After today it is clear we are not quite good enough to win the flag this year and will struggle to make the eight. We might do the latter but its 50:50. I don`t think those comments are unnecessarily pessimistic or a surprise to anyone.
Therefore we must continue to expose our youth and that starts now with Meek and Jones.
Anyone who knows me will tell you, I love the big fella Sandi. He never gets beaten in the actual ruck and is the fairest player around. Sandi great as he is though and Ive been waiting and waiting, will not improve from here. What you see is what you get. It is obvious he will never be a serious threat up forward on a consistent basis and will never take more than the occasional mark around the ground. He has for a decade, in every match he plays, panicked when he gets the ball and either doesnt get back off the mark so he kicks/handballs into the mark OR he kicks too quickly before looking/getting balanced and turns it over. The other thing he does is handballs to a teammate who is just about to be collared. He basically does this at least once a match. I honestly think its too long a conduit from his brain to his foot.
I completely blame his coaches for not simplifying this process for the big fella and giving him one or two simple instructions about what to do when he gets a free or a mark. I mean just for example how much better would Sandi have been if someone had told him 10 years ago every time he got a mark/free he was to quickly go back 20 m from his mark, in a direct line so the umps couldnt blow play on, take one breath, stop, then run 10 ms, then kick straight in a line with the goals, for 50 m? Mark, repeat. Leave the fancy stuff for the guys under 210cms.
Anyway I digress. There is no possible reason to not be playing our other rucks and blooding every single player we can this year. The one ruck theory is nuts, unless we are in premiership mode and even then its 50:50. If we have to go with one ruck, it should be a youngster. The crazy scenario we have now is that if Sandi goes down, we have to bring in either Meek or Jones WHO HAVE NEVER PLAYED A GAME. Why are nt they being eased into it now, under the tutelage/ assistance of 211?
