There was one moment in the game where I held my breath as Bird kicked it back to another player near our D50, with an opposition player lurking close by. Luckily the ball just eclipsed the opposition player. It was a phase in the game where he was still rather shaky, but as the game developed looked more and more confident.
Btw, would he not be better suited in the centre?
Just on Grundy, I will be the first to admit that in the past (and very recent past, as well), I have written him off as a backup utility at best. A good Canberra player. But I was thinking, weren't some of the same criticisms, currently being levelled at Grundy, being levelled at O'Keefe about 5 or 6 years ago? Now, I don't remember much of that time, as I was twelve and only just beginning to follow the Swans with any sort of seriousness, but wasn't O'Keefe considered a promising player with an excellent mark and kick, but who was just too damn slow and couldn't find enough of the ball? Now look at him. Probably our second best player, after Kirk. He worked hard, and developed excellent stamina, which somewhat cancelled out his lack of speed. Is there any reason Reg couldn't do something similar? He also is too slow and doesn't find enough of the ball, but if he can work really hard on his stamina, and maybe work on his running technique a bit to try to squeeze out an extra yard of pace, perhaps he could cross that threshold that O'Keefe crossed in 2004, and become a vital cog in our structure across half forward. Thoughts?
Officially on the Reid and Sumner bandwagon!
The rest of your post was pretty accurate, but Kirk and O'Keefe our best two players? FWIW I think Grundy's marking and kicking abilities are awesome, he has a good footy brain but he just needs another yard of pace.Originally Posted by BSA5
Grundy is slower than ROK ,and has no where near his agility, ie Grundy turns like the queen mary. Any AFL coach, even Bailly and Rattan, will exploit this. I particually worry when he's playing as a defender. Smart forwards will turn him inside out and leave him for dead. His only hope is up forward if, as you say, he can build up some stamina and finish quarters with the same speed he starts with.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect... MT
I must admit I am not really a fan of Grundy, but he looks okay this year. May be he feels more comfortable playing amongst the other Young Bloods?
"Fortunately, this is the internet, so knowing nothing is no obstacle to having an opinion!." Beerman 18-07-2017
His kicking in general play was indeed awesome. Set up alot of rebounding drives from half back, along with B2 and Jack.
Moore: Agree with someone's assessment earlier in the thread - Buchanan with better skills. His kicking to a leading forward is first-rate. He doesn't kick the cover off it, he gives it some 'air' for the forwards to run on to. Very few in our side can do it. O'Loughlin used to do it when he kicked it to Lockett.
Barlow: Pretty happy with him, think he'll get better.
Bird: Will definitely make it. Won't be too long til he starts to pick up the speed of the game. His kicking technique is pretty sound, it's just the speed finding him out at this early stage.
Jack: Can really play. What's he got to do to get a rising star nomination?
Mattner: Knew he was a good player before we got him. No issues with him at all.
Grundy: What he does is good, we just need him to do more of it.
Bloods
"Lockett is the best of all time" - Robert Harvey, Darrel Baldock, Nathan Burke, Kevin Bartlett, Bob Skilton
Was Grundys goal on the run?
Remember being impressed when he popped up for that one.
Loving seeing Jack going about it.
Yep. O'Keefe and Kirk are out two best players. Craig Bolton is probably third. Goodes is overrated. He deserved his Brownlows when he got them, but he has done jack @@@@ in between. He is far too inconsistent to be considered our best player.
I would rate our top five players as such:
Kirk
O'Keefe
C.Bolton
Goodes
Hall
One good season from Malceski isn't enough for me to put him up there. He was probably our best last season, I reckon, but I'm not comfortable putting him up there quite yet.
Officially on the Reid and Sumner bandwagon!
But O'Keefe was like that early on in his career as well. He wasn't always agile and decently quick. But O'Keefe spent a lot of time in the gym, toning and bulking up. He then shed the bulk, but retained the superb core strength he developed. This increased his agility markedly, giving him the strength to turn at pace. Grundy's body is still a little bit underdeveloped and shapeless, but he's looking better this year than last. If he takes some workout advice from O'Keefe, you never know. It would be a shame to waste such a great kick and mark. I think he and Malceski are our two best kicks.
Officially on the Reid and Sumner bandwagon!
It's good that we are finally giving these guys the opportunity to play more minutes (re: Moore and Grundy). The results of a bit more game time to establish themselves is really proving to be a winner.
Official Driver Of The "Who Gives A @@@@ As The Player Will Get Delisted Anyway" Bandwagon.
I'm glad Bird is in and like everyone else i have high hopes for him as a ball getting midfielder but in the first two games his disposal has been pretty awful. I didn't see anything of him last year so i don't know if this could be credited to nerves early on or something but i'm praying thats all it is! Lord knows the last thing we need is another midfielder who cant hit a teammate from 10 yards away! I hope Vespremi can get his fitness up to scratch cos from everything i've read on him he has brilliant skills and an actual footy brain! which is something a lot of our new guys haven't had in recent years! (excluding Malceski obviously)
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