When will sidebottom get a game????

[magpie10]

FFS he has been averaging 24 possessions and 8 tackles a game in the VFL, is that not good enough form to warrant a game mick??? He should've come in for barham this week, who although has great pace and can find the ball, is a liability to our side due to his terrible kicking. A few weeks in the twos would've been good for barham.

This may be an overreaction, but the thing we lack in our side is good ball users, yet we have a young gun with elite kicking skills stuck in the twos.....and yet mick complains we don't have the cattle???? complete and utter BS

 

[mattys123]

Round 10, Collingwood vs Port Adelaide at the MCG.

That would be my ideal debut for him, or even against Carlscum.

He deserves a game, averaging 24 disposals, 8 tackles and a goal a game, surely good enough figures to get him a senior game.

 

[premiers06]

hopefully sooner than later, but i guess also with him playing well and when he does come into the team hell be brimming with confidence which maybe really good for him

 

[JOELY]

people will find anything to bag mick about at the moment, the whinging is insane. it's not like sidebottom is sitting in the vfl with the potential to turn our season around. most vfl watchers say he's playing well but still has a few areas to work on, including his body size before he can make a real impact.

 

[magpie10]

people will find anything to bag mick about at the moment, the whinging is insane. it's not like sidebottom is sitting in the vfl with the potential to turn our season around. most vfl watchers say he's playing well but still has a few areas to work on, including his body size before he can make a real impact.

Beams is a stick and yet he is playing really well...why not let rusty come in and get a feel for it. I never said he will turn our season around, its just that he uses the ball really well and thats what we are lacking severly atm. Barham is very lucky to be playing again this week, so lets hope he takes his opportunity

 

[mrmagoo]

Barham was outstanding against Brisbane, but had a shocker last week. IMO he is worth another game to see where's he's at. On the other hand Cloke has been shite all year, Rocca has done nothing in his 2 games, and Fraser last week was embarrasing. Dick also showed very little in his senior games and looks too skinny to be in the seniors so he needs to put on some weight. Sidebottom is 75kg and probably needs to put on a few kg's but if Barham's game is the same as it was last week then stainless is worth a try IMO.

 

[Quicky]

Totally agree Magpie10. The sooner we get players with good disposals in the team and who are willing to go in hard when its their turn the better of the team will be. Besides its important that we get as many games into our promising young players as soon as possible (provided they've shown form in the twos).

 

[Invigoration]

The kid is a 10 year player, I don't see any need what-so-ever to rush him. These boards are overreaction central at the moment, every choice the club makes is wrong and everyone on here seems to know better.

I willing to bet my left nut that the OP hasn't even seen Sidey play in the flesh, but because he has some pretty disposal stats he should instantly be brought up to the AFL.

There is a lot of more knowledgeable and informed officials around the club (contrary to some people's opinions around here) who know where Sidey is at, I'm more inclined to trust their judgement than the hysteria of a few fans on the bigfooty forums. (probably motivated by DT more than anything else).

If we have to bank our hopes on an 18 year old kid who has a career spanning all of 4 VFL games, we really are in for a slim year.

People are way to implusive about blooding youngsters, their was a massive group of support to bring Barham in on the back of some good games in the VFL. He gets brought up, people see in the flesh instead of reading the information second hand and realise that stats are only numbers (he averages good numbers at VFL level and was another victim of the 'this youngster averages heaps of disposal, bring him in ASAP' syndrome). And then as quickly as people were shouting for him to be blooded, they are twice as vocal about culling him. He didn't live up to expectation, so he is dished off and the bandwagon gets rolling on the next youngster to bring in. I think it all reflects the attention span of generation y (this coming from someone of that group mind you). It seems like the Beams hysteria was a big enough hit for the junkies for a few games, but now they are gagging at the bit to blood another one just to spike their levels back up again...

Tonight their will be three blokes with a combined game total of like 6 (Barham, Beams and Caff), but the obsession with youngsters still continues for some reason. We can already see with Beams he can't maintain the pace for too long and I believe he'll be rested soon to prevent burning out. We can only afford to acclimatise so many youngsters at one time, the baton can't just be handed over in the space of a night.

In the scheme of things, is Sidebottom is to become the player we all hope and expect, we will hardly look back in 10 years and say damn we should have had him debut earlier, think of those games we wasted in the first year he was drafted.

Even Gary Ablett Jnr spent a year in the reserves.

Sidey will play when he is ready, but I don't think we should expect the 2nd coming of Christ just because he was a top 10 draft pick. We have seen those sort of expectations shattered more than once around this place.

 

[JOELY]

Beams is a stick and yet he is playing really well...why not let rusty come in and get a feel for it. I never said he will turn our season around, its just that he uses the ball really well and thats what we are lacking severly atm. Barham is very lucky to be playing again this week, so lets hope he takes his opportunity

beams isn't a stick. he is thin, but has a hardened body, he looks more like a man, while steele still looks boyish. there's a difference between them, and has been since the start of the season when the club stated that beams would be more likely to play over steele because of his body.

 

[well left]

Tonight their will be three blokes with a combined game total of like 6 (Barham, Beams and Caff), but the obsession with youngsters still continues for some reason. We can already see with Beams he can't maintain the pace for too long and I believe he'll be rested soon to prevent burning out. We can only afford to acclimatise some many youngsters at one time, the baton can't just be handed over in the space of a night.

Good post. I think the key will be to rotate the young blokes throughout the season. Would not surprise me to see Sidebottom get a run in the Carlton game with Beams given a few weeks off to freshen up.

 

[Quicky]

^^ I think you're a bit off the mark Invigoration. There are a lot of very valid reasons that Sidebottom should be pushing for a game. His form in the VFL suggests that he deserves an opportunity. The form of some of the senior players (Barham cough, Toovey cough) has been pretty ordinary so there is a place in the team for him. He is pretty versatile which is a handy attribute to have and he addresses two of our biggest weaknesses so far this season. One he has neat disposal and two he is willing to put his head over the ball when its his turn. He directly addresses the needs of the senior team. If you think his frame should stop him from getting a game then I guess we should just delist Dick right now on that logic?? What about Stephen Hill at Freo?? I don't think it will affect him as much as people make out. The fact is the sooner we get players such as Pendlebury, Thomas, Beams, McCarthy, Anthony, N Brown and Sidebottom to 50-150 games the sooner we will be to challenging for a premiership. If he has shown the form in the twos why hold him back??

 

[ThePiesHaveEyesForPrize]

Sidey will play when he is ready, but I don't think we should expect the 2nd coming of Christ just because he was a top 10 draft pick. We have seen those sort of expectations shattered more than once around this place.[/quote]

especially when he was pick 11.

 

[mattys123]

The fact is the sooner we get players such as Pendlebury, Thomas, Beams, McCarthy, Anthony, N Brown and Sidebottom to 50-150 games the sooner we will be to challenging for a premiership.

Hit it on the head Quicky, we dont have 22 players who are good enough for a premiership tilt at the moment, but when we get those names and a few others past that 50 game mark, we will be a much better team.

 

[understudy]

Barham was outstanding against Brisbane

Barham did have 8 clangers in that game mate, so I wouldnt call his performance outstanding.

 

[Axl the great]

Sidebottom, Dick, Stanley have been good all year at VFL level and will get a chances this year, i have no problem if the club thinks they are not quite ready or need to do more.

What i do have an issue with is the players who are not earning their spot are holding these guys out, we are rewarding mediocraty and setting a poor example of reward for effort and perfomance and on the back of some of these guys efforts a wake up call is needed not the reward of getting picked each week despite how they perform.

I would also guess this bewildering policy is starting to piss off a few of the guys both on the verge of selection and regular good performers in the seniors who feel some are becoming a liability.

 

[Invigoration]

There are a lot of very valid reasons that Sidebottom should be pushing for a game. His form in the VFL suggests that he deserves an opportunity.

There are a lot of very valid reasons for a lot of our VFL players to be playing, just like there are a lot of valid reasons for them not to be. In the end there at blokes are the club who are paid to make that decisions, both with far more knowledge on the topic at hand who currently believe their reasons to keep him in the VFL outweigh those of rushing him into the AFL.
I don't think his form warrants selection simply because of his position in the draft, and lets be honest, that is where this drive for his selection comes from. If he was a mid ranged draft pick, this hysteria wouldn't exist around him...
He has only been in the best once or twice, it has been pointed out he is inconsistent in his involvement in the game (he plays in bursts, goes missing a bit) and there have simply been others playing better than him (e.g. Corrie, who himself isn't getting a game).
If his form warrants selection, as you believe, he will get selected... Simple. There is no vendetta against him or anything of the sort.

The form of some of the senior players (Barham cough, Toovey cough) has been pretty ordinary so there is a place in the team for him.

Fans are constantly disgruntled with selection, it is a fact of life, a complete and utter catch-22. People wanted Barham, he wasn't view as up to it after the comprehensive assessment of 2 games and now he is viewed as dead weight. It is like swing voting, people are quick to jump on and off a young players bandwagon. I'm undoubtedly sure that if Steele came in, only got 4-5 touches, had a shocker and the team ends up losing, then the exact same people would be throwing his name up as one of the first to be cut.
People want instant results, but it doesn't happen. People kick and scream for us to play the young kids, then cry and throw things when we wind up losing that weekend.

He is pretty versatile which is a handy attribute to have and he addresses two of our biggest weaknesses so far this season. One he has neat disposal and two he is willing to put his head over the ball when its his turn. He directly addresses the needs of the senior team

Like I said before, if you are expecting guys like Sidebottom to come in and fix gaping deficiencies in our team then you are sorely mistaken.
Of course he has attributes we view as desirable at the top level, we wouldn't have drafted him otherwise.
The exact same was said of Barham two weeks again, he has pace to burn, breaks the lines and puts his head over the ball. It is easy to put forward a case for these youngsters, they all have some outstanding redeeming factors, but more often than not they don't instantly flourish at the top level. I just don't see any need whatsoever, with the exception of pleasing the ever needy fan, to rush this kids development.
If he is good enough, he'll prove it over time, simple.

The fact is the sooner we get players such as Pendlebury, Thomas, Beams, McCarthy, Anthony, N Brown and Sidebottom to 50-150 games the sooner we will be to challenging for a premiership. If he has shown the form in the twos why hold him back??

The fact that 5 out of the 7 guys you said there are already regular fixtures in the side should probably tell you we are already well on the way to that goal (McCarthy would probably be playing injury excepting).
All of those guys were deemed ready to play, some sooner then others, and it goes to prove our selection committee and our club isn't afraid to blood them, so why are we ostracising them as if they never make the tough calls? It would be safe to say we were up there at the top of the lists for amount of youngsters, our playing group age and probably for the new players brought in this year.
This ever hungry fan group won't be pleased though. We blooded Beams very early, clearly we deemed him ready and rightfully so, so why so much doubt over the selection of Sidebottom?



It doesn't take long for the mentality of a group to change, it was only 6 weeks ago we were talking finals and how successful our year would be. Now the tone seems to imply we might as well tank and just play kids for the year.
It is pretty easy to forget we are a combined total of like 8 points (I forget the Crows margin) away from being 4-1?

In saying all this I do think he will play in the coming weeks, I just don't understand the outcry for it to be put into motion. If this kid is going to play for the club for the next 10 years, surely there is no rush. The VFL is a brilliant stepping stone and provides a great transitional step for the kids, at the moment he'll be getting far more time of the ground and time with the ball in his hands then he would be at the top. It would be great experience and I'm sure he isn't minding it down though.


In the end what it all boils down to, is there are blokes that have so much more knowledge on where Sidebottom is at then you or me and at the moment they believe the VFL is best for him. If you think they are doing it wrong, I urge you to go down and apply for a job, til then we probably just had to cop their decisions on the chin and support the 22 blokes that do roll out onto the field

Sorry about the length of the post

 

[DaVe86]

MM hates midfielders. Both he and Stanley have earnt a game

 

[Invigoration]

Sidey will play when he is ready, but I don't think we should expect the 2nd coming of Christ just because he was a top 10 draft pick. We have seen those sort of expectations shattered more than once around this place.

especially when he was pick 11.[/QUOTE]

And sentences start with capitals, everyone makes mistakes, some are probably just more fundamental than others.

 

[Optimax]

MM hates midfielders. Both he and Stanley have earnt a game

obree
swan
beams
pendlebury
buckley
burns
licuria
steinfort


off the top of my head all look at you strangely

 

[Invigoration]

MM hates midfielders. Both he and Stanley have earnt a game

Yeah I'd be more inclined to question this blokes lack of game time than a guy who has been on the last for all of about 12 minutes.

Malthouse was a massive Stanley fan back in the day it should be noted though, described him as a bull and considered him absolutely vital to the future of our midfield.
Something went wrong along the line though, I'd love to hear where Mick honestly thinks he has at right at this moment in time. I usually wouldn't be to worried considering he got another year on the list which is always a good sign, but the fact he wasn't even played in the NAB cups games in baffling.

 

[mattys123]

I dont think there has been a general "outcry" for Sidebottom to make his debut, I just believe after a below par start to the year, supporters are either;

1. Looking to the future, post MM or not.
2. Looking for something to smile about, I dont know about you but one of the highlights of this year has been Beams, especially in his first game.

Supporters are "hopeful" people at the best of times, and when we are struggling a bit as we are now, we look for positives and some hope, and I think a lot of people see Sidebottom's stats in the 2's and assume he is ready.

I've seen him play 3 times, twice in pre season, and once in round 1 of the VFL, and he seemed to be able to cope with the physicallity of the game.

But we dont know what plan they have him on, maybe all along they planned for Steele to play more games later in the year, and saw Beams, Barham, McCaffer and the likes as players who could make an impact early.

Either way, can't wait to see him in the seniors, he is guaranteed to be a "good" senior footballer, it's just a matter of "how good".

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

Barham was outstanding against Brisbane, but had a shocker last week. IMO he is worth another game to see where's he's at. On the other hand Cloke has been shite all year, Rocca has done nothing in his 2 games, and Fraser last week was embarrasing. Dick also showed very little in his senior games and looks too skinny to be in the seniors so he needs to put on some weight. Sidebottom is 75kg and probably needs to put on a few kg's but if Barham's game is the same as it was last week then stainless is worth a try IMO.

I think people are getting carried away with Barham's first game because he had 28 possessions..

That was the worst part of his game - he had 9 clangers!!!! The only good thing he did was tackle (which is important btw) but people (even mick) look at the stats sheet and say....jeez the guy had 28 possessions he starred!! He was terrible and he was even worse last week. a complete liability.

As others have said on this board, his bad kicking isn't a new thing he's always been a bad kick.

It's not like Mitchell, who is not a good kick but is an adequate kick, realises and therefore doesn't try for too much and does well or a presti, who can't kick, knows it so he also keeps it simple meaning that he's a safe bet by foot - this guy thinks he's bucks. He's going for 50 metre passes and missing them by 20. The worst part is that he doesn't even look, its like Rhyce Shaw but way worse. The simple solution is to tell him to keep it simple but a quick midfielder who can break the lines needs to be able to damage by foot and even when he does look, he sprays them. We will lose games because of players like this, we did last week.

At least Sidebottom has talent and from what I've seen just as much desire, give the kid a go, he's what we need. AND to say we don't have the cattle to play down the middle but now that we have SHaw and Max back maybe we can is a joke. 1, he dropped Cox who uses it well. 2, Maxi and Shaw are only decent kicks. 3, he has got good kicking players in the 2's who he doesn't play whilst playing Barham and Toovey. Don't get it Mick.

 

[Kick It 2 Me]

Sidebottom is an integral part of our tilt at a flag. A shame it's a VFL one.

 

[Invigoration]

I dont think there has been a general "outcry" for Sidebottom to make his debut, I just believe after a below par start to the year, supporters are either;

1. Looking to the future, post MM or not.
2. Looking for something to smile about, I dont know about you but one of the highlights of this year has been Beams, especially in his first game.

Supporters are "hopeful" people at the best of times, and when we are struggling a bit as we are now, we look for positives and some hope, and I think a lot of people see Sidebottom's stats in the 2's and assume he is ready.

I've seen him play 3 times, twice in pre season, and once in round 1 of the VFL, and he seemed to be able to cope with the physicallity of the game.

But we dont know what plan they have him on, maybe all along they planned for Steele to play more games later in the year, and saw Beams, Barham, McCaffer and the likes as players who could make an impact early.

Either way, can't wait to see him in the seniors, he is guaranteed to be a "good" senior footballer, it's just a matter of "how good".

Yeah I agree with all of this.

There hasn't necessarily been an outcry exclusively for Sidey, the hysteria associates itself with kids in general. I can see how it brings new hope and what not, but it isn't always viable or sensible.

We've already got a lot of good young talent on the park and I'd personally prefer to see the likes of McCarthy, Stanley and Reid coming under the selection microscope as opposed to Sidey seeing as they have done their apprenticeships at the lower level. I just think he has a lot of time to come on.

 

[jimmy35]

I hope to see him sooner rather than later as well . But I'm sure when they think it's time he'll get a game .
And I wouldn't say the form of Toovey or Barham is totally relevant , they're 'taggers'