"but never the negatives" ?????? Sorry KH, surely you jest !!! We are constantly inundated with diatribes about Crossy's perceived ...negatives on this forum.
I grant you readily that his lack of pace is his 'second' greatest weakness. His biggest problem these days is the MC's insistence on playing him totally out of position.
Leg pace certainly is a weakness for him, but playing him off the wing, rather than in the guts where he belongs only exaggerates and exacerbates this.
As for him "going to ground". Do you mean when that is where the ball is, or are you thinking of Gia?
And re him being a "terrible kick". Perhaps so 3-5 years back, but while he will never be elite in that department, I would say that half our list would be less reliable kicks than Cross.
While I agree he is one of the slower midfielders going around on the basis of leg speed, he is still among the elite re hand speed in the league, and since Scotty West's retirement, he has few peers re peripheral vision or courage.
For mine, injury and being used the wrong way aside, Cross still potentially has 2 good years left in him. Then he should be used in some kind of mentoring/coaching function or role with our young mids.
Continuing to be used the way he has been in the last 2 years could certainly bring his career to a premature end.
The issue of Crossy is a polarising one, but just as a suggestion - list our midfielders from recent games.
Cooney - first one or two midfielders selected in current form
Griff - first one or two selected when available.
Libba - future midfield general
Wallis - future midfield general and leader of the club
Lower - currently #1 tagger
Stevens - brought in to assist age profile, playing reasonably well without setting world on fire
Cross - ????
Boyd - captain
Dahl - one of the few with real speed and ability to carry the ball
Smith - future midfield general and real improver this year
Macrae - been very good since debut, but a few years away.
Howard - appears lost
Tutt - improving with each game he's played this year.
Picken - playing as a small defender currently.
Vez - one game and dropped for poor workrate
Now, I may have missed a couple, I haven't fully researched this.
There are two clear groups - the automatic selections and then the options.
So Griff, Cooney and Boyd (as captain) are automatically selected. I would argue that Libba, Wallis and Smith are the same, as they are the future midfield leaders to replace the older guys as they go. They may drop in and out of the side due to age and occasional form drop offs, but they will play nearly every game they are fit for. Lower is considered the #1 tagger, so plays every week. Cannot drop Dahl.
Then it starts to get more interesting with the options. Picken is playing as a defender now. Stevens was brought in for list balance and also because he can play as an inside AND outside mid. Howard and Vez may or may not make it, Tutt has improved and Macrae is just learning. Prudden/Hrovat/Hunter etc are all in the same category.
With the possible exception of Picken, all the guys (Howard, Tutt, Macrae etc) above are not as good a player as Crossy is right now. But - these guys are potentially the future for us. We need to work out if these guys are going to make it, give them experience (for the recent draftees) and see if they can adapt to Macca's requirements and make a contribution.
If we continue to play Crossy in all games, at the expense of others, then we'll have massive drop off when he and Boyd retire. Why ? Because it'll be Libba, Wallis, Smith and then four or five 20 year olds with no AFL experience. Our rebuild will last forever.
If you play Cross ahead of Lower/Stevens/Libba/Smith/Wallis in the middle - then why did you bring them or draft them to the club. Long term we will get more benefit from Will Minson learning to play with Libba and Wallis than with Crossy. Why recruit Stevens and Lower if you aren't going to play them where needed and where they can add the most value.
This is short term pain for longer term gain. Crossy may be the #1 extractor, but other people need to learn how to do that. Otherwise we're in for a world of hurt in a few years.
Some of the guys (Vez, Howard etc) may not make it. But they should be trialled to see if they do and also because if Cross isn't playing in his preferred position, they bring leg speed and/or kicking skills to the side, which Cross doesn't have. Crossy can always come in to the side when the kids start to tire, we have injuries or playing a side without huge amounts of leg speed or experience, but when we are looking at team balance - saying he can't be dropped is dangerous.
Macca has a real difficult juggling act here. We shouldn't just dump Cross to the 2's and leave him there, as this isn't beneficial - he adds value, courage and experience. But he's not an automatic selection anymore. His weaknesses are being exploited and we need to introduce fresh blood to his role, otherwise we'll just be forever rebuilding... He needs to play another 8 - 10 games this year and maybe even next. But he needs to accept that his time is almost done and it's time to hand the reins over to the next group. And so do some of the supporters....