I know that when the ball comes in as often, as hard and as accurately as yesterday, it is hard to blame the backline for the score (and as a former fullback, I know how dirty you get on the rest of the team when it does), but i don't think that we have anyone who can beat thier opponent in the way that we used to.

It is a sad impersonation of a backline.

I have always belived that you build teams from the backline, and it is clear that this is where our focus now needs to be.

Thornton and Saddington are not up to it (passable at best),

Livingston seems to have been banished, and Lance is a forward filling a gap.

Walker should be in the midfield,

and Silky... well he shouldn't be down back.

So its time to recruit some real backmen.

_________________
"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

I reckon T Bird like others has stopped playing for the coach...

Or the coach has run him into the ground..

Either way .....

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We need a key backman ... we've been saying that since SOS retired. They are hard to recruit as 17 year olds and we seem unwilling to trade for one so we have to make do. It's been our weakness for quite a while and horribly exposed when we turn the ball over in midfield (often).

I thought Thornton did ok on Gehrig when moved from Riewoldt. With the supply coming in, Riewoldt was always going to be very hard to stop. Thornton's game against Essendon* last week was very good ... he's far from our worst player yet seems to be getting more and more stick on this site every week.

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In WADA we trust

Tough job when your midfield is being smashed....Reiwoldt was too big and athletic for any of our players...watched him elevate off the ground and our blokes were not even in distance to punch the footy away.....
Same old problem...undersized.....and under sieige....if Hartlett cant get fit and stay fit then its back to the draft for another go at a tall defender...

Livingtson and Saddington have been non events down back for different reason leaving Thornton one out apart from Whitnall, who isnt a true CHB...

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

EB,

Signs arent looking too flash for Hartlett

If Jason Sadington gets a game this week then Denis wants to finish dead last

Agreed.

I thought that Thornton was one of our best yesterday, but that didn't take too much because the rest were deplorable. Thornton is really an average player. Come on get your blinkers off. He is ordinary. And what makes him worse is his little dummy spits and finger pointing if he can't beat his opposition player. It is time that he stood up and started beating his opponent rather than blaming everybody else.

He's back to some better form this year for mine.

I think the biggest problem for us was that (and I've said this elsewhere) that's only the second time I can remember where the forward-line has been centred on Riewoldt, and the Saints should do it a hell of a lot more.

We just had no real matchup for Riewoldt, would have been worth trying Waite if he hadn't gone down. Pagan spared Kennedy.

Why not?

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Not that there's anything wrong with that! At seasons end. there's likely to be a navy blue jumper with No 4 on it, just waiting for Mr Gibbs to queeze into.

i agree thornton has been better thus far. he needs to have confidence in himself, a few yrs ago he looked a real good player, remember? possibly he has lost confidence in pagan...i probably would too. i remember him giving richo, lloyd, riewoldt a real run for their money a few yrs ago (no kidding, i think it was 2003). hopefully he can return to this great form. i think he can, he just needs some help.

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"In fairness it did seem in the early days of the draft teams would just pick a name totally at random out of a hat. I'm pretty sure we picked James Cook at #2 one year. The mediocre forward, not the explorer" - Me, 12/9/2011

Carlton 2012: Lets remind them why they once feared the Dark.

Thornton has been beaten by Richardson and Reiwoldt, how disgraceful he should give it away.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Thornton is one guy that has proved on plenty of occasions he can cut it with the best.Trouble is our midfield,but that aint news.Pill is coming into our backline thick and fast and its killin' those blokes down there.It seems its already killed off Livo.Think they need to give Livo another go,if only to lighten the burden on TBird and Lance.
But i gotta agree with those who are peeved about his dummy spits.Its one thing paying out on a teamate when he stuffs up,but its an entirely differant situation if you pay out on a guy when its you who stuff up.What is it with Thornton ? he effs up and he gives a spray to whoever is closest.Sickening !

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All my dangerous friends

MF, I couldn't agree more (although I would not have called him amongst our best yesterday). A support act, not the main player - neither a fullback nor a CHB. Not his fault of course, he plays with what he has, and as the third defender he would be great, but we simply cannot do that ATM.

It's another of our deficiencies that I am beginning to get a little sick of.

_________________
"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

It doesn't send a great message to your teammates, but I don't think there's anything wrong with a guy being angry when his opponant marks the ball. At least T-Bird is showing some passion and that he cares. He just needs to direct that anger in a different direction.

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Look to be honest, if that were the case, I'd have no cause for fault. Unfortunately, having watched him closely for the last few weeks, it isn't. He is playing for himself, and not for the team.

Maybe Synbad's right.

_________________
"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

I reckon thats unfair. Over the past few weeks, Thornton has actually left his man on numerous occasions to help out another defender (something that was really lacking at the start of the season when he looked like he was playing for himself and his spot in the side).

The fact is: Thornton is our best defender and the guy has plenty of potential and ability. If our midfield pressured the ball more instead of letting free-flowing, quick delivery then things would be different.

We do need another tall defender in the team, if only to release Whitnall forward. Is Livo the guy? Should Prenda be given a go at CHB?

No reason to point the finger at Thornton, we need to stop thinking of the negatives and focus on whatever positives we can. Abusing and focussing on the negatives of players is not going to help anyone.

And the fact that Thorton is our best defender is some reason for concern. No disrespect to him.. Though this season Lance has taken that mantle and again that is even a bigger worry. Our best two defenders are a HBFlanker who plays as KP and a CHF/ Floating forward who is playing CHB. We know where our problems are don't we.

Then again maybe Walker is our best defender....

Questions about Livo and Prenda well where does that discussion end?

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