Was he on your TV screen 95% of the time? Did the TV show him coming off the ground a few times or is that something only those who were there (as I was) could pick up?

Did you see the shorter quarters and longer breaks as well??

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

Go annoy someone else Jim.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

I'm just shocked that you can stand there and point the finger when you really don't know, do you?

I'm not here to annoy you, but I can see how what you're doing might annoy the hell out of some people.

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

Jim, you annoy everyone.

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This might sound extreme in the context of alleged sexual assault, drunken violence and a drug trafficking charge...

You're life, Jim, but not as we know it.....

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

Even if you were remotely accurate, do you think that by constantly flogging the same point at me I'd actually start listening to you?

I dare say after reading that you'll be thinking that I employ the same tactic, and that would confirm for me just how far wrong you are when it comes to understanding anything about me.

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

*AHEM*

please everyone, stick to the topic at hand and not go off on a tangent with your personal likes and dislikes.

I think AW can now play on Russell Robertson (who has routinely killed us) and give him a bath. As with most players he is a work in progress but I think his defensive development will see him being an elite player in all aspects over the next few years, when we do become contenders. Re Russell, in his few NAB games this year he has looked like a player with a purpose who belongs out there. By his own admission (in recent interview) his confidence levels wane quickly. Being able to run with top players and reduce their effectiveness will be doing a lot for his confidence - he hasn't dropped his head in marking contests recently.

Defence, discipline and accountability wins flags. Doing the 1%s wins flags. Geelong played exciting attractive creative footy in the late 80s and early to mid 90s. They thrashed lesser sides. But when the pressure was really applied, they were forward of the ball, lacked defensive discipline and were flogged and missed a golden chance to snag a flag.

I am no great fan of DP but I don't see accountability, defence, pressure as being a weakness in his approach. Sure we need more creativity, but we need the basics first. It's not about 07 it is about 08/09. Young players need to be developed at the rate that suits the individuals to be great then not battlers off the bench now. I would like Blackwell and Edwards and Bower to have a game, but waiting won't kill them, it may benefit them. I don't think the tactics have been too bad in the NAB

Yep, I agree with most of that Gerry.
I also agree that players need a defensive side but a balance needs to be obtained. Lets hope that JR will learn to find the ball in time because he has the ability to be a quality attacking player.

With the gameplan, I also agree it has been quite good. Our tactics have also been quite good with our only real blemish being the handling of Shannon Grant before half time.
When Thompson went off and Grant came on, we allowed Carlos and T/Bird to be his opponents and he singlehandedly got them back in to the contest.
Perhaps that is something the players should take charge of as well.

I cant stand Grant but he is a gun footballer on his day.

_________________
Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Yeah he is a little cheat and I can't forgive him for winning the Norm Smith against us, and taking us apart with 20 mins of footy in various games, but he has super ability. I am hoping over the next few years Joe Anderson can become our quick, close checking defender to shut down guys like Grant and Davey

You didn't notice down the bottom of your TV screen the words "Off Stevens" at least 4 times or see him shown sitting on the bench just before half time?

You're like a dog with a bone with this one, are'nt you BlueWorld?

My point is that Stevens plays the overwhelming majority of games in the midfield to his detriment.
He has broken down the past couple of years with wear and tear injuries because we drive him into the ground.
I thought it would be a good idea to give one of the kids a run in the middle during the nab cup to give Stevens a rest and to give a kid some experience but hey, its just my opinion.
That is what the bench is for. To rest your players instead of sitting players there that you dont want to play.

For the record, the game went for 105.25 minutes on Saturday.
Nick Stevens came off for 2.5 minutes in the first quarter.
He was dragged to put the dunces hat on for giving away a 50 for 90 seconds in the second.
He was then rested for 3 minutes at the end of the quarter.
He came off for 2.5 minutes in the 3rd quarter and played a fair portion of the forwardline up forward.
In the last quarter, he came off in the last 2 minutes.

By my calculations, he played about 94 minutes of a 105.5 minute game.
Of the 4 quarters, he played 3 in the centre square or on the wing!

If you think they're acceptable rotations, we're talking a different game.

Can we agree to disagree now?

_________________
Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

You said he played 95% of the game. He appeared to spend a lot more time off the ground than last year from my observations but I don't actually know the exact amounts. I did not count how many times he came off during the game or how long he spent on the bench. I noted 4 times when I watched the replay but according to you it was 5!!! I did not bother noting how long he spent off each time. Nor did I note how long he spent out of the midfield (he lined up at times on the wing but I did not note how many times). By your calculations he spent 89% of the game on the ground. And you say I'm like a dog with a bone!

I did not make any comment on whether I thought the rotations were acceptable. They appear to me to have improved. I'm sure you know that rightly or wrongly Pagan is treating these games as full dress rehearsals for the season proper so what we are seeing now is likely to continue all season.

Good night BlueWorld.

_________________
Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

tut tut Blue Vain, inflating and abusing the noble art of statistics like that.

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Thank you.

I agree, but if he were playing 94 minutes per game in the season proper, I'd be more than satisfied.

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