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PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
It baffles me how so many people are continually calling to delist or trade *smile*. Many people have been calling him a ‘dud’, while others think he is an under-achiever or maybe an average player that would fetch a good price at the trade table. Meanwhile, fewer people have mentioned the possibility of trading Pettifer at the end of the year. Here is my list of reasons why I think *smile* should stay and Pettifer should go. If I am missing the point here somewhere then please educate me.
Goal scoring
Pettifer: 1.16 Goals per game
*smile*: 0.94 Goals per game.
Neither of these figures is flattering. Admittedly, they show that Pettifer has a slightly better scoring rate per game than *smile*, but lets not forget that *smile* was once touted as our new CHB. Let’s say, for arguments sake, he only played 9 games in defence (I suspect it was more). Remove these from the equation and *smile* and Pettifer have the same conversion rate at 1.16.
Again, I have to concede that even 1.16 goals a game is not great, but surely *smile* has several more excuses than Pettifer for this mediocre return.
1. He has had a shocking run with injuries
2. Even when TW reluctantly selects him he spends a lot of time on the pine
3. He is more likely to pass to a team-mate that Petts.
Kicking for goal.
KP Career Accuracy: 60.9%
JS Career Accuracy: 65.2%
This is a pretty big difference. By comparison to the rest of our forward line, Krak sits at 63% Richo 59%, Brown 57%, Lids 55%. Some people might remember when *smile* had ‘the yips’ for a couple of games earlier this year. Those games have stuffed his figures somewhat, but despite this he is still the best kick at goal in our forward line by a fair way. This is not something that is likely to change, nor is it something that should be taken lightly. Accuracy in front of goal is crucial.
1%ers
1%ers are under-rated and have been lacking at Tigerland in recent years, which has been a big problem for us. They build team confidence and, more importantly, make a game plan work. Several times a game I see one of our players 2 metres away from our ball-carrier, stationary, calling for a handball, when they should be putting on the shepherd. Meanwhile, a lot of people who have a problem with the ‘modern game’ complain because teams (like us) overuse the football and end up coughing it up. Our overuse of the football is often due to our inability to shepherd, leading to the hot-potato-effect. Our whole team has failed to lay shepherds for at least 7 or 8 years now and Pettifer is one of the main culprits of this.
Then there is the whole 2nd effort factor. How often do you see Pettifer chase and tackle when the opposition ends up with the ball in our forward line? Compare this work-rate with that of *smile*. I don’t have stats to back this up. I am only basing this on 5-7 years of going to the games and watching them both. I think *smile* wins here too.
Football Smarts
To me, *smile* has not shown that he has anything other than normal footy brains and creativity. Without wanting to be too harsh, I think Pettifer is possibly the least creative player in our team. A good example of this was when we were several goals up against the bombers earlier this year with about ten minutes to play. Essendon had pretty much their whole team in our forward 50 and Petts decided to bomb it to the goalsquare from 70m out. In the context of the game that was the worst thing he could have done. We all know what happened next!!! Petts seems make these sorts of short-sighted decisions very often. The Essendon example is just one that sticks in my head.
He also either has poor vision…or is a hog. I’m sure everyone can think of a time when Pettifer had a shot at goal when he should have passed it. Sure sometimes it comes off, but it sends the wrong message to the rest of the team. Next time his team-mates might not present!
Replaceable(ness)
Some people have remarked that *smile* is replaceable, or that he is not needed while we have Richo in the side. Fair enough, *smile* plays a similar style to Richo, so he ends up getting in his way from time to time (note: no-one ever accuses Richo of getting in *smile*’s way!). While Richo is a star, he won’t be around for ever, and in my view he is better value up the ground anyway as he has proven he can still run and it will free up the forward line. Whether we separate the two of them by sending Richo up the ground or use *smile* to replace him completely in a year or two, the bottom line is *smile* offers something that no-one else in our team does. He can jump high off one step, take a contested mark and split a pack in a similar way to the EARLY Richo. Admittedly his marking ability is not as freakish as Richo’s but his straight kicking makes up for part of that.
Pettifer, on the other hand, is very replaceable. He takes the majority of his marks on uncontested leads and, ok, he is not bad at it. But let’s be honest, most players can do that. In fact, I would go so far as to say that everything Pettifer does in the forward line, Lids, Tambling, Brown and even Jackson can do better.
Versatility
*smile* can play in CHB if required. Pettifer, much as TW doesn’t want to admit it, CAN NOT play in the midfield. You need to do 1%ers for that. Otherwise you are a dead weight.
Trade Value
Pettifer is a bigger name player than *smile*. He has been given more opportunities to play and catch the attention of the media and other clubs and he has made more highlights reels. He is bound to attract a better deal than *smile*, even if he is a few years older.
Attitude
People say *smile* is lazy…or asleep. Based on what? Does he have lazy-looking mannerisms or something? I don’t buy it. What do you want from him? Want him to smile at the camera? So long as he runs, shepherd and tackles I couldn’t stuff if he LOOKS asleep. Watch what he does on the field for *smile* sake. Pettifer on the other hand…well...I’ve already mentioned the 1%ers…
Reaching expectations
The main reason people are calling for *smile* to be traded is, from what I can gather, that he is ‘not up to it’ or ‘hasn’t made an impact’. What the hell does that mean? Is it a reflection of the stats that I quoted above? Those stats which are comparable to Pettifer’s? Imagine what *smile* would do if TW provided him with a regular game, the right team structure and game plan! The man kicked 9 goals for Coburg yesterday for *smile* sake! When was the last time Pettifer did that? Probably never! Admittedly, that’s probably because TW has not dropped Petts for a single game since he has been coach (www.finalsiren.com), but that is my biggest problem. In a team that has performed so poorly for the last 3 years, how is it that a forward averaging just over 1 goal per game remains in the team for every single game? Especially one with all the flaws mentioned above.
Again, people say that *smile* has had 5 years to prove himself, and has failed to make an impact. To be fair, he has had 48 games to prove himself, (maybe 35 of those in the forward line) and has had two serious injuries that have thwarted his progress. Pettifer, on the other hand, has had 101 games and has been relatively unhindered by injuries. Pettifer’s easy run with injuries and favour with coaches means that he has no excuses. He has been allowed to reach his potential and he is as good as he is ever going to be. Let’s trade him now before his market value begins to drop.
*smile*, on the other hand, just needs a bit of luck to go his way and he will be a great player.
As for the criticism of *smile*, I think they are all way too simplistic. I am yet to hear a comment with a reference to any deficiency in his game. It’s all comments like, ‘he hasn’t made an impact’ or ‘he can’t even get a game in the bottom team’ or ‘he looks sleepy’. That’s all very well but WHY? Why has he not made an impact? You can’t blame a guy for bad luck with injuries, lack of opportunities or the fact that he is playing in the shadow of one of the game’s most dominant forward targets (Richo). OK, he is yet to put his stamp on the game but that’s more a reflection of circumstances than ability.
The only thing that matters is whether he can play or not. Please offer some REAL criticism before you say he can’t. As for trading him, there couldn’t be a worse time.
p.s. sorry I got a bit carried away with this post
Goal scoring
Pettifer: 1.16 Goals per game
*smile*: 0.94 Goals per game.
Neither of these figures is flattering. Admittedly, they show that Pettifer has a slightly better scoring rate per game than *smile*, but lets not forget that *smile* was once touted as our new CHB. Let’s say, for arguments sake, he only played 9 games in defence (I suspect it was more). Remove these from the equation and *smile* and Pettifer have the same conversion rate at 1.16.
Again, I have to concede that even 1.16 goals a game is not great, but surely *smile* has several more excuses than Pettifer for this mediocre return.
1. He has had a shocking run with injuries
2. Even when TW reluctantly selects him he spends a lot of time on the pine
3. He is more likely to pass to a team-mate that Petts.
Kicking for goal.
KP Career Accuracy: 60.9%
JS Career Accuracy: 65.2%
This is a pretty big difference. By comparison to the rest of our forward line, Krak sits at 63% Richo 59%, Brown 57%, Lids 55%. Some people might remember when *smile* had ‘the yips’ for a couple of games earlier this year. Those games have stuffed his figures somewhat, but despite this he is still the best kick at goal in our forward line by a fair way. This is not something that is likely to change, nor is it something that should be taken lightly. Accuracy in front of goal is crucial.
1%ers
1%ers are under-rated and have been lacking at Tigerland in recent years, which has been a big problem for us. They build team confidence and, more importantly, make a game plan work. Several times a game I see one of our players 2 metres away from our ball-carrier, stationary, calling for a handball, when they should be putting on the shepherd. Meanwhile, a lot of people who have a problem with the ‘modern game’ complain because teams (like us) overuse the football and end up coughing it up. Our overuse of the football is often due to our inability to shepherd, leading to the hot-potato-effect. Our whole team has failed to lay shepherds for at least 7 or 8 years now and Pettifer is one of the main culprits of this.
Then there is the whole 2nd effort factor. How often do you see Pettifer chase and tackle when the opposition ends up with the ball in our forward line? Compare this work-rate with that of *smile*. I don’t have stats to back this up. I am only basing this on 5-7 years of going to the games and watching them both. I think *smile* wins here too.
Football Smarts
To me, *smile* has not shown that he has anything other than normal footy brains and creativity. Without wanting to be too harsh, I think Pettifer is possibly the least creative player in our team. A good example of this was when we were several goals up against the bombers earlier this year with about ten minutes to play. Essendon had pretty much their whole team in our forward 50 and Petts decided to bomb it to the goalsquare from 70m out. In the context of the game that was the worst thing he could have done. We all know what happened next!!! Petts seems make these sorts of short-sighted decisions very often. The Essendon example is just one that sticks in my head.
He also either has poor vision…or is a hog. I’m sure everyone can think of a time when Pettifer had a shot at goal when he should have passed it. Sure sometimes it comes off, but it sends the wrong message to the rest of the team. Next time his team-mates might not present!
Replaceable(ness)
Some people have remarked that *smile* is replaceable, or that he is not needed while we have Richo in the side. Fair enough, *smile* plays a similar style to Richo, so he ends up getting in his way from time to time (note: no-one ever accuses Richo of getting in *smile*’s way!). While Richo is a star, he won’t be around for ever, and in my view he is better value up the ground anyway as he has proven he can still run and it will free up the forward line. Whether we separate the two of them by sending Richo up the ground or use *smile* to replace him completely in a year or two, the bottom line is *smile* offers something that no-one else in our team does. He can jump high off one step, take a contested mark and split a pack in a similar way to the EARLY Richo. Admittedly his marking ability is not as freakish as Richo’s but his straight kicking makes up for part of that.
Pettifer, on the other hand, is very replaceable. He takes the majority of his marks on uncontested leads and, ok, he is not bad at it. But let’s be honest, most players can do that. In fact, I would go so far as to say that everything Pettifer does in the forward line, Lids, Tambling, Brown and even Jackson can do better.
Versatility
*smile* can play in CHB if required. Pettifer, much as TW doesn’t want to admit it, CAN NOT play in the midfield. You need to do 1%ers for that. Otherwise you are a dead weight.
Trade Value
Pettifer is a bigger name player than *smile*. He has been given more opportunities to play and catch the attention of the media and other clubs and he has made more highlights reels. He is bound to attract a better deal than *smile*, even if he is a few years older.
Attitude
People say *smile* is lazy…or asleep. Based on what? Does he have lazy-looking mannerisms or something? I don’t buy it. What do you want from him? Want him to smile at the camera? So long as he runs, shepherd and tackles I couldn’t stuff if he LOOKS asleep. Watch what he does on the field for *smile* sake. Pettifer on the other hand…well...I’ve already mentioned the 1%ers…
Reaching expectations
The main reason people are calling for *smile* to be traded is, from what I can gather, that he is ‘not up to it’ or ‘hasn’t made an impact’. What the hell does that mean? Is it a reflection of the stats that I quoted above? Those stats which are comparable to Pettifer’s? Imagine what *smile* would do if TW provided him with a regular game, the right team structure and game plan! The man kicked 9 goals for Coburg yesterday for *smile* sake! When was the last time Pettifer did that? Probably never! Admittedly, that’s probably because TW has not dropped Petts for a single game since he has been coach (www.finalsiren.com), but that is my biggest problem. In a team that has performed so poorly for the last 3 years, how is it that a forward averaging just over 1 goal per game remains in the team for every single game? Especially one with all the flaws mentioned above.
Again, people say that *smile* has had 5 years to prove himself, and has failed to make an impact. To be fair, he has had 48 games to prove himself, (maybe 35 of those in the forward line) and has had two serious injuries that have thwarted his progress. Pettifer, on the other hand, has had 101 games and has been relatively unhindered by injuries. Pettifer’s easy run with injuries and favour with coaches means that he has no excuses. He has been allowed to reach his potential and he is as good as he is ever going to be. Let’s trade him now before his market value begins to drop.
*smile*, on the other hand, just needs a bit of luck to go his way and he will be a great player.
As for the criticism of *smile*, I think they are all way too simplistic. I am yet to hear a comment with a reference to any deficiency in his game. It’s all comments like, ‘he hasn’t made an impact’ or ‘he can’t even get a game in the bottom team’ or ‘he looks sleepy’. That’s all very well but WHY? Why has he not made an impact? You can’t blame a guy for bad luck with injuries, lack of opportunities or the fact that he is playing in the shadow of one of the game’s most dominant forward targets (Richo). OK, he is yet to put his stamp on the game but that’s more a reflection of circumstances than ability.
The only thing that matters is whether he can play or not. Please offer some REAL criticism before you say he can’t. As for trading him, there couldn’t be a worse time.
p.s. sorry I got a bit carried away with this post