Byrnes, Bonner Not up to it..

[murray 66]

In my opinion aren't up to it and are butchers by foot. Byrnes came on the field at the 10-minute mark of the third quarter and by halfway through the last looked spent.... He is poor by foot and shouldn't be the kicker inside 50 to our forwards...
Bonner tries to take on too much by foot and is embarrassed at least 3-5 times a game with clangors. His disposal hurts us every game, surely our coaches notice this!
I also have concerns with Goddard being our midfield coach when he hasn't even worked at an AFL club previously in that Role.

Just my thoughts.

[nostalgicsaint]

Probably not best 22 players but best 30 for sure.


I don't understand why so many on this site are keen to focus on the negative after a good win.

[murray 66]

It was a good win mate not being negative, but it was Nth Melbourne remember....
With Dow, Henry & Clarke to come back in, it will sort itself out!

[nostalgicsaint]

Not being negative.

You've labelled two players as not up to it. I'd hate to see negative.

[murray 66]

Do you think they are up to it? If so happy to discuss..

[nostalgicsaint]

Do you think they are up to it? If so happy to discuss..

I think they are both players inside the top 30 of an AFL list.

[repta]

Our depth is very shallow.
No warning signs around our pool regarding a drowning hazard.

[cwrcyn]

The last few weeks have been disappointing from Byrnes. Struggles to find the ball and his disposal has been rushed, which suggests he's down on confidence. Once Clark, Dow, and Henry come in he'll be back at Sandy. I really like his workmate and attitude and there's no doubt he gives it his all, but recent form suggests he may be spending most of the rest of the year at Sandy. Wilson has effectively taken his role, and once Hastie develops a bit more, Byrnes will go further down the pecking order. He's now not in our best 26

Bonner is a runner and a kicker. There is little else to his game. One on one contests are his weakness and at his age that won't change. He does some great things, he does some head scratching things. If Sinclair continues to play midfield, then Bonner has to play.

[Otiman]

Sinclair was best on ground for some and he had more clangers than Bonner.

I'm off the Byrnes train now, his first few weeks of last year were the trajectory he needed, but has not progressed in his last 20 games.

[meher baba]

I have been negative about both all season. However, there is far more upside to Bonner than Byrnes, who is just one of those low-skilled players who run around all over the place and tries his guts out. Sort of like Bradley Hill without the skill.

Bonner has grown on me. He makes some mistakes under pressure and also does some really good things: last night he delivered a ball to Wilson in front of goal that was better than most of our other players are capable of. I suspect his errors derive more from lack of confidence than lack of skill. He’s a keeper for mine, albeit not perhaps a regular first team player : he could still turn out to be something.

I’m with Vortex that I hope we don’t see Sharman back in a hurry. He has been given a really good go at it this season and, while he does some good stuff, he doesn’t do it nearly often enough for mine.

Howard and Webster went well. Players are coming back from injury. Things are looking up.

[Otiman]

I agree on Bonner. He takes the game on, and whilst it doesn't always come off, if it does it puts us in a very attacking position.

For such a low scoring team we need this.

[scallopsroe]

Bonner has to play to his main strength, kicking the pill long. His dicky 20 metre passes are horrible to watch and end up turning the ball over. Find a long target up the field and kick to him. Now that Jack Hayes is back and firing supporting Marshall, there should be a tall target up field. Max King on the other hand is frustrating to watch. Perhaps a week with Sandy may refresh Max and reduce his swollen head size.

[sks023]

Seb Ross liked Bonners game
Gave him bog along side Darcy

[Otiman]

Bonner has to play to his main strength, kicking the pill long. His dicky 20 metre passes are horrible to watch and end up turning the ball over. Find a long target up the field and kick to him. Now that Jack Hayes is back and firing supporting Marshall, there should be a tall target up field. Max King on the other hand is frustrating to watch. Perhaps a week with Sandy may refresh Max and reduce his swollen head size.

Be careful what you wish for. What was his game v Essendon? 1000 metres gained and 17 turnovers?

[skeptic]

I have been bullish on Byrnes since his strong start to last year but IMO his game has too many deficiencies.

He’s an extreme runner that can’t win a lot of ball… so whilst it’s great he gets to contests… he tends not to do a whole lot there.

Given that he’s not lightning fast… he’s the type of player that either
a) needs to accumulate a heap of contested and fire it out to play makers getting 20-25 touches a game (which he can’t do)

b) Sit on the outside of packs getting 15-20 setting up plays with his pristine disposal whilst doing a defensive job the other way… which again he can’t do.

He’s not well built for his game unfortunately

Whilst he’s a top 30 player on the list for now… frankly I’ve seen enough of him and would pull the trigger at seasons end barring a drastic improvement.
IMO kid needs to win a ton more ball

[desertsaint]

I'm bullish on Bonner. Type of player we need and breaks open defences with his kicking game. Playing the type of role Sincs played and obviously atm not as good as Sincs was, but it frees up Sincs for his new role. Speaking of which, Sincs is spraying a lot this season. Adjusting as well perhaps with less decision time?
Byrnes is a trier, type of player Lyon likes, and he'll improve over time, but a slow burn improvement that comes with experience to accept his weaknesses. Just a depth player for me, but over time he may deserve to cement a spot - bit like Jason Blake in respect to a low skillset but learning his craft over years on a list.

[Vortex]

Byrnes is borderline that 21st to 23rd player you keep on the list whilst trying to find his replacement.

Reached is ceiling unfortunately for us.

Bonner I'd like to see more of, especially in a stronger side, he also could be that 21st to 23rd player but I already have seen enough to know if it was choice between Byrnes and Bonner then Bonner is my choice for the time being.

Gotta keep churning this list over.

[saynta]

It was a good win mate not being negative, but it was Nth Melbourne remember....
With Dow, Henry & Clarke to come back in, it will sort itself out!

C L A R K.

[D.B.Cooper]

Both are depth at AFL level IMO.
They have deficiencies that make it difficult for them to be best 22 at that level.

However both can have an impact on their day.

With Saints historically turning over 7-9 players per season my guess is they would both be in the mix to be delisted or survive on a one year extension.

I find Bonners kicking skills way overrated.

[Sanctorum]

Agree with assessment of Byrnes as not in best 23.

However Riley Bonner is to my mind going strong.

Since he started in round 1, Bonner has racked up the following disposals: 28,17, 32, 24, 20,22, 22, 24, an average of 23.6 per game.

Right now well deserving of his place in the team.

[spert]

Byrnes is slowly improving and will get better, but he hasn't been our worst player this season and Bonner is not too bad and should keep his spot. I'm more concerned that Pou, Owens and Membrey are not having much impact this season and need to pull their finger out.

[ace]

It was a good win mate not being negative, but it was Nth Melbourne remember....
With Dow, Henry & Clarke to come back in, it will sort itself out!

C L A R K.

E won't be back for a while.
E has done a knee playing for Sandringham

[ace]

Now Webster is back, I hope Bonner can be played on the opposite wing to Wood.
On a wing his mistakes will not be as damaging but he can be beneficial with his long kick forcing players of both sides to run toward St Kilda's goal.

[Zed]

Depth players for sure.
We have injuries right now, so guess what , they get a game. Sometimes they play their role well - sometimes they don’t. That’s what happens with fringe players.
There will be other players ahead of them in the delist queue for now. It’s up to the younger players to go past them and make them redundant.

[CURLY]

Byrnes I agree is not good enough.

Bonner on the other hand is a key part going forward. His kick to Hayes to give him his first goal was elite.