hey, where are the anti Benny mob?

[redunderthebed]

Been two weeks and they have been silenced .Oh, the usual crap about him not likely to be captain BUT no 'he play's crap' line of attack.
Come on boys, give Benny a serve, he played bloody well, didn't slow the play, kicked accurately and handled Bell pretty well.
Multi posting 'experts'....where are you?

[NMWBloods]

Care to be specific on who you are referring to rather than casting your net so widely?

[Mike_B]

As I've posted in another thread, I'll be the first to admit Benny has played alot better in the past two weeks - coinciding with him not being played in the centre square. Funnily enough, he had his best year, IMHO, in 2003, when he wasn't playing in the centre square either. Is there a trend emerging here?

[sharpie]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Care to be specific on who you are referring to rather than casting your net so widely?

Come on NMW, dont just argue for arguing's sake, you know there are people here that dont like Ben Mathews.

FWIW, I thought he did a good job on Sunday. Still, it was only one game, and he's got a long way to go before I'm convinced he's captaincy material.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by sharpie
Come on NMW, dont just argue for arguing's sake, you know there are people here that dont like Ben Mathews.

Absolutely. However, rather than a told-you so comment like "Multi posting 'experts'....where are you?" perhaps name them and then they might respond.

FWIW, I thought he did a good job on Sunday. Still, it was only one game, and he's got a long way to go before I'm convinced he's captaincy material.

I've always thought Mathews has done a good job defensively, however his disposal is very mixed.

[liz]

Mathews is one of those players who will play better when he has other good players around him. He is solid, well-rounded in most facets of the game without being brilliant at anything, fit, disciplined and reads the game well.

He will struggle in a team that is short of a classy player or two because he isn't able to provide that sheer class himself, nor lift other players around him to provide it.

The above description can be aimed at a large proportion of competent AFL players and is why a player who looks good in a very good team often struggles if traded to a lesser team.

It explains why, when you look at the current WC team or the Lions team from the last few years, they look to have so many quality players. Some of them genuinely are, while others are average players being lifted to a higher level by the genuine stars around them and are really no better than 50% of players regularly getting senior games at other clubs.

[redunderthebed]

yep, he ain't no super star and never will be.But, if there is three or four 'stars' in every team, we still need the 'mathews' types to provide solid support.
I would think that Benny would fit pretty comfortably in any team as he is solid, footy smart and does his job.No glamour, no flair, steady possessions, minimum errors and does what he's told.
captain? who cares.....

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by redunderthebed
minimum errors

Not totally sure about that.

And if people don't think he'll make a good captain, what's wrong with them saying so?

[redunderthebed]

correct.....he does make errors and'minimum' was a little excessive.Not that he's alone here.
as for arguing that he 'would not be a good captain'?fair point too.
I have no idea if he'd be a good captain but , the fact that he was selected to have a turn, indicates that 'management' think he is worth trying.And, fair dinkum, I reckon 'management' have a better idea than me .
Oh, sorry for the outrageous gramatical error in the subject of this discussion...'ARE' SHOULD BE 'IS'.....but you knew this but just too polite to tell me.

[ScottH]

Benny played well on the w/e, subdued Bell.

[TheHood]

Until we go on some mamoth losing streak, Ben is one of those deicated workers that just won't get dropped.

He's best weapon is that no coach in the AFL knows who he is, what his strengths are so have zero respect for him.

Reckon we could plonk him (I'm not a Plonker) at Full-Forward and he just might not get an opponent.

Old Benny...reckon I might start calling him Scotch Mist!

[Old Royboy]

I have been scarred for life by Ben?s bad back passing of past years, so I will never have a great opinion of him. He can do a good tagging job and last week Roo?s appears to have instructed him to go forward in the hope (successful as it turned out) that in doing so he would drag Bell down with him. It still didn?t stop him from delivering a trademark hospital pass to some poor team mate who ended up being used as a stepladder.

A sometimes good ordinary footballer.

[Plugger46]

Mathews is a hack.

[taurus]

Originally posted by Old Royboy

A sometimes good ordinary footballer. [/B]

Don't rate him, but I think your comment is spot on. I don't doubt his work rate or commitment, just his skill level.

[ScottH]

For someone who has poor foot skills, his shot for goal on Sunday, was str8 as an arrow, str8 over the goal umps head!! Excellent.