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Like you, I didn't agree with McVeigh coming straight back into the side. Not because I don't rate him, but because every time he's come back into the side after a long injury it's taken him many weeks to find form. Hopefully he plays well again this week and it wasn't an anomaly.
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Add a fit and firing Jack, Rampe, Rohan and Robbo into that side on the weekend and it really becomes a selection headache.
Right now I'd play Tippett in the twos this week but we all know that won't happen.
Massive game for us this week to kickstart the season, not like in terms of finals but just to get some momentum. Even if we go 3-7 at the bye it gives us a fighting of a break even season which in my book will be success from 0-6Comment
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Florent is the most natural to go out as he didn't do much in the Brisbane game. Although it's not a positional switch, Newman would be the best to replace him. With Macca and Newman in defence, we can release all of Lloyd, Mills and Jones to play mostly through the midfield. All 3 are good at getting the ball from the midfield into our forward line quickly.
Rohan comes in if we want to drop Towers. I'm ambivalent about this one despite not rating Towers, but he did play well against Brisbane and Gary hasn't done much this season and could perhaps look to get form and conditioning in the reserves this week.
Sinclair had a good game. I do like his hard work. It's been his marking and ball handling that let's him down. I think we should ask the question: Would Sinclair be in our best 22 as a key forward? I really don't think so. His rucking is only mediocre, so he really has to make it as a forward who fills in for the first ruckman. For Tippett, it's just a matter of form. When he is in form, he's one of the very best in the league at his position. Who knows what form he will bring to the game this week if he's chosen. It would be good to bring a more competent ruckman against someone of Goldstein's caliber.
Robinson will most likely have to wait for an injury or form drop to get back into the seniors. He's a decent player, but not yet in our best 22. We still need to work Aliir and KJ back into the senior side and would expect Rampe to come straight back when he is fit. As the injury list diminishes, the competition for spots rises.Comment
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I wouldn't be surprised to see Rohan come back thru the twos. From (and including) the GF to the concussion hit, he has been unimpressive.
Towers seemed to lift a notch last week. Seemed a lot more confident with ball in hand, and would be unlucky to go down this week.
McVeigh more than justified his return. He is quite a calming influence down back. Of course, time will tell with him. He did appear slower in 2016, and this could be his swansong year. But certainly not this week.
If Tippett can find the form of early 16 in the next few weeks, he will be a vital figure in our second half.
Hayward is a big part of our future...still light , and needs management in order not to burn him out this season.
Sorry if some of this is bleeding obvious, but knee jerk reactions can be deceptive.Comment
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I would imagine Rohan and Tippett would come straight back in. But they are only worth it in the seniors if they are 100% fit. May get a run in the 2's if they only wanted a 1/4 or two game time.
How many possessions would McVeigh need to hold his place if we lost to North ?Comment
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I really do think they need to keep stats on 'pointing' and 'voice acts.' You can't judge his performance on possessions alone he is the best finger pointer in the team.
Barry, your method seems to be to go to the AFL Match Centre and identify the lowest DreamTeam points scorers to be dropped. So using this approach those going back to the NEAFL (in order) are: Florent, Smith, Reid, Hayward, McVeigh.
I really don't think you assess a players performance in that way or on a required number of possessions. What's your pass mark, 30 plus and 5 goals?Comment
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Horse's press conference
Tippett and Rohan will train today and will be looked at.
Aliir in the mix for this week, club have moved on from what happened last week.
Rampe is a chance for next week.Comment
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No it would not make his selection a mistake.
Eric is a first year player who is learning the hardest position on the ground. Your simplistic view that stats only matter is clouding your judgement.
All young players will struggle from time to time. Who should Brisbane play instead?
Same as you can't judge McVeigh (who i personally think may have gone a year too many myself) on his first game back nor will i have a set number of possies for him to get against North.Comment
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Its not about numbers - the numbers and stats you've been given are a reaction to your hyperbole and prestamping his papers before he even played (you said picking him last week meant we could write off 2018 as well!
). He had a good game against the Lions, but obviously tougher tests to come.
How about you assess his game on merits? Maybe criticise him when he's poor and possibly even praise some good play?
For instance, I didnt think Towers should have come back. Has all the attributes to succeed but is pretty soft and makes horrific decisions under pressure. He's done enough to get picked again, (we didnt learn anything about his decision making under pressure against the lions) but he had a good game in a different role.
It isnt that hard.
Either way we dont want to become Tigers or the Demons where he send out the veterans to pasture at the first sign theyre slowing down as they can teach and direct the next generation of players. We already have a young team. Mcveigh isnt the player he was a few years ago, but like Smith and Grundy have more to offer than just stats.He ate more cheese, than time allowedComment
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