saintsRrising wrote:matrix wrote:dare i say it
GT was pretty much correct, along with a few others by the looks of it.
Lyon is a coach all about giving second chances and an opportunity for the player to deliver.
Some have taken that opportunity and prospered..ie McQualter, Jones, Dal, Milne (was on the tade table when Lyon arrived), Gardi....others such as Fiora have fallen by the wayside.
Giving second chances is never going to be a 100% successful process...
So far Lyon and Drain have had more successes than failures. But yes Lovett may well be one of the failures.
I don't quite agree with your interpretation. Lyon and, in particular, Drain, have been particularly about getting their hands on ready made AFL players by any means: trades, rookie lists, drafts, whatever. There seems to be a strong preference for seasoned players, as reflected in Lyon's comment that it takes 4 seasons for most AFL players to hit their straps.
M Clarke, Gardi, C Jones (seasoned WAFL player), Attard, Schneider, Dempster, King, C Gardiner, Ray, Dawson, Begley, Lovett, Peake, Smith, Pattison (did I miss any?) plus we tried for Judd, O'Keeffe, Kennelly, A Everitt (and probably others we don't know about) and also almost took Cousins.
Quite a list!!
Of those we have taken, I reckon Lovett (along with Gardi when fit) is easily the most talented. In footballing terms, I was far happier with his recruitment than with that of Schneider, Dempster, Ray or Peake.
Alas it seems to have turned out badly, like the trades of 1st round picks under GT. Never mind, let's move on and hope the club will take it as a signal to return its focus to developing talent rather than trying to buy it in
Looking long term, I'm still more concerned about the departure of Ball than I am about the apparent failure of Lovett.
"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."
- Jonathan Swift
