caulfieldrover wrote:
In todays game, first year players really need to step up and deliver
Collingwood and Essendon* seem to get this right.
Yarran has been a major disappointment, we really should have taken Rich.
We need to get it right. We still have plenty of dead wood to remove, so we need 1st year players to be ready to play.
2nd year players can also struggle, so we need to make sure that we improve our depth.
On the one hand I agree with you, while on the other I couldn't disagree more.
Yarran might not have had the impact in 2009 that Rich or some of his other contemporaries have had. But you need to realise we have recruited Yarran for 10+ years of footy, not just one. Besides, after the draft the club always maintained that Yarran would take a couple of years before they expected him to fulfil his potential.
Rather than stepping up and delivering, I think first year players need to show they have promise and talent. Yarran has done that.
Yes, some guys will adapt to AFL much quicker than others. However, give a bloke like Yarran a few years to get those 50-60 games under his belt and he will repay that faith.
Developing footballers and teams is not as simple as flicking a switch. It takes time.
I do agree that I was expecting more from Yarran in 2009, but while he didn't meet my expectations he did show he has promise and talent. He'll come good. It might be a struggle for the impatient types to wait for him to mature, but all things being equal he will make it. Just you wait and see.
