The lack of a quality tap ruckman combined with very ordinary clearances have, in my opinion, been our "achilles heel" which has resulted in our defense being under a lot of pressure, not withstanding the fact that Sinclair has tried his guts out in every game. However, I have been rapt with Harry Cunningham's performances this season in his defensive rebounding role.
Thinking of our 22 and unders there is only McCartin and as noted he didn't play consistently well and McInerney didn't play many games so Rowbottom would be the only one maybe under consideration (I can't remember if he was in the top 40) and there was pretty stiff competition for mid spots.
Blakey, Florent and Hayward also eligible.
It's an accurate illustration of where our list is at. One, maybe two with the potential to be elite if you believe Blakey will come on as we hope. The rest just young players who show promising signs here and there. Definitely not enough to stack up against the rest of the teams we will have to defeat if we are to win the flag.
Parker past his best! I must have been watching a different team in red and white. IIRC he is the one who wears no.26. The leader of the pack in the absence of a group of experienced players, the first player tagged by the opposition that played his guts out every week. If that's over the hill I want more of that in 2021.
There will be snipers on the roofs waiting for me to walk out my front door tomorrow after I say what I am going to say, and there is a grassy knoll that I walk past in the morning. But here it goes: I don't think Hayward has improved one iota in 2020. Yes I know he played a good negating game on Haynes of GWS but so did many others. But he hasn't given anything else. Maybe he has shown a bit more courage, however, he goes missing for way too long in a game and gets beaten one on one on the few occasions the ball goes in the forward line, and he is there for a change. His howler on Sunday pretty much summed up his footy smarts. Justin McInerney has just gone past him at a hundred miles an hour.
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