Find it hard to disagree with anything from MJP's post on our chances.
I would add that an improvement and consistent year from Tim English would be huge for our prospects.
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Find it hard to disagree with anything from MJP's post on our chances.
I would add that an improvement and consistent year from Tim English would be huge for our prospects.
There are a few points I wanted to comment on
While injuries have been a convenient excuse for the last couple of years along with age and experience it isn't really an accurate reason. Clubs should plan for contingencies and that includes covering injuries. It's taken 2 years but we have finally acknowledged and addressed they fact that we were light on for key position players. I agree that (God forbid) injuries to Bontempelli, Macrae and Naughton will make it hard however, it also provides opportunities for others to step up. If we have balanced the list correctly or at least got the list close it shouldn't be an excuse.
Glad you mentioned Crozier who has been impressive for us since he arrived and I think he has improved each year as well.
He's a leader of the back line and is always organising other defenders. He's quick to leave his man when needed to provide an extra number in a contest plus the combination of his marking and his kicking have been a huge positive for us. Then you notice his tackling is also impressive. He's a smart player and should be an automatic selection for the match committee
I hope we can address some of our poor 'effort' based performances from last year as we either didn't bring the right energy to the game or we didn't plan for a highly motivated opposition. I've mentioned this before but showing up with the right energy and focus is something that every player can control.
I also hope we consider using a tagger from time to time. We can't let the teams better players go unchecked and assume we will out shoot them on the day.
And finally, after the loss to a manic GWS in the elimination final it's given the players and coaches a yardstick to measure against and boy do we need to make sure we aren't caught out again.
If we have learned some lessons from last year we will be very competitive and a top 5 spot is there for the taking.
Charlie Dixon is arguably the most disappointing KPF of the past decade.
He has ridden on the back of 'potential' far more than Jarrad Waite ever did and has produced less. You need more than to just 'be big' to make it as a KPF at AFL level. Guys like Darling and Membrey are constantly put down as 'a little too short' to play KPF posts but they produce far more than Dixon ever has because they constantly lead and attack the ball.
The only two players I can recall ever being used as run-with players under Bevo are Libba and Wallis.
Libba's efforts in the second half of the GF against JPK went a long way to helping us win. I remember Wallis blanketing Heppel for 3/4s under Wally copped an ankle.
Wallis looks set to be more of a forward this year and Libba? Who knows when/if he returns to the senior team as (like Macrae) he doesn't seem very capable of playing anywhere else bar midfield.
C'mon, you're being a bit unkind here, Charlie has the most fearsome double fist-pump in the game.
Nobody celebrates bagging consecutive snags, in his 3rd game back from a 12-week layoff, in the chilly depths of July, in a Sunday twilight clash, against mediocre opposition, that his club ends up losing, like Dixon does. Get around him.
Sorry - yeah, I'm happy with McCluggage...he's super.
I don't see it with Rayner I'm afraid. He just seems to me one of those guys who will be a perpetual tease...players he reminds me of:
Stringer
Petracca
De Goey
All of the 'mid field size but best suited forward' type players...it is a tough gig, a really tough gig making it as a player. The challenge for all of these types are they are true 'power athletes' if you will. Capable of explosive speed, movement and turning the game in 5-minutes. But they are always under pressure to 'build a tank' and take a turn in the mids etc (both for the good of the team and the good of their own game as playing as a medium sized forward is - like I said - a tough gig)...but when their loads increase at training, then the injuries come.
Rinse repeat on that cycle.
I see the appeal and why Brisbane drafted him at 1 overall...I just never would have.
in 2017 and 2018 we had at least 10 to 12 of our best 22 out with injuries and played as the
youngest team in the AFL. Yes you can’t blame all losses on injuries but when you are in that position it is very difficult to win games as well as have ready made players to step, which we didn’t
It seems it is convenient to forget this.
The first thing many people do after a loss is point out the age and experience profile and injuries. That is all well and good but when you look at it a bit deeper and realise for example that we chose to ignore the injury and struggles with Tom Boyd by not covering his ability to play forward and provide a ruck option then I think it's very easy to blame his absenteeism as an injury not a problem with our list planning or injury diagnosis. Each to their own though but I've never quite understood why honestly acknowledging some of the mistakes we make along the way is on occasions frowned upon but applying dubious excuses is seen as being supportive.
I'm delighted that that we have addressed the gaps with our key position depth last year which might make it harder to hide behind 'injuries' testing our depth this season.