Agree with you re: Lonie & Newnes, I didn't get to them (I'm confident Newnes is a potential champion) and Lonie is really exciting.plugger66 wrote:I read the thread again and cant see any doomsayers. I did read people saying certain players lack skill and that is fact not opinion. I must have watched 2 different games regarding Saad. Looks the same stay home forward pocket goal sneek as before. he will be in and out of the side IMO. And I hope you are right about Hickey but at the moment Ben Has been one of the better players in a winning GF. And to be honest IMO the current list is no where near as good as the last one. We are at least 5 excellent players short of that list. maybe up to 10 players short of the previous list. It will hopefully come but we are nowhere near it yet. The positives after 2 games have been Lonie, Newnes and Bruce. The real negative is we have lost 2 players for around half a season.Linton Lodger wrote:Again the doomsayers appear not to know the game. Yet again there was a lot to like, as there was last week, despite the opposition.
It is now clear what Richo's game plan is and the team is executing it reasonably well. The particularly pleasing aspect of yesterday's game, which got me really excited, were our clean hands around the stoppages.
Cameron Bruce showed he is more than capable of playing Riewoldt's hit up to the wings role and that means that Riewoldt can play closer to goal. This will make Riewoldt a more dangerous proposition for our opponents and may even prolong his career.
Mc Cartin is physically ready to play which will accelerate his development. Whilst we need to keep a lid on it (unlike Melbourne with Watts) the boy reminds me of another big log that played for us once upon a time, whom we affectionately called Plugger.
Hugh Goddard is a Gorilla and will be a fine KPP whether back or forward.
We have all been excited about Dunstan & Billings, well you can add Acres to that list, he plays a lot taller than he is and will grow into a brute.
Saad's resurrection and improvement is amazing. If Saad applies such strength of character for the rest of his career he will be quite a player. And I'll admit I was not a great fan of his prior to his suspension.
Holmes will be an AFL player and quite a good one and fellow ruckman Hickey will be a great monster of a ruckman, he will be a far superior ruckman than McEvoy.
Armitage and Steven appear to have stepped up to the plate post Lenny and are in really good nick.
I'm excited about our list, I am confident that it is better than the last one and I don't think we'll be waiting too long for an upward trajectory.
In regard to Saad, his improvement is obvious, he now runs in straight lines at the footy (rather than in a semi circle around it), he did do more work up the ground and more running, he is not as one sided as he was and his decision making has improved out of sight. Quite an effort for someone who has trained by themselves for 18 months.
People writing off players as lacking in skill after one or two games are premature and could be construed as doomsayers. A player out of form or with compromised preparation could appear to have skill deficits in a match pressure situation.
I will put my comments about the list into perspective. I was excited about our last list in 2002. I saw then it was potentially a Premiership list (didn't turn out that way, but came really close and were good enough on 4 occasions). So to put my comment into context, I am far more excited by our current list than I was in 2002 (or in 2003).
Yes, McEvoy did have a great Grand Final, but look at his opponent, a player with limitations who had an insipid shocker in the Grand Final. If Sydney still had Mumford they'd be the reigning Premier and I think it would have been a very different story for McEvoy. Halfway through last year McEvoy was the third ruckman at Hawthorn. Also, who was it that we effectively got for McEvoy?
5 excellent players short? 10 players short? Too early to tell and I beg to differ. A few quick outside mids short maybe, the rest is a matter of development and experience.
Finally do not underestimate the significance of the clean hands under pressure, it is a very promising sign.
