Biggest Loss

[Hva sher a]

Agree with Jolly but also like to throw in Tooves as well. We don't have another shut down defender (Johnno is not the answer) and Tooves provides our backline with that balance

 

[DIDAIC0S]

I always tend to agree with you matty, and thats not gonna change for this topic , thats exactly the way I see it as well. With out Cloke in the forward line that would make Dawes our number one forward and he is not ready and good enough for that.

I'm often the other side of the coin to Matty especially when it comes to Leon, and once again that's not going to change. Jolly is the single most important player in our team by a mile, closely followed by our star midfielders.

Cloke atm is just a strong big bodied presence, but he is not essential to us winning another flag, you only have to look at the fact we thumped St Kilda in the home and away season without him, he's poor kicking almost contributed to us losing a Grand Final, and he's small contribution in the replay, where thanks to some hard hitting contests from our midfielders, we cruised home again.

What we've lacked since Monkhurst has been a strong ruckman, look at 2002-3, not having one lost us Grand Finals.
Furthermore anyone, who thinks that Jolly is not our most important player in '11 and that he was not the reason why our exceptional midfield had a fantastic year and we won the flag is more than a few cents short of a buck.

 

[magpielicious]

I'm often the other side of the coin to Matty especially when it come to Leon, and once again that's not going to change. Jolly is the single most important player in our team by a mile, closely followed by our star midfielders.

Cloke atm is just a strong big bodied presence, but he is not essential to us winning another flag, you only have to look at the fact we thumped St Kilda in the home and away season without him, he's poor kicking almost contributed to us losing a Grand Final, and he's small contribution in the replay, where thanks to some hard hitting contests from our midfielders, we crusised home again.

What we've lacked since Monkhurst has been a strong ruckman, look at 2002-3, not having one lost us Grand Finals.
Furthermore anyone, who thinks that Jolly is not our most important player in '11 and that he was not the reason why our exceptional midfield had a fantastic year and we won the flag is more than a few cents short of a buck.

thanks for enhancing my OP !

I hope this year we find games to rest him and a few of the others and give the kids a run and get some of the winning feeling into them sooner than later

 

[Jelly Bean]

Agree with Jolly but also like to throw in Tooves as well. We don't have another shut down defender (Johnno is not the answer) and Tooves provides our backline with that balance

I'm sorry, what..? Are you joking, or are you being serious? If you are being serious, then I think you and I are interpreting the question differently...

I am assuming we are talking about players whose absence would most affect the team's chances of winning. Are you saying that you would prefer to lose a player like Pendles for say, 6 weeks, than Tooves? Or a player like Cloke? Ball? Swan? Etc? Tooves would not be in my top 20, to be honest.

If Tooves goes down, then the smal forward shut down job (which in itself is not as important as other roles like ruckman, CHF, mids, etc) would fall to Johnson, Goldsack, Harry, or Shaw from inside the team. Even shifting a Shaw or O'Brien to the shut down role and bringing in someone like Young (VFL B+F Winner) to play half back in their absense would be wise move.

I agree 100% on Jolly, but in my opinion, you are overstating Toovey's ability to generate a win for the team.

 

[lozza63]

Throw a blanket over Jolly, Didak, Pendles, Cloke and Swan.

I should have mentioned a defender there cause really their impact on our season can not be understated! Individually Maxwell stands out here - but the real secret is their ability a well oiled unit!

 

[Swooop]

Throw a blanket over Jolly, Didak, Pendles, Cloke and Swan.

I should have mentioned a defender there cause really their impact on our season can not be understated! Individually Maxwell stands out here - but the real secret is their ability a well oiled unit!

Anyone think Leroy would be a little hard to replace aswell?

He added so much, in terms of grunt, physicality and flexibility to us this year, and really Josh and Wood were for various reasons, soft at it this year.

Was very, very important IMO was our Leroy and I can't see an obvious replacement.

Given that Jolly seems a standout No 1 as most difficult to replace and maybe Leroy difficult to replace also, it really brings the importance of establishing the ruck division into a stark light.

Gees I hope reports Wood is ready to pull his finger out are correct...I did rewatch the GF2 replay and did notice how rapt Wood was after the game, which is a great sign for sure.

 

[Ed D]

It's not so much of a loss if you're only talking about losing Brown. He did miss 7 games last year and it didn't seem to effect the team too much.

 

[Swooop]

It's not so much of a loss if you're only talking about losing Brown. He did miss 7 games last year and it didn't seem to effect the team too much.

Not sure if anyone knows which seven he missed, I think he missed the Hawthorn game Round 22, replaced by Fraser, which we lost, though admittedly there were more factors operating there for sure, principally self preservation

Don't recall the others, but we don't appear to have an obvious replacement at this point, and he has a very underratedly important role in the team I think, in terms of:

1.second ruck
2.back up as key forward or back in event of injury or KPP having a bad day
3.physicality

 

[Ed D]

Leroy missed rounds 5-10 after a poor first 4 games. When he came back he was in good form and I think with him playing well he makes a difference to the team like you said, when he's having an average game he can be covered. Whether he'd be the difference between a win and a loss I'm not too sure, but his role is more easily covered than say Jolly's or Pendles/Swan IMO and wouldn't hurt the side as much.

 

[DIDAIC0S]

Throw a blanket over Jolly, Didak, Pendles, Cloke and Swan.

I should have mentioned a defender there cause really their impact on our season can not be understated! Individually Maxwell stands out here - but the real secret is their ability a well oiled unit!

Not sure about this one. I've got to say after watching the grand final that Nick is great at being the 3rd man up and fantastic at spoiling in one on one situations, but around a pack and running with a player he really struggles! Mind you that player was Goddard, so I should probably cut him some slack ...

 

[Ed D]

He's done run with jobs on other players before and done well, Scott Thompson from the Crows comes to mind, but I think just about anyone would have a hard time trying to run with Goddard and the form he is/was in.

 

[Jelly Bean]

He's done run with jobs on other players before and done well, Scott Thompson from the Crows comes to mind, but I think just about anyone would have a hard time trying to run with Goddard and the form he is/was in.

Once. On one player. Years ago. This doesn't make him anywhere near a run-with player.

And if he was the best solution for this role, I am curious as to why he has never played on Thompson again.

 

[jonbe54]

Maxxy is far too valuable being the 'general'. Giving him a 'run with' role ties him down and reduces his effectiveness in that regard. His leadership and footy smarts are best served playing loose and free, a fact many so called experts still don't understand.

 

[didaka]

Apart from the obvious (Jolly) I wouldn't want to lose either of Cloke or Dawes for too long. We're a much better side with the 2 big fellas in the forward line.

 

[Ed D]

Once. On one player. Years ago. This doesn't make him anywhere near a run-with player.

And if he was the best solution for this role, I am curious as to why he has never played on Thompson again.

He played on him twice in 2009 IIRC, along with playing on other players like Max Rooke etc. He doesn't do it often because he doesn't have the pace. But like what was just said, why would you give him a run with role when he plays better on talls and as a 3rd man up? I don't see this as being an issue, and as pointed out it's not really a weakness of his.

 

[pauly_moss]

Toovey without question

why???

because he is Toovey