Carlton Supporters Club

LP...Gate...horse...bolted......Gowers wasnt outstanding and as a mid utility type his future didnt look great, I guess the Dogs playing him forward was more credit to them
than us doing much wrong as his U18 career was as a midfielder/utility. JGM on the other hand was an outstanding prospect at U18 level and unlucky not to be drafted.....but has been woeful in the NB's.....
I think the switch forward may be a bit too late for JGM....

Another casualty of our player "development" program?

I don't care if he gets 40 touches as a mid this week. He should not be on our list next year.

His disposal and decision making is not up to AFL standard.

You could be right.  However, I recently heard some words of wisdom from Mick Malthouse (yes, while I thought Mick was a terrible choice as our coach, I readily acknowledge that he knows a hell of a lot about footy).  He was talking about his time at Collingwood and how he would never leave out of form players in the reserves for too long as to do so would reduce their effectiveness at AFL level; two to three weeks was more than enough and then it was a matter of regaining form in the firsts.

O'Shea spent a whole season in the VFL and it could be that his poor disposal and decision making is a product of that.  After all, very few spuds get to play close to 100 AFL games.

I'm not too fussed one way or the other and I certainly don't think he will be part of our future. I would be happy to see him go around again if he looks capable of providing Cripps with some support.

Not having seen the VFL game myself all I can go on is the coaches reports and word from those that did, and it seems they were all pleasantly surprised at O'Shea's inside mid abilities. Maybe this is another Paul Brodie miracle!

Massive step from doing it in the twos versus senior level.

It a simple VFL form vs AFL form and the fact there is a big gap between. He is not the only one.
Graham fits that bill.

That's true - but O'Shea has played 92 AFL games in six seasons to Graham's 47 in five seasons.  Of course, Port didn't delist O'Shea because he was a great player but they probably didn't try him as midfielder either.

The picture I get of O'Shea as a mid is one of a scrapper/ball winner who could lay it off in close, rather than an elite longer range disposer of the ball. Not saying we don't need those though! O'Shea may be able to fill a gap until we get the longer term picture painted? Don't see him becoming a star.....

Players like the one you describe get found out by opposition teams quick enough. They are the last ones they worry about manning up at stoppages. They are more worried about manning up players who will hurt you with their disposal, if they are all taken, he has no choice but to dispose of it long....creating a 50-50 at best....just what the opposition wanted.

Geelong built a game plan around it. Let the players fight it out for the clearance. As soon as the ball looked like it was free there would be spare geelong players everywhere. They would win it back and deliver it back with interest. They were basically conceding clearances because they knew they'd win the ball back and as a result be more damaging than if they'd won the clearance themselves.

He'll be 27 for R1 next year. Trialling him in a new position for the first time. Surely we can get someone else who has more upside and more likely to succeed in that position than Oshea?

Why do we persist in holding onto guys who can't play for that extra year?

We move players on when we have better replacements I guess. If we wanted someone to add a bit of muscle around Cripps then he could possibly temporarily fit the bill that's all. We know he's not going to be a star and if we can get a better option who is a better longer term bet then great, bring it on - I'm waiting with anticipation.