McInnes is very much the negative defender...gives no drive and I'm starting to think Simon White who at last has some grunt and muscle might be the better man as your 3rd tall defender...
Given who else is around in that backline, do we need to rely on McInness to give us drive??
Simpson, Walker, Tuohy....find me 3 players from any other side who will provide more run and carry! Won't be able to do it. McInness can stay at home.
Given Westhoff likes to float around the ground, I was thinking Walker or Everitt would be better match ups.
And it's no slight on Watson that he can't take Westhoff. I wouldn't even trust Jamo on him.
Hendo played forward in the VFL - to me that indicates mick wants Lachie as a forward.
Walker is a little bit undersized and would be better suited to someone under 2m tall. Everitt, although shorter than Westhoff, would be a much better option IMO.
We could have Watson being the 3rd man up, and have Everitt locking down on Westhoff which would probably be the opposite of normal goings on.
#3 - Matthew Watson Seems to have kicked it up a notch and becoming more confident in his abilities. We desperately need big blokes to stand up and he (and Andrejs) appear to be doing that which leads me to...
He desperately needs 5 exceptionally reliable back man working with him. No speculative players, no maybes. Jammo, Touy, Walker, Simpson, Henderson. No Scotland, no Buckley, No Yarran, no Everitt (further up the ground).
Watson can work........if.
Ideally, i reckon the back 6 would look something like this.
Simpson Jamison Tuohy Walker Watson xxxx
Now xxxx would depend on who we were playing against and what kind of setup they had. If they had an extra tall we could use McInness/Everitt....or Hendo/Waite if we get desperate. If they had an extra small it could be Gibbs/Buckley/Curnow/Scotland/Carrazzo who would all change through the middle at stages too.
If Watson can prove himself to be reliable at CHB, then he could be THE most important player on our list when it comes to structures. Without him, we have to completely alter our lineup.
To offer a different point of view.... Lets look at things we can be positive about.
#1 - Daisy Thomas. Firstly, he is playing. Some suggested his ankle would see his career over. Secondly, he is playing...well. From what i saw of him after the Adelaide match, i've just about got a new favourite player. Thirdly, he is leading. Both with his actions and with words out on the field and on the track.
#2 - Andrejs Everitt Great pickup, playing well, adds flexibility, versatility and class. Perhaps his biggest attribute is in combination with...
#3 - Matthew Watson Seems to have kicked it up a notch and becoming more confident in his abilities. We desperately need big blokes to stand up and he (and Andrejs) appear to be doing that which leads me to...
#4 - Lachie Henderson With Andrejs and Watson stepping up it allows us to swing Lachie around more often and not have to worry too much about leaving a gaping hole at one end of the ground.
Andrejs can play up forward and kick goals, meaning Hendo doesn't have too. Andrejs can play down back meaning Watson and Jamo get some extra help from him coming 3rd man up, and allowing Hendo to play forward.
In theory, if the above talls hold up, we can make a big improvement on last year.
I dont want to Crystal ball here, but we would be silly to make any guarantees on what we do with Kreuzer.
I.e. We may be better off him leaving as a free agent (under current compensation) than trading him around for relatively less.
As a former number 1 draft pick, worse players than him have achieved good compensation than his current trade worth, and giving him till the 7 year mark (by my reckoning end of next season, or the season following) might be worthwhile. Cameron Wood has never been anything special and I wouldnt be overly enthused with him taking Kreuzer's spot on the senior list at this stage.
I think they are planning on scraping compensation for free agency. Personally i think its a good idea. Clubs are displaying no loyalty to players if it feels they will get a good pick in return.
What pleased me more than anything re Yazz was his attitude. There was intensity.
Because of his onfield demeanour he's likely to always appear laconic, which can be deceiving.
The only intensity he showed was when he was yelling at his teammates for 'ignoring him'.
He stuffed something else up at one point and showed intensity trying to make up for his mistake, but that just showed me how little intensity he had for the rest of the game.
As i keep saying, i'm a fan of Yarran (had him on my membership card last year actually) but he needs to improve his attitude and intensity otherwise i can see Mick sending him back to the VFL again.
(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.
Gold!