Deano wasn't anywhere near the Saints' worst last night as defensively he didn't do too bad a job especially considering how often the ball was down his end. However the reason we moved him on was plain to see - he couldn't hit a target by foot forward of the play.
His disposal to say the least was woeful, could almost see him wearing the Tigers jumper when he missed an unmarked target inside 50 from 15 metres, just not up to the skill required skills level for today's possession footy. Still makes you wonder about the Tigers past recruiting in regards to skill by foot.
His last year at Gippsland Power his efficency was excellent.
Either foot, either hand
Nope some of us from the time we recruited him complained bitterly about his foot skills. the other thing was his motor. as it panned out it was attitude as well.
As a club we most definately got it wrong with polo not just in useing such a valuable pick to recruit him in the first place but the inordinate amount of time we hung onto him for. should have been cut 2 yrs ago if not 3.
Its funny people blame development on these boards but that is hog wash. While it could have been better it is not the reason why so many richmond recruits have failed.
Ironic that we now have the means to recruit better and put more into our players development wise, yet those favorite players who people always defended are being weeded out.Why is that?
Well its simple you can RARELY fix kicking you can RARELY fix poor decision making and you can only tolerate poor attitude for so long.
The key has always been in recruitment dont draft players with chronic deficiencies in basic areas of the game because its shown time and time again the vast majority cannot be turned around.
Thats rubbish. Look at Leigh Brown at the pies. He was hopeless. Ditto Kepler Bradley.
it can be fixed, maybe not all the time but the right development can be all that it takes
Jake King is another good example. Foot skills and decision making were seen as poor under Wallace but a year and a half of development under Hardwick and he has become a good serviceable player.
is he i disagree.
Jake is another very limited player.
He failed as a small defender and in the midfield. Hes now played as a defensive small forward as a last resort.
He has performed this role well but its the only role he can perform.
The one thing he has regularly done this yr is snag the odd goal each week. His goal accuracy is quite good as well but i would say the majority of his goals have been running into open goals.
Its hard to tell if his kicking has improved at all, mainly because he gets so few kicks a game. I still maintain he lacks the neccesary polish most little blokes have to have to survive in this caper. I think his possesion stats are terrible even for a defensive forward.
Dont get me wrong i think the role kingy is currently doing is worthy of him keeping his spot for now,so long as his defensive remains high and he manages to kick goals. long term i would be looking for a much more rounded player. i dont think him a part of the long term but for sure for now he provides something we are lacking.
What i dont understand is why we play both king and white. Both very limited both lack polish both are not good kicks IMO, and both do not find much of the ball.
mat white is another whos skills for a small imo are rubbish. another small in edwards footskills are rubbish. nahas is another. and yes nahas has improved in some areas but his disposal for a little bloke is still crap.
jackson still butchers it and is still dumb.mcguane is terrible tucky sheesh. miller is very ordinary grigg is not great graham and browne are poor users rance is limited with his foot skills and decision making is poor. connors for a so called good kick just plain butchers it far too often. nathan foley is only average at best when it comes to kicking. these blokes are all regulars they started out with poor disposal and they all still lack in the area.
to me the side over the next 18 months can be improved enormously just by continuing to add more bigger bodies and better kicks / decision makers.
IF WE STOP DRAFTING BLOKES WITH CHRONIC DEFICIENCIES IN THESE AREAS YOU JUST WATCH OUR DEVELOPMENT IMPROVE. Woops caps on apologies.
Finally is there a place for role players like king. well of course there is nearly all sides have limited players who can perform an important role. i will stick by my comments that in the main people do realise what in the main means. that is in most cases not all poor kicks poor decision makers etc cannot be greatly improved. we have drafted so many of this type over the yrs and it is one of the main reasons why we have been so poor for so long.
