Boom Recruit or Because he was available?

[Nico]

Re: Re: Boom Recruit or Because he was available?

Originally posted by Bart
There was one point during the Geelong game on the O'Reilly wing when he was running to a 50/50 contest and at just prior to the challenge he clearly shirked and pulled out of the contest. He copped a mouthful from a small group of fans.

I think he is a bit soft.

I have been psrticluarly disappointed with him in the last few matches. The jury was out for the first few rounds as he was at kicking 3 goals a game plus the sealer against Collingwood.

Well Bart then you should throw a couple of other players into the shirking issue. Jared Crouch has had a habit of tacking the late short ones on numerous occasions in the run to the ball, to take the soft option of making a tackle, instead of putting his body in first and then trying to get the handball off. Fozzie has the same habit and Frosty is an absolute master of avoiding the tough 50/50 head on and side on clashes.

My feeling is Davis is slowly getting into stride, but I must say he had a real chance of stepping into Cressa's boots last week, but it did not materialise.

[Johnny Roberts]

I can't believe that people are so quick to judge Davis after just 9 rounds- with no pre-season and still carrying OP- I might
add.

Originally posted by Doctor J.
IMO we got dudded on him. Will never be an in and under type player, will always be a receiver.

He is however a great kick and a great converter. That is if he gets it 10 times in a game, it will usually mean at least 2 goals. That is what we got him for.

You answer your own question Doctor J(??)

Nick Davis was not recruited as the "in and under" type- as you state he was recruited as an "opportunist/ goalsneak" - a task that he has performed well.

How can you then say we were dudded?

Originally posted by pillowtalk
The excuses about his OP and lack of fitness are wearing thin. It has already been 9 rounds! I do agree he has improved in the last few weeks but he had to (a case of shape up or ship out) No matter how good a kick he is, he's under pressure to improve as are a few others.

They are not excuses, they are facts!!

Fact 1. It is well documented that Davis suffered OP all through 2002 with the Pies and had an operation in the off season.....

Fact 2. Due to post season surgery Davis only started training in late Feb/ early March.

Very few players can perform consistently without a pre-season. Corey McKernan is the perfect example- in early 02 he was bagged by blue supporters after virtually no pre-season or practice matches and went on to win their B&F- not saying Davis will do it this year, but he has the ability to in the future.

At 22 Davis was always recruited as a "LONG TERM" option, with plenty of talent and an accurate kick for goal- nothing has changed there- he at least deserves time to get used the swans players and game plan before judging so quickly.

[Mark]

Sorry Penga forgot about your expertise in OP

Ahh the confidence of youth

[skilts stilts]

It would appear that my original post has been misconstrued as an A-grade slag off at Nick Davis when it was simply questioning the legitimacy of his claims to a place in the team on his current form. I am not questioning his skills at all but rather his mental application on the ground. Of all the players in the team at the moment I believe his position might need to come under scrutiny.
If I had wanted to let loose with an A-grade slag off at a player the title of my thread would have simply been Leo Barry.

[penga]

Originally posted by Mark
Sorry Penga forgot about your expertise in OP

Ahh the confidence of youth

well u in all your wisdom explain why this sholdnt be a problem, if u know so much about it to call it an excuse, explain to me why it shouldnt be bothering him

or did u forget to add a 'T' at then end of your username when u signed up

[Roscoe]

Unfortunatley, I have to agree with Nico about his assessments
on Crouch, Fosdike and McPherson

Even though I like Crouch & Fosdike, their tackling and contesting
and hardness are pretty well spot on with what Nico said.

I know people will come back and say that Crouch is one of the leading tacklers in the comp according to the stats and the article in this weeks Telegraph, but Nico is 100% right

As for McPherson, he was just plain soft. I hope he never plays again in the top side.

I know that ND was not recruited as a "paul Kelly" type player,
but there is no excuse for not tackling, shepherding or pulling out of contests.

Thank goodness for Jude Bolton

[Rizzo]

Both Fossie and Davis avoid tackling. They may be a little on the small side but if you can't hit your opponent (with a legal tackle) you shouldn't be on the pitch.

Having said that, I agree that Nick is getting there.

[RogueSwan]

I am sure someone will tell if I am wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Fearless and Davis are different physically re:

They may be a little on the small side ....

Davis looks quite solid.

[Reggi]

Originally posted by Mark
Also very confused Mts why Dr J ?????

David Rhys Jones D-R-J

Soft as ND will never get much respect until he improves in that area.

On that topic how soft is Nicks?

[RogueSwan]

On that topic how soft is Nicks?

He has to keep himself pretty just in case he appears in TV week, WHO or the other trash mag with his Soapie girlfriend

[NMWBloods]

Both Fossie and Davis avoid tackling.

I've noticed that ND has been doing a lot more tackling in the last couple of weeks, and has put himself into the action a lot more. He's managed 5 effective tackles in 2 games, which is pretty good.

Interestingly Fosdike has had nearly as many career tackles as Jude Bolton in about as many games - nearly 2 per game. That's a pretty good average. He's been down the last couple of weeks but before that he was averaging nearly 3.5 tackles per game this year, which is excellent.

[thommoone]

Every week Davis seems to be getting better, no longer he he stuck in the pocket as he was at the start of the season, but now he is pushng up the ground and having stints in the mddle. Not too mention he is also kicking more goals! Saturday night i reckon his 3 goals were all from about 50 and were all near the boundary line, on the wrong side for a right footer, but he drilled them as if he was 10 metres out directly in front
I guess it seems he really will just get better and better as the year progresses, who knows maybe eventually sometime next year maybe he will be one of the elite, which is possible with the amount of talent he has
aaaahhhhhhh, how sweet it is!!
I can't believe the improvement of J.Bolton and Goodes also
After winning as many games in 10 rounds as i thought we would the whole season, things are looking very exciting!!!!

Keep it up too Nick

[swan_song]

I don't know how many times this subject comes up, but it seems a lot
I was not a great fan of ND and believed we could have probably done better preseason, as I had always looked on him as one of those flashy players -- not seen for most of a game, but quite easily could bob up and kick two or three goals. I was/am prepared to live with that as an adjunct to BBBH netting his 60+ a year. Having now seen ND in all his red&white appearances, I believe him to be valuable to the team, as although he still appears "lazy" to me, his field kicking and icking for goal has to be amongst the best in the league, and from around 50 metres that's extremely important, as others in the team have a lot of trouble from shorter range...
If he could develop a more tenacious work ethic, he could go all the way to superstardom....in the centre or as an on-baller.
Maybe even he could become our kicking coach...

[NMWBloods]

I think ND proved his worth to the team on Saturday night. He is virtually the only player on our team who can pop out to 50m and reliably kick a goal. That is an enormous benefit for our forward line. I think he is gradually improving in his general field play too and probably not as bad or lazy as some think.

[Grant]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
I think ND proved his worth to the team on Saturday night. He is virtually the only player on our team who can pop out to 50m and reliably kick a goal. That is an enormous benefit for our forward line. I think he is gradually improving in his general field play too and probably not as bad or lazy as some think.

I agree totally,how good is it to finally have a guy in our team who can line up from 40+ metres out on any angle,and you actually feel comfortable that there is an almost certain chance of a goal?I haven't had that feeling in a long time......And i love it now.