Toothless Tigers? (ABC)

[wayne]

raines for mcmahon should be a formality if wallace is serious..

raines is at least hard at the ball, never affraid to get in there and get the hard ball..

I'd rather see a Collins, Connors or Polo in for McMahon.

[mightytiges]

I don't think supporters were too unhappy to see Rainesy out of the side after round 2. Another whipping boy since last year.

In regards to the "drafting" flaws, 14 of our team that played on the weekend have been drafted/traded/rookie elevated by us since 2004. That's a pretty good strike rate, and their are plenty of others waiting patiently for their turn.

That just shows why the media comparing us to Hawthorn is flawed. 14 of their current 22 is pre-Clarkson so they had a young base core in 2004 to build upon. We've had to start basically from scratch again post-2004 and only now is our new core starting to develop and show some positive signs.

1993: Richo
1996: Bowden

2001: Newman, Hyde

2003: Moore#, Johnson*
2004: Tuck, Foley#, Browny*
2005: Lids, Blingers, McGuane, Thursty#, Simmo*
2006: White
2007: Riewoldt, Edwards, King#, Polak*
2008: Cotchin, McMahon*, Morton* 

# - rookie, * - trade

Spot the dud recruiting pre-2004

[Judge Roughneck]

raines for mcmahon should be a formality if wallace is serious..

raines is at least hard at the ball, never affraid to get in there and get the hard ball..

Kicking is rubbish.

[Smokey]

That just shows why the media comparing us to Hawthorn is flawed. 14 of their current 22 is pre-Clarkson so they had a young base core in 2004 to build upon. We've had to start basically from scratch again post-2004 and only now is our new core starting to develop and show some positive signs.

Exactly MT, one of my favourite 'soapbox' subjects.  Gets under my skin how many compare us and say we have failed as a comparison.  Fools that fail to check out the facts.

[Francois Jackson]

raines for mcmahon should be a formality if wallace is serious..

raines is at least hard at the ball, never affraid to get in there and get the hard ball..

Kicking is rubbish.

all im saying is we gotta give raines another go...
who better to replace than mcmahon.

a good performance this week against the bombers will only sugar coat his skills.
ill bet my bottom dollar mcmahon will get 25 touches this week, probabaly set up a few goals and everyone will tell me to shut up cause he is a gun, bla bla bla

Im saying his skills are there against the freo's, blues and demons of this world but against the top 8 teams he is not up to it IMO

[richmondrules]

raines for mcmahon should be a formality if wallace is serious..

raines is at least hard at the ball, never affraid to get in there and get the hard ball..

Kicking is rubbish.

all im saying is we gotta give raines another go...
who better to replace than mcmahon.

a good performance this week against the bombers will only sugar coat his skills.
ill bet my bottom dollar mcmahon will get 25 touches this week, probabaly set up a few goals and everyone will tell me to shut up cause he is a gun, bla bla bla

Im saying his skills are there against the freo's, blues and demons of this world but against the top 8 teams he is not up to it IMO

You are right daniel but I do think he will be a very good player in a good side. We are probably not playing the sort of football ATM that suits him 100% of the time. Eventually we will start playing the sort of football that suits a front runner (which is what he is). As a front runner he is a very good front runner. He also reads the play exceptionally hence he racks up the disposals even on a bad day.

In a couple of years time we will be able to carry his deficiencies and his value will be seen. At the moment he is exposed and his weaknesses are on show for all to see.

He's not big and tough and his accountability is not great at times. He tends to play assuming the attacking option is always going to work. Having said that, I have seen him stand up for his team mates and I do see a bit of passion. I am willing to wait and see. When things are going our way I have seen him be very creative.

[Judge Roughneck]

raines for mcmahon should be a formality if wallace is serious..

raines is at least hard at the ball, never affraid to get in there and get the hard ball..

Kicking is rubbish.

all im saying is we gotta give raines another go...
who better to replace than mcmahon.

a good performance this week against the bombers will only sugar coat his skills.
ill bet my bottom dollar mcmahon will get 25 touches this week, probabaly set up a few goals and everyone will tell me to shut up cause he is a gun, bla bla bla

Im saying his skills are there against the freo's, blues and demons of this world but against the top 8 teams he is not up to it IMO

In modern football you need your backline to be able to kick.

Raines is a pretty poo kick.

Raines for Hyde. Not for McMahon.