J Bolton

[punter257]

this has been done to death. we would all love jude to become like ELITE in the competition and its disappointing that he hasnt made these steps. however i reckon his endeavour on the footy is first rate and has a quality called HEART which is bloody important in our team. he is tough, fearless and more finals experience will do him the world of good.

[NMWBloods]

It has been done to death, yet people will still contribute to threads about 'how awesome he is and how can anyone say otherwise.'

[swansrule100]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
It has been done to death, yet people will still contribute to threads about 'how awesome he is and how can anyone say otherwise.'

lol

i have no problem with you having an opinion differing to mine

my argument is he can have a bad quarter but still bounce back and still do the things that dont count as stats, hes the ultimate team player and performs above and beyond what the team needs of him

[SimonH]

I agree that a critical detailed analysis of a player is more useful than 'he had 25 possessions and only 2 of them were clangers', but if you're going to do it you've got to do the whole bit.

That means- include not only tackles and smothers, but:
* effective spoils
* attempted spoils where the distraction/pressure was sufficient to cause the opponent to drop the mark
* effectively holding up the opposition player with the ball to prevent him from playing on and/or moving the ball on rapidly
* shepherds of our player with the ball
* bumps in close that stopped an opponent from getting the ball * dummy leads that opened up space for a marking player
* decisions to run out of the pack at the right moment to allow us to run the ball 'on the break'
* getting involved in the contest where one of our players has just been tackled on the ground, to minimise the risk that he'll be adjudged HTB
* talking to the player with (or about to take) the ball to advise him to hold up/play on/dispose rapidly
* being accountable for an opponent- even if the opponent doesn't get the ball- so that other players don't need to leave their man to cover
* marshalling the troops around the packs so that we're not exposed on one side
* knowing when to leave a spot so that the ball carrier has space to run into
etcetera, etcetera.

I suspect that Jude Bolton would stack up pretty darn well on any 'net value to the team' quarter-by-quarter analysis. But the important point is that you can't do a terribly meaningful analysis of a player's total value to the side by watching the TV. Even if you've got one of those fancy digital things where you can record and choose between 12 simultaneous camera angles, you'd probably miss a fair bit of important off-the-ball stuff.

Just another example of why footy is a much better game in the flesh!

[liz]

Originally posted by SimonH
I agree that a critical detailed analysis of a player is more useful than 'he had 25 possessions and only 2 of them were clangers', but if you're going to do it you've got to do the whole bit.

That means- include not only tackles and smothers, but:
* effective spoils
* attempted spoils where the distraction/pressure was sufficient to cause the opponent to drop the mark

etc etc etc

That's got to be one of the most intelligent posts on here in a long long while.

[Triple B]

That's got to be one of the most intelligent posts on here in a long long while.

Beat me to it.

[punter257]

yeah very hard to argue with those pointers. these are the things that jude does and is why he is so critical to our team

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by SimonH
I suspect that Jude Bolton would stack up pretty darn well on any 'net value to the team' quarter-by-quarter analysis. But the important point is that you can't do a terribly meaningful analysis of a player's total value to the side by watching the TV. Even if you've got one of those fancy digital things where you can record and choose between 12 simultaneous camera angles, you'd probably miss a fair bit of important off-the-ball stuff.

Just another example of why footy is a much better game in the flesh!

I agree on all those points (and it's nice to see someone observing all the different aspects of the game) except for the 'pretty darn well' part. He does some of those things quite well, but not others. When I watch his game I take into account some other things, including those ruck hitouts which invariably go to the opposition!

As for shepherding, I've noticed that we are not a particularly good shepherding team overall. We're also not particularly good on the 1%ers that are recorded - 11th overall.

[chammond]

Nah, 'pretty darn well' is not a phrase I would use myself, but it's a close enough description of Bolton's overall performance.

[NMWBloods]

Rose-coloured glasses must have been a big seller of late...

[Triple B]

Rose-coloured glasses must have been a big seller of late...

Almost sold as many pairs of those glasses as they have sets of blinkers.

BOTH in plentiful supply at RWO.

[The Boot]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Rose-coloured glasses must have been a big seller of late...

und Cherman military style hatz ...

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by BBB
Almost sold as many pairs of those glasses as they have sets of blinkers.

BOTH in plentiful supply at RWO.

Certainly - I think nearly everyone has a set of each!!

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by The Boot
und Cherman military style hatz ...

Mmmm... picklehaube... <drool>...

[Triple B]

It works both ways.

Some refuse to recognise any positives of a players game (the blinker brigade) whilst others, as you say, refuse to admit a player has any failings whatsoever (the glasses brigade).

Now NMW, you fall into the 'blinker brigade' when it comes to Bolton.