What should we do?

[Scham]

My view is that we should play more kids and bring young players into and out of the team like we are. That way the likes of Hughes, Tucker, Apeness, Blakely and Langdon learn the requirements and experience of playing at the top level, but they can also go back to the lower level with greater knowledge of what they need to improve. If a player looks to be adjusting well like Weller and A.Pearce are then they stay in the team.

I agree with this bit.

In fact, this is what should've been happening last year. That's why we're so far behind the eight ball now.

 

[meima]

I agree with this bit.

In fact, this is what should've been happening last year. That's why we're so far behind the eight ball now.

A little too late.

 

[jakefooty23]

Sandilands definitely, once his ribs and lung are fully recovered then he'll come back in. Johnson has a much greater risk of re-injury though so they'll be conservative.

If Hurley leaves the Bombers he'll go to another Victorian team. If we can't lure a WA boy in Hooker what makes you think we'll be able to convince a Melbourne raised player to move to WA?

With a big contract, id be willing to offer more for hurley then hooker.

 

[sherrif]

I agree with this bit.

In fact, this is what should've been happening last year. That's why we're so far behind the eight ball now.

I really don't understand the whole we should have been playing youngsters last year argument. This time a year ago our record was the same as North's. They aren't introducing youngsters now as at the moment they are striving for a premiership. As we haven't won a premiership I would have been disappointed if we looked beyond the season at hand in 2015. I watched a lot of our kids play for Peel last year and I simply think the like of Gu and De Boer were a year ago a significant upgrade on Weller, Langdon and Blakely. What is wrong with trying to go all out for a Premiership in a year where you win your first nine games? I think the benefit to getting a handful of games into first year players is grossly overrated on here.

 

[pavslovechild]

I really don't understand the whole we should have been playing youngsters last year argument. This time a year ago our record was the same as North's. They aren't introducing youngsters now as at the moment they are striving for a premiership. As we haven't won a premiership I would have been disappointed if we looked beyond the season at hand in 2015. I watched a lot of our kids play for Peel last year and I simply think the like of Gu and De Boer were a year ago a significant upgrade on Weller, Langdon and Blakely. What is wrong with trying to go all out for a Premiership in a year where you win your first nine games? I think the benefit to getting a handful of games into first year players is grossly overrated on here.

We lost games, our system was being broken down easily and we were scraping past teams. the opportunity to inject some enthusiasm, energy into the team and create some competitive tension in the second half of last season wouldn't have been throwing kids to the slaughter.

 

[meima]

If deboer , C.Pearce in WAfL can get 30 possession that mean they are taking one of the spot of young player learning to improve from 20-25 possensin to 30 possession in wafl, short term is fine for me long term we will be in trouble.

Eg- croz always get average 25 possession playing as mid in WAfL, Barlow improve possession as inside mid , but drop output as half forward. The supply is the issue. ( pass accuracy or turnover)

 

[electricfeel]

I really don't understand the whole we should have been playing youngsters last year argument. This time a year ago our record was the same as North's. They aren't introducing youngsters now as at the moment they are striving for a premiership. As we haven't won a premiership I would have been disappointed if we looked beyond the season at hand in 2015. I watched a lot of our kids play for Peel last year and I simply think the like of Gu and De Boer were a year ago a significant upgrade on Weller, Langdon and Blakely. What is wrong with trying to go all out for a Premiership in a year where you win your first nine games? I think the benefit to getting a handful of games into first year players is grossly overrated on here.

Not so much when we were 9-0 but afterwards when we were kind of stalling and doing just enough to win. That would've been a good time to really freshen the team, re-inspire the senior players and inject a few new guys into the team.

 

[sherrif]

We lost games, our system was being broken down easily and we were scraping past teams. the opportunity to inject some enthusiasm, energy into the team and create some competitive tension in the second half of last season wouldn't have been throwing kids to the slaughter.

The problem is that the players you are talking about in Hughes, Blakely, Langdon and Weller were all first year players. Yep, there are some players good enough to play straight away like Mills, Oliver and Parish this year. However most players not recruited early in the draft take a couple of years before they can contribute at afl level if they come straight from the underage competition. I watched Weller struggle to finish off games at times, Blakely get manhandled a bit at the clearances when matched on bigger WAFL level midfield players at times and both Hughes and Langdon struggle to dispose of the ball under pressure in 2015 for Peel at times. Im really not sure why some here think that they would have benefited massively from playing a few more games at AFL level last year. We didn't win a premiership so hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if you are on top of the ladder I think it was definitely the right decision at the time is to focus on simply putting your best team out each week and not complicating things.

 

[meima]

We lost games, our system was being broken down easily and we were scraping past teams. the opportunity to inject some enthusiasm, energy into the team and create some competitive tension in the second half of last season wouldn't have been throwing kids to the slaughter.

That is the past, we can't change it now. Can only do the best ross can.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I really don't understand the whole we should have been playing youngsters last year argument. This time a year ago our record was the same as North's. They aren't introducing youngsters now as at the moment they are striving for a premiership. As we haven't won a premiership I would have been disappointed if we looked beyond the season at hand in 2015. I watched a lot of our kids play for Peel last year and I simply think the like of Gu and De Boer were a year ago a significant upgrade on Weller, Langdon and Blakely. What is wrong with trying to go all out for a Premiership in a year where you win your first nine games? I think the benefit to getting a handful of games into first year players is grossly overrated on here.

People aren't saying we should have played the kids for the sake of it, people are saying the kids added something.

The reality is Lachie Weller has been a revelation this year, and Brady Grey played a great one in his match against Carlton. It wasn't about pointless patronisation, but the fact that we had kids rotting at Peel who could have added some dynamics to the side. Weller was such an obvious in for a spuddly plodder like DeBoer/Clancee/Suban. While he hasn't started with the burst Heeney had, he is a good example: Sydney slotted him in because he added something, not because he had 'potential' or whatever or they were rebuilding.

The worst thing about last season is, yes we were in North's shoes, but by this point everything looked a little shaky. We weren't looking hard. We weren't dismantling teams intently but we were beginning to let sides back into the fold, we were lapsing a bit, and we were just getting over the line. We lost to Richmond. And then not a whole lot changed. The writing was on the wall that we were looking sluggish and sussed out. It was negligent to keep the status quo. Lyon kept on keeping on when we were looking worse and worse. It was obvious we needed about 20% change and giving kids like Weller was part of that... not wholesale changes, but obvious and still important ones.

 

[Scham]

I really don't understand the whole we should have been playing youngsters last year argument. This time a year ago our record was the same as North's. They aren't introducing youngsters now as at the moment they are striving for a premiership. As we haven't won a premiership I would have been disappointed if we looked beyond the season at hand in 2015. I watched a lot of our kids play for Peel last year and I simply think the like of Gu and De Boer were a year ago a significant upgrade on Weller, Langdon and Blakely. What is wrong with trying to go all out for a Premiership in a year where you win your first nine games? I think the benefit to getting a handful of games into first year players is grossly overrated on here.

North are contributing across the field. We had players struggling that could've been dropped but weren't.

Also I have it on good authority that Ross admitted to a few of the young guys in their end of season interviews that he was overly conservative and if he had his time over again would've played them more. So he understands it and I guess that's all that matters.

Its history now though.

 

[sherrif]

North are contributing across the field. We had players struggling that could've been dropped but weren't.

Also I have it on good authority that Ross admitted to a few of the young guys in their end of season interviews that he was overly conservative and if he had his time over again would've played them more. So he understands it and I guess that's all that matters.

Its history now though.

Fiar point. Im referring to the mindset behind the decisions. Our gameplay was based on winning contested footy, so I think the players we picked matched up well to the game plan. Weller is one who put on extra muscle since last year. Im not sure how he would have gone playing multiple games on the trot last year.

 

[meima]

North are contributing across the field. We had players struggling that could've been dropped but weren't.

Also I have it on good authority that Ross admitted to a few of the young guys in their end of season interviews that he was overly conservative and if he had his time over again would've played them more. So he understands it and I guess that's all that matters.

Its history now though.

The biggest mistake we make is Nab cup, where team like hawthorn , Geelong bring some kids in and we play suban, gu ,C.Pearce. a lot of team give rookie minute to see what they can do and decide whether to upgrade them early in the season.I think we try to implement new game plan with old type of thinking.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Ill agree to disagree that Weller was a superior option to Gu, De Boer or Suban even in 2015. Im not having a go at you but Id be surprised if the people who claim we should have played Weller more actually watched many WAFL games last year. I don't get those who are so critical of us not ever winning a premiership also being critical of RTB picking his best team every week in his opinion. Weller was definitely an inferior player to De Boer and Gu at WAFL level last year.

It's easier for an experienced, bigger, older player to play well in an average side in the WAFL, than it is for a first year to gun it in the WAFL every weekend. Weller could have flailed for a week or two in the AFL as you sort of expect, but the opportunity cost was really minimal. The worst blokes we had were in no way deserving of getting a game every. single. week.

It was a joke, nepotism and favouritism at its finest, where Ross was holding no knife to anyone's necks. It must be tough to swallow for a young bloke when players can go five weeks of playing like shit, get dropped, pick up 31 touches in the WAFL, and slip straight back into the AFL side while the cycle continues.

The fact some of these very same ****ing spuds are getting games at 0-7 or whatever we are is a joke. These blokes are over the hill and have played their best football. They're approaching 26-30 and at this point add very little in the way of on-field coaching ala Pav, Mundy, Sandi, Johnno. There's four players who should never ever play for our club again simply because their time was borrowed last year, and has gone this year. There's probably five to seven more (Dawson tier) who you start phasing out as of now. You just have to look at Danyle Pearce's shitness being rewarded with two more years as a sign of the same things continuing.

 

[sherrif]

I guess you will be happy to know we have seven players under fifty games playing today. The rebuild has begun.

 

[Scham]

I saw a stat the other day that said Hawks have 12 players from the '13 GF playing today, we have 11.

 

[Freomaniac]

I have said my view already. Everyone remembers that Bryce Gibbs was the nber 1 pick of the 2006 draft and Scott gumbleton was forgotten at number 2.

I have said it before... If we have pick 3-6 again, as tempting as it is to get another Stephen hill, We need a gun or at least a half decent forward. I prefer a gun 60-80 goal a season forward. But if freo get a Jenkins/Dixon type that kicks 40-50 goals a season and can ruck. I'm fine with that. At least its better than nothing.

The 1st round pick isn't the be all and end all. I pray we maintain our record of getting gems in the rookie list.

 

[Cayman Docker]

" The main problem is the backline, its horrible. Thank Goodness we have A.Pearce!!! "

Bet Ross has already penned in building the future backline around this bloke's backbone

 

[pavslovechild]

That is the past, we can't change it now. Can only do the best ross can.

I get that, just responding to a post.

 

[MadMac]

I have said my view already. Everyone remembers that Bryce Gibbs was the nber 1 pick of the 2006 draft and Scott gumbleton was forgotten at number 2.

I have said it before... If we have pick 3-6 again, as tempting as it is to get another Stephen hill, We need a gun or at least a half decent forward. I prefer a gun 60-80 goal a season forward. But if freo get a Jenkins/Dixon type that kicks 40-50 goals a season and can ruck. I'm fine with that. At least its better than nothing.

The 1st round pick isn't the be all and end all. I pray we maintain our record of getting gems in the rookie list.

That's pretty selective. There are quite a few #1 picks that didn't end up being superstars. There's no guarantees. You actually picked a perfect example of how much luck is required especially with KPP. Gumbleton was very talented, no one can deny that but was cursed with injuries. His body just couldn't sustain physical requirements of playing AFL footy.
In the same draft the best player went at #7 [Joel Selwood]. Kurt Tipett at 32, Goldie at 37 and a bloke named Robbie Gray at 55.