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Team to meet the Saints.
- Thread starter momentai
- Start date
For the first time this year we're struggling to see who should come in and out of the team - it's a very very nice problem to have.
momentai said:
No point doing this if you are a liability to the team yourself. I think this will be Cousins last year. I don't think he can maintain injury-free fitness, he's had his fair share since coming to Richmond. He did look improved on the weekend but still does look slow. But we need to give him the chance to show whether he still has it. Let's not foget this time next year he'll be almost 33.
momentai said:
I cant think of much more silly than trying Newman in the forward line. He is a long pentrating and skillfull kick and is good at breaking the lines. Why waste those skills by playing him forward.
momentai said:
Disagree with me by all means but leave the personal stuff at the door moments.
linuscambridge said:
Good idea but don't think any team would take Cousins now.
arlobill said:
King will be used as a tagger. After giving Rodan a bath, i cant see him being dropped.
Tigers of Old said:
You think I havn't..... deleted.
You seem to think Ben is fair game and that you can sit at your typwriter and denigrate his achievement while you are above reproach.
Why not try and address what we have and what we don't have.
We have had virtually no on field leadership for at least a season and a half, (apart from that provided by Ben and previously Richo), until maybe the last few games,- with some welcome improvement recently shown by Chris Newman.
During this time we also have had the leakiest defence in the AFL, and one which has shown very little interest in blocking opponents, to allow a team mate a run at the ball,- which has been a glaring problem and probably the most significant of our teams failures.
We now have lots of young players who have (since the retirement of Richo), just one man on the list who they can look to for leadership when it comes down to KNOWING how to win a game, who incidentally has won 4 b and f's, a brownlow and a premiership.
We also have a bloke, who happens to be a drug addict, who has demonstrated fantastic discipline over the last two years and has by doing so, set an example to the footy world as well as to Aussie youth in general.
I don't know if his general health or fitness will allow him to go on next year but show the guy some respect. He is doing very well after returning from serious injury and if he can recover full fitness and continue as he is, his involvement can only be a positive for all concerned.
It maybe that he needs us. But, unusually, we as a club need him just as much.
mmm Yes King is just the man to get under Milnes skinarlobill said:
Heard a story about Kingy, One day under Walace the team was coping a flogging
and at a break Walace asked the boys if anyone had any ideas.
Kingy jumped up and goes lets start a fight, thats what we did
at Nth Heidelberg when we were losing, all the boys had a chuckle and walace just walked off :hihi
momentai said:
Open your eyes moments, I have shown Cousins respect and won't cop your suggestions that I have not.
Do a search. Several times I have commented on the boards over the past 12 months that he has does well personally to get back to where he is.
I just have a different opinion to yours as to his overall worth to the club and I won't sway from it.
My opinion is that whatever on field leadership Cousins provides, whilst no doubt of some benefit has been regularly overstated and is not enough to guarantee him another contract next season.
Where have these calls been for the first half of the year before Saturday's win? Now finally after a good game in the wet everything has changed?
Take the blinkers off for a second re Ben's unquantifiable peripherals and have a look at his actual football performance in 2010 which is what he should be judged on first and foremost.
Saturday was a step in the right direction but he has had a terrible year so far when compared with his previous lofty standards.
Sure injury may have played some part in that but for a guy previously renowned for his elite fitness, the signs of ageing over the past 2 years have been obvious. He's a veteran, no surprises there.
I seriously see a player in decline and Saturday's game whilst a good one from him will need to be the minimal output in order to guarantee him another season. His effort and smarts were there no doubt but I still saw a player struggling with penetration in his kicking & I still saw a player struggling in terms of pace. Ask yourself is Ben performing any better than Simon Goodwin from the Crows or Brett Kirk from the Swans right now?
I personally cannot see the point to playing a footballer well past his best in a young team that is still in he middle of a complete rebuild.
This is why the likes of Bowden was moved on last year. It's why Simmo has also gone by the wayside.
There comes a point when a vet playing lose on a HBF becomes a list clogger in terms of holding back development of a younger player who'll hopefully be there in the future when we rise again. Cousins right now is perilously close to this position.
At some stage our young leaders have to step out from under the wing and any leadership qualities that Ben has passed on to the club will have been noted by them over his time here already. Like all things that has a limited shelf life in terms of lasting benefit.
The 2nd half of the year will tell us plenty more about where Ben is at but based on his first half of this season he remains up against it to win his spot on the list in 2011.
Rightly or wrongly that's my take on it.
Tigers of Old said:
Well said ToO.
It has been a positive for the Richmond Football Club to have Ben Cousins IMO and I genuinely applaud his efforts in getting his life back on track.
However there is little doubt his pace and depth in kicking have deteriorated dramatically even in the time he has been at Richmond. He has been a great player but age catches up with even the best.
I understand why people want him around for his leadership and enthusiasm on the ground but it could also be argued that he is holding a position in the midfield that could be used to get games into a young bloke.
I reckon the ideal scenario would be for Ben to play for the remainder of the season and play some really good footy, then retire of his own accord. It would be lovely to see him finish up with his pride intact as well as a sense of dignity.
It would be fantastic if he remains at Richmond in a coaching or development role. He still has a lot to give to footy IMO opinion and his experiences can only be a benefit to a young developing football club.
josey said:
Yep I agree with most of it too.
I'm not 100% certain we'd be any worse off without Ben and I certainly wouldn't want him re-signed at this stage of the season. I don't think his personal situation should be a concern of ours when considering his future. Any decision should be made on his on-field performance.
In regard to his pace the commentators made mention of how fast he was in a certain passage of play against Port. He was actually left for dead by everyone the run and it was Matty White who had the after burners on, not Ben. I found it interesting they didn't correct that when it was replayed.
