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AFLW 2024 - Round 2 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Player Watch Welcome to Port Adelaide Esava Ratugolea, Finally
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TheBrownDog
Loving the Duursma for captain talk, would be great to replace TJ with another captain who also shouldn't be in our best 22.
Nothing against Esava I'm sure he'll do ok here it's just not getting us a flag though, the neverending plugging holes with not quite good enough options never does as we've witnessed for years & years.
Aside from Aliir every 'missing piece' has been utterly underwhelming when it matters, I really hate clubs that underrate tall one on one quality defenders you end up in nowhere land in finals.
Aside from Aliir every 'missing piece' has been utterly underwhelming when it matters, I really hate clubs that underrate tall one on one quality defenders you end up in nowhere land in finals.
Esava is an intercept mark defender rather than someone that cannot die defending 1:1 isn't he?
Yeah exactly what our backline needs.
Yeah exactly what our backline needs.
manureid
Laziest Poster on Figbooty
He is the missing piece of the puzzle..... Like so many before him.
Ford Fairlane
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I really don't get this missing piece of the puzzle complaint. We all know we need a key defender, so the club goes out to try and get one and gets mocked.
But if they don't and continue to lose because of our lack of key defender depth, they get mocked for not wanting to win.
But if they don't and continue to lose because of our lack of key defender depth, they get mocked for not wanting to win.
Launchpad McQuack
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The missing piece of the puzzle is getting players of the like of Jeremy Cameron and Steven May.
Ratugolea has played all but 18 months of his career as a forward-ruck. He plays the same role as Aliir but worse. He didn't hold a true first 22 spot for his current team. We have to deal with Geelong who want a first rounder (yes talk only for now).
It's still a speculative trade. Whatever we contract him for likely means we are unable to chase Ben McKay, a more accomplished defender despite his injury history.
Ford Fairlane
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The only people banging on about missing piece of the puzzle are people here wanting to criticise. He's a guy who can play as a tall defender and he wants to come to Port. So let's get him here and see if he can address a need.
If anyone at the club uses that term for Esava they deserve to be mocked - it may have been appropriate for Paddy, or Charlie, or whoever it was first attached to, but that didn't deliver the ultimate prize, so it should never be spoken again.
Ford Fairlane
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The only place I've heard that term used is here.
manureid
Laziest Poster on Figbooty
When are they introducing a sarcasm font for Bigfooty?
Because it implies that our coach is just hamstrung by this one thing and if we had it we would be successful.
That couldnt be further from the truth. The reality is our coach has pissed away 11 lists. He simply isnt up to it, and once we get in Esava there will be another excuse next year.
Of course I want Esava but we are shufflling deckchairs on the titanic until we get a real coach in.
Thats a questionable claim. And thats not as a compliment to Esava's capabilities.
Ford Fairlane
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I like your posting, but in this case this is a thread about Ratugolea coming to Port, not Ken Hinkley or list management (which isn't entirely his doing).
This is a thread to dicuss Rat's possible move to Port. All this missing piece talk is a nonsense. No one is claiming he is that, but he fills a need that we have. How that need arose is a topic for elsewhere.
Too many people here are so obsessed with Hinkley (and not saying this is you) they have to introduce him to every thread and people are tired of it.
Paddy Ryder
Charlie Dixon
Steven Motlop
Tom Rockliff
Jack Watts
Scott Lycett
Orazio Fantasia
Aliir Aliir
Willie Rioli
Esava Ratagolea
The only ‘missing piece’ player on that lists is Paddy. The others were just recruiting players to try and make our team better.
Hey, hey, hey, stop with the common sense.
I thought it was the default.
Doctor Feel
Shitposter In Chief
To me its only "missing piece" if its addressing a key deficiency, we give up alot for it AND its an established player.
Ryder really the only one that fits the bill. Dixon maybe, but a different time.
I expect Esava should ideally just be addressing a need. If we sell the farm then thats on us.
Ryder really the only one that fits the bill. Dixon maybe, but a different time.
I expect Esava should ideally just be addressing a need. If we sell the farm then thats on us.
- Nov 5, 2015
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I would take Esava no problem , our backline is so undermanned it’s not funny, McKenzie is always injured Clurey is almost done Jonas was done 2 years ago Allir is the only one left.
'the missing piece' line has to be thrown up cause
a) the assumption that were going to add a player and voila, all our problems disappear
and
b) because through continued renewal of a coach our club needs this player to be the missing piece. they need it to validate their decisions.
but the problem is the unchanging constant in the coaching box, and adding a player is just bucketing water into a boat with a hull like Swiss cheese.
that doesn't mean we don't add players through trade, but anyone going into it with any actual thoughts that adding that player solves our issue rather than just papering over it somewhat.
at this stage we either have to hope we put such an incredibly resilient and talented team together they can win it all with boulders tied to their ankles or that were somehow equally bad enough to get Hinkley pushed out at the next contract end but also good enough shape that a new coach can turn it around before this incredibly talented core is past its prime and that in the chase to prove hinkleys forever renewals were worth it we didn't sell the future.
and that's the big concern, if we don't win something soon how much pressure comes from above to do whatever it takes to get Hinkley the pieces that might win something so they don't look like idiots that gave a coach a decade and a half to fail.
not too mention the fact that were essentially enabling kens ' why develop a key defender ever if they're willing to go out and buy them for me' tripe.
we do need to go after key defenders this off-season, but lets not pretend its not anything other than a frustrating necessity born out of a vile and contemptible disregard for list management and development by a bloke who if he had a smattering of awareness and the moral compass of a child would have stood down rather than steal money from the club.
were in the position where we need esava to not just be a pickup, in the same way any other club is adding players, but we need him to be 'the' pickup. cause otherwise...
a) the assumption that were going to add a player and voila, all our problems disappear
and
b) because through continued renewal of a coach our club needs this player to be the missing piece. they need it to validate their decisions.
but the problem is the unchanging constant in the coaching box, and adding a player is just bucketing water into a boat with a hull like Swiss cheese.
that doesn't mean we don't add players through trade, but anyone going into it with any actual thoughts that adding that player solves our issue rather than just papering over it somewhat.
at this stage we either have to hope we put such an incredibly resilient and talented team together they can win it all with boulders tied to their ankles or that were somehow equally bad enough to get Hinkley pushed out at the next contract end but also good enough shape that a new coach can turn it around before this incredibly talented core is past its prime and that in the chase to prove hinkleys forever renewals were worth it we didn't sell the future.
and that's the big concern, if we don't win something soon how much pressure comes from above to do whatever it takes to get Hinkley the pieces that might win something so they don't look like idiots that gave a coach a decade and a half to fail.
not too mention the fact that were essentially enabling kens ' why develop a key defender ever if they're willing to go out and buy them for me' tripe.
we do need to go after key defenders this off-season, but lets not pretend its not anything other than a frustrating necessity born out of a vile and contemptible disregard for list management and development by a bloke who if he had a smattering of awareness and the moral compass of a child would have stood down rather than steal money from the club.
were in the position where we need esava to not just be a pickup, in the same way any other club is adding players, but we need him to be 'the' pickup. cause otherwise...
- Dec 11, 2015
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Yeah whilst not perfect he is a beast compared to our other defenders or retiring defenders.
Still young enough to be a pillar, why wouldn’t we take him, we obviously want him second year now he wants to come to us. Alir and him make us on paper look strong, Bergman and Jones could easily be third talls
Still young enough to be a pillar, why wouldn’t we take him, we obviously want him second year now he wants to come to us. Alir and him make us on paper look strong, Bergman and Jones could easily be third talls
Well said.. post deleted by morning.
In no way is esava a “beast”. Not really, not the way he plays anyway.
Anyone who has watched him should know he avoids physical contact in marking contests like his opponents have the plague.
Bonner is more physical than esava.
Tho does esava have it in him to be physical? He’s certainly got the build for it, but it’s not the way he prefers to play back. Tho he showed a willingness to jump into rucks when played there, so he’s not soft, just the way he knows the play back. I think he lacks the balance and nous to hold against players in marking contests and still keep his eyes on the ball and then jump at it.
For Geelong his way of defending was to run around as a loose spare type and run and jump at the ball.
And doing that he’s reasonably successful. If he comes here I imagine he’s going to try to do the same thing unless we reinvent him, which maybe it works? Maybe not. My guess is as good as yours but his game notably suffered when he had to man up this year.
In all likelihood his best chance here is to play the past Alir role (sit in an hole and gobble up high kicks) and Alir plays the role , well that he’s been forced to this year which is a combo of trying to do that inbetween having to man up a player.
I doubt we see Alir as an all-aus again in this case, tho our defence as a unit should be better just for the fact we will have two taller marking targets instead of Alir + flankers.
Anyone who has watched him should know he avoids physical contact in marking contests like his opponents have the plague.
Bonner is more physical than esava.
Tho does esava have it in him to be physical? He’s certainly got the build for it, but it’s not the way he prefers to play back. Tho he showed a willingness to jump into rucks when played there, so he’s not soft, just the way he knows the play back. I think he lacks the balance and nous to hold against players in marking contests and still keep his eyes on the ball and then jump at it.
For Geelong his way of defending was to run around as a loose spare type and run and jump at the ball.
And doing that he’s reasonably successful. If he comes here I imagine he’s going to try to do the same thing unless we reinvent him, which maybe it works? Maybe not. My guess is as good as yours but his game notably suffered when he had to man up this year.
In all likelihood his best chance here is to play the past Alir role (sit in an hole and gobble up high kicks) and Alir plays the role , well that he’s been forced to this year which is a combo of trying to do that inbetween having to man up a player.
I doubt we see Alir as an all-aus again in this case, tho our defence as a unit should be better just for the fact we will have two taller marking targets instead of Alir + flankers.
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