Team for Round 1

[Number 43]

Richards C Bolton Bevan
Shaw LRT Mattner
Malceski Goodes McVeigh
Moore Hall O'Keefe
Vezpremi Grundy Buchanan
Jolly Bolton Kirk
Crouch White Bird Jack
Emer: Ablett Barlow Pike

I reckon you might be pretty close there......

[Captain]

Richards C Bolton Bevan
Shaw LRT Mattner
Malceski Goodes McVeigh
Moore Hall O'Keefe
Vezpremi Grundy Buchanan
Jolly Bolton Kirk
Crouch White Bird Jack
Emer: Ablett Barlow Pike

[Bleed Red Blood]

I had a dream NMW replied to this thread saying LRT's @@@@. Interpret that one!

[dimelb]

Nico, you have a bolt on the brain.

[573v30]

Careful Nico, you don't wait another angry letter directed at you.

[Nico]

Didn't bother watching 2008 Nico? Think you need to give a bit more credit to B1. Ablett I'd agree with you but B1 was pretty handy last year after a very ordinary 2007. His place is safe and deserved.

Sure Bolton improved but he only improved to "serviceable". He still made his interminable mistakes and turnovers, and was no better at his centre clearance work which has always been at the bottom of the scale, around a score of .5, which he gets for simply being in the centre square contests. Surely we can't continue to rely on him any longer in this capacity.

[reigning premier]

As far as I am concerned both J Bolton and Ablett should only be depth players. They have proved year in year out that they are poor centre square players.

Didn't bother watching 2008 Nico? Think you need to give a bit more credit to B1. Ablett I'd agree with you but B1 was pretty handy last year after a very ordinary 2007. His place is safe and deserved.

[Number 43]

or Jack for Crouch maybe....

[Number 43]

B -Crouch Bolton Mattner
HB -Shaw LRT Richards
C -Malceski Goodes McVeigh
HF -O'Keefe Hall Bird
F - Moore Grundy White

R -Jolly Kirk Bolton

INT - Buchanan, Ablett, Vezpremi, Bevan

[top40]

Richards C Bolton Bevan
Mattner Roberts-Thomson Malceski
Goodes Kirk McVeigh
Jolly Buchanan Bird
O'Keefe Hall J Bolton
Moore Grundy Veszpremi

Jack White Ablett Shaw


With fit and ?young? O?Loughlin and Barry to come in eventually for Ablett and White

[ernie koala]

Jude Bolton by far and away remains in our best starting 22. He is no superstar but a very effective player who never flinches a knock in his duty to the club.

I would like him to have better disposal at times but he will play round 1 and remain a contributor.

I agree, he wins plenty of hard ball and is definately in our best 22.
Two players who worry me more and will probably get a start...Grundy; is slow and soft at the contest.... Barlow; is just plain soft at this stage. Malceski's form will also be of great interest.
Of the young ones, I'd like to see Laidlaw given a chance

[The Lad]

Jude Bolton by far and away remains in our best starting 22. He is no superstar but a very effective player who never flinches a knock in his duty to the club.

I would like him to have better disposal at times but he will play round 1 and remain a contributor.

[Nico]

I agree in princple with your views Nico. However I suspect both Jude and NOG been told/trained to play this way so now it is second nature or required play. In either case they should be retrained to get the ball out more quickly.

Too old are these 2 blokes to change their ways. Besides they are as slow as a wet week. I suspect they were given their roles because there was nothing else for them. They should jump on their horses, sling their 2005 medals over the saddle, and ride off into the sunset to join the "Over the Hill Mob" as yesterday's men.

[connolly]

As far as I am concerned both J Bolton and Ablett should only be depth players. They have proved year in year out that they are poor centre square players.

Bird must start on the ground in the guts as should McVeigh. We need to get good, clean and sweet clearances if we are to have any impact on the midfield flooding, sorry zones. The talk is about how to penetrate this zone stuff and one sure way is to win more than 50% of midfield clearances. In past years we have been very poor to abysmal in this area and we 'aint going to get any better with the past encumbents on the ground.

Both McVeigh and Bird have good quick movement and disposal. We can't afford to have players who fall over and put the ball under the arm and curl up into a ball when tackled. If you rotate other players through this role it must be Jack, Moore and Kirk. Goodes can come off the back of the square to take the handball from players who win the ball. The times of defensive midfield blocking etc at centre contests are dead and buried.

The player who was so effective at midfield zone break-outs was Buchanon. In 2005 and 2006 he had a strong burst of 10 metre pace, good hands, low over the ball and fearless straight running. We also had Williams as a brilliant outside midfielder - the mid fielder we have never replaced. Hopefully Buchanon, who must have played with injury last season, can recapture his ability to break clear from the inside of the zone. And McVeigh can become something of a Williams type outside midfielder (high bar indeed).

[pjcswan]

As far as I am concerned both J Bolton and Ablett should only be depth players. They have proved year in year out that they are poor centre square players.

Bird must start on the ground in the guts as should McVeigh. We need to get good, clean and sweet clearances if we are to have any impact on the midfield flooding, sorry zones. The talk is about how to penetrate this zone stuff and one sure way is to win more than 50% of midfield clearances. In past years we have been very poor to abysmal in this area and we 'aint going to get any better with the past encumbents on the ground.

Both McVeigh and Bird have good quick movement and disposal. We can't afford to have players who fall over and put the ball under the arm and curl up into a ball when tackled. If you rotate other players through this role it must be Jack, Moore and Kirk. Goodes can come off the back of the square to take the handball from players who win the ball. The times of defensive midfield blocking etc at centre contests are dead and buried.

I agree in princple with your views Nico. However I suspect both Jude and NOG been told/trained to play this way so now it is second nature or required play. In either case they should be retrained to get the ball out more quickly.