Tex

[Harris Pilton]

Our champs are getting very close attention from the opposition. This neutralises them to some extent. This should have the effect of reducing the pressure on the middle tier, allowing them to step up - which, by and large, they haven't. That's where the rocket needs to be directed.

 

[Vader]

So what if he was well tagged in the Essendon game... Quality AFL players need to learn to deal with tags.

Happy to concede that his Brisbane game was around the mark of his 2012 productivity (even though he disappeared in that 3rd quarter).

But you cannot possibly say his Port game was up to his 2012 standard. Dangerfield only got 20 or less possesions 4 times in 2012, with 3 of them coming in the 1st 10 rounds. Dangerfield only had two games in 2012 where his DE was 50% or under - he has 2 in 2013.

He played 80% of game time against Port (down 3% from his game against Brisbane) and yes I realise that he got a fair whack to the nose. That doesn't change the fact that he performed below his best.

He needs to lift.

I know it's impossible to quantify, but how much of that is due to Jacobs being so woefully out of form?

Taking any individual player's performance in isolation is fraught with risk, given that Australian Rules is very much a team game. Many of Dangerfield's disposals would normally come from Jacobs' hitouts - hitouts which he is no longer winning and/or directing towards his teammates.

 

[ManInTheArena]

You can't discount rd 1 when you are talking about 3 games in 2013. He stunk it up and had no influence in that game.

Yes but I didn't say he was gunning it up in round one, which is what we were discussing, whether he gunned it up in the last two games.

 

[ManInTheArena]

Just curious, why dont you think 'a rocket' (as I suggested) would work with him?

Because it doesn't suit him as an individual as per Sando's comments last year on Walker.

 

[AFC979810]

I know it's impossible to quantify, but how much of that is due to Jacobs being so woefully out of form?

Taking any individual player's performance in isolation is fraught with risk, given that Australian Rules is very much a team game. Many of Dangerfield's disposals would normally come from Jacobs' hitouts - hitouts which he is no longer winning and/or directing towards his teammates.

Thats a shocking excuse. Quality midfielders get the ball and influence games no matter what is happening around them. Look at Scott Thompson's form in 2011/2012. Look at Ablett at the Gold Coast. Look at Jobe Watson at Essendon last year. Sam Mitchell has been performing at an extremely high level since 2006 without anything resembling a quality ruckman. The examples are endless.

If Danger wants to become an elite midfielder in this competition then he needs to perform a hell of a lot better than the form he has produced rounds 1-3.

 

[Allefgib]

As I see it, there are just 6 or 7 players in our current team who can honestly say that they are giving 100%. Walker is not one of them.

The players who can hold their heads high are as follows:

• Sloane
• Douglas
• Rutten
• Talia
• Otten
• Dangerfield
• Jenkins

I'd also exempt Crouch from criticism, given that he's an 18yo kid with just 2 AFL games under his belt. The same goes for Brown (6 games).


All of the others are well down on what we saw from them in 2012.

I call bullshit. Walker is working his ass off IMO.

 

[Tex Support]

Because it doesn't suit him as an individual as per Sando's comments last year on Walker.

Fair enough. Perhaps then, a different kind of 'rocket' needs to be administered by Sando? Hopefully (from my point of view anyway), one that has Tex leaving the conversation on the assumption that the coach would like to see more out of him.

 

[AFC979810]

Yes but I didn't say he was gunning it up in round one, which is what we were discussing, whether he gunned it up in the last two games.

Fair enough.

We all agree he sucked against Essendon.

You say he gunned it up in Round 2 vs Brisbane - and I would have to agree... Although i still felt he went badly missing in the 3rd quarter.

We disagree strongly on the Port Adelaide game. He was far below his 2012 form in that game. He still played 80% of the game - and his poor performance may have been because of the hit he took.

To me - he has played poorly in 2/3 games. He needs to lift. For a player of his quality and for how reliant on him we are as a club - we really need a lot more from him.

 

[Elite Crow]

Walker may be doing more work than he has to. Most of that work is largely ineffective.

I cannot agree that he's a better player than he was in 2012. Far from it - I think he's regressed. He's still better than he was in 2011, but he's not performing as well as he did last year.

It seems you are struggling with distinguishing effort from effectiveness

 

[Allefgib]

Stats are a little interesting:

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/...2=2&pid2=2364&type=A&fid1=S&fid2=P&fopt2=2012

Playing 100% of gametime is testament to how hard he is working.

Definitely down in a few key areas on stats. Unfortunately clangers is not among them...

Half a goal a game less is not great, as is a dramatic drop off from Marks inside 50m.

I agree with others above - its mostly a factor of the role the team is asking he play than any lack of effort from Tex.
Lack of effectiveness is interesting - I'd suggest if the rest of team/gameplan was ticking along as you'd expect that would increase - I'd be focussing the blowtorch elsewhere than Tex (after a quiet word in his ear about not missing gimme goals - but its not like he doesn't know that)

 

[ManInTheArena]

To me - he has played poorly in 2/3 games. He needs to lift. For a player of his quality and for how reliant on him we are as a club - we really need a lot more from him.

Fair enough. If he hovers around 20 disposals in the next 2 games I'll be worried.

 

[ManInTheArena]

Fair enough. Perhaps then, a different kind of 'rocket' needs to be administered by Sando? Hopefully (from my point of view anyway), one that has Tex leaving the conversation on the assumption that the coach would like to see more out of him.

No one would disagree with that.

 

[cmndstab]

Tex has always missed gimme goals. Nothing new there. It's the 60m bombs you'd put your house on.

Being down half a goal isn't really an issue to my mind. Well I mean, of course it is, but it's not Tex's issue. It's the delivery he's getting.

 

[Allefgib]

Tex has always missed gimme goals. Nothing new there. It's the 60m bombs you'd put your house on.

Being down half a goal isn't really an issue to my mind. Well I mean, of course it is, but it's not Tex's issue. It's the delivery he's getting.

It is an issue, as is the marks inside 50m.

But its not an issue Tex needs to be working harder at fixing. Its a structure and delivery issue as you quite rightly reinforced.

 

[Stripple]

Definitely not effort to still be scoring like he is when we have been soundly beaten n the middle and key stats like clearances and i50 then he is working hard enough. Fix the middle and our problems are solved. More delivery from the middle and we score more goals and the opposition doesn't. We sucked defensively last year (lots of running in to open goal square goals) but we smashed the middle so smashed the games. Tex is fine, if he still has bad stats when we smash the middle then ill be worried.

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Tex doesn't need a rocket he just needs to be instructed to play closer to goal, that way he is getting the ball I n more dangerous spots on the ground

 

[FR0GGY]

Tex doesn't need a rocket he just needs to be instructed to play closer to goal, that way he is getting the ball I n more dangerous spots on the ground

Always curious would that be something directed from Sando or bicks?

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Always curious would that be something directed from Sando or bicks?

Me too

Also think that Tex needs to be a little more selfish at times

 

[Elite Crow]

Always curious would that be something directed from Sando or bicks?

Wasn't asked of Sando in the presser and Sando said he expected Tex to push up the ground which is just dumb

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Tex doesn't need a rocket he just needs to be instructed to play closer to goal, that way he is getting the ball I n more dangerous spots on the ground

Heaps of people have posted this and it's left me shaking my head.

If Tex isn't the one pushing up the ground and providing a target and an option, then who is? Douglas? Henderson? Jenkins? Johncock? Petrenko? Vince? You'd get a maybe from Jenkins but that's it and even then I haven't seen him do this once yet.

The only other player even remotely capable of playing as a key forward who pushes up the ground and provides a marking target is Sloane (the most natural CHF on our list) but he's about a foot too short and a key player in our midfield which are two insurmountable problems with this option.

The only times we've looked like a decent team this season and have moved the ball with any fluency is when we've played through Tex across the middle of the ground. He is an excellent field kick and picks good options.

Sure, play Tex closer to home and we'll use the midget brigade to make a contest and crash packs further up the field. And Tex will sit in the F50 getting cold, watching the opposition pin the ball in their forward half. Problem solved.

People are only now starting to understand what losing Tippett means. The precious "stats" that the naysayers clung to all summer only tell part of the story. The fact is that our structure has already gone to shit.

 

[Coopers]

Me too

Also think that Tex needs to be a little more selfish at times

Like playing on into an open goal and shanking it?

Tex is all good - if he just kicked the easy ones he's be about the best forward to have ever played the game. FFS Tex. Sort your shit and put the easy ones through.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Wasn't asked of Sando in the presser and Sando said he expected Tex to push up the ground which is just dumb

You've got to watch how every other key forward plays.

They all push up the ground and work back.

The difference is that the good teams have multiple options so if Franklin pushes up the ground there is still a Hale and/or Roughead playing a little deeper.

At the moment we need Tex to push way up the ground to give us a contest when we come out of defence. We also need to play through him at CHF and across the centre. And we also need him to stay at home in the F50 to kick our goals.

He's on a hiding to nothing.

 

[VSTone]

Heaps of people have posted this and it's left me shaking my head.
...
People are only now starting to understand what losing Tippett means. The precious "stats" that the naysayers clung to all summer only tell part of the story. The fact is that our structure has already gone to shit.

worrying indeed

 

[Slippery Pete]

The difference is that the good teams have multiple options so if Franklin pushes up the ground there is still a Hale and/or Roughead playing a little deeper.

At the moment we need Tex to push way up the ground to give us a contest when we come out of defence. We also need to play through him at CHF and across the centre. And we also need him to stay at home in the F50 to kick our goals.
.

So what we need is two Texs, not
a Tex and a Tippett......

 

[VSTone]

So what we need is two Texs, not
a Tex and a Tippett......

bring back Neil! he'll fix it