Ed Clarke

[OldE]

Was anyone else wildly impressed with Ed Clarke tonight?

I thought he did fantastically. Granted, it was hardly a BOG performance, but I think he may have been an absolute bargain as a local pick in the rookie draft.

[footyhead]

The question is could ed clarke be "anything" ??
Cos that is the minimum we need in the midfeild right now a classic"anything" type, who the hopfully steps up to be everything that we require.

[dendol]

There were so many short, fat-arsed midfielders running through the middle I couldnt tell who was who after a few drinks. I do remember #46 going ok though

[ugg]

Looks very stocky, but I was certainly impressed by his performance tonight. Looks to have a booming kick and an eye for goal.

[ugg]

Played almost exclusively on the half forward flank though, so he's yet to be tested in the midfield.

[Old Royboy]

Definitely wasn?t the fat arse running through the midfield as he played forward pocket. Very impressed, best of the new crop of kids. Odd body shape but looks a real footballer. Reads the ball well off packs, clean hands and goal sense. Got straight up after dustbin Fletcher tried to bury him and slotted a nice goal on the run on a sharp angle. My tip for nominated rookie.

[liz]

Originally posted by Old Royboy
My tip for nominated rookie.

Not sure about that. He was impressive, but once we have Hall, O'Loughlin and Davis back, plus Monty and Schneider battling for a place in the team it is hard to see Clarke cracking a game in the short term.

Longer term, it is probable that there will be an injury or two and if his reserves form warrants it, he can be promoted then.

From a team POV it is in defence where we are vulnerable, particularly with Schauble doubtful for the start of the season and Leo still recovering from his foot problem. We need another body who can come in and at least play on the second or third tall if needs be. I therefore still think that Campbell and Vogels are the frontrunners, with Grundy an outside chance.

[OldE]

I think LRT is looking really good for defence. I know it's been said (several times), but he really is looking bigger. He seemed to hold his ground much better tonight than he has done in the past, and could realistically be paired up with bigger opponents than in the last 2 years. I'm not sure he's there yet, but I think he could very well be the defender we need.

[Mike_B]

With regards to LRT, from those who were at the game tonight, do his disposal skills seem to have improved, because IMHO his kicking in particular is (was?) a real weakness in his game and could be a liability down back if he cant hit targets up the ground.

[OldE]

I didn't notice his kicking either way.

[cruiser]

Originally posted by dendol
There were so many short, fat-arsed midfielders running through the middle ...

Speaking of fat arses, how'd Schneider go?

[liz]

Originally posted by Mike_B
With regards to LRT, from those who were at the game tonight, do his disposal skills seem to have improved, because IMHO his kicking in particular is (was?) a real weakness in his game and could be a liability down back if he cant hit targets up the ground.

I only specifically noticed his kicking once.

He took a mark on a HBF and then did his old trick of standing there for an age, looking very indecisive about what he was going to do with it. Just as I figured he was going to panic when he got the hurry-up from the umpire and kick it to no-one, he unleashed a beautifully weighted pass down the line to where it was marked (by Nicks I think) on the wing.

[liz]

Originally posted by cruiser
Speaking of fat arses, how'd Schneider go?

His is a lot less fat at the moment.

The boy done good - not great, but he looks relatively fit, in decent shape and still has that burst of speed. Tried to do too much on a couple of occasions but also showed some real flair. Back to the Schneider of 2003 (fingers crossed).

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Originally posted by eirinn
I didn't notice his kicking either way.

I did. We were looking in the er....um...Footy Record to check that it was realy him. It came off his boot in not your typical drop punt fashion; I knew it was LRT instantly.

It is how quickly he makes his decision to to me is the biggest test as to whether he will make it as a footballer or not.

I do hope he shows us more of the form he showed in 2003 (one match at Football Park against the Fruit Tingles does come to mind).

JF

[stellation]

Originally posted by liz

He took a mark on a HBF and then did his old trick of standing there for an age, looking very indecisive about what he was going to do with it. Just as I figured he was going to panic when he got the hurry-up from the umpire and kick it to no-one, he unleashed a beautifully weighted pass down the line to where it was marked (by Nicks I think) on the wing.

Jolly was in the middle all alone calling for it, LRT did notice him. I was very happy that LRT had the confidence to back himself and go long instead of taking the easy option.