The Jones Boy - I will declare it now - he is going to be a star

[always right]

If he plays like he did in those games I mentioned last year, I will be calling for him to be dropped again. Must have our best team in every week if we want to be a top four team.

Nice try....but not convincing

[G-Mo77]

Short term pain, long term gain.

Yep, giving him extra games when he was apparently down last year has probably helped. He'll hit hurdles again this year and we just have to persist with him.

[bornadog]

Short term pain, long term gain.

Depends how many in a row

[Raw Toast]

Whilst his set shots were sometimes wonky, Granty was always an elite field kick. I remember a stat from the 97 season that staggered me. Grant had the most effective short kicks in the comp, which was remarkable for a KPF. Jones has a way to go here but has many other wonderful attributes. We've got a serious talent on our hands.

While I'm yet to be convinced about the Grant/Jones comparison, I think Jones actually shows considerable promise as a field kick - I'm not sure he will be elite, but he's got lots of vision and skill in this area, and the discrepancy between his field kicking and set shots did remind me of the great man. Grant was also very good on his left.

Thinking about it a bit more, like Grant, Jones has excellent hands once the ball hits the deck, and of course his hands are very good, maybe better. But one of the things that stood out about Grant right from the start was his ability to read the play, which is also what made him such a brilliant CHB. I'm not sure Jones excels at this (at least to the same extent). I'm still excited by him, but he's not currently projecting to be a dual Brownlow medal winner (which is how I often consider the great man!).

[Ozza]

Good post RT. Would be good if 'The Great Man' - could stay close to Jones, and push him along with some pointers from time to time.

I'm very excited about Jones' potential. He is what I'm looking forward to the most about this season.

[LostDoggy]

Sorry for this detour of a post, but all this talk about (Chris) Grant's field kicking reminds me of the hype around Buddy now and how he can supposedly now 'go into the midfield, or drop back into the backline or go forward to kick goals', solve problems everywhere, and how that makes him a 'once in a lifetime player'.

Chris Grant was the best field kick in the league when he was playing in the middle. Not "for a forward", or "for a tall player", THE BEST field kick in the league. Up forward, he was easily in the top 2 CHFs (with Carey) in the game at the time, and there was no more complete or courageous CHB when he slotted back (better kick than Jakovic, better marking and game sense than Silvagni or Fletcher).

Once in a lifetime my arse -- if Granty played for, say, Essendon he would have won 5 Norm Smiths and 3 Brownlows and be mentioned as the greatest player of his generation, ahead of the media darling trinity of Voss, Hird, and Buckley.

[KT31]

Sorry for this detour of a post, but all this talk about (Chris) Grant's field kicking reminds me of the hype around Buddy now and how he can supposedly now 'go into the midfield, or drop back into the backline or go forward to kick goals', solve problems everywhere, and how that makes him a 'once in a lifetime player'.

Chris Grant was the best field kick in the league when he was playing in the middle. Not "for a forward", or "for a tall player", THE BEST field kick in the league. Up forward, he was easily in the top 2 CHFs (with Carey) in the game at the time, and there was no more complete or courageous CHB when he slotted back (better kick than Jakovic, better marking and game sense than Silvagni or Fletcher).

Once in a lifetime my arse -- if Granty played for, say, Essendon he would have won 5 Norm Smiths and 3 Brownlows and be mentioned as the greatest player of his generation, ahead of the media darling trinity of Voss, Hird, and Buckley.

^^^^^^^
This with bells.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Sorry for this detour of a post, but all this talk about (Chris) Grant's field kicking reminds me of the hype around Buddy now and how he can supposedly now 'go into the midfield, or drop back into the backline or go forward to kick goals', solve problems everywhere, and how that makes him a 'once in a lifetime player'.

Chris Grant was the best field kick in the league when he was playing in the middle. Not "for a forward", or "for a tall player", THE BEST field kick in the league. Up forward, he was easily in the top 2 CHFs (with Carey) in the game at the time, and there was no more complete or courageous CHB when he slotted back (better kick than Jakovic, better marking and game sense than Silvagni or Fletcher).

Once in a lifetime my arse -- if Granty played for, say, Essendon he would have won 5 Norm Smiths and 3 Brownlows and be mentioned as the greatest player of his generation, ahead of the media darling trinity of Voss, Hird, and Buckley.

And how many Anzac day medals would he have won as well.
Makes me sick when they're included in a players 'achievements'.

[immortalmike]

Sorry for this detour of a post, but all this talk about (Chris) Grant's field kicking reminds me of the hype around Buddy now and how he can supposedly now 'go into the midfield, or drop back into the backline or go forward to kick goals', solve problems everywhere, and how that makes him a 'once in a lifetime player'.

Chris Grant was the best field kick in the league when he was playing in the middle. Not "for a forward", or "for a tall player", THE BEST field kick in the league. Up forward, he was easily in the top 2 CHFs (with Carey) in the game at the time, and there was no more complete or courageous CHB when he slotted back (better kick than Jakovic, better marking and game sense than Silvagni or Fletcher).

Once in a lifetime my arse -- if Granty played for, say, Essendon he would have won 5 Norm Smiths and 3 Brownlows and be mentioned as the greatest player of his generation, ahead of the media darling trinity of Voss, Hird, and Buckley.

The sad thing is that though this is all very, very true. He is often overlooked in favour of a decent player with a big heart like Archer. It's funny who the media decide to cannonize and who they ignore.

[westdog54]

Among the great dissapointments of this year has been Jones's wretched form through the season. He hasn't been helped by the delivery he's getting but he also hasn't helped himself either, running under the ball with alarming consistency.

I'm not quite ready to write this year off as anything other than an abberation, but its very, very concerning.

[G-Mo77]

I'm not concerned at all. He's a young kid who is still learning.

[LostDoggy]

He won't prosper at our club if things remain the same.

[Desipura]

He needs another big man FORWARD to support him, not a Ruckman playing forward.

[G-Mo77]

He needs another big man FORWARD to support him, not a Ruckman playing forward.

Very true. That would lessen the load and release a bit of pressure. Williams at CHF and Grant in the team may help in that regard although they may move Tommy back this week for the diver.

[bornadog]

I still think he will be a star, he is young, he has the right attitude, he trains hard and when he is dropped he tries even harder.

Has a lot to learn and time is on his side.