blue gunslinger
Hall of Famer
Re: 2012 Carlton Injury List Update
hope Kreuzer does OK in a few weeks v Sandilands-otherwise on your bike big fellaComing back after a 5 day break due to scheduling, I might remind you. In reality the player would have only been used fleetingly as the sub anyway due to said conditioning and interstate travel.
In such a circumstance, it's not fair on a player to return to the team as the 22nd man. These 'gut busting' players such as Joseph, Collins and Mclean deserve our respect by giving them a full game in the 21.
No, I'm not saying that. A choice between an out of form JR given 19% game time, Bootsma in his first game or as above tokenism to promote Mclean as the sub - I'd back the kid every time. 25-40 minutes game time can mean a heap in terms of development for an eager young kid.
What I'm saying in the future is that we should pick our best 21 and then, astutely, use the sub as a vehicle for introducing our first and second year players.
Your biggest complaint about our youngsters is that by playing a teenager who isn't ready is denying a senior player knocking on the door such as Mclean or Collins. Such a player doesn't deserve to sit on the bench for 3 quarters for an opportunity. We saw last year how the strategy failed last year during Collins' only 2 matches for the year - sub one week, lacking match fitness the next then dumped.
Players knocking on the door deserve the respect of a full game and should replace the worst performed 20th or 21st player each week in a rotational scenario.