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If we were to hand out this award after 9 rounds, who would get it? I'll do a short summary on a few players, see if anyone agrees with me.
(in no particular order)
Jude Bolton:
It seems his name is brought up on this site as a possible trade/delisting every year, sometimes deservedly so. He's always been a tryer and probably peaked between 2004-2006 which is no suprise given our success. He showed glimpses of his best last year but he's just hit his straps beautifully in 2009, he hasn't got a whole cupboard of skills but he uses his limited talents very very well.
He may look pretty but he does it tougher than Cameron Ling's make-up artist. Suddenly he looks like a much needed player this year and hopefully for 4-5 years yet.
Rhyce Shaw:
While he wasn't in the red & white last year, he was quite clearly much maligned by many Magpie fans and when we snapped him up many of us were @@@@ting ourselves. I had visions of him being a total spud and giving us many nail-biting moments this year.
We already knew he was fast, but he seems to have the Sonic boots on this year. He adds the pace that we were desperately searching for and his kicking isn't too shabby either.
Barry Hall:
He may not be kicking bags of 4-6 goals every week, but it's his improved attitude that's made me love him again. He looks fit, scary and serious and that can only be intimidating for the opposition.
Instead of losing his head (or Staker's) he seems to be directing his anger at the ball and lending a hand to teammates when he can. Touch wood, people!
Darren Jolly:
Possibly the least improved of the 4 I've mentioned so far, but only because he was already awesome last year. Maybe it's just me, but he seems to have a completely rounded game this year, there's no cracks in his paint job.
As I've said in the past, he's easily our most accurate kick for goal and one of the best marks, too. His mobility and smarts have been a blessing this year, popping up all over the ground and right where we need him. He did this in the past, but is now doing it on a weekly basis. Let's hope he keeps on tapping it, to our mids and not the missus.
Unlucky/Jury still out on (in terms of improvement)
LRT
O'Keefe
Buchanan
(in no particular order)
Jude Bolton:
It seems his name is brought up on this site as a possible trade/delisting every year, sometimes deservedly so. He's always been a tryer and probably peaked between 2004-2006 which is no suprise given our success. He showed glimpses of his best last year but he's just hit his straps beautifully in 2009, he hasn't got a whole cupboard of skills but he uses his limited talents very very well.
He may look pretty but he does it tougher than Cameron Ling's make-up artist. Suddenly he looks like a much needed player this year and hopefully for 4-5 years yet.
Rhyce Shaw:
While he wasn't in the red & white last year, he was quite clearly much maligned by many Magpie fans and when we snapped him up many of us were @@@@ting ourselves. I had visions of him being a total spud and giving us many nail-biting moments this year.
We already knew he was fast, but he seems to have the Sonic boots on this year. He adds the pace that we were desperately searching for and his kicking isn't too shabby either.
Barry Hall:
He may not be kicking bags of 4-6 goals every week, but it's his improved attitude that's made me love him again. He looks fit, scary and serious and that can only be intimidating for the opposition.
Instead of losing his head (or Staker's) he seems to be directing his anger at the ball and lending a hand to teammates when he can. Touch wood, people!
Darren Jolly:
Possibly the least improved of the 4 I've mentioned so far, but only because he was already awesome last year. Maybe it's just me, but he seems to have a completely rounded game this year, there's no cracks in his paint job.
As I've said in the past, he's easily our most accurate kick for goal and one of the best marks, too. His mobility and smarts have been a blessing this year, popping up all over the ground and right where we need him. He did this in the past, but is now doing it on a weekly basis. Let's hope he keeps on tapping it, to our mids and not the missus.
Unlucky/Jury still out on (in terms of improvement)
LRT
O'Keefe
Buchanan
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