I watched the game again for the third time, and overall I liked Dea''s game. I can see why he is said to be a coaches favourite, he does the small things really well. Seemed to tackle fairly well, competed well enough in the air and by and large made good decisions with the football.
However, whilst jackstar is clearly an unloved figure in these forum he does raise some good and valid points regarding Dea. Firstly his disposal is suspect anything over 35 odd meters. Very good in close and that chipped ball out of defence (anyone who saw him early on in for Coburg would have seen this) but look at a) his first kick - straight into the man on the mark and then b) that kick into the corridor that was between two one on one contests. That part of his game needs a lot of refinement. Also, Houli, Deledio, Newman, Batchelor, Farmer and Dea all seem to be fitghting for the three spots. Considering how much our game plan relies on those running players off the half back line, its hard to see him displacing Houli, Deledio or Newman - and I don't think he will displace Batchelor (nor would anyone want that to happen). I guess the question then becomes can Houli, Deledio or Newman or even Batchelor be moved onto a wing or in the guts and allow Dea to operate in the best 22?
Lastly, the one thing that annoys me is where he was selected. I understand why he was selected from a very poor footy background. His body type and physical capabilities in Dea as a package are rare for a player that young. He is what you would call a high risk/ high reward pick. Thats fine we needed to take players like that. However, I wouldnt have done it back-to-back with Taylor being the very next pick...
