17th Premiership wrote:
I don’t see Jones in our best team.
I think he was a revelation in his second coming individually. But our defensive structures have not performed as well since soon after he joined our backline.
And FWIW, Weitering was drafted as a future gun FB. We should play him there.
Also, I’d hope that before long, Setterfield, Williamson, Newman and Cunningham push their way in but at the moment Setterfield probably still has a way to go to fully recover from his knee and then get to his best; ditto with Williamson so we simply cannot be sure that they will just begin the year at their best.
Cunningham has shown glimpses but I am yet to be convinced.
And on the flip side, by the end of the year, I’d expect Simpson, Thomas to have been overtaken.
And LOB, SPS, JSOS & Fasolo will have to have lifted their output/consistency to maintain/consolidate their positions.
B: Simpson Weitering LOB
HB: Plowman Marchbank Docherty
C: Fisher Kennedy Walsh
HF: Murphy McGovern C.Curnow
F: SPS McKay Fasolo
R: Kruezer Cripps Dow
IC: E.Curnow Thomas Stocker J.Silvagni
Next in line: Setterfield, Newman, Lang, Williamson, Macreadie, Cunningham
Jones is an interesting one.
last year he and the rest of the players who played down back and there were about fifteen of them never had a chance to consolidate a defensive structure because I don't think we had one full game with the ideal back six together for the entire year. They were playing pinball down there. During all that, Jones managed to get a few bags kicked on him as well as stop some of the big boys from kicking too many and in the process was one of the highest defensive half contested marks in the comp. I am not sure we can leave him out based on last year. They all had pretty ordinary years, including Marchbanks and Weitering who should both improve if we can avoid a big turnover of players in the back six.
The other issue that Jones and the others had was that we were getting belted through the middle of the ground most weeks as teams ran us ragged, attacking in lines from half back. When the mids are giving their forwards silver service or are spreading the defence by running through the F50 straight at the goals while their forwards make space for them, the backs have to decide whether or not to leave their man and just attack the ball player. That inevitably leads to an easy over the top goal or a mistake. I can't remember a time when we were so easily scored against from close in. One game I think we had seven or eight goals kicked against us from inside the ten yard square.
I think Jones is still our best option and will judge him after he has had a chance to play in a stable back six. If he can't cut it then, fine but I think it's too early to cut him for Weitering just yet.