Jake Niall Article

[wolftone57]

I have just read Jake Niall's article in the SMH this morning & I agree with him entirely. We need to draft some exciting young talent & if that means having a few lean years then so be it. For so long we have lived with the fear that if we bottomed out we would lose the Sydney market. Even though the Sydney demographic suggests that it likes a winner, I think with the expanding of the supporter base from the early '90's we have had time to mature. In around 15 years, most of which has been spent in the 8, our support base has become extremely loyal. Most of these supporters, indeed the ones with which I talk, agree that we need more depth & new blood.
It's no good continually going for the quick fix, ie Spida, it still leaves the list looking old & only gives a couple of years of respite until the next player with baggage or at the end of their career is drafted. To sustain the Sydney market, with a new team coming in, we neeed to look to the next 10 years not just next year. The only way forward is to be in a position to draft an exciting group of youngsters & that means going down, not that we will have a choice in that as our current line up is old & ordinary, with a few exceptions. Our skill level this year has been appalling & we need to start weeding out the serial offenders.
Retirements should be an option for some of the older group, Leo Barry etc, get some of the youngsters on the park & develop a new team, a new style for the future
Tone

[dimelb]

The occasional quick fix as a temporary measure is OK by me, and I see Spida in that light. He has been at least serviceable until Currie got up to AFL speed, and he has been beneficial to Jolly as well as the younger ruckmen. He is now finishing his contract and that's fine - perhaps a role as ruck consultant would be a good thing if he's around.
That said, you can't build a premiership list with temporary measures and short term solutions. Yes, we must draft, or trade judiciously as we did for Mattner and Jolly who will both be long term contributors, injury permitting. And it has been genuinely exciting, not just froth and bubble, to see the youngsters we introduced last year and this. If we get one or two per draft who play like Moore, Jack or Veszpremi then we will do very well indeed.

[shaun..]

More Vesz's please!!