Raph Clarke

[Cairnsman]

Maaaaannnnnnnnn!!!

Seriously over anaylising.

[joffaboy]

Oh I agree that the situation isn't perfect. But I would have thought a quick kick back to Fish was a better option than 3 on two, with both Birss and Goose caught behind the Tiger players. My simple point was that we were hardly all manned up, which was the point made by Mr Joffaboy.
The ump was flat-footed anyway, so wouldn't have really been much trouble, Dempster ran hard past him, but Fish dropped back at a slower pace so would have been an easy 20m from Raph if not more, making the distance no trouble. The space between Raph and the man on the mark was pretty big, and with Dempster on the right, could have been an easy switch I reckon if done quickly. Instead he takes about ten steps and kicks up the boundary.

You put up a deceptive ad misleading shot that MM tore to pieces.

You actually wanted Raph to switch play into the middle of the field with a risky kick with ten seconds to go

As MM said the angles are misleading and Raph did the % thing.

You and your ilk would have tore Raph to bits if he had have centred the ball and something went wrong.

Just admit it. You have an agenda against the kid and it wouldn't matter what he did you would find fault.

Well done MM for point out the ludicrious inconsistancies of that shot.

You couldn't squim out of it Huzzard, but nice try. Just keep potting our playes with idiocies

[Ghost Like]

Don't take my word for it though, ask Aaron Hamill, who was very critical of his former teammate on the radio on Saturday night - suggesting he's not up to it.

I'm not saying Sammy's word is the be all and end all. But of all the people in the media at the moment, Aaron (and Grant Thomas, but let's not open that can of worms) would be one who has seen most of Raph at a close distance.

Yes BWR, I heard what Hamill had to say, I personally thought it a little disappointing, not that he potted him but the fact he backed it up with nothing or his analysis was quite hollow. I expected more from Hamill and deliberately waited around for the home truths he was supposed to deliver but instead got: "Raph's not hard enough" (started strongly) "The fury's out" (probably meant 'in' and here I expected the analysis but got...) "Should not play the loose man in defence, can't play that role" (fair enough, then...) "Should be given a role on a player instead" (Thought he was Aaron, this was were your home truths fell apart...he already had been given a task on a forward, Sam Fisher had the loose man role which explains why Richo was cutting us up all over the ground.)

Please note these quotes are the best of my recollection so may not be 100%. Good on Hamill, he has a media gig and gets paid but I thought his analysis and reasoning would have been better...I'm sure he will get better but was disappointed as I had high hopes we'd get a definitive critique of Raph instead I thought it was half baked.

Raph has faults but I didn't believe hardness was one of them, for a start he tackles harder than most of our players and has never shirked backing back into a contest.

[Die Hard]

Whilst Raph is in the team, playing forward or back, we will go nowhere. When he was originally signed to the team I was over the moon. Then after taking a mark I saw his very first kick in AFL footy; 35m out straight in front of goal...which he preceeded to kick into the opposition player on the mark. That's his highlight to date. Trade bait, trade bait, trade bait.

[LENNY LEADS THE WAY]

Every player makes mistakes.

Some more than others.

And some are highlighted more than others because of who they are

[Solar]

Whilst Raph is in the team, playing forward or back, we will go nowhere. When he was originally signed to the team I was over the moon. Then after taking a mark I saw his very first kick in AFL footy; 35m out straight in front of goal...which he preceeded to kick into the opposition player on the mark. That's his highlight to date. Trade bait, trade bait, trade bait.

you don't watch the game very much do you? For the record he was more like 40 - 45 out on a 45 degree angle and yes he did kick it into the mark.

But to have to look back to a players first game means that either you just focus on the bad things certain players don't do, are trying to get a rise out of us or just have no idea.

Seriously go back to the tape and watch it. There were many players worse then him saturday night. He set up 3-4 goals and worked very hard. Puts his head over the ball and runs on to create options. More then can be said of the likes of gram and dal santo.

[meher baba]

Is there a player in the afl who hasn't ever kicked the ball into the player on the mark?

I sincerely doubt it

Get off raph's back you pack of nit picking, victimising, know nothings!!

[The Fireman]

Is there a player in the afl who hasn't ever kicked the ball into the player on the mark?

I sincerely doubt it

Get off raph's back you pack of nit picking, victimising, know nothings!!

With all due respect,so many people can't be wrong Baba.

[plugger66]

Is there a player in the afl who hasn't ever kicked the ball into the player on the mark?

I sincerely doubt it

Get off raph's back you pack of nit picking, victimising, know nothings!!

With all due respect,so many people can't be wrong Baba.

Well it looks like RL is wrong as well as he seems to get a few games.

[Ghost Like]

Is there a player in the afl who hasn't ever kicked the ball into the player on the mark?

I sincerely doubt it

Get off raph's back you pack of nit picking, victimising, know nothings!!

With all due respect,so many people can't be wrong Baba.

I beg to differ Fireman, I think they can. They were in Jonestown, they were about BJ, the Brooks lovers were wrong, they were in Fremantle when they chose to barrack for the Shockers.

Regardless whether you're a Raph hater or supporter...the only person whose opinion really matters is Lyon's and I suspect they'll both (Lyon & Raph) live or die by that opinion.

[The Fireman]

Is there a player in the afl who hasn't ever kicked the ball into the player on the mark?

I sincerely doubt it

Get off raph's back you pack of nit picking, victimising, know nothings!!

With all due respect,so many people can't be wrong Baba.

I beg to differ Fireman, I think they can. They were in Jonestown, they were about BJ, the Brooks lovers were wrong, they were in Fremantle when they chose to barrack for the Shockers.

Regardless whether you're a Raph hater or supporter...the only person whose opinion really matters is Lyon's and I suspect they'll both (Lyon & Raph) live or die by that opinion.

correct and we may suffer accordingly for it.

I am not a Raph hater, I want what is best for the side just as you do.

[Huzzad]

Oh I agree that the situation isn't perfect. But I would have thought a quick kick back to Fish was a better option than 3 on two, with both Birss and Goose caught behind the Tiger players. My simple point was that we were hardly all manned up, which was the point made by Mr Joffaboy.
The ump was flat-footed anyway, so wouldn't have really been much trouble, Dempster ran hard past him, but Fish dropped back at a slower pace so would have been an easy 20m from Raph if not more, making the distance no trouble. The space between Raph and the man on the mark was pretty big, and with Dempster on the right, could have been an easy switch I reckon if done quickly. Instead he takes about ten steps and kicks up the boundary.

You put up a deceptive ad misleading shot that MM tore to pieces.

You actually wanted Raph to switch play into the middle of the field with a risky kick with ten seconds to go

As MM said the angles are misleading and Raph did the % thing.

You and your ilk would have tore Raph to bits if he had have centred the ball and something went wrong.

Just admit it. You have an agenda against the kid and it wouldn't matter what he did you would find fault.

Well done MM for point out the ludicrious inconsistancies of that shot.

You couldn't squim out of it Huzzard, but nice try. Just keep potting our playes with idiocies

I'm not going to lie, I am not a fan of Raph Clarke. I don't think he has what it takes to be an AFL footballer.

Back to the original point Joffa, the photo was put there there make a point to you: that there WERE loose players in def50. That was your point. You can conveniently forget that, and side with MM, fine, whatever, but that photo was put there against your comments. I stick by the fact that it was a better option. Watching the replay yesterday,I still stand by it. TV or my shot, Dempster and Fisher were an OPTION. No more dangerous than the result we saw. A stab pass would have hit dempster on the chest, at least 20m away with no risk of turning it over short of a clanger from Sean. A bad kick, however, probably would have resulted in a turnover. I'm not assuming Raph is a bad kick, I'd like to have thought he could nail it. He should if playing AFL football. I wouldn't have ripped into him for kicking it to the centre, only ripped into him for kicking it so woefulyl as to force a turnover. I am no fan of Raph, but if Dempster had caughed it up, iI would blame him. Fan of Raph or not, its pretty obvious when mistakes are made and the blame would have been laid accordingly and to the right person. We were lucky on Saturday, very lucky. I still think a 3 on 2 , as it showed, was a bad option. Either way, we won, so the rest is hypothetical. I do not try to squirm out of anything, I said that the shot was not perfect, but it could have been done. Again, the photo was to correct you.

Also watching the replay, I did notice that Raph's game, appart from the caught with the balls and indecision, wasn't too bad. He did get a fair bit of footy, and when he took first option he did well. It was simple, nothing amazing, but he was clean. So watching it again, I must say I am not as upset with his performance as I originalyl was. HOWEVER, Raph is far from being AFL standard and has work to do. My issue with him is that he has been making the same mistake for years. He needs to smarten up and fix these problems, and soon. I've seen a lot of people concur that his footy smarts are bad, and this is one area he has to improve.

[The Fireman]

Ok there you have it.
Some people around here shouldn't get negativity mixed up with common sense.

[mightysainters]

wat a disgrace of a footballer been saying it all year where are the smart asses who were non stop having a go at me about this... still this joke gets a game... no wonder we're rubbish