Cuz

[greatwhiteshark]

Guys I am not a troll I am seriously interested in your fortunes. Was actually a tiger before the Eagles came in so was happy you picked up Cuz.

But can I ask if Cuz had played his whole career at the tigers would you be saying the same thing? Or would you say just let him play until he doesn't perform anymore?

If Richo had wanted to play on would you be asking to have him moved on?

Football is football, Cuz is still in your best 5 players by a mile, he is helping your young players without doubt. Christ you would not have won on the weekend without him.

Any decision to move him on on what he offers you as a player is simply a bit strange in my view.

You guys have been great taking him on, but seriously never knock a gift horse in the mouth. Ben should be treated like he has played there his whole career. If he wants to play for 3 more years then so be it, as long as he performs then what is the problem?

He is performing and performing very well, the sooner we go back to making the kids earn their spot in football the better the game will be, gift wrapping kids spots because they may end up good players at the expense of good players is not bright.

Yes its the system but how ****ing stupid is it?

No matter what I seriously hope you guys do well.

 

[Matty Knights]

If he finishes up bail Wayne Campbell as assistant and bring Cousins in.

Not that I dislike Wayne but it makes sense.

 

[brjafi]

If he finishes up bail Wayne Campbell as assistant and bring Cousins in.

Not that I dislike Wayne but it makes sense.

both would be better

 

[Tassie27]

Loving his work at the moment. Always creative and he is playing within his limitations due to his age. Is so clean with his disposals, something we have been lacking in past years. Year to year proposition, keep in 2011.

 

[ata33cro]

If he finishes up bail Wayne Campbell as assistant and bring Cousins in.

Not that I dislike Wayne but it makes sense.

I don't think we should kick Wayne out. He seems to be doing a good job. But I am sure the club can create another role for Cousins just like they did with Simmonds.

 

[Goldust]

I can assure you I'm not on some anti Cousins wagon, its more I'm just voicing my opinion that I believe we'd be better served without Cousins. Interesting watching On The Couch at the moment and just before they said that with regards Cousins the only decision we need to make regarding keeping him on is whether he has a spot in the best 22 next year, which is much the same as what I asked earlier.

WELL RT, I ask you, on form, is Cousins in the best 22 right now?
His form would suggest he's in the top half dozen.
No brainer for mine.
Form is good and his influence on others is unquestionable.

 

[ize_]

WELL RT, I ask you, on form, is Cousins in the best 22 right now?
His form would suggest he's in the top half dozen.
No brainer for mine.
Form is good and his influence on others is unquestionable.

His form is great now, but you only need to look at Brad Johnson, Akermanis, Tredrea, Brett Burton etc to see how quickly form and fitness can deteriorate when you hit 30. Cuz will be 33 next year. Have to say though that he's doing his chances no harm the way he's playing.

No way he's in our top 5 players though.

 

[ScallyWag1]

Loving his work at the moment. Always creative and he is playing within his limitations due to his age. Is so clean with his disposals, something we have been lacking in past years. Year to year proposition, keep in 2011.

saw him on sunday, he did a couple of great things. clever string of handballs when hemmed up on the boundary line at one point, and that blind handball he did over his head that hit a player in stride. you can't just can't teach some of the things he's capable of

 

[CoggaRules]

His form is great now, but you only need to look at Brad Johnson, Akermanis, Tredrea, Brett Burton etc to see how quickly form and fitness can deteriorate when you hit 30. Cuz will be 33 next year. Have to say though that he's doing his chances no harm the way he's playing.

No way he's in our top 5 players though.

complete different kettle of fish there dude. That group, notwithstanding their abilities, wouldnt hold a candle to what Cuz is all about on the field in every facet of the game. I would bet my bottom dollar that had any of them had an off field issue affecting them their game would suffer somewhat. Then think about the enormity of the off field issues this guy has had over the stretch and not once has it changed what happens on the field. He just keeps on producing, when he downright should not have been. This is whats called the professional athlete that just switches onto the task at hand when he crosses that line. The others would turn to jelly if they had what Cuz had thrown at him. You are not talking about a normal footballer here dude, you are talking about a 32 yold who goes out onto the field and still feels like he is a kid loving his footy week in week out, he loves to play the game and show us his moves, thats what cuz is all about. You can see it the way he gets excited with a win with the kids, its like he is one of them. He is not trying to prove things to anyone, all he wants to do is get out there and get the footy because you can see that he loves it.
You cant develop that, you either have it or you wished you had it, the end.


I really cant believe that there is a debate about his influence on our fortunes in a game. I can count on one or two fingers the amount of times his give doesnt end up with us streaming into the FL or better sailing the ball through the big sticks....its truly amaziing that there are fools here who actually dont understand that. Yet i would bet that the same fools would be trundling out the tacckling stats or some lame arse stat to excuse another irrelevant contribution from a Tambling .

 

[Scottish Lobster]

There isn't 22 blokes better than Cuzzy on the list now and there wont be next year either. It's as simple as that. Milk this champion for as long as possible and thank every second he honours the yellow and black. He wont hold us back, he's taking us forward.

 

[Tiger08]

Things I love about Cuz from a footy perspective at the moment:

1 - His footy smarts. Despite his speed starting to fail, he's still so smart with the footy that he sets up play well with handball. That give to Hicks who gave it to Newy for a goal from 50 was amazing. Quick hands, to the exact right spot after drawing 3 tacklers. Goal. Sure - some older guys 'fall off a cliff' from a footy perspective when they reach a certain age because they physically can't do what they used to. Often that's because they relied so much on their pure athletic ability in the first place. Burton lost his speed and leap, Aker lost a bit of speed and his kicking accuracy when he had groin/back issues. Cuz has already lost his speed and he's still getting it done because he still has endurance (the one thing you don't lose) and the football brain. That's the two things Harvey had, and so did Crawf. You don't lose them so if you can get on the park, you can still play. Nathan Buckley is another who had them and could have played for years but his hamstring was stuffed. Anyway.. I love his use of the pill.

2 - he genuinely loves the fact that he's playing footy. He's not there for a pay cheque, he JUST wants to play. That sort of attitude is just a great thing to embed in your culture.

3 - the way he makes the effort to teach the kids how to go about it, especially at stoppages with blocks and set-ups.

4 - the fact he will also help the young blokes mature faster by sharing the experiences of what it is likely if your fame/success leads you to join the wrong crowd.

The other thing about him is that despite probably being classed as an 'AFL bad boy' for a while with the likes of Fev and Aker, you NEVER hear one of his current or former teammates say a bad word about him. That's a testament to the guy's real character, not some media beat-up from behind a desk at 10km (Caro). The guys that have played and spent the most time with him, absolutely love him. What do the old Lions (or current Dogs) think of Aker? The old Blues about Fev? Cuz simply appears to be a first grade bloke to have at your footy club. He punched Danny Connors straight in the face and he still loves the Cuz FFS!

The way I see it, there's only two reasons you would move him on. Firstly if his lack of speed meant he couldn't do the defensive side of his job anymore. Is that happening? Not that I've seen. Secondly if you think he's taking the place of a younger bloke who should be getting a game. That's fine - but you've got to pick the team on merits at AFL level and if Cuz doesn't get a game, so be it, he'll play at Coburg. He's shown already he's humble enough to do that - BUT YOU SHOULD KEEP HIM ON THE LIST.

 

[bouncing back]

reckon his card has been marked as a player. however, he'd be useful in an assistants role.

 

[peejay]

reckon his card has been marked as a player. however, he'd be useful in an assistants role.

As i said earlier if he ain't playing for us next year he won't be at the club. he has said so himself that he is not interested in that type of role.

 

[ize_]

complete different kettle of fish there dude. That group, notwithstanding their abilities, wouldnt hold a candle to what Cuz is all about on the field in every facet of the game. I would bet my bottom dollar that had any of them had an off field issue affecting them their game would suffer somewhat. Then think about the enormity of the off field issues this guy has had over the stretch and not once has it changed what happens on the field. He just keeps on producing, when he downright should not have been. This is whats called the professional athlete that just switches onto the task at hand when he crosses that line. The others would turn to jelly if they had what Cuz had thrown at him. You are not talking about a normal footballer here dude, you are talking about a 32 yold who goes out onto the field and still feels like he is a kid loving his footy week in week out, he loves to play the game and show us his moves, thats what cuz is all about. You can see it the way he gets excited with a win with the kids, its like he is one of them. He is not trying to prove things to anyone, all he wants to do is get out there and get the footy because you can see that he loves it.
You cant develop that, you either have it or you wished you had it, the end.


I really cant believe that there is a debate about his influence on our fortunes in a game. I can count on one or two fingers the amount of times his give doesnt end up with us streaming into the FL or better sailing the ball through the big sticks....its truly amaziing that there are fools here who actually dont understand that. Yet i would bet that the same fools would be trundling out the tacckling stats or some lame arse stat to excuse another irrelevant contribution from a Tambling .

Good post, but you haven't really addressed the point, which is that age catches a player quickly once they hit 30. Cuz is well past 30 now. I'm not saying Tredrea, Johnson, Aka and Burton are as good as Cuz (although they have all been champs), but that isn't the point.

 

[ScallyWag1]

There isn't 22 blokes better than Cuzzy on the list now and there wont be next year either. It's as simple as that. Milk this champion for as long as possible and thank every second he honours the yellow and black. He wont hold us back, he's taking us forward.

there certainly won't be 44 players better than him on the list

 

[CoggaRules]

Good post, but you haven't really addressed the point, which is that age catches a player quickly once they hit 30. Cuz is well past 30 now. I'm not saying Tredrea, Johnson, Aka and Burton are as good as Cuz (although they have all been champs), but that isn't the point.

yes age catches up and when it does i can guarantee ya that Cuz wont hold back in saying that it has. He aint someone that will beat around the bush when it comes to that, he is a pro dude, if he feels he aint offering value then he will be the first to go to Damien and tell him.
i mean its aif we are talking about someone that is wanting this 400K contract that we might regret half way through a season, if age does catch up to him. If it does what do the tigers lose? The only thing they will lose is a master showman who i for one go to the footy and watch and marvel at and its ****ing great doing that when they are wearing the yellow and black.

 

[tigerdan]

Good post, but you haven't really addressed the point, which is that age catches a player quickly once they hit 30. Cuz is well past 30 now. I'm not saying Tredrea, Johnson, Aka and Burton are as good as Cuz (although they have all been champs), but that isn't the point.

But if age hasn't caught up with him yet then what's the worry?

Worst case for us is that age 'catches up' with him in February and he does hammy after hammy and we waste a spot on the list. That is absolute worst case scenario. But what is the likelihood?

Even if he plays half a season, we still come out in front if you ask me.

Give him one year. Just having him about the club and on the training track is invaluable. On the field he is a general. We need that in a young club. Give him one more year, let him grow into the club and find his feet in Melbourne.

I want to hear him say at the end of his career things like Greg Dear and Justin Charles did: "Richmond is a great club and has the best supporters in the AFL!". I want him to love the club as much as he loved the Eagles, and if it is his thing, i'd love to move him into a coaching role.

 

[Spluff]

As i said earlier if he ain't poolaying for us next year he won't be at the club. he has said so himself that he is not interested in that type of role.

He said when he was On The Couch that he would love to stay around after he's finished playing.

 

[peejay]

He said when he was On The Couch that he would love to stay around after he's finished playing.

I think you will find he said stay around football - not the club, He was aluding to a media career IMO.

 

[_RT_]

WELL RT, I ask you, on form, is Cousins in the best 22 right now?
His form would suggest he's in the top half dozen.
No brainer for mine.
Form is good and his influence on others is unquestionable.

Lets look at it then:
2 ruckmen: Graham Vickery/Browne
3 KPD & 3 KPF: Moore Thursfield McGuane Astbury Riewoldt Griffiths.
Small/medium defenders: Deledio Connors Newman Tambling & Farmer.

None of those positions will be taken by Cousins.

That leaves 10 spots:
Midfield: Martin Cotchin Jackson Tuck Edwards & Foley. If all are fit and in form Cousins wouldn't knock any of them out of a spot IMHO. Morton & Webberley have both moved into the midfield over recent weeks and have looked quite comfortable there. Given both are learning new roles its important that the get to continue their development.

Small/medium forwards: King & White, both play as defensive forwards and as I said last night I don't see Cousins becoming a tagger at 32-33. Collins and Nason play the offensive HF roles covering a heap of ground in the process and given both are still learning their roles I believe its important that both are kept in the lineup as long as form warrants.

Looking at the lineup:

B: Moore Thursfield Newman
HB: Deledio Astbury Connors
C: Edwards Jackson Morton
HF: Collins Griffiths Taylor
F: Nason Riewoldt King
R: Graham Martin Cotchin
I/C: Tuck Tambling McGuane Vickery/Browne

Then there are guys like Foley Webberly Dea White Farmer Hicks Grimes who will all be itching to get a game as well as this years crop of draftees and finding a spot for Cousins becomes a little hard.

 

[Goldust]

Lets look at it then:
2 ruckmen: Graham Vickery/Browne
3 KPD & 3 KPF: Moore Thursfield McGuane Astbury Riewoldt Griffiths.
Small/medium defenders: Deledio Connors Newman Tambling & Farmer.

None of those positions will be taken by Cousins.

That leaves 10 spots:
Midfield: Martin Cotchin Jackson Tuck Edwards & Foley. If all are fit and in form Cousins wouldn't knock any of them out of a spot IMHO. Morton & Webberley have both moved into the midfield over recent weeks and have looked quite comfortable there. Given both are learning new roles its important that the get to continue their development.

Small/medium forwards: King & White, both play as defensive forwards and as I said last night I don't see Cousins becoming a tagger at 32-33. Collins and Nason play the offensive HF roles covering a heap of ground in the process and given both are still learning their roles I believe its important that both are kept in the lineup as long as form warrants.

Looking at the lineup:

B: Moore Thursfield Newman
HB: Deledio Astbury Connors
C: Edwards Jackson Morton
HF: Collins Griffiths Taylor
F: Nason Riewoldt King
R: Graham Martin Cotchin
I/C: Tuck Tambling McGuane Vickery/Browne

Then there are guys like Foley Webberly Dea White Farmer Hicks Grimes who will all be itching to get a game as well as this years crop of draftees and finding a spot for Cousins becomes a little hard.

WE'LL find room for him alright.
How do I know?????
Because we have room for a fit and firing Cousins in the team now, with all 23of those players you named in your team running around now!
As I see it, you've pensioned off Cuz to include Troy Taylor.
Martin, Edwards, Jackson, Morton, Webberly, Cotchin, King etc. are all going to get their game time .... so too will Cuz.
It's about depth ... and having it to cover the inevitable injuries, suspensions and loss of form!!!
There are many questions besides Cuz, RT.
Will Morton and Webberly hold their form???
Will Taylor and Dea develop sufficiently (seriously, Dea was a million miles off it earlier in the year .... a case could be mounted that getting early games into Dea was detrimental to his development????
Will King hold his form ... as little as five weeks ago most still wanted him gone????
I'm a fan, BUT, a lot would offload Matty White in an instant.
Can Jackson emerge from a season without losing five and six weeks to suspension????
Will Tambling even be there next season????
Will Farmer kick on like we want, or will he become Jordy McMahon Mark II after a bright debut season????
Ditto for Nason????
There are more question marks than Cuz ... I see nothing wrong with having him about the place next year and contributing on-field!!!
It's about depth!!!

 

[peejay]

Lets look at it then:
2 ruckmen: Graham Vickery/Browne
3 KPD & 3 KPF: Moore Thursfield McGuane Astbury Riewoldt Griffiths.
Small/medium defenders: Deledio Connors Newman Tambling & Farmer.

None of those positions will be taken by Cousins.

That leaves 10 spots:
Midfield: Martin Cotchin Jackson Tuck Edwards & Foley. If all are fit and in form Cousins wouldn't knock any of them out of a spot IMHO. Morton & Webberley have both moved into the midfield over recent weeks and have looked quite comfortable there. Given both are learning new roles its important that the get to continue their development.

Small/medium forwards: King & White, both play as defensive forwards and as I said last night I don't see Cousins becoming a tagger at 32-33. Collins and Nason play the offensive HF roles covering a heap of ground in the process and given both are still learning their roles I believe its important that both are kept in the lineup as long as form warrants.

Looking at the lineup:

B: Moore Thursfield Newman
HB: Deledio Astbury Connors
C: Edwards Jackson Morton
HF: Collins Griffiths Taylor
F: Nason Riewoldt King
R: Graham Martin Cotchin
I/C: Tuck Tambling McGuane Vickery/Browne

Then there are guys like Foley Webberly Dea White Farmer Hicks Grimes who will all be itching to get a game as well as this years crop of draftees and finding a spot for Cousins becomes a little hard.

Out of your team there are 7 players of similair size to Cuz that i would put below cuz in the pecking order. They are : Morton, Taylor, Nason, King, Tambling, Jackson, Collins.

Your arguement is that they all deserve a spot ahead of him based on development. But purely on being a better player they are all behind him right now.

 

[Noofa]

What's the big deal with his age anyway? He's only just turned 32. How many great players have gone on playing and playing well for many years after that? In recent times, i'm thinking Robert Harvey in particular, who also lost some pace, like Cuz, but who still had the skills, experience and stamina to play at the top level - like Cuz.

Craig Bradley comes to mind from a few years back as well....

Or even look at some of the players going around at the moment....Boomer Harvey? He's 33 i think and i'm pretty sure you won't find many North supporters who'd be saying "Sorry Boomer, you'll 34 next year so we don't want you anymore". Barry Hall. 33 years old and tied for the Coleman. Dustin Fletcher, 35 years old and still Essendon's best player.

Cuz is a spring chicken compared to all these!
His age isn't a big deal, FFS......

 

[Tetley Tigers]

One more year...

He is like an onfield assistant coach and has lots to offer.

 

[Harvey Leadpipe]

Out of your team there are 7 players of similair size to Cuz that i would put below cuz in the pecking order. They are : Morton, Taylor, Nason, King, Tambling, Jackson, Collins.

Your arguement is that they all deserve a spot ahead of him based on development. But purely on being a better player they are all behind him right now.

Nailed it. Can't pick blokes ahead of him just because they're younger. Jackson's probably the closest, and still not in the same league. Need him.