What are your expectations from the NAB cup and how do you want to utilise it?
Is it an opportunity to play kids and expose them to near top level football or is it a dress rehearsal to the season?
Whilst obtaining a winning culture is important, how does that restrict or assist a developmental system?
The MC have stated that they want to get a settled back six. Is that how we should utilise the pre season competition?

If you look at our National draft recruiting over the past years, I'd suggest we've been relatively successful. We've picked plenty of quality kids and whilst "I've been extra critical of Pagan trading mid range picks, we've assembled some talented youngsters.
Yet of the approximately 15 kids we've selected over that time, I recall 4 playing in the NAB series to date.
Is that enough? I personally dont think so.

As a club, we need to have the courage to make development our main priority. Winning is crucial to our confidence and development but have we put winning at the top of the list?
I personally believe Kouta was underdone with his late start to training and Jake Edwards or Shaun Grigg could have had a run.
Saddo has come along well from injury and I'd love to see him get a good run at it but he has come in ahead of Bower. I would have played a youngster at the expense of Whitnall who only restarted full traing the week of the NAB cup starting.

Would that have cost us a win? Probably though I dont believe any of the above have contributed much. Could Blackers have improved with a run in the NAB cup? Possibly.
The situation is that somewhere along the way in our growth as a team, the coach will need to decide between winning games and development of players. If for example the long term development of the club is hindered by choosing an older player over a kid, what should the coach decide if it means his win/loss ratio suffers?

IMO, we are in a development phase and the younger player should always get the nod in a near 50/50 situation. If that means we win 5 games instead of 8, so be it.
It worries me that Denis will see light at the end of the tunnel now and play full strength, mature sides at the expense of development.

Lastly, let me say that this is just my opinion and I'm not saying it is correct but I've been consistent in my view. We must keep long term development as our main aim and it should be Pagans primary brief. That's what he should be judged on, how we develop our youngsters, not how many games he wins.

It will take as much courage from the supporters as it will from the coaching staff to occasionally sacrifice a win with an eye to the future. Especially when we are taking reasonable steps forward.
What are your thoughts?

Lastly, let me say that some of the youngsters in the 15 nominated are unable to play due to inury (Raso, Benjamin).

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

True Blue Vain, just a few more kids in there to replace Kouta, Lappin and Saddington and if need be Whitnall would not hurt.

Bringing in McLaren for this weeks squad is crap. He has been injured, its not like its a matter of life and death that we are rushing him into the side.

Bower should be establishing himself in the back half. Why play saddington on the bench. Best to give a young guy experience.

Look at Brisbane, last year they blooded as many young guys as possible, and they have games under their belts. Look at them progress now.

Personally I don't think Pagan is a youth developer and is not suited to our current needs of rebuilding a side for the future. Footy has changed so so much, we need a younger coach who can think in todays footy world. Pagan is a stubborn as they come and is trying to protect his job. He could not give a crap about our club. I fully believe this. Shoot me down if you all want, but as long as Pagan is here, we will not move forward in the way we would like.

Decisions are made and those on the MC know the abilities and injuries of the players better than us. I suppose I am asking what is the priority of posters for the NAB cup and the 07 season.
Pagan would know the capabilities of the players better than I would but it also comes down to the philosophical direction of the club.

I dont want to pot Pagan (though he often deserves it IMO ) but I'm more interested in what direction posters want the MC to take and if they believe it is being done.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

One small point you failed to mentioned in that statement is that the Lions were completely decimated with injury last year and had to promote 5 or 6 rookies to the list just to field a team.

But never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Blue Vain I see where you are coming from and I agree to a small extent. I don't agree that Saddington shouldn't be playing. As I mentioned the other week I think Kouta, Lappo and Whits should have been rested more than Saddington.

The kids will get their chance soon enough. Perhaps some are just being left out to build up some real hunger rather than just making it an attendance course for the next in line. Play and train consistently and you get a look in. Nothing wrong with that theory IMHO.

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.”

Agree Cazz. Brisbane had no choice because of injury etc. But just goes to show what game time, and self belief and confidence will do for a youngster.

Show a youngster that you believe in them and they will give you their all. For example, Jordan Russell, with some belief from Denis and I reckon will show him explode in the midfield.

Edwards, Hartlett, Blackwell, Bower should be shown at least some sort of game time............ Just rotate them in between games, because we cannot fit them all in.

The most important thing that needs to be established, IMO more important than a set 22 - or a concrete backline... is a winning mentality. I believe it was important for the guys to start off with a win *or two* in the NAB Cup... to further that we were playing teams that were close to full strength and were both looking to win. Getting those wins on the board, lifting the spirits of the team on the back of more good news recently is exactly what we need...

Agreed Whitnall and Kouta could have been AWOL for these matches, but in Koutas case wasn't he given extra time off prior to the pre-season due to his work with DWTS? And, at his age a full-on pre-season might not be the best thing for him - so in effect missing a few NAB Cup matches couldn't have hurt either...

I'm all for 'giving the kids a chance', but I believe that Pagan was only playing the young guys that are going to be in the shortlist for Round 1 - i.e Gibbs, Bower, JK, JR, Setanta, Hartlett...

...as for the rest -

http://bullants.footballvic.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&aid=115444

At least in the Ants practice matches they will be more likely to get 4 quarters under their belts...

This is the line of reasoning I agree with. My emotional reaction is to see the new guys play, but a bit of patience can do wonders in some cases. Marc Murphy was the type ready to go from day one, but others will take more time.

When I think back, my favourite player of all time was Bruce Doull, and he had to serve a long stint in the reserves before getting a decent run. While people condemn Denis Pagan in many areas, I have a great deal of confidence in his handling of young players. I think guys such as Kade Simpson is a good example of correct management to realise their potential, and I think we're starting to see the best of others such as Andrew Walker and Jordan Russell.

It's too early to judge the success of Brisbane's youngsters, and watching them last night, they still have fundamental decision making problems, which will be magnified once the regular season starts.

As much as I want our young blokes to get a run, I want it to be when they're ready.

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"The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, and the young know everything." Oscar Wilde

Totally agree, Jack. Well put.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

I'm sorry Jack but I see no evidence of Denis handling young players well whatsoever.
Pagan stifles the natural creativity from players and produces robots with zero instinct.
One of the players you mentioned was one of the most instinctive and free spirited players I've seen in junior ranks. He is now a back pocket in his 4th year of AFL football.
Yet he was the second best ranked player in the country!.
Tell me what improvements specifically have you seen in Andrew Walker since his first game 3 years ago?

The other is a number 9 pick super athlete who picked up 4 possessions in what many describe as his best game in his 3 years at the club.

We are so obsessed with teaching these kids the defensive side of the game that we forget what their strengths were.



Sorry Cazz but this is old school stuff IMO.
Its fine to make players hungry but what guidelines do they work by?
If I run my arse off during pre season does it get me a game?
If I be disciplined and do extras does it get me a game?
If I perform better than some of my senior team mates or dont get caught at the pub at 5.00am, does it get me a game?

The days of "you'll get a game when I say" are well gone.
Many of our kids performed far better on the track than their "experienced" teammates.
We have kids on our list who deserved a game well before many of our senior players in the NAB Cup and didnt get it.
That cant be excused with "making them hungry". The rules must apply to all or none IMO.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

In an ideal world it would have been great to load up completely with the kids. I have pushed for this. Dificultly lies in trying to calculate the risks of exposing them to early losses and then the circuit.

Results suggest that the mix has been pretty right over the past two games. Close wins and some youngsters have got a taste. personally I would have liked to see Lappin, Kouta and Saddington rested but then again we need these guys with some miles in the legs come round one.

I am also on the record as saying that I believe we have achieved enough out of NAB cup and should now load up further - Rest Kouta, Fev, Lappin, Whits.

I am ok with Blackers not having played to date- We know him.
want to see Bower, Harts and grigg.

If we winn win tonight I say go for the 500 gees.

Last year he went full strength until we lost - This year I was hoping we would lose round 1

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Took Saddo out of the line up - tick

Limited use of Whitnall (seemingly down on previous weeks), Lappin (seemingly up on previous weeks) & Kouta (seemingly the same as the last few) - tick

Rotated through the middle regularly enough - tick

Used the bench to rest players - tick

Made good on-field changes (reacted to smaller forward set up by Kangas, threw Waite forward, Hartlett back, etc) - tick

I would have liked to have seen guys like Lappin, Kouta, Whitnall, Scotland and Stevens rested in groups (eg. Lappin, Whitnall & Scotland one week, Kouta & Stevens another) for at least the opening two weeks in favour of trying a few guys like Harlett, Grigg, Anderson, et al and I probably would have liked Ackland out for Hamspon in Round 2, but all in all it's not that bad.

IMO the only guys who have really missed out in all of this are Flint, Blackwell and (if fit) Wiggins.

Everyone else is a known quantity, physically not up to it or a first year player.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

You should try watching the game.

Rotations were insufficient and the bench was again used to hide players.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

bench used to hide 'PLAYER CAPTAIN'

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

There's no right or wrong ...they are just opinions.

Blue Vain wrote



No you're not.



Here you're taking a pot shot. Jack has already explained himself.

Jack stated





How can you say that Denis hasn't done the right thing when we have no idea how they have benefited. I agree with Jack that Walker and Simmo have benefited for themselves and for the team in the long run from the way they have been handled thus far.

But that's my opinion.

We have selected to play in Feb-March 2007 preseason cup:

1 Gibbs 17
2 Bower 18
3 Murphy 19
4 Kennedy 19
5 Betts 19
6 Russell 19
7 Hartlett 20
8 Walker 20
9 Bentick 21
10Simpson 21

Imo 10 players under 21 is a good case of blooding young players, considering only 1 has played 50 games.

The argument is starting to sound like a 'no go zone' for mature players in your Carlton.

Lets look at the oldest players in our squad:

Kouta (9 possessions in Q4 in last weeks win). WIN
Lappin (steadies us with smarts at pressure moments) WIN
Whitnall (must regain match fitness at senior level good for the season propper) WIN
Stevens (has been a winning ingredient in all games) WIN
Scotland (has been solid and added much needed steadiness for our new backline) WIN

As a group they have contributed to our wins, and I wouldn't swap that for the world....maybe a 17th premiership in 2007-8.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Well apparently I got the rest right.

I just have lower expectations than you BV.

Any improvement is a good thing in my book.

Hopefully Paul Ford starts chiming in about it soon.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Where is your point of reference for a valid judgment of this BV?

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The problem will be made. for the solution to be sold, to your face before your eyes, tolerance is now the new danger

Robot?


Robot?

http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/ACTToC_forwards.htm

Robot?


Robot?


Robot?





OK, maybe Mark Roberts was a robot!

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|♥♥♥♥♥♥| http://www.blueseum.org |♥♥♥♥♥♥|

BV, I dont think its an obsession, but its an important learning tool for these guys.

JR is playing very defensively at the moment and while Walker was a little more creative than Russell when he started out tagging, he was nothing like he is today. Now he's a confident running/spoiling machine.

There's plenty of time to build on their strengths once we've taught them the other aspects of the game.

The last thing I wasnt to see is another midfield of Camporeale/Scotland/Stevens/Kouta unaccountable types.

Before anyone asks, Murphy is smart enough to not need to be trained this way and will spend his time resting up forward, Gibbs will spend enough time at Half Back.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Blue Vain wrote





To the contrary, its exactly what I was asking. The thread was about the clubs philosophy through the pre season.
Do we put a win in the NAB cup as a priority or do we use the pre season to put experience into our kids like some other sides have which may well result in losses.
I'm not saying which is definitely right or wrong. I giving an opinion and asking posters thoughts.





I'm taking a potshot at Jack am I?
Jack stated that Pagan can develop players well and I disagree.
Jack gave reasons and so did I.
If Jack deems that is taking potshots at him, I'm sure he can speak for himself.



No worries but I disagree.
I've given plenty of reasons over the past 4 years why I believe Pagan has stifled he creativity of our players.

But thats my opinion.

If Jack is offended by that i'm more than happy to debate the point with him but I doubt his skin is as thin as yours.




A win?
How does he regain match fitness sitting on the pine?
He'd be better getting 4 quarters for the ants if that was the priority.
Next.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.