It�s a tough call. Hanners is a champ and the coaching staff tell us he�s fully fit. If that�s the case, it�s a confidence thing which can come back very quickly with a few good touches. Punting him to Neafl is not necessarily going to help his confidence but at the end of the day, he�s playing pretty poorly. Sure he got 20 plus touches but most were average at best, beneficial to Richmond at worst. Maybe one more week?
Sinclair looked a bit buggered on Thursday. Might be time to give him some backup in the form of Darcy? He�s been a colossus in Neafl and has really impressed me with his contested marking. Might provide a target on the way out of defense and take a bit of heat of Buddy up forward in rotation with Sinclair? Towers was going really well prior to poke in the eye and is starting to play good footy again. At best, he�s hard at the ball, good set shot and has a bit of X factor (but prone to the odd Clanger!). Also time to see what Maibaum can do as Reg not getting younger and Aliir not getting better. In summary, ins: Cameron, Towers, Maibaum, Papley outs: Rose, Rohan, Aliir, Jack with Hanners on last notice.
Generally the reserves is where players get their touch back. Their confidence in their body and decision making comes back there. That is the reason players are dropped back. A good example is Dean Towers last year. He had a couple of bad games and his confidence was down so they dropped him back and when he came back to the Seniors he was a different player.
I personally do not like bringing players who have had more than three games out of the seniors straight back in. I think it is a mistake and in Hannas case it is proving to be so. The trouble is you then create a situation that certain players are playing on reputation but not delivering and that is not good for team morale. It creates an us and them situation with the younger players. Hannas had six games out and players who have, especially mids, spent that amount of time out at any other successful club would play reserves to get touch back.
I would not drop Aliir. He was pretty good. Jack R was having a night out and even Rampe was flogged by him. Hannas goes, as far as I'm concerned. His disposal and lack of chasing was one of the direct reasons for us not having enough pressure on their ball carriers. So many times I saw players go past him and he just didn't chase. If he's fit I'll eat my hat, because he is not doing the things that come natural to him. The other thing is he only kicks to Bud when he kicks inside 50 and that is problematic because he missed the opportunity three times to hit up loose players. Those entries could have provided three goals. He is a passenger at the moment and we can't afford that in the month to come. We will need all pistons firing, with the draw we have, to make top four.
From one Dawg to another, I agree with most of what you say. Riewoldt will be lucky to play another game that good this year - he was just at another level. My concern about Aliir is he seems to not know when to contest and when to wait. At times just looks completely baffled. One of the strength of our key defenders over the last decade has been their decision making. They often give away size but still get the job done through making the correct choice. Think guys like Teddy, C Bolton, Leo etc against monsters like Browny, Gehrig, Fev etc. I�ve seen a bit of Maibaum and he strikes as the sort of guy who given the chance could step up, like Melican. Not flashy, but will just get the job done.
Aliir is quick enough and a very good leap and mark. Of the defenders who played on Thursday night he was the only one who combines some pace and genuine height. Give him the job on the Reiwolts and their ilk and let him learn from the best. At least he will know where he should be and will get there on time.
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)
Time should embellish all our memories.
But since you�ve mentioned it, I think �Lazy� is harsh (if not downright offensive). Neither are what I�d consider tackling machines, but I�d be surprised if there was much difference in average tackling stats.
But Jetta would be close to double in terms of effective disposals and metres gained. Yes, Gary chases but Not much good in being a good chaser if not much comes of it.
If I had to choose between the 2 today, I�d spend my money on Lewi. Less prone to injury & a joy to watch.
Jetstar was the main man delivering the ball inside 50. He�s an extraordinarily good kick.
Not sure I'd describe him as an extraordinarily good kick. He is capable of some extraordinarily good kicks but is also pretty inconsistent by foot. 2012 was good from him but his ratio of good to poor kicks declined after that, and I don't think he's been particularly good by foot for most of his games for West Coast.
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