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Dessie

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sabre_ac

sabre_ac

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Watching Brennan run around tonight and dominate the game, my mind naturally wandered to Dessie and my expectations for him this season.

Let's face it, so far we haven't really recieved what we paid for, though in his defence I can't really fault his endeaver.

This season I had him down as the real surprised packet for our club, I had hoped he would be our second highest goal scorered as a pemenant full forward.

So I suppose at a minimum what is expected for him to first get a game and second get a another?
 
Early on for us Dessie didn't have the application and probably also had more attention in a poor team than he did at Brissy. Later 2006 onwards he did but injuries in 2007 onwards have prevented him playing an entire season. From what I remember in 2008 I think he was BOG and our best midfielder in the preseason games and then was injured in round 1.

I would look at his tally of goals plus goal assists for this year. If he can break even with his forward pressure/chasing and tackling his skills by foot will allow other players to come into the game. Modern game footskills are so key to not turn it over. I am not sure about long stints at FF (think that position is MJ's/Pavlich or possibly Mayne's) but reckon like Dr Dagg that he should be good for an average 2 goals a game plus several assists from passes inside 50. He is also one of the few players we have who can consistently kick goals from outside 50, with teams putting numbers back, this is critical. Only others that spring to mind are Pavlich, Mundy and hopefully in the future Mora.

The big question for me more is his fitness and whether his body will hold out for that. He admits himself that his days of playing midfield are over... Somebody quoted on the other thread that his best season for us was 25 goals (probably 2006), but that was as a HF/midfielder pushing up. He has not spent a season in the forward line.
 
im going to resist the temptation to go on another rant. if des kicks 30-40 goals, he will have done his job as a forward
 
sabre_ac said:
Watching Brennan run around tonight and dominate the game, my mind naturally wandered to Dessie and my expectations for him this season.

Let's face it, so far we haven't really recieved what we paid for, though in his defence I can't really fault his endeaver.

This season I had him down as the real surprised packet for our club, I had hoped he would be our second highest goal scorered as a pemenant full forward.

So I suppose at a minimum what is expected for him to first get a game and second get a another?
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Love watching Brennan play but hes been in the system for near on 7 years now and we are still waiting to see his potential best. The fact we also got McPhee back for free might mean that this deal is not as bad as some have made out?
 

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fitzmantle said:
Love watching Brennan play but hes been in the system for near on 7 years now and we are still waiting to see his potential best.
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Good point. If Brennan played for us he'd cop exactly the same flack Dessie does for exactly the same reasons.
 
Brennan > Headland. By a long way.

I can think of one truly outstanding game that Headland has played for Freo, and that was the week after he got suspended for an attack on Selwood regarding his tattoo, which of course he got off from. He was everywhere that day, and demonstrated quite ably what kind of player he COULD have been.

It's too late now. Bits and pieces player at best. Injury riddled hack at worst. :o
 
Regrdless of what Des does this year (which'll be diddly squwat) we lost out on the trade big time! Des cruised once he got what he wanted (to come home). Its as simple as that!
 
Brennan was amazing last night. Doesn't really bother me this one though. Des was a young star and looked the goods at the time.
I'm way more bothered by trading for Solomon when we should have taken Rheimers. That shows a serious lack of foresight. Interestingly Brisbane have done the same sort of thing we did topping up, I don't think they've got enough talent to go all the way and they could get bitten in the arse with all the compromised drafts.
 
E Shed said:
Brennan was amazing last night. Doesn't really bother me this one though. Des was a young star and looked the goods at the time.
I'm way more bothered by trading for Solomon when we should have taken Rheimers. That shows a serious lack of foresight. Interestingly Brisbane have done the same sort of thing we did topping up, I don't think they've got enough talent to go all the way and they could get bitten in the arse with all the compromised drafts.
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How was the palm off on Swift? :thumbsu:
 
Kickett Punches Read said:
im going to resist the temptation to go on another rant. if des kicks 30-40 goals, he will have done his job as a forward
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Good work KPR!

Des was certainly a bit flat for most of the game. He kicked a critical goal from 50 when others were missing much easier shots - it kind of opened the flood gates. He did enough but I do expect him to improve.
 

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Frigate said:
Good work KPR!

Des was certainly a bit flat for most of the game. He kicked a critical goal from 50 when others were missing much easier shots - it kind of opened the flood gates. He did enough but I do expect him to improve.
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Exactly he did his job in a good team effort, finished with 3 and will be better for the run. Some people around here might have to find another scapegoat for this week...
 
Started poorly, but lifted as the team did.

I knew we were going to win after he kicked his first.
 
A lot of posters cannot seperate what we paid for/pay a player, from what a player actually does. So you get posts saying "we lost" in that trade, even when there is no assessment of the other side of the trade. Brennan finally played a game comensuarate with his talent and draft standing; that sounds very familiar to me. Instead the club went for an outstanding young gun in Headland who seemed to be exactly what we needed instead of a player who we would be waiting 7 years for. Same with J Carr. I have yet to see a reasonable analysis of the players Port got from the draft picks we traded which shows we significantly lost out in the deal.

Headland had a reasonable game yesterday, and looked like he was a bit of a worry for the Crows defenders even when he didn't have the ball. Yes a couple of goals were in junk time, but you can bet he gets a decent defender when forward and that contributes to Mayne or Ballantyne's contribution too.
 

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As I inferred last week, it's not actually possible to make Freo Big Footy posters happy once they have a mind set against you.

I learnt this watching the discussions about Croad and Medhurst. Medhurst is a 30-40 goal a year forward and has been since Day 1. This makes him an elite commodity. Yet, on Big Footy expert posters used to blather on about how he was no good, didnt tackle etc. Similarly Croad kicked 42 goals in his first year. Not enough for the Freo faithfull, or its coach apparently.

Its the same for Headland. His goal per game average is not much different to Paul Chapman's. He's actually about as dangerous around goals. Bet you I can't find a taker for the argument. we just don't appreciate our own.

So the Dessie bashers should shut the F up for at least a week. He played half a game and kicked 3 goals including one of the sealers. He was part of why we won.
 
Des has an exceptional eye for goal, a good kick and his forward pressure is good. He's also a good overhead mark.

We possibly paid over the odds for him but probably not when you remember the season he'd had and his finish to the season. He would've won the Brownlow in 2002* if the regular season had gone for a couple more rounds.

His first season wasn't brilliant but it wasn't too shabby either. Since then he's been often injured and found it difficult to get a good run in the side. As this stage of his career I think he's a great option as a medium sized forward.

*I know this isn't strictly correct but he was killing it in 02
 
Everyone keeps saying Dessie kicked junk time goals but I watched the game again last night and his 2nd and 3rd goals were the ones that put the game beyond doubt.

As Freo supporters you all know as well as I do the trouble we've had holding on to mid sized leads late in games. That's what we were looking at again yesterday with about 12 minutes to go.

Then for once someone steps up, goes bang, bang, and puts the game totally out of reach with two quick goals and everyone calls them cheap junk time goals. I for one was very grateful for the breathing space those goals gave us.
 
estibador said:
As Freo supporters you all know as well as I do the trouble we've had holding on to mid sized leads late in games. That's what we were looking at again yesterday with about 12 minutes to go.
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Yes that is a fair comment. Also we have never really been a team that goes on with a win and punishes an opponent when they are beaten, which in turn costs us percentage. The best drilled teams pour on the pain even when the contest is over.
 
well said esti, hammering the 1st and 2nd nail into the adelaide coffin is hardly junk time. Who can forget his junk time point against north melb in 2003.
 

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