Opinion Ben Sinclair - Never again

[Hva sher a]

Rustler, I will be called, and fairly too, a Sinclair "hater", but your assessments IMO are spot on.
You need to be at the ground to see how often he finds himself in the wrong spot and his disposal is not AFL standard.

I understand that not every player justifies the early games he gets and that sometimes the club takes a small hit for their inclusion. Often the payback is worth it down the track.
That is how I feel about Witts, Thomas and Kennedy.
I see enough talent in them all to cop mistakes along the way, but I can't see the upside in Sinkers.

I honestly would love to be proven wrong.

Thank you. I too have been public with my condemnation of Sincs. Not because of his attitude which I admire but simply because he isn't good enough. I was there too and also noticed how often he looked lost on the field. I accept this can occur easily but when he does get it he simply has poor disposal skills. Whenever he had the ball, the tension in the crowd was eerily similar to the days Presti had the ball. But at least Presti was rarely beaten in a contest.

As others have said, Sincs is a whipping boy for a good reason. Supporters don't go out of their way to whip a player - we'd all love him to prove us wrong...I just can't see that happening.

And the only reason he is playing is because we have no other options in the small back position.

 

[half_back_flank]

The areas of Sinclairs game that are lacking are nearly impossible to teach/improve.

If his attitude is 100% and that is why he is getting games, again, he has very limited upside.

His disposal needs work, he can get lost on the field and despite his tenacity at the contest he sometimes allows opponents to dispose of the ball in tackles. None of those are "impossible to teach/improve" already we've seen his make big strides forward in his positioning down back, he looked like like a headless chook when we were coming out with it in the first couple of weeks, but now in the last two weeks he's getting himself in good positions to receive and offer run off the back flank. Skills can improve with practice (effort isn't something he's short on) and strength will continue to improve with preseasons.

On the other hand you can't teach speed, courage and fantastic attitude, all of which Sinclair had in spades.

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

Sinclair's main problem is how easily he gets sucked in to play he can't influence then loses positioning and his opponent gets goal side and dangerous. Decision making is a worry, but he is so easily drawn in, he really risks being taken to the cleaners over the back.

This is exactly how I see it. It's a shame because his attitude is brilliant and he knows what it means to play for Collingwood. Unfortunately though, he has played thirty-four games now and usually by this stage, whether a player has 'made it' yet or not, I've seen something there. I just don't think Sinclair has it. Marley, on the other hand........

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

I was too young but was Buckley the same type of player as Sinclair as a kid (not skill level wise) and reminds him of himself and has made him one of his favourites?

On the field, absolutely not. When he first started, Buckley strutted around like he owned the place, as if he was amazing and he knew it. Of course he was right, but that's where the FIGJAM label came from. He worked harder than anyone in training but on the field he was a complete natural. By the time he was about twenty-three Buckley was a competitive animal but I think that is something that developed over time. Sinclair, on the other hand, has had that manic on-field competitiveness from the start.

Off the field, who knows. I'm told Buckley was very demanding of his teammates though. I doubt Sinclair enjoys the status in the club to pull that off. In Buckley's autobiography he talks about never being an elite junior and being written off numerous times before he got to Port Adelaide, where of course he was a phenomenon and became the most fiercely fought over recruit in the games history. Maybe there is something in that? You should read his autobiography by the way. It's a great read.

 

[Go_Brad_Dick]

This is exactly how I see it. It's a shame because his attitude is brilliant and he knows what it means to play for Collingwood. Unfortunately though, he has played thirty-four games now and usually by this stage, whether a player has 'made it' yet or not, I've seen something there. I just don't think Sinclair has it. Marley, on the other hand........

Yes when you look at the class of Marley it makes it all the more obvious clowns like Sinclair aren't worth the investment.
He should be traded or delisted end of year. Need to build the team around skills not spuds.

 

[Markfs]

Yes when you look at the class of Marley it makes it all the more obvious clowns like Sinclair aren't worth the investment.
He should be traded or delisted end of year. Need to build the team around skills not spuds.

well at least you demonstrate that you respect his efforts on the field...

 

[Markfs]

I dont know anything about football, but he's a better player now than he was at the start of the year. He might get dumped at the end of the season because of his lack of skills but I get the feeling that he contributes something that would be missed if he was dumped... and thats why the coaching staff persist with him

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Yes when you look at the class of Marley it makes it all the more obvious clowns like Sinclair aren't worth the investment.
He should be traded or delisted end of year. Need to build the team around skills not spuds.

Is this the same Marley that has been heavily criticised all year because people said he cant kick?

 

[Go_Brad_Dick]

Is this the same Marley that has been heavily criticised all year because people said he cant kick?

No that's Bob Marley

 

[jabbers]

No that's Bob Marley

Marley has been very good at winning contests but his disposal isn't much better than Sinclair's. The fact that Sinclair is the only genuinely quick defender we have now that Toovey has gone down seems lost with some people. His ability to run with the Garlett's et al has been really impressive this last month and a half and even the way he broke the lines on a number of occasions Friday night opened the game up for us.
Credit needs to be given when its due, some people just seem to waiting for him to be making the sort of mistake he made last Friday. Do they hold Shaw as accountable for some of the costly errors he has made this year?

 

[FIGJAM]

You aren't watching hard enough.

I am.

He's shit.

 

[Stifler's mom]

Is this the same Marley that has been heavily criticised all year because people said he cant kick?

As Dane Swan said, Marley is as hard as a honeymooner.

Sinclair is not even close in hardness in the contest.
Most supporters will cut slack to players who had that hard edge to their game.

 

[rand corp]

Has been ok as a small defender past two weeks, still prone to the odd disastrous clanger or misread but has been better than previous run in the seniors.

He's not up to finals pressure just yet but there is some hope for the future there.

 

[Hva sher a]

Steve Finn = the Ben Sinclair of English cricket

 

[FAIRANDBALANCED]

DOn't know if we can play both Williams and Sinclair in the same side long term. Basically because neither of them offer midfield minutes or are good threats up forward. At the moment I'd drop Sinclair, but I have a feeling Bucks is looking at revamping the back 6 so we have some players who aren't mentally shot when they see brown and gold stripes.

 

[Mungo Mulligan Stew]

DOn't know if we can play both Williams and Sinclair in the same side long term. Basically because neither of them offer midfield minutes or are good threats up forward. At the moment I'd drop Sinclair, but I have a feeling Bucks is looking at revamping the back 6 so we have some players who aren't mentally shot when they see brown and gold stripes.

An astute and prescient observation.

 

[forwardflanker]

Marley has been very good at winning contests but his disposal isn't much better than Sinclair's. The fact that Sinclair is the only genuinely quick defender we have now that Toovey has gone down seems lost with some people. His ability to run with the Garlett's et al has been really impressive this last month and a half and even the way he broke the lines on a number of occasions Friday night opened the game up for us.
Credit needs to be given when its due, some people just seem to waiting for him to be making the sort of mistake he made last Friday. Do they hold Shaw as accountable for some of the costly errors he has made this year?

Williams is very fast as well. Neither his nor Sinclair's disposal are half as bad as some people on here would have you believe however they are capable of making errors/poor decisions at shocking times which often comes about through lack of experience. I'd suggest their kicking is no better than Maxwell's and Swan's and there is definitely scope for improvement - Williams has improved 200% on last year int his aspect for instance. I think it's also often forgotten how poor a kick Johnson was in his first 5 or so seasons at the club and he ended up being a pretty good kick

 

[PepperFace]

Marley has been very good at winning contests but his disposal isn't much better than Sinclair's. The fact that Sinclair is the only genuinely quick defender we have now that Toovey has gone down seems lost with some people. His ability to run with the Garlett's et al has been really impressive this last month and a half and even the way he broke the lines on a number of occasions Friday night opened the game up for us.
Credit needs to be given when its due, some people just seem to waiting for him to be making the sort of mistake he made last Friday. Do they hold Shaw as accountable for some of the costly errors he has made this year?

I disagree with this bit. Marleys disposal last year was worse than Sinclairs - it was actually quite terrible.......now it is quite good.....he is hitting up targets and not kicking those helicopters anymore. I want Sincs to be a great player for the CFC - but unfortunatly in his 3 or 4 years at the club he has not improved his average disposal

 

[Stifler's mom]

It's not just Sinclair's disposal that is poor. He is a massive fumbler and his decision making is terrible too.
He plays a bit like a 1st year Irishman!

 

[PepperFace]

It's not just Sinclair's disposal that is poor. He is a massive fumbler and his decision making is terrible too.
He plays a bit like a 1st year Irishman!

Yes this exactly

 

[rand corp]

Marley has had a fantastic year to date and has definitely been far and away the better of the two this year.

 

[TradeDraft]

His last few games have been Good for Sinclair

 

[jmac70]

He did not have a good game against the Crows but was pretty good against the Blues. I doubt he will be dropped on the basis of one mediocre game. Fortunately those that run the club do not base their decision making on knee jerk reactions.

 

[Kirby]

When I watched the replay yesterday i was looking for all these glaring horrible turnovers and stuff ups from Sinkers but to my surprise there was only one howler and maybe one other iffy moment.

Haters are going to hate no matter what I reckon.

Heater made several more errors and had more goals kicked on him. I know he has runs on the board but just sayin.

 

[Chilli Con Incarnate]

When I watched the replay yesterday i was looking for all these glaring horrible turnovers and stuff ups from Sinkers but to my surprise there was only one howler and maybe one other iffy moment.

Haters are going to hate no matter what I reckon.

Heater made several more errors and had more goals kicked on him. I know he has runs on the board but just sayin.

Heater is just grumpy at the moment because everyone keeps calling him fat.