It's Going To Hurt

[TheRealBuzz]

Watching Scott Cummings in the black & white this year.

Last night he showed why he is such a quality full forward.
He times his leads perfectly so his midfielders can look up and instantly know where to put the ball.
He can't take a pack mark, but he uses his body very smartly and always brings the ball to ground for the crumbers.
And most importantly, when he kicks for goals, he never bloody misses.

I reckon he'll kick a few bags of 10+ this year, and probably finish with 60-70 goals for the year.

Now I love Woosha just as much as the rest of you, and I think he's done a terrific job so far. But I still can't see why he would de-list Cummo and leave all the responsibility to Troy Wilson.

I've got nothing against Willow, and I think he deserves a lot of credit for the way he's stepped into AFL football as a 29yr old rookie. But if Cummings is fit, happy and confident then he's twice the player Willow is. Period.

Who would you prefer on the list at the moment....
Cummings or Wooden?
Cummings or Harding?
Cummings or Prior?

Think about it.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Cummings or Wooden? Wooden (a late bloomer, may be a useful utility yet)
Cummings or Harding? Cummings (I'd pick anyone over Harding)
Cummings or Prior? Prior (Not flashy, but did his job last year. Prior easily).

 

[mentalgrind]

Don't get Jod started again

I personaly would have prefered Cummings over Wilson. Woosha was forced to make a judgement call as obviously haveing both big men down in the forward line wasn't working. Wooshas' high standard of work ethic would have had him back on track.

I hope he does get another Coleman medal and prove all his knockers wrong.

 

[Mead]

I'm a big fan of cummings, and like a lot of eagles fans, i was very sorry to see him go last year. Having said that, i guess i can understand why he was cut- a new team was probably best for him, and we needed to devote all our attentions to one key FF- maybe it should have been cummings over willow, or maybe it shouldn't- in any event, if we do better this year than last, then we made the right decision, no matter how well scotty does at collingwood

 

[iceman]

i for one wanted Cummings to stay

if you look at our forward line structure, it looks heaps better with Cummings at FF rather than Wilson (this will change if Willow starts kicking straight!!)

i guess what it came down to was Woosha had to make a choice between Willow and Cummings and he chose Wilson, lets hope it was a smart decision

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by mentalgrind
Don't get Jod started again

Was breaking my heart last night watching that game I love Whoosha and i think he is doing a great job turning around the club but i really think we should have kept Cummings. He looks in great shape, i noticed Dermot and Garry Lyons making jokes about Cummings and his weight during the game but when i looked at him all i saw was a very lean, fit big man. He looks great. Kicked 5 too....

 

[GoEagles]

It's obvious that Cummings will always have a good first year at whatever club he turns up at. Maybe it would be better to save the judgements until the end of his 2nd year - the proof will be in the pudding:

Can he consistantly (more than 1 year) kick bags of goals for a club, or will he get lazy, fat as Leigh Brown, injured and lose his confidence?

 

[Geonet]

I didn't want Cummings to leave but later understood one of the Wooshas reasons. Scott Cummings is eveything Buzz said but I heard he's a little bit of a distraction that Worsfold didn't want in his team. You know what I mean he's the jokester of the team and that can be both good a bad. On one hand he can provide entertainment to the team and sometimes lift the team's spirit, but on the other hand it distracts the team from its main purpose which is being absolutelly serious about winning games! Jokes in the wrong settings can lead to lack of concentration conducive to an atmosphere of indiscipline. Furthermore a team with a player like Cummings tend to start playing too much for him and Woosha doesn't seem to want that. He prefers to spread the goal kicking responsibility to all the players. A little bit like those soccer teams that follow the principle of "total football", where most players can defend and most can attack and kick goals.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Cummings is a one-dimensional player, I cannot imagine him doing anything other than leading out of the square. He also needs others to pass the ball to him, so in a weak team he is useless. He NEVER wins the ball for himself, he NEVER takes a contested mark, he NEVER puts his body on the line, and he has a turning circle bigger than a Boeing747.

Wilson on the otherhand is hard at the ball often causing defenders to spill the ball, he always takes contested marks, and he is capable of playing FF, CHF, or even in defence. Only weakness is his poor kicking, but he more than makes up for that with his presence in the forward line (all defenders think twice about taking a mark).

Now tell me, why is losing Cummings so bad? I like Scotty, he's a funny guy. But end of the day i would be willing to offload any player that is a detriment to the team.


Ohh, and scotty eats all the sausage rolls at family days

 

[bunsen burner]

Just because he may play well for the Pies this year doesn't necessarily mean that he would have played well for the Eagles. Cummings is mentally fragile and had to go. I would rather sacrifice him just to show the rest of the team that feeling sorry for yourself just doesn't cut it in AFL football.

 

[jod23]

Its also annoying now because i cant hate Collingwood with the same passion as i did before....

 

[Darky]

Originally posted by TheRealBuzz

I reckon he'll kick a few bags of 10+ this year, and probably finish with 60-70 goals for the year.

Isn't this Cummings' main problem... a couple of big bags, and 20 games of going almost kickless? Not what most would want from a full forward.

This is what Sav used to do at Collingwood. Now he is on a HFF for North kicking 2-3 a week, rarely more, rarely less, but consistently 2-3. Does a lot of work on the ground as well these days, not just in the air. Very reliable and diverese player in his new role, and he's a bloke of roughly the same physique of Cummings.

I wonder how many of you during the season will bag Farmer for kicking 7-8 in a couple of games and going missing for the other 18-20 games.

 

[thegur]

i'd take Wilson.

If you really want to stop Cummings, you place a man in front of the spot he is leading to, preferably a tall. he has taken about ten overhead marks in his career, of which two were contested.

He doesn't chase and rarely provides a second effort. He is the reason why full-forwards are being fazed out, one-dimensional, he is incapable of doing any other job other than leading, marking on his ample chest and kicking. Having said all that, along with Jason Heatley, he is the best set shot kick for goal in the past fifteen years.

if you want me to start listing every attribute t-wil has going for, just ask.

rant over

thegur

 

[mentalgrind]

originally posted by thegur

if you want me to start listing every attribute t-wil has going for, just ask.

go on then

 

[Frodo]

A fit Scotty with the right attitude would have kicked over 1000 goals in his career. His Coleman medal season with WCE made him an icon. His skills in leading and bodywork are outstanding. But what since? Lazy, fat, disruptive, injury prone. Would he be back in that groove under Woosha? Probably. And what effect on team morale when training becomes 'joke time'. It's not Scotty v BB its Scotty v BB plus a much more focused andf committed squad, playing for each other. And so IMO Woosha was extremeley correct, as pre~season games have shown.
I hope Scotty has a good season for the Pies, he usually has one for a club and then gets back to the dorkman trait.

Another thought is about tall poppies in general. I have a feeling that Kangaroos will be a much better team without Carey. He wasn't liked much there by the players and perhaps there will be more of a team spirit without him. Time will tell.