Opinion Josh Cowan - worth the wait?

[Baudolino]

But for me it counters comments like he used the ball poorly and showed bad decision making, he used it well and lowered his eyes at times where he could have been excused for bombing it long. .

This is a fair point. It's true his game wasn't a non-stop array of disposal errors as some have implied. That said, many of his disposals were just simple, high-percentage, low-risk passes that one would expect an AFL-standard player to execute.

And there were some poor turnovers mixed in with those too.

 

[Pollywaffle]

I think they are trying to give him a solid block of games to prove himself, but he needs to do more to keep his place with Menegola, Selwood and Cocky et al getting ready to press for spots.
With no real standout features in his game I agree that he will probably be done if he cannot nail a spot this year.
I would like to see one of those compilation videos ( kudos for that) on Murdoch too.
Still haven't seen much to change my opinion of him as a clogger this year...

 

[Partridge]

But don't understand the need to question his existence on the list.

He is a fringe player in poor form, drop him. But maybe he will find some better form later in the year.

Fair enough.

- How about that he's been there for seven full seasons before this one and contributed virtually nothing?
- How about that he's never consistently starred at senior level nor come remotely close to it?
- How about that unlike others he's never knocked the door down by dominating the VFL (and didn't last year either)?
- How about that there is no facet in the game that he is anything but average in?
- How about that he has zero physical strength when that's one aspect after seven seasons that should be well developed?
- How about after so long on the list, with so many injuries, for so little output, you should be pretty bloody special to justify being kept?

He is not completely out of his depth, a record of 16 wins, 1 loss, counts for something.

You understand that it's a team sport right? Brown only played in two losses in his tenure. Varcoe wouldn't have played in that many more - he played in an incredible percentage of wins, but was moved on also. There are way too many variables to pretend Cowan's witches hat impersonations on the half back flank is the magical reason we win games.

 

[bulletproof]

Fair enough.

- How about that he's been there for seven full seasons before this one and contributed virtually nothing?
- How about that he's never consistently starred at senior level nor come remotely close to it?
- How about that unlike others he's never knocked the door down by dominating the VFL (and didn't last year either)?
- How about that there is no facet in the game that he is anything but average in?
- How about that he has zero physical strength when that's one aspect after seven seasons that should be well developed?
- How about after so long on the list, with so many injuries, for so little output, you should be pretty bloody special to justify being kept?



You understand that it's a team sport right? Brown only played in two losses in his tenure. Varcoe wouldn't have played in that many more - he played in an incredible percentage of wins, but was moved on also. There are way too many variables to pretend Cowan's witches hat impersonations on the half back flank is the magical reason we win games.

I think you are being overly definitive in those statements.

He has played around ten games in a row in a side that has lost 1 game in that time. So there is probably room for a different view on his abilities, which must be the view held by those who select the side.

I’d say he will get dropped this week because his form is quite poor now. But he was playing better towards the end of last season, when we had virtually no injuries and he was comfortably inside the 22.

 

[Turbocat]

The main problem is that he's 26 and never had a good game. Plenty of players had poor games against NM, but you know or suspect they have the capacity to perform a lot better. You'd certainly hope younger players like Lang and Thurlow would get better and we know Motlop is inconsistent but brilliant at his best. Cowan, on the other hand, is in his mid-20s and never really looked at home as an AFL player. When he's going from mediocre to terrible, I don't understand why he should keep his spot.

Cowan is garnering praise in this thread for happening to stand in a North player's way. Sorry, but at AFL level, you need to do a little more than that. No coaching team can accept performances like that from a senior player. Doing so risks seeing complacency seep further into this group. He needs to be dropped and forced to re-earn his spot through the VFL. Only exemplary form over a period of games should see him in the frame to return. Unfortunately for him, my guess is that, once dropped, that's him done. They should take similar views with GHS, Cowan and Murdoch; give them a shot early and if they don't stack up, that's it. I'd say GHS has taken the opportunity and been decent with limited game time. Cowan has continued to show he's a clogger.

Garnering praise? Id say i was point out that even when having a bad game he had one good moment. And he also needs to improve. And if GHS is out a Cowan stay is more likely

 

[Partridge]

On a slow play with 3 minutes left and the scores level, Scott Thompson is unbelievably allowed to wander into acres of space in the centre of the ground. Cowan reads the play, leaves his man and makes a spoil. It turns what would've been an easy, dangerous forward 50 entry into a 50-50 ball in the middle of the ground. Unfortunately we're 2nd to the contest and Cowan's man is the lucky one on the end of it to kick a nice goal. Sometimes shit happens but if we win the ball on the ground instead and get the winning goal out of it Cowan would (or at least should) be lauded as the hero in causing the turnover. Instead everyone wants him out of the team

I get the impression reading this that the answer is "Cowan must not be blamed", and every argument works backwards from there.

 

[iameviljez]

I’d say he will get dropped this week because his form is quite poor now. But he was playing better towards the end of last season, when we had virtually no injuries and he was comfortably inside the 22.

"Comfortably inside the best 22" is an odd description - I get the feeling that if Ruggles hadn't been towelled up in the QF then Cowan wouldn't have been played against Sydney.

 

[iameviljez]

The main problem is that he's 26 and never had a good game. Plenty of players had poor games against NM, but you know or suspect they have the capacity to perform a lot better.

When I agree with Biggy, either it's a chilly day in hell or the response to something is very, very obvious.

Can we please talk about Chris Scott now? I feel the need to disagree with him again.

 

[Partridge]

For what it's worth, I thought he was a liability on the day. The defensive running/guarding space defense isn't as inherently without merit as some pretend - footballers are drilled in off-the-ball work and positional play too, and just as there are good ball users and bad ball users, so too are there good off-the-ball players and bad off-the-ball players, and that needs to be factored in to evaluations of players - but as far as I'm concerned, even if one were to grant the premise that he's doing a reasonably competent job as a defensive winger off-the-ball, he still needs to be contributing in other areas to be worth his place in the team. And he's just not.

Thanks for putting that up. Still don't see what value he adds I'm afraid. Curious that the second holding the ball decision garnered the criticism; the first one was just as bad. He simply doesn't have the strength to try and break tackles.

 

[Footy Smarts]

I get the impression reading this that the answer is "Cowan must not be blamed", and every argument works backwards from there.

Did you see that piece of play? He turned an easy Thompson mark in the centre of the ground into a 50/0 contest. Are you seriously saying Cowan deserves some 'blame' for that? He made some mistakes on the weekend as I've pointed out but apparently you want him to be blamed when he does something very good. I've admitted and even highlighted his mistakes from the eeekend. It's posters like you who seem to be just making stuff up about his game, as proven by the video, and then wanting to criticise even those plays where he contributes positively.

 

[Partridge]

Did you see that piece of play? He turned an easy Thompson mark in the centre of the ground into a 50/0 contest. Are you seriously saying Cowan deserves some 'blame' for that? He made some mistakes on the weekend as I've pointed out but apparently you want him to be blamed when he does something very good. I've admitted and even highlighted his mistakes from the eeekend. It's posters like you who seem to be just making stuff up about his game, as proven by the video, and then wanting to criticise even those plays where he contributes positively.

Not at all. And you're welcome to read any of my posts in here and see how often I've blamed him for things he didn't do.

For the passage you mention, it's a spoil. It's regulation, it's what you would expect from every player in the team. As are his 25 metre passes. They are the most basic skills that every senior footballer should be able to execute blindfolded. I don't see how it proves that keeping him around has been validated.

My opinion is the same as it was. I don't see anything he provides that can't be provided by other younger, stronger, and better players.

 

[Footy Smarts]

For the passage you mention, it's a spoil. It's regulation, it's what you would expect from every player in the team.

See this is where your clear bias comes in. Nobody is saying the spoil itself is anything but regulation. But his reading of the play to leave his man who is 25-30m away to get there in order to make the spoil is nothing short of brilliant. I'm sorry but if you can't see that you're either blinded by hatred or have simply no understanding of the defensive side of the game.

 

[bulletproof]

Good trolling to manage Cowan and not omit him.

 

[catstorm]

so is this it for Cowan, do we think baring colossal injury issues that we have seen the last of him in a Geelong jumper?

 

[Footy Smarts]

Good trolling to manage Cowan and not omit him.

Well played MC. The melts if he gets brought straight back in will be epic.

 

[Willo_]

so is this it for Cowan, do we think baring colossal injury issues that we have seen the last of him in a Geelong jumper?

I highly doubt it

 

[RegHickeyStand]

so is this it for Cowan, do we think baring colossal injury issues that we have seen the last of him in a Geelong jumper?

He'll be back this season. He is a handy player. But so far he has not proven to be good enough as a long term propostion, and his poorer games condemn him. It's brutal in the top competition.

 

[catstorm]

He'll be back this season. He is a handy player. But so far he has not proven to be good enough as a long term propostion, and his poorer games condemn him. It's brutal in the top competition.

my issue is at 26 he is offering no more than what a 19 year old in his first season can offer, at this point i don't think their is any chance that he will improve significantly so I would rather go with someone younger ( Like Parsons) who will be as good or slightly worse right now but has the potential to far exceed anything Cowan will ever give us.

 

[dazbroncos]

I think there is still, like Vader, good in him...

But he needs to produce more. He was better IMO in those 8 games at the end of last year. He gets back to that, he's pushing his way back in.

But not now.

GO Catters

 

[Two Planks]

Managed is a word i associate with Cowan all the time. Every Friday i wonder how he managed to get picked again.

 

[catempire]

He simply doesn't have the strength to try and break tackles.

Yes yes yes! Or the strength to stick them.

 

[Willo_]

I think there is still, like Vader, good in him...

But he needs to produce more. He was better IMO in those 8 games at the end of last year. He gets back to that, he's pushing his way back in.

But not now.

GO Catters

I have a different take on his games last season, he wasn't offering much different to what he has this season... bar about 2 games most here were questioning his spot weekly... and almost every person and expert had him fringe best 22 or not in it at all.

Him not being selected really IMO is a reflection that we are getting our best 22 on the park slowly... but what we have seen I think is all we will ever see.

 

[dazbroncos]

I have a different take on his games last season, he wasn't offering much different to what he has this season... bar about 2 games most here were questioning his spot weekly... and almost every person and expert had him fringe best 22 or not in it at all.

Him not being selected really IMO is a reflection that we are getting our best 22 on the park slowly... but what we have seen I think is all we will ever see.

You may well be correct.

And I think that getting games into Parsons, Parfitt, Hyphen, Cocky and even Zuthrie will make life harder for him.

So its really on his plate now. Stay healthy, go back to the VFL and make it impossible to leave him out or see out the year there and thanks for the time.

One thing ive always said in the LTI's defense was that I wanted them to get the chance to show their wares. Menz and Linc have shown the wait was worth it IMO, Cowan less so. Now is the time for him to show it.. or dont.

Go Catters

 

[candiehappy]

When I agree with Biggy, either it's a chilly day in hell or the response to something is very, very obvious.

Can we please talk about Chris Scott now? I feel the need to disagree with him again.

You have been posting a bit - you must have an assessment due ?

 

[Daniel McL]

I think there is still, like Vader, good in him...

But he needs to produce more. He was better IMO in those 8 games at the end of last year. He gets back to that, he's pushing his way back in.

But not now.

GO Catters

So you're saying that as soon as Cowan shows that good in him he'll die?