Tbf he looked much better in the Prelim IIRC.
I wouldn't have rushed him back, but I don't think you'd drop him based on his prelim.
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I wouldn't have rushed him back, but I don't think you'd drop him based on his prelim.
LukeParkerno1
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Still wasn’t the JMac of 2 months prior
Wheresbuddy
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I think we went into that GF with plenty of injured players. Logan definitely shouldn't have played. Heeney was on his last legs. McInerney, Rampe and Papley were not fully recovered from earlier. Campbell was pretty busted. Mills must've been bad to have been ruled out. On top of all this, I wouldn't be surprised if Grundy was carrying something chronic for the last third of the season. We rolled the dice and lost, with too many injured players. Would a combination of Adams, Cleary and perhaps Gus (who ran the GF sprint) have made the difference? Unlikely but I think we would've been more competitive.
As I've said, I wouldn't have rushed him back, but I recall being in the distinct minority.
It'd be interesting to see if there's overlap between those who wanted him back in for finals versus those who have since lamented underdone/injured players in finals...
Nup Brisbane had just as many if not more injured players both sides were banged up.
Not to mention the extra wear/toll from having to do it from 5th.
Yep, Neale was struggling for a bit. One thing is obvious, we don't know how to carry injured players in a GF. Unless you're a superstar (Heeney), no more injured players in the GF for us please.
No replacement was/is capable of playing better than a half fit Mcinerney.
We lost that game purely based on method. We really weren't a whole heap more banged up than the prelim.
I've said before it wouldn't have made the difference and that his prelim was much better. I don't think you can even really point to Jmac's fitness to explain his grand final because how do you explain most players performances.
I'm just pointing out it's no use wanting to rush players back for finals (which seemed to be the majority for Jmac), then bemoaning underdone/injured players in finals (which seems to be the majority).
I think a lot has to do with who the player is though. I think consensus is that Logan shouldn't have played, coming to that conclusion probably because he hasn't won everyone over with his performances just yet. And everyone would've still played Heeney and Jmac under those circumstances. So that's where you get that crossover. Like yeah Jmac was unsighted but i still rest easy knowing with full confidence that a fully fit Corey Warner would not have had a better performance - at least Jmacs ceiling and risk vs reward is higher.
Grain of salt really. People will bemoan either way and it's nor here nor there, doesn't matter at the end of the day. Won't be the last GF where players play injured, nor will it be Sydney's last even with our track record. It's just an easy thing to point to after losing that many of em, even if it is hypocritical. Those people are quick to forget there are players with premiership medallions who barely registered a touch and made 0 contribution to their respective side on GF day, yet those teams still manage to pull a W.
Wheresbuddy
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Agreed. They played better, were better coached and just wanted it more.
wolftone57
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Yes that would have been Edwards. He has improved a lot and is huge.
Wheresbuddy
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Wouldn't be surprised if he is the longest kick in the club
wolftone57
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I have noticed how often we lose our forward structure. With forwards having to protect the backs by flooding back. We need to have backs who can hold their own, who don't need to have extra bodies to protect their space. They need to learn how to play man on man.
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