Opinion How should the club proceed with Kane Lambert?

[banana_bus]

I guess we are getting him close enough to finals with enough fitness to then hit him with pain killers to get him through a game.

The body builds up a tolerance to pain killers, so timing is critical, that they are effective for long enough to get him though a finals series.

Depending on injury and pain meds, I reckon 4-6 weeks is the timeframe where they are most effective.

Then gone at seasons end from a playing capacity

This.

 

[tigerdan]

Question should be how does Kane Lambert

23

Kane Lambert

Age

33

Ht

178cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.7

5star

K

9.5

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

3.7

4star

T

3.5

5star

G

0.6

4star

D

17.3

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.6

5star

M

3.4

3star

T

3.1

4star

G

0.5

4star

D

10.6

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.2

3star

proceed with Kane Lambert

23

Kane Lambert

Age

33

Ht

178cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.7

5star

K

9.5

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

3.7

4star

T

3.5

5star

G

0.6

4star

D

17.3

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.6

5star

M

3.4

3star

T

3.1

4star

G

0.5

4star

D

10.6

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.2

3star

.

If his hip is completely rooted then for his own good he needs to retire at the end of this year and walk away a triple (or even quadruple) premiership player and we all remember him as a hero.

If it's not going to be a long term health issue for him (maybe hip replacement post-retirement will solve the problem) then we just manage his game time for the rest of the year. A fit Lambert is a real ace up our sleeve. He won us that prelim against Port a few years ago. We may even be able to carry him through next year playing every second game under that scenario.

I don't want to see the poor guy ten years from now hobbling around with a wrecked body like Royce Hart.

 

[Rioli2Rioli]

Nothing to gain by Lambo continuing on after this year , From whats been reported is not a injury than will get better and hardly worth the preseason and training to play 6-7 games year.

The club is probably trying to keep him going whilst in final contention just incase

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Play him in the vfl until finals even if it's just half a game too keep his touch and some kind of match fitness.
Pending on how he & us are tracking by rnd 23 then a farewell game might be on the cards.
Hoping of course it's not the case.

 

[Tackle Bag]

Except theyre not "dying for opportunity". Name one who is consistently, week in week out banging the door down at VFL level that deserves to push out the 4 that you mentioned? We aren't Norf, we're not gifting kids games unless they earn them.

I’d have a look at Cumberland on a half forward flank ahead of Edwards or Costagna.
The kid has put together a pretty strong year and seems to have plenty of talent.

Sonsie early in the year was playing well and again recently. I’d like to see what he could do.

With soldos current output I can’t understand how he has kept his spot.
He is a liability around the ground and his Ruckwork has been poor. To me it looks like he desperately needs to go back and build his game back up in the twos.

 

[juss]

Obviously this is his last year. I dont see him playing many more games this season. Hopefully his last one whenever that is is a good win at home.

 

[richoplzbreed]

Question should be how does Kane Lambert proceed with Kane Lambert.

If his hip is completely rooted then for his own good he needs to retire at the end of this year and walk away a triple (or even quadruple) premiership player and we all remember him as a hero.

If it's not going to be a long term health issue for him (maybe hip replacement post-retirement will solve the problem) then we just manage his game time for the rest of the year. A fit Lambert is a real ace up our sleeve. He won us that prelim against Port a few years ago. We may even be able to carry him through next year playing every second game under that scenario.

I don't want to see the poor guy ten years from now hobbling around with a wrecked body like Royce Hart.

"We may even be able to carry him through next year"......... snowflakes chance in hell has better odds. This bloke is loved by the fans, coaches, players and staff and i've got no doubt the club feels bad b/c he was a late starter and isn't going to retire with multi millions to his name.... However this club is still in the window for another flag, and isn't a charity. Time for some hard conversations, as lets face it with all the time off and reduced workload he's had of late on the weekend he had 2 handballs to go with his "1" single kick and the hip has broken down again.... Cartilage doesn't regrow, it only wears away more and bone on bone is no joke he's gonna struggle in winter as the years go on. I've loved Kane as a player more than most, not just for the service we've had compared to some of the pea hearts we've drafted who wasted their talent, also because my brother and heaps of my mates barrack for the Blooose and his name alone shatters them. This blokes beyond cooked.

 

[Tygrys]

Playing in 3 of the last 7 sounds acceptable until you break it down.
Those 7 games had a bye also, so in 8 calendar weeks he has played:

• 1 full game against Carlton (played well but pulled up lame then rested)
• 1 partial game where he broke down against bombers (miniscule output)
• 1 game as sub (WCE) where the runner almost matched his output in half a game.
• 5 weeks completely rested.

Add to that no preseason practice matches and missed the first 6 weeks as wasn't up to it.

It's really hard to understand what they attempting to accomplish playing Lambert the way they are. Logically you'd think with his injury they'd just hold him back and only play for the tough must win 8 point matches like Carlton, but no he's there for the easy beats in Essendon and WCE (and more bizarrely still he is a medical sub in the last one). So clearly managing his workload has zero input regards his availability.

Now if it was the former, if we could just play him in big matches I'd be 100 percent in persisting with him. But we have all this young talent in the reserves and I can't help but think of how we could have given them game time against moderate AFL competition for both experience and confidence sake (which incidentally is one of the reasons I found recalling Castagna for WCE so pathetic, even if he had played well by his incredibly low standards,it does nothing to help us going forward).

Anyhow what I'm saying is that we have effectively zero influence on his availability, to the point where most of the games he can play we would have won anyway. And where all we are doing is denying experience and opportunity to young players whose availability are not in question, there comes a tripping point where you have to say enough is enough.

The alternative is to say "well he has earnt the right to decide when to call it quits" or that he is one of Hardwick's favourites and the club just has to cop it. Anyhow my attitude is except for a goodbye match I don't want to ever see him in Richmond colours again unless by some miracle he happens to be fit on the same weekend during a top 8 clash or final where his big match experience might prove invaluable. Beyond that though, it's thanks for your service and enjoy your retirement (even if the official announcement is held off until the end of the year).

 

[tony__montana]

Yeah he’s cooked unfortunately. It’s at the point now where we need to make the tough decision and move forward without him.

I don’t know if you can go into a finals campaign under these circumstances- (well for mine you can’t) but smarter people than me are making that decision.

 

[juss]

Yeah he’s cooked unfortunately. It’s at the point now where we need to make the tough decision and move forward without him.

I don’t know if you can go into a finals campaign under these circumstances- (well for mine you can’t) but smarter people than me are making that decision.

IMO he's too great a risk to break down, and you ideally want a lineup as settled as possible, not someone who you don't know if they can play consecutive games.

It's honestly probably better for the team continuity if we plan to not have him in finals, and decide a few others who we want to play a similar role for us and go with them.

In some home and away games when he is feeling good I don't mind him as the sub, nor do I mind an "injury" (cough) to someone in the final round to sub Lambert on and play his final quarter with us.

 

[voorhees]

3 time premiership player, who has unfortunately fallen due to the black cloud off injury..
One more huge effort with a Victorian
send off game, so we can send him off with a appreciation he totally deserves

 

[_RT_]

Going to be some very tough decisions being made over the next 2 months.

Club has said its Lamberts call when he's right to play, but with finals coming up, can you take the risk of picking him for a cut throat final knowing that at any moment in the game the pain could get too bad and you have to sub him out or even worse keep playing him as you may have already used the sub.

Heart says keep playing him when he's right and let him retire on his terms, but the head says that we should probably give him a farewell game before the season ends.

 

[CASEYS9420]

Lambert & Edwards will definitely retire at the end of the season but I think both should stay at the club, Lambert in a coaching role and Edwards in recruiting (Cant let talent like these two just leave).

Off topic but I'd also offer only one of Cotchin or Riewoldt another contract next year, not both.

 

[max250295]

He needs a hip replacement, their is no coming back from that at the highest level.

I've had both mine done, cannot believe he gets through a game, even on pain killers its a herculian effort, as well as training and post game.

 

[Mr Unbelievable]

Will be his last year, will have hip replacement in the offseason and if by miracle he makes a full recovery (very very unlikely in my opinion), maybe back on as rookie.
More than likely, maybe have a part time assistant coaching role in the vfl, depending how his operation goes.
He has given the club everything.

 

[sregit]

He needs a hip replacement, their is no coming back from that at the highest level.

Are you sure about this? Hip replacement is common now and very successful for people who are in good physical shape. I have a friend who’s son is competitive in high quality Triathlons after having a hip replacement. I do understand he’s not being buffeted/bumped/tackled etc but he has said to me he believes he could play football and believes the hip replacement would stand up to the rigours.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Farwell game, MCG, 24th September.

Keep him on as a coach next year.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Are you sure about this? Hip replacement is common now and very successful for people who are in good physical shape. I have a friend who’s son is competitive in high quality Triathlons after having a hip replacement. I do understand he’s not being buffeted/bumped/tackled etc but he has said to me he believes he could play football and believes the hip replacement would stand up to the rigours.

Triathlon is a very different sport to AFL, so it's difficult to compare the two in terms of injury. Hip replacement at an AFL level is career over unfortunately.

 

[juss]

Are you sure about this? Hip replacement is common now and very successful for people who are in good physical shape. I have a friend who’s son is competitive in high quality Triathlons after having a hip replacement. I do understand he’s not being buffeted/bumped/tackled etc but he has said to me he believes he could play football and believes the hip replacement would stand up to the rigours.

Not at Lambert's age.
Long road back for a guy turning 31 this year. No guarantee when he gets back he'd even still be best 22. He's unlikely to come back the same player he was before, and that's assuming there's no other complications or set backs.

If he was at the beginning of his career and wanted to give it a go he might consider it.

 

[juss]

Lambert & Edwards will definitely retire at the end of the season but I think both should stay at the club, Lambert in a coaching role and Edwards in recruiting (Cant let talent like these two just leave).

Off topic but I'd also offer only one of Cotchin or Riewoldt another contract next year, not both.

I mean, I get the romance and all for club greats. But what evidence could you have that Edwards and Lambert are talented in recruiting and coaching? Compared to say someone from a different club that has built a resume across the state leagues and other clubs.
Is it cause they were great players? So were plenty of failed coaches and recruiters. Always bugs me a bit when people say oh we must keep X at the club for this role. If anything I think it's the opposite, get some intel and IP from other great players and clubs and other ideas.

 

[richoplzbreed]

I mean, I get the romance and all for club greats. But what evidence could you have that Edwards and Lambert are talented in recruiting and coaching? Compared to say someone from a different club that has built a resume across the state leagues and other clubs.
Is it cause they were great players? So were plenty of failed coaches and recruiters. Always bugs me a bit when people say oh we must keep X at the club for this role. If anything I think it's the opposite, get some intel and IP from other great players and clubs and other ideas.

I mean, I get the romance and all for club greats. But what evidence could you have that Edwards and Lambert are talented in recruiting and coaching? Compared to say someone from a different club that has built a resume across the state leagues and other clubs.
Is it cause they were great players? So were plenty of failed coaches and recruiters. Always bugs me a bit when people say oh we must keep X at the club for this role. If anything I think it's the opposite, get some intel and IP from other great players and clubs and other ideas.

Edwards has been working part time learning the ropes off Will Thusfield in recruiting for at least the last couple of years. It's come up several times in his in depth interviews as something he's really passionate about and is aiming towards. Whether he has a keen eye or is a good judge is anyone's guess atm and if he's not hopefully he gets moved on eventually. One current bonus is I think it was Sonsie? said he was blown away when he sat down prior to the draft and was interviewed by Edwards and Might've been Clarke and couldn't believe how much Edwards already knew about his game and the advice he gave him. He would be an invaluable tool when Richmond are making approaches to any out of contract player, especially Tom Green, Noah Anderson, Taranto, Ainsworth and other kids who would've grown up idolizing him times that by 10 when we approach indigenous kids/ uncontacted players and he tells them and their families about the club's culture and KGI institute and Dreamtime. You can't buy that star power with Will Thursield alone. Listen to the old Tigers players talk about the day Graham Richmond came to their house with Paddie Guinane, Jack Dyer, KB, Bourkey, Roy Wright etc and what an impression it made on them and their families. I'm actually warming to Lambert getting Rookie listed on rookie wages and sneakily utilised as a development coach and leader in the Magoo's as the soft cap penalises us especially with the timing of Hardwicks divorce he's hardly going to take unders.

 

[cairo tiger]

Sad times but Lambo surely can’t play anymore this year. Not sure what is gained in playing him for a quarter here and there.

 

[Defibrillate]

I wonder if the following would be allowed/within the rules. If it is I’m sure it would only be for a year before the AFL clamped down.

Offer Lambo a playing contract for next year, with the intention of getting him in for any surgery he requires for life after footy. Lambo then remains on the list as a player, who can be placed on the LTI list (we did all we could to get him right to play, but alas his body wasn’t up to it) allowing us a list spot to pick someone up in the SSP/Mid Season draft.

Lambo essentially performs the functions of a coach whilst still listed as a player, allowing us to pay him under the salary cap instead of the football department soft cap. I’m not sure what the going rate would be for a first year assistant coach, but I think we should be able to squeeze this in with some of the upcoming retirements. This helps alleviate the football department budget issues bought on by the COVID cuts and the higher salary committed to Dimma relative to many other clubs. This allows us to bolster our coaching/development capabilities with our young cubs coming through and keeps vital football department funds available to be allocated where appropriate.

Isn’t this what The Druggos were thinking with Rance?

Aside - Lambo may need a hip replacement (IF Dimma is correct), but he should do absolutely everything in his powers to delay that decision as long as he can given pain and mobility restrictions in life. The average hip replacement lasts around 15 years - but to subsequently replace them is major (major!) surgery - and a third compounds this. If he stops this year for this alone (to delay what is coming) he’s absolutely making the right decision for himself - and I wish him well.

But let’s be honest - none of us on here know the full story of what is going on. Bigger picture - as a champion of our club (and he really seems like a ripper bloke), I just wish him well for his future. Footy passes - but our health is with us every day.

 

[Moonatic77]

Keep him 1 more year (hip permitting)
Contested beast

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

Lambo will retire


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com