How much longer can they keep it up?
They went close to owing us 10 Premiership points tonight when they decided to sub Tuck off and leave a kid like Helbig on the ground. I really like the way Helbig goes about his football, but every time he's played a full game he's barely touched the ball in the 2nd half and I can't recall him getting a single one tonight after half time.
It's great to expose him and our other juniors to these occasions and he acquitted himself well in the first half, but he was always going to fade out of the game. He was clearly the tactically sound sub candidate for not only this highly important reason, but also for two other equally important ones - Tuck can play anywhere and do extra time for us if we lose a man.
Grimes goes down earlier and we're effectively two men down for 40% of a match with him gone and Helbig on the field but never touching it. Essendon's ratio of unpressured centre clearances grew significantly once he went off - in the first minute no less. It was a tactical blunder so bad it should be illegal.
So I ask you, how long will the coaching staff continue this ridiculous charade? How much longer are they going to publicly humiliate one of the most honest, consistent and valuable players this club has had in the modern era? What piss-poor reasoning could they possibly come up with for hurting the team's chances with their irrational bias against Tuck this time around?
Disgraceful sour note to an otherwise good performance - we scraped home despite Hardwick's colossal ignorance thanks far more to good luck, an undermanned opponent and some huge efforts from the players than good management.
They went close to owing us 10 Premiership points tonight when they decided to sub Tuck off and leave a kid like Helbig on the ground. I really like the way Helbig goes about his football, but every time he's played a full game he's barely touched the ball in the 2nd half and I can't recall him getting a single one tonight after half time.
It's great to expose him and our other juniors to these occasions and he acquitted himself well in the first half, but he was always going to fade out of the game. He was clearly the tactically sound sub candidate for not only this highly important reason, but also for two other equally important ones - Tuck can play anywhere and do extra time for us if we lose a man.
Grimes goes down earlier and we're effectively two men down for 40% of a match with him gone and Helbig on the field but never touching it. Essendon's ratio of unpressured centre clearances grew significantly once he went off - in the first minute no less. It was a tactical blunder so bad it should be illegal.
So I ask you, how long will the coaching staff continue this ridiculous charade? How much longer are they going to publicly humiliate one of the most honest, consistent and valuable players this club has had in the modern era? What piss-poor reasoning could they possibly come up with for hurting the team's chances with their irrational bias against Tuck this time around?
Disgraceful sour note to an otherwise good performance - we scraped home despite Hardwick's colossal ignorance thanks far more to good luck, an undermanned opponent and some huge efforts from the players than good management.
Tucky's get remembered in stone, those from certain other players get remembered in sand...washed away in the next tide of play. 
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