View Full Version : Is anyone else NOT on the Saddington Bandwagon ?????????
Homer Simpson for Lance
11 Jun 2007, 11:16
IMHO I think he is just plugging a gap ATM and still doubt if he is capable of consistantly holding his own against damaging tall forwards.
He was beaten by Westhoff (so skinny and only in his 2nd game) on Sat nite......and didn't really have to match up on overly dangerous or in form players the previous 2 weeks.
I doubt we will be able to maintain the current structure with neither Waite nor Setanta down back when we come up against sides with multiple quality tall forwards.
Will be interesting to see how he goes against the hawks Fri nite.
Magnificence
11 Jun 2007, 11:45
IMHO I think he is just plugging a gap ATM and still doubt if he is capable of consistantly holding his own against damaging tall forwards.
He was beaten by Westhoff (so skinny and only in his 2nd game) on Sat nite......and didn't really have to match up on overly dangerous or in form players the previous 2 weeks.
I doubt we will be able to maintain the current structure with neither Waite nor Setanta down back when we come up against sides with multiple quality tall forwards.
Will be interesting to see how he goes against the hawks Fri nite.
Be careful with your analysis Whitnall spent much of the nite on Westhoff particularly the first half.
Homer Simpson for Lance
11 Jun 2007, 11:59
Think Whitnall moved of him pretty early in the 2nd qtr.
Be carefull about what ?.......whether it was for 2.5 qtrs or a little less is irrelevant.Westhoff looked very dangerous every time they were isolated and saddington didnt appear able to use body work at all to effectively combat him. That is disturbing considering it will be one of the few occassions he will get to play with a bodyweight advantage.
I think what we need to Be Careful about is relying on him to hold a key post when playing against quality.
The Old Dark Navy's
11 Jun 2007, 12:04
Just happy to see him contributing and hoping he can continue on with it. He is due a change of luck. I don't think there is a bandwagon as such.
gandaal
11 Jun 2007, 12:10
He's one of the players that will needs to be replaced before we start really challanging. He's doing a job at the minute but long term he represents a weakness within our defense. Everyone has been hoping Hartlett will do that job but I just don't see it. We need to look at Bower, Flint and Austin in the future.
Homer Simpson for Lance
11 Jun 2007, 12:21
He's one of the players that will needs to be replaced before we start really challanging. He's doing a job at the minute but long term he represents a weakness within our defense. Every has been hoping Hartlett will do that job but I just don't see it. We need to look at Bower, Flint and Austin in the future.
Am with you totally as I dont see Hartlett as good enough.
Bower looks like he has something about him but exactly where/if he will find his niche at senior level Im not sure.
Austin seems the real genuine prospect for Key Back. Taller than Bower with good pace,agility,leap and courage. Saw him pre-season and he seemed already very large in the thighs so hopefully should be able to get some upper body strength reasonabley quickly.
littlebuddha
11 Jun 2007, 13:13
Homer watch the game closely and you will see Whitnall playing on him and when Westhoff started kicking goals the coaching staff realised Red was not paying him any respect and was consequently moved, by then the damage was done.
ClayBlue87
11 Jun 2007, 13:15
Saddington is 26-27 IIRC. He does fill a desperate gap that we have which is a true, experienced defender. At the moment he working hard in his contests and disposing of the ball intelligently out of the backline. His presence, along with Banno down back, allows Waite and sometimes Whitnall to be played in their natural position, which is forward, and also allows more freedom for Setanta who is proving to be very damaging up forward.
While we may be starting to rate Saddo a little too highly as a player. I think his role and position in the teams is almost as important as having Fevola playing at FF. It doesn't matter if either have a fantastic game, but simply by being tere they have already helped the team.
Personally think he, along with Bannister have doen more than enough to keep there spot in the 22, accepting the keep good form. Saddo should be useful for another 2-3 years while we wait for a Austin/ Flint/ Bower can come through.
Blue Dawn
11 Jun 2007, 16:45
Been happy with his past few matches as his fitness has improved. Gives us some size and experience down back and allows us to release Waite and/or Whitnall forward. A bloke like Austin is probably our future down there but Saddo's contributing quite nicely for the moment.:thumbsu:
I watched a lot of him here in Sydney and I think he could be a very handy player for us if he can maintain his fitness.
As much as some may think there is a Saddington bandwagon, I equally think that a number of people under-rate the guy.
He played 140 odd games in a Swans side which made the finals every year bar two while he was there. He is no mug.
As with all our players, I would like to see him do well and prove wrong any critics he may have.
Big Fish
11 Jun 2007, 17:54
I like the way he plays and I think he will improve with more games
I wouldn't say that I am on his bandwagon, but I have certainly been impressed with his performances over the past month or so.
over the top
11 Jun 2007, 19:36
he's shit. why does he even have a bandwagon?
He'll be there until Flint, Hartlett or Bower step up.
AndSmithMustScore
11 Jun 2007, 19:52
Considering how crap the talls we've drafted in the last few years have been travelling i'd say we very much need him at present to help out down back.
mediumsizered
11 Jun 2007, 22:26
Saddington is 26-27 IIRC. He does fill a desperate gap that we have which is a true, experienced defender. At the moment he working hard in his contests and disposing of the ball intelligently out of the backline. His presence, along with Banno down back, allows Waite and sometimes Whitnall to be played in their natural position, which is forward, and also allows more freedom for Setanta who is proving to be very damaging up forward.
While we may be starting to rate Saddo a little too highly as a player. I think his role and position in the teams is almost as important as having Fevola playing at FF. It doesn't matter if either have a fantastic game, but simply by being tere they have already helped the team.
Personally think he, along with Bannister have doen more than enough to keep there spot in the 22, accepting the keep good form. Saddo should be useful for another 2-3 years while we wait for a Austin/ Flint/ Bower can come through.
You have summed up why Saddo is an important part of our plans for the next 2-3 years. Neither Austin, Flint or Bower have demonstrated they are ready to take on a KP in our defence. That is not to say that they won't develop into very good KP defenders, but we cannot afford to throw any of them to the wolves at this stage of their development. Ideally they will all get a go playing alongside both Saddo & T-Bird (not all together), with time to develop before any one of them is called upon to play a key defensive role.
To me personally,Saddo has no courage whatsoever.He is tall but he doesn`t use it......he surprised me a bit for the last two games or so but that is all.............has to step up and play hard footy.........we have no time to waste....BLUES FOREVER
Jesaulenko, You Beauty
12 Jun 2007, 00:43
People are forgetting that he came off a knee injury that kept him out all last season. I dont know when the last time he played a full season was but he is doing fine with the Blues. If we get rid of him, that means Houlihan down back. Honestly who really wants that? Or we will have to have Lance down back all game or Waite. We need him to hold a spot and at least do a half reasonable job. How well would we have done in our two wins if Waite hadnt been there to provide relief for Fev? He is a decoy now making way for Waite and Fisher, who are both kicking bulk goals. Stick with Saddington, we have no one better
his experience is getting him a game at the moment. definitely not part of our future :thumbsd:
The Grover
12 Jun 2007, 10:56
I have been happy with the job he's doing, but thought he was average on saturday night.
We can't go in against the Hawks with Thornton/Saddington/Lance as our key backs.
Difficult job for the match committee this week.
TruBlue
12 Jun 2007, 14:46
Saddo had been going well, cool head, experienced, he frees up Thornton a little if he can have some luck in the injury department he might just work out well for us.
Michael Jezz
12 Jun 2007, 15:32
You are as good as your bottom 6 players. Saddo Banno,Wiggo, Blackwell, Russell and Acland have all contributed more than the likes of Kennedy, Young, Bower, Hartlett. On form and performance Saddington earns his spot but do you select on the basis of player development by giving , for instance, Hartlett amonth in the seniors? I would say no while we are on this winning streak but some time , we will need to take the develoopment option. I am sure the youngsters will get games if we are hit by injuries which is inevitable
bluesfan
12 Jun 2007, 21:56
Saddo has been very good for us in my opinion. He is a strong body who has experience in a very inexperienced size. Saddo played 140 games with the Swans - and we barely have many players who have 100 games!
Like many of you have said, Saddo plays that role that T-Bird has been forced to play for much of the past seasons - that role on the big key forwards.
With Saddo in that role, this frees up Thornton to rebound out of defense. For now, Saddo is the man to stay in that role. He will not be apart of our long-term plans as I see either Flint, Austin or Bower in that role.
I have my doubts on Hartlett but I may be wrong. Paul Bower is the real defender that really gets me excited - he's tall and he'll really develop further; plus, he knows how to spoil really well. Raso is another one I am not sure on.
And for those of you who have your doubts on Kennedy, you're kidding yourselves! Josh will be a good player, no doubt about it! I've said it time and time again, it's not gonna happen over night!
I mean, we've seen Walker really start to become a consistent and valuable player for us, and he's in his 3rd year. The same will apply to the likes of Kennedy, Bower, Flint, Austin, Murphy, Gibbs, and co. Now we all know that Gibbsy and Murph will be stars but they will really start to kick on when they get to a good 50-100 plus games. It's gonna take time, but it's gonna be an exciting ride...hop on board!!! GO BLUES!!!!:thumbsu: