I was hoping that his getting down and dirty with Geary last Fri might fire him up a bit - get the adrenalin flowing! I'm pretty sure though he's struggling with how/what role MM wants him to play - mind you I've always thought that he's a bit of a cruiser.
Cookie..I thought he did show some intent with mixiing it with Geary but seemed to forget about the football side of things...reckon CY can look after himself with blokes his own size. I feel CY needs a Michael Oloughlin type mentor who can motivate him to be more intense more often.....MickyO was a lazy cherry picker highlight reel type to begin with but gradually became a more complete player and its not a question CY not being able to contest and impact on the game he just picks and chooses when to do it and that is frustrating. As a coach you feel like yelling at him and shaking some sense into him but he isnt that type to respond to that type of treatment and a mentor like MickyO who he might respect and feel and obligation to perform for might do the trick....easier said than done though to entice MickyO or similar to the club.
I think what Rowe showed was that if you play a slightly undersized defender on him he will be able to take advantage. Not a world beater but can definitely have a significant impact.
Carrots....Rowes problems for me are when he doesnt have the ball, chasing, manning up his defender and his endurance for doing this part of the game etc.....he leads well, is very strong in the air one on one and can take the odd mark where he drifts in front of a pack and as you said being much taller than most defenders has a big advantage. He is also probably the best kick for goal out of our talls bar Henderson, he kicks the ones you expect him to kick and usually doesnt miss the harder ones by a long way either.
I think Malthouse will want greater effort from him though on not allowing his man freedom to run down the ground....I think I noticed Stanley, Roberton and Gwilt who all took turns on him run down the ground and he didnt make much effort to chase or pick them up. He is very much in the early version of Justin Westhoff mode....great on the offensive side but zero return on being accountable...Westhoff got slaughtered by Matthew Scarlett in a GF due to his lazy defensive work and it nearly finished his career. Port then played him on the ball and made him learn to be accountable, chase, smother and he has become a better player in this area and is now a decent AFL player. I think Rowe has to learn this side of the game and quickly to retain his place in the team and on the list...MM wont put up with players who are not accountable unless they are brilliant at what they do and Rowe is never going to be brilliant. The opportunity is there as he has another year to improve but needs to apply himself and work harder than he is... ..he has been ill of course and the extra year he has been given is to cut some slack his way IMO but is still a 50/50 long term player IMO. Saying all that I am a fan of his and hope the coach and MC give him plenty of opportunities...
Sam Mitchell was made captain but it didnt work, Mitchell did a fair job but Hodge was always the spiritual leader and the Hawks had the courage to make the swap.... I think Carrazzo is still the man for the job and has the respect...Henderson needs some more runs on the board and why burden him with another job when we are asking him to save and win games at both ends of the ground.
Fair comment from Jamo...Henderson is in our top group of players, couple of errors in defense during our tough run of games probably took the shine off him compared to Taylor etc. I rate him highly though and he must be well placed in our B&F voting along with Judd and Walker...
Dont disagree that our better players have been down on output this year but I dont buy the argument that the list is all fine either....the good clubs have about 30 decent players, we dont and need about 5-6 more good senior players that can impact at senior level.
We wouldnt need to poach Luke Williams from Geelong if the club were that happy with our recruiting or have Hughes and Rogers swap jobs......
England have stuck with a winning squad for the second Ashes Test at Lord's.
Alastair Cook's team hung on for a famous 14-run win in a titanic first Test at Trent Bridge and the selectors this morning confirmed the same 13 to pick from when the second starts on Thursday.
Cook and his coach Andy Flower will then have tougher decisions to make about whether to again give Steven Finn the nod as their third seamer ahead of either Tim Bresnan or Graham Onions.
A Cook (Essex, capt), J Anderson (Lancashire), J Bairstow (Yorkshire), I Bell (Warwickshire), T Bresnan (Yorkshire), S Broad (Nottinghamshire), S Finn (Middlesex), G (Durham), K Pietersen (Surrey), M Prior (Sussex), J Root (Yorkshire), G Swann, (Nottinghamshire), J Trott (Warwickshire).
I hope they keep Finn in the starting 11 because he bowls juicy pies that all of our batsmen bite into with ease.
As for the Aussie team, Cowan has to be dropped surely, getting out to that part-timer Joe Root was unforgiveable. I still think we need another bowling option because Watson is not a wicket-taker, he's just a stop-gap measure whilst the front-liners catch their breath.
Can we further strengthen the batting at all ??
I think Bresnan will play ahead of Finn....the latter was very ordinary with the ball and even less convincing in the field. Bresnan is handy with the willow which will make the Poms batting deeper and his bowling while nothing scary is that of your typical English pro who will work batsman out rather than blast them out.
Bairstow didnt impress me with the bat and while Root looked ok in the First Innings he is still a young kid learning the game.....
Harris or Bird in for Starc and I think Cowan will get another chance.....
Hope the wicket at Lords has some more life than Trent Bridge..the lack of bounce really took the edge of our quicks IMO..Pattinson and Starc couldnt get any real lift to trouble the batsman and none of our blokes move the ball like Anderson. I wonder if its a plan of the Poms to serve up these dead wickets with no bounce...
Not so sure its the system..we just cant use it and waste reviews on rubbish appeals that never look like being out or when batting review the plumb ones.... Get a wicketkeeper who knows whats going on would help...
Had all day..just had to milk the runs from the opposite end that Anderson was bowling but no ..Haddin has to chase/poke at one and gets caught behind. Pattinson had the right idea..play straight keep the good ones out and just score easy from Swan with the field offering singles everywhere..
I thought we could win, all the hard work for nothing.....following Australia is like following Carlton..teased to the end and then we lose the close ones....
I think we will win it....England have used up their luck when batting and the wicket is good. No doubt Anderson will be bowling after lunch which isnt ideal but I think we can get the runs down the other end and have a famous victory. England had their chance when Finn dropped that catch and its going to be our day....
Watson was never a specialist defender at U18 level and it was his rebounding, sweeping ability with precision long kicking that made him a standout. He is really having to learn the basics of playing KP from scratch and while having the mature body doesnt have a mature defensive mind....you look at McInnes who doesnt have the skills of Watson but has a mature defensive mind that relies on reading the play and concentrating on his man.
Fair post this one.....Mike Pyke stands out in terms of development...was the biggest dud in the league and couldnt play the game at all but now is No 1 ruck and a very good player who has mastered the basics very well. The Swans never bottom out and they must be doing something right regardless of any salary cap advantages....
@EB1 Elwood, I think we may be happy to keep Levi for another year, slowly cookin' on the back-burner. If he can improve his kicking I see a massive upside for us.
+1.
I wouldn't necessarily put Rowe ahead of Levi long term on that one performance, although it was very encouraging from Rowe. Levi is just 22, as well as his good marking he works pretty hard defensively inside the forward 50. His kicking can be worked on, its not broken just needs more work. Worth a spot on the list IMO
Problem with his kicking is it isnt even close to Rowe's.....its a mile away IMO, poor ball drop and poor action. I cant think of many players who are woeful kicks that become good ones...Stewart Lowe is the only one I can think of and his kicking action even when bad was way better than Casboults. I dont mind keeping him on the list but I'm not so sure if MM will have the patience...
Lacking match practice and fitness IMO........bit more pressure on him with Cachia and Curnow tagging well and I still think his nose was out of joint after being passed over for captain and his intensity hasnt been there since.
