I fully understand the need to play the young kids to see how they go in the big time but it's a fine line between giving them experience and throwing them to the wolves.
It's also a delicate balance when you run the risk of supporters not turning up to games and membership numbers dropping off.
Nobody wants to see your team belted every week with no glimmer of hope of a win coming up. It's that bad that we are worried about not beating Essendon at home.
The spin from Roly before the game of not playing players who won't se us into the future is just that-spin. Because if it were the case guys like Suban, Mayne, Clarke, Dawson and sadly, Pav wouldn't be getting a game.
In saying all that I for the life of me cannot understand some of the selections and roles handed tp players this year.
Clarke-if we're playing him to attract a trade well it's certainly not working as he contributes nothing. He appears injured and when you continually play like this badly nobody is going to show any interest. He doesn't deserve a game and how little must they think of Hannath if he can't get a game in front of him.
Ibbotson/Collins-last year Ibbo played as the back line spare/floater and was one of the leaders in the league in intercept marks. This year we decide to play him as a third tall where he is constantly outsized and out muscled. Why do we go into every game undersized in the backline with only two big backmen when most teams have three big forwards. Collins to all here would be an obvious third tall and even though he gets great wraps each week at Peel he doesn't get a game.
Barlow-every time he is played in the middle he gathers possessions, does all the in and under stuff we need and yet we continually play him as a half forward.
Hill-is always at his best gathering the ball through the centre and driving it into attack but we have tried to play him as a half back.
Sheridan/Sutcliffe-drafted as midfielders but we have tried I would say unsuccessfully to make them into halfbacks. How about we draft players for certain positions that they know instead of trying to make them into something they're not.
As Polly said somewhere else Sat nights game was one of the worst team selections I've seen. Knowing the weather was going to be bad and then not playing Barlow or De Boer and playing Clarke instead was ridiculous.
