This bloke is obviously a good captain at Geelong but is also your weak link in your backline. I think with Geelong being such a dominant side his status as a player is enhanced. Of the AA forwards there is no way he could play on Buddy, Fev or Roo. I think Enright should have taken his place and either Mitchell,Selwood or Black on the bench. Any other player in the side could go to another side and still be a great player, wheras imagine Harley at an Essendon or Melb and he had to play on the oppositions number 1 or 2 forward.
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AFLW 2024 - Round 10 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Tom Harley in AA side?
- Thread starter batfink
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- Sep 22, 2000
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So he shouldn't be in the side because you think he can't play on Buddy,Fev or the overrated one,yet you seem to suggest Enright could
Geez,how dumb are Bigfooty posters getting ?
- Banned
- #3
Yes, you are correct.
Yes, you are correct.
My fellow cats supporters will bitch and moan about this, but its all true.
Harley's ability does get immensely overrated by our supporters and the media. Harley very rarely takes quality forwards, often gets beaten by the lesser forwards in contests and moves himself off opponents who are beating him. I'm not trying to bag Harley, he is a good captain and honest defender but there is no way he's in the top 6 defenders in the league..
- Thread starter
- #4
So he shouldn't be in the side because you think he can't play on Buddy,Fev or the overrated one,yet you seem to suggest Enright could
Geez,how dumb are Bigfooty posters getting ?
What Im saying moron the other forwards are Harvey, Johnson and Medhurst. I think Enright could play on these types whereas Harley couldn't. My main point is Harley picks up the oppositions 5th or 6th best forward cos his not good enough to pick up their 1st or 2nd. End of story.
Evan #29
Rookie
Everyone has their own opinion but you kidding if you think Tom Harley, a.k.a. The General, doesnt deserve to be in the AA team. He is one of the best readers of the play in the game and just becasue he doesnt play on the oppositions best forward doesnt mean he isnt a valuable member of our defensive unit. Well done Tom, outstanding year
Harley doesn't play on Lance or Fevola because he's not a key position player, he's a medium defender who zones off and is essential to our team.
It's a disgrace that Judd was named captain over Harley (Robert Walls) while Pavlich, Medhurst and Sandilands are all extremely lucky to be in ahead of Selwood etc.
It's a disgrace that Judd was named captain over Harley (Robert Walls
) while Pavlich, Medhurst and Sandilands are all extremely lucky to be in ahead of Selwood etc.But Harley isn't our best defender so why would he play on the 1st or 2nd fwd? It's size for size. He doesnt pick the best 2 fwds because generally they are the 2 biggest in the side and Harley isnt that big! He is a medium sized defender not a CHB or FB. So ofcourse he picks up a forward pocket or a flanker which in general is the oppositions 3rd 4th or 5th fwd!
I heard this all night last night and people just don't think straight! Yeah lets have an entire backline made up of CHB or lets have an entire fwd line made up of CHF's! It's a ridiculous notion and ridiculous argument!
catempire
Premium Platinum
Harley regularly plays on Medhurst.
romanticism aside, not really sure he is AA.
kinda bullshit poll anyway.
like the MVP - sure lance is probably THE most important and valuable to his team - but that should not diminish nor enhance other players in other better/less performing teams. in a way someone like pav, or richo, would be the most valuable player to his team compared to who he is surrounded by. yet you can't punish a player just because they play for a dominant team either.
all opinions.
kinda bullshit poll anyway.
like the MVP - sure lance is probably THE most important and valuable to his team - but that should not diminish nor enhance other players in other better/less performing teams. in a way someone like pav, or richo, would be the most valuable player to his team compared to who he is surrounded by. yet you can't punish a player just because they play for a dominant team either.
all opinions.
rizzo
Brownlow Medallist
- Sep 11, 2003
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Harley joins Mackie, Hunt and Taylor as weak links in our backline. **** we are shit 
OldStyle2007
Club Legend
People have no idea
You don't take the most intercept marks in the competition without being an elite player. Seriously, think about the ability it takes to take so many pressure marks in defence - to take the most intercepts in the competition. That has to put you up there amongst the best, around, nothing's ever gonna keep you down
You don't take the most intercept marks in the competition without being an elite player. Seriously, think about the ability it takes to take so many pressure marks in defence - to take the most intercepts in the competition. That has to put you up there amongst the best, around, nothing's ever gonna keep you down
He's a bit of a romantic choice for this year's AA. First time selection at 30 and premiership captain. Defensively 1 on 1 he's a little suspect but he has been rewarded this year for his ability to read the play, zone off and mark the ball. Every time he does that, he beats his opponent. Like other posters have said, he wouldn't generally play on the tall timber but would line up on the small/medium forwards.
On another topic, isn't Taylor supposed to be our weak link in the backline? Do we have two weak links in our backline even though it is the best backline in the league?
On another topic, isn't Taylor supposed to be our weak link in the backline? Do we have two weak links in our backline even though it is the best backline in the league?
Cats Pyjamas
Debutant
Harley: 192cm 95kg
Scarlett: 192cm 95kg
Taylor: 193cm 91kg
Mackie: 192cm 84kg
Can somebody explain how Scarlett & Taylor (and sometimes Mackie) are big enough to play key positions but Harley isn't?
Harley is a very important player in Geelong's structure, and plays his role to perfection. But the bottom line is, one on one, he's not a great defender. People talk about his ability to take marks from opposition kicks. That is directly related to the way we structure our defence. Is he lucky to make the side? I'd say probably, but talk of swapping him out for someone like a Mitchell or Black is silly. The AA bench is made up of a back, mid (Richo), forward and ruckman. So if you're replacing Harley, you'd want to slot another defender in there. I can't really see one on the 12 list of defenders that deserves to be there above Harley.
Sandilands (Hille), and Judd (Mitchell), are the two in the side that should count themselves most lucky. Besides that the team is pretty spot on.
Defend Harley in this thread all you want, but don't try to make him out to be some brilliant defender that he quite simply isn't.
Sandilands (Hille), and Judd (Mitchell), are the two in the side that should count themselves most lucky. Besides that the team is pretty spot on.
Defend Harley in this thread all you want, but don't try to make him out to be some brilliant defender that he quite simply isn't.
- Banned
- #15
No, there is no explanation because you are exactly right!
Don't forget BigFooty cats forum rule #1 - Never let facts get in the way of a one-eyed supporter!
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- #16
Amen...
My5t3r10u5
Team Captain
Actually, I just went and checked the AFL web site and he is AA. Check it yourself if you like.
Like the fact that Harley is an AA player. Kinda spoils your arguments doesn't it? Oh, right, you know better that the collective football wisdom on the selection panel. Don't get me wrong, they are not perfect and I'm happy for people to debate whether he deserves to be in the AA team, but you make it sound like he shouldn't even be in the Geelong team and that, surely, is laughable.
catempire
Premium Platinum
And that would be all that matters.
The ridiculous barrow pushed by the Harley Haters that he is deficient because he doesn't play on tall forwards is not only spurious but totally irrelevant. Never mind the good things he does - that he very rarely gets beaten by his direct opponent as well as providing invaluable support to his fellow defenders (none of which would look as good without having Harley constantly leaving his man, taking a risk and coming across to help out in aerial contests).
This is the ultimate humiliation for the Harley Haters. It must be very hard. They will be crying into the Josh Hunt emblazoned pillow covers tonight.
- Banned
- #19
All I am doing is debating why he shouldn't be in the AA team.
I make 'it' sound like Harley shouldn't be in the team do I? Why because I dare criticise his ability.
- Banned
- #20
Even for the one-eyed's, to even hint at the thought that Harley had a better year than Enright or Mackie is an absolute joke!
He captains the best team in the league and leads marks from opposition kicks for a variety of reasons, including the fact he usually takes the least dangerous forward or plays loose in a defense that rarely has to deal with quality entries into 50.
Apart from that he is an average defender in the twilight of his career who no longer has the body to body ability to take big forwards and is too slow to be first choice for quality small forwards.
HOW WOULD BE PERFORM IN AN AVERAGE SIDE? Can any of you seriously believe he would have made the team if he played for any other side..
Harley is one guy that wasn't lying when he said the team got him up on that stage..
catempire
Premium Platinum
Irrelevant!
If you don’t understand that it’s based on actual performances and not ‘what ifs’ then you’re wasting your time arguing about it.
And this is a reason for non-selection why?
Sounds like a positive to me…
*Superb reader of the play
*Takes risks peeling off his man to joint contests
*Goes the mark rather than the spoil a lot of the time
I could go on…
All positives though!
Irrelevant!
Yet he is given that task week in, week out (playing on Motlop, Ebert, Medhurst, Osborne, etc) and has earned All Australian honours as a result.
Your logic is fatally flawed.
Douche bag!
Exhale You
Premiership Player
Give me a 'one-eyed supporter' over a 'supporter' who despises a player, takes every opportunity to sink the boots in and simply cannot bring himself to praise said player regardless of how well he does, for fear of having to admit he may have got it wrong.
The first type of supporter may be annoying at times, but the second type is just plain sad.
- Sep 22, 2000
- 62,351
- 41,704
- AFL Club
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- Ford
Give me a 'one-eyed supporter' over a 'supporter' who despises a player, takes every opportunity to sink the boots in and simply cannot bring himself to praise said player regardless of how well he does, for fear of having to admit he may have got it wrong.
The first type of supporter may be annoying at times, but the second type is just plain sad.
Amen...
Amen.
