Vickery in is the wrong call, hope he has a blinder but Polak earned that spot
I agree Polak earned the spot but I dont think Vickery is the wrong call as far as going foward. To me they are doing it as a match up for the Future
Vickery V Natinui (however you spell it) could be a match up for the next 10 years and I think they should run Gus against Cox. These guys will learn heaps with these match ups even though they will probably get beaten.
As far as farmer goes, well I dont think he has been as bad as some of you make out.
I do think Webberley was very very stiff though
webberly is probably doing penance for repeatedly bombing the ball without looking. I think he was still in wet weather mode from the previous week.
good to see the trolls getting on so well
Your opinion on these player selections Al
It's really to early to write most of them off, or by the same token claim them as champs.
But from what little I have seen of them;
Vickery can take a mark and showed a couple of times last year that he is not afraid to put his body on the line doing so. wore a couple of hurtfull hits to his back for his troubles. Around the ground his strength appears to be finding players in space by hand, but his footskills seem reasonable. Has at times looked a bit lost and I can see why some are saying he is not agressive enough. My thoughts were maybe needs a bit of time at coburg but the line of thinking about his match up on nic nat has merit.
Farmer: anyone saying he doesnt go hard needs to stop drinking while they watch the games. That is his best feature. I havnt seen him shirk an issue. does appear to be a tad slow but disposal seems pretty good. Appears as if he is still coming to terms with the pace of the game.
Astbury: If this kid can make the grade I think we will have a goodun. when he gets the ball he looks like a natural footballer and is good at ground level. While not getting loads of the footy it doesn't look like it is affecting confidence. Although a different mould to Jack, I had a similal thought when I first saw him. Just has to get the ball more and do it consistently. Hopefully, like Jack, that will come with time.
Collins. too be honest not sure what to make of him at the moment. against port i thought he was exceptionally quiet, but looking at the stats he had a fair 14 disposals with 12 tackles. Again against St kilda I barely noticed him.The good thing about not noticing him so much is that it means he isn't making glaring mistakes.
Connors: showed some signs before being suspended. Rather than sook and feel sorry for himself he has set about rectifying his problems. While not having seen any of the coburg games all reports and stats point to him responding in the best way possible.
King: Not a player i have a lot of time for and I normally have a soft spot for the triers. In saying that has been reasonably solid recently. Has definitely improved under Hardwick.
As for their selections this week; I'm not so presumptuous to think that from watchin a dozen or less games that I would know more about how these guys follow Hardwicks instruction than he does. Nor do I turn my ignorance about his decisions around to think he is the stupid one.
What is apparent is that Hardwick places a strong emphasis on both team and individual development, even if it is at the expense of the chances of winning games, for now. At the moment I'm happy to just sit back and enjoy the ride rather than second guessing him at every turn. If he thinks that it is best long term to play these guys now then so be it.
Perhaps you could elaborate a bit more on your own simple generalisations about these players and their selections, as well as coming up with alternatives and why the alternatives will be more beneficial long term?
