After reading the threads on the best roles for McKernan and Colbert, what does everything here think about grooming Adam Simpson to be the next John Blakey.
Blakey has been our specialist tagger ever since he walked into Arden Street. There have been so many times when he's been sent to minimise the effect of players such as Jarman and Hird. However, he cannot go on forever. Earlier in 2000, Nathan Buckley and Collingwood was on fire, but when we played them, Simpson put Buckley out of the game. Later in the season, Pagan tried the same trick, this time on Kouta and Carlton, and Simpson was carved up....but such was Kouta's form, no-one could have shut him down. Still, with Simpson's work on Buckley still fresh in the mind, should we be grooming him for the role that Blakey has filled for us?
Some stats:
John Blakey: 187 cm and 83 kg.
Adam Simpson: 185cm and 87 kg.
The other thing is what the future role for Simpson will be. He has consistently won the ball out of the middle for us, however, his disposal still leaves a lot to be desired. With the recruitment of Sinclair, McLaren, Smith, and Harris, plus with the possibility of Pickett being played in midfield, all of whom have disposal skills better than Simpson, there is the distinct chance that he will have to find a new role within the team. One of Simpson's main strengths is his stamina, so he should be able to run games out like Blakey. Also, with a tagging role, his main job is to get between his opponent and the ball, hence his inability to kick directly to one of our players will be less of a liability.
Any thoughts on this?
Blakey has been our specialist tagger ever since he walked into Arden Street. There have been so many times when he's been sent to minimise the effect of players such as Jarman and Hird. However, he cannot go on forever. Earlier in 2000, Nathan Buckley and Collingwood was on fire, but when we played them, Simpson put Buckley out of the game. Later in the season, Pagan tried the same trick, this time on Kouta and Carlton, and Simpson was carved up....but such was Kouta's form, no-one could have shut him down. Still, with Simpson's work on Buckley still fresh in the mind, should we be grooming him for the role that Blakey has filled for us?
Some stats:
John Blakey: 187 cm and 83 kg.
Adam Simpson: 185cm and 87 kg.
The other thing is what the future role for Simpson will be. He has consistently won the ball out of the middle for us, however, his disposal still leaves a lot to be desired. With the recruitment of Sinclair, McLaren, Smith, and Harris, plus with the possibility of Pickett being played in midfield, all of whom have disposal skills better than Simpson, there is the distinct chance that he will have to find a new role within the team. One of Simpson's main strengths is his stamina, so he should be able to run games out like Blakey. Also, with a tagging role, his main job is to get between his opponent and the ball, hence his inability to kick directly to one of our players will be less of a liability.
Any thoughts on this?
