SANFL Power Round 1

[Holden Hillbilly]

Williams 11 k 5m 3 hb 3 tkls

Boyle 4 k 1 m 1 hb - reported

Lonie 28 k 8 m 5 hb 6th best

Salter 10 k 8 m 1 hb 1 goal

Reserves

M Motlop 2nd best + 1 goal

M Westhoff 9th best + 3 goals

Lobbe 5th best + 2 goals

Krakeour 8th best + 1 goal

Gross 1 goal

 

[Macca19]

Apparently Williams had the task of minding Jeremy Clayton for most of the night.

Good to see most of the ressies boys getting in the best players and hopefully pushing for selection next week.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Problem is who are Thomson, Lower, Bentley, Krakouer, Gray, Farmer, etc. gonna replace in the side to get a game???

Thomson would have to take the spot of a Rodan, to get a game, or if we go smaller next week he could take the spot of a Carlile, but it will be hard for him to sneak in there.

Lower & Farmer are in direct competition with Stewart & Thomas, and Thomas looks to be earning himself a berth as a regular so Stewart is the only real player they could displace. Surjan has earn't his spot and is too valuable to drop.

Bentley & Gray would have to take Stewarts spot directly, and be brought in for a tag or to be an additional forward option respectively.

And Krakouer will again need to take that spot of a Stewart or rely on us going smaller and taking the spot of a Carlile. Because the only players he could replace are Boak or Pearce and I dont see that happening.

I think that Thommo has got to realize that playing good solid footy & getting named in the best players each week isn't going to be enough. He has to start dominating games so the selectors have no choice but to name him in the port line up. I would like to see the same type of pressure applied to some of the current players in our team - Pearce, Motlop in particular as both of these players lately have gone missing in crucial games. Thommo could come in to replace Motlop & Rodan could be played as a small crumbing forward.

You do make very good points about who those players are likely to replace in the side & what positions they're likely to take, which is why i'd like to see a bit more pressure on some of our starting 18 to perform a bit better.

Bentley has the luxury of being a utility so really he can just come into the side & replace anyone as he can play up forward, down back & on ball. He's a smooth mover but wastes/turns over the ball far too much at afl level & if he could tidy up his disposal he'll be a very handy player for us.

 

[*PAF]

This might sound whacky but in a nutshell Thommo needs to start realising that he has to replace Dom Cassisi or Kane Cornes and lift his game accordingly as that is the type of game he is playing.
Either that or add another string to his Bow and replace one of the other players such as Rodan, Logan or Bentley. At the moment these 3 players offer an option to team balance that Thommo does not and Dom or Kane may not be as effective at clearances as he is but again offer more than just that one aspect.
Pity as IMO he is a great player, but the way our team is structured his one outstanding skill may not be enough to give him many games.

 

[portentous]

I reckon Dom Cassisi's spot is up for grabs again PAF. He hasn't been at all impressive so far this season.

 

[dreamkillers]

Shaun Burgoyne has to step up......he has been living on the potential tag for far too long now............it's time for some consistency in the brilliance he has.

 

[*PAF]

Shaun Burgoyne has to step up......he has been living on the potential tag for far too long now............it's time for some consistency in the brilliance he has.

Absolutely. More times and more often.

 

[Ebert80]

I reckon Dom Cassisi's spot is up for grabs again PAF. He hasn't been at all impressive so far this season.

..after 2 games...i doubt it.

 

[Black 18]

..after 2 games...i doubt it.

I think Dom would have to be seriously looked at. I love the guys work ethic, its fantastic. However, he is a serial plodder, guys run away from him at will, and his disposal and decision making are terrible.

Having both him and Kane playing similar roles is something I don't think we have the luxury to do at the moment. And they both have zero creativity in their respective games. We need guys capable of starting attacking moves, guys capable of creating, this would also help Shaun Burgoyne out as he is about the only guy capable of anything offensive at present.

Dom is a good player, no question. But IMO we need to get guys in the side that can do more and are alot more productive offensively. Far too much is being left to Shaun Burgoyne at present.

 

[tribey]

This might sound whacky but in a nutshell Thommo needs to start realising that he has to replace Dom Cassisi or Kane Cornes and lift his game accordingly as that is the type of game he is playing.
Either that or add another string to his Bow and replace one of the other players such as Rodan, Logan or Bentley. At the moment these 3 players offer an option to team balance that Thommo does not and Dom or Kane may not be as effective at clearances as he is but again offer more than just that one aspect.
Pity as IMO he is a great player, but the way our team is structured his one outstanding skill may not be enough to give him many games.

Well the way the team is structured currently is shit, quite frankly. And no offence, but this 'extra string to his bow' stuff is horrendous thinking.

He wins the hard ball and plenty of it, he works and finds teammates by hand, he tackles hard and he knows how to sneak forward and dob the odd goal.

If we're going to leave a genuinely imminently elite midfielder in Thomson to rot because he doesn't have whatever extra magic Pearce, Logan and a handful of others supposedly have, buckle up for some more pain - ie, he crosses town for a devilled ham sanger and turns it on week-in week-out simply because he's actually getting game time.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Logan 14K 11H 3.0 3rd best

 

[RangaInTeal]

M.Westhoff, 9th Best... So they had a good win, he kicked a few goals, so they thought he should get a mention! 9th Best is not worth mentioning! I think I also saw someone else 7th or 8th best... again not worth mentioning honestly!

Even in the reserves!

 

[PJ Power]

Well the way the team is structured currently is shit, quite frankly. And no offence, but this 'extra string to his bow' stuff is horrendous thinking.

He wins the hard ball and plenty of it, he works and finds teammates by hand, he tackles hard and he knows how to sneak forward and dob the odd goal.

If we're going to leave a genuinely imminently elite midfielder in Thomson to rot because he doesn't have whatever extra magic Pearce, Logan and a handful of others supposedly have, buckle up for some more pain - ie, he crosses town for a devilled ham sanger and turns it on week-in week-out simply because he's actually getting game time.

I cringe that Thomson has not been persevered with. Yes, his game is less than perfect, but so too are those of almost everyone in our squad, and most notably younger players like Surjan, Pettigrew, Chaplin and Pearce. It is mindblowing that at a time when we so badly need to unearth inside midfielders, this guy is given all of a half of a trial game to prove his 2008 value to us.

I don't expect Thomson to come in and have an immediate impact in the first game he is selected in, but on principle, we owe it to ourselves to try to develop him (read: his style of player) more than any other in our squad.

Honestly, it should be a priority to develop and recruit these clearance style midfielders. Other than Thommo, Logan and perhaps Boak, do we have another genuine inside midfielder on our list under the age of 24? I don't reckon we do. Frightening!

 

[Portia]

The big knock on Thomson is that he doesn't get involved enough when its not a ball-up.

Given almost all of our angst is over zoning, accountability and "how do they have four guys around the ball, where are our guys", I guess I don't see how Thomson is the solution to all our woes.

Do we really more extractors, or do we need an actual system of extraction to be applied? I think the latter.

We have a lot of individuals who are extremely happy to go after the ball, and then either have no options for using it, or no assistance in actually clearing it.

 

[portentous]

Choco needs to start picking players that play like he did. Get down and dirty, and get the friggin' ball.

 

[Janus]

In other words, maybe we should start focusing on the fact that our players seem to stand in dumb positions at a ball up (ie everyone around the ball rather than a few behind it so they can stream through if one of our players win it)? Our stoppages aren't the problem - it's getting it out of there that is.

I guess it comes down to faith. Probably three quarters of our team are of the impression that we will cough it up at a clearance, so they sit in defence and wait for it to happen - and sure enough it does, simply because the guys who were willing to go for it have no help. What's going to solve it? Who knows. When we find it, we'll probably find our next premiership.

 

[finbarr]

If we're going to leave a genuinely imminently elite midfielder in Thomson to rot because he doesn't have whatever extra magic Pearce, Logan and a handful of others supposedly have, buckle up for some more pain - ie, he crosses town for a devilled ham sanger and turns it on week-in week-out simply because he's actually getting game time.

Nah. I can see Williams sitting down with his old mate Dean Bailey at seasons end & nutting out a deal.

Adam Thomson for Adam Yze.

Mouthwatering, innit!

 

[blackdiamond]

Dom won't be dropped, he has one of those leadership group gold passes and from memory no one has been dropped when they had one of those before.

 

[RangaInTeal]

Dom won't be dropped, he has one of those leadership group gold passes and from memory no one has been dropped when they had one of those before.

Funny how 2006 Dom + leadership group = poor year, 2007 Dom + dropped from leadership group = good year, 2008 Dom + leadership group = 2 poor games this far!

 

[*PAF]

Well the way the team is structured currently is shit, quite frankly. And no offence, but this 'extra string to his bow' stuff is horrendous thinking.

He wins the hard ball and plenty of it, he works and finds teammates by hand, he tackles hard and he knows how to sneak forward and dob the odd goal.

If we're going to leave a genuinely imminently elite midfielder in Thomson to rot because he doesn't have whatever extra magic Pearce, Logan and a handful of others supposedly have, buckle up for some more pain - ie, he crosses town for a devilled ham sanger and turns it on week-in week-out simply because he's actually getting game time.

Whilst it may be horrendous it is the reality.
Many people are saying that our midfield is top 8 or even 4 in the comp, reality is that it is closer to bottom 4 as it is not a balanced midfield and Choco has been trying to fix that by trying out various players such as Bentley Thomas and co, but so far it hasn't worked.

IMO we (Choco and co) are not looking for any more one dimensional midfielders such as Kane and Dom, nor are "we" looking for any more one dimensional speedsters such as Pearce.
What "we" really want are speedier Logan and Thomas type players with better skills and perhaps a tad bigger and a bigger Rodan.
For Thomson to really crack our 22 with his current game and in such a scenario he will need to replace Kane or Dom. Another way would be to develop another side to his game and as Porthos has mentioned be involved more in general play.
Before you have another go at me , IMO we should tweak our gameplan to suit our strengths and not look for new players to suit our gameplan every single time. That is a bit like putting things off in life till everything is just about 100% right as it hardly ever happens, but that's another debate.

The pity of it all is that with our emphasis on attack and speed we have managed to change even what seemed naturally defensive players into indecisive attacking players and also if we have a "one dimensional naturally attacking player" and a "one dimensional naturally defensive player" to choose from Choco will invariably choose for the former. That is probably the main reason we look a million dollars when it comes off and dunces more often than not when playing against your Sydneys, Geelongs, Adelaides etc.
Not sure we can totally blame the players for these losses.
Gees, even our backline is just about chosen based on rebounding ability more than anything else.


The question now is how long will it take Choco to rebalance our midfield/team?
I have no doubt he will, but will he take a year or two and trade (as opposed to draft) for the players he is looking for as he has always done in the past, or will he tweak his gameplan to suit our current players?

 

[green_energy]

does anyone actually think Lonie can crack into the seniors this year? It seems he's doing all he can in the SANFL, but perhaps that is just not good enough....

 

[blackdiamond]

I would like to think that Lonie is just living out his contract in the SANFL, fingers crossed!

 

[Mr Magoo]

Nah. I can see Williams sitting down with his old mate Dean Bailey at seasons end & nutting out a deal.

Adam Thomson for Adam Yze.

Mouthwatering, innit!

I can safely say that definitely won't happen as i spoke to someone at the club last night who fills me in on a lot of gossip & they have told me that a few people in the match committee rate Thomson very highly. It's just a matter of him working on improving a few areas of his game & being able to stay injury free for a sustained period.

 

[Black 18]

I can safely say that definitely won't happen as i spoke to someone at the club last night who fills me in on a lot of gossip & they have told me that a few people in the match committee rate Thomson very highly. It's just a matter of him working on improving a few areas of his game & being able to stay injury free for a sustained period.

Does that "few" include Choco though?

I think Thomson could be a very, very good AFL player. Most games I have seen him play he does very well IMO, but that's not to say he will be a very good player.

Some people on here, and in the media, question how often he gets the ball, and while he never may be a 30-35 stat a game player, I honestly believe Thomson getting 18-23 stats per game would be a much greater benefit to us than say Kane getting 35 touches per game. He also plays for the team everytime he plays, his shepherds, and his willingness to sacrifice for the team time & time again is something not many of our players will do.

Shaun Burgoyne doesn't get alot of the ball, however, he hurts more with 20 touches than others that get 30-35. While Thomson may not be in that kinda company, he is that type of player. His possesions count much more than most.

I think we just have to play the guy. He has been on our list for a while now, and if he cant get a regular gig for us, I am sure other AFL clubs would be more than willing to give him a go. That would a disaster to see somone leave the Club and go on to become a very good player for another side, especially a tough ball getter.

It's not like our midfield has no room for improvemnt at present, and it's not like we couldn't do with that type of player. Whta he does need though is games, a run of them, none of this 2 weeks up and then back to Sturt. We should play him for atleast 10 or so straight, give him and go and see what he can offer. Doing that would hurt alot less than seeing him take off and come back and haunt us just because we never really gave him a fair go IMO.

 

[Alberton_Magpie]

Im starting to get the feeling that Adam Thompson 08 = Ryan Willits 06 , when almost everyone everyweek was crying out for Ryan Willits to play and get a guernsey but it took a long time before he did