Get Raph OUT of there!!!

[StevieSaint]

Agree, he was great in the 2009 Prelim Final. Unfortunately he has never come on or done it on a consistent basis, don't blame Raph, blame the coaching staff who have kept playing him year after year year with the same results.

[White Winmar]

Limitations absolutely , however some of the dribble on here to say he isnt and has never been to AFL standard.
Perhaps go watch the 2nd half of the 2009 Prelim Final - No Raph Clark in that game no Grand Final appearance!
So did/does have the talent just no confidence and clearly poor awareness

Classic case of confirmation bias, older saint. Pick out one example in 9 years and use that to justify your argument. Anyone can have a good game here and there. Doesn't mean they are up to it. Playing sport at an elite level is all about being able to repeat the best of your efforts consistently. BTW what was so amazing about his efforts in the 2009 preliminary final? Forgotten about his turnover in the midfield that nearly resulted in the bulldogs winning? I'd say Roo had more to do with our win in that game than Paph. Would've got through without him, I'm sure. You said it best when you mentioned his lack of confidence and awareness, which are crucial elements in being a successful AFL footballer. Raph has plenty of talent, but is lacking in other, crucial areas. That is why he is not, never was, and never will be a good player at the top level. I had enough talent to play at U/19 level, but was crippled by a lack of pace that I would never overcome, no matter how hard I tried. Raph lacks those qualities you pointed out. Never had them, never will.

[older saint]

Clearly he played more than 1 game or quality or he would not have played 90!. Was more a response to those who say he was never up to AFL level which clearly the evidence says otherwise. If you are one of those agree to disagree then . My issue is more the inconsistancy ( from afar granted) in selection based on performance. He was far from the worst but in a poor team perforamnce he gets dropped - perhaps he is not performing the role the coach wants we will not know, but having watched numerous games this season where veteran players such as Kosi( cant be dropped now due to injuries), gilbert (has improved since moving to the wing after a early season full of turnovers) , Milne have turned the ball over, not chased or given a contest and had oppontents smash them makes one wonder .

If his papers were marked dont bring him back ininitially and play Newness.

[meher baba]

Raph has looked ok this year, although his game last Sunday left a bit to be desired (although he still did some good things). I'm not sure I agree with his being dropped, but coaches tend to get the s@#ts with Raph and I suspect Watters has done so.

The problem now is that we will be missing both Raph's and BJ's creativity down back. I know that for many on here a player's creativity seems to be far less important than how many mistakes he makes during a game. (And, BTW, I do agree that Raph's career has been blighted by the number of mistakes he makes).

I'm afraid I just cannot get as excited about Simpkin as many on here. He's looked reasonably competent in some games, but had an absolute shocker against the Tigers: his failure even to compete to some extent against Jack Riewoldt forced Blake to be moved back and we started to lose the clearances and thereby the game. Max Hudghton in his first season would have gone far better against Jack R than Simpkin did. Simpkin looks like a prospect, but let me state - in contradiction to what others on here have said - he's no Max Hudghton.

And I'm no fan of Wilkes either: I fear he's getting a better go than he deserves because of mateship with Watters. To me, Wilkes looks like an excellent VFL forward. Playing forward in the AFL is pretty much the hardest gig there is, and I reckon you need to have a bit more in your toolkit than Wilkes has shown so far in his career.

So, TBH, I'm not really excited about the team this weekend. And I'm not at all impressed by the seemingly endless Raph-bashing on here. For those who wish to keep indulging themselves, here's a weblink for you all to go and be racist at.

http://www.alor.org/

[bigcarl]

Unfortunately Raph's omission is a victory for the haters and that ugly type of fan that howls and jeers every time he goes near it.

[SainterK]

Unfortunately Raph's omission is a victory for the haters and that ugly type of fan that howls and jeers every time he goes near it.

It may also be a victory for Raph.

Perhaps they have assessed him, in that role, and can develop him elsewhere?

[bigcarl]

Unfortunately Raph's omission is a victory for the haters and that ugly type of fan that howls and jeers every time he goes near it.

It may also be a victory for Raph.

Perhaps they have assessed him, in that role, and can develop him elsewhere?

Let's hope so. I think he has something to offer as a winger, for example.

He's pretty good above his head, which is why I was surprised to see him dropped this week against tall and quick opponentz.

[spert]

Unfortunely we have a few over-rated players who keep getting games while Raph gets the brunt of poor work up the field. There are at least 5 players who I would drop before Raph..you know the ones who go missing in big games and finals and should have been cleaned out by Lyon after 2009.