Life without Grant....

[Dry Rot]

Kind of interesting, kind of sad to see the future yesterday ie no Grant.

The sky didn't fall in and we weren't flogged down back - good signs for 2008 and beyond.

Ditto looked like West had a reduced role and we survived.

Gone are the days when our top 4 or 6 could be targetted and we'd be well beaten.

[Go_Dogs]

Well, Johnson still basically won the game for us, but it was pleasing to see how the other players went down back, and through the middle. With guys like Murphy still go play more football forward, and Darcy to get better touch though, things are looking better for Johnson, and our ability to score w/o him. Cooney will spend more time forward this year too, no reason why he can't kick a couple every game. Westy, although quiet, still gathered the most contested possession for us yesterday.

It's certainly sad to see these players go, but as you mentioned, the future looks bright.

[GVGjr]

Like most others my main concern with covering the legacy of Chris Grant is that we do not have an emerging KPP of the same ilk. We all know he it's going to be difficult/impossible to replace him as both a player and a leader but really we just don't have the calibre of tall players coming through that we should have.
I have high hopes for Everitt and Williams plus I think O'Shea will be a good one for us but really it's not going to be the same. Perhaps Doog's will provide a decent KPP option for us. I hope Tim Walsh can get off the injured list so that we can see what he is capable of.
We also really now need to invest some early selections in talls because the quality of our talls is the concern.

[Dry Rot]

We also really now need to invest some early selections in talls because the quality of our talls is the concern.

That's sounds remarkably like drafting for needs, not best available. Surely not?

Did you see Mitch Brown's game for WCE on Saturday night?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Like most others my main concern with covering the legacy of Chris Grant is that we do not have an emerging KPP of the same ilk. We all know he it's going to be difficult/impossible to replace him as both a player and a leader but really we just don't have the calibre of tall players coming through that we should have.
I have high hopes for Everitt and Williams plus I think O'Shea will be a good one for us but really it's not going to be the same. Perhaps Doog's will provide a decent KPP option for us. I hope Tim Walsh can get off the injured list so that we can see what he is capable of.
We also really now need to invest some early selections in talls because the quality of our talls is the concern.

He is our leading games record holder, one of the 5 best players to ever play for the club (IMO), and the youngest player in the history of the game to kick 50 goals in a season.

So he was really always going to be hard to replace - almost impossible, what other clubs in the competition have key young key position players of the ilk of Grant? He has a feel for the game that few have, he always has time, I dont think I have ever seen a big man kick the ball as well on his opposite foot as Grant.

I dont think there has been any major problem with our recruiting of talls its just difficult, a lot dont pan out, we again went with Everitt and OShea this year in the draft as developing talls. Obviously with Jesse Wells physical attributes its a shame he didn't work out, but Harris, Hargraves, Wight, Minson have all been great taller selections and McDougall and Street are in the mix, and we still have Walsh, Baird, Williams, Tiller, Skipper, MWest etc on the list.

In a perfect world we would have a young Grant in the waiting but those players are few and far between - it seems to me the club is working hard to develop key position depth, and its really up to some of these guys to grab the bull by the horns and make themselves league footballers.

[Raw Toast]

Ditto looked like West had a reduced role and we survived.

Gone are the days when our top 4 or 6 could be targetted and we'd be well beaten.

This is also an important point I reckon. Last year when West was held (unfairly and fairly) we lost. This year we started our first game with him out of the centre against one of the best clearence midfields over the last few seasons. A good sign, and good that West adapted well to more of a play-making role.

ps in terms of the quality of our future height after Grant retires, surely we just need to use our 8th pick (say 106 or so) on a tall skinny kid from Dayelsford.

[bornadog]

This is also an important point I reckon. Last year when West was held (unfairly and fairly) we lost. This year we started our first game with him out of the centre against one of the best clearence midfields over the last few seasons. A good sign, and good that West adapted well to more of a play-making role.

.

He still had 29 possessions

[GVGjr]

He still had 29 possessions

And he played a reduced role very well. The point is that he wasn't the mainstay in the midfield that he normally is and I think this helped Cross, Cooney, Giansiracusa, Boyd and a couple of others get more into the game.

He is still a critical player for us.

[Raw Toast]

And he played a reduced role very well. The point is that he wasn't the mainstay in the midfield that he normally is and I think this helped Cross, Cooney, Giansiracusa, Boyd and a couple of others get more into the game.

He is still a critical player for us.

Yup.

Eade was criticised in the past for not playing or developing Sydney's youngsters enough in his last few years IIRC. He's been v proactive in his development since he arrived here, and this seems another example. West still seems to have the fitness and ability to spend most of his time on the ball, but played a different role nicely which allowed the other players you mentioned a chance to develop. Hopefully it also means that if West is scragged into submission we've got other players who can win us the ball.

[BulldogBelle]

Having followed Grant's career from day dot back in 1990, we have watched him grow from a young skinny boy into a Bulldog Icon, who is our record games holder. To me, it will be a long long time till we have someone we can liken to Grant. I don't want to think about his retirement till it happens. I am in denial!!

BTW, did any of you watch Channel 7 news ? They did say that he will most probably miss another match.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Like most others my main concern with covering the legacy of Chris Grant is that we do not have an emerging KPP of the same ilk. We all know he it's going to be difficult/impossible to replace him as both a player and a leader but really we just don't have the calibre of tall players coming through that we should have.
I have high hopes for Everitt and Williams plus I think O'Shea will be a good one for us but really it's not going to be the same. Perhaps Doog's will provide a decent KPP option for us. I hope Tim Walsh can get off the injured list so that we can see what he is capable of.
We also really now need to invest some early selections in talls because the quality of our talls is the concern.

The other strategy was one I almost mentioned to his wife Mel (who is quite tall if my memory serves me) a few years a go, and that is for her to have a good 10+ kids. I mean with her appearingly athletic genes and the class of the Grant genes how can this fail. Seriously why has this never been done in the AFL? We could have a whole spine of quadruple premiership teams this way.

[Dry Rot]

Looks like this was a prescient thread - apparently Grant is out till after the break.

Puts the spotlight on McDougall and Wight, I suppose. Lucky we recuited McDougall, it seems.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Looks like this was a prescient thread - apparently Grant is out till after the break.

After what break?

[bornadog]

Looks like this was a prescient thread - apparently Grant is out till after the break.

Puts the spotlight on McDougall and Wight, I suppose. Lucky we recuited McDougall, it seems.

Had an operation last night out for 6 weeks at least

[Twodogs]

After what break?

Midseason break. He's out at least 8 weeks.