FWIW I'd still have him out there before a bunch of the usual squibs. Thought he wasn't the worst by a long way.
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Ryan Gardner is a good footballer - post your apologies here
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Lobb only had 4 marks he wasn’t even remotely near our worst
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Yeah this sucks singling out one guy when the whole team stuffed up
Look, he wasn’t the worst out there but let’s have some perspective. He’s never excellent, he’s sometimes functional.
Tonight wasn’t his fault, losses rarely are. But he won’t be in the next bulldogs flag team imo.
He can't win with some people can he? Has 16 spoils, 3 intercept marks, genuinely good kicking all night (especially compared to a few around him) and overall held up well with his teammates conceding 62 inside 50s - but here we go with the inevitable pile on.
That "3 goals of 4 goals in the 2nd quarter he had a hand in" comment I've seen a few times shows how far people are reaching – one was him not quite reaching the ball on the goal line, and one he came off his man to try and clean up a mess cased by Serong being left completely unmanned at a stoppage. As always, copping far more than his share of the blame.
That "3 goals of 4 goals in the 2nd quarter he had a hand in" comment I've seen a few times shows how far people are reaching – one was him not quite reaching the ball on the goal line, and one he came off his man to try and clean up a mess cased by Serong being left completely unmanned at a stoppage. As always, copping far more than his share of the blame.
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A lot of the spoils are him kamikaze flying through packs as the 5th man that a lot of full backs don't even bother get to. It gives him a stat but unless he genuinely thumps the ball it's pretty high risk low reward stuff. Once he fatigues in the second half, that part fades away and his other mistakes begin.
I don't think my post was a pile on at all.
He was good in the first 30 minutes of the game.
He plays probably the most important position on the ground.
He doesn't show the natural ability to think through a lot of situations for that position.
It's not his fault. It's the coaching staff's fault for continually playing him there and not moving him to a role or a lineup he can play in.
badkicking
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been saying the same thing since start of season
People still defending him 
. Go back and watch the replay. All he can do is spoil, even when he is in a position to attempt a mark, so I doubt he could even be a third defender. Skills under pressure or when he has to think are terrible, slips over too much. You would hate to be a defender next to him.
He was not on Lobb for alot of the game, and when he was Lobb had impact.
He is not AFL standard, can't deny his effort, just not up to it.
. Go back and watch the replay. All he can do is spoil, even when he is in a position to attempt a mark, so I doubt he could even be a third defender. Skills under pressure or when he has to think are terrible, slips over too much. You would hate to be a defender next to him.He was not on Lobb for alot of the game, and when he was Lobb had impact.
He is not AFL standard, can't deny his effort, just not up to it.
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We need greater perspective. Gardner has played 22 games and as you say plays an important position in a team that struggles for good defenders. Our recruiters and coaches have a lot to answer for when they allow this situation to occur. I realise he has limitations but grateful we have him. In a team with good defenders he would be a better player and have time to develop his skills. I actually feel sorry for him but think of what it would be like without him.
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What do you think our options for defenders should be if we drop Gardner.People still defending him
He was not on Lobb for alot of the game, and when he was Lobb had impact.
He is not AFL standard, can't deny his effort, just not up to it.
His inability to touch the ball on the goal line was a poor effort, he had no direct opponent so it’s not like he was worked off it. Just totally missed it which isn’t good enough for a guy who’s only strength is spoiling.
Serong is an under sized mid and pushed him away like he’s nothing, his inability to stick tackles for a defender is poor.
Another situation, he turned the ball over on the wing, under no pressure, because he decided to kick it on his left?
You can’t have someone who makes so many errors as a key defender
Would have had options if Bevo gave other players good stints in the position. He has pidgeon holed it to him. Cordy showed last night he is better under pressure and can do more than punch a ball. Don't forget he is the same age as Cordy too, and has been in the system since his draft year (with the cats)
Young. Hell even Schache showed good signs as a defender. Neither are Bevo’s favourites though so never got a consistent run.
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Cordy has played 120 AFL games and is certainly not the answer. We could have persisted with Young but we will never know.
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Gardner could be very handy as 2nd or 3rd stopper , but to be the “General “ down back is beyond his abilities.
Its really as a result of not looking for genuine tall defenders while collecting midfielders.
Maybe everyone looks tall to Bev ?
By the way he was far from our worst last night.
Its really as a result of not looking for genuine tall defenders while collecting midfielders.
Maybe everyone looks tall to Bev ?
By the way he was far from our worst last night.
dogwatch
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Question, for anyone with stats … how many contested marks did Freo take inside 50? Off the top of my head the only goal I can recall all game from a CM i50 was Roarke’s. Maybe Amiss got one and not sure if Lobb got one of his with a CM out near the boundary/arc.
The way I saw it Gardner killed the marking contest anytime he was anywhere near it. Like pretty much every time.
I know a great defender has to do a lot more than just kill the contest but nobody’s pretending he’s a great defender.
If Freo had been taking CMs all night we’d have lost by a lot more.
Gardner wasn’t even our worst defender. I don’t see why he always cops such vitriol for carrying out the role he’s been assigned.
The way I saw it Gardner killed the marking contest anytime he was anywhere near it. Like pretty much every time.
I know a great defender has to do a lot more than just kill the contest but nobody’s pretending he’s a great defender.
If Freo had been taking CMs all night we’d have lost by a lot more.
Gardner wasn’t even our worst defender. I don’t see why he always cops such vitriol for carrying out the role he’s been assigned.
Exactly!! The only one he has persisted with is Gardner.
Buku, Young, Schache and a bloke named Naughton.
I thought they tried hard, both of them. It clearly wasn't a great game for our forwards full stop.
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We're a terrible supporter base for piling onto whipping boys.
The bloke is one of the hardest workers at the club, dragged himself up by the bootscraps for a second shot at AFL football, didn't rock up during the covid years after letting himself go during the break (if you want to know why Young was let go...).
Nobody's arguing he's a prime Matthew Scarlett, but reading half of these posts you'd think he was Princess Diana's chauffeur
No one is questioning his work ethic or game day effort.
