forward and win 1-on-1 contests. Hoping Hartley will get better at that with more games. He’s a great kick of the footy and can spoil. The best teams still have a rock solid setup down back regardless of the midfield imo
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This is a great post - it is exactly how I feel and see it. I think the club has felt compelled to play the R12 as much as they can. I agree that the midfield group will dramatically change, I actually think a lot of that change will happen in the off season. For most of the year, we have been beaten inside and outside the midfield. We get absolutely monstered at stoppages and centre bounces. Our midfield can’t to run the other way, is very slow and unaccountable.
Whoops, one Essendon player.
Ryder and Hibberd say hi.
I’m sure the picks we got for them will be awesome, but man they’d have been handy this year…
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I’d be interested in Langford’s GPS numbers.
No really. Does he cover enough ground as a VFL level mid. He can be dominant but does he have the tank yet?
I just think more midfield time at VFL level is good for his development. He can legitimately me a Fyfe or Bont, but had to work really hard to get to that level. I’m happy to make him work hard for now, because in Rd 1 next year he’ll be playing seniors.
Hooked has kicked 39 goals. At the start of the year that would have been considered a win. Hooker has been under rated in my opinion. For a guy who has been out for a year and is a backman to kick 40+ is massive. That is not even acknowledging how rarely he gets beaten in the air and brings the ball to ground for the smalls.
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Carlisle has had some good games too
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Should be a lot more. He misses too many for mine.
I wouldn’t put him anywhere near his previous form.
I have no doubt that he’ll reach it again, though.
All good points.
I still don’t think he’s even close to as good as he was when he left the game.
Do you?
I don’t mind playing a couple of the slower, older players but we simply can’t go on with 3 or 4 in the team. They have been fantastic though.
We only need one or 2 of our younger faster guys in the VFL to step up, and the added experience of the current line up to take the reigns of a couple of retirees and we are well on our way.
Heads up guys!! Good times ahead as whats been said.
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The thing about Hooker forward, though, is that it might just add a couple of years to his career.
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Been playing in a completely different position. Way too hard to compare and judge contributions at either end. I am more than happy with his output this year as a forward and the role he has played. It has meant Joe has not been double teamed also.
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Well, not completely different.
He’d played forward before.
His numbers are good, but he’s looked lost for huge parts of the game. Just has not contributed at all.
Sometimes it feels like he’s a meat sack unless the ball is delivered to him absolutely perfectly.
And his kicking…not all the time, but sometimes…he’s got some demons there. I’m not saying he was always a perfect kick, but some of his kicks this year have been painful to watch.
That’s not the Hooker of a few years ago.
Again, there’s still upside. And as you said, there are legitimate reasons for some of it.
But right now, for mine, he’s not near the footballer he was.