Changes for Round 5 versus Fremantle

[bloodsbigot]

Dropping ROK, LRT and Shaw is not something that I find easy to say. As they have been loyal servants to the club. However, persisting with their sub par performances just because of who they are is sending a poor example to the younger players. Hopefully they can find form back in the reserves and force their way back into the team. The team and bloods culture must come 1st.

I agree that we should drop a few players if they aren't playing well. I'm not at all against that. I would find it INCREDIBLY reckless dropping 3-4 players (Particularly veterans in key positions) in the span of a week, though.

Have we not learned from history?

It's what caused the Australian cricket team of the 1980s to be so crap when all the best players retired at the same time. Recently it happened again after the champion team of the late 1990s and 2000s retired and they had to rebuild rapidly.

During the course of the season, I'd like to see players like Shaw and O-Keefe slowly phased out. One week at a time. I don't want the team management to hit the panic buttons and just drop all the players that made up the team for the last 3-4 years.

The 'youth' strategy is stupid and has crept into many sports in Australia. Including my beloved Socceroos... who will get severely destroyed in Brazil because of their rebuilding phase.

[Ludwig]

Part of the reason for Geelong's continued success is that they've been brutal in 'phasing' out established stars even though they could well continue on for a couple of more years (Chapman is a good example). They play guys like Guthrie, Horlen-Smith, Murdoch and Blicavs. They keep playing them even though they make plenty of mistakes, but they continue to improve and the time comes, like with Guthrie, when they are recognised as solid established players. They know the day is coming when Enright, Mackie and Stevie J will hang up the boots and they want to be ready.

Most players are not going to surpass the older established players until they reach around 50 games. It's unlikely that Biggs or Zak Jones will do a better job than Rhyce Shaw, but we have to get games into these guys if we don't want to fall away, like the teams in the example in the previous post.

After the current lot that's come under scrutiny this year, we've got some big retirements waiting in the wings with Richards and Malceski. We need to start preparing for that day soon. We need to blood players like Towers and Membrey, because we may have to use Reid and Rohan to fill holes in the backline.

I hate it when I hear the words: 'We didn't see it coming'. It just indicates poor management. Longmire better wise up, because he's falling behind the curve in the coaching gig. He's under the gun, because he's going to be compared to his former colleagues the next couple of weeks.

[dimelb]

I can imagine Membrey's reaction to playing firsts: "But in the reserves they kick it to me!"

[Beerman]

Am I really the only one who thinks that Shaw's performance on Sunday was massively improved since round 1? I honestly think that if we keep playing him, he will keep improving and be back to AFL standard in a few weeks.

[andy0414]

I've read an old story where during the Gold Rush in America a bunch of fortune seekers bought expensive digging equipment and spent months and months digging but decided to give up one day and do something different to find their fortune. They sold the goldmine and equipment to another guy who discovered gold a few inches from where they had stopped digging a week later. They had given up and changed their plan mere inches from their goal.

Sometimes changing things isn't what gets results. Sometimes brute persistence, belief and patience pays off.

Or your story could suggest we need to sell out and get new diggers in to find the gold.

[bodgie]

I think we played plenty of first timers last year, players like Cunningham, Rampe... players like Jack and Biggs who can come back. But its a longs season for new players to last the distance. ROK and Shaw had to be given a chance. We haven't actually lost to Freo yet and the weather might be good. After we lose to Freo and then the next game, sure, flush 'em all out. Some tweaks and coaching smarts would help. We need players who can, theoritically feed and operate around our as yet imaginary forward line.

[Ampersand]

Nope, Shaw was terrible. At a guess, I'd say that at least half of his disposals in the last two rounds have resulted in turnovers, which is more damaging than having no disposals at all. There's also been several howlers where he hung onto the ball way too long and got smashed by a tackle.

As I said earlier I think a good portion of the blame goes to the coaches. Shaw can be a great asset when he's got a decent forward set up to kick into. For now I'd keep him in and put him in a tagging role or drop him to the reserves until Tippet returns.

[Big Al]

Changes for Fremantle??

Mmmm... Change of attitude would be nice.

[Matt80]

I've been hearing on the thread that there is a concern with on-field leadership and I will propose a controversial solution.

It's time for Buddy to be elevated to the Co Captains role with Jarod Mckveigh and Kieran Jack. Maverick forwards make great captains. Think Wayne Carey and Barry Hall. Buddy would be put through mentoring by Adam Goodes in the early part of his captaincy.

If Buddy was captain he would relish the responsibility and lift in a huge way. He would then drag people like Hanners with him.

I know I will cop it on this one, but rebels make superb captains. Shane Warne is a great example!

[liz]

I've been hearing on the thread that there is a concern with on-field leadership and I will propose a controversial solution.

It's time for Buddy to be elevated to the Co Captains role with Jarod Mckveigh and Kieran Jack. Maverick forwards make great captains. Think Wayne Carey and Barry Hall. Buddy would be put through mentoring by Adam Goodes in the early part of his captaincy.

If Buddy was captain he would relish the responsibility and lift in a huge way. He would then drag people like Hanners with him.

I know I will cop it on this one, but rebels make superb captains. Shane Warne is a great example!

You don't create leadership by naming people as leaders. If Buddy is a leader he will be doing it regardless of labels.

[Matt80]

You don't create leadership by naming people as leaders. If Buddy is a leader he will be doing it regardless of labels.

The Duck was a highly talented, young maverick, inconsistent key forward, when Dennis Pagan appointed him Captain. He then changed into the best key forward in history and made a team great around him.

These transformative qualities are in Buddy, but he has never been given an opportunity at senior level to run a team. He will be here for 9 years, so why not give him the opportunity to make us the best team in the competition. He will be a changed man if you give him the job. At the moment he feels like an outsider, the home crowds are letting him have it, and I'm not sure that the whole playing group have embraced him fully.

[Triple B]

...At the moment he feels like an outsider, the home crowds are letting him have it, and I'm not sure that the whole playing group have embraced him fully.

I highly doubt any of that is true, in fact I'm calling BS on it.

However, making him captain if those were the current circumstances would make things 100x worse....

[Matt80]

I highly doubt any of that is true, in fact I'm calling BS on it.

However, making him captain if those were the current circumstances would make things 100x worse....

I was sitting in the members section of the crowd on Sunday, and there were cynical supporters who were laughing and making wise cracks when something did not work out for Buddy on the field. They seemed to forget that it was wet day and handling the ball is difficult!

As for how he is going with his teammates I said I was not sure, but there has been many articles written about that. The real story will come out with a player autobiography years down the track. To call my stuff BS is frankly BS, unless you have all the answers.

[Jewels]

I was sitting in the members section of the crowd on Sunday, and there were cynical supporters who were laughing and making wise cracks when something did not work out for Buddy on the field. They seemed to forget that it was wet day and handling the ball is difficult!

As for how he is going with his teammates I said I was not sure, but there has been many articles written about that. The real story will come out with a player autobiography years down the track. To call my stuff BS is frankly BS, unless you have all the answers.

I agree with you about the fans, I have sat amongst majority Swans fans at all three Sydney based games so far and he has copped more from us this year than I ever remember him getting as a Hawthorn player, so badly from one of our own at the Collingwood game that I complained to security about the language.
As for how he has fitted in with the other players, watch the warm up on Saturday, he is one of us as far as they are concerned.

[Matt80]

I highly doubt any of that is true, in fact I'm calling BS on it.

However, making him captain if those were the current circumstances would make things 100x worse....

I agree with you about the fans, I have sat amongst majority Swans fans at all three Sydney based games so far and he has copped more from us this year than I ever remember him getting as a Hawthorn player, so badly from one of our own at the Collingwood game that I complained to security about the language.
As for how he has fitted in with the other players, watch the warm up on Saturday, he is one of us as far as they are concerned.

Thanks for backing me up on the fans. It's as if a lot of the fans don't want Buddy to succeed, so they can continue their rant. The club does not deserve any more finals success with negative, cynical fans like this.

I particularly despise the action of fans leaving the game before the final siren has gone, because their team is losing.