Sintiger said:
Castagna did with some very good vfl form last year and some good performances early this year. Rioli benefited from being earmarked for a role we had few options with but played well late in the pre season but I was surprised he was picked so early. Drummond did with some good vfl performances. CEllis and mendaue played well enough in the vfl and benifitted from injuries. But all of them are small/mediums and there are more spots in the team and more scope to be picked.
Mcbean is a big guy and needs to show more than the one or two players he could push out of the team and he hasn't.
I am record as saying I rate this guy but I will continually defend not picking him unless he stands up. He doesn't have to do a lot right now but he stinking it up from all reports.
I just think that if posters want to attack the incumbents fro stinking it up in the afl they should be more balances and not defend a guy who can't get a kick in the vfl when the opportunity is staring him in the face.
It's very disappointing to me and I am sure to many.
Castagna did some great stuff, and was also reported as not being able to hit the side of a barn with his kicking at times.
Rioli... Should probably be playing VFL, but suppose we are that desperate to throw him into the big league without any grounding in the requirements, game plan and to see if he kicks AFL quality goals.
Drummond only had so/so form in the VFL but I reckon you could see the positive traits he would bring to the 1st, as it is with CEllis and Menadue.
As I mentioned in my previous post Sin, I am glad all of them are, or had a shot at, playing in the 1s, no two ways there, it is just that McBean has put his hand up so many times only to see the Hunts, Morrises, Griffiths, Chaplins et al continue to stay in the 1sts or to go back to VFL for a week, only to be bumped back up on the back of 'meh' performances there.
As I have made pretty clear on other threads I think Hardwick seems like a top bloke but a middling coach and I think a couple of his largest failings (along with the assistants
he chose to come to Tigerland) are as a motivator and developer of talent, especially forwards!. As someone who has been an assistant coach, at state level, I have seen what kids go through when the 'carrot and the stick' (as a metaphor for correct development) are not used at all well; which should be 90% carrot and only 10ish% stick. I have seen wonderful, lovely kids break down in tears due to the coach; I have seen awesomely talented, positive kids give the sport away due to the attitude of a coach/ selector towards them. My point with all of this is that IMO it is totally unrealistic to stick with the 'player X needs to keep banging the door down and grab the opportunity etc etc'. It just isn't human nature! All players are different and what is needed to help them achieve the maximum is different. From the outside, and a few VFL huddles and sitting behind the bench, it really seems that Liam has been 'managed' REALLY poorly by the club.
As Lamb has pointed out, McBean
has done enough, whether looked at in a small block or over a longer time-line, to get a call up to the 1s; and a 1/4 of a game doesn't cut it, especially when apparently told to act as a decoy in one of those quarters.
Before I shut up I wanted to say that I believe it is borderline irrelevant to use his performances in the VFL this year to pass judgement on him with. As many observers have said, the team is rubbish, with the midfield being the worst performing area of the team. As an extreme example, last week he kicked 'just' the two goals. Would you think this was such a poor effort if the ball was only kicked well to him three times, with the others flying above his head or hitting him in the toes? Just as Griffiths cops a fair whacking for not doing more, by punters sitting on their lounges and thus not being able to see the work down out of camera view, it really seems that McBean get marked down for not being able to perform in an environment which must make it bloody hard to be a consistent, every goal kicking, continual defender chasing forward.
