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Leo Barry

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Has been out for a long while with injuries, it was a knee at the start of the season then i think played in one reseves match about 5 weeks ago and suddenly landed himself back on the injury list. He is projected to be back in 1-2 weeks but i have my doubts about that personally as he has been so crippled with injuries this year. If he is fit he will almost certainly play the last few rounds for a farewell (possibly just the last one, who knows). If he was fit this year i reckon he would've been struggling to make it back into the side anyway unfortunately.
 

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Dead.
 
Injured, but like I said last year - much to the snorts of derisement from people like bedders who think I know nothing about footy - he should have retired then. Not adding anything to the team, even if he was uninjured. Our backline is the only part of our team I've been completely happy with this year.
 
Hes a loyal son and if he wants to keep marching while he still wears the red and white, he should be respected and given a crack(stat), if he's injured, he's injured! Give him a few senior games if he can get fit before you all hang him out to dry!
 
He isn't better than any of our back 6 based on last years form and now that he has had major injury problems how is he going to improve. It's not hanging him out to dry, it's staring reality in the face.
 
BIGBEZ said:
Hes a loyal son and if he wants to keep marching while he still wears the red and white, he should be respected and given a crack(stat), if he's injured, he's injured! Give him a few senior games if he can get fit before you all hang him out to dry!
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He played against the Bulldogs last year didn't he? And the North game before that? That could have been his farewell game.
 
Guys, I understand your reasons, just I believe we all should have his back until the day he announces his retirement, its the Bloods way!
 
Leo became somewhat of a scapegoat last year due to the fact he was attempting to run the ball out of defence more often in the absence of Kenelly and Malceski and thus getting caught more often but he was still more than capable of taking the oppositions 2nd or 1st forward and doing a good job. I'm not denying he wasn't quite the player he was in the past but some of the criticism directed at him was over the top (Funnily enough, it seemed to be the same people that constantly criticised LRT yet praised Mattner for games where he managed to turn the ball over with a consistency that Leo could never possibly match).

Either way.. injuries have probably put an end to what has been a brilliant career that will be imortalised for his permiership saving mark. Get him right, let him play and give him the champions send off he deserves.
 
Stat_Machine said:
Injured, but like I said last year - much to the snorts of derisement from people like bedders who think I know nothing about footy - he should have retired then. Not adding anything to the team, even if he was uninjured. Our backline is the only part of our team I've been completely happy with this year.
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He was always going to be a depth player this year. That's why he relinquished his co-captaincy. I can tell you right now, with Craig Bolton out of the team, and Grundy and Richards both being forced to play man-on-man in defence, which neither are ultimately suited to, a fit Leo Barry would be a welcome addition to the team. It would either free up Richards to play loose like he does best, or it would free up Grundy to play forward, like he does best. As it is, we're stuck with two players playing out of position, and their form and confidence is suffering as a consequence.
 

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the thought that we could have taken 2, 3 or 4 more youngsters last year pains me. There should have been 2, 3 maybe four more spots freed up on our list with the PROPER retirements, parting of ways, etc... with players such as barry, coney, kennelly, fossie. Oh well, we did as best as we could with our recruitment last year.
 
Not sure if he's available for selection atm, but to be brutally honest I'd be happy for him not to play - excepting a farewell game in Rd 22 at the SCG. I don't think his form last year was bad and when fit he'd probably be in our best 22. But the writing is on the wall for our club in terms of desperately needing to vet some kids and turnover our list. I have huge respect for what Leo has given to our club over many, many years but his time has come.
 
Bega Barlow said:
the thought that we could have taken 2, 3 or 4 more youngsters last year pains me. There should have been 2, 3 maybe four more spots freed up on our list with the PROPER retirements, parting of ways, etc... with players such as barry, coney, kennelly, fossie. Oh well, we did as best as we could with our recruitment last year.
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Yeah ditto. Even 2 late picks to replace Fosdike and Tadgh would have been useful :(
 
Bega Barlow said:
the thought that we could have taken 2, 3 or 4 more youngsters last year pains me. There should have been 2, 3 maybe four more spots freed up on our list with the PROPER retirements, parting of ways, etc... with players such as barry, coney, kennelly, fossie. Oh well, we did as best as we could with our recruitment last year.
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fair points, but at least Barry didnt believe he wouldnt contribute...
 
He really struggled with the new hands in the back interpretation. Leo's strength was being able to run and nudge his opponent under the ball, because he couldn't win in a strength contest. After they went nuts cracking down on any of that, he lost his main defensive weapon.

Who knows, he may have done better this year now they've loosened up on that.
 
BIGBEZ said:
fair points, but at least Barry didnt believe he wouldnt contribute...
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true, very true.

It's not as if those extra picks would have made a difference this year, but we could have taken a kpp backman and maybe a speedy so and so with a bit of x-factor in need of development. Oh well, hopefully we draft a full range of young kids this year!!
 

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With Bolton injured, Malceski down on form &Teddy making errors, if fit, Leo would be in our best available six hands down!

I was thinking late in the Adelaide game how Leo would have handled the Teddy Richards situation. Wouldn't have done worse & his leadership down back is second to none!

Certain to retire this year, perhaps in weeks!
I'm expecting another announcement soon.
 
Stat_Machine said:
Injured, but like I said last year - much to the snorts of derisement from people like bedders who think I know nothing about footy - he should have retired then. Not adding anything to the team, even if he was uninjured. Our backline is the only part of our team I've been completely happy with this year.
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:eek:

our backline has been flat out awful this year!
 
Skystyler said:
:eek:

our backline has been flat out awful this year!
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I wouldn't go that far. Craig Bolton is in AA form. LRT has improved a lot. Richards was good prior to the last few weeks. Shaw has been more than serviceable. Mattner has his good and bad games. Bevan is the only player I am disappointed with this season because he hasn't matched last years form. So to say our backline has been flat out awful is a bit of a joke.
 
If we had two big, capable defenders (LRT is only just getting there) last year, then Leo could play on people his size and probably dominate them. He was up against men taller and stronger than him for most of his career and performed brilliantly.
 
He will probably retire at the end of this season. For the last 2-3 years he has not been my favourite player to be honest. But i did enjoy watching him dart out of defense in seasons prior to that. I think he done well to rejuvinate his career to be fair, he was struggling as a forward and he probably could have been delisted as i remember it. But done well for a few seasons after down in defense.
 

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