Scapegoating

[TW Sherrin]

Begs the question why our other forwards can't find field position like he does.

You're joking right?

Most times last night he was either in the wrong place to lead from or out of position at the drop of the ball. He then gives up position with contact.

His upside is huge but he is a long long way off.

 

[TW Sherrin]

No question Blair busts his backside but that isn't enough.

 

[Rorzza]

Yeah it was definitely all Blairs fault, I have no doubts about that! Cox was quiet too!

 

[cleomenes]

Blair's limitations haven't changed, but they are almost all in the disposal area. He gets to the right places, he has good evasive skills, he is strong and he marks well. He is a good set shot from about 40 m. He has always been inaccurate with his handball, delivering outside the sweet zone for his targets so that they have to grovel or reach for the ball. He has always kicked short of his target, with half volley scoops being the usual method by which they gain possession (if they do).
In most games, the good outweighs the bad, and he continues to be selected. Last night was the reverse. It seems he felt he was playing for his future, and the pressure exacerbated his limitations. I would say that his time is nearly up.

 

[barrackers]

i

I think our game style is already attacking enough that we need to have some defensive elements in our forward line.

While I tend to agree that multiple defensive forward players are required I don't believe we can have too many players in the forward line whose sole role/ability is as a defensive player. Blair and Mayne is one too many and they don't work as a pair. Yep, it's only 1 game in, but I'm calling it now. While his goal kicking has been a little off Varcoe is a good example of the type of a balanced a defensive forward we need more of. He's someone who can apply the defensive pressure while still possessing a natural attacking instinct. In the absence of another player who can combine both abilities I'd prefer to see us go with the natural flair (Aish, Broomhead), while I wouldn't do it for more than a quarter here or there we can always throw Goldsack forward if we're left searching for more forward pressure during a game.

 

[ClaytonM]

Yeah it was definitely all Blairs fault, I have no doubts about that! Cox was quiet too!

And Moore was close to pathetic. But let's pick on Blair again.

I think more credit needs to be given the dog's defensive pressure. When you are a small forward and have no time to dispose of the ball then it becomes a tough gig.

 

[Rorzza]

And Moore was close to pathetic. But let's pick on Blair again.

I think more credit needs to be given the dog's defensive pressure. When you are a small forward and have no time to dispose of the ball then it becomes a tough gig.

Didn't worry the Fas, he still kicked 3 goals.

 

[Maggie5]

Ask yourself how many goal assists Blair had?
Now ask yourself how many goals did Blair kick?
Now ask how many forward entries did the team have that gave Blair the opportunity to score goals or goal assists?
The answers to the above questions are zero, zero and from memory 60-70 forward entries.
Now you have your answer as why Blair is not being scapegoated for last night's performance.

15 disposals, 13 of which were contested, wouldn't say he was the worst but he does seem to be the first that is knocked.

 

[Maggie5]

I am really over this Blair scapegoating (one mistake and it starts), did he have a poor game, yes but so did many others and in fact if Broomhead or someone similar is not ready I would play him again next week. I would drop Mayne before him and can see why he was a late in.

I haven't seen the replay but kept an eye on both and felt that Mayne was like a fish out of water on numerous occasions with an opponent who was roaming free.

 

[barrackers]

I am really over this Blair scapegoating (one mistake and it starts), did he have a poor game, yes but so did many others and in fact if Broomhead or someone similar is not ready I would play him again next week. I would drop Mayne before him and can see why he was a late in.

I haven't seen the replay but kept an eye on both and felt that Mayne was like a fish out of water on numerous occasions with an opponent who was roaming free.

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I'm not too fussed which one of Blair or Mayne make way next week, both cost us goals last night, but I think it's like Witts and Grundy where they can't play in the same team. The unknown for 2017 is whether they can play better without the other one compromising their role.

 

[BLS World Wide]

Ask yourself how many goal assists Blair had?
Now ask yourself how many goals did Blair kick?
Now ask how many forward entries did the team have that gave Blair the opportunity to score goals or goal assists?
The answers to the above questions are zero, zero and from memory 60-70 forward entries.
Now you have your answer as why Blair is not being scapegoated for last night's performance.

Ask yourself would Blair get a game with any of the other 17 teams ?

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Except he is one of the better set shots at the club. I think all your comments would be valid if he is making the same mistakes in a few weeks time

He always has been making these mistakes and will continue to do so. His game last night was no aberration but rather typical of what he produces each week. If he is still making the same mistakes in a few weeks I will not know, because I will be doing something other than watching Collingwood play.

 

[CasuallyDressed]

Jack Crisp is one that needs to start coming under some pressure.

Blair, Crisp and Mayne were about our worst three last night, though Mayne did some good things.

 

[Old Spice]

In the match day thread, I likened Blair to a teammate we all would have had back in the day.
He was the busy bloke who zipped around the forward line, laid some tackles and did some grunt work in the bottom of packs. You'd be on lead in a packed forward line, just about to take a mark and he'd cut across you and either take the mark or drop it. If he took the mark, the resulting kick at goal would miss. If you ran past him for a handball, you always seemed to be either taking the ball high, low or wide. If you were about to pick up loose ball out of a scrimmage, you'd see a hand grab the ball and drag it back in. It was usually his hand. This bloke refused to give way for a player trying to pick up a loose ball going towards goal. An old team rule but you know what I'm getting at. You'd be chasing a loose ball, just about to pick it up and you'd get bumped off it. You look up and yep you guessed it, it was him.

He is the bloke that would be absolutely ****** at the end of a quarter, you'd look at him and say "****, this bloke gives it everything he's got, love him but ****in hell he is frustrating." You genuinely loved him but he was killing you at the same time.

This probably sums up the attitude on the board. I don't hate the bloke but I believe he lacks awareness. We've all played with teammates like him.

Nicely turned phrases but your attempt to meld your footy career and Blair's career are ludicrous flights of fancy.

Blair had a stinker of a night in terms of touch - which is actually at odds with his contributions which are ordinarily very clean - but that was the story of the evening all round. The possession across the ground was ordinary by and large except for Adams (the forgotten disposal whipping boy of years ago).

This idea that Blair steps into another forwards path, cuts across lines and snatches the ball from another players grasp is just such easy nonsense to write and digest it's bound to be popular on this board.

 

[Old Spice]

Jack Crisp is one that needs to start coming under some pressure.

Blair, Crisp and Mayne were about our worst three last night, though Mayne did some good things.

Moore was our worst last night, Reid wasn't far behind him but the overwhelming reason for our loss was general decision making (not looking inboard, panic releases) and skills across the board. Probably worth noting too that Dogs forced us wide out of defence then narrowed our options from the boundary. The 4 unanswered goals probably made defenders reluctant to kick inboard.

 

[BringouttheGimp]

its remarkable at the number of supporters that implode after a loss and then take it out on a select few...scapegoats. I've read through most of the posts and it appears to be mainly Blair and Cox focussed. You could have focussed on any number of other players.

Cox is just learning the game, and needs game time at the top level to get better. He gets in the right positions and when he starts clunky big pack marks watch out. Was good in the ruck today. Was stiff not to get a free kick 10m out in front and had he converted his set shot as he normally does your comments would have been different. From an effectiveness perspective Moore should be dropped ahead of Cox. Moore burned the ball, made poor decisions all game and dropped a sitter inside 50...didn't take many contested marks at all. All forwards missed easy goals. Cox was at least useful in the ruck, and was never out marked despite being against three.

Blair, frustrating, was getting in position and just kept making poor decisions...he wasn't alone is my point. Goes hard and applies pressure, he causes turnovers...that's why he's in the team and is one of the reasons why we managed to hold field position for the majority of the game. Skills are generally off for most players first couple of games. No matter what you think about Buckley, he has a coaching team too, the fact that Blair is picked more often than not indicates he has value to the team that isn't immediately obvious to the uninitiated. The selection committee is more than one person, he was a Malthouse automatic selection also!

It's been happening for 125 yrs.. this thread is useless.

 

[ZEV]

Ummm.....Elliot, Fasolo, Puopolo, Breust, Betts, Cameron, all those little guys love flying for marks.

Elliot and Fasolo both exactly take 3.6 x more contested marks than Blair.

 

[Old Spice]

Elliot and Fasolo both exactly take 3.6 x more contested marks than Blair.

Lead up small-mediums V a crumbing defensive small.

I will admit Blair made some major brain farts last night but he wasn't alone. The space to work in was minute.

 

[ZEV]

Lead up small-mediums V a crumbing defensive small.

I will admit Blair made some major brain farts last night but he wasn't alone. The space to work in was minute.

At 178 cm I would classify Elliot as a small forward its just that he is an excellent overhead mark. I would suggest that when Elliot is fit Blair won't remain in the seniors.

My opinion on Blair. He was indefensibly terrible last night. However, I do think previously he has earnt his spot and his critics have been pretty harsh.

I do think that Blair is a better midfielder than he is a forward and he would have made an excellent rover in an earlier era. I can't question his preparation or professionalism.

However as a midfielder with our current list I have him behind Pendles, Sidey, Treloar, Wells, DeGoey, Adams, Crisp, Aish, Greenwood, Smith, Phillips, WHE and Wills.

As a permanent small forward I have him behind Elliot and Fasolo. As a defensive forward id have him behind Mayne and Goldsack purely because they can kick 50 metres and have aerial contested ability. Id also rather Crocker, Broomhead, Daicos, Brown or Kirby in the side as a forward because its been six years since Blair played anything but a solid game and that was in the most dominant pie team I've ever seen.

 

[mike123]

Sorry but is criticism is warranted for, just because Cox is learning the game doesn't give him a free pass to stink it up. He has to play though because unfortunately he's our only forward that crashes packs and allows our smalls a chance at ground level. We used to have another who do this...

Blair played like absolute crap, I defended him through the preseason but that was pathetic. Cost us 3 scoring opportunities in the first. Any criticism he get this week is completely justified.

 

[loki04]

It's due to the fact people want to see our team improve, you improve your bottom players and the overall team improves dramatically.

Blair, Mayne and Goldsack for example are all borderline AFL players and closer to VFL quality.

They have limited upside and often go missing in games or fail to produce at critical times.

If a player plays poorly but typically plays very well you aren't going to hammer him for one down game, conversely the aforementioned above tend to play poorly as a norm and bob up for 1 good game (which is then used and justified as to why they should "keep" their spots).

If you have a chain that fails and find a link that is broken or cracked you would look to replace those links...

Jnrs will get leniency while learning the ropes, as people can handle under performance of someone who long term will improve the team short term pain long term gain.
Some players we know full well what we will get and that any upside is likely nil if anything due to ageing we will see reduced performances.

Also people do criticise the better players (Like Adams and Treloar are being called out on their shit disposal last night) but people feel less inclined to come to their defence and they generally perform week in week out so their is less to criticise.

 

[ZEV]

Sorry but is criticism is warranted for, just because Cox is learning the game doesn't give him a free pass to stink it up. He has to play though because unfortunately he's our only forward that crashes packs and allows our smalls a chance at ground level. We used to have another who do this...

I'd take Cox over Cloke due to the massive comparative advantage it gave us in the ruck and midfield stats reflect it.

 

[loki04]

I am really over this Blair scapegoating (one mistake and it starts), did he have a poor game, yes but so did many others and in fact if Broomhead or someone similar is not ready I would play him again next week. I would drop Mayne before him and can see why he was a late in.

I haven't seen the replay but kept an eye on both and felt that Mayne was like a fish out of water on numerous occasions with an opponent who was roaming free.

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Neither should be getting a game. Both are VFL quality.

 

[loki04]

Blair's limitations haven't changed, but they are almost all in the disposal area. He gets to the right places, he has good evasive skills, he is strong and he marks well. He is a good set shot from about 40 m. He has always been inaccurate with his handball, delivering outside the sweet zone for his targets so that they have to grovel or reach for the ball. He has always kicked short of his target, with half volley scoops being the usual method by which they gain possession (if they do).
In most games, the good outweighs the bad, and he continues to be selected. Last night was the reverse. It seems he felt he was playing for his future, and the pressure exacerbated his limitations. I would say that his time is nearly up.

That was a typical Blair game, not sure where you get most games his good outweighs his bad unless you only watch 1 in 5 pies games?

 

[Maggie5]

Neither should be getting a game. Both are VFL quality.

Based on last night, I agree and sadly there are about two or three others but will be interesting on who is available.