Geelong V St.Kilda Match Discussion

[SaintBot]

worried about max, g will have to psh it for round 1 but they would have rested both before round 1 anyway.

good to hear about kosi darren

what a win, that was intense for a preseason match, the boys deserved it sooooo much well done! lets go out and try and win the 300k, nice for the bottom line!

Hate to say it but Max is nearly a liability because we seem to play a man short when he plays. We need to find a FB straight away.

just watching the replay i though Max did very well...he got a lot more of the ball and while his kicking is a bit of a lob it isnt too bad - he makes up for it with his defensive skills

cant see him being replaced but i think this should be one of his final seasons...gilbert looked fantastic running from the goal square into the midfield



also very impressed with milne...wasnt played as a midfielder but rather pushed up the ground more than usual and was very important in the set up of many goals

koschitzke looks very comfortable at ff - been long enough for a coach to play him there fulltime

armitage for the first time really pushed his claim - made a few skill errors but found plenty of the ball and has fantastic aggression

geary looks brilliant! will be surprised if he doesnt play 22+ games this season (barring injury)

charlie gardiner was great again, just needs to continue his form

blake did ok. does some very good things but lets himself down with poor decisions/disposals...he is quickly being overtaken by younger players

Jarryd Allen despite being earmarked as a future defender has shown great signs as a forward...will watch him with interest on friday with fraser out and possibly koschitzke resting

things are looking as good as they have in a long time at this time of the year imo

There you go with Blake again. He was better than OK and I would say his 2 games this year means that he is not getting overtaken by anyone.

what position in the team do you have for him?

[plugger66]

That is why he will get a game because he can play in so many positions. I'd back he will be given every chance to play and I think RL would like his attack on the ball. I will go so far as to suggest he may be our most courageous player.

[SaintBot]

That is why he will get a game because he can play in so many positions. I'd back he will be given every chance to play and I think RL would like his attack on the ball. I will go so far as to suggest he may be our most courageous player.

well as far as i can see it good utilities can usually play in more than one position as well as being able to hold their own spot on the ground

Koschitzke - can play as a permanent forward, as a ruckman and also if needed as a defender
Gilbert - can play as a permanent defender, can have stints in the midfield and can also go forward
Blake - can come off the bench and give a solid effort in the backline and err maybe attempt to tag adam goodes

sorry plugger i cant see how blake will be able to hold a permanent position on the field

[Ralphy]

i have never liked blake.

he doesnt look right , i dont like him never will, he doesnt fit into my 22

[plugger66]

That is why he will get a game because he can play in so many positions. I'd back he will be given every chance to play and I think RL would like his attack on the ball. I will go so far as to suggest he may be our most courageous player.

well as far as i can see it good utilities can usually play in more than one position as well as being able to hold their own spot on the ground

Koschitzke - can play as a permanent forward, as a ruckman and also if needed as a defender
Gilbert - can play as a permanent defender, can have stints in the midfield and can also go forward
Blake - can come off the bench and give a solid effort in the backline and err maybe attempt to tag adam goodes

sorry plugger i cant see how blake will be able to hold a permanent position on the field

Kosi will be a permanent forward this year. Sam will probably play as a running back most of the year but Blake will play in many positions and many different types of players which is the important thing. Also he came 9th in the B&F so he must be rated highly by the coaching staff.

[SaintBot]

That is why he will get a game because he can play in so many positions. I'd back he will be given every chance to play and I think RL would like his attack on the ball. I will go so far as to suggest he may be our most courageous player.

well as far as i can see it good utilities can usually play in more than one position as well as being able to hold their own spot on the ground

Koschitzke - can play as a permanent forward, as a ruckman and also if needed as a defender
Gilbert - can play as a permanent defender, can have stints in the midfield and can also go forward
Blake - can come off the bench and give a solid effort in the backline and err maybe attempt to tag adam goodes

sorry plugger i cant see how blake will be able to hold a permanent position on the field

Kosi will be a permanent forward this year. Sam will probably play as a running back most of the year but Blake will play in many positions and many different types of players which is the important thing. Also he came 9th in the B&F so he must be rated highly by the coaching staff.

the utility style players are getting in shorter and shorter supply

why?

these days its not about being an ok defender who can go into the midfield and pehaps run forward.

teams play specalist in these positions now. the midfield rotation takes up more than the 5 "designated" midfielders. it is spread across the running defenders and small forwards. unless you are a specalist forward pocket (Milne) or a big running defender (S.Fisher) your not going to get a spot


youve mentioned blake can play in a number of positions, id like it if you could be a bit more specific for a dummy like me and tell me what postitions we can expect to see blake play in this year.

[plugger66]

That is why he will get a game because he can play in so many positions. I'd back he will be given every chance to play and I think RL would like his attack on the ball. I will go so far as to suggest he may be our most courageous player.

well as far as i can see it good utilities can usually play in more than one position as well as being able to hold their own spot on the ground

Koschitzke - can play as a permanent forward, as a ruckman and also if needed as a defender
Gilbert - can play as a permanent defender, can have stints in the midfield and can also go forward
Blake - can come off the bench and give a solid effort in the backline and err maybe attempt to tag adam goodes

sorry plugger i cant see how blake will be able to hold a permanent position on the field

Kosi will be a permanent forward this year. Sam will probably play as a running back most of the year but Blake will play in many positions and many different types of players which is the important thing. Also he came 9th in the B&F so he must be rated highly by the coaching staff.

the utility style players are getting in shorter and shorter supply

why?

these days its not about being an ok defender who can go into the midfield and pehaps run forward.

teams play specalist in these positions now. the midfield rotation takes up more than the 5 "designated" midfielders. it is spread across the running defenders and small forwards. unless you are a specalist forward pocket (Milne) or a big running defender (S.Fisher) your not going to get a spot


youve mentioned blake can play in a number of positions, id like it if you could be a bit more specific for a dummy like me and tell me what postitions we can expect to see blake play in this year.

Well he can play on ball which he did on a few occassions last year and he can play back. Not sure about forward though. He can also help in the ruck so apart from 6 postions on the ground he can play in 16. Surely that is a fair few.

[SaintBot]

That is why he will get a game because he can play in so many positions. I'd back he will be given every chance to play and I think RL would like his attack on the ball. I will go so far as to suggest he may be our most courageous player.

well as far as i can see it good utilities can usually play in more than one position as well as being able to hold their own spot on the ground

Koschitzke - can play as a permanent forward, as a ruckman and also if needed as a defender
Gilbert - can play as a permanent defender, can have stints in the midfield and can also go forward
Blake - can come off the bench and give a solid effort in the backline and err maybe attempt to tag adam goodes

sorry plugger i cant see how blake will be able to hold a permanent position on the field

Kosi will be a permanent forward this year. Sam will probably play as a running back most of the year but Blake will play in many positions and many different types of players which is the important thing. Also he came 9th in the B&F so he must be rated highly by the coaching staff.

the utility style players are getting in shorter and shorter supply

why?

these days its not about being an ok defender who can go into the midfield and pehaps run forward.

teams play specalist in these positions now. the midfield rotation takes up more than the 5 "designated" midfielders. it is spread across the running defenders and small forwards. unless you are a specalist forward pocket (Milne) or a big running defender (S.Fisher) your not going to get a spot


youve mentioned blake can play in a number of positions, id like it if you could be a bit more specific for a dummy like me and tell me what postitions we can expect to see blake play in this year.

Well he can play on ball which he did on a few occassions last year and he can play back. Not sure about forward though. He can also help in the ruck so apart from 6 postions on the ground he can play in 16. Surely that is a fair few.

im not sold. onball!? we have at the very least 10 players who could do a better job as an onballer than blakey. im glad you have said he cant play forward. yes as a back coming off the bench he might find some game time, but imo players such as Geary, Gilbert, etc are claiming their spots in the backline whereas Blake is still a "can play back" player who really, lets be honest cant play anywhere else

[plugger66]

Well I am no great Blake fan but players should be played if they deserve a game. So it looks like we agree to disagree.

[Solar]

blake is a great depth player and depending on how the other running half backs go might continue to get game time....

[SaintBot]

Well I am no great Blake fan but players should be played if they deserve a game. So it looks like we agree to disagree.

As you can see im obviously no blake fan either but i dont go to the footy just to look for his mistakes - if you have a look at the intraclub match reports i am one of the few who thought blake had a fair game

i said on the last page that blake didnt do to bad in the game on saturday either just he lets himself down seriously with simple mistakes (one that comes to mind was when he took a great mark on the half back and as he hit the deck he tried to handball it mucking it up and forcing unwarranted pressure on his own teammates). i too think it would be nice for players who deserve a game to be played but blake's lack of pressure for a permanent position will be the thing that keeps him out.

i like you hope he can (eventually) make it but for now im happy to agree to disagree

[mad saint guy]

I owuld be surprised if Blake doesn't play 22+ games again this year. He is getting marginally better every year and he is one of the few saints players who can run out a game well.

He will be played at half back, as a tall tagger on outside midfielders, he'll play onball and he'll have stints in the ruck. Now that we have Blake mk 2 (Charlie Gardiner) I doubt we'll see him up forward at all.

Kosi and Gilbert are explosive utilities. They can switch into any part of the ground and make a huge difference. However after 6 minutes they will have to go to the bench and then Blake moves over there to hold the team together for the next 15 minutes.

[Armoooo]

I have always liked Blake but personally I just can not see him making our 22, I also think Fiora and C.Gardiner are going to struggle to find the consistency to be permanent 22 players...

[F_Q_F]

Watched the replay on Fox Footy today and have to give credit to Eljay Connors. Guess who was in the pack that created the spillage so Steven could kick the goal?
Yep the skinniest bloke on the park, and although he didn't have a huge impact on the game at least he stood his ground when the ball was coming.

[Spinner]

I owuld be surprised if Blake doesn't play 22+ games again this year. He is getting marginally better every year and he is one of the few saints players who can run out a game well.

He will be played at half back, as a tall tagger on outside midfielders, he'll play onball and he'll have stints in the ruck. Now that we have Blake mk 2 (Charlie Gardiner) I doubt we'll see him up forward at all.

Kosi and Gilbert are explosive utilities. They can switch into any part of the ground and make a huge difference. However after 6 minutes they will have to go to the bench and then Blake moves over there to hold the team together for the next 15 minutes.

Question:

Anyone feel confident when the ball is in Blake's hands?

[mischa]

Said it before and will say it again-Jason Blake is a good, solid, underrated player. Still the insults keep coming....

[quidnunc]

I must admit I get nervous when the ball is in Blake's hands.

But he does get a fair bit of it and I think the scales tip in his favour. Good honest performer in my opinion. Most clubs have them and are pleased to.

[sasaint]

Watched the replay on Fox Footy today and have to give credit to Eljay Connors. Guess who was in the pack that created the spillage so Steven could kick the goal?
Yep the skinniest bloke on the park, and although he didn't have a huge impact on the game at least he stood his ground when the ball was coming.

IMO possibly the biggest surprise coming out of the game. How this 68kg kid can perform as well and courageously as he did is outstanding. Well done Eljay, hope you put on a few Kilos over 2008 and tear up the 2009 season.