Kav not often if barely at all before this season, though DJR et al will know better.
N’OB’s problem is not the numbers but seems to be how little influence he has on a match, and that we don’t need another big, slow mid.
How close is Tippa to finding form?
Zerrett played three games in the VFL lady year. Averaged 24 disposals and
Exactly. Never played 5 in a row did he? Which is apparently what you need to do to be considered for a call up.
How many times has EKav passed 24 touches? Or NOB?
Without Colyer it would have been a 3 goal game from Essendon, which is beyond woeful. Colyer kicked 2 and set up 3-4 goals.
I’d be bringing in Browne or Edwards.
Next week, Edwards and Mckernan in.
Zerrett played three games in the VFL last year. Averaged 24 disposals, 8 marks and 6 tackles. Dream team average of 118.
NO’B has averaged 28 disposals this year but only 96 points. Edwards 15 and 71.
I reckon Zerrett made a pretty good case for himself.
For me (and I suspect others) the gutting thing about this loss is that it felt like we had turned a corner. We had been using the corridor, kicking the ball more often, and actually giving our forwards a chance. To say that Saturday night felt like regression is an understatement.
After our loss against North I thought the one thing we were lacking was a bit of exerience in Chappy/Cooney. Cooney delivered in style against the Lions and although he was quiet on Saturday, he had 13 kicks and 3 handballs which gets a big tick in my book. Chapman on the other hand has put together what combined would have to be the worst fortnight of his career. At his age that ain’t good. If you’re playing people who are 30+ they have to deliver. It’s not just that he has been quiet it’s the way he is going about it. He is looking for cheapies out the back and ducking his head at every opportunity because he knows he can’t compete. He also can’t run out a game to save himself. Subs vest or a ‘rest’ awaits.
Ambrose continues to frustrate, but I’d be hesitant to drop him and Chappy in the same week, the key difference being that Ambrose has time on his side and is actually able to effectively apply pressure on the opposition ball carrier. Must trouble the scorers though, regardless of his role.
As a flipside to those two, I’d like to draw attention to Jackson Merrett’s game. He took the opposition on, kicked a goal, and applied great pressure. To me, the Merrett’s are the textbook ‘Hird gameplan’ players. Able to harass the opposition effectively, close them down, then break into space effectively when our turn comes.
The question I think we should be asking when it comes to replacing Chappy (granted, he’ll probably stay if Watson is out injured) is not who is the most exciting or even best VFL player, but; who is able to most play like the Merrett’s? That is what our team needs to move forward with the current game plan.
Zerrett didn’t ‘bash the door down’ in the VFL last year… Thompson threw him in the seniors and his form means he never left. Who knows what happens if he doesn’t get a game straight up. Perhaps he would be running around the VFL getting 12 touches, with us all calling for his inclusion but being told his numbers aren’t good enough… Especially as some posters seem to think you have to play 4-5 solid VFL games to get a gig. Zerrett is a very good player but he hasn’t played 5 consistently high grade games in a row yet in his career. that is NOT a judgement on him, that is just reality for a younger player. They will have bad games. The key being that Zerrett has grown and is maturing into a great player.
McKernan comes in not just because of his VFL form… but because TBell is clearly not cutting it and Smack has consistently shown more than Giles so far. So Smack comes in because every single person on Earth, other than our coach, can see that TBell is struggling to solo ruck and our forward line is really missing the ‘resting ruck’ and 1.2 goals a GAME they were providing. At one stage when we were having the Ryder/TBell debate there was serious consideration for playing TBell as a forward in his own right. He is a Forward/Ruck… so how about we play Smack so he actually has a chance to do that? IIRC in the one game we brought Smack in, TBell took 2 marks inside F50 and kicked a goal… proof positive right there and yet we dropped Smack four days later. Crazy stuff.
EKav is in his 4th year and is on the way out, does it really kill us to give him a month in the middle? Perhaps he does a Colyer and shows his worth, perhaps he does a Melksham and finally shows his worth. The point is we will never know until we give him a go in the middle. To date every senior opportunity has either come with the vest, or playing forward pocket which is not his position. Good chance Kav gets a gig at another team next year and turns into a solid B+ player… and we are left wondering why we never saw it. Has to be given a chance, 4 weeks and then he is either good enough or delisted. Simple.
NOB has had better numbers in the VFL than Colyer ever achieved… ever. I’m not a big wrap for NOB but if you want to use the ‘knock the door down’ argument, he has smashed it. Hard runner who racks up possessions like they are Easter Eggs.
As other posters have rightly pointed out, you drop Chappy, Fletcher and Watson and replace with Fanta/Smack and Edwards… you go from 2nd oldest team to 5th youngest team. That could then lead to you to believe we are in a better position that form suggests.
Everything is already ok. I hate the burden of expectation that comes with winning.
Im not worried.
Everything is going to be OK.
I like Ro Ro.
Richmond didn't win, we lost it.Smashed them for majority of the game and got nothing. Then when we the players had no choice but to go all out they decided to ■■■■ around with the footy.
When are they going to learn the object is to kick goals, when you within range slam it home. Colyer is the only player who knows this.
I miss Mercuri and Lucas!
This
2 less stupid errors and we would of won
3 less stupid mistakes and some straight goal kicking and we would have smashed them
we they trying to hard for Fletch
Didn’t get to watch a second of this game, this makes me happy.
My sister showed me the final score and I fist pumped thinking it was 95-72 our way. Oops. I was a little tinned
I'm happy with Hird because I agree with everything he says at the press conferences.We are letting ourselves down with the bravery the players approach the game with. Sideways bandpass isn’t the game plan.
Its time to be braver at the selection table though. Too many safe selections, too few players getting a go.
Thompson last year backed in Zerret, Jarrett and Gleeson and gave them a lot of games. We are seeing the reward from that this year.
But Bird isn’t backing anyone in, he gives game to the same guys Thompson did. Time for him to take a stand and give Kav a go if we need a midfielder, or Ashby a fair non sub crack. Or Edwards. Or McKernan.
Too often he looks to be picking spots based on the nest 22 he had in his head at the start of the year, and not backing some guys in and giving them a chance.
Something’s wrong with your “h” key.
Caro?
But not in the one where we are talking about it.I simply don’t get the notion of people screaming for Edwards, Dalgleish, Browne etc.
They say in: Form, out: sentiment.
These guys aren’t setting the world on fire in the VFL.
Edwards who is the talk of the town did ok yesterday but didn’t play against the Carlton whoevers.
I’m a regular watcher and he wasn’t blistering at Windy Hill 2 weeks ago either.Browne and Dalgleish have been serviceable.
For those screaming for their inclusion are just trying to scrounge a saviour. It’s not here.Chappy may be an out. But everyone else is pretty safe I reckon. No one is banging down the door.
With your view may as well delist 16 and have a playing list of 24. Never make any changes no matter how terrible the team structure or how ordinary the form.
Be ultra safe, conservative, and unwilling to try anything different. Just like Hird.
■■■■ it just came to me- We lost because we wore another pathetic grey ■■■■■■ jumper. I wonder what our win loss record with that garbage coloured jumper is.4 wins, 5 losses.
Now 5 wins, 6 losses all up I think
I'm happy with Hird because I agree with everything he says at the press conferences.We are letting ourselves down with the bravery the players approach the game with. Sideways bandpass isn’t the game plan.
Its time to be braver at the selection table though. Too many safe selections, too few players getting a go.
Thompson last year backed in Zerret, Jarrett and Gleeson and gave them a lot of games. We are seeing the reward from that this year.
But Bird isn’t backing anyone in, he gives game to the same guys Thompson did. Time for him to take a stand and give Kav a go if we need a midfielder, or Ashby a fair non sub crack. Or Edwards. Or McKernan.
Too often he looks to be picking spots based on the nest 22 he had in his head at the start of the year, and not backing some guys in and giving them a chance.
Something’s wrong with your “h” key.
We've got one of the best defences in the league, but are still scared to move the ball quickly into the forward line. When we did move it quickly last night, we scored. Then we go back into our shells. That said, it must deflate the whole team when they do the hard work, and its just up to the last guy in the chain to kick the ■■■■■■■ goal.
kicking for goal in your instance surely is deflating.
but also dumb decision making and poor skill across the field must have a similar affect. playing on while someone is actually ontop of you, handballing at players feet, missing targets which puts them under more pressure than they needed to be.
It all builds up and just as missing goals becomes contagious, to this team so does errors. As a small example stanton went from pin point passes in the first qtr, to stop, prop and kick blindly and high in the second and beyond. he didn’t start the rot, and he wasn’t the only one, but a few players start making silly errors and again it just seeps through the whole side like a plague.
so much so now you can pick when we won’t win due to the amount of errors we make. the only exception is the carlton game this year and i think we are damn lucky they sucked 10 fold more than we did on the day.
donno what it is, but they don’t come switched on offensively, they seem to have the mentality that getting it close enough to a player is good enough, instead of ok, there’s a man with 5 meters of free space, if i hit him with a good pass he can play on and put us in a better position, it’s just here have the ball and good luck luck not ■■■■■■■ up.
it’s normally the way we turn up to play against melbourne, but this year it’s happened in a few games.
I’m happy with Hird because I agree with everything he says at the press conferences.
We are letting ourselves down with the bravery the players approach the game with. Sideways bandpass isn’t the game plan.
Its time to be braver at the selection table though. Too many safe selections, too few players getting a go.
Thompson last year backed in Zerret, Jarrett and Gleeson and gave them a lot of games. We are seeing the reward from that this year.
But Bird isn’t backing anyone in, he gives game to the same guys Thompson did. Time for him to take a stand and give Kav a go if we need a midfielder, or Ashby a fair non sub crack. Or Edwards. Or McKernan.
Too often he looks to be picking spots based on the nest 22 he had in his head at the start of the year, and not backing some guys in and giving them a chance.
■■■■ it just came to me- We lost because we wore another pathetic grey ■■■■■■ jumper. I wonder what our win loss record with that garbage coloured jumper is.
Anzac Day, St Kilda, Fremantle, Richmond our worst games of the year. Wore a commercial jumper in all of those.
But not in the one where we are talking about it.I simply don’t get the notion of people screaming for Edwards, Dalgleish, Browne etc.
They say in: Form, out: sentiment.
These guys aren’t setting the world on fire in the VFL.
Edwards who is the talk of the town did ok yesterday but didn’t play against the Carlton whoevers.
I’m a regular watcher and he wasn’t blistering at Windy Hill 2 weeks ago either.Browne and Dalgleish have been serviceable.
For those screaming for their inclusion are just trying to scrounge a saviour. It’s not here.Chappy may be an out. But everyone else is pretty safe I reckon. No one is banging down the door.
Agree. Thank you, finally some sense in here.