KFC for thought

[DeadlyAkkuret]

All the players you mentioned are task orientated. Davo appears to be trying to extend his 15 minutes of fame. His destruction of Geelong in the last quarter in the 05 semi should be called the Andy Wharol quarter.

Lol well this is a new one. I'm going to file that with the provides a contest and never stops trying documents.

[DeadlyAkkuret]

This is the best thread of the year so far - and who would have thought it would be a Davis thread...

Indeed. Many lol moments

[RogueSwan]

If the coaching staff say he's not good enough at the moment; and the leadership group say he's not good enough at the moment - why can't you all just accept that the people who make these types of decisions say he's not good enough at the moment (for whatever reason(s)) and get on with it.

We just want to know exactly what the reasons are and until we are told specifics (I know this probably won't happen) these threads will continue.

[Wazza]

Warning: this is a little long, and a bit of a ramble .

Great Post Rok

[goswannie14]

PF 2005! broke the game open with a few quick goals.

In one quarter only IIRC.

[gumby_bolts]

Warning: this is a little long, and a bit of a ramble but I am not going to put too much effort into it. Anyway, we have a week off, it might help pass the time. And if you feel inclined to reply, please read all of it and make some sort of sensible response. Thanks.

Fascinating post ROKL.

This post and the thread are one the reasons why I come to this board, excellent stuff.

[Go Swannies]

Fascinating post ROKL.

This post and the thread are one the reasons why I come to this board, excellent stuff.

On the other hand, it ruined my day. I still have visions of an aged, seedy, 130 kg Kurtz-like Nicky D living on memories. The horror . . . the horror.

[giant]

Firstly, I think that regardless of how good the 1/4 was, its true quality was over stated ...

Actually, it may have been understated - Davis is one of a handful of players in the AFL that could have done what he did.

Go down to your local AFL ground some day and try to do the Toyota recreation of the third goal, where he's running away from the goal and screws it back 40+m at almost right angles - there'll be no one around and it will be dry and there'll be no 40K supporters hanging on their seat - and you'll find it almost physically impossible. And the other three were almost as good.

Yes, maybe we expect too much, but I reckon he's delivered too little. Hope we see him playing seniors with passion again real soon.

[ROK Lobster]

Go down to your local AFL ground some day and try to do the Toyota recreation of the third goal, where he's running away from the goal and screws it back 40+m at almost right angles - there'll be no one around and it will be dry and there'll be no 40K supporters hanging on their seat - and you'll find it almost physically impossible. And the other three were almost as good.

But that is my point. It was an awesome 1/4 of football, in which he did the almost impossible. No player achieves that consistently, yet we all seem impatient for Nick to do it again. I am not saying that he has not delivered too little (I'm not saying he has either), what I am saying, in part, is because of that 1/4 of football he is judged against an extremely high benchmark.

[giant]

Maybe. You wonder if he'd been getting his 2 goals a game (and given the shots he was missing he should have been), would his lack of defensive pressure still cost him his place? I suspect it would have but I guess we won't know.

[liz]

But that is my point. It was an awesome 1/4 of football, in which he did the almost impossible. No player achieves that consistently, yet we all seem impatient for Nick to do it again. I am not saying that he has not delivered too little (I'm not saying he has either), what I am saying, in part, is because of that 1/4 of football he is judged against an extremely high benchmark.

My issue with your opening post - interesting and thought provoking as it is - is that I don't think anyone is waiting for Davis to reproduce that quarter. Supporters know, everyone at the club knows and undoubtedly he knows that it was something out of the box - sublime skill by a player in the zone, together with the modicum of luck that is always needed in situations like that, and topped off with the drama of the context and ultimate triumph a fortnight later.

What we want to see from him is consistently valuable contributions that do credit to his undoubted skill and footy nous. I don't expect him to emulate Kirk and be in the top few Swans week in week out. He's not that kind of player. I don't expect him to emulate Hall and be in the top few Swans more than half the games each year (when playing). He doesn't play that kind of role. I don't even expect him to turn out the consistently consistent, hardworking performances of B2 or ROK. I do, however, expect him to do more than one eye-catching thing for the hightlights reel each week, and I do expect that half a dozen times each season, at least, we'll all sit back and think "he was a really important player this week" and at least think about giving him votes in the TLM. And I'd hope that he'd be one of those players that opposition coaches worry about before a game - as they undoubtedly have to with Hall, Kirk, Goodes, O'Keefe, Kennelly, sometimes Malceski and increasingly McVeigh - and have to think about which defender to put on him to quell his influence, rather than just identify their most attacking rebounder, bank on that player getting loads of valuable possessions, and just accepting that Davis might well kick one or two arsey goals but that those probably won't make the difference at the end of the game.

[i'm-uninformed2]

When and how did this board reduce itself to rational and considered discussion.

This is plain wrong.

ROK - you are a @@@@wit.

Other posters are @@@@-ant clowns.

You can all get @@@@@@.

That's better

[Wardy]

When and how did this board reduce itself to rational and considered discussion.

This is plain wrong.

ROK - you are a @@@@wit.

Other posters are @@@@-ant clowns.

You can all get @@@@@@.

That's better

it was the change in the weather that did it!!!

[NMWBloods]

What we want to see from him is consistently valuable contributions that do credit to his undoubted skill and footy nous. I don't expect him to emulate Kirk and be in the top few Swans week in week out. He's not that kind of player. I don't expect him to emulate Hall and be in the top few Swans more than half the games each year (when playing). He doesn't play that kind of role. I don't even expect him to turn out the consistently consistent, hardworking performances of B2 or ROK. I do, however, expect him to do more than one eye-catching thing for the hightlights reel each week, and I do expect that half a dozen times each season, at least, we'll all sit back and think "he was a really important player this week" and at least think about giving him votes in the TLM. And I'd hope that he'd be one of those players that opposition coaches worry about before a game - as they undoubtedly have to with Hall, Kirk, Goodes, O'Keefe, Kennelly, sometimes Malceski and increasingly McVeigh - and have to think about which defender to put on him to quell his influence, rather than just identify their most attacking rebounder, bank on that player getting loads of valuable possessions, and just accepting that Davis might well kick one or two arsey goals but that those probably won't make the difference at the end of the game.

I agree with all of this. I think most of us, whether Davis fans or not, want to see this.

However, I do disagree with your opening paragraph.

My issue with your opening post - interesting and thought provoking as it is - is that I don't think anyone is waiting for Davis to reproduce that quarter. Supporters know, everyone at the club knows and undoubtedly he knows that it was something out of the box - sublime skill by a player in the zone, together with the modicum of luck that is always needed in situations like that, and topped off with the drama of the context and ultimate triumph a fortnight later.

I still think that ROK's contention that the Geelong game carries some weight with expectations is essentially correct.

Scoring performances in games illustrates my thinking a little more.

Let's say we rate games out of 10, say 4 is the minimum to get a game.

9 = Davis' Geelong game

8 = Fan expectations of how well Davis can play based on that game

7 = Club expectations (based on a number of things)

6 = How well Davis should be able to play (per the top para)

5 = How well Davis has played overall in 2006-2007

4 = How well Davis has played in 2008

He is playing below expectations that even if he does play well enough to make the squad, the perception of his performance is much lower. That Geelong game has increased that benchmark in the eyes of both club and supporters, far more so for the latter. Therefore, instead of being 1 notch below his best in the past and 2 notches now, it appears to be 2 & 3 for the club and 3 & 4 for some fans. This is making it appear far worse and justifying his exclusion from the team.

[swansrule100]

i also think its worth looking at where he has been played on the ground and his time on the ground.

The games he played this year he played out of position IMHO