Why did we draft Ben Robbins?

[crazyhorse]

While I like the look of Ben Robbins, can someone tell me why we drafted him? Surely we should be placing some faith in Neville Stibbard's judgements in selecting Daniel Harris and Dylan Smith last year? Now at least one of them will be biding their time with another year in the ressies instead of gaining invaluable experience coming off the bench in the ones. The three of them are similar type players and while Robbins is probably more advanced than them at this stage, wouldnt it be wise for Denis to plan ahead, just for once? We got Corey Jones and Byron Pickett at similar positions to Robbins in past drafts, who is to say Neville wouldn't pull anther one out of the fire again this year.

 

[speedy]

Despite having an "old list" as the media keeps telling us, I think we have enough youngsters. I think Robbins is a good selection, you can never have too many midfielders.

 

[NeoBlaze]

denis has always wanted to have more than one in and under player in his team, now he has smith, harris, robbins, shagga and stevo all can be used to give the team more flexibility as far as run, toughness and accountability in the midfield and other small forward options.

we don't know how long stevo's going to still be playing footy, i hope a long long long time, but with all the other guys it free's up shagga to be a running mid-fielder where he really plays well. When we had belly in our team as well, we were killing people out of the midfield and he was an in and under player...and at that stage we only had stevo and him, and we really struggled last year with stevo out injured and belly traded away...it was only half way thru the year when shagga made himself into an in and under player that we started to be competitive in the midfield.

So now with 5 possible in and under players god help the other mid-field's in the game, and of course you chuck in harvey and simmo and you got a seriously competitive midfield

 

[tashibatts]

Yeah- I think its ok picking up Robbins..

Just as long as the yougnsters (Smith and Harris) get a go when they deserve one- rather than having to wait while Pagan plays his project- who may not have done anything.. just got selected because he's Pagans project!

Go Roos

 

[roowatch]

Robbins is a replica of pagan - and he has always loved those types of players. Not particularly quick, tough in the contest, and happy to get in and under the pack and feed the ball out to runners.
He is a similar style (not quality) to Stevo, and we don't know what the future holds for Stevo.
Pagan also likes to bring the young players on very slowly (you know: earn your stripes, do your time, etc.)
So Robbins will fill the breach:
A) for Stevo and
B) while the younger players develop


And he might turn out to be handy in his own right! When allowed the freedom against the Saints thirds (I think that's the right spelling!) to play forward, he showed skill and goal sense.

 

[Back Seat Of A Taxi]

Originally posted by crazyhorse
While I like the look of Ben Robbins, can someone tell me why we drafted him? Surely we should be placing some faith in Neville Stibbard's judgements in selecting Daniel Harris and Dylan Smith last year? Now at least one of them will be biding their time with another year in the ressies instead of gaining invaluable experience coming off the bench in the ones. The three of them are similar type players and while Robbins is probably more advanced than them at this stage, wouldnt it be wise for Denis to plan ahead, just for once? We got Corey Jones and Byron Pickett at similar positions to Robbins in past drafts, who is to say Neville wouldn't pull anther one out of the fire again this year.

Crazyhorse
Looks like we've got another one who doesn't agree with the Pagan philosophy of picking up recycled players hey? Well, the score is on the board isn't it?
BTW Harrington was, is & will always be known as a **** footballer.

 

[crazyhorse]

The score WAS on the board. When Denis drafted recycled players in the 1990's we had a great squad on which to build. I had no probs then. You had Duck, Rocky, Scwatta, Horse, Corey etc all about 21 - 23 and ready to hit the prime part of their careers. We have no such group now. Even if we did the cockroach wouldn't give them a chance to show what they can do on a consistent basis. Boomer and Choppy are the only players from that age group who are at a similar stage in their career. And we don't have one tall youngster who looks like being on the verge of being a superstar. (I love the look of Petrie but he's no Brad Ottens. To make matters worse he's now playing in the magoos). We'll see how we go after the Duck et al finish up to guage the success of this philosophy.

 

[CoastBhoy]

Originally posted by crazyhorse
While I like the look of Ben Robbins, can someone tell me why we drafted him? Surely we should be placing some faith in Neville Stibbard's judgements in selecting Daniel Harris and Dylan Smith last year? .

tell me crazy horse what if harris and smith can't cut it at this level, to be a successful club u need depth , so really u can't have to many of anything.

 

[crazyhorse]

While being an early pick doesn't guarantee anything, these two were chosen at something like selection 6 and 14. This fact, and the glimpses of form shown last year, would suggest they have something to offer. And as I said, while I like the way he plays, would Robbins' absence from our list make the difference between us winning the flag or not? I agree with your sentiments about not having too much of anything - especially kids. We knew we were getting an honest trier when we drafted Robbins but Neville may have plucked an out and out star from the draft. He's done it once, who is to say he wouldn't have done it again. I've heard from different sources Stibba wanted then-unknowns in Simon Goodwin and Dean Rioli in the past only to be vetoed by Denis' inspired moments with reviving the career of a recycled player. Fair enough to do it when you have the nucleus of a potentially great young team - as has worked well for us in the past - but not when you should be thinking about building for the future.

 

[Back Seat Of A Taxi]

Hey Crazy
What did Carlton's side of 1995 resemble?
Maybe you are what your name says.

 

[crazyhorse]

Do you need a little help reading Taxi? I said it was okay when we had a great squad on which to build but I don't think we are at a similar place to the great Carlton side of 1995. My assertion is based on the fact that I don't think we can win the flag this year. I hope I'm wrong, but I'd rather be preparing for next year or the year after than being an also-ran finalist. We want flags at North, not finals appearances. And that is all I think this squad is capable of. How can you compare this team to Carlton's in 1995. And don't forget, the Blues struggled for a couple of years after that year, and looked like 'winning' the wooden spoon in 1998, I think it was.

 

[Darky]

Re: Re: Why did we draft Ben Robbins?

Originally posted by Back Seat Of A Taxi

BTW Harrington was, is & will always be known as a **** footballer.

Still have no idea how he got the job as our SKILLS COACH!!!

Anyway, back to the topic...

Looking at our midfield, it is a good overall group, but once injuries set in, the depth (or lack thereof) is exposed.

Anthony Stevens has suffered two long term injuries over the last two years - both years we were found lacking in depth to cover him. Now, I'm not saying the replacement is expected to be as good, but the better the replacement, the further you go to covering his loss.
When Stevens got injured, Grant stepped up to become a good in and under type. But just one isn't enough, and considering Bell was no longer at the club, ONE is all we really had. Shouldn't convert Harvey or King into these types of players, because their pace can't be utilised if they are getting sat on in packs - that's why a balance of both types of players is needed. Put Simpson in there, and you lose flexibility as he is a valuable tagger, and also a good second touch player (either roving the tap out or running past for a handball and bombing it forward 50m).

Don't compare Robbins to our top 3 or 4 midfielders - compare him to the players who he is competing for a spot with.

Harris, for instance, has the ability, but Pagan was loath to use him last year either for lack of physical strength or because of on-field discipline (game plan) issues. His place and his future, by this reckoning, are hardly cemented so we would not be able to rely on him to step up in his second year. Solution : draft a back up.

Smith has had injury worries and never seems to be out on the park.

Clayton - let's not go there.

At this stage Robbins has more experience than Smith and Harris and with age is physically stronger and probably has a bit more footy smarts. After a few years at a top club, he knows what it takes to be a footballer, even if it's as a quiet achiever who stays on the fringe of selection.

 

[Back Seat Of A Taxi]

Originally posted by crazyhorse
Do you need a little help reading Taxi? I said it was okay when we had a great squad on which to build but I don't think we are at a similar place to the great Carlton side of 1995. My assertion is based on the fact that I don't think we can win the flag this year. I hope I'm wrong, but I'd rather be preparing for next year or the year after than being an also-ran finalist. We want flags at North, not finals appearances. And that is all I think this squad is capable of. How can you compare this team to Carlton's in 1995. And don't forget, the Blues struggled for a couple of years after that year, and looked like 'winning' the wooden spoon in 1998, I think it was.

Hey Bonkus
Look at their 1995 premiership squad & compare it to ours at the moment:
Recycled (them) - Clape, Spalding, Pearce, Hogg, Manton & Rice.
Recycled (us) - McCartney, Burton, Clayton, Bourke, Rocca, Robbins.
Players at end of careers (them) - Dean, Hanna, Kernahan, Madden, Williams.
Players at end of careers (us) - Martyn, Stevens, Archer, Blakey, Carey.
Young players (them) - Whitehead, Christou, Camporeale, Koutoufidies.
Young players (us) - Grant, Simpson, Harris, Jones, Pickett, Harvey, Motlop, Cochrane.
Others (them) - Silvagni, Sexton, McKay, Bradley, Brown, Ratten.
Others (us) - Colbert, Porter, King.

That doesn't look too bad does it? They may have nearly "won" the wooden spoon in 1998 but they played off for the flag against us the following year & have been in the top 6 the last 2 years.

Please think about that!

 

[crazyhorse]

If we get anywhere close to losing just 2 games for the year I will eat a yard of sh**. You are a seriously deluded man Taxi boy. I love my club but I know our limitations. A good man always knows his limitations.
If you suggested our current list is close to Carlton's of 1995 to anyone with a modicum of an idea about Aussie Rules, they'd have you committed. Just step back, take a deep breath and really think about what you are saying now will you! I respect what Darky has to say - a good solid argument - but I still tend to think we should have punted on untried youth.

 

[crazyhorse]

By tyhe way you seem to have placed nearly all of Carlton's guns in the 'others' coulmn. Ratten - B&F in Prem Year, Sexton - probably the 2nd best CHB in the comp at the time, Silvagni - the best FB, Brown - had a great year in 95, McKay - two-time all Australian etc. And you put the likes of Colbert and Porter up against them. Nothing against those two, but really!

 

[Dingster]

Agree with Darky, Robbins was a good pick up. It's not like he's over the hill. He should give us plenty of service and fits into our game plan.

Also, if it means he gets a game ahead of Clayton, it clearly strengthens our side (Robbins will get the ball and give it off, Clayton will receive and give it up) and indirectly fast tracks the development of the rookies. IMO

 

[windsock]

I actually agree with Crazy on this one. Put some faith in the kids for once. The starting three in the middle would probably be Simmo, Shagga, and Boomer, with Dylan, Harro, and maybe Stuey Cochrane (I reckon he's ready to take the next step) as young understudies. The you have Stevo, Kingy, Choppy, Arch, Jess, Colby and young Watson as other possible replacements. I like Robbins too, but he's not the kind of guy who will make a huge difference to our side. Sav could have last year, but it didn't work out. I don't reckon Robbins is the missing piece to our puzzle! We wanted some good early draft picks, we got them, so lets give them a go!