Davis Heading For The Tip

[swansrule100]

our forward line get some of the worst delivery in the comp.

It cannot help davis playing the sub standard rubbish league for 3 weeks then being asked to step in and play the best football team we have seen in years and years.

I think davis presented well, he ran hard and he creates opportunities. Compare davis to similar players around the league and he seems to be shown the least paitence of any of them. He should never of been dropped this year or the last time he was dropped. If they left him the hell alone he would probably be performing a lot better.

[hammo]

Magic was well beaten by Scarlett (no disgrace there - he's the best key position backman of the decade)

I think it has a lot to do with expectations.

Yes it's interesting to see how low some expectations are.

Simply because MOL plays on Scarlett he's expected to have a quiet game. Yet Davis is judged on a totally different scale even when he's getting the same ordinary service inside 50 as MOL.

[AnnieH]

We all know O'Loughlin is immune from criticism.

Micky had Scarlett wrapped around his neck the whole game. Blind Barry is normally Scarlett's bitch, not Micky.
Micky kept him very, very busy - and AWAY from our goals in the second and third quarters.

[#73]

Davis did ok for his first game in a month. Judge him in a few weeks then you'll know where he's really at.

[AnnieH]

Did anyone else's jaw drop when, at the beginning of the game, Jude Bolton was named as a forward - and Davo wasn't??

[NMWBloods]

Did anyone else's jaw drop when, at the beginning of the game, Jude Bolton was named as a forward - and Davo wasn't??

It's been like that for over half a season.

[#73]

Did anyone else's jaw drop when, at the beginning of the game, Jude Bolton was named as a forward - and Davo wasn't??

Nope. I was too busy picking my jaw up off the floor after I'd learnt Kennelly was out.

[Impartial judge]

We all know O'Loughlin is immune from criticism.

Can i ask why is that?

[swantastic]

I think Johnson is a freak and Davis is nowhere near his level of talent. That's not to say Davis isn't a good to very good player on his day, but he doesn't pull things out of his backside the way Johnson does.

Part of the problem with discussions about Davis on this board is expectations. If we think he's going to play like Johnson we're going to be disappointed and mark him far more harshly than he deserves for even his reasonable games.

2005 PF sound familiar?...I know it was a long time ago but we all know he can do it.IMO Davo is like an aboriginal player he's either hot or cold .

[dimelb]

Because I had the temerity to point out the bleeding obvious. That an experienced forward who racked up all of 9 touches, with one goal and one oob, had one contested possession out of three in a red hot game whilst his opponent had 17 possessions, actually played a shocker?

Under the circumstances I don't think Davis could have done much better - if he'd kicked his first effort we'd all be saying he had a decent game, and if he averaged two goals a game over the season we'd say he's filled his role. You have a right to your opinion, connolly, but I can't see that performance yesterday as a shocker.

[Donners]

I think Davis was far from the worst on Saturday. He is one of the few players in the side to ever offer much of a spark when the game tightens up, and I was surprised and disappointed that he was dropped for the last three weeks. He may well be gone at the end of the season, but that would be as much at his initiation than the club's, after their poor treatment of him.

[TheHood]

Talent-wise, I think Johnson and Davis have much the same skills, to echo Liz's comments, Johnson is just better at pulling goals out of his arse! I suppose you could argue Davis was a bit disappointing yesterday given it was a chance for him to shine and he didn't for whatever reason (not sure how much his recent illness was a factor), but he certainly wasn't alone in that regard. MO'L was probably our most disappointing forward on the day. I think he'll need to deliver next week though, North's backline is nowhere near as stingy as Geelong's.

If it's already been said, I apologise but my take is that Steve Johnson plays for a WHOLE game the way that Nick Davis did for that quarter in 2005. That night he roved stoppages, crumbed packs and took contested marks, a night when Hall was but a passenger due to Scarlett.

I remember some big talk from Camp Swans about Davo having fitness goals to be a genuine midfielder in 06 etc. That has proved a foolish declaration.

I think some of this isn't Davo's fault, the game is passing him by for him to be a consistent threat in front of goals. He isn't going to get taller or faster across the ground.

He is still a talent and deserves the chance to perform under more reasonable conditions throughout 2008.

[Eala ?ireann]

IMO Davo is like an aboriginal player he's either hot or cold .

[connolly]

Given their lack of opportunities our forwards did quite well actually. And I doubt it was because of great delivery to them.

22 scoring shots from 38 I50s = 59% conversion.

Geelong 34 from 57 = 60%.

Other comparables from the weekend:
North 32/52 = 62%
Collingwood 30/63 = 48%

Adelaide 28/41 = 68%
Fremantle 21/45 = 47%

The days when half forwards stood 50 metres out from goal and didn't venture forth ended about the the time Abba had their first hit. One of the reasons we had a lack of entry into the forward fifty was that we were smashed across the half forward line. Davis as a half forward is expected to get possessions into our defensive 50 in modern football. ROK is a case in point. Given that Davis is one of three players in the team that played on Saturday that cannot/ won't play in more than one position (Jolly and MOL were the others) his efforts across the half forward line were disgraceful. I will give just two examples in the third quarter. In one contested possession Davis and Harley compete for the ball. Davis drifts off the pack and stands on the boundaryside of the pack. Harley peels off in the direction of the contested ball without an opponent, creates the extra man out of defense and runs the ball and kicks without pressure into the Cats forward line. In another instance Davis contests for the ball, makes a second effort and as the ball is kicked along the ground towards our goals stops and puts his hands on his knees while Harley hares off after the ball. I will reference the exact times in the quarter. This is from a senior player in a red hot critical third quarter! Bring a kid in who wants to have a go.

[connolly]

Davis did ok for his first game in a month. Judge him in a few weeks then you'll know where he's really at.

Canberra is where he will be at.