Brett Jones - Round 1 - Yes or No?

[NYJetsfor2029]

People saying he was never very good have very short memories. he was one of our best players in 06/07 without doubt.

He's not that old either, only 28, was late into AFL, and is a defender so could realisticly play well into his 30's.

He was broken mentally by Goddard last year and took him a long time to get confidence back, but i think he'll be the better for it and won't happen again. His kicking is actually pretty good, is the fastest player in our backline (no smith yet) and if there is one place on the ground where experience counts the most it's the backline.

BJ for round 1 all the way!

 

[joeyavalanche]

at his best he was a very hardworking tidy defender.
i dont think he adds much offensively, he just purely a defender.

i think that if he can get back to form, i am ok with him in the 22.
but unless he pulls a miracle, i think we should be playing the other kids on their potential alone.

even if he does have a good year, when its time to have a crack at a flag. he wont be around. geez we prematurely retired wirrpanda because of young kids needing spots on the list.

dont think bones is in that caliber.

 

[Eastern Rangers]

I think JoJo is going to be a better player. His defensive game is as strong, better below his knee's and he's offensive ability is better.

Bones has experience and some confidence. Can play round 1 but i dont see him as a long term feature.

 

[Altum Volantes]

When was the last time he played a decent game?

 

[Keys]

When was the last time he played a decent game?

Last week in the intra-club match.

Catch up.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

we'll see how he goes in the preseason games.

we tend to go with experience in round 1, i wouldnt be against it.

brett jones, in form, is a great player.

greatwhiteshark, did you watch footy in 2007?

Yes Anti i did. And to the naked eye, the people that go to watch footy these days and believe stats tell the story he is a gun.

The stats don't tell the average joe the goals he gives direct to the opposition because he tried to take on the opposition and was not good enough to complete the task.

the amount of times BJ has worked hard to win the ball and then proceeds to try and take on the man on the mark only to handball to a bloke under pressure or directly to his opponent is mind boggling.
Result = goal to opposition.

Yet the Joe public don't see it because they are to busy applauding him for getting the ball and then sit there wondering how the opposition got it.

Like we have all found out in recent times our side in 05/06 was based around a couple of freak players.

Even the club admitted they got it wrong by saying they can cover well enough to be a force without those players.

The club and most people understand that the rest of the squad simply are not that good and BJ is one of those.

Seems like a great guy, as i said i would go to war with him. But his skills and thinking are just to big an issue to be moving forward with him.

If he plays then it is because we simply have no one else.

 

[kane249]

After a disappointing 09 he should be made to earn his spot in the WAFL instead of gifted a spot based on nostalgia, ditto for Nicoski as well

 

[WCE57]

Last season, he was recovering from a pretty bad knee injury from all reports. His season was ordinary, but then again, he had some mates for company e.g. Kerr, Nicoski. But the idea that Jones is soft, is just rubbish. Please go and watch the 2007 Q Final against Port, where Jones got his nose smashed and he came off the field, he cop it from the Port Fans. And He gave it back to them. I had a soft spot for him ever since . His 2008 season was fairly good until he got injured.

On the talk regarding when the last time he play a decent game? He is not alone in that regarded. When is the last time Waters, Nicoski, Hansen played a decent game and 2 great games a season is not good enough to talk up Kerr's star quality?

One of the great surprises of 2009 was Butler coming back and putting together string of decent games when it look like he was done and Embley coming back into pretty good form by the end of the the end of the year.

Jones, Nicoski, Waters and others have a lot to prove in 2010. We need him and those blokes to stand up. Its not good for the development of the team, if its another year where the younger guys get a game just for being 'young'. It would be good thing if we move on from that. I really hope the likes of Jones, Hansen put a fight for spots in 2010.

 

[sTeeL]

I must have watched the last 5 games of the season about 5 times each now. Butler always looks at ease and composed. May not be the best defensively but as an outlet, he has the safest kick in the team bar Hurn.....

 

[Rids]

I voted no as don't currently have him in my best 22 but would be more than happy to have him in the side if his NAB Cup form is strong.

Prior to getting injured in 2008 (a season where we seriously struggled) he was easily in our best 5 players for that season.

 

[Rids]

One of the great surprises of 2009 was Butler coming back and putting together string of decent games when it look like he was done and Embley coming back into pretty good form by the end of the the end of the year.

Jones, Nicoski, Waters and others have a lot to prove in 2010. We need him and those blokes to stand up. Its not good for the development of the team, if its another year where the younger guys get a game just for being 'young'. It would be good thing if we move on from that. I really hope the likes of Jones, Hansen put a fight for spots in 2010.

Brilliant comment - we will be a far stronger side if 'under pressure' guys like Hansen and Jones are at the very least putting up a strong case for inclusion rather than just losing form and being forgotten about forever.

 

[15_year_member]

we'll see how he goes in the preseason games.

we tend to go with experience in round 1, i wouldnt be against it.

brett jones, in form, is a great player.

greatwhiteshark, did you watch footy in 2007?

Not trying to have a personal go at you Anti but in my view that opinion is reflective of a failure of logic that is common on these boards. It is not 2007 or 2006 anymore, it is 2010. We can't play ageing and declining blokes in our team in 2010 in front of young kids on the basis that they played some good footy 3 or 4 years ago. We are trying to develop a team to challenge in a few years time which is realistically when our next shot is going to be, not relive past glories and pretend it is still 2006.

 

[15_year_member]

Last season, he was recovering from a pretty bad knee injury from all reports. His season was ordinary, but then again, he had some mates for company e.g. Kerr, Nicoski. But the idea that Jones is soft, is just rubbish. Please go and watch the 2007 Q Final against Port, where Jones got his nose smashed and he came off the field, he cop it from the Port Fans. And He gave it back to them. I had a soft spot for him ever since . His 2008 season was fairly good until he got injured.

On the talk regarding when the last time he play a decent game? He is not alone in that regarded. When is the last time Waters, Nicoski, Hansen played a decent game and 2 great games a season is not good enough to talk up Kerr's star quality?

One of the great surprises of 2009 was Butler coming back and putting together string of decent games when it look like he was done and Embley coming back into pretty good form by the end of the the end of the year.

Jones, Nicoski, Waters and others have a lot to prove in 2010. We need him and those blokes to stand up. Its not good for the development of the team, if its another year where the younger guys get a game just for being 'young'. It would be good thing if we move on from that. I really hope the likes of Jones, Hansen put a fight for spots in 2010.

Don't agree with that at all. The club moves forward when the players who we have drafted in the last 3-5 years (and who we have bet the farm on) get 50 plus games under their belts. Not getting a short term late career renaissance from the likes of Hansen and Jones (and you could throw several others into that basket). Even if we were really fortunate and all the old stagers stayed injury free all season so we could play them all year and even if they played as well as they can play now given their deteriorating bodies what would be the benefit to us and where would we finish as opposed to playing the young kids? Finishing 8th instead of 11th? Is that worth it in exchange for finishing the year with a lot of our young players getting no AFL experience this year? Not in my view.

If you can't take the pain of moving on from old glories and take the short term pain of prioritising youth and moving on older players a year or two earlier than they wanted to go then the rebuilding job gets a lot longer and a lot slower. That is a compromise that i would definately vote against. Take your pain, get it over with and start moving forward rather than stalling it.

 

[ndot]

disposal is far too substandard for AFL.

should have been delisted last year.

 

[Prem87]

People saying he was never very good have very short memories. he was one of our best players in 06/07 without doubt.

He's not that old either, only 28, was late into AFL, and is a defender so could realisticly play well into his 30's.

He was broken mentally by Goddard last year and took him a long time to get confidence back, but i think he'll be the better for it and won't happen again. His kicking is actually pretty good, is the fastest player in our backline (no smith yet) and if there is one place on the ground where experience counts the most it's the backline.

BJ for round 1 all the way!

Spot on. Deserved to be in the squad for the AA team, that's how good and consistent his year was. In 2008 he had his knee injury and never quite got his body and confidence back to his best, and niggling injuries like the hammy in 2009 further added to his woes.

Jones has always provided great run of HB, one of the few willing to take risks, run through the middle, direct a forward on where to lead and then kick lace out. He is hard, tough and puts his body on the line he is a quality defender who can play on that third tall or medium sized forward. His age, experience will add an extra dimension to our already solid defence.

Our best backline.

FB: Butler/Waters Glass Brown
CHB: B.Jones MacKenzie Hurn

 

[Wirra for PM]

FB: Butler/Waters Glass Brown
CHB: B.Jones MacKenzie Hurn

The sharp end of all this is who do you drop for Bones? The backline above doesn't have Scooter in it, unless his form has dropped I reckon he should be in the side. But perhaps you'd have in the midfield.

Looking forward, I reckon a backline with Waters and Butler in it is better balanced and more flexible. If they are all in form I'd rather not drop one of them for Bones.

In the meantime, if there is a spot available in the backline and Bones is in good form then you couldn't keep him out just because he's a bit older IMO.

WC should work on the principle that the best 22 players get picked, without handicapping older players.

 

[Prem87]

I would have Scott in for Rosa on the bench. Adds more value to the team. I don't know how long we will persist with Rosa as his kicking still hasn't improved.

 

[Underdog]

The sharp end of all this is who do you drop for Bones? The backline above doesn't have Scooter in it, unless his form has dropped I reckon he should be in the side. But perhaps you'd have in the midfield.

Looking forward, I reckon a backline with Waters and Butler in it is better balanced and more flexible. If they are all in form I'd rather not drop one of them for Bones.

I'd suggest that Scooter is looked at as a midfielder long term so he is not required in defence.

Also, it's been discussed by Woosha that Waters has been earmarked for a forward role.

Let's keep in mind that of the defence listed above, only Glass and Jones are of the older de who MAY not be around for our next finals tilt.

Jones' position will be challenged by Spangher, Schofield and JJones. None of which deserve a walk up start and 1 could be included on an interchange (likely Spangher).

 

[kane249]

disposal is far too substandard for AFL.

should have been delisted last year.

Had a year to run on his contract so we would have had to pay him out

 

[Wirra for PM]

I'd suggest that Scooter is looked at as a midfielder long term so he is not required in defence.

Also, it's been discussed by Woosha that Waters has been earmarked for a forward role.

Let's keep in mind that of the defence listed above, only Glass and Jones are of the older de who MAY not be around for our next finals tilt.

Jones' position will be challenged by Spangher, Schofield and JJones. None of which deserve a walk up start and 1 could be included on an interchange (likely Spangher).

I think Woosh was saying it was possible Waters could go forward, not that he had been earmarked to do so. IMO it remains most likely he will go back.

Brown or Mackenzie (depending on which plays at KP) are also competing for those third tall spots. In terms of the smaller defender spots, Smith and Shepp are just two in that mix, albeit probably a way off yet.

Agree nobody should be a walk up start, whoever has the best form should be picked. But I still think, if everyone was in form, a defense with Butler and Waters is better than one with Jones replacing one of them.

 

[Big Cox]

Woosha said that Beau Waters would RETURN to the team as a half forward flanker. Obviously does not want to throw him knee deep into the defensive set up given how much its changed since he last played in it. From what I understand Woosh wants to have the HF and HB flankers interchangeable and able to swap with each other to provide different matchups/rest to players who need it. Embley will spend some time down back and Hurn some time up forward depending on matchups too

 

[Wirra for PM]

pretty sure what he said was that Waters would be given a chance to come back either at HF or HB, not that he "would return to the team" at HF.

Guess we'll see soon enough.

 

[salo]

will be very interesting to see how that backline settles. a lot of question marks over the likes of waters, jones and nico. my thoughts are that with the quality of the young blokes coming through and butler's improvement that there isn't room for more than one of that trio in our best 22 for round 1, even if they're talking about moving blokes upfield.

 

[RoJo Junior]

I had rated Bones as one of our best players and a clone of AA player Dale Morris. He wasn't that bad in his latest appearances, the game v Hawthorn he tore Williams a new one. Only let him have like 4 touches. He's a good hard at it old school defender, lacking the skills but solid defensively and good at shutting out his opponent.

Unfortunately i don't think the Eagles are going to give him much of a chance this season, may start round 1, but come round 22 i'd be very surprised to see him still in the side.

 

[Snooperclyde]

Anyone who saw him play the intra-club game will know that the answer is a definite "yes".

He is well and truly injury free and his performances are like they were in early 08, before his injuries.

Anyone who says "no" either is ignorant to his pre-season form and posts regardless, or simply have rocks in their head.

Bones cruised around like a Rolls Royce in the intra-club game but his opposition was a WAFL player being fed by an undermanned midfield............ under pressure.

Nevertheless he played well and his disposal was excellent.

Question really is about whether Bones will be part of our next tilt at the flag or is playing him ahead of youngsters like Ash Smith going to slow their development ?

I think it is more beneficial to get games into the kids so sorry Bones - back-up only.