Yep and at our club he would get the best defender every week where at North he has Petrie and Ben Brown freeing him up to effectively play third tall and roam to the wing.
It has worked wonders for his ability to get on the park too, because he isnt copping the heavy treatment that the Gorilla minders dish out on a regular basis.
Im not solely of the belief we were doing everything wrong with regards to our players, but I think these guys leaving our club to go to places where they can play the roles that gets the best out of them as opposed to staying with us, where we needed them to shoulder heavier loads has a lot to do with their fortunes even if it is negatively impacting ours.
Not since Fevola was at the club was Waite able to play the role he was better suited to, and even back then we were still short one tall (pardon the pun).
Actually, as the most effective forward, Waite is getting the first or second defender. As we know very well, when he's in form his athleticism and unpredictability make him very hard to stop.
No use crying over spilt milk and I'm more concerned about what North's fitness and medical staff are doing differently to keep him on the park.
Next week it could be winless Carlton vs winless Freo.
Then it could be winless Carlton vs Cheats FC.
If we lose both those games I genuinely fear for Bolton purely based on our clubs history of dealing with these types of results.
I think that your fears are completely without foundation LP. Bolton was employed to do a job and wins and losses aren't all that relevant at this stage of the journey. I am sure that board now realise that Malthouse gutted the playing list and f****ed the culture and it will take time to work our way back to where Ratten had us.
I'm watching the TV coverage at the moment and they just showed Bolton at the whiteboard with the assistants looking on. He is definitely the man to take us forward.
We need ALL our players stepping up. Young or otherwise. The more players who are doing the right thing, the better off they will be.
Yes, it doesn't really matter who is stepping up, as long as they are. I am sure Bolton hasn't written anyone off yet and he has made it clear that those who put in the effort will be rewarded - and those who don't will lose their place in the 22.
If the NBs are executing the game plan well, winning games and have ten or so players who are knocking on the door of senior selection, our fortunes will have to be on the up.
Collo kicked out elliott who had to be removed. For that collo saved carlton. ..we were insolvent under elliott and mathieson wanted to hand the keys back to wipe off the debt but collo sent us to etihad for the cash we needed to stay solvent..collo told the players to take a pay.cut to save the club....note.pratt was no where to be seen during this point. ..
I tend to agree. Collo made the hard decisions that had to be made to save the club . . . and he was a tough premiership player. If Sumner is half as good as Collo he will be a good pick up.
I think that it is really good that the club is bringing back past greats to present jumpers. It was a nice touch for Robert Walls to slip a note into Tuohy's locker to congratulate him on getting his name painted on it.
I just heard a snippet of Bolton's latest interview and he made it very clear that Plowman, Sumner and Lamb had earned their games. None of this gifting games to players in the hope that it will help/speed their development.
Really happy with the ins, but they will be underdone so im not expecting much from them.
It's funny though, for the 2 and a half years we had Malthouse/Voldemort in charge it was excruciating for me to watch a game of ours, whether we won or lost.
Now, i'm more than happy to watch us lose, as its apart of our journey back to the top. And im really enjoying watching the newbies run around. This is easily the most interested I've been since the start of 2008 when the great man came along.
Winter is coming, but spring soon follows
Go Blues!
While I can't say I'm ever happy to watch us lose, I understand where you're coming from. Those brief moments when everything clicks and the performances of the young blokes being given a chance are signs of a brighter future.
I couldn't agree more. Why bang your head against the wall with these blokes who have not been up to it for some time and like Jamo really NEEDED to be dropped.
Hopefully that frees him up mentally. He's been playing scared and for his own skin for so long he must have forgotten what playing good footy feels like. Good luck to him!
I hope Jamison can regain some form in the NBs. At 75% of his best he's still a damn good defender, not to mention Wietering's mentor.
I like the ins, despite thinking that Plowman and Sumner would need another week in the NBs. I don't think Bolton is in any danger of being afraid to make tough decisions
From the coach: He was our most dangerous target on the day: he competed really well in his contested marking and his follow-up was terrific. He finished with three and was probably unlucky to not finish with a couple more.
From the coach: Accumulated plenty of the ball of half-back and was our leading possession winner on the day, and provided some important run and drive for us.
31. Jayden Foster
Stats: 10 disposals
From the coach: He was used at both ends of the ground, and continues to build some fitness having missed the Richmond game in pre-season.
34. Jesse Glass-McCasker
Stats: 4 disposals
From the coach: He continues to develop being his first year on the list, and showed good signs defensively while having some positive individual efforts down back.
36. Cameron Wood
Stats: 13 disposals, 2 clearances, 19 hitouts
From the coach: Cam competed well against seasoned ruckmen Minson and Campbell, and he spent time up forward too.
38. Billy Gowers
Stats: 8 disposals, 3 marks, 3 inside 50s,
From the coach: Billy spent time going through the middle and also played a role at half-back: he showed some encouraging signs in the third quarter when we were making our way back into the game.
From the coach: Another encouraging performance from 'Plow', who backed himself in the air and provided some important run for us out of defence. He’s continuing to build to full fitness.
46. Liam Sumner
Stats: 12 disposals, 5 inside 50s, 4 clearances
From the coach: Liam played forward while having a few bursts on the ball. He continues to build fitness and impressed us with his workrate. He also had a hand in setting up a couple of goals.
48. Kristian Jaksch
Stats: 14 disposals, 7 handball receives, 1 goal
From the coach: 'KJ' played at both ends of the ground, and continues to develop his game both forward and back. He kicked an important goal in the third term when he was pushed forward.
From the coach: A small forward who applied good pressure at source, worked hard to provide an option at the drop of the ball and finished with two goals.
From the coach: First possession around stoppages was impressive: his ability to move away from clearances and stay involved in the contest was good especially for a young player.
From the coach: Big third quarter gathering 11 disposals and kicking a goal. He continues to improve after showing some good signs in our three practice matches in previous weeks.
67. Clem Smith
Stats: 10 disposals, 6 marks, 3 tackles
From the coach: Performed below expectation, but he had a couple of moments where he impacted the contest: now it’s about finding some consistency.
From the coach: ‘Tutty’ played his role as a winger well and found enough of the ball - he continues to work hard on particular areas of his game.
80. Matthew Korcheck
Stats: 5 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 7 hitouts
From the coach: He had some really important centre-bounce ruck taps, took a nice mark around the ground and was more involved this week than previous weeks - it’s a good sign of his development.
Firstly, those stats are a little ambiguous. I think the stats can be misleading because they don't break it down into clubs playing two rucks, one ruck or only part-time rucks. For example I think the Bulldogs would be very happy with young Roughead's almost solo efforts(They are very reluctant to use Boyd in the ruck.).
Then as you point out you have to take into which rucks spend time as forwards which reduces opportunity in the center.
I'm not questioning SpecialK's ability, I agree with you regarding the forward vs ruck issue, but I cannot state that he is in great form either. Given we have bonified 2nd, 3rd and maybe even 4th ruck options to give him chop outs he should be thriving. I'd expect him to dominate when he gets the chance but he is just competitive at best.
That is my analysis of the hitout stats LP and I had to compromise a little because teams have different ruck structures as you point out. However, there's generally a big gap between the number of hitouts won by the second stringer and the occasional ruckman (often third man up). Geelong's figures are probably a little misleading because they have several "ruckmen" but none have won all that many hitouts.
The Bulldogs may very well be happy with Roughead's solo efforts in averaging 23 hitouts per game. That has him at 14 in the hitout rankings, one ahead of Kreuzer who is averaging 21.3 hitouts while sharing the duties with Phillips.
I'd certainly like to see Kreuzer imposing himself a little more about the ground. I'd also like to see him repeatedly reproduce his brilliant hitout to Kerridge for a goal and his left foot snap for a goal; two of the best individual plays I've seen so far this season.
I'm not sure what I'm missing when watching Kreuzer this season. I'm certainly not seeing the broken down has been other folk are complaining about.
First of all, I think Kreuzer is spending too much time as a forward. That's not his caper and we need his second and third efforts around the ground.
Secondly, if you look at the hitouts won by each side's two ruckmen (or ruckmen/forwards), we're not far off the pace and are in a group of 8 teams that are averaging 38 to 41 hitouts in the three games.
West Coast is leading with 54, Freo and Melbourne have 44 and then it's Adelaide, Hawthorn, Port, Sydney, St Kilda, North, Carlton and Collingwood. The teams with the poorest performing rucks are Richmond, GWS, Essendon, Brisbane, Bulldogs, Gold Coast and Geelong.
