Re: Post Game Participation: AFL Rd 11: Carlton vs West Coast
Reply #74 –
Types like SPS, Murphy, Plowman etc are watched under a microscope each week while others especially the bang and crash types are given a pass and BS excuses when they are not performing to expected levels.
Cripps is our captain and we all know how hard he is but the fact is he shirked a marking contest 10 metres out and still never kicks a easy 30 metre set shot when we need it. He was slaughtered in the middle in the third quarter when the game was on the line and was caught too slow to react while WC mids strolled out of the middle without any pressure. He is out only true proven superstar and yet had not really influenced one game this year, yet most say oh he must be injured or poor bloke is trying to do it all, while most blame the usual half a dozen ‘culprits‘ to all our losses.
No one should not be immune to criticism especially a bloke the team is supposed to be drawing inspiration from.
Not me, even at the risk of "shooting bambi and her mother", I have mentioned more than once that the 2 captains have at times not showed the leadership required in the heat of the battle. Cripps misses too many shots at goal, its the one knock on his game. Doc has sprayed a couple of kicks at critical times. Both have done little on the ground to stop 5 goal runs (and by that I mean on ground coaching and instructing/revving up). Having said that, despite Crippa not having as stellar year as other years, we have been in games up to our ears with others taking the load, Kennedy did a fine job yesterday in the middle. In fact, he should be the one to push forward as he can take a telling mark and convert quite regularly (as we saw last year). To be clear, I am not suggesting the two skippers are the cause of our problems, just stating that they are not above criticism.