Gold Passes

[masai]

In the past gold passes have been issued to "select" players ensuring their selection even after a couple of poor performances. The first of these gold passes to be rescinded was the one issued to Mr McManus, will the club take more passes back?.

Des (JLS), please come forward.

Tough talk and measures are required, show everyone that they are not immune to WAFL action.

 

[Eagles4Ever]

No player should be a walk up start in any AFL side. Wirrpunda found that out last year when he was sent back to the WAFL. Apart from playing a blinder that week, he came back to finish the season off strongly and take that good form into this year.
I remember him openly stating to the press that it was the wake up call he needed and that it remind him of how lucky he is to be playing AFL footy.

 

[dominguez]

Wirrpunda is as big a front runner as Headland. Both look good in a winning side and both can be a liability in a losing one. Wirrpunda didn't find form after being dropped, it just so happened that the eagles got on a run about the same time which made him look good.

 

[Ripper]

I agree Masai.

It is something that has to be got rid of immediatlely.

 

[ThePope]

I really don't understand this.
Normally it's Medders and Farmer who are under this sort of pressure, but DJ is next in line. We've dropped/changed 2 players a week over the past month. DJ kicked 5 the other game. Yes he's a frontrunner and a finisher, but every team needs them as well as needing some in and under ball getters. It's those players who have failed in the past 2 games.

I'm sure that this week some players like Webster (very poor in the past few games), Schofield and Siegert (but was great vs the Pies) might be dropped, but who of the big(ger) names would you seriously drop?
Hase?
McPharlin?
Polak?
Thornton?
Headland?
Grover?
Cook?
Black?
Schammer?

Of these, if Schammer, Hase and McPharlin aren't fully or at least 90% fit, then we're probably better without them.
Schofield has to go, Webster too.
Dodd and Johnson should come in, maybe McManus too, but he didn't play well on the weekend for the Sharks.

Sandilands, Grover, Woods, McManus, Cook, Smith, Browne, Siegert & Schammer have all been dropped in the past 2 seasons., in addition to trying Dunn, Murphy, Gilmore & Dodd for a few games here and there.

Connolly does drop players, he just hasn't dropped Farmer, Medhurst and Headland... and until he does, this unfounded criticism of him with "gold passes" will remain.

 

[Ripper]

I think Popey that the Gold pass argument was bought up because of the selection of a clearly underdone Schofield.

 

[ThePope]

I think Popey that the Gold pass argument was bought up because of the selection of a clearly underdone Schofield.

So why wasn't he mentioned? One game does not mean a gold pass.
I doubt he'll play again this week, but the talk of Connolly and favourites will remain... unless we play like we did against Melb or Pies.

It's very rare that a winning team gets called soft.

 

[Ripper]

So why wasn't he mentioned? One game does not mean a gold pass.
I doubt he'll play again this week, but the talk of Connolly and favourites will remain... unless we play like we did against Melb or Pies.

It's very rare that a winning team gets called soft.

He was on another thread not on this one, my mistake. IMO he clearly needed more games at Subi before he was duckshoved into the team before others.

I was disappointed with the decision as I thought that was a thing of the past. Hopefully it was just an aberation.

 

[Scham]

Every one is mentioning Schofield coming back early. What about Polak!
Comes back early and not via the WAFL like he should of!
We win by 112 points and Conolly drops Johnson who was going well and rushes Polak back - why??

Connolly definately has favourites and the club has said so publicly over the off season and assured the supporters that it had been addressed and wouldn't happen again. Yeah right!

 

[Farrand]

I can't stress enough how much this supposed rebuilding to achieve a flag in four or five years failed to blood some of the younger guys. It is all good and well claiming that this group of players will be around for ten years, but that means nothing when hardly any of them got a game at the start.

Seems to me CC persists in playing those guys who had experience back in the 2001 -2002 seasons, with very few changes being made to that side. And if the press hypes up a kid for having amazing potential, then in CC's side he is an automatic walk-in.

What I am getting at is that CC has this mindset that those players who originally made his team when he began coaching in 2002 will always be the foundation of his team, whether they are poor or not. Anyone else is chance. It doesn't matter if they kicked 30 goals in a game in the WAFL, if there is a player he likes the name of, then that player gets precedence.

Players while Dodd, Gilmore, Murphy, Haines and Crowley have had some great games in the WAFL, yet they don't get in. And when they do, as Murphy did, and they have a poor performance, back to the WAFL they go.

Yet this seems like one hell of a contradictory policy. Why is that when one these guys has a bad game, they are dropped, yet CC is happy to persist with players like Headland, Medhurst and Polak? Because their names fit.

However, it would be a cop out to say that this policy didn't always work. Farmer has been in brilliant form lately, and he didn't have to get dropped once. However, we all knew already what he was capable of. These other guys that come under CC's persistance policy are just potential players. Polak and Medhurst have been hyped up as players full of potential, and they consistently they to deliver. And don't get me started on Headland, this guy was lucky to be in an awesome Brisbane team, otherwise where would he be now?

 

[theferrett]

Headland,

alot of supporters were not happy in the stands with his performance yesterday - Just standing around. Polak got a couple of bumps before the siren from the Hawks and went into a shell.

Would still play Medders though but straighten him up more.

Must praise Pav, Farmer and Black though for their efforts

 

[Eagles4Ever]

Wirrpunda is as big a front runner as Headland. Both look good in a winning side and both can be a liability in a losing one. Wirrpunda didn't find form after being dropped, it just so happened that the eagles got on a run about the same time which made him look good.

Not only are you deluded but you are going off topic. This is not a WC v Freo thread, but about giving players a free run on the park each week.

As for Wirrpunda and calling him a front runner, he has arguably been our best player until he got injured and played a massive role in getting the team to the position it is in at the moment. He's been a huge loss for us the last couple of weeks.
On the other hand, take Headland out of your side and replace him with a kid who is hungry for football and has something to prove and I doubt you would even notice he is out of the side.

 

[masai]

I was very peeved off yesterday with Des's "seagull" performance in relation to a piece of play in the first quarter where Pav had the ball and was about 70 metres out running along near the boundary, he had the ball fully under control and had an opponent on his heels about 5 metres behind him. Des was in the area and all he needed to do was "jog" across and intercept the Hawk player with a block or bump, he went for the easy option of being a seagull calling for the ball. Who is the better finisher?, look after your team mates should be number 1 creed.

The gold passes issue is something that was brought up last year and was discussed with people like Ripper. Basicly players must earn there place in the side and there is no reason why a "senior" player can't be sent for a week or two to the WAFL.

If it is good enough for JLo and Macca, it is good enough for others.

I'm calming down a little now, but one thing I can't stand is players not giving 100%. I may be a little odd but give me the "plodder" that gives 100% every week rather than the pretty boy who shines when he feels like it. I know you need flair to win games, but the pretty boys need a massive wake up call.

Rant over, my Viking blood is cooling.