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BigFooty Forum
This, in a nutshell, is our problem.
We still depend massively on this experienced trio to keep our shit together. We've gone rapidly from the cellar to the top bracket but we need more from the guys in the 23-28 bracket if we want to be more than also-rans.
This is not a weird, negative purge. But I think it brings into focus some of our shortcomings this season.
From the outset, we're without Kennedy and LeCras, the two guys in that bracket of experience who were poised to jumped up the pecking order. Pre-season, you could argue that these guys rounded out the top five, along with Cox, Kerr and Glass.
Naitanui is the young guy who looks most likely to crack that top five. And although he's been awesome at various stages this season, I feel like we're now relying on him to produce extraordinary performances. For example, we're throwing him into the starting midfield even when he's not rucking. We're relying on him to take contested marks in the F50. On top of that, he needs to dominate the ruck for half the game. That's awesome, but perhaps we're in danger of falling back on his talent to paper over some nagging shortcomings. What's going on in the midfield if we need him in there? What going on in the F50 if we need him to be the focal point?
Forget about Gaff and Darling for now. They're second-year players. Their performances should be bonuses. Forget about guys like Embley and Lynch. They're veterans. They're in the mix but will likely be role players going forward.
So that leaves a group of Waters, Hurn, Selwood x 2, Mackenzie, Masten, Shuey, Priddis, McGinnity, Butler and Rosa. That's the group that will determine whether we win a flag in the short-term. But which of these guys is going to step up to the point where we're not still relying on the 2006 alumni (plus some out-of-the-box Naitanui) to win us games?
I still reckon we could win another flag with Cox, Glass and Kerr. But that middle group needs to step up and take the lead rather than just being the supporting cast.
We still depend massively on this experienced trio to keep our shit together. We've gone rapidly from the cellar to the top bracket but we need more from the guys in the 23-28 bracket if we want to be more than also-rans.
This is not a weird, negative purge. But I think it brings into focus some of our shortcomings this season.
From the outset, we're without Kennedy and LeCras, the two guys in that bracket of experience who were poised to jumped up the pecking order. Pre-season, you could argue that these guys rounded out the top five, along with Cox, Kerr and Glass.
Naitanui is the young guy who looks most likely to crack that top five. And although he's been awesome at various stages this season, I feel like we're now relying on him to produce extraordinary performances. For example, we're throwing him into the starting midfield even when he's not rucking. We're relying on him to take contested marks in the F50. On top of that, he needs to dominate the ruck for half the game. That's awesome, but perhaps we're in danger of falling back on his talent to paper over some nagging shortcomings. What's going on in the midfield if we need him in there? What going on in the F50 if we need him to be the focal point?
Forget about Gaff and Darling for now. They're second-year players. Their performances should be bonuses. Forget about guys like Embley and Lynch. They're veterans. They're in the mix but will likely be role players going forward.
So that leaves a group of Waters, Hurn, Selwood x 2, Mackenzie, Masten, Shuey, Priddis, McGinnity, Butler and Rosa. That's the group that will determine whether we win a flag in the short-term. But which of these guys is going to step up to the point where we're not still relying on the 2006 alumni (plus some out-of-the-box Naitanui) to win us games?
I still reckon we could win another flag with Cox, Glass and Kerr. But that middle group needs to step up and take the lead rather than just being the supporting cast.
