The eternal connundrum "what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object" was finally solved when David Hasselhoff punched himself in the face.
If I had read the next page....what they ^ said.
The eternal connundrum "what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object" was finally solved when David Hasselhoff punched himself in the face.
Laidler was mismatched on Popa for pace. Longmire gave Stewie Dew a serve after that incident for not correcting the imbalance.However if the delivery had been in the air Laidler would have outmarked Popa and we all would be writing about the good game he had.The worst case scenario eventuated however. He doesn't deserve to be dropped for this. Rohan is simply doing what is expected of him at last and his recovery seems complete.Towers was terrific picking up the intensity and pace of the game so quickly.IMO they will go for Shaw as the only change .
I think the situation with Laidler has changed due to Rampe?s phenomenal form. Rampe is comfortably holding down the 3rd tall position and has beaten Jack Darling and Jack Gunston in recent weeks. Rampe?s combination of pace, strength and determination is starting to remind me of Leo Barry. Laidler is now not essential in that 3rd tall roll.
The 4th tall option can now fall to Gary Rohan. His combination of height, leap, chasing ability and electric pace is ideal for the 4th tall option. His upside is enormous. He will soon be charging through the lines and taking intercept marks. You have to ask yourself who do you want when Shaw comes back, Laidler or Rohan.
Again, I maintain that Rohan can do what Towers does while having the ability to go back and help in defence when needed.
Laidler is a Mattner-style defender: solid mark, composed under pressure and works hard to offer an extra outlet in defence. He's played 12 straight rounds of solid team footy. Towers, in contrast, has played one quarter of decent football in a fairly one dimensional role.
Thankfully, I think cooler heads will prevail within the club when it comes to team selection.
Laidler's one on one bod?-work and ability to mark instead of spoil when the moment is right shouldn't be underestimated. The only time he should be dropped is when there is blatantly no match-up for him and I don't think this will happen. In saying that I hope for his sake that he doesn't get rubbed out for the Gunston incident because he may find it difficult to slot straight back in given the match committee's tendency to not change a winning side.
I mentioned this in the match-day thread that I personally would like Shaw to come in and for Rohan to move forward. He was brilliant down back against Hawthorn but the main thing we lacked in for the forward half was pressure. The hawks running-defenders stepped around Goodesy and Tip like they were witches hats and this just can't be allowed to happen against a team with their sublime foot-skills. His presence would force the rebounding players to think-twice and rush their decisions and disposals. Also given his recent boost in confidence - particularly in aerial contests - he would provide another marking target and he would be matched up on a much smaller opponent 9 times out of 10.
What are people's thoughts on that? Would be a bit harsh to move him around again after a couple of good games but I think moving forward in the season and into finals it will be necessary. With Tippett being injured we haven't been shown up for lack of forward line pace because the likes of B.Jack have been forced into the team however with Goodes and Tip being our predominant deep targets it could become an issue.
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And that would mean Towers being dropped albeit after showing a bit in the last quarter on the weekend.
Interesting you should raise & praise Rampe. My memory of the Laidler/Puopolo mismatch is that it was indirectly caused by a very poor Rampe entry into our forward 50 which went over the heads of all the Sydney forwards to a Hawthorn defender who was able to clear it out the fat side of the ground, over the Sydney defence who had pressed up leaving Puopolo one out. If Rampe had lowered his eyes and hit any of the 4 options that he was presented with, we would have had a shot on goal and extended our 13 point lead. The mismatch would not have happened, and perhaps we could have gone in to half time 19 points up.
Puopolo would have beaten just about every player on our list such was the delivery to him, allowing him ample space to run on to the ball and then into an open goal.
I want Rohan to be a gun as much as anyone but I think we're setting a pretty low base if that was a 'great' game from him. I thought he was OK, nothing more.
I'd be pretty surprised if Laidler got dropped.
Bloods
"Lockett is the best of all time" - Robert Harvey, Darrel Baldock, Nathan Burke, Kevin Bartlett, Bob Skilton
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
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