Towers, BJ, Lloyd and Rohan are the only 4 not cemented in.
Would think 3 of these will go for Tippett, Shaw and Hanners. Though wouldn't mind Shaw and Hanners having a reserves game first before being rushed back.
Towers, BJ, Lloyd and Rohan are the only 4 not cemented in.
Would think 3 of these will go for Tippett, Shaw and Hanners. Though wouldn't mind Shaw and Hanners having a reserves game first before being rushed back.
If Hanners said he was about 80% chance for the Hawks game...That probably means more like 50/50...Players are always over optimistic about their return dates.
If he doesn't play, and Shaw doesn't play, then:
OUT : Towers
IN : Tippett
Rohan and BJ are on the edge and will need big games to retain their spots.
Lloyd seems fairly well set in, at this stage, only a full healthy list(which is unlikely) and a poor game, would see him under selection pressure.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect... MT
Just to clarify, Hanners didn't say he was 80%. I inferred that from his answer on whether he'd play.
My understanding is he just started running late last week so there's no way he could really know how he's travelling for the Hawks game until next weekend.
Despite his good performance I think Mitchell (if he's healthy) should come in for Lloyd against Essendon. We need to give him time to find his feet in the senior squad in the run up to the finals. I also think Lloyd could probably do with a rest anyway.
If Mitchell fails to perform over a few games he can always be swapped out again for a (rested) Lloyd.
I would not have been surprised if Lloyd had been dropped to give time to others, especially as he had 2 games of low efficiency disposal. He is normally in the 80% range. The last 2 games it was below 60%. This week it was back up to 85%. The coaching staff should have a gauge on how he is traveling. For someone that thrives on hard work, I'm not sure if a week out of the firsts would be beneficial. Anyway week off as it is, with bye. It is a shame that Mitchell cant get some miles up in the top grade.
It's just a fact of life that younger bodies tend to drop off towards the end of the season. I think it's a factor in Port Adelaide's recent drop in form. They are, after all, the third youngest side in the comp.
It's no disparagement of Lloyd's skill or ability. I think he'll be a fixture in the squad for years to come. I just think we need to pull the trigger on getting our best squad on the park over the next few rounds while we still have time to adjust before September.
Mitchell will add more value to us then Lloyd come finals. But given there are always injuries, Lloyd should be safe.
It would take a brave coach to drop Lloyd when we are yet to lose a game with him in the side. He's not really doing much wrong either. He had a good game on Saturday.
Anyone think we should bring in Derickx? ..................................Anyone?
Last edited by Ludwig; 14th July 2014 at 01:23 PM.
Correlation does not equal causation. We didn't win those games just because Lloyd was in the side.
Agree! But if we dropped him and we lost, then some would be questioning Horse. That's why I said it would take a brave coach.
I think both Lloyd and Harry have played well this year and hope we can find a way to keep them in the side through the finals given they've made a consistent contribution throughout the season. I know when everyone is fit they are just hanging on to those last 2 spots. The last 2 spots will be a tough competition between Harry C, Lloyd, Rohan and Mitchell. We may even add Zak Jones to that list as well.
Bookmarks