I was wondering how long it would take for someone to come up with the "tough decisions need to be made" post....

Every year is a tough decision year and if I'm not mistaken we've turned over our list more than any other team over the past 5-6 years. We don't need to start culling the list of 10 players... particularly based on one or two poor efforts. Did anyone really expect us to be playing finals this year? Or to be a perfectly consistent team. I for one didn't. We just wanted to see improvement in players and in the game plan. We've seen both.

A couple of players will surely be looked at - or will go:
Edwards, Benjamin, Blackwell

and there are a few more mature bodies that are just there for depth... Wiggins, Bannister, Cloke, etc

It just amuses me that after every loss, someone has to come out and bag our better players whether it is Waite or Fisher or Stevens or Scotland.

Fish had an injury interupted start to the year and is playing a CHF role which he is not suited to. Once we can get another CHB to replace Waite and shift him back to the forward line, or Kreuz develops into a CHF in a few years, Fish can move back to the 3rd tall role where he can have the same sort of impact he's had in the past.

As for Russell... after every loss someone comes out and starts having a go at him. Russell was average last night (as were many others), but he has been steadily improving and he has a role. I wouldnt be writing him off by no means.

Carrots worries me more. Just a terrible user of the ball by foot. I'm not sure if modern footy can afford a player like that.

I hate losing last night, but I'm not worried. Just like I wasn't worried after we had lost the first 3 games of the year. I see progress. I see spirit. We fight to the end even if we don't get the points, something we havent been able to do for 7 years. It's early days in our revival and patience is needed. My view is at the end of the year, we cut 5-6 players and don't make wholesale changes unless we can recruit some additional experienced guns - which is always highly unlikely.

One last thing. Hampson should be in the team. Our structure is so much better with the third tall.

I am going to get straight to the point and not hold back so I apologise to anyone who may get offside with my views....

Carrazzo is a ball magnet however has poor disposal and is weak....He again showed his lack of any accountability and does not like the body contact.....He should be in the Ants full stop......

Russell has had ample opportunities now and simply is not good enough regardless of where he was picked in the Draft.....Bye Bye......

Wiggins gives his all but is not good enough.....Bye Bye....

Scotland and Stevens lack accountability and are front runners,,,,they both don't and won't take a hit for the team however their class gets them through and we can't do without them at this stage of our development....

Bentick is hard at it but lacks leg speed and isn't good enough at AFL level....Hadley has his measure ...

Cloke tries hard but enough said about him.....Bring on Hampson now and play him regardless of his form....

Fisher does not have enough impact on a game and lacks penitration in his kicking...trade baite.....

E#dwards is simply not good enough......Bye Bye....

Setanta O'Halpin ...Love his passion but can't read the play and we are kidding ourselves if we think he will be arounf next year....His brother Asiake will also be gone.......

Jackson hasn't had a look in and will also be gone......

Benjiman....Gone....

The above sounds very negative but the facts are we have to make the hard decisions and we wouldn't miss anyone above due to the likes of Bower, Gibbs, Kruezer, Murphy, Browne, Armfield, Walker, Jameirson, Hadley and Phiffer who will all continue to improve with Judd around....

You're right, it's negative, typical of supporters when we lose..."they're all no good".......such and such isn't up to it" ...."drop such and such"...."trade such and such". Well, it's a young side that's been down for years but were playing for a spot in the 8. Can't be that bad. Someone must be doing something right this year. Supporters really struggle. The word "perspective" doesn't exist in their dictionary.

You're right, it's negative, typical of supporters when we lose..."they're all no good".......such and such isn't up to it" ...."drop such and such"...."trade such and such". Well, it's a young side that's been down for years but were playing for a spot in the 8. Can't be that bad. Someone must be doing something right this year. Supporters really struggle. The word "perspective" doesn't exist in their dictionary.

99Prelim, I love your signature. Made me chortle.

I hate losing to that poor excuse of a football club. When things aren't going well, you can understand people feeling the way we do. Jordan Russell, in the last quarter did well to keep the ball to some sort of advantage when the kick let him down. He could have relinquished it a lot quicker, I thought. Having said that, he desperately needs to work on his disposal or his attitude towards his disposal. His kicking for goal is terrible. Maybe a break in the two's might be good for him.

The team is young and inexperienced and still needs time. I wanted to win more than anyone. I hate St. Kilda! They are a bunch of celebrities. Some of those guys put hair gel in their hair for training. You've got to be kidding me! They behave like they've won the last 10 premierships when we all know what they're about. They've got to be kidding themselves if they think they're any good.

We need work. No doubt. I'm sure the coach and all concerned know that, and we will get better.

Anyway, I've vented.

Italian blue is spot on

And 69's post is spot on

Negative

Whats wrong with that when you have a guy 195cm in the ruck who has been delisted from one club already when we coud be developing 2 ruckman giving them 50% time working in tandem

Grant Thomas for all his faults said something on SEN that was right on the money

Its not your top 5 that win you a flag its your bottom 5.

If they are up to AFL standard then you will do well

Hunt from Geelong for instance

We are going nowhere if
Russell
Cloke
Wiggins
Bentick
continue to get a game

I reckon Blackwell has far more upside to Bentick.

Ratten should do the swap and see how Blackwell goes.
etc
etc
etc

What shits me is these posters who have a crack at Melvey and others and say

When we lose the knives come out

Well
let me tell you two things to all those good-doers

If you play close to 50 or 100 games like Russell and Wiggins you are bound to do something good occasionally

BUT

that doesnt mean you are up to it

And these guys arnt

Simple

Fact

Garbage..............................have you ever stood side by side with either AB or Blackwell? Have you ever seen either work out in the gym? If you think they are alike, then you are mistaken. Blackwell is no where near as strong as AB nor as big. So to expect them to be playing the same role is just plain stupid.

russell wasnt brilliant last night - but he also wasnt as bad as whats made out on here

Essendon* cheated, simple as that

Bentick is competing with Blackwell for a spot

Always has

Blackwell was injured during the early part of the season

So Bentick got in first


So you go on what goes on in the gym as to comparing players

Bentick is super strong super tough and a great tackler but simply is
too slow
and too shit a kick to play AFL

Blackwell has far more strings to the bow although i reckon he will probably get the chop at seasons end

Why do people have to be disparaging of someone else's opinion?

It happens on both sides of the argument and it does nothing for your own argument.

So far JR has played 43 games of which 14 have been played in 2008. I think his development was stymied prior to this year because of the lack of development resources and commitment at CFC under the Pagan regime. That has been rectified this year and as a result I think we have seen continuing improvement in JR and indeed a number of others including Eddie. I do not agree that he is a liability. He took a number of leading marks last night and he hit the ball hard. He was unlucky not to get a goal that was touched off the boot.

We can not win a premiership with Carrazzo, Bentick, Wiggins and Russel in the side


We can not win a premiership with Cloke as no 1 Ruck.


We can not win a premiership with Waite as our CHB


Ratten or the match committee lost us the game last night

How you could select aside to match R'woldt, Kosi and King at least one of O'hailpin or Hampson is beyond me

Ratten good bloke and has unified the playing group but we have to get Roos or Mathews if we are to ever play a major role in September