That is a very good point. Brisbane's rise curiously coincided with the arrival of Leigh Matthews at the club.AcKeR said:
Look at any of the powerful sides of the last few years and you will see dominance in one area: midfield.
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How good are our kids?
- Thread starter Spirit of Jack
- Start date
Look at any of the powerful sides of the last few years and you will see dominance in one area: midfield.
tygris the dawks drafted those players from their top picks as they already had a good midfield. our midfield was a bit thin therefore we needed to adress our biggest weakness.
we used one 1 1st rd. 1 2nd rd. 1 3rd rd. anf 1 4th rd. pick to pick up those players you have pointed out.
the dawks used 1st round picks on their talls so they naturaly ended up with better players.
the question that you have to ask is will franklin be a great key position player?
i don't think so, but he will be a very good 2nd or 3rd tall foward .
will tambling be a great midfielder?
i belive he will be maybe a bit less physical than mcleod but a bit quicker :clap :clap
we used one 1 1st rd. 1 2nd rd. 1 3rd rd. anf 1 4th rd. pick to pick up those players you have pointed out.
the dawks used 1st round picks on their talls so they naturaly ended up with better players.
the question that you have to ask is will franklin be a great key position player?
i don't think so, but he will be a very good 2nd or 3rd tall foward .
will tambling be a great midfielder?
i belive he will be maybe a bit less physical than mcleod but a bit quicker :clap :clap
Our kids are going great. They are playing a serious part in our side and contributing every week. The future is looking excellent in my opinion. I know there are a few "ifs" especially with the KPPs but everyone needs a bit of luck in this game. I think we are heading in the right direction.
I agree that midfield is more important than any other part of the ground. All through the 90s and early 2000s we had plenty of talls. I used to think almost on a weekly basis, "How can they match up on Richo, Charles, Gale, Ottens, Holland, etc" and "Gaspar, Kellaway, Turner, AKellaway, Holland won't get beaten". Usually I was right, but who cared when you just get thumped in the middle and beaten for speed all over the ground?
As for Hawthorn, don't get me started! I know they have heaps of early draft picks. Big deal!! They finish last every year, that's why!!! It's not hard to do! Let's wait till they start winning games before heaping on the praise! Early draft picks are but one means to an end (as Adelaide/WC/Sydney show) but people treat them like they are an end in itself.
I agree that midfield is more important than any other part of the ground. All through the 90s and early 2000s we had plenty of talls. I used to think almost on a weekly basis, "How can they match up on Richo, Charles, Gale, Ottens, Holland, etc" and "Gaspar, Kellaway, Turner, AKellaway, Holland won't get beaten". Usually I was right, but who cared when you just get thumped in the middle and beaten for speed all over the ground?
As for Hawthorn, don't get me started! I know they have heaps of early draft picks. Big deal!! They finish last every year, that's why!!! It's not hard to do! Let's wait till they start winning games before heaping on the praise! Early draft picks are but one means to an end (as Adelaide/WC/Sydney show) but people treat them like they are an end in itself.
yandb said:
The fact was we had deficiencies everywhere. You don't win a wooden spoon by accident and obviously it would take a number of drafts before all these areas could be addressed. My point simply is that it is far easier to rectify midfield weakness with later picks than KPP weaknesses. I mean what pick did we use to get Tuck, or Raines, or Coughlan just as examples? And all of them are pretty well top shelf players. But with KPPs its another matter (I'm talking gun and not simply serviceable).
My concern is that we might turn out to be like a Geelong. Their forward line for example has no structure, they have to depend on the mercurial talents of players like G. Ablett Junior to kick goals. They've recognised this deficiency - but recognising it and doing something about it from the mid-region or upper part of the ladder is another matter. So they traded a late first round pic and recruited Brad Ottens - but still the problem continues. I have a feeling that could be our future when Richardson retires.
And finally I don't think Hawthorn drafted the players that they did on the strength of their mid-field. You don't finish second from the bottom by accident either. They just chose a different strategy and recruiting philosophy. One that I wish we had.
nitrotiger said:
I really hope you're right!!! But that said, the Saints have been cruelled by really bad critical injuries and more so by a dud coach. The latter can be said about Hawthorn to a degree as well ie discipline and accountability. But what if the Saints had been a little luckier with injuries and had someone decent at the helm. What if Matthews eventually comes home and inherits Hawthorns list, or at least someone decent does. I know that's a lot of what if's, but what I'm saying is every successful team needs some luck and someone competent at the helm. The first bit you can't do much about, the second...well that's another matter. Thomas and Clarkson won't coach forever. It wouldn't take that much to turn things around at either club if the lists have depth, sufficient star talent and structure. I think you need all three to win a premiership, I worry about us not having the latter though or the means to get it. Hope you're right that we're Aragorn though, hate for us to turn out as Boromir - gallant and heroic, but just not ever being there at the end of the epic on that one day in September. Cheers.
The Hawks are recruiting & building a list that would go well during say the 80's era, but modern football is about midfielders with pace. This is the way football is heading.
Plus the Hawks will go nowhere as long as they have that garden gnome as a coach!! :hihi
Plus the Hawks will go nowhere as long as they have that garden gnome as a coach!! :hihi
I have a feeling that could be our future when Richardson retires.
Richo could retire tomorrow and i dont think we would lose out that much, i think if shultz was the key fwd on his own he would kick 4 goals a game with the rare bag - thats about what we get from Richo
why, because our run from the backline is now creating more opportunities for our fwds
Richo has been stopped for years, because of a mediorce midfield, thats what TW started with, speed and skill, because without speed and skill your fwds stand their scratchin their asses all day without supply - regardless of how good they are
Digglers Ghost said:
Agree DG.
Another thing. I'll go out on a limb here, but I reckon the young kids we blooded in the late '80s and early '90s were better than the kids that Hawthorn blooded at the time. Kids like Craig Smith, Cory Young, Stephen Ryan, etc. The difference was that Hawthorn's kids at the time would spend a year or two kicking the dew off the ground; then, when eventually promoted to the seniors, they would be running alongside Brereton, Dunstall, Platten, Tuck, Mew, Ayres, Dipierdomenico, etc, etc.... Fair dinkum, even I could get a kick with that lot on my side!! Who did our blokes have? Manton, Laffy, Slater, Esler, *smile* me dead!! Poor sods, no wonder they were lost to the footballing world.
Which brings me to where Hawthorn is at the moment. If you disregard the dud they have as coach (big concession, I know); they can have the 1st pick in the next 10 national drafts and they will go nowhere. Why? Their senior players are not worth a dime a dozen. By the time their current crop of kids have played 60 or 70 games they will have been well and truly indoctrinated into a losing culture.
The Hawks have had their time in the sun. Now they can sod off.
Fiora Over Pavlich.. if only we had of known.
Where would we be playing him if he was a Tiger?
"If he was a Tiger" IF IF IF
Where would we be playing him if he was a Tiger?
"If he was a Tiger" IF IF IF
banging on about the potential of players is one thing - all we can do is wait and see....
let's talk about the here and now. the thing i've noticed this year about our kids that has most impressed me has been their attitude. particularly their willingness to back themselves, their discipline, their hardness for their size and most of all their maturity- guys like raines, lids, polo etc look more than capable of leading a bunch of blokes into battle one day...they have the right qualities for the future...all of which our young players have historically lacked.
let's talk about the here and now. the thing i've noticed this year about our kids that has most impressed me has been their attitude. particularly their willingness to back themselves, their discipline, their hardness for their size and most of all their maturity- guys like raines, lids, polo etc look more than capable of leading a bunch of blokes into battle one day...they have the right qualities for the future...all of which our young players have historically lacked.
better find your bucket then. :hihiIan4 said:if anyone here seriously thinks hawthorn have a better list or are in a better position than us then i will fair dunkum spew!
do i need to remind you all that no team has won a flag by going for the total bottoming out/rebuild.
the claw said:better find your bucket then. :hihiIan4 said:if anyone here seriously thinks hawthorn have a better list or are in a better position than us then i will fair dunkum spew!
do i need to remind you all that no team has won a flag by going for the total bottoming out/rebuild.
The Claw also predicted Essendon would finish higher than Richmond this year so I wouldn't worry too much about his predictions.
AcKeR said:
HAHAHA!! yeah i was having an argument with my mate yesterday who is a Hawks supporter...going on about Franlin v Tambling....who wil get Aker etc....it was riviting...anyway soon as i said id rather have Wallace than Clarkson....i mean who drops their leading goalkicker!?!?......the conversation was over!
I think it's too early to be comparing our kids with Hawthorns as alot of thier kids havent even established themselves in the side due to injuries etc. We have Lids, Rainsey, Bling, Polo and Foley and I wouldnt trade them for any of the Hawk kids. Im sure the Hawk supporters will say the same thing other way around. Im happy with our kids although I honestly believe that they have done better then us in the 2005 draft. But then again that was expected because they tanked the year before 