should we play edwards this week ?

[jack_riewoldt_rulz]

edwards looks good for coburg should we play him this week and were

 

[Croat tiger]

Anybody who can get the ball out of the centre.

 

[Weaver]

Looked good is overstating things. Showed some signs that he might look good in the future is more like it. Was a nice, encouraging first hit-out nothing more. Looked busy - but rushed.

I'd probably leave him where he is for the Collingwood, Dogs, WCE games. Debuting against the Eagles could freak him out for life.

Maybe that Geelong game in round 6. First game at the Dome - we might rest Brown from that hell-hole surface. That Geelong game coincides with a Coburg bye - so he either plays for Richmond or sits in the stands for a week.

The round 7-8 double to Adelaide looks a good bet. SA kid and all that. Wallace goes for that stuff.

 

[Ando_4]

Absolutely play him. We are 0-2 FFS!
Other clubs are playing their first year draft picks with succes yet we are still sticking with midfield superstars Tuck & Krakouer who are taking us nowhere!!!!

He might just slip straight in and never look back. Give the kid a go.

 

[Rayzorwire]

We are losing games ATM because we've got too many youngsters out there playing key onball and flanker roles who aren't yet hardened enough to play 4 qtrs of running football.

Solving that problem will require a couple of years of patience - not the promotion of kids like Edwards who are 2-4 years away from being fit enough to play anything but a minor role off the bench at senior level.

That's why we play slow down football and chip a lot ATM - we're conserving what little stamina we have and using it to hopefully score heavily during those parts of the game we can cope with full-on attacking football.

We did it last year to reasonable effect, winning half our matches, and we'll do so again this season. It's smart coaching, and bodes very well for a couple of years from now when we have a side where the majority can cope with running all day long.

 

[lids2004roar]

Rayzorwire, Shane Edwards is fitter than half our team.

His "flaw" when drafted was that he ran TOO much during games!

 

[Drunken Wookie]

So is Edwards our "hope" for the Rising Star this year? I like seeing our young guys up there in mix for the award but it's pretty tough opposition this year... Do we have a realistic shot with any of our elligibles?

 

[Stripes666]

no. There is no need to rush a kid who is about 65kg into our team. let him built confidence in coburg

 

[lids2004roar]

He certainly has confidence, the only reason we'd keep him at Coburg is to avoid injury or good form in the seniors.

He DID play in the SANFL last year against big bodies and played well enough to be second best SA midfielder (Gibbs the best of course!)

I'd back him to do well, he won't have the "speed of the game" problems that Gibbs is having that's for sure.

He's definately going to be a player, he is of Coughlan quality of our draft picks so far imo.

 

[jezza]

SANFL isn't AFL though, it's a lot closer to VFL.

 

[Croat tiger]

SANFL isn't AFL though, it's a lot closer to VFL.

Good point jezza.

 

[lids2004roar]

SANFL isn't AFL though, it's a lot closer to VFL.

SANFL is much tougher than VFL. For one thing they're playing against players with similar body size to AFL players and less teens.

 

[tigerdan]

If he has EARNT it, then sure. But it seems that he hasn't. Leave it until the second half of the year before we start giving kids experience for the sake of it.

We are not far off the pace. Better to name the best team we can and beat Collingwood and build some momentum.

Jumping at shadows is symptomatic of why we have been crap for so long!

 

[Rayzorwire]

Rayzorwire, Shane Edwards is fitter than half our team.

His "flaw" when drafted was that he ran TOO much during games!

Yep, I appreciate what you're saying Benny and I do realise what a terrific athlete he is.

However, he's still going to need a couple of years before he can begin to run out games at AFL level. With blokes like Deledio, Polo and Tambling, you can give them the relatively brief run in the midfield which they're currently capable of (in their 3rd year in the system), then they can fill a role elsewhere on the ground relatively competently.

Edwards, at his current weight and height, plus with his major assets being mostly geared towards being an outside mid/winger, ATM has no place on the ground he can rest and not be a liability at senior level. Therefore, he has to be a bit-player coming off the bench...ATM we have a lot of blokes either underdone fitness-wise or not up to running out a full game at the top level. Having Edwards on for half a game is not going to help us run out matches...that's where we're losing games...tired, often inexperienced players.

Look at Foley for example...he's several years ahead of Edwards, but last year and this year he needs a spot on the bench a fair portion of the game, because he's still building up to genuine AFL midfielder endurance levels (despite absolutely dominating for full games at the level below 2-3 years ago), and like Edwards, he's difficult to play anywhere except in the middle of the ground. Foley is gradually reaching a point where he can begin to amass similar possessions as he did at VFL level, but he's still a year or two away from stretching his influence to a full game, and that's just a matter of the huge gap in fitness required between AFL and the next level down. It takes even the best junior athletes a year or two to adjust.

I expect Edwards will get a game at some stage this year (as might Collins and Connors), but barring injuries, it will come when we have something resembling a fully fit squad and can afford the indulgence of playing him.