Put Leon in the Midfield

[SwanBet]

All the talks of dropping leon, im not to sure.

Last year he earned All Australian honours for his season. Which was played in the midfield. Why would Malthouse play someone who played so well last season in the midfield in the forward pocket? it is a waste.
Leon is down on confidence, play him in the midfield. Seriously i dont understand the man has never kicked a bag in the forward pocket, has proved more deadly in the midfield and pushing forward. Ala Anzac day 09.

Im sure leon would be very useful in the midfield, and don't say there is no room, He killed it last season. If anything Didak would be better down forward than davis.

Dick should come in when fit and play in the pocket, drop Macaffer and throw leon on the wing. His kick is his main attribute. Use it!

 

[Optimax]

So you reward mediocre, lazy abd half assed performances by moving them to the middle?

Gee here I was thinking you rewarded form and dropped to regain confidence at a lower level

something else I don't understand about modern day footy.

I'm not a major wholesale changer but Davis has to be dropped in this form abd presti must come back for someone

 

[Just Kick It]

So you reward mediocre, lazy abd half assed performances by moving them to the middle?

Gee here I was thinking you rewarded form and dropped to regain confidence at a lower level

something else I don't understand about modern day footy.

I'm not a major wholesale changer but Davis has to be dropped in this form abd presti must come back for someone

It obviously comes down to the individual and what makes them tick, what will get the more positive outcome. Will time in the middle boost his confidence and help him regain form? Or will he respond better to the spotlight being taken off him by being sent back to the VFL where he can hunt the footy till his heart's content?

Taking selection out of the equation for a moment, I struggle to see why he basically hasn't been given a run in the middle all year? He was damaging when he moved up around the center of the ground last year. If it's due to an injury then he shouldn't be playing.

 

[TradeDraft]

So you reward mediocre, lazy abd half assed performances by moving them to the middle?

Gee here I was thinking you rewarded form and dropped to regain confidence at a lower level

something else I don't understand about modern day footy.

I'm not a major wholesale changer but Davis has to be dropped in this form abd presti must come back for someone

SPOT ON - Davis has been lazy and way out of Touch. A run in the VFL will get him back to form

 

[Dicky_Knee]

Davis too old for the midfield, needs to pick his act up, a stint in the dew kickers crumbing the ball is what he needs.

 

[Quicky]

I've called for Leon to be dropped but the OP definitely has a point. Theres no need to be so dismissive of the idea. I think a few weeks back Leon had a stint in the middle and it was the best he'd played for the year. His best footy last year also came in the midfield. I have a suspicion he isn't getting this time for fitness reasons but thats just at a guess. If he's fit enough it is something i'd definitely be all for trying out. If he isn't I think spell in the twos until he works up his form and fitness is the way to go.

 

[Nardz]

i agree - davis as an exclusive forward simply isnt working. though a few of his games have been underrated (tackling, forwad pressure etc) his game on friday was poor.

at least rotate him through the middle to get him involved.

if he's carrying an injury then rest him.

 

[PieLebo87]

Who here believes that if Medhurst was in this week, we probably would've seen a change in Davis's role? I understand we need to do something about him, and I'm the first to suggest he gets dropped (as is evident in the changes for Lions thread) but I just realised that he is #1 for tackles inside 50 at Collingwood, and with Medhurst out, we'd have absolutely no forward line pressure, which is what has won us alot of games this year.

Without Davis we've got no chasing and tackling inside 50, what happens then?

I hope Dick can get some fitness asap. I'd even be for him getting some touch in the seniors, as long as he is just tackling everything and everyone inside 50 and running like crazy after defenders with the footy to apply pressure.

 

[coldpieswarmbeer]

yeh you're right we really missed medhurst. you can see leon chasing the defenders out of our forward line pretty hard but the cats link with each other so well it is very hard for one man to chase them. our forward line pressure last week looked much weaker than usual.

and medhurst and leon provide the fiercest tackling. cloke is good but sometimes isnt even near the forward line. dawes doesnt really provide much pressure. thomas, sidebottom etc are good though whenever they are there.


regarding leon. i feel really sad because a) we don't know what the problem is yet we know he can be better b) he's one of my favourite players and i really really want to believe him everytime he comes out and says "the penny has dropped" and he has learnt his from previous games where he was lazy, selfish etc.

all i know is that Mick is a great coach, especially at getting the best out of players. and this is based on nothing but i'd say mick and leon would have one of the strongest relationships at the club.

 

[soreplums]

He is looking slow and lazy. If he is injured then give him a rest. If not, let him run through the middle in the twos to get his hands on the footy.

 

[soho]

he is being starved of the ball in the forward pocket...

look at your super coach point spread: most of your points come from the half back line and midfield because thats where the ball is the majority of the game...

 

[jerry springer]

Just drop him.He is out of form.Its only round nine.pretty simple really

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

I imagine he was being played in the midfield at the tail end of last season and during the finals when he played so poorly. He needs a spell in the VFL and should stay there until he dominates the competition. If our supposed fantastic depth is so great it will be no problem to replace him.

I am sick of people making excuses for Leon. He is a front runner who squibs it in big games against tough opposition. I hope someone comes in and plays his role well, keeping him in the reserves for the rest of the year. I do not want him playing against Geelong or StKilda. He always lets us down. A leopard is not going to change its spots at 29. Leon is a **** teaser in the H&A series (though not this one), but when put to the test, can't produce what he promises.

 

[THATSGOLD]

i don't know leon personally but i have heard he loves his footy and loves collingwood.. therfore i'lle stand by this and believe he is playing injuried! He is not lazy!! He shouild not be out there.

 

[buckstheking]

He is looking slow and lazy. If he is injured then give him a rest. If not, let him run through the middle in the twos to get his hands on the footy.

This^^^^

 

[daics_35]

I love Davis but we have to face it he has never and i doubt will stand up in a finals like match he goes missing and it makes me bloody mad. He should deffenetly go back in the VFL and Medhurst should be brought back in the side for him. This might be his last year in the Black and White.

 

[PunchFromBhind]

Leon was at his best in the midfield last year but was not played there in finals, i thought that he was injured because he looked it and i put his performance down to that.

this year i thought he would be in the midfield again but apparently the coaching staff have mad a decision to keep him forward and let the likes of Beams, Sidebottom and Wellingham take his spot.

I think a move back into the midfield would fix his performance but it looks like it is not going to happen so he has to be dropped because his forward work is terrible, i mean leading to the goal square and calling for it one on one, seriously you are a crummer not Travis Cloke

 

[Zahki]

How many times can you make excuses for the guy? Go back and read the threads before last years finals, there were plenty of people saying "This year Davis will redeem himself on the big stage!" what happened? Another big game and Davis goes missing yet again, he doesn't deserve to be rewarded with a stint in the midfield. He knows he has to perform in these types of games, both as a senior player and as someone who has let the side down in them before but time after time after time he goes missing.

No more chances, no more excuses, Davis should be gone come finals time, we know for a FACT that he won't perform so why bother?

 

[rose jam]

I think the coaching staff have made a conscious decision to hold off Leon playing midfield until after the mid season break to maximise his chances of been fresher come finals time. He has played 10 years now, so a year in midfield is just going to break him down.
While the likes of Beams, Sidebottom and Wellingham still look lively in the middle no need to rotate Leon through there. It'll come later in the year, but may need to be a forced move now to bring back his touch. Don't think VFL is the right move, a week off would probably be better.

 

[JOELY]

In the first minute of the match he ran towards the ball and looked SLOW. Leon Davis isn't slow. Watch some matches from last year if you've forgotten. He is zippy and uses his pace to break away from packs. Without that, he struggles, and putting him in the midfield will just accentuate the problem. I think he's injured, but has the sort of injury that won't get worse ala Fev . So we've decided we'll play him in the forward line, because it's better having him there than not playing at all. Unfortunately it hasn't worked out that way and he can't be hidden any longer. I can't believe people are saying it's just a matter of him playing shit. He clearly can't accelerate and looks like a different player. I don't think we can carry him much longer, particularly in big games.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

All the talks of dropping leon, im not to sure.

Last year he earned All Australian honours for his season. Which was played in the midfield. Why would Malthouse play someone who played so well last season in the midfield in the forward pocket? it is a waste.
Leon is down on confidence, play him in the midfield. Seriously i dont understand the man has never kicked a bag in the forward pocket, has proved more deadly in the midfield and pushing forward. Ala Anzac day 09.

Im sure leon would be very useful in the midfield, and don't say there is no room, He killed it last season. If anything Didak would be better down forward than davis.

Dick should come in when fit and play in the pocket, drop Macaffer and throw leon on the wing. His kick is his main attribute. Use it!

I tend to agree with the idea of chucking Davis in the midfield to get his form going. While Dick is still finding his feet Davis will still have to play most of his minutes up forward but certainly I would give him short periods to excert influence on games in the midfield for him both to run into form and to add more variety into the midfield rotation.

Once Dick and Medhurst break into the side I still see Davis playing more time in the midfield but ultimately still spend 65% or there abouts up forward.

Just as a midfield impact player he will be handy.

Davis certainly at this stage should not be dropped and calls for that are unrealistic while Dick is still finding his feat.

 

[Winterstick]

did anyone else see him grab his left calf just after crossing the boundry early in the match

 

[TheBigH]

In the first minute of the match he ran towards the ball and looked SLOW. Leon Davis isn't slow. Watch some matches from last year if you've forgotten. He is zippy and uses his pace to break away from packs. Without that, he struggles, and putting him in the midfield will just accentuate the problem. I think he's injured, but has the sort of injury that won't get worse ala Fev . So we've decided we'll play him in the forward line, because it's better having him there than not playing at all. Unfortunately it hasn't worked out that way and he can't be hidden any longer. I can't believe people are saying it's just a matter of him playing shit. He clearly can't accelerate and looks like a different player. I don't think we can carry him much longer, particularly in big games.

Some good points here that some clowns should read. This isn't the end of Leon. However, I don't think he will play next week, either in the seniors or vfl. I think the match committee need to just get him right. Like what Joely said... Watch some bloody highlights and you can see for yourself he is not right physically. We all know he can play midfield so I'm sure if he was 100% right he would have by now (Not just 20 minutes in the middle 3 weeks ago). He will be back!

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

If we have fantastic depth and given our 'rotation' policy and player management concerns, why would Leon be played while injured? It makes no sense, paricularly in light of his poor track record at playing through injuries as the more rugged players can. I will not accept that he is injured, as it goes against the club's actions in relation to other players. I cannot believe that Mick would be so stupid as to play Leon if he is carrying something.

Which unfortunately leads to only one conclusion about his current status. Surely anyone on our list is going to offer more than Leon has offered so far this year! He needs a demotion and someone else needs an opportunity.

 

[doppleganger]

Leon should be given a spell, we cant carry players who are not contributing...and Leon has been out of sorts for most of the year.

Lockyer should come in for him, the bloke been playing well at VFL level and he kicked 30+ goals in 09.

Looking forward, I think that when/if Medhurst and Dick come into the team, Davis will play a much higher role and spend more time in the midfield.

All our forwards struggled on Friday