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Beerfish
Fat Side Winger
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- Jan 20, 2008
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He's upgrading himself. If that was reid doing the same thing people would be fawning over him.Hes the guy, with a few mates, as good as they are going, should be looked at to upgrade
Agreed. Reid wouldn't have been any where near as combative at AFL level with his 9 games of experience. Laverde is ready for war. He has Edge. He'll keep being selected for a while yet.He's upgrading himself. If that was reid doing the same thing people would be fawning over him.
Hes the guy, with a few mates, as good as they are going, should be looked at to upgrade
He knows it too, there was a couple of times last night he backed himself to break through an attempted tackle knowing it was comingi’m a laverde hater i’ll hang it all on him but he played extremely well last night.
one thing that’s apparent is that he’s very good at breaking tackles, much better than you’d expect
If we want to see how far Laverde has come then the next two games matched up against who I think will validate or extrapolate the opinion held by many.It depends on what you're looking to upgrade.
If you want someone to stand and deliver against the giant key forwards, then, yes, I'd hope Hayes can be that upgrade. I do not see Reid as being most suited to the 1v1 that has been Laverde's responsibility for the last 4 seasons.
But let's see what the next 3 to 5 games look like because there were 2 firsts last night:
1. he's never played in a side with the same level of aerial cover. It was the first time McKay and Ridley played together.
2. he played a genuinely mid-sized role playing between Dusty and smalls.
Those firsts, coincided with an absence of aerial threat and culminated in not just his best game but a game that maximised his attributes in a way that let him play more proactively. He played in a way that very few players are physically capable of.
It's a rare combination of size, strength, speed and power that allows a players to impact as many different types of contests as Laverde did. He was spoiling, intercepting, chasing, tackling and breaking tackles to set up transition. It was often in the same passages of play.
I'm sure I'll overlook other players, and he's not the same level with ball in hand and generally not as smart (though that may be changing), but the players I've seen play like that are Stewart, Sicily, Rance, Rampe and maybe Ryan at Freo. Say he's a middle class version of that, who can stand players ranging from Dusty to Heeney and Rozee, what's there to upgrade?
Of course we need to see more. That will start with a game against a team that tests us in the air.
honestly, as good as it is to have rids roaming around as the third intercepting defender, he is the best match up for curnow.He’s probably going to have to play on Curnow this week so he’ll need his best stuff and a big helping hand
honestly, as good as it is to have rids roaming around as the third intercepting defender, he is the best match up for curnow.
I think the only way it works is if we orchestrate the spare and have Ridley free standing in the hole infront of McKay and Curnow
I agreee. Ridley has the wheels, spring, reach and talent to go with Curnow.honestly, as good as it is to have rids roaming around as the third intercepting defender, he is the best match up for curnow.