(from someone who hasn't seen the game) I am surprised more hasn't been said about this.... he shut out DaNGERFIELld for three quarters until he went off. The D man was only a factor after Mick had putters the shutters down in the 4th?..... unlike what the carp in the press says?
I came out of the game finding Yarran frustrating as he still seems stuck in 3rd gear most of the time.
Everyone's in third gear, if you want to see just how much it means to them watch the lack of emotion when a goal is scored. They're just training nothing more.
OK well if everyone was in 3rd gear, then Yazz was in 2nd.
(from someone who hasn't seen the game) I am surprised more hasn't been said about this.... he shut out DaNGERFIELld for three quarters until he went off. The D man was only a factor after Mick had putters the shutters down in the 4th?..... unlike what the carp in the press says?
I came out of the game finding Yarran frustrating as he still seems stuck in 3rd gear most of the time. He berates teammates, only other person i noticed doing that was Robbo. He didn't really influence the game.
Alternatively, i came out of the game wanting to put money on Dangerfield for the brownlow. Does whats required when it is needed....and nobody can stop him when he is on.
Each to their own i guess.
For the record, i am a huge Yarran fan from before he was even drafted, so if i do have any bias, it is the complete opposite to what i've just stated.
Heath Scotland has me worried. I'm hoping he was just running around for craps and giggles rather than taking it seriously, because on what i saw, he is not going to be in our best 22. Sloppy.
Meh an old timer bound to be a little Rusty. looked fit as a fiddle to me though. Par for the course for the best trainer at the club.
He looks fit, but it looked like he was a step slower than he should've been. Part decision making/being rusty, part not giving a rats, part can't quite do what he used to be able to do.
As i said, hopefully its the middle part, rather than the last past. The first part is understandable too.
I went to the game on my $5 "courtesy of the Mrs' work social club bargain" tickets, and was able to sit bottom level, front row, near the blues bench. Gold!
As a result, along with the minimal crowd, i got to hear a lot of chatter amongst the boys.
First things first... Daisy...i love this kid! He will do for this club what Judd did when he came across. Will set the bar higher based on how he plays and acts. On numerous occasions he was very vocal around the stoppages ensuring everyone was in the right setups. I cannot recall any other player being as vocal. He seems to have picked up our structures better than our current players. I have great faith in him and the new kids could do a lot worse than trying to emulate the way he goes about it.
Of course his footballing ability is definitely worthy of a mention. He brings gut running to another level. Saved a few goals by chasing opponents deep into defence, even when it was not his direct opponent. He goes when he needs to go. He is not selfish. He is quick. He is skillful. He is everything you want from a footballer. I can see why Mick loves him.
Everitt...another good game from him and i reckon he has cemented himself into the best 22. Tall, quick and agile....which including him, makes 1 player on our list fitting that description. Henderson is the only one who comes close, but isn't as quick/agile by comparison.
Heath Scotland has me worried. I'm hoping he was just running around for craps and giggles rather than taking it seriously, because on what i saw, he is not going to be in our best 22. Sloppy.
Bootsma...i've been willing to give this kid a chance, but i just haven't seen enough improvement from him as i would've expected. He still craps himself when under pressure and obviously gets outbodied more than most.
Yarran...still hasn't clicked. Once it does, he will explode. Still tracks around in 3rd gear. Still yells at teammates when he thought he was a better option. Not a certain starter if his attitude doesn't improve....and i'm a huge Yarran fan.
Thats what i took out of the game. Score wasn't an issue for me.
Was I the only one that Thought Buckley Fumbled under pressue 3-4 times... Dropped a handball off his chest, dropped a mark from Yarran and panicked trying to handball it back to him...
What exactly were we impressed about..
Note: i only watched the game fleetingly, not a lot of interest in this format or Pre-season. Wood and Watson looked great what I saw.
I noticed a couple of fumbles towards the end of the game when fatigue set in, but he was very clean early on.
There was plenty of good inside work early on to let us know what we can expect from him, the latter of which you saw is the exception rather than the rule.
The key factor in all this may be Carrots. He's missed a heap of footy over the last few years. Will he be the same Carrots that he used to be? if not then the argument regarding who makes way might be answered.
Fair point. It's very hard to come back from missing a lot of footy at that age and Carrots has played not much over the past 2 seasons. It'll be interesting to see of he can regain his old form and if he's given the opportunity in the seniors to do so. I'm not opposed to him playing e few games for the reserves. It may get him back to form a little quicker.
Fair point?!
I said the same thing 2 weeks ago and you nearly had a stroke!
Armfield came in for Thomas....so that means he isn't in our best 22? Neither is Scotland, Carrazzo, Simpson.... Don't think you thought that one through.
Not hard to figure out. The others weren't ready to go otherwise they would've come in. Army was ready but not initially selected. He then came in as a replacement.
He may have played most games last year but Bell looks to have come on a little and going by that he takes Army's spot IMO.
I know what you were implying. I'm suggesting that the players listed have nothing wrong with them and were simply rested for this game...as was Armfield. I think we all know what to expect from the players who did not play, ditto Armfield.
In short, Armfields exclusion from the initial squad says nothing about his ability on the field IMO.
IMO this is where Mick seperates himself from your average coach. He knows how to get his chargers up. Not sure if he has ever used a shark, or a bag of flour, but he has numerous stories to call upon.
He and Sheedy, are very well read and use their knowledge of battles to inspire. Most often on ANZAC day, but not limited too.
Mick may not use a bag of flour, but he can inspire just the same.
OK, i've asked a few people to do this and nobody has complied, so i'll do it myself and then maybe you'll see why i've been so 'negative' towards Bell and Robbo.
Best 22... FB Tuohy Jamison Simpson HB Walker Watson Everitt C Gibbs Judd Thomas HF Yarran Henderson Garlett FF Kreuzer Waite Menzel FOLL Warnock Murphy McLean INT Scotland Carrazzo Curnow SUB Armfield
EMG Cachia Bell Robinson Lucas Docherty McInness Casboult Graham Cripps
Which of my starters do you guys want to leave out to fit in Bell and Robinson?
If we have all those players on the park at once it will be a miracle.
Considering Army came in for Thomas there is your first answer. This would be my team.
FB Tuohy Jamison Simpson HB Walker Watson Yarran C Gibbs Judd Thomas HF Robbo Henderson Garlett FF Kreuzer Waite Everitt FOLL Warnock Murphy McLean INT Scotland Carrazzo Curnow SUB Bell
Armfield came in for Thomas....so that means he isn't in our best 22? Neither is Scotland, Carrazzo, Simpson.... Don't think you thought that one through.
FWIW, Armfield played every game last season. In fact he has missed just 1 game from the past 50! (R4 vs Ess 2012...boy we needed him then too!) Last season Bell played 9/24 Robinson played 21/24
Big call putting them ahead of Army...who offers a very similar role, yet more versatility.
Leaving out Menzel is a somewhat easy decision to make as he is still learning the game, but he does add polish as well as hardness up forward.
@Shadesy... Curnow placed 4th in last years B+F. Hard to drop him on last years form.
Some very good points there Kruddler, it makes sense and it would be a difficult decision to displace anyone in the side you picked. However, Bell, Robbo and Cachia are probably our 3 best tackling players and I have a feeling that might count hugely in their favour when it comes to team selection. Plus I think Bell and Robbo in particular lift the rest of the team with their wrecking ball style of play.
Don't get me wrong, i like what they bring to the side, Cachia too (who i think uses the ball better), but you simply can't fit everyone in the side. Obviously there will be some players with injuries which will allow them to get plenty of games, but based on paper alone they don't demand a spot. Which is a good thing, means we have depth.
Gold!