K.Harper

[Husk]

Good points there. I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now. I know Harps is the future and it may hurt to miss the final but if we are fair dinkum about picking on form, he needs a spell. Maybe Wells should come in for him and not Cruize.

Agree he has been struggling for a while.

Cruize definitely provides more flexibility in that he can move into the middle, as well as play as a small forward.

If Scott is serious about winning and not just getting games into the anointed ones he should be given a spell when Wells comes back.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

If we're going to rest him it should've been against Freo. No better opportunity to get his hands on the footy than this week.

 

[Rooboy 96]

gotta love all those who after we have made the finals suggest we should have rested Harps for game we had to win, it is way to easy to be smart after the event, even for some here.

 

[Kimbo]

Good question, it reflects one area where I think Brad Scott could improve and that is cycling so called 'fringe players' (those in the VFL on the cusp of playing in the seniors) through the senior team 1-2 or 3 players a week.

We're not there yet imo. We're still at a stage of development that is about getting games and consistency into a core group.

 

[Twinkletoes]

If we're going to rest him it should've been against Freo. No better opportunity to get his hands on the footy than this week.

Presuming Harps does play, I'm sure that will be the coaches' thinking. Play him back into some form. He needs to have his hands on the footy more. We know how damaging he can be when he does!

 

[Chron]

People here need to calm their farms.

Yes, Harps has not been as damaging as we all know he could be, but there is a reason. A quick visit to the club website showed that harps is currently ranked 3rd at the club for tackles with 69, an average of 3.3 per game, which takes into account the games he was the sub, with only Cunners (103) and Swallow (158) in-front of him. Over the past few weeks I've watched him and i have come to the conclusion that the coaches are taking every opportunity to develop his defensive game to ensure he is not a one trick pony.

Prior he would only run forward now he is running both ways as a majority our boys are, which is the main reason why over the last few weeks as a team ( with the exception of sundays 4th quarter) we haven't conceded as many goals as we did earlier in the year. The kid has played 35 games, once he develops the tank and strength of a 50 to 100 + gamer and has his attacking brilliance and hard-nosed defensive abilities everybody will once again from a collective jizz over him.

Have some faith in the path we are taking with Harps and all our young players, the only way they will improve is with game time and when they do get exposed and don't learn from it then drop them, lets not cull players just because they don't reach our expectations or desires, part of our roosurgence was due to our younger guys stepping up.

Be patient, they will bear fruit.

 

[muttley45]

as i said previously i am sure harps pressure acts would be right up there over the last few weeks,the goals will come,and i have seen him lay some great tackles recently which for the most part have gone unrewarded

 

[LB2Snake]

People here need to calm their farms.
Yes, Harps has not been as damaging as we all know he could be, but there is a reason. I quick visit to the club website showed that harps is currently ranked 3rd at the club for tackles with 69, an average of 3.3 per game, which takes into account the games he was the sub, with only Cunners (103) and Swallow (158) in-front of him. Over the past few weeks I've watched him and i have come to the conclusion that the coaches are taking every opportunity to develop his defensive game to ensure he is not a one trick pony.

Prior he would only run forward now he is running both ways as a majority our boys are, which is the main reason why over the last few weeks as a team ( with the exception of sundays 4th quarter) we haven't conceded as many goals as we did earlier in the year. The kid has played 35 games, once he develops the tank and strength of a 50 to 100 + gamer and has his attacking brilliance and hard-nosed defensive abilities everybody will once again from a collective jizz over him.

Have some faith in the path we are taking with Harps and all our young players, the only way they will improve is with game time and when they do get exposed and don't learn from it then drop them, lets not cull players just because they don't reach our expectations or desires, part of our roosurgence was due to our younger guys stepping up.

Be patient, they will bear fruit.

Interesting post Chron. Wasn't aware of the stats. Harps looked shagged to me on weekend. If all this is true I'm happy to stick with the path. And again, shows a bloody interesting side to the coaching strategies. Love it.

 

[Chron]

Interesting post Chron. Wasn't aware of the stats. Harps looked shagged to me on weekend. If all this is true I'm happy to stick with the path. And again, shows a bloody interesting side to the coaching strategies. Love it.

I think the reason he looks shagged is that hes come up against harden bodies in the Pies and Fremantle and the contested nature is taking a toll on him. As has been said earlier if they wanted to rest him i agree it should have been against Fremantle, but they going to crash into big bodies come next week regardless of who we play.

 

[The Chiefton]

We could have rested Kieran Harper against either Melbourne or the Bulldogs, possibly both.

If he goes out now, he might not regain his spot if someone like Mullett or Greenhead play a good game, which is fair game by the way.

Then again, in 4 weeks time we could have hammered our way in to a Grand final, meaning a rest would have been warranted

 

[utility]

May be a minor case of second year blues. I doubt a poor work ethic has anything to do with his form.

HFF can be a bit of a graveyard when things don't run your way, just look at the amount of flak LT has copped on BF.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

May be a minor case of second year blues. I doubt a poor work ethic has anything to do with his form.

HFF can be a bit of a graveyard when things don't run your way, just look at the amount of flak LT has copped on BF.

Totally agree. But he needs to learn how to get his hands on the footy more, needs to run to the right places and provide an option. I want to see him work into games like patch does. The more the footy in his hands the better off our tall forwards will be.

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

Good question, it reflects one area where I think Brad Scott could improve and that is cycling so called 'fringe players' (those in the VFL on the cusp of playing in the seniors) through the senior team 1-2 or 3 players a week. On the weekend Goldy should not have played, who could cover for him? Even if they had been available neither Daw or Mabon have played a senior game, if one or both of them had even 2-3 senior games in them we could be a lot more confident about sticking them in the side if needed in two weeks time. I think this week Grima and Wells will come back for Delaney and Garlett and we should rest JMac, Atley and Harper bringing in Greenwood, Mullet and Daw?

I reckon we'll see more of this next year, when hopefully we should be entrenched for the finals earlier in the season and aiming for top 4.

 

[GarnerSmash]

Coach reckons he is doing a great job in a difficult role in which he doesn't get a great deal of the pill. As long as he applies pressure and hits the scoreboard he will stay in the team.

 

[mark73]

Totally agree about Ziebell. His decision making and kicking has been crap.

He's been out of the job for 4 weeks. Can't imagine why.

 

[Passmore]

Not sure about second year blues given Kieren has improved this year.

 

[skittler]

Really just wish Harps was getting more of the footy just because of the fact we all know how damaging he can be with it in his hands. Either way it will be good for him to get a taste of finals footy.

 

[shinboner magic]

Should be played on a wing this week to get a bit more ball and find some form for the finals.
Would be very dangerous in open space.

 

[royals1922]

May be a minor case of second year blues. I doubt a poor work ethic has anything to do with his form.

HFF can be a bit of a graveyard when things don't run your way, just look at the amount of flak LT has copped on BF.

Second year blues, if so, what has Shortsteppel had.....

 

[naturally north]

2011 - 12 goals 4

2012- 21 goals 18

Reckon he's doing ok for a young kid learning the ropes.

 

[Kimbo]

To my mind it is not just about pumping games into an individual. It is about all our developing players spending time on the field together, and developing the necessary synergistic understanding of team structures and of each other's idiosyncrasies, strengths and weaknesses etc. So, yes, Harps is still developing etc. but more so, he's spending time alongside what we hope are his future premiership team mates.

 

[Kcrack]

2011 - 12 goals 4

2012- 21 goals 18

Reckon he's doing ok for a young kid learning the ropes.

He's missed a load of easy goals he'd normally eat up. Should of kicked at least 30 this year. Still, the fact that he's had around 40 scoring shots without finding the ball much, is damn impressive.