Gram

[saintsRrising]

Dempster has had a very good season.

[Zac Attack]

The radio comment back in round 2 about players wallowing in pity was badly judged. He was hardly setting the example.

Gram has been a serial villain in a year where the Saints have been crying for players to stand up. He also hasn't been the Lone Ranger. The missing ingredient for all of them was confidence.

All credit to him, and the whole team for Saturday's effort... not one passenger. Together they honoured a legend of our club in the style he deserved.

Yup - his disposal on the weekend was top class and it was one of his better games.

As you say all credit to him, and a couple of other maligned players like Dempster, Kosi, and Raph, who all put in.

I will never understand why Kosi gets flamed so much. He plays multiple positions and has had many knocks that will probably affect him later in life.

Credit re Gram however a bit of consistency would be appreciated.

[barks4eva]

I'd drop Gram, never play him again and seek a trade if any other club is stupid enough to have him.

A total liability taking up a space which would be better served by getting games into a young kid.

[plugger66]

I'd drop Gram, never play him again and seek a trade if any other club is stupid enough to have him.

A total liability taking up a space which would be better served by getting games into a young kid.

Maybe trade him for Rix. At least we now know you have never known anything about the game and it wasnt just when Rix played.

[fingers]

Gram has been good since RL has given him specific roles in my opinion. Seems he has been able to let a whole lot of other stuff go and just get his job done. Been particularly good the last few weeks.

[BigMart]

Yes fingers, i believe you are correct

[joffaboy]

Seems he has been able to let a whole lot of other stuff go and just get his job done. Been particularly good the last few weeks.

Could be a lot in that. With the court case over for him, it may be a weight lifted off his shoulders.

three players whose disposal and accuracy that has lifted markedly over the past few weeks has been Gram, Peake, and Gilbert. in fact the team on the whole has been pretty accurate for sustained periods of matches lately.

And it will need to stay that way with the loss of Jimmy Gwilt. A long and fairly accurate kick who will be sorely missed.

[Winmar7Fan]

Only player I've ever known to constantly cop so much bagging when racking up 30+ possessions.

[Thinline]

Gram has been good since RL has given him specific roles in my opinion. Seems he has been able to let a whole lot of other stuff go and just get his job done. Been particularly good the last few weeks.

Quality observation. Sometimes people just need to be told what to do. He seems to be responding. Good to see.

[barks4eva]

Played one ok game and apparently he's been good for weeks

Did no one watch the game against Port?

Give his role to a young kid with some skill and stop wasting time.

We need a few more kids coming through or we will not be a top 4 team for at least a decade!

[PJ]

Give his role to a young kid with some skill and stop wasting time.

We need a few more kids coming through or we will not be a top 4 team for at least a decade!

Which kid on our list currently could fulfil his role?

Winmar is still a way off yet and even then I'm not sure he breaks lines with run.

Cripps perhaps but physically not ready yet.

I don't think we have the kid that is ready for this position/role.

[Animal Enclosure]

I've been very hard on Grammy & it's been justified IMO.

I was wrapped the way he went about his game on Saturday night... that's the Gram that we know but just haven't seen for a long, long time.

As many have mentioned when blokes like Gram & Raph play to their ability, we go from a good side to a very good side.

[Thinline]

Played one ok game and apparently he's been good for weeks

Did no one watch the game against Port?

Give his role to a young kid with some skill and stop wasting time.

We need a few more kids coming through or we will not be a top 4 team for at least a decade!

Played one good game and one above average game split by one below average game over three weeks.

For mine that all rationally adds up to momentum.

I hope he builds on it.

[SainterK]

I've been very hard on Grammy & it's been justified IMO.

I was wrapped the way he went about his game on Saturday night... that's the Gram that we know but just haven't seen for a long, long time.

As many have mentioned when blokes like Gram & Raph play to their ability, we go from a good side to a very good side.

This.

[degruch]

Only player I've ever known to constantly cop so much bagging when racking up 30+ possessions.

Kane Cornes, Shane Tuck, there's a few of 'em...and for much the same reason, awful disposal. You'd rather someone with good disposal skills get 10 possessions than these guys have 30, as it probably meant 20 less turn-overs.

[QuestionOfAccuracy]

Only player I've ever known to constantly cop so much bagging when racking up 30+ possessions.

Getting the ball is one thing, using it efficiently is another.

That's why Peake has been getting so much praise (and deservedly so) in recent times - he's using the ball well.

Turnovers kill teams.

[dcstkfc]

He played really well and at least he's finding the footy of late. Disposal was good Saturday nigh too. One game doesn't make a season but a step in the right direction.

[Winmar7Fan]

Kane Cornes, Shane Tuck, there's a few of 'em...and for much the same reason, awful disposal. You'd rather someone with good disposal skills get 10 possessions than these guys have 30, as it probably meant 20 less turn-overs.

Only player I've ever known to constantly cop so much bagging when racking up 30+ possessions.

There was never talk of Kane Cornes or Shane Tuck to be dropped when racking up 30 possession of any kind. It's only when they weren't getting high possessions

I still prefer someone who has the ability to get plenty of the ball and butcher a few. IMO it's exaggerated saying the majority are turnovers etc.

Take out the ones that miss a target and go out of bounds for a neutral throw in or go to ground for a ball up but gained us 50 metres it's not as bad as people like to make out.

How many result in a direct turn over goal?

I would much rather have someone with the ability to get loads of the ball, have 50% hit targets and 50% not with most of those not hurting too much just missing opportunities. Rather than have players unsighted all day struggling to get a 10 touches ( which wont be all 10 perfect disposals either).

[gringo]

I agree he had a pretty ordinary game against Port but overall he hasn't been that bad lately. I thought the game against WC showed why old heads really hold their own in tight matches. Armo and Steven, dropped away when the tempo went up to a scorching level and Mc Evoy was serviceable but not outstanding also. The idea that a kid could come in and take over that role is a nice theory but not very practical. Gram would be a lock for next week, Lynch will probably get a run for Gwilt next week and has been used in a similar role this year. He has worked on his game and earned a chance and gets it. Any other kids that aren't injured are probably not suited to the role Gram plays anyway. So if Lynch played went into his shell when the tempo lifted, we lost Gram's 30 possies, we leaked a couple of more goals and lost would the positive outweigh the negative?

[BigMart]

Didnt he lock someone down vs Port???

[degruch]

Kane Cornes, Shane Tuck, there's a few of 'em...and for much the same reason, awful disposal. You'd rather someone with good disposal skills get 10 possessions than these guys have 30, as it probably meant 20 less turn-overs.

Only player I've ever known to constantly cop so much bagging when racking up 30+ possessions.

There was never talk of Kane Cornes or Shane Tuck to be dropped when racking up 30 possession of any kind. It's only when they weren't getting high possessions.

There was, particularly when they were racking up high numbers, because they're disposal was woeful.

[Bernard Shakey]

Only player I've ever known to constantly cop so much bagging when racking up 30+ possessions.

There was another one who racked up the possessions like Grammy, Jeff Dunne. He won a B&F from the back pocket. Like Grammy he just bombed it to the opposition and kept racking up the possessions when the ball came back. I think we got the wooden spoon every year he played.

[dcstkfc]

Gram has been good since RL has given him specific roles in my opinion. Seems he has been able to let a whole lot of other stuff go and just get his job done. Been particularly good the last few weeks.

Interesting view. Has a lot of merit in my opinion.

Gram was made a massive whipping boy by myself and others after the Hawthorn maelstrom of Round 8. Truth be told that day Gram never stood a chance. We were beaten so comprehensively in the clearances that an outside player like him couldn't have any substantial impact.

Gram is what he is. A receiver who can provide excellent run, break the lines and has a tendency to turn the ball over by foot.

[mad saint guy]

I was only able to see the second half of the WC game and from that I'm still not sold on Gram. His offensive run looked much better in that he was running to smarter positions and going straight up the middle when he had it, but his disposal inside 50 was still poor and his defensive efforts were half-hearted at best. He's a strange kind of soft; he's not afraid to take a hit when he sees one coming but he's not willing to dig deep and commit his body to a tackle when the team needs it.

[plugger66]

I was only able to see the second half of the WC game and from that I'm still not sold on Gram. His offensive run looked much better in that he was running to smarter positions and going straight up the middle when he had it, but his disposal inside 50 was still poor and his defensive efforts were half-hearted at best. He's a strange kind of soft; he's not afraid to take a hit when he sees one coming but he's not willing to dig deep and commit his body to a tackle when the team needs it.

Glad you saw 2 quarters to bag Gram. Get over it, he will continue to play. Try and support him. By the way hope you didnt watch the second half of Adelaide and Essendon. You would have thought Johncock was poor and Zaharakis was the greatest player the AFL had seen.