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Thread: Crouch - should he play when less than 100%

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    Crouch - should he play when less than 100%

    Crouch seemed to be a good 5-10 yards behind his opponent for most of yesterday - I can't recall an effective spoil coming from his fist - to me he looked under-done. He came good in the final term but the damage was already done by then.

    He is a senior player who has done a great job for a number of years. He has built up enough goodwill with the coaches that allows his 2 bad games to be overlooked ... but I have a suspicion that he is suffering from the effects of multiple injuries over the last few years. The coverage showed him limping (as always) in the 4th and I suspect one of his many injuries may have flared up again.

    His form hasn't been great ... should he be in the 2's? ... and if his form warrants him playing in the 2's, will the match committee put him there, or will they leave him in the seniors for the sake of continuing the "streak"?

  2. #2
    On the Rookie List SMFC's Avatar
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    All this bringing up twos players... Half these guys have yet to play real football. That Canberra league farce would get thrashed by most Victorian u/16 sides.

    Bringing up twos players like is being suggested is for teams who have bottomed right out by half way through the season.

    22 games with a month after that is a long damn time. Who wants to be April Premiers?

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    Originally posted by SMFC
    All this bringing up twos players... Half these guys have yet to play real football. That Canberra league farce would get thrashed by most Victorian u/16 sides.

    Bringing up twos players like is being suggested is for teams who have bottomed right out by half way through the season.

    22 games with a month after that is a long damn time. Who wants to be April Premiers?
    Got to start their careers sometime. Keep rewarding mediocrity and we will end up like Collingwood of 1990.

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    Taking Refuge!! NMWBloods's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Nico
    Got to start their careers sometime. Keep rewarding mediocrity and we will end up like Collingwood of 1990.
    That's exactly right. Like us they climbed a huge mountain and got the monkey off their back, to mix metaphors, and then just fell away very badly.

    A team needs to continue to be ruthless with its list if it is to succeed long term. This has been a strength of Sheedy's and is why the Bombers have been a threat for over 20 years.
    Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.

    "[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."

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    It's a fine balance.

    You have to give the younger players, especially those in their 3rd or 4th seasons, reason to bust a gut at reserves level. If they ain't gonna play AFL they'd rather be running around in the SANFL or WAFL as fully fledged players in their own right.

    That said, Crouch is one player who I think has enough brownie points left to stay in the seniors. For starters, he is the quickest of the senior players other than Willo, who may well be injured. Even half fit he's quicker than Kirk or Bolton. The team needs more zip, not less.

    Plus he had a quiet first half to last season but worked his way to top form and fitness by the end of the year when it counted. Such were his efforts in the finals series that I find it hard to see the Swans going anywhere in September this year unless Crouch is a big part of it.

    Crouch in the ACTAFL would be a complete waste of time for him and the team.

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