And btw people.....we've all moved on from the Essendon loss, so let's try to get there in force on Sunday. The Carlton supporter showing was pitiful the last time we played this mob, absolutely no excuse not to go this Sunday, the Tiger bandwagon will be overflowing, we need to show up in numbers to nullify this & let our team know we can conjur-up just a big a bandwagon!!! Unfortunately I daresay most neutrals who attend, will probably support the Tigers on the day, so please people - encorurage every Blues supporter you know of to attend!!!
Just locked in the members tickets and booked the flights last night. I'm excited, and have a very good feeling.
It has been a 23 round roller coaster ride, but this is what you live for as a true supporter. WHo cares how we got there or what has come before - at 3:20 this Sunday we are playing finals against our hated foe on the hallowed MCG. If that doesn't stir the blood and get you excited then nothing will. A lot of sins and frustration pent up over the last 23 rounds might just be forgiven by 6pm!!!! Get there and get amongst it.........
So - which Blues team will turn up this weekend??? They have been schizophrenic all year, and the weekend was just another well documented episode.
Despite the potential harm to my mental health I have already booked flights to come down and watch them. As much as they have disappointed me with some of their play during the year, a final at the MCG against the Tigers cannot be missed.
If we get Judd, McLean and Scotland back, and Kruzuer & Waite produce after a quiet weekend we are a real big show. The Tigers have all the pressure on them, and are a big chance to get stage fright. Add to that Newman and Reiwoldt are both under an injury cloud.
C'mon boys, give us something after a year of so much dissapointment! A win aginst the Tigers this weekend and all will be forgiven!!!
It took me while to warm to Laidler when others jumped on him early as he is Very poor one on one. Rarely gets a fist to the ball and gets out positioned far too easily.
Well Shadesy, his one on one work, spoiling and positioning were what impressed me while I was standing in the rain at Box Hill. Perhaps he's been told to work on those aspects of his game.
He looks bigger in the upper body but seemed to still favour his knee at times.
McKay explictly said in the interview that working on his 1:1 game is what he has been told to do by the Footy Dept. From what you're saying [and what McKay also mentioned] there are still concerns about how his knee is going to hold up, and they are probably loathe to risk him at the top level until they have 100% confidence that it is right. It makes sense that he's not being picked on this basis.
I just hope that he can make it through the rest of the year and then get the knee and his fitness right over the preseason for a big 2014, as I was a big fan. He is a very smart footballer and we could do with his poise and reading of the game and organsiational skills in the back half.
I watched the Blue Print with Andrew McKay the other day [Ep 8 on Youtube].
He talked specifically about Laidler - said that his knee tendon injury last year was very serious and has struggled with his recovery from his op for most of this year. He has only recently been back in to have the screw removed from his knee as it was still giving him trouble. He also said that he has previously played as a 'zone off' defender and he needs to work on his 1 on 1 game and his speed to fit the MM game plan.
It probably goes some way to explaining why he's not getting a game at the moment - fitness, form and his role in the strucutre all appear to be working against him at the moment.
The 'Talent Identification or Development' argument is very difficult to answer from the outside looking in. It is a bit of a chicken and egg discussion as well.
My concern with our recruiting is not only that the players we have drafted with our early picks haven't delivered [in terms of games or B&F performance], we haven't drafted to fill the obvious leadership void in the club. None of the 1st round draft picks since Murphy are even in the leadership group! All of the 1st round picks appear from the outside to be pretty introverted, and don't appear to be the types who impose themselves on either the playing group or games.
Bootsma, Watson, Yarran and Lucas are all players who appear as 'followers' rather than leaders on the field. None of them play with physical presence and the ability to impose themselves on games of football. Gibbs and Kruezer, while better players than that group, are also yet to reach a level where they consistently deliver A grade performances that impact the result of games. Juddy is still the one over the last few weeks who has willed himself contest after contest to try and lift the team.
Leadership skills are very hard to develop when there is a lack of good role models. However personality wise, not all players are suitable or interested in leading a group. This needs to be a critical factor in our decision making on recruitment choices, and if we can't find what we need within the draftees then we trade accordingly. It is no surprise to me that most of the best sides over the last few years [Swans, Pies, Hawks] have also been clearly the best at identifying deficiencies in their list and then trading and developing those players very well. This needs to change quickly if we are to improve the list in a meaningful way in a short space of time.
