WHats wrong with him?

[skilts stilts]

I am often amazed at the tirades directed against Jude Bolton.He never appears to shirk an issue,he has a red hot go,he finds the ball more often than most of our soft midfielders such as crouch and Cresswell that can get knocked off the ball with relative ease and he is still a kid.He can run through the lines and his kicking is generally ok.I reckon he will turn out to be leader at the club when Maxfield leaves.Perhaps Fixter captain and Bolton VC.

[TheMase]

His skills IMO are not that bad at all. I think the main problem he seems to have is that he rarely finds a player in space. He generally kicks to packs, which gives us a 50-50 contest each time. Then we get turnovers against us.

I agree with Fixter captain. We really need him back in the side.

[jude_boltons_babe]

i think jude is a good player

i think jude is a good player and he can only get better

[motorace_182]

He doesnt play simple footy. As written recently about him he does have a RHG but when he makes an error he tries oh so hard to rectify if that he forces another and not thinking about doing the simple things right.

[swan_song]

For sure, jude does have a RHG...
To me, he has extreme potential -- a horrible word, which by its very use means he has not reached his best for whatever reason. His courage in packs can not be denied, and he does have some really good games. But his kicking IS bad -- not always, but a high proportion of his kicks have gone well astray. Though to be fair, so far this season I have noticed an improvement in his kicking. And just as saddo always seems to want to take a speccie in a pack rather than punch the ball out of danger, jude will often bang the ball on the boot without consideration of what's ahead, often to a pack, when another option would be more advantageous.
At the moment he's in a group of players I have as "underachievers", but that's not to say he'll always be there. One would love to have a Voss or Buckley hidden in there somewhere, just waiting to blossom.

[Craig]

Yep I agree, Jude is a good player with plenty of potential. There are heaps of players that people could criticise before Bolton. People on this site seem to have their favourite players, and those not in that group are apparently no good!

[vagary]

Originally posted by Craig
People on this site seem to have their favourite players, and those not in that group are apparently no good!

that sounds like a generalisation to me. not everyone on this site does that. i know i don't like participating in player bagging out sessions and i'm sure there are others who don't either.

[desredandwhite]

Originally posted by Craig
People on this site seem to have their favourite players, and those not in that group are apparently no good!

I think you'll find that pretty much anywhere unfortunately

I will criticise performances, if I think it's warranted. I personally don't like to bag a player just because he is who he is. If a player I don't like does something good, I will acknowledge it!! Similarly, if one of my favourites has a bad game, I won't hold back in saying what I think.

[NMWBloods]

Didn't we get Bolton with a first round draft pick? I expect a lot more from a guy going close to 100 games than we get from him. Sure he tries hard, but makes far too many mistakes. Last year I did a comparison between him and a number of top players in the comp at his experience level and he was a long way behind them. This is why he is bagged - frustration!

[chammond]

Didn't we get Bolton with a first round draft pick?

That 1998 draft will for some time haunt the club - a major stuff-up.

The Swans traded heavily to get quality draft picks, and then ignored two very talented NSW boys in Hayes and McVeigh. Instead they took Fosdike, Bolton and Fitzgerald with the first round picks, and James with their 2nd round pick. As we all know, Fitzy and James aren't physically up to senior footy, and Bolton and Fosdike, although worth their places in the team, haven't shown any champion qualities yet.

With the value of 20-20 hindsight, that draft was our big opportunity to get youngsters to replace Kelly and Cresswell (and, I guess, Scwass and Williams) and we blew it . . . a major reason why our midfield is struggling right now (and probably will do for several seasons yet).

But even without hindsight, it's incredible that Sydney missed the marvelous PR opportunity to grab the local talent in Hayes and McVeigh. It would have been a major boost to local football.

[Rizzo]

Nice goal from him on Sunday but he needs to look up more and assess his options quickly. Swan Song is spot on.

[Red]

Originally posted by chammond
That 1998 draft will for some time haunt the club - a major stuff-up.

The Swans traded heavily to get quality draft picks, and then ignored two very talented NSW boys in Hayes and McVeigh. Instead they took Fosdike, Bolton and Fitzgerald with the first round picks, and James with their 2nd round pick. As we all know, Fitzy and James aren't physically up to senior footy, and Bolton and Fosdike, although worth their places in the team, haven't shown any champion qualities yet.

With the value of 20-20 hindsight, that draft was our big opportunity to get youngsters to replace Kelly and Cresswell (and, I guess, Scwass and Williams) and we blew it . . . a major reason why our midfield is struggling right now (and probably will do for several seasons yet).

But even without hindsight, it's incredible that Sydney missed the marvelous PR opportunity to grab the local talent in Hayes and McVeigh. It would have been a major boost to local football.

That's a bit harsh Chammond. How could the club know what was going to happen to Fitzy & James? If the injury Gods were a bit kinder to us we'd have those two at FF & FB, with around 100 games experience each, and the spine would be looking pretty bloody good about now.

I haven't seen enough of Hayes to comment, but McVeigh isn't any better than Bolton or Fosdike IMO. He looks great when their guns (Hird, Johnson etc.) are firing, but otherwise often goes missing for large parts of the game. Granted he usually delivers better into the F50, but that's probably due to the difference in training, rather than raw ability. Besides, we've got his little brother now, who by all accounts is faster & more talented anyway.

The '98 draft is less bad judgement than incredibly bad luck. It would've been worse to overlook those players with the picks we had.

[Charlie]

I want Hayes.

When is he out of contract?

Can we keep $600,000 aside for him you reckon?

McVeigh... Essendon can keep McVeigh.

[bomber-princess]

jude is a good young player that will get better.

[Mike_B]

IMHO Hayes is an underrated player who is just now starting to get the recognition of his ability. I think that with Robert Harvey coming to the end of his career, Saints won't want to let Hayes go - he's the closest thing they have to a replacement for Harvs.

Would I love to see Hayes in the Red & White (no black) - you betcha!