Raking left footers without doubt. Could have been the first 'woof!'

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

We could call him Little Wing?

Just for my 2cnts worth....I like the idea of Hoops,Waitey,and Thornton swinging forward and back.....
confound and dazzle the enemy
with our versatility
stealth,
and
cunning.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

keep those thoughts to yourself please!

dang!!!
so that's why that spy agency let me go.
(thought it was my driving skills.)

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

I think waite is a better contested mark than you give him credit for - he takes a few when further up the ground but most of the time in the backline tends to go for the spoil.

As a forward he is also a lot more dangerous than what many expect - despite playing in the backhalf/midfield for a fair chunk of his career in his 115 games Waite has
- taken 2 or more shots at goal 50 times (approx 43% of total games played)
- taken 3 or more shots at goal in a game 37 times (approx 32% of total games played)
- taken 4+ shots at goal 20 (approx 17% of games)
- kicked 2 or more goals 31 times (approx 27% of games)
- kicked 3 or more goals 16 (approx 14% of games)

Whilst he might not be back at full fitness provided he retains most of his athleticism, Waite will create shots at goal. He will also create a contest from which the smaller guys can feed from

I'm happy to be proven wrong 4th but your stats dont tell us anything about my original point.
Waitey is 194cm and 27 years old now however he is yet to establish himself as either a key forward or a consistent goalkicker.
We need someone to step up to that role but I have doubts he has the capacity to do it.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Prior to being made into a defender he had a stretch of 56 games where he kicked 82 goals.

At that rate that averages out to 32 goals in 22 games. Not shabby at all.

Waite has not been settled into a position to be classified as a...........forward, back?????
But that alone does not imply he can't play as a forward.

Waite is a swingman forward or back because he can do the job.

He was in the running for AA as a CHB (first year at it without being established)
Was selected for Victoria as a CHB.
Has kicked bags of goals when playing forward.
He consistenetly kicks goals when playing forward.

I think your view on Waite is just a viewpoint from your eyes BV
I think you're pigeon holing him.
No, it seems you've pigeon holed him.

I have seen him kick amazing goals on the run on an angle...that is not average....he's done it over and over again.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

During the practise games it appears Ratts has gone for Setanta at FF with Hendo at CHF. Assuming that will be their starting positions when the real thing starts in a little over a week, this leaves Waite to run into some form and fitness on the flank/wing.

Isn't this better for a guy coming back from a reco to adjust to the tempo of AFL footy rather than be put in the hotspot of a key position with a key defender on you?

Of course Waite is important to us but he is no miracle worker so don't expect him to dominate from his first game back. Ease him into it and let others who have done the work pre season do the heavy stuff in the key positions. If they don't perform things can change.

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"Get ready, Teddy - you're on": Ron Barassi half time 1970 Grand Final

Nobody expects Waite to dominate first game back.

BV, there is no doubt it took Waite a bit longer than most to truly step up and become the talent we knew he could be, and when that happened he was mostly playing as a re-bounding defender.

But now he is a genuine talent, I think you'll find that if he gets played as a forward, he will be a large goal kicker, maybe not 100 gls/year, but I reckon he is good for 50, maybe even 60. Reason I say this is, he has shown that on the odd occasion he is played permanently as a fwd he can kick bags.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

I'm happy to be proved wrong Bondi but I have'nt seen anything yet to do that.
I'm not saying he isn't a good footballer, I'm just saying he hasn't shown an ability to stand up as a key forward.
It has also been stated that he has shown that he can play as the focal point in our forward line. When? When has Waite shown an ability to consistently perform as a key forward.
I'd say never. That doesn't mean I dont believe he is a good footballer.

I'm not knocking the bloke. I'm just stating the situation as I see it. If anyone can disprove that. Go for it.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

And your view on Waite is just your viewpoint from your eyes bondi.

We all agree Waitey is super talented, just some of us differ in our views on his consistency in certain aspects.

You're right Rexy!

It's all a case of definition...of what constitutes 'consistency".

All players make mistakes...doesn't mean they are inconsistent in footy terms, or does it?

I'd like to hear what the definition of consistency is. Yours too Rexy.

Perfection is consistency...we all know that, but what if a few clangers...or 'brain fades' happen in a game?
Lets say less that 1 minutes worth in every 100 minutes of footy is a clanger, does that make a player 'inconsistent' in your mind?

Is Judd inconsistent?
Are all players 'inconsistent'?
Is it 'normal' to be inconsistent as an AFL footballer?

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I'm of the opinion that waite has shown himself to be a consistent goal kicker but for team balance he has been played largely back for the past 2 and a bit seasons (say 40 or so games)

If you look at his stats in the few seasons before he went back then he was a regular goal scorer. Between 2005-2007 waite kicked 82 goals from 56 games (average 1.46/game). In terms of shots on goals (G+B), waite had 136 shots on goal in those 56 games (average 2.43). I've left out the 03+04 seasons left out b/c 03 was his 'rookie' season + 04 was limited to 9 games due to injury (iirc stress fractures?)

Another look at the 05-07 season
05 - averaged 1.7 goals, 1.1 behinds (2.8 shots/game)
06 - averaged 1.4 goals, 1.2 behinds (2.6 shots/game - missed rda 3-4 & 9-16)

Not sure if waite was injured in rds 3-4 but I think he was definitely injured in rd 8 (5 touches) and would have lost a fair bit of fitness (knee/7 weeks off). If you looked at pre-injury though, for 06 rds 1-2, 5-7 (5 games) waite kicked 9 goals 10 behinds (average of 1.8 goals+2 behinds ie 3.8 shots/game)

If you look at waites forward output from the start of 05-rd 7 of 06 (last game before injury) which I think gives you the best picture, waite kicked 45 goals+33 behinds in 26 games (average 1.7 goals, 1.3 behinds ie 3 shots/game)

07 is more complicated as waite spent part of the season back - According to wiki played NAB cup and early rounds at CHB during 07 before being moved forward later in the season - not the greatest source though).

07 - averaged 1.3 goals, 0.7 behinds ie 2 shots/game (spent part of the season back so that needs to be taken into account).

07 was also the first season where goals contributed stats appears (goals kicked+goal assist, no behinds) - for that season, despite playing back part of the season, waite was credited with 40 GC - I think that is more than acceptable as a forward. 40 GC + 15 behinds kicked+whatever behinds were kicked by other players on assists would suggest that waite has the capacity to generate 50-60+ shots on goal in a season.

Anyway, given waite's forward output between 05-07 I think he is more than capable of contributing as a key foward. Provided waite's knee holds up, 40+ goals would be readily achieved. I dont expect him to tear games apart as Fev did, but waite will definitely give a good contest/create spillage/apply pressure on opposition (as shown in his games down back) and should contribute regularl goals (as 05-07 shows)

Fitness permitting of course the biggest factor to me as to how our attack will funtion is how Waite will go playing forward. He will play HF/CHF almost as well as anyone in the competition and every bit as important as Fev was. He was very good playing forward before going back a couple of years ago and can only be better now if right. Unfortunately by doing this we do lose his versatility in other areas but that's a part of the decision we made in October leaving us no choice. Give away your gun forward and your choices are restricted. That's the choice we made and he has to be replaced the best way we can. Waite's the closest thing we have to Fev in ability up forward by a long way. Henderson is young, may be a year off still and thus far hasn't played forward much at AFL level yet. Setanta's certainly a good back up KP forward but maybe not yet a number 1 forward. Our forward line will depend on alot how Waite goes.