What......no Johnson????

[Blues2001]

I know you may wonder why a Blues fan is criticising the Hawks selectors, but why has Brett Johnson been dropped?

He's in my fantasy footy team you see, and I want him to get more of a go!

He looked unreal against Essendon, and very good against Geelong when he got a chance.

Are you guys shocked at his omission?

 

[hawfawnchick]

Gotta agree with you Blues....

I was actually just about to write a post about this......In one word Blues....YES!!! The inclusion of Tim Clarke is odd, considering he needs a bit of weight. What do the match committee expect from Jonno when they leave him on the bench for 3 quarters?? I know he can get 10+ possessions in that quarter, yet he can't buy a game from the match committee. There are other players IMO (I'll let everybody use their imagination) who should've been dropped ahead of Jonno. This kid is just what we need for the midfield to bolster the stocks and yet his skills seem to keep getting overlooked for speed - and quietly, we need better skills if we want to be the top teams. Why are the match committee protecting Jonno?? Week in, week out, they put Clarke in who, like I stated earlier, needs weight and will get pushed around more than Jonno.

This is an almost Ken Judge sort of decision......Player plays well, drop him the next week or make him sit on the bench for a game to teach him that you shouldn't play well.

 

[goatmaster]

With you Blues

You just get the feeling there is something wrong here. Does he have an attitude problem or something sinister because they just don't seem to like him. Staggering decision by an otherwise excellent coaching group & seems to be ongoing on this kid.

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Truly disgusted with the decision to pick Clarke in favour of Johnson. Now I've been a big fan of Schwabby but this decision was unbelievable to say the least. Having travelled up to the game - and watched Clarke put in a pitiful error ridden display, I just cannot believe ANYONE rates him ahead of Johnson at this stage of their careers.

Poor old Johnno is admired by everyone who follows the Hawks. Apparently he trains well, so it doesn't appear to be a disciplinary problem. Someone told me he may be traded to the Eagles at the end of the year, and if that's the case I will seriously question what the hell is going on down there.

For God's sake, Brett Johnson and Adrian Cox MUST, and i mean MUST play this week!

 

[Tonka]

Johnson was unlucky to be dropped.

His vision and skills are very good. As evidence I believe he has only made one clanger this year.

Very importantly, he also played well against Essendon.

Obviously, Schwabby is having trouble finding a position for him in the centre/roving positions at the moment. He is at least behind Chick, Crawford, Harford, Lekkas, Tallis, Woods, Picioane and Clarke for a job in the middle.

This is trouble for Johnson as in my opinion he has not yet shown the ability of some of those mentioned guys to play in the forward or backlines. It may also be questionable as to whether he is suited against pacy runners on the wing.

The upside for Johnson is that he has enough talent to be back in the side soon. In the short term the coaching staff will not persist with Aaron Lord much longer and Richard Vandenberg's disposal will soon see him go the same way as Glen Bowyer. Woods is injured and very near the end and Picioane will struggle to oust Johhno when he comes back. Billy Nicholls will struggle to hold his spot this week. All of which means there should be plenty of opportunities for Johnno.

The downside- his form in the VFL on the weekend will not have done him any favours. He barely touched the ball until the last quarter and was outshone by both Nick Ries and Steven Greene. Really, any midfielder hoping to play AFL should dominate at this level.

It is probably his lack of physical presence, as compared to the likes of Chick, Crawford, Tallis and Picioane that has been keeping him out, but it wont be for much longer.

I think the selectors may give him a game this week along with Adrian Cox and possibly/hopefully Nathan Lonie.

As for Tim Clarke versus Brett Johnson that is an argument I wouldn't like to enter. Tim's form has dropped off however Hawthorn is no champion team at the moment and there is going to be room for both players most weeks I would think.