Round 10 v Carlton @ Marvel Stadium

[Nico]

Yep, we certainly have some holes that need to be filled with higher end talent.

Right now we have a decent tail to our list.

[Nico]

Im not saying they should be replaced , the list is what it is , thats half the problem . But time to give up on some of these who will never be more than inconsistent cameo players . Pop up for a good game every now and then but let us down far too often . Ladhams doesnt have an obvious replacement . stays in and hopefully pulls his finger out. Same as Hayward

Stephens replaces Bell , Sheather replaces O riordan , Roberts replaces Kennedy , Gus comes in later and replaces Wicks

Maybe they will be good , maybe they wont be, but its time we find out , instead of trying the same old same olds who get us nowhere

Correct. Replace those who struggle to win their own footy and results can swing quickly. Kennedy is cooked. Others struggled to get over 10 stats. Replace them with players are going to have a red hot go and have much better skills.

[Roadrunner]

Bloodspirit, are you happy with the job Bell and Wicks gave us against Carlton? You mentioned stats are not all there is- totally agree. But if their role is to apply pressure so that their team mates can get the ball and hit the scoreboard, then these guys just don’t do it with any regularity. Hence, there’s no room for them in the team, as they don’t play to an acceptable AFL level.You can defend them, as a few on here have done, but not only did we lose the game, these 2 were well beaten the whole night. Sorry but they need to go if we are to improve.

[Markwebbos]

There does seem to be some confusion on here, or I could be confused:

Is the problem with the role they are being asked to play (Bell and Wicks, the whipping boys) or the way that they are playing it?

[TheBloods]

Correct. Replace those who struggle to win their own footy and results can swing quickly. Kennedy is cooked. Others struggled to get over 10 stats. Replace them with players are going to have a red hot go and have much better skills.

Who else is there though , thats the problem . Need to give Stephens, Roberts , Sheather a run but they will still only be young .

[KTigers]

Who else is there though , thats the problem . Need to give Stephens, Roberts , Sheather a run but they will still only be young .

Yep, that's the thing. It's all very well saying drop Bell and Wicks but who comes in for them that will do a better job at what they are
being asked to do.

[caj23]

Yep, that's the thing. It's all very well saying drop Bell and Wicks but who comes in for them that will do a better job at what they are
being asked to do.

I’m not commenting on Wicks, but Bell is the worst player on our list (possibly in the AFL even), Taylor, Ronke and Clarke could come straight in and comfortably do a better job

I went to the game Friday night and watched Bell, I will post later on detail my observations

[stevoswan]

Right now we have a decent tail to our list.

Trouble is, it doesn't appear to be a GF winning 'tail'.

[stevoswan]

I’m not commenting on Wicks, but Bell is the worst player on our list (possibly in the AFL even), Taylor, Ronke and Clarke could come straight in and comfortably do a better job

I went to the game Friday night and watched Bell, I will post later on detail my observations

Bit harsh to say Bell is possibly the worst player in the AFL!

No doubt he's a 'trier' however his skills just don't seem to be at a required standard for AFL.....but possibly the 'worst player in the AFL'?

No. There would be worse 'depth' players on other lists....but that's exactly what he should be for us.....depth, not first 22.

[Ludwig]

At the start of the season, the consensus was that we were the 3rd or 4th best team in the league, and I thought that was about right. I would be satisfied if we were just behind Melbourne and Brisbane. So far we haven't quite lived up to that expectation, but we are not that far behind and we can still meet that benchmark by season's end. If you replace Bell in the side with Dawson, that alone could be the difference accounting for our drop off this season.

When a team is in a growth stage, like we are, it's not always about putting out the best team on the ground every week, but rather a balance that includes player development and experimentation in the quest to find the best team for next year and the year after that.

I feel we have some good players who took the field in the VFL game yesterday. There are some, like Stephens, Roberts, Sheather, and Gould, who might not be best 22, but look possible best 22 in the future. We have some others who might be able to help right now, like Fox, Clarke and Reid. We have players to select from. We just need to make some good choices, and if we make a poor selection, then go back and try another the following week.

A lot of our problems have to do with team coordination and getting the defensive coverage right. That's going to take good coaching, practice and time. We have to show some patience. We should understand that individual players and the team as a whole are on a trajectory, and hopefully that trajectory will lead to a premiership. When we settle down from the disappointment of a loss, we need to go back into a state of realism and try to find the best way forward.

[Roadrunner]

Yep, that's the thing. It's all very well saying drop Bell and Wicks but who comes in for them that will do a better job at what they are
being asked to do.

There are plenty to choose from, as TB posted. We can’t progress if we pick players like those 2.

[TheBloods]

There are plenty to choose from, as TB posted. We can’t progress if we pick players like those 2.

End of the day the list isnt good enough and we have to keep at it . Its ok to have Wicks Bell Ronke Rowbottom O'Riordan etc on the list and to play them every now and then with injuries etc but if they are getting games every week it just shows the depth of talent on our list isnt there . Those names will never be part of a flag winning team. No shame in that but sooner we wake up to it the better we will be as we can try others instead and hope for better luck with them .

And by the way i defended Wicks as i see what his role is all about and he was pretty good at doing it . But its a basic role and if he cant do it every week then hes not the answer .

[Roadrunner]

End of the day the list isnt good enough and we have to keep at it . Its ok to have Wicks Bell Ronke Rowbottom O'Riordan etc on the list and to play them every now and then with injuries etc but if they are getting games every week it just shows the depth of talent on our list isnt there . Those names will never be part of a flag winning team. No shame in that but sooner we wake up to it the better we will be as we can try others instead and hope for better luck with them .

And by the way i defended Wicks as i see what his role is all about and he was pretty good at doing it . But its a basic role and if he cant do it every week then hes not the answer .

Wicks doesn’t do it consistently and he was beaten badly by Saad- this can happen to any player but Wicks can’t take a contested mark, he’s not an accurate kick or good at handball, he’s not quick, a lot of his tackles don’t stick and in the process gives away numerous frees- otherwise he’s not too bad!???? And he runs around a lot!

[giant]

End of the day the list isnt good enough and we have to keep at it . Its ok to have Wicks Bell Ronke Rowbottom O'Riordan etc on the list and to play them every now and then with injuries etc but if they are getting games every week it just shows the depth of talent on our list isnt there . Those names will never be part of a flag winning team. No shame in that but sooner we wake up to it the better we will be as we can try others instead and hope for better luck with them .

And by the way i defended Wicks as i see what his role is all about and he was pretty good at doing it . But its a basic role and if he cant do it every week then hes not the answer .

Richmond won 3 out of the last 5 flags with several players that were hardly household names and frankly I don't think are any better than the players you've named. Melbourne's list is outstanding but they had several very young players that had outstanding years. I suspect we're missing a bit of class in our midfield and we'll need to replace the Bud when he's gone but don't think there are so many holes in our list that we can't be challenging in a few years.

[stevoswan]

End of the day the list isnt good enough and we have to keep at it . Its ok to have Wicks Bell Ronke Rowbottom O'Riordan etc on the list and to play them every now and then with injuries etc but if they are getting games every week it just shows the depth of talent on our list isnt there . Those names will never be part of a flag winning team. No shame in that but sooner we wake up to it the better we will be as we can try others instead and hope for better luck with them .

I'd agree with four of those names.