Trent Cotchin v Tom Swift

[Enforcer25]

You hope he'll learn all of this quickly.
He may well, but there's a very good reason recruiters value players who have an innate ability to read the play.

Time will tell.

 

[Spitz]

Rivers was actually pretty good until he missed the better part of 3 years with OP, only recovering last year once the game had massively changed and made his playing style largely redundant.

I dont see how a 25 year old, 6"4, 90+ kg defender becomes redundant


Soft 'outside' defender for a want of a better term, with poor game sense.

The style of game hasn't changed, he's just an ordinary player.


The Melbourne defence looked promising before the start of the season, Frawley has been good.


Warnock, Rivers and Garland have been massive let downs after the hype Melbourne supporters were sprouting about them pre-season.

 

[Enforcer25]

I dont see how a 25 year old, 6"4, 90+ kg defender becomes redundant
Soft 'outside' defender for a want of a better term, with poor game sense.
The style of game hasn't changed, he's just an ordinary player.
The Melbourne defence looked promising before the start of the season, Frawley has been good.

Warnock, Rivers and Garland have been massive let downs after the hype Melbourne supporters were sprouting about them pre-season.

I wouldn't say Rivers is soft. He is excellent at reading the play and has been a good one-on-one defender and a good help defender, like a poor man's Fletcher, but he has regressed this year.
The game has changed. Defenders of his ilk need to be able to rebound now and he is useless going forward, mostly because his disposal is average.
He'll have to improve his defending to keep a spot in the side going forward and even then I think he needs more strings to his bow.
But when he won his rising star the way he played the game (being a stopper/negator) was acceptable. Now the only player who really gets away with this is Presti and he is elite at what he does.
Rivers has excelled playing as a loose man in defence in the past because of his reading of he play, in a defensive sense, but his inability to rebound effectively as the loose man makes him useless.
If he could kick like Hodge he'd be a star (wouldn't every player).
Unfortunately for Rivers, he can't.

As for Warnock, he is solid and unspectacular as always. No surprises there.
Garland is a great player but is understandably rusty after more than a year out with injury, as well as a few knocks this year. He'll be fine.

Rivers is a worry now, but you're trying to rewrite history.
Just a bit knowledge for ya.

 

[Simmonds2Hislop]

My argument for once in a generation is that players with buddy and naita's ability have not been seen before. Hence them being once in a generation.

Once in a generation my arse. He has about as much idea as K.Hunt.

 

[anti_]

swift done absolutely nothing today.

 

[DivideandMultiply]

Once in a generation my arse. He has about as much idea as K.Hunt.

Oh nooooo a young developing player had a bad game.

The disgrace, the shame, the hugemanity!!!!

 

[r dub 19]

Once in a generation my arse. He has about as much idea as K.Hunt.

yeah k mate.