The_Dud wrote: ↑Fri 11 Jun 2021 10:06am
I think there is a lot of confirmation bias going on with Dunstan. When you're looking for him to miss a kick it stands out when it happens, but you're then ignoring the other 20+ touches.
Sinclair turned it over twice in 2 minutes, Hill turned it over (best disposal in the comp?), Ross missed a goal from the goal square...
Dunstan had the same amount of 'clangers' as Steele, Ross, Butler and Sinclair.
He more than deserves his spot ATM, if we had a full list to choose from then maybe he wouldn't be in the 22, but we don't have that luxury right now.
I agree with your last point - he certainly deserves his spot on form and he’s elevated his standing (in my eyes at least) from certain delisting to good enough to stay on the list. Though IMO he doesn’t get a look in yet in a full strength team.
With regards to the players you’ve listed - Sinclair, Steele and Hill etc he’s not in the same position as them.
Whether here or elsewhere, they’ve all played to a much higher standard more consistently over a longer period of time and have comfortably established themselves as AFL grade players even if they have bad patches of form
Dunstan is a player that didn’t progress like he would have and hasn’t been a regular in the team over years for various reasons.
The onus is on him to prove himself to be good enough to stand alongside the key top22 players at this point in his career and not just be mildly better than newbies like Bytel or Byrnes who would look like having a lot more development on them.
In fairness however, Dunstan does appear to have elevated his game this season. He’s getting a lot more ball and running games out a better then he was three years ago so I’m happy enough to see him keep his place and fight for spot...
But he’s literally looking like he’s just got to the level we all thought he should have reached 3 years ago
Jury is still out as to whether he’s still worth investing in IMO