Better blend of age and youth today

[Bluthy]

I thought today we had a better balance point of age v youth, forced through injuries. Getting some fresh blood into the team I think helped rejuvenate the side and gave it more of an attacking edge. I thought our backline did really well and looked quite dangerous with Lee, Delaney and Roberton doing the tall roles, Geary providing the experience and cover defence, and Webster freed up to be attacking along with MOnty and Savage. It raises the question of whether we need both Dempster and Fisher in the team. IMO they make us too slow and defensive at the back. We need to keep rolling the dice with the younger players back there. McKenzie, White, Rice and Murdoch could all come in to provide more rebound as well. We need to keep looking at the future.

[citywest]

I agree 100%. We should not play both Fisher and Dempster in the same team. We need to play the kids and only play Fish and Demps in case of injuries. At the end of the season Fish and Demps should be retired and Lee and Carlisle take their spots, and hopefully and fully fit Goddard as well.

[felix]

I had the same thoughts but on reflection can this team back it up. I think the vaccume created by the seniors gave this team the motivation to win .but can they keep doing it ...the game was won in the midfield today not the backline although they did very well.

[Milne]

I agree 100%. We should not play both Fisher and Dempster in the same team. We need to play the kids and only play Fish and Demps in case of injuries. At the end of the season Fish and Demps should be retired and Lee and Carlisle take their spots, and hopefully and fully fit Goddard as well.

Fisher and Dempster are our best defenders.

Let's be serious, against a team that actually has some decent forwards we need those blokes in the team.

[bigcarl]

How did Blakres go today? I saw only the first quarter

[Bluthy]

I had the same thoughts but on reflection can this team back it up. I think the vaccume created by the seniors gave this team the motivation to win .but can they keep doing it ...the game was won in the midfield today not the backline although they did very well.

Good points. But at least a guy like Lee will get a bit of an extended go at it (injuries permitting) and we might know more about him. What info do we gain playing Demps, Fish, Gilbo and Geary all year? It didn't stop 90 point thrashings. No Dempster and we have a good win. Maybe he's not irreplacable after all?

[Bluthy]

How did Blakres go today? I saw only the first quarter

He had a couple of purple patches where he just kept getting the footy then went very quiet. His disposal and decision making was sometimes atrocious and then not bad. He has so much potential with his height, his ability to read the play and his rangey stride making him quick when he is up and going. But by golly needs to work hard on his disposal.

[Con Gorozidis]

Was our best win of the year against the highest team on the ladder.

We had our youngest and least experienced side of the year.
Ave age = 24y 6 months.
Ave Games = 71.2

Rd 1 25y 3m
Rd 2 25 3
Rd 3 25 3
Rd 4 25 5
Rd 5 25 4
Rd 6 25 6
Rd 7 25 4
Rd 8 24 10
Rd 9 25 5
Rd 10 25 6
Rd 11 24 11
Rd 12 24 6

Draw your own conclusions.

[carn_sainter]

I for one do not subscribe to the idea that Dempster and Fisher shouldn't be getting games or that they're holding others back or stunting anybody's development. The conclusions I draw from the stats above are that age ain't nothin but a number...it doesn't matter.

As long as Fisher and Dempster are earning a spot in the team they should get it. Until Lee & Delaney & Goddard can out do them, they don't get a spot.

On the younger boys, I thought Delaney & Lee both looked alright out there but the opposition wasn't great. Casboult played well for Carlton. I think Lee has potential in a role similar to Sam Fisher ca 2005 or the same role that Roberton often does now. He doesn't strike me as a great man to man defender though.

Savage is very reliable for his defensive efforts. Great two way player.

Webster for me is not a lock. He is a space cadet...often not paying any attention or has lapses in his sense of urgency and general alertness. People bash Geary & Gilbert for having two or three stinker kicks in a game, well, Webster had just as many today. In my mind he and Murdoch are pretty similar and I would almost prefer Murdoch at the moment.

On youth, bloody hell I find Gresham exciting to watch. His foot skills still need to get better as he adjusts to the pace of the game but he is already our most creative player in close and is as good a natural, nousy, intuitive footballer as we have had for a while. Great watching.

Wright didn't touch the ball but did attack the opposition with urgency which was commendable. I don't expect he'll retain his spot though.

Lots to like about the game today. Maybe Carlton were off their best but maybe that's because of how we played them. Looking forward to seeing how we attack Geelong and one of the best starting midfields in the comp.

[BigMart]

It's not about who played that was great... It's who played well

Not Roo, Fisher, Dempster, Armo

It was
22-25yo players

[sabras]

Great stat! When did you find them? Keen to see the average game stats too...

Was our best win of the year against the highest team on the ladder.

We had our youngest and least experienced side of the year.
Ave age = 24y 6 months.
Ave Games = 71.2

Rd 1 25y 3m
Rd 2 25 3
Rd 3 25 3
Rd 4 25 5
Rd 5 25 4
Rd 6 25 6
Rd 7 25 4
Rd 8 24 10
Rd 9 25 5
Rd 10 25 6
Rd 11 24 11
Rd 12 24 6

Draw your own conclusions.

[kosifantutti]

Was our best win of the year against the highest team on the ladder.

We had our youngest and least experienced side of the year.
Ave age = 24y 6 months.
Ave Games = 71.2

Rd 1 25y 3m
Rd 2 25 3
Rd 3 25 3
Rd 4 25 5
Rd 5 25 4
Rd 6 25 6
Rd 7 25 4
Rd 8 24 10
Rd 9 25 5
Rd 10 25 6
Rd 11 24 11
Rd 12 24 6

Draw your own conclusions.

Our oldest team was 25 years and six months against Melbourne in Round 6 and Freo in Round 10. Our next oldest team was 25 years and 5 months against Essendon in Round 9 and Hawthorn in Round 4.

Our second and third youngest team was against West Coast in Round 8 and Adelaide in Round 11.

From that you could conclude that today was an anomaly.

Personally, I think when we play well we win.

[bigcarl]

How did Blakres go today? I saw only the first quarter

He had a couple of purple patches where he just kept getting the footy then went very quiet. His disposal and decision making was sometimes atrocious and then not bad. He has so much potential with his height, his ability to read the play and his rangey stride making him quick when he is up and going. But by golly needs to work hard on his disposal.

Thank you Bluthy. He's got to work on his composure. He has more time on his hands than he thinks and is probably strong enough to stand up in tackles and still dispose of it well. If it does ultimately all come together we will have a very good player on our hands

[SainterK]

Agree

They need to play more youth, these are the development years

[degruch]

I only caught the first quarter, so missed the good stuff. From what I saw we would have been smashed to pieces by a half decent team...Dempster and Fisher straight back in.

[Con Gorozidis]

I guess the conclusion is the Alistair Clarkson conclusion. Exact personnel doesnt matter. What matters is 22 players have to contribute. No passengers. If you do that then you win your fair share. You cant have 5-10 passengers and expect to win on the back of a few stars carrying you.

[St Chris]

I only caught the first quarter, so missed the good stuff. From what I saw we would have been smashed to pieces by a half decent team...Dempster and Fisher straight back in.

I disagree (with the smashed to pieces bit). Although our ball movement wasn't 100%, our pressure when we didn't have it would have troubled most teams.

Dempster and Fisher do come straight back, but I'm not sure we can take both into 2017.

I refer back to it all the time, but it was not a coincidence we had Hayes, Dal Santo, Goddard and Montagna as All Australians the year after Harves retired - sometimes the next generation need the old timers to step aside to really blossom.

[supersaints]

Was our best win of the year against the highest team on the ladder.

We had our youngest and least experienced side of the year.
Ave age = 24y 6 months.
Ave Games = 71.2

Rd 1 25y 3m
Rd 2 25 3
Rd 3 25 3
Rd 4 25 5
Rd 5 25 4
Rd 6 25 6
Rd 7 25 4
Rd 8 24 10
Rd 9 25 5
Rd 10 25 6
Rd 11 24 11
Rd 12 24 6



Draw your own conclusions.

Not sure you can draw any conclusions the average age stat is the biggest load of croc s*** ever used to determine how teams play It means nothing IMO.
For example we are an older side because most of our KEY POSITION players are still better than younger one vying for thier spot In this game a perfect example would be to compare Roo to Walker on Sunday , purely on the basis of age. It's talent related. Walker is only 30 but is finished and a spud compared to Roo. Whilst we moan that Roo is still just about our best player, he would be the best forward in the majority of sides.
Games experience and age don't always correlate We have Billings and Membrey, who is older but has played less than 20 games due to limited opportunity . There are a lot worse players than Membrey who have more than several times the experience.

Stating age by counting the combined age of the team and dividing it by the number of players means nothing, neither does adding up the number of games and dividing it by the number of players make any sense whatsoever to determine experience.
It's about the Positions players play, how good or in form they are... It stands to reason in most cases the most experienced players should play better because of this but it's also talent related.

More importantly it's effort related, if you are prepared to work harder than the opposition then you can beat a more talented team, experienced team .
The one thing I will agree with us that the injection of youth ( even inexperienced ) appears to have a positive effect on the whole group with the infectious enthusiasm

[Bluthy]

I only caught the first quarter, so missed the good stuff. From what I saw we would have been smashed to pieces by a half decent team...Dempster and Fisher straight back in.

I disagree (with the smashed to pieces bit). Although our ball movement wasn't 100%, our pressure when we didn't have it would have troubled most teams.

Dempster and Fisher do come straight back, but I'm not sure we can take both into 2017.

I refer back to it all the time, but it was not a coincidence we had Hayes, Dal Santo, Goddard and Montagna as All Australians the year after Harves retired - sometimes the next generation need the old timers to step aside to really blossom.

Spot on chris. Look how Robbo stepped up in Fish and Demps absence. Players have more autonomy and tend to thrive with that - it energises the. Lets see how how our backline goes against Geelong where the ball will come in a lot before writing it off. Plenty of people said we would be smashed without Fish and Demps but they did well (admittedly protected by our dominant midfield) Some people want to live in the past as that is cosier. But we have to build the backline of the future, including developing depth and covering injuries. The future is now.

[freely]

I only caught the first quarter, so missed the good stuff. From what I saw we would have been smashed to pieces by a half decent team...Dempster and Fisher straight back in.

I disagree (with the smashed to pieces bit). Although our ball movement wasn't 100%, our pressure when we didn't have it would have troubled most teams.

Dempster and Fisher do come straight back, but I'm not sure we can take both into 2017.

I refer back to it all the time, but it was not a coincidence we had Hayes, Dal Santo, Goddard and Montagna as All Australians the year after Harves retired - sometimes the next generation need the old timers to step aside to really blossom.

Spot on chris. Look how Robbo stepped up in Fish and Demps absence. Players have more autonomy and tend to thrive with that - it energises the. Lets see how how our backline goes against Geelong where the ball will come in a lot before writing it off. Plenty of people said we would be smashed without Fish and Demps but they did well (admittedly protected by our dominant midfield) Some people want to live in the past as that is cosier. But we have to build the backline of the future, including developing depth and covering injuries. The future is now.

+1
Players suddenly realise it's down to them to fill the void. Look how Stewie stepped up without Lockett!

[Con Gorozidis]

By way of comparison, last week Melbourne fielded a side with ave age 23y 5 months and ave games 62.
Quite a bit younger/less experienced than our youngest side.

[Bluthy]

By way of comparison, last week Melbourne fielded a side with ave age 23y 5 months and ave games 62.
Quite a bit younger/less experienced than our youngest side.

And everyone says "Oh you take out our oldies and its much better". But you can't. We are (were before injury) playing all the oldies every week. That was Richo's choice. Rooey, Monty, Gilbo and Gears will all go on next year and most certainly be played every week. Probably at least one of Fish and Demps will go on, maybe even both. That will be Richo's (and the list committees) choice. No one is making them play all these older guys. And we are still copping near 100 pt thrashings.

We also have guys like Steven, Armo, Roberton, Delaney, Weller, Savage, Newnes etc who have a quite a lot of games under their belt now and in that "solid AFL players" belt. They don't need their hand held. In fact its the opposite. They need more freedom and responsiblity.

Even guys like Dunstan, Ross, Billings, will all be around that 50 game mark where you should become more consistent. We are not anywhere near as young as we think and its a concern with Blues, Essendon, GWS, GC, Melbourne, Collingwood all putting together a very young list of talent. But at least we are learning more about Gilbo. Great stuff.

Have you seen GWS's list? It's terrifying and by trading off their quality fringe players they will keep high draft talent coming in for years. All we will get this year is something like pick 6 which after all the bulls*** Academy picks might end up something like pick 10. Wow, super. That will set us up as a dynasty.

We need to desperately find little nuggets of list gold by fossicking amongst the fringe. Could it be Tom Lee? Could it be Eli? Could it be Minch? Could it be Coughlan. Could it be...gasp....Curren? You'll never, never know, if you never, ever go.

[BigMart]

Stewie stepped up without Locktt?!

B&F
Vic CHF (EJ Whitten medal)
Triple AA
Whilst playing with Lockett

FFS

[freely]

Stewie stepped up without Locktt?!

B&F
Vic CHF (EJ Whitten medal)
Triple AA
Whilst playing with Lockett

FFS

Maybe you don't remember but with Lockett gone, he really worked on his goal-kicking - and it improved out of sight. Not saying he wasn't already a great player but surely you remember what a dodgy kick he used to be. But with Lockett gone he took it on himself to fill the void. The last year he played with Lockett he kicked 19 goals. First year without Lockett he kicked 76 and the next year 90!

[BigMart]

He worked on his Goalkicking 90-93 with Peter Hudson... And I am certain Tony was still around...

I'm sure he continued to work on his conversion, but the increase in goal tallies, that had nothing to do with Tony going... Just a change of position... From CHF to FF

He was actually a far better CHF than FF which is why he returned there after we recruited Heatly in 97

Loewe was a gun of the AFL from 90-94 possibly his best years

Btw
He kicked 76 and 90 at FF the years straight after Lockett retired
But was missed at CHF