wheres Brett Kirk at ???

[swannykika]

i absolutely love the guy. is he still the inspirational leader of 05/06 or has he too seen his best footy days. I sure hope not, but even he has looked tired. I recall him missing a crucial tackle against Brisbane he normally would have made, which led to the play forward onto Brown who kicked the killer goal. I think its more a case of, apart from Goodes, he has had little support this year. Tried his heart out, but the mids around him are just not cutting the mustard with him. biggest prob is is lack of mid speed IMO. Discuss.

 

[snappy]

Good question, at 30 he aint getting younger or faster. The type of player he is demands him to be in and under the packs, other mids that are getting on are more play makers that can sit out side the packs waiting for a clearence, and dispose it well. Its a big ask to have him play his role for a couple of more years, surely he must be getting tired..
Wheather its a discusion on our midfield, or/and him, the proof is in the pudding our game plan in the middle has weakend, the way i see it is, we either contiue with the existing syle of game, or change to a more attacking one. Either way the current line up in the middle is getting exposed, players are being used in shut down roles, instead of ball winners primeraly. Dont know if it will come good. IMO a big shift is needed next year players and game plan.

 

[Tuco]

He's still turing the odd game around when we need someone to lift. And his enthusiasm is as infectious as ever. Possibly the speed thing is slowly beginning to affect his potency in the middle, and he never was a huge mark, so all these ticky touchwood interpretations are seeing him give away a lot more frees than he used to (which was a pretty high amount to begin with).

Personally, I just can't see Sydney without him. He's the Paul Kelly-type we never dared to think we'd get to see so soon after Captain Blood hung up the boots.

 

[its game on]

He's still turing the odd game around when we need someone to lift. And his enthusiasm is as infectious as ever. Possibly the speed thing is slowly beginning to affect his potency in the middle, and he never was a huge mark, so all these ticky touchwood interpretations are seeing him give away a lot more frees than he used to (which was a pretty high amount to begin with).

Personally, I just can't see Sydney without him. He's the Paul Kelly-type we never dared to think we'd get to see so soon after Captain Blood hung up the boots.

Yeh I agree, still a quality senior player who hasn't had too many off days plus, he doesn't miss games at his age. Others like, Jared Crouch and Leo Barry will miss a lot of games in say the next 1 or 2 seasons. Hopefully JC and LB will be encouraged to more on, Kirky's game and position have never relied on out and out speed.

 

[swannykika]

... Kirky's game and position have never relied on out and out speed.

not his speed but those around him who he can dish off to once he wins the ball. too often we win the ball but dont clear fast enough, and the game has changed pace enough even in the last couple of years to suggest we feel the need, for speeeed.

 

[Hawkers]

He's still turing the odd game around when we need someone to lift. And his enthusiasm is as infectious as ever. Possibly the speed thing is slowly beginning to affect his potency in the middle, and he never was a huge mark, so all these ticky touchwood interpretations are seeing him give away a lot more frees than he used to (which was a pretty high amount to begin with).

Personally, I just can't see Sydney without him. He's the Paul Kelly-type we never dared to think we'd get to see so soon after Captain Blood hung up the boots.

Jack Dyer hung up his boots a long time ago. Long before you were probably born.
There are a lot of people on this forum and indeed in the football public that would de-ride you for using that nickname for one of your own

 

[Tuco]

Jack Dyer hung up his boots a long time ago. Long before you were probably born.
There are a lot of people on this forum and indeed in the football public that would de-ride you for using that nickname for one of your own

Go easy. It's just what I called Kel sometimes. And I wasn't completely alone in doing that either. And on a sidenote Dyer would probably be hanging up more than just his boots if he'd seen what the Tigers had been offering up to their fans in recent years.

 

[bigswan]

What a load of rubbish!

 

[swannykika]

What a load of rubbish!

and this relates to Brett Kirk how?

 

[Hawkers]

Go easy. It's just what I called Kel sometimes. And I wasn't completely alone in doing that either. And on a sidenote Dyer would probably be hanging up more than just his boots if he'd seen what the Tigers had been offering up to their fans in recent years.

Cheers.

I didn't mean offence, probably came across too harsh.

Just when you mention someone else as Captain Blood then it's one of those things that you associate with a champion of a by gone era.

Paul Kelly is a champion, no doubt, but Captain Blood is already taken

 

[liz]

I'm more than a bit surprised at people questioning Kirk's position at the moment. I expect him to win the B&F by a decent margin - maybe only B2 has a chance of coming close. His last couple of weeks have been slightly down but he has been our best midfielder this season by such a margin it ain't funny. Many of his second halves, in particular, have been outstanding.

He has kept quality players, like Simon Black, Shaun Burgoyne, Sam Mitchell and Scott West to a fraction of their normal output and influence. At the same time he has averaged around 24 possessions a game himself, many of them hardball gets and clearances. I think I read somewhere that he is ranked number two in the AFL for clearances and he is either leading, or second, in the tackle stats.

I also see no reason why the end should be particularly near for him so long as the passion to play is still burning. He ain't going to suffer from losing pace as he gets older - because he's never had it. He may be just the wrong side of 30 but plenty of players of his type keep going to their mid-30s. And he started regular senior football at a relatively late age, suggesting his body should have taken less battering than others of a similar age. He's shown himself to be incredibly durable in recent seasons. Maybe a time will come when his body starts picking up those niggling injuries that take longer to heal in older bodies but there is no sign yet of them starting.

 

[CAS79]

Well said Liz

I've seen no sign of Kirk looking like he’s in trouble or struggling.

He's still under packs and finding plenty of the ball doing what he's done well for several years now, its possible a little fatigue has set in like with everyone this year but Kirk is playing better than most.

As we go into the finals hopefully the midfield the midfield will need to look to his hardness to start a very hard run through.

 

[carsoutback]

Yep i agree too and well said Liz.

There's also something to his body type, lack of serious injuries and relatively late start to his career to believe that he is likely to be Harvey-esque. That is, don't be surprised to see him there at aged 35+ still producing (if he wants to of course).

 

[swannykika]

Brett Kirk is a champion. Thats all that matters.

 

[rancidpants13]

I'm more than a bit surprised at people questioning Kirk's position at the moment. I expect him to win the B&F by a decent margin - maybe only B2 has a chance of coming close. His last couple of weeks have been slightly down but he has been our best midfielder this season by such a margin it ain't funny. Many of his second halves, in particular, have been outstanding.

He has kept quality players, like Simon Black, Shaun Burgoyne, Sam Mitchell and Scott West to a fraction of their normal output and influence. At the same time he has averaged around 24 possessions a game himself, many of them hardball gets and clearances. I think I read somewhere that he is ranked number two in the AFL for clearances and he is either leading, or second, in the tackle stats.

I also see no reason why the end should be particularly near for him so long as the passion to play is still burning. He ain't going to suffer from losing pace as he gets older - because he's never had it. He may be just the wrong side of 30 but plenty of players of his type keep going to their mid-30s. And he started regular senior football at a relatively late age, suggesting his body should have taken less battering than others of a similar age. He's shown himself to be incredibly durable in recent seasons. Maybe a time will come when his body starts picking up those niggling injuries that take longer to heal in older bodies but there is no sign yet of them starting.

absolutely bang-on....kirk is not the problem, never has been the problem, and in fact in recent weeks, even if his general form has been down a bit (and that's debatable) he's actually bobbed up and kicked a coupla crucial goals, soething that has never been a big part of his game and should have a few others hanging their heads in shame
the problem has been those players, the younger ones who should have developed and stepped up but continue to let kirk and the rest of us down....
in fact, kirk could be forgiven for having the britts with quite a few of those around him, even though that is not his way at all, he's spent most of the season carrying them....
with the right players around him, some runners who have pace and will work with him, kirk could play on for some years yet, although his body must be crying out for a rest
he's a champion, will retire with the same aura and reputation as kel

 

[J-swan]

he's a champion, will retire with the same aura and reputation as kel