Just as I predicted

[meher baba]

We'd have done far better simply to swap Riewoldt for Paddy and Dunstan for Wright.

Lonie contributed stuff all and we ran out of puff in the midfield. Steele would have helped considerably.

Can we please have just one game in which none of Minchington, Lonie or Wright play in the 22? It might work.

[whiskers3614]

We'd have done far better simply to swap Riewoldt for Paddy and Dunstan for Wright.

Lonie contributed stuff all and we ran out of puff in the midfield. Steele would have helped considerably.

Can we please have just one game in which none of Minchington, Lonie or Wright play in the 22? It might work.

plus 1 million

[Myron Gaines]

Out: Weller & Lonie
In: paddy & Steele

[saintsRrising]

Dunstan replaced Steele. Not Wright.

[WellardSaint]

Lonie got 18 touches.
He's only been picked to see if he can bring anything to the table
after getting 27 touches in the VFL.
I think his contract is up end of year, he won't be renewed.

Dunstan actually seemed to move ok and wasn't as slow as I remember him.
We were bloody messy and let Norf run riot far too easily.

[saintsRrising]

Weller, Lonie and Gresham all butchered the ball and cost us about 8 goals plus.

We should just play extra mids.

[WellardSaint]

Weller, Lonie and Gresham all butchered the ball and vosy us about 8 goals plus.

We should just play extra mids.

Vosy or VISY?

Why bring Judd into the narrative?

[fugazi]

Don't really see what Lonie brings to the table.
Terrible set shot.

[Jacks Back]

Don't really see what Lonie brings to the table.
Terrible set shot.

They need to play him on the ground - not at a table.

[mr six o'clock]

Lonie and weller could have looked much better tonight if they had not missed those simple shots at goal .
Scoreboard pressure makes you look like an asset even if your not getting much of the ball

[Munga]

s*** I thought Lonie was good tonight!

[The OtherThommo]

s*** I thought Lonie was good tonight!

I thought he was OK, too, M.

[jonesy]

Lonie made errors early, but got better as the game went on.

Thought our ball movement was the best since the hawthorn game. Just horrendous goal kicking cost us a big margin, and taking the foot off in the last . The last quarter shows where we are at when we switch off- below average

[meher baba]

I will acknowledge that, unlike Wright and Minchington, Lonie manages to get into the game quite regularly. I think he has a much bigger tank (relatively speaking) than those two. But he's too small to be effective in tight in the modern game, where a tackled player is given up to 20 seconds to get his hands free and throw the ball out towards his teammates. Steele makes his tackles stick, which is why I would have preferred him to stay in.

If Lonie was a truly attacking forward who could create and score goals, that'd be different. But a genuine crumber doesn't miss set shots like the one Lonie butchered last night.

We've got the crumber department well covered with Gresham and Billings. Last night our midfield engine burnt out after halftime. Why not try playing an extra man through that rotation for one game and see how we go?

[BigMart]

So let's get this right

Lonie got 18 as a small forward and was poor
Dunstan got 18 as a mid and was good

Lonie never missed a set shot, and is a terrible set shot
Dunstan never made the distance from 35m

I thought Gresham was very poor with the footy and needs a rest bad... he got 19 but played a lot of minutes in the middle and Jack S went fwd to drag his tag, Jade really butchered it.

Here is what I believe
Wright is actually a defender and not a forward (it worked a few times, but is not a starting point), so is being played out of position - he is actually a spare for Geary/Webster.
Minchington is a mid/fwd and gets played out of position...
Lonie is a good small forward, just lacks a bit of composure and needs games
Sinclair is a mid/fwd - and is classy.
Billings can play outside either forward, mid or Hb

[SAAD]

Lonie missed from 15 out slight angle when he pretended he got taken high and got the free. Thought he did some nice things and maybe keeps his spot for one more week. He tries hard for tackles just none of them barely stick.

[meher baba]

Lonie never missed a set shot, and is a terrible set shot.

Maybe I was watching a different game, but I thought I saw Lonie get a gimme free kick from 15 metres out and his shot went closer to the behind post than the goal. Can others confirm this? I also think he kicked another behind on the run, but that was a much more difficult shot as I recall it.

Yes, Lonie got 18 touches. I don't really remember a lot of these, so I'm not sure that the quantity was matched by quality, but I would certainly agree that his output is much better than that of Minchington and Wright when they are played forward. But I also saw him unable to complete half a dozen or more tackles. He's unlucky: until a couple of years ago, those tackles would have been played by the umps and recorded against his tally. But, for better or worse (I reckon worse), the game has changed.

Dunstan last night was what he usually is: a good in and under player early in the game, who slowly fades from view as it progresses. It must be largely a matter of fitness. I thought he had every opportunity last night to show what he can do and again he was so-so. Maybe you and others are right: he isn't going to make it. Which is a shame in my view: he's got a bit to offer.

Re Wright: I agree he's not a forward. If he can make it down back, that would be good.

Re Minchington: if he's a natural midfielder, he should be getting to more contests even when he's playing up forward: eg, as Gresham and Lonie did last night.

Gresham, Sinclair and Billings are in a completely different league to the four above, who I don't believe are keepers. Alas, I thought Dunstan might be, but I'm really starting to wonder now.

[HitTheBoundary]

Lonie is a good small forward, just lacks a bit of composure and needs games

Yep. Just needs more games. Will get more composure the more he plays.

[meher baba]

Lonie is a good small forward, just lacks a bit of composure and needs games

Yep. Just needs more games. Will get more composure the more he plays.

He's played 32 and played the first four in a row this year and didn't show all that much. How many more games will he need?

Paddy's only played 22 games and half the forum is prepared to write him off!!

[Vazelos]

I'm waiting for Ben Long to emerge and put to rest the careers of Lonie Wright and Minchington.

[carn_sainter]

Meatball has the tools to be a good midfielder. I really think he can make it as a mid fwd like bigmart said. I wish we'd run him through there and at stoppages.

Long will be a very damaging forward and eventual forward mid. Has the tools to make it as a half back too depending on how he is developed. Probably prefer his creativity near goal.

Lonie is an absolute gun at the sub elite level but probably not going to make it. When he is 25 he will monster 20 year ols but not sure he'll stay on the list until then. Great footballer though.

Wright doesn't have the tools in my opinion.

Sinclair's place in the team should be beyond question, i think

[skeptic]

I think the thing with Lonie is that psychologically he still doesn't seem ready for AFL footy...
The type of mistakes he makes he made last... the missed goal, dropping marks, botching easy passes etc... they're all stuff that he clearly can do and can do consistently excellently in the VFL.

Given how well he performs week in and week out at Sandy... my sense is he needs more time to develop self-belief that he belongs and to then play his natural game.
Given that the small FP/HFF is so up in the air, I think he pbly gets another season.

[Con Gorozidis]

Problem with Lonie is he is both small and slow.

I know Caleb Daniel is small and slow but Caleb is a strong little bugger who usually sticks his tackles.

Sam Mtchell is also small and slow but also very strong, can't be tackled, sublimely skilled and has space and awareness that very few have.

[Joffa Burns]

Lonnie is worth retaining to see how he goes once his body is fully developed.
He is hard at it but lacks a bit of composure.

He is not in Daniel's class, the only comparison is height.
Daniel is very good with lateral movement, composed in congestion and hits targets between 20-40 meters.
Also reads the ball brilliantly at stoppages.

Minch & Wright are not AFL footballers IMO.

Sincs has surprised me, he is a classy finisher and playing reasonable football.

[saintsRrising]

Lonnie is worth retaining to see how he goes once his body is fully developed.
He is hard at it but lacks a bit of composure.

He is not in Daniel's class, the only comparison is height.
Daniel is very good with lateral movement, composed in congestion and hits targets between 20-40 meters.
Also reads the ball brilliantly at stoppages.

Minch & Wright are not AFL footballers IMO.

Sincs has surprised me, he is a classy finisher and playing reasonable football.

There is no comparison between Lonie and Daniel.

Daniel will have a long and successful career. He may even keep improving and be the next "Sam Mitchell". He is already good though.

Lonie is currently a guy with potential that may make it.