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People will have different views of course, but in my view these are the ten biggest questions player wise for CFC in 2012.
In no order ...
1. Bower - a lot of faithful have probably written him off due to his fragile body and lack of true KPP size. However, right now he is fit, and as far as I could see he didn't do a lot wrong in the last hit out against Nth, so he has put himself in a position to have a red hot go at getting his career back on track. It was only a few years back he was firing in the early rounds of the AFL season. I remember at the time his SC points were through the roof. So, if you take a glass half full view, you could say he has shown in the past he has the talent, maybe not to be a FB or CHB, but certainly a 3rd tall defender who has re-bound talent. And he's now fit. So the question is - can Bower surprise us with a good 2012 and become a quality AFL defender? I haven't ruled him out yet, but I must admit I am not completely sold on him.
2. Gibbs - already a very good player, esp as a flanker either down back or up fwd. But the big question is can he step up to become a top line AFL midfielder? Not a tagger, but an offensive weapon in midfield. In my view, Bryce lacks natural hardness, and I think this is what has held him back as a topline mid. So the big question in 2012 is will he develop a harder edge to his game and flourish in the guts? My gut feel is he can do it, as last weekend I saw some signs of 'hardness' I don't think I have ever seen from him. (DISCLAIMER : I am not saying Gibbs is a pussy, I mean you can't play AFL if you are a pussy, but at the same time I think in the past he has lacked the sort of 'extra' hardness that most topline mids have).
3. Yarran - like Gibbs already a classy and important player for CFC. The big question I think is how much more improvement is there in him and can he develop the sort of tank needed to make him play in midfield more, because I don’t think it is a secret when he carries the ball fwd of centre he is about as dangerous a player as they come. Don’t get me wrong, he could stay at HBF and become the best running HBFker in the game, the new Mcloed, but arguably he could be even more valuable for us if he can migrate to a midfield role. So the big question is will Chris, who personally I think is the most naturally talented player on our list, take his talents further up the field in 2012?
4. Waite - firstly, will he stay on the park, and secondly, will he stop the unnecessary roughness that has frequently got him into trouble with the umps in recent years? Given we don’t have a Buddy or Cloke, Jarred becomes one of the most important players on our list, so will he get on the park and stay on the park in 2012? Right now he is fit so fingers crossed it stays that way. But on the latter query, unfortunately last weekend I saw at least 2 occasions where he almost crossed the line in terms of roughness at the man off the ball. He simply has to cool it !
5. Jamison - will he get on the park? Simple as that. He is vital to our structure.
6. Russell - I think he finished 2nd in the B&F two years ago. But then it all fell apart. He has shown he can be a fine player, and so I think it makes sense he finds himself in the top ten big player questions of 2012. Can he re-find his mojo?
7. Warnock - it’s interesting to see some pundits say that 206 is not in our best 22. I don’t understand that. He is clearly our best tap ruckman when on song, and clearances are as important as having a power fwd when it comes to the pointy end of the season. So to my mind 206 looms as a crucial player for CFC. Will he progress even further and instead of dominating just the odd game in ruck, start to dominate the hit outs on a regular basis?
8. Buckley - this might surprise a lot of people, because Bucks Jnr almost certainly won’t have a huge impact on our fate in 2012. But I saw something in the pre-season that told me maybe just maybe we have got one out of the box here. Silky smooth mover, and that kick for goal had class written all over it. The big question then is - am I right and have we scored big time with this Father Son pick? He might not dominate the AFL in 2012, but he could very well show signs that he will be a star down the track, and that is the big question in my view.
9. Touhy - I am actually more bullish about the Irishman than I am Lucas, who I think lacks polish with his skills and doesn’t kick enough goals. Zac in contrast is hard as nails, runs in straight lines, is a lovely kick, and can kick goals. I think we might have a really good player here, and 2012 will probably reveal more evidence as to whether this hunch is right. If he gets a gig on Thurs night, it could be a pointer the club think he is the real deal.
10. Mitchell - this one might surprise also, but I have him in the top ten because he is the one big man chosen two years back we have hardly seen at all, and is the one who is most likely to be a genuine power fwd down the track. So the big questions are will he get over his injuries and is he any good? I don’t know if he is any good as I haven’t seen him play yet. Big question marks over this kid.
Others with big questions marks on them in 2012 are …
Lucas - will he be good or very good?
Mclean - think we all know the question here
Curnow - can he re-discover his early 2011 form and how much of a worry is his usage?
Collins - will he be any good?
Garlett - like Yazz can he develop his tank and be used more up the ground?
Hampson - Jesus, will he finally step up in 2012 or will it never happen?
Henderson - just how good is Lachie? Which is the real Lachie? The one who got beat bad ;last week, or the one who made Nick Riewoldt look like a VFL player?
I don’t have Kruezer in this list as I think he is a star and is destined to have a great year.
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