Synbad, you raise a point worth discussing, looking at the game last night i struggled with the same ie no-one has made it into an elite footballer.

Having said that, i still have confidence that Murphy and Kruezer will get there.

No-doubt with the quality of our list (pick wise), there is the possibility that at some point we will be rated as an 'under performer'.

Murphy is an elite level genuine rover.
Kreuzer is elite given a knee reconstruction but I never agreed with him been used as an onballer....needs to be our focal point in attack
Betts is the one who has constantly progressed. His marking, tackling plus close to 50 goals a year makes him statistically an elite package.
Simpson has the heart of lion.....he has the attitude that derserves premiership success.
Scotland has constantly progressed and he is not a champion but is elite in terms of kicking efficiency and the rarity of bad performances

I don't think our drafting is the key to the problem. There are too many low picks that have generated fair quality. Our trading has been disaterous in the sense we don't take the right risks such as putting up a pick in the teens for two in the 20s or a good player aged his mid 20s that could have currency and yet we get seduced by Mclean deals. There are no guarantees with this but we appear to have the wrong appetite for risk at the trade table

I question whether the northern bullants alliance has worked for us. Players don't seem to develop in that environment. One of the first things I would do, would be to hire an ex afl coach, retire Scotland and make him captain and make sure all home games are played at Visy Park. Scotland would emphasise the importance of disposal efficiency to a young group.

I think it's more than just player development....we are not a passionate footy team....we are not driven....and far too predictable....our structures are still weak....our forward fifty entries are laughable....I mean literally you just chuckle when we go forward cuz you know exactly what's gonna happen...either the ball is swept away with ease or if we get lucky someone might kick an arsy goal....this facet of our game plan has gone backwards....

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

I think our player development over the past few years has been pretty good. Off the top my head Yarran, Robinson, Garlett, Henderson, Hampson, Ellard and Jamison have all improved a fair way in the time Ratten & co have been in charge.

Don't get me wrong last night was woeful but we are 5-2 and still in the Top 4... a big win this Sunday and the world turns 180deg again.

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17 4 10

The fact for me is that we are far from where we need to be.

We have some real top line players but we lack size through the middle and our bottom 6 aren't going anywhere and simply don't contribute enough.

This is a very even comp. this season and injuries will be the difference. If we lost Judd/Murphy we would be in trouble.

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

you often here Ratten and co talking about player management and number of minutes and game time and healthy list - sounds to me like their is too much rocket science going on and not enough game planning and tactical stuff and working on players skills

Sometimes you just have to go out and play footy

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In my opinion we've seen significant improvement from Hampson since 2011, Touhy is progressing very nicely, Armfield is better than he has been previously, Curnow is more consistent than last year and shows signs of improvement, McCarthy from most reports is progressing nicely and is likely to play a key role for us in the next few years, Watson is developing (but whether he has the right tools and was a wise drafting decision is another issue), Robinson has improved and is a legit midfielder now (fitness being a key here), the development of Yarran over the past 18 months has been imense and we're only missing out on seeing it now because of injury, and Henderson is a better CHB than i think any of us originally thought he would be & has shown vast improvement in his time at the club .

There a players who are developing nicely, its just hard to think of the positives after a performance like last nights.

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@cecil_anderson