He kicked two goals playing as a small forward , more than a pass I would say. No one is expecting the jack of 2013-14, just that he can still contribute at a reasonable level, while adding some hardness and experience. Ticked all those boxes on the weekend I think , played better than Parker
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Steve, I agree with you. Jack did ok. You are right Ronke has played 4 crap games. I was looking forward to seeing him using his speed to harass and put forward pressure and crumb but this hasn't eventuated very successfully. But in fairness we have been poor with our clearances from the centre. We need another ruckman to help out Sinclair who is getting battered. Maybe give Cameron another go or Allir perhaps, but that would weaken our backline? Is it time to bring back Melican?
I guess the selection committee will sort out all the pros and cons.
Kieren obviously played his way back into the Firsts.
Ronke is not back to his best, but don't forget what he did to Hawthorn. I'd give him time, perhaps encourage him to work hard and not to be afraid of not running out the game.
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)
Ok I’ve been thinking an but more about this.
Ruck situation is clearly bad for us. Sinkers has toiled away terrifically over the last couple of years but he got toweled up on Thursday night. I think we are lucky it hasn’t happened more often.
I think we need to give the two ruckman structure another go.
Bring in Cameron. And not use him as a forward primarily like we did in his only game so far at senior level. Bring Cameron in to play centre main ruck. Then let sinkers go play forward and ruck while in the forward half. Cameron can play main ruck and drop back as defensive ruck. At least he will see a bit of it around the ground and get to compete rather than feeling out of the game as deep forward. We are loosing the clearances dramatically so we need to try something different.
I think that in order to make room for Cameron I would let Blakey have a rest in the NEAFL. Love the guy and his promise but let him have a rest.
I would also play rowbottom as I’ve mentioned before and stoddart
Ronde to stay in but on notice. Needs to apply more pressure. He stays probably until Menzel is fit.
Richmond are a perfect team to try two rucks against because nank won’t be dominant like gawn was so it gives Cameron a chance to show his wares and us to see how the structure works.
IN: Cameron Rowbottom Stoddart
OUT: Blakey Jack McInerney
I don't think the problem is so much individual players, as how they are interacting with each other.
I hesitate to use terms like "team balance", as I'm not sure precisely how that would be defined or if it is even a real thing. I just get a sense, this season and much of last year, that the team is struggling to "gel". Perhaps it's a function of shared experience, how many games players have played together. Seems we've had a lot of debutants, some key outs due to injury, formerly-reliable veterans suffering lack of form.
Maybe it all just adds up to a team that just isn't functioning as it should, and time will sort things out.
I agree we should bring in Cameron, whether we keep Sinclair in the side or not. We can look at that as a separate issue on its own merits.
Your point is right, that we are just getting killed trying to control the ruck contests and need to find another solution. Unfortunately, we really can't count on Naismith, this year or even in the future. His body just hasn't held up. If he comes good, well that's a bonus.
That just leaves Cameron as the only one who has a realistic chance of challenging the better ruckmen in the competition, but he will need time to develop at AFL level. He's a ruckman who added forward craft, as opposed to Sinclair, who was a forward who has tried to add ruck craft to his arsenal. Cameron is the more natural ruckman, in both size and technique.
What are we waiting for?
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