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Interesting take from someone intimately involved at the club until recently........According to @99 and @Colourman it's all Teague's fault. Go figure.

Just another opinion I guess, but that's how it looks to me.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Dow plays like he thinks he's a movie star - I remember my junior coach ripping our heads off calling us movie stars when we were playing like rubbish.

Some kids think the game will come to them and allow natural talent to get them by then realise hard work is required and that hard work is too much for them.

Does that sort of rhetoric still work on today’s generation? “Toughen up and play like a man”

Well whatever else we've tried hasn't worked so may as well give it a go.
Far prefer that than giving him a hug and telling him everything is ok and then presenting him with a participation medal on B&F night.

We can't say our players are too nice and need to be more ruthless and then start whining when someone starts having a go at them.

In my opinion, and obviously I am just an armchair critic, but my view is Teague comes across as an offense first coach (defence second), and this bothers me.

He was the forwards coach at Adelaide IIRC, and as good as they looked when on the attack in their Grand Final year, as soon as it was clear they would play Richmond in the Grand Final, I knew the Crows would lose. Because I think strong defences typically beat strong offenses.

I am an defence first football person. I think you have to have that sorted and strong first. It is the bedrock of good teams IMO. Swans, tick. WC, tick. Coll's last premiership with the press defence, tick. Hawks under Clarko their possession game is defence, tick. Richmond as mentioned, tick.

A good defensive struggle creates opportunities to score, so the scoring comes a a result.

I see Carlton this year, many times we look so good early, scoring quickly, getting good leads, we look a million bucks playing this daring, attacking style of football, but once the game gets tighter in the second half - as most games have this year - we seem incapable of scoring. It just seems to me to be a one trick pony approach, and isn't one that is sustainable.

That's just my view.

I would also argue, despite having limitations, SPS has been ruined by Teague. That's a no.6 draft pick.

And Dow, while he turned it over a lot under Bolton at least he was learning how to find it at AFL senior level. But under Teague he can hardly crack a game. That's a no.3 draft pick.

My assessment of Dow's last game in the Post Match thread is that he didn't have a sense urgency. Didn't seem competitive enough or desperate to prove he belongs. His second effort and his effort for the next possession after giving it off was non existent.

He seems to me to be one of those entitled types: touch, dish off, job done, dusts his hands, smirk.

David Walls should take him out the back and get the gloves on him and a few others. He really is taking the piss and doesn't show any respect for himself, so why would he have any respect for the jumper.

Don't Trade him unless its for overs (or Papley). I'd rather him play in the Ressies where he is most comfortable till he's sick of that and does something about it.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

A few points you might consider:

1. Teague played his career across half back.
2. There are three defenders and a tagger in the seven-man leadership group.
3. Our best and easily most consistent unit for the last two seasons has been the defensive group.

I would say that he is defense first and, with that box clearly ticked, that he starts each game at step two.

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

Bigger picture then, why the hell did we invest Pick 3 on this kid?

Sorry I should say, IMO this isn't so much about individual players and how well they might be playing, or if they are in the LG or not... it is about game style, and to my eye I do not see anything special about our game plan from a defensive point of view.

Yeah we protect space and brings our defenders up to try and pin the ball in the forwardline, but everyone does this to a degree, and I do not see Teague's team doing anything different or special to set it apart.

The modern game has become to a large degree about nwe styles that change the game and give you a competitive edge. I see Teague's Carlton being a bit innovative this year in terms of moving the ball offensively but I don't see anything unique or special about how we play defensively.

I couldn't care less what position Teague played when he played football. If anything the fact he was a HBF and I don't see anything special about his team's defensively is an indictment.

You don't have to prove your point to me.
I understand where you are coming from.
He had 2 big games with a lot of average ones, but he was only 19 and 20.

I did have a look at that clip of all his possessions. Out of respect to your request for an opinion, plus I love his game that day, plus we win.
I know what he can do, but I'm looking for the other stuff that he doesn't do that was said about him pre draft.

1. He had a BOG game = Positive. Negative is that he didn't show that form again in the midfield. Blame it on age.
2. He won contested balls = Positive. I thought the usually mad attack on the ball, the frenzied desperation to win contested ball by Dogs was missing this game.
3. He received a lot of ball and distributed effectively. No one took an interest to play on him, even when he had 23 possesssions and Healy makes the remark too.

I don't mind those dinky small kicks of his because he hits up targets in congestion: an underestimated skill. Furthermore, I know he can kick long and straight, and posters don't gve him credit for that.

BUT

The most important thing I've looked for every game he has played, and in this game is the Express Pace he was said to possess in his Pre Draft Profile. In this clip there is not one instance he shows any speed by foot. And, my fear is that if he's played close, he hasn't got the speed to make things happen. Dow has the speed and doesn't make it happen. Not once did I see speed in his midfield work, Not once did I see him make play, give it off and make the second play. He gives it off, dusts his hands, and is happy with that.

At the 3.13 min mark he does get the ball back after he made the first play. BUT he gets the ball to Walsh a metre ahead, Walsh goes sideways to Kreuzer who handballs to Gibbons then the 4th link of the play was back to SPS. SPS didn't make the play. He didn't sprint to make the 4th. The ball woul've travelled 10-15 minutes from his first handball to his receive. So I can't call that anything but followed the play and happpened to be in the right place because he didn't have to sprint.

I'm looking out for weaknesses, and see if they are fixable, coachable, then next season see if they have developed, sharpened their sword.

He plays like an inside mid. Has success against midgets, but how will he play against bigger mids (most are) like Fyfe and Mundy (every team has a couple), and the answer is, perhaps because he was still young, skinny, undeveloped, he struggled against bigger bodied mids.

I love him. I love Dow. I love the boys we drafted and gave us hope, but I haven't pencilled them into my first 18 in 2021. I did, along with Willo, now I have none of them in my team, until they show some real highlights consistently to prove they are will be elite.

I'm not writing him off, but maybe Teague and co see the same weaknesses.

Diesel would tell him to toughen up, as he did about Dow today.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Because he was either the 3rd or 4th best kid, so SOS took him before Cerra. Ask SOS.

I wouldn't be blaming the MC. Dow played in the centre square in Round 1. IMO I thought he wasn't strong enough to break tackles but saw enough to think his natural game is to win contested ball, see a gap and burst out, if tackler there, break past tackle. Easier against 18yo than 28 yo monsters.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

No I don't think so, most years other than the no.1 kid it is very much subjective and I recall that year there were lots of views about who was the best kid at no3. Dow was not a shoe in for 3 at all.

And back to Teague being a defender, weren't lots of successful senior AFL coaches defenders when they played the game?

Sheedy.
Parkin.
Malthouse.
Hardwick.
M.Thompson.
Roos.
Worsfold.
Pagan.

Point being, a lot of coaches were defenders when they played, esp the successful ones, but certainly to my eye I don't see that Teague has a unique defensive blueprint that might make him join that illustrious list.

Pretty sure Teague's win loss ratio is no better this year than last year.

Granted we have been in contests more this year but as Micky Malthouse says at the end of the day you are judged by how many wins you have at the end of the year.

We stared the year slow out of the gate, then finished the year slow closing the gate, so until such time we actually started playing 4 Qtrs the jury is out on the coach. Remember, the notion that we are a young team is baloney. We have our fair share of experienced players - youth is no excuse. We should be judged on how we are going right now.

But he was top 10 let alone top 5

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

And I am not saying it is easy being a recruiter, not at all, but you live and die by your picks, notwithstanding development which is largely out of your control. At the end of the day we picked Dow and it isn;t looking too flash right now. We also took LOB at 10 in the same draft and he hasn't been picked for seniors all year. Awesome.

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All my dangerous friends

Mick, this is probably why AFL clubs now need sports psychologists.

I agree, its not good.

It aint over till its over.

Dow needs a rocket up his arse.
I'd love to move his heart and mind, because he's getting paid adult wages but acting like he's still at Geelong Grammar eating his curd and whey

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue