Thornton

[Korn]

spot on mate, he is a very ordinary defender. I don't think he has beaten any of his opponent for the last 2 years. He is very soft and gets push off way too easily.

We really need a defensive skill coach, all of our defenders cannot push & shove their opponent. It's not all about strength, it's about concentration and the proper way to push the player.

 

[Thrawn]

spot on mate, he is a very ordinary defender. I don't think he has beaten any of his opponent for the last 2 years. He is very soft and gets push off way too easily.

Were you at the game on Thursday night by any chance?

 

[thylacine60]

Were you at the game on Thursday night by any chance?

I think I gave his guide dog a bicky.

 

[wdgann]

Peter Dean - could do the job on guys like Lucas and guys like Farmer and even the number 1 forward
Christou - dashing defending with a great kick who was also handy spoiler
Mackay - Ditto Peter Dean and also a dashing defender
Silvagni - could do all the above, play on the number 1 forward and play up forward
Sexton - could play on anyone

All of these guys had great disposal and were quick. Thornton is not half as good as any of them

Even our 'good defenders' over the years have been much better than Thornton e.g Alvin, Whitehead, Dorotich

Who would I play instead of them? any of the young guys. at least they may have potential. Thorton has none

 

[AlecDuncan]

where did this term '3rd tall' come from? you are either a defender capable playing on the likes of brown or richardson or you are not. If you are not, then you are capable of playing on some of the smaller strong markers e.g Scott lucas. THornton is capable of neither

Bullshit. He's played on and beaten Lucas several times. You have NFI.

In case you didn't notice, Brown beat Glass on the weekend, and he's supposedly the best in the game today.

 

[Thrawn]

Peter Dean - could do the job on guys like Lucas and guys like Farmer and even the number 1 forward
Christou - dashing defending with a great kick who was also handy spoiler
Mackay - Ditto Peter Dean and also a dashing defender
Silvagni - could do all the above, play on the number 1 forward and play up forward
Sexton - could play on anyone

All of these guys had great disposal and were quick. Thornton is not half as good as any of them

How is this relevant to anything? You DO realise you're comparing one of our best defensive lineups of all time, a premiership lineup... to arguably our worst defensive lineup in history ? I shudder to think how worse it would be if Thornton wasn't there to carry all the weight, and doing his job when others drop their heads.

You're not bringing anything to this argument other than to say that those players were better than him.

Who would I play instead of them? any of the young guys. at least they may have potential. Thorton has none

Come on then, out with it. Name names, not vaguely mention "young guys". This will be interesting...

 

[fevalinko]

Peter Dean - could do the job on guys like Lucas and guys like Farmer and even the number 1 forward
Christou - dashing defending with a great kick who was also handy spoiler
Mackay - Ditto Peter Dean and also a dashing defender
Silvagni - could do all the above, play on the number 1 forward and play up forward
Sexton - could play on anyone

All of these guys had great disposal and were quick. Thornton is not half as good as any of them

Even our 'good defenders' over the years have been much better than Thornton e.g Alvin, Whitehead, Dorotich

Who would I play instead of them? any of the young guys. at least they may have potential. Thorton has none

thanks mate you are the only one that know the truth about this guy it all started when this guy gets beaten he has a sook to he's team mates and now he still has'nt improved 4-5 years into the system and he is still shit, my brother's are hawks supporters and say thank god we did'nt get him, until these other posters come around and stop living in hope ....

 

[Korn]

Were you at the game on Thursday night by any chance?

I saw it on TV, what's your point? Who did he beat? Don't just throw me his stats.
I saw him outside the defensive 50 a lot times, who was he playing on?

 

[Thrawn]

I saw it on TV, what's your point? Who did he beat? Don't just throw me his stats.
I saw him outside the defensive 50 a lot times, who was he playing on?

He played on Nathan Brown until he was moved off onto Richo.

 

[jd2006]

what is really disappointing about this board and this thread is how protected some players are. when a good point is made against them it is completely forgotten and then a moron with the same views against that player makes a stupid comment and u jump down their throats. acknowledge that some of our "top class" players aren't as good as u think. here's some food for thought. where would thornton fit in these sides:

adelaide - (behind rutten,bock,basset,stevens on par with massie)
brisbane - (behind brennan,drummond a bit better than merret at this stage)
collingwood - (behind wakelin,presty,maxwell, par with o'brein)
essendon - (behind michael,fletcher,ryder,welsh)
freo - (behind mcpharlin,hayden,michael johnson)
geelong - (dont get me started)
hawthorn - (behind brown,croad,ahead of dawson mite get a game there)
kangaroos - (behind gibson and watt)
melbourne - (behind rivers,bizzel,par with carrol and rivers)
port - (behind carlile,chaplin,cornes)
richmond - (behind bowden,thursfield,polak)
saints - (dont even bother)
sydney - (same as above)
west coast - (behyind glass,hunter,graham)
bulldogs - (behind lake, but would get a game there)

so tear that apart unlike the other morons who bag thornton i have backed it up by showing u that he would be the 4th or 5th option at 13 of the other 15 clubs.

 

[len_jet]

I saw it on TV, what's your point? Who did he beat? Don't just throw me his stats.
I saw him outside the defensive 50 a lot times, who was he playing on?

he was dominating Brown for the majority of the night until he was moved off him to try and help Jamo with Richo to no avail as Richo was on fire...

 

[Jeremias]

Thornton played well on Thursday and was easily our best player.

Some people just never learn...

 

[AlecDuncan]

adelaide - (rutten,bock, THORNTON, basset,stevens on par with massie)
brisbane - (THORNTON, brennan,drummond a bit better than merret at this stage)
collingwood - (THORNTON, wakelin,presty,maxwell, par with o'brein)
essendon - (fletcher,THORNTON, michael,ryder,welsh)
freo - (mcpharlin,THORNTON,hayden,michael johnson)
geelong - (dont get me started)
hawthorn - (THORNTON on par with Brown,croad,ahead of dawson mite get a game there)
kangaroos - (THORNTON on par with Gibson, and watt)
melbourne - (THORNTON,rivers,bizzel,par with carrol and rivers)
port - (cornes, THORNTON,carlile,chaplin)
richmond - (THORNTON, bowden,thursfield,polak)
saints - (dont even bother)
sydney - (same as above)
west coast - (glass, hunter, THORNTON, graham)
bulldogs - (THORNTON on par with lake)

I've even helped you out by rearranging some of your defenders. I'm sure you don't think Cornes is the third best defender at Port, or Fletcher 2nd at Essendon.

 

[len_jet]

adelaide - (rutten,bock, THORNTON, basset,stevens on par with massie)
brisbane - (THORNTON, brennan,drummond a bit better than merret at this stage)
collingwood - (THORNTON, wakelin,presty,maxwell, par with o'brein)
essendon - (fletcher,THORNTON, michael,ryder,welsh)
freo - (mcpharlin,THORNTON,hayden,michael johnson)
geelong - (dont get me started)
hawthorn - (THORNTON on par with Brown,croad,ahead of dawson mite get a game there)
kangaroos - (THORNTON on par with Gibson, and watt)
melbourne - (THORNTON,rivers,bizzel,par with carrol and rivers)
port - (cornes, THORNTON,carlile,chaplin)
richmond - (THORNTON, bowden,thursfield,polak)
saints - (dont even bother)
sydney - (same as above)
west coast - (glass, hunter, THORNTON, graham)
bulldogs - (THORNTON on par with lake)

I've even helped you out by rearranging some of your defenders. I'm sure you don't think Cornes is the third best defender at Port, or Fletcher 2nd at Essendon.

so much effort to prove a point that 99.9% of the footy world knows is true... it is a shame that these 0.1% like fevalinko, jd2006 and Korn who turn up for a token "we are shit" comment and then disappear exist...

 

[Thrawn]

so much effort to prove a point that 99.9% of the footy world knows is true... it is a shame that these 0.1% like fevalinko, jd2006 and Korn who turn up for a token "we are shit" comment and then disappear exist...

We are shit.

But really, bagging one of our players who was BOG for us isn't really the right way to go about it.

 

[len_jet]

We are shit.

But really, bagging one of our players who was BOG for us isn't really the right way to go about it.

I agree on both fronts... it is just a shame that these muppets expect that all backmen need to be like Glass or Rutten. Thornton has played out of his skin for years on end due to the fact we lack a Rutten and/or Glass... we finally have someone who can provide decent back up in Jamison and we are able to release him up the ground. He is well balanced on both sides of his body, hits targets regularly and generally beats 9/10 opponents he plays on. The number he did on Brown was great considering he still picked up a dozen plus stats himself!

 

[thylacine60]

I agree on both fronts... it is just a shame that these muppets expect that all backmen need to be like Glass or Rutten. Thornton has played out of his skin for years on end due to the fact we lack a Rutten and/or Glass... we finally have someone who can provide decent back up in Jamison and we are able to release him up the ground. He is well balanced on both sides of his body, hits targets regularly and generally beats 9/10 opponents he plays on. The number he did on Brown was great considering he still picked up a dozen plus stats himself!

Thornton has been fair and square in the Valley of Death every game he has played pretty much. Being where all the damage is done against us brings heaps of unfair criticism.

 

[jd2006]

adelaide - (rutten,bock, THORNTON, basset,stevens on par with massie)
brisbane - (THORNTON, brennan,drummond a bit better than merret at this stage)
collingwood - (THORNTON, wakelin,presty,maxwell, par with o'brein)
essendon - (fletcher,THORNTON, michael,ryder,welsh)
freo - (mcpharlin,THORNTON,hayden,michael johnson)
geelong - (dont get me started)
hawthorn - (THORNTON on par with Brown,croad,ahead of dawson mite get a game there)
kangaroos - (THORNTON on par with Gibson, and watt)
melbourne - (THORNTON,rivers,bizzel,par with carrol and rivers)
port - (cornes, THORNTON,carlile,chaplin)
richmond - (THORNTON, bowden,thursfield,polak)
saints - (dont even bother)
sydney - (same as above)
west coast - (glass, hunter, THORNTON, graham)
bulldogs - (THORNTON on par with lake)

I've even helped you out by rearranging some of your defenders. I'm sure you don't think Cornes is the third best defender at Port, or Fletcher 2nd at Essendon.

firstly i wasnt doing it order of best to worst for every club i was just showing that there are alot of better defender than this superstar. i think you have been a bit bias in your assessment above.

nathan bassest is one of the best at thornton's current role taking the 3rd forward and racking up the possesions.

jarred brennan i agree is hot and cold but when in form thornton isnt in his league

nick maxwell as much as i hate to say is a much more accomplished defender than thornton and his stocks in the afl world is much higher too

ryder will get to be better than thornton

roger hayden is another defender who most people in the football world other than carlton supporters is better than thornton. 2007 all australian squad

par with campbell brown actually made the 2007 AA side and seems to do the job week in week out

jarred rivers former rising star fully fit will definately get himself back the respect he has lost over the last couple of seasons.

as for the comment about the people bagging thornton hiding away i will keep doing it and wont hide away from my comments like some. he isnt shit but im sick of the protection he gets on this board like he is a superstar

 

[Korn]

FFS, how many times did you see a 1 on 1 contest between Thornton and Brown? Brown had a shit 1st half does not mean Thornton played very well on him. Brown was so shit that Thorton was able to go everywhere on the ground, he practically had no opponent.

If he was so good where was he in the 2nd half when Brown kicked 3?

The main job for a key position defender is to beat his opponent and not just gathered a whole bunch of uncontested stats.

 

[len_jet]

FFS, how many times did you see a 1 on 1 contest between Thornton and Brown? Brown had a shit 1st half does not mean Thornton played very well on him. Brown was so shit that Thorton was able to go everywhere on the ground, he practically had no opponent.

If he was so good where was he in the 2nd half when Brown kicked 3?

The main job for a key position defender is to beat his opponent and not just gathered a whole bunch of uncontested stats.

which he did, but he is that good that he managed to gain plenty of uncontested possession to not only beat his opponent, but to make him look shit... which is what you saw. You saw thorton not only beat his player but make him look like a fool.

Where was he in the 2nd half? Where was half the Carlton side. What do you expect when you have constant centre clearances... tackles not being stuck further up and the ground the ball constantly rebounding back into the backline...

unbelievable!

 

[len_jet]

nathan bassest is one of the best at thornton's current role taking the 3rd forward and racking up the possesions.

Yes but Basset is surrounded by Rutten, Johncock, McLeoud, Massie etc... He gets the 3rd or 4th defender. Thornton has been able to rack up possesions constantly while playing on the 1st or 2nd forward.

jarred brennan i agree is hot and cold but when in form thornton isnt in his league

Hot and cold is not good enough when it comes to a back line. You need consistency... this is great trait that Thornton has!

nick maxwell as much as i hate to say is a much more accomplished defender than thornton and his stocks in the afl world is much higher too

semi agree but you'll find Maxwell spends a bit of time through the mid field too which distorts his stats and his apparent excellent backline skills...

ryder will get to be better than thornton

Ryder is a key defender/forward/ruckman... totally different situation... and very very poor comparison

roger hayden is another defender who most people in the football world other than carlton supporters is better than thornton. 2007 all australian squad

I agree Hayden is a better back than Thornton but that is where it stops there for Freo. Thornton would fit easily into that side.

par with campbell brown actually made the 2007 AA side and seems to do the job week in week out

I would argue that Brown is a better back at the moment however over the life of their careers (which at the end of the day is what people look back at not just over one or two seasons) Thornton is better, it is just a shame that he hasn't had the chance to play in such a semi successful side such as Hawthorn hence the lack of AA selections.

jarred rivers former rising star fully fit will definately get himself back the respect he has lost over the last couple of seasons.

hack... simple as that... the whole Melbourne side is built around them... Morton and McLean are about the only shining lights...

 

[Master of Cooks]

what is really disappointing about this board and this thread is how protected some players are. when a good point is made against them it is completely forgotten and then a moron with the same views against that player makes a stupid comment and u jump down their throats. acknowledge that some of our "top class" players aren't as good as u think. here's some food for thought. where would thornton fit in these sides:

adelaide - (behind rutten,bock,basset,stevens on par with massie)
brisbane - (behind brennan,drummond a bit better than merret at this stage)
collingwood - (behind wakelin,presty,maxwell, par with o'brein)
essendon - (behind michael,fletcher,ryder,welsh)
freo - (behind mcpharlin,hayden,michael johnson)
geelong - (dont get me started)
hawthorn - (behind brown,croad,ahead of dawson mite get a game there)
kangaroos - (behind gibson and watt)
melbourne - (behind rivers,bizzel,par with carrol and rivers)
port - (behind carlile,chaplin,cornes)
richmond - (behind bowden,thursfield,polak)
saints - (dont even bother Fisher, Hudghton, Gram, Goddard)
sydney - (same as above Barry, Bolton, Kennelly)
west coast - (behyind glass,hunter,graham)
bulldogs - (behind lake, but would get a game there)

so tear that apart unlike the other morons who bag thornton i have backed it up by showing u that he would be the 4th or 5th option at 13 of the other 15 clubs.

In bold i agree with. The rest Thornton is on par with or better than. You have to remember that if you put any of those blokes in our backline it would bring them down as well. ie Basset wouldn't look as good in our backline as he does in Adelaides.

 

[jd2006]

i must admitt that use r right and some of the other players i mentioned are better because of who they are around.

but that still doesnt answer my question of why he is moving down the pecking order in our defence. these young guys like jamison and eventually austin should be taking the 3rd n 4th forward til that get that 50 games of experience under their belt while thornton n waite take care of the big forwards.

this isnt happening instead thornton is getting the cheap stats while jamison contends with the likes of richo week in week out when he is clearly under sized and without the experience needed to take these guys on.

in a perfect world in 2008 the defence structure should be -
thornton vs 1 forward
waite vs 2 forward
jamison/o'hailpin vs 3 forward
austin/jamison vs 4 forward

after gaining much needed experience over a season or 2 then it could change to a formidible backline
jamison vs 1 forward
austin vs 2 forward
thornton vs 3 forward (racking up the possessions)
o'hailpin vs 4 forward/resting ruckmen
waite up forward

 

[Blues_Man]

what is really disappointing about this board and this thread is how protected some players are. when a good point is made against them it is completely forgotten and then a moron with the same views against that player makes a stupid comment and u jump down their throats. acknowledge that some of our "top class" players aren't as good as u think. here's some food for thought. where would thornton fit in these sides:

adelaide - (behind rutten,bock,basset,stevens on par with massie)
brisbane - (behind brennan,drummond a bit better than merret at this stage)
collingwood - (behind wakelin,presty,maxwell, par with o'brein)
essendon - (behind michael,fletcher,ryder,welsh)
freo - (behind mcpharlin,hayden,michael johnson)
geelong - (dont get me started)
hawthorn - (behind brown,croad,ahead of dawson mite get a game there)
kangaroos - (behind gibson and watt)
melbourne - (behind rivers,bizzel,par with carrol and rivers)
port - (behind carlile,chaplin,cornes)
richmond - (behind bowden,thursfield,polak)
saints - (dont even bother)
sydney - (same as above)
west coast - (behyind glass,hunter,graham)
bulldogs - (behind lake, but would get a game there)

so tear that apart unlike the other morons who bag thornton i have backed it up by showing u that he would be the 4th or 5th option at 13 of the other 15 clubs.

You have NFI newb....and you just proved it with that garbage .

 

[jd2006]

You have NFI newb....and you just proved it with that garbage .

are u trying to tell me that brett thornton is in the top 10-15 defenders in the AFL??