Playing the kids?

[Marlin01]

It seems to be a common belief among West Coast supporters (including myself) that the club is currently "playing the kids".

To me this implies that we are playing younger players over older ones, who in all likelihood would provide a better on-field performance than their younger counterparts. Looking at the team list, I reckon this may not be the case, afterall.

Below is the West Coast team which took on Richmond last week:

B: Matt Spangher, Darren Glass, David Wirrpanda
HB: Adam Selwood, Eric Mackenzie, Shannon Hurn
C: Mark Nicoski, Daniel Kerr, Matt Rosa
HF: Chris Masten, Josh Kennedy, Scott Selwood
F: Nic Naitanui, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras
Foll: Dean Cox, Matt Priddis, Brad Ebert
I/C: Mitch Brown , Jamie McNamara, Tyson Stenglein, Tom Swift

The following players were available for selection but were overlooked:

Sam Butler, Chad Fletcher, Ashley Hansen, Tim Houlihan, Brett Jones, Jordan Jones, Patrick McGinnity, Tony Notte, Will Schofield, Mark Seaby, Ashley Smith, Brent Staker, Beau Wilkes

My question to you is this:

Which of the "senior players" that were overlooked for selection, would have improved our performance against Richmond and who would they have replaced in the chosen team?

TBH, I can't think of any and I'd say we are currently playing our strongest 22, not "playing the kids" as such.

 

[bunsen burner]

Butler, Fletcher, Staker right at this moment are better players than Swift. Brett Jones is better than Spangher. I'd also say the majority of time masten has been in, Fletcher has been a better player than him.

 

[Underdog]

I just posted this on the Freo forum as they suggested they were playing far more kids then us.

Masten, Spangher, Mackenzie, Brown and Ebert played round 1

Round 2 we introduced McKinley and Davis.

What a myth.

So we gave some of our premiership players a last shot - it's not like we weren't developing around them.

Additionally, here are the games both teams have pumped into kids under 23.

Hurn 12
Masten 11
McNamara 5
Ebert 7
Selwood 6
Brown 11
Kennedy 6
Swift 3
Cockie 4
MacKenzie 11
McKinley 10
Spangher 4
Schofield 3
Naitanui 1
Davis 2
Rosa 12
Lecras 11

17 player with total games of 119

Pearce 1
Suban 11
Hill 11
DeBoer 6
Walters 1
Pratt 1
Hinkley 6
Palmer 5
Ibbotson 11
Drum 1
Broughton 4

11 players with total games of 58

You've been giving games to a mixture of kids and inexperienced players that includes; Foster, Murphy, Duffield, Campbell, Browne and Head - I wouldn't call them kids.

I think some people forget that guys like Hurn, Kennedy, Rosa etc are still kids. They are still 22. Far from fully developed.

 

[Snooperclyde]

Hunter, McKinley, Cockie, and Davis should all be included on your list and I would like to see Cockie back in the side.

I think it is time to play the youngsters now.

We know what Brett Jones, Fletcher, Hansen, Seaby and Staker can offer the team and none of these players should come back into the side unless injury or outstanding WAFL form dictate.

Wilkes, Houlihan, Cockie and to a lesser extent Davis, Butler and Jordan Jones deserve some games to prove their worth.

Stenglein and Nicoski must surely be skating on thin ice.

 

[Underdog]

My question to you is this:

Which of the "senior players" that were overlooked for selection, would have improved our performance against Richmond and who would they have replaced in the chosen team?

TBH, I can't think of any and I'd say we are currently playing our strongest 22, not "playing the kids" as such.

This also implies that we must play all the kids.

We don't.

Apart from Stenglein (who is well past it), Wirrpanda (who may be too old) and Lynch (who may get squeezed out), pretty well all of those senior players will have a role to play in our future sides so it makes little sense to drop them for the sake of dropping them.

Even the 3 above provide valuable attributes which would be invaluable to the development of the kids around them.

 

[Snooperclyde]

I just posted this on the Freo forum as they suggested they were playing far more kids then us.



I think some people forget that guys like Hurn, Kennedy, Rosa etc are still kids. They are still 22. Far from fully developed.

Kids are teenagers, first or second year players.

under 23 hardly qualifies as a kid!

 

[Underdog]

Kids are teenagers, first or second year players.

under 23 hardly qualifies as a kid!

Then it's the stupidest theory ever.

What's the point of playing the kids and then treating them like senior players after year number 2 when they are far from fully developed?

 

[Snooperclyde]

Then it's the stupidest theory ever.

What's the point of playing the kids and then treating them like senior players after year number 2 when they are far from fully developed?

So that by the time they are 22 they have 50+ games behind them.

Better than getting them on the park at 22 to start learning the caper. AFL and the extra commitment needed to excel at this level can only be learned with experience, all the watching and explaining in the world can't fully prepare a player. Only a handful of guns can walk up and fit straight in.

 

[Snooperclyde]

That is where the WCE are at, St Kilda, Doggies and Geelong are in premiership contention and don't need to blood the kids but their turn will come.

 

[Big Cox]

Kids are teenagers, first or second year players.

under 23 hardly qualifies as a kid!

Yes it does. Under 50 games qualifies as a kid surely. 10 years left in them too.

 

[Snooperclyde]

Yes it does. Under 50 games qualifies as a kid surely. 10 years left in them too.

Eligible for the rising star is the cut-off IMO.

What........10 years left in a 22yo, hehe your taking the pisss surely.

30 is about the end for 90% of the players, very few bar the guns have an impact after 30 and the way this is all going with all the running now days and injury subs on the bench next year, bodies are going to burn out more quickly.

 

[Big Cox]

Okay eligible for the rising star. Eagles have

Chris Masten - 11
Mitch Brown - 11
Eric McKenzie - 11
Scott Selwood - 6
Tom Swift - 3
Adam Cockie - 4
Matthew Spangher - 4
Nic Natanui - 1
Ryan Davis - 2
Will Schofield - 3

Freo have

Stephen Hill - 11
Nic Suban - 11
Matt De Boer - 6
Clayton Hinkley - 6
Clancy Pearce - 1
Michael Walters - 1
Luke Pratt - 1

Fair to say we have them covered regardless dont ya think

 

[Snooperclyde]

Okay eligible for the rising star. Eagles have

Chris Masten - 11
Mitch Brown - 11
Eric McKenzie - 11
Scott Selwood - 6
Tom Swift - 3
Adam Cockie - 4
Matthew Spangher - 4
Nic Natanui - 1
Ryan Davis - 2
Will Schofield - 3

Freo have

Stephen Hill - 11
Nic Suban - 11
Matt De Boer - 6
Clayton Hinkley - 6
Clancy Pearce - 1
Michael Walters - 1
Luke Pratt - 1

Fair to say we have them covered regardless dont ya think

Spot-on Big Cox, your on to it.

 

[Marlin01]

Okay eligible for the rising star. Eagles have

Chris Masten - 11
Mitch Brown - 11
Eric McKenzie - 11
Scott Selwood - 6
Tom Swift - 3
Adam Cockie - 4
Matthew Spangher - 4
Nic Natanui - 1
Ryan Davis - 2
Will Schofield - 3

Freo have

Stephen Hill - 11
Nic Suban - 11
Matt De Boer - 6
Clayton Hinkley - 6
Clancy Pearce - 1
Michael Walters - 1
Luke Pratt - 1

Fair to say we have them covered regardless dont ya think

Freo have some quality there, but they are all small. I wonder if they'll be looking for KPP this draft.

 

[Lach72]

Freo have some quality there, but they are all small. I wonder if they'll be looking for KPP this draft.

Hope so

 

[lloydbraun]

Hope so

Ash Hansen for the Dockers 1st round pick.

 

[Lach72]

Ash Hansen for the Dockers 1st round pick.

I'm sorry, we're looking for KPP's

 

[nash]

I'm sorry, we're looking for KPP's

Har har... love it!

 

[lloydbraun]

It was worth a shot considering how much was given up for Tarrant.

 

[Eastern Rangers]

Kids are teenagers, first or second year players.

under 23 hardly qualifies as a kid!

Are they KPD's, have they had any injuries problems, how many AFL games have they played?

 

[Mr Q]

So that by the time they are 22 they have 50+ games behind them.

Better than getting them on the park at 22 to start learning the caper. AFL and the extra commitment needed to excel at this level can only be learned with experience, all the watching and explaining in the world can't fully prepare a player.

Peter Matera was 21yrs 355 days playing his sixth game at the start of 1991.

Every player is different.

 

[Snooperclyde]

Peter Matera was 21yrs 355 days playing his sixth game at the start of 1991.

Every player is different.

Granted, but I think the game is getting faster and largely because the junior levels are becoming much more professional these days.

I base this on my involvement with U14's 2 years back as a runner for the local footy team my young bloke was playing for.

We had 3 U18's players assisting the coach by helping out with drills at training and taking the forwards, mids and backs on game day. This was a massive step up from the year before.
The team had so much respect for these assistants and I'm sure their development excelled during the year, so much so that the kids that were just killing time to have some fun fell by the way the following year.
I know a certain amount go missing at that age anyway but the boys that fronted again the following year meant business.

 

[Forrest Gimp]

I'm not sold on Brett Jones being done, as it seems some are implying. I just think he's going through a bad patch of form, and will be an important player in the years to come. He's already proven himself as able to stand up when many around him were crumbling. To dismiss him so quickly is a little strange IMO. I'm starting to believe that Nico may be done, though.

 

[Marlin01]

I'm not sold on Brett Jones being done, as it seems some are implying. I just think he's going through a bad patch of form, and will be an important player in the years to come. He's already proven himself as able to stand up when many around him were crumbling. To dismiss him so quickly is a little strange IMO. I'm starting to believe that Nico may be done, though.

I certainly didn't mean to imply Jones is finished. I believe he was dropped based on form, though, and replaced with Spangher who was in excellent WAFL form.

Of Bunsen's suggestions, I reckon Swift getting a game over Fletcher is probably the only instance of the Eagles playing youth over actual output.