Des

[Kenny_01]

Macca is always on the agenda, and I'll leave my fellow posters to figure out where the Macca baggers fit on the continuum from obvious to insightful.

Where has anyone bagged him? Questioning his place in the side is not bagging him. Bagging someone is calling him soft, weak, crap, etc with little justification. I think you are being too precious.

 

[theGav56]

Finally we are starting to get more of our players available. Schammer and Farmer coming into the team, Murphy and Campbell performing at WAFL level, Warnock developing, have at last created the debate about who is in our best 22, which is all about depth; we will push hard in the remainder of the year.

 

[Belnakor]

To me, Macca only plays well when the team plays well. He plays well when he is allowed to peel off around the wings and is allowed space to carry the ball. He struggles when he has an opponent and he struggles when the game is a physical contest.

Change Macca for Dessy and you have got the same story, yet people see him as an automatic inclusion.

I'm not disputing Des has had a few good games this season, but if he wants to wipe off the "downhill skiier" title he needs to have a good game when we get flogged.

And we do look like a great team when Des is flying. But Des does not get the team flying, he just gets onto the end of the run and continues with it.

 

[Deep Purple]

Des played well against a Carlton side who refused to man up after the 1st qtr, Des goes missing in the tough close marking games. Lets see how he goes next week against the Swannies as they will definitely man up. Although I do think the forward line could be his go.

 

[theGav56]

But Des does not get the team flying, he just gets onto the end of the run and continues with it.

Sounds like you have finally worked out what his job description is. Like Pavlich, Johnson, etc his job is not to get the ball out of the scrum. It's to receive and deliver, and he is doing it beautifully.

 

[Belnakor]

Sounds like you have finally worked out what his job description is. Like Pavlich, Johnson, etc his job is not to get the ball out of the scrum. It's to receive and deliver, and he is doing it beautifully.

You are still deluding yourself his job is to only play good football when he doesn't get maned up. Pavlich, Johnson will still try and get the ball in the pack if warranted.

 

[estibador]

Change Macca for Dessy and you have got the same story, yet people see him as an automatic inclusion.

Difference is when Macca has a good game he is a solid contributer. When Dessie has a good game he can single handedly rip teams apart.

Which is maybe why he appears to never have good games if we lose - because if Dessie has a good game we win. Chicken and the egg. You say he only plays well when we win. I say we win because he plays well.

 

[Kenny_01]

Change Macca for Dessy and you have got the same story, yet people see him as an automatic inclusion.

I'm not disputing Des has had a few good games this season, but if he wants to wipe off the "downhill skiier" title he needs to have a good game when we get flogged.

And we do look like a great team when Des is flying. But Des does not get the team flying, he just gets onto the end of the run and continues with it.

Perhaps, but Des got us going with 2 goals.

He has actually got us going in several games this season. So I am not sure he does not get the team flying.

 

[theGav56]

Perhaps, but Des got us going with 2 goals.

Yeah but, if you believe blindnakor, he wasn't being manned up. And only did it when we were winning anyway.

 

[Dr Ralph Dagg]

Where has anyone bagged him? Questioning his place in the side is not bagging him. Bagging someone is calling him soft, weak, crap, etc with little justification. I think you are being too precious.

You're being picky. I think anyone who doesn't have Macca in the top 10 players this season is blind to what it takes to make an AFL team.

I've watched his game and he picks up plenty of tough possessions while keeping Scotland relatively quiet.

Macca's games is one of the most consistent in the team. He usually plays well in our losses. That's why we lose. It means everyone else is off.

It's like Belnakors continual slight against Headland. It's a micro approach to dissecting each player versus a macro approach to what it takes to make a team. You're both missing the big picture.

Belnakor, given your pro-stats account, have a look at Hase's performance versus Des. I bet you every time Hase has a bad one so does Des. That's cause Hase isn't getting the job done.

Players who I think should be under scrutiny at the moment are McPharlin and Mundy. McPharlin has gone soft and is really out of form. Where's the guy that soared above the pack to take the game saver gainst Brisbane a few seasons ago? He's s shadow of himself. Our defence has been getting slaughtered all year but BF threads are full of Headland and Macca.

 

[rotto]

Des sh*ts me. Last year of his contract and then he starts to pull his finger out. Also, any time is position is in danger he has a blinder. Des can play thats for sure, game winner actually. I just hope that the club see this and resign him on a performance based incentives contract.

 

[Belnakor]

Belnakor, given your pro-stats account, have a look at Hase's performance versus Des. I bet you every time Hase has a bad one so does Des. That's cause Hase isn't getting the job done.

You mean, every time Des isn't getting the ball fed out to him, he has a poor game stats-wise. Hase has only had one bad game for the season against Geelong, the same game Des went missing when the heat was on, so i guess you have some correlation there.

I think its fair to say that guys like Des live and die off guys like Hase, because Hase gets the hard ball and des waits for the soft ball.

 

[theGav56]

You mean, every time Des isn't getting the ball fed out to him, he has a poor game stats-wise.

How many goals does Pavlich kick when no-one kicks it into the forward line.

 

[Wizard]

He cant win with some of the morons around here can he, lucky the club and everyone that matters knows how well he is playing.

 

[bushie]

You're being picky. I think anyone who doesn't have Macca in the top 10 players this season is blind to what it takes to make an AFL team.

I've watched his game and he picks up plenty of tough possessions while keeping Scotland relatively quiet.

Macca's games is one of the most consistent in the team. He usually plays well in our losses. That's why we lose. It means everyone else is off.

It's like Belnakors continual slight against Headland. It's a micro approach to dissecting each player versus a macro approach to what it takes to make a team. You're both missing the big picture.

Belnakor, given your pro-stats account, have a look at Hase's performance versus Des. I bet you every time Hase has a bad one so does Des. That's cause Hase isn't getting the job done.

Players who I think should be under scrutiny at the moment are McPharlin and Mundy. McPharlin has gone soft and is really out of form. Where's the guy that soared above the pack to take the game saver gainst Brisbane a few seasons ago? He's s shadow of himself. Our defence has been getting slaughtered all year but BF threads are full of Headland and Macca.

I have to agree with your assessment of McPharlin, Ralph.

He is way out of form and needs to have a long hard look at himself. Grover and Hayden etc are playing out of their skins and I feel that has hidden the fact that McP is shirking the real hard stuff that is required.

Mundy is a victim of circumstance IMO. He has suffered from MJ being played as spare man, (Mundys best position IMO), and he has been shuffled forward and spent a fair amount of time on the bench.

We need to settle a few positions in the run home and I am sure his confidence and form will rebound!

 

[Clay Davis]

I agree with Ralph Dagg. Our defence is shocking.

We average 102 points a game. Last year we averaged 93 points a game. +9 point difference

This year we concede 99 points a game. Last year we conceded on average 87 points a game. -12 point difference.

Blaming Headland is pointless.

 

[Kenny_01]

You're being picky. I think anyone who doesn't have Macca in the top 10 players this season is blind to what it takes to make an AFL team.

That's your opinion mate. I think anyone who thinks Macca has been one of our best 10 players might be blind also. Just quickly, I'd have Pavlich, Tarrant, Headland, Solomon, Hayden, Hasleby, Dodd, Grover, Bell, J. Carr and Sandi above McManus, comfortably as well.

Macca didn't get near the pill in the first half, when the game was not a training drill. What games has Macca played well in, when we have lost? Macca doesn't win tough possesions in contests, he might lay some good tackles, but he is anything but an inside midfielder. He is at his best when he is running up and down the wings, usually by himself. Just watching the replay of the game, even the commentators made note of Macca sneaking forward of the play when we hadn't won the ball to get a cheap kick.

That's why Macca struggled in all of our finals and games like against Geelong, Hawthorn, Adelaide, etc. Those games were a lot more 'contested' (1 on 1 through the midfield) and McManus wasn't effective. His speed across the ground is OK, but is acceleration is very slow, that's why he struggles in those types of games. He is reactive, and 2nd to the ball, hence why he lays a lot of good tackles.

For me, our midfield is not good enough and we need to make a change. McManus for me is expendable because he has no real strengths to his game other than his committment at the footy. I want to see our midfield improve for next season. McManus is not a part of the future, that is a fact. I want to see us a develop a midfield that will make an impact next season, otherwise we will have to play kids with no experience next season and hence have a lesser chance of making an impact on the competition.

So no, I have not bagged Macca. But in my opinion, I'm not sure if he should be in the side every week. I like him, but I am realistic about our chances this season and I think it would better to get some games into our kids for next season and beyond. Same goes with Matty Carr, Cook, Parker, etc. They don't have enough of an impact for their experience and we should be looking somewhere else.

 

[Dr Ralph Dagg]

I think its fair to say that guys like Des live and die off guys like Hase, because Hase gets the hard ball and des waits for the soft ball.

Yeah, well, when Hase can outsprint the opposition and deliver lace out over 50m with either foot we can give Dessy the lemon and sarse.

And it's why average forwards struggle. Outside the top 10, the rest live and die off their midfielders.

 

[masai]

Just sticking my 2 cents in here.

A comment was made that Mundy has been out of form and then the assertion was made that Macca is not in our top 10 players. There were 2 situations which showed where both players are at on the weekend. The ball was kicked between a charging Macca and a charging Fev, both players attacked the ball and crunched each other, good contest. In another situation the ball was lobbed in the direction of Fev, mundy was coming back but stopped for the crumbs, if he had committed his body Fev would have been unable to mark the ball.

One player committed his body for the ball, the other waited for the crumbs. That sums up how both players are going for the TEAM.

 

[Cheetah]

Des clearly had a brilliant game against Carlton on the weekend - in many ways it was "classic Headland" - towling up a stuggling club which is going through a re-building phase.

The true test for Headland will be against Sydney this week. In the finals series against Sydney last year Headland went MIA. This is Dessy's chance to make up for last years dissapearing act. This is a must win game for the club (the biggest game of the season so far) and we cant afford for Des to pull a dissapearing act.

I would also like to make one final point. Des' good performance against Carlton has brought many of the usual "Des Headland back slappers" out of the woodwork on this board- the headland apologists if you will. But his good game on the weekend has masked his anger management issues. The club must intervene and help Des by providing him with counseling - his mask of sanity has slipped some what this year. This is the last time I will mention the Headland counseling issue for now - but I think that if the club does nothing - it is inevitable that Headland will have another brain explosion down the track.

Maybe they should employ you to counsel him?

What do you reckon?

 

[Kenny_01]

Was just reading the Herald Sun... Des did something some of the best players in the AFL couldn't do this season.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22030750%5E19765,00.html

Sewell's hit-list this year reads like a who's-who of dangermen.

Chris Judd, Travis Johnstone, Shannon Grant, Paul Chapman, Shaun Burgoyne, James Hird and Adam Cooney are among Sewell's 2007 victims.

Fremantle's Des Headland is another, although Sewell admits - and it seems to be a rare occasion this season - that "he got the better of me".

Des is having a very good season. Good stuff Des

 

[dominguez]

Dessie's playing at the level we all expected when he arrived, has been very good of late. I'd like to see him spend more time up the ground since his confidence will be high and with Farmer back. Big game for Headland tomorrow, a 20+ possession 2-3 goal performance would go a long way to securing the four points.

 

[Scham]

Dessie's playing at the level we all expected when he arrived, has been very good of late. I'd like to see him spend more time up the ground since his confidence will be high and with Farmer back. Big game for Headland tomorrow, a 20+ possession 2-3 goal performance would go a long way to securing the four points.

You don't ask for much Dom! He's only got more than 20 possies twice this year hasn't he? I think if he was playing at the level he should be, he would be AVERAGING 20+ possies.

If he gets somewhere near his season average against Sydney he'll be doing well IMO. As long as he uses them! It may surprise a few but his effectivness is actually well below average and one of the worst in the club - even Walkers is better!

 

[Rob]

Dessie's playing at the level we all expected when he arrived, has been very good of late. I'd like to see him spend more time up the ground since his confidence will be high and with Farmer back. Big game for Headland tomorrow, a 20+ possession 2-3 goal performance would go a long way to securing the four points.

Exactly. It's all well and good kicking 5 against Carlton or Melbourne, but a player's real worth comes in the crunch games against good sides.

 

[Slacker]

Doing well in the wet today Des. Some hard tackles too.