No More Gwilt, Please!

[bigcarl]

I doubt Gwilt gets dropped.

I wouldn't necessarily drop him. But I'd find a way to restructure the side so that we are never reliant on just the one key forward in riewoldt.

That's what tends to happen when gwilt is asked to pinch hit in a role in which we have many better options including kosi, bj, gardiner, gilbert and probably goose and mcevoy.

[True Blue Sainter]

Gwilt does a lot of good things. He has a penetrating kick, is solid overhead, and has learned to use his body better wtih blocks, bumps and tackles. When in space, he looks like a natural footballer. However, I still have my doubts about him when the heat is on. I noticed I think it was 3 separate occasions today when Gwilty fumbled the ball a few times, one of those times he wasn't even under pressure! It's these sorts of things that need to be minimised from his game (like they were from Blake's).

I can't see Lyon dropping him at the moment. However, Yesterday I would have gone with X Clarke or Armitage (probably X) in favour of Gwilt, and kept Eddy as that hard worker across half forward.

[Devilhead]

For Harvey's sake the kid is 22 years old, has only played 32 games and will only continue to improve

Who cares if he was supposedly our 22nd best player yesterday - he played his part and we won convincingly - he also had 4 inside 50's and 2 goal assists one of which was at an extremely vital part of the game when the Dogs had kicked the first 2 of the 2nd quarter and were charging - it was a great run to receive and under extreme pressure he found Gardiner 25 out and it turned the game back in our favour

What irks me about this thread is that there are supposed football followers out there that expect every player to get 25 plus possessions every week and take 8+ marks with 6+ tackles no matter where they play on the ground

Aaron Hamill like Gwilt played as a half forward and he rarely managed to get 20 possessions a game and at times didn't kick any goals yet he was revered for his forward pressure - whilst not a ferocious as Hamill (yet ...) Gwilt's attack on the ball and at the man in the forwardline has been great and given his age and experience he should be perservered with in this position

Go Gwilty keep up the good work

[starsign]

Aaron Hamill like Gwilt played as a half forward and he rarely managed to get 20 possessions a game and at times didn't kick any goals yet he was revered for his forward pressure - whilst not a ferocious as Hamill (yet ...) Gwilt's attack on the ball and at the man in the forwardline has been great and given his age and experience he should be perservered with in this position

pretty much my thoughts re Hamill comparison as I read through this post
Jimbo is providing a strong physical presence in attack and agreed while not as good as Sammy he is obviously fitting the bill in this important game plan aspect No doubt his role and place in place in the side gets debated each week at selection and this week must have been a preferred option to playing Biig Mac
And if you look at it objectively it worked well as we were able to get the best from both angles by having Koz and Gardner play cameo roles down there as well

[Badlands]

Did not see this coming at all!
I actually thought he was good last night.
Guess others saw things differently.

[bergholt]

We won. He's part of the team. Great foot skills. Get over it

what? that's a crap argument. by that logic we can never drop anyone after a win because they're "part of the team". stupid.

how about, instead, we compare those players in the team with those players out of it to decide if changes are warranted. and we look at our structure and decide if it's optimal. anything else is a recipe for mediocrity.

there's no doubt we need another tall forward who's not riewoldt. the forward line looks much better with roo and kosi presenting well. gwilt has shown the past three weeks that he's not the second tall option down there. i don't think that given another 16 weeks in that same spot that he will magically become the player we need. so either play him elsewhere or drop him, but don't pretend he's having more impact than any of these players would have as a permanent forward:

koschitzke
maguire
r clarke
allen
mcevoy
gardiner
goddard
lynch

even lynch. i'd rather see him in there at 18 years old because there's some prospect of him developing as a tall forward option.

gwilt will never be a small forward, either, as he hasn't got the instincts. the only way i can see him being useful in the forward line is as a ryan o'keefe type - but how close is he to that at the moment?

[bergholt]

For Harvey's sake the kid is 22 years old, has only played 32 games and will only continue to improve

he can do that at sandy.

armitage is only 20 years old, has only played 16 games and will only continue to improve. why not give him a run in the seniors instead of gwilt? yeah, they're different players, but armo on a half-forward flank would be as useful as gwilt as a target (not very) and better on the ground and kicking goals.

mcevoy is only 19 years old, has only played 1 game and will only continue to improve. why not give him a run instead of gwilt? mcevoy could play permanent forward better than gwilt, as a stronger lead and mark, or could play ruckman so kosi could play permanent forward.

Who cares if he was supposedly our 22nd best player yesterday - he played his part and we won convincingly - he also had 4 inside 50's and 2 goal assists one of which was at an extremely vital part of the game when the Dogs had kicked the first 2 of the 2nd quarter and were charging - it was a great run to receive and under extreme pressure he found Gardiner 25 out and it turned the game back in our favour

yup, he probably did one good thing. two, if you count the conversion of a lucky free kick ("Cross was harshly penalised" according to The Age) from 35.

i really hope that's not your standard for a "good game", though.

What irks me about this thread is that there are supposed football followers out there that expect every player to get 25 plus possessions every week and take 8+ marks with 6+ tackles no matter where they play on the ground

nope, i just expect him to play his part. he didn't.

Aaron Hamill like Gwilt played as a half forward and he rarely managed to get 20 possessions a game and at times didn't kick any goals yet he was revered for his forward pressure - whilst not a ferocious as Hamill (yet ...) Gwilt's attack on the ball and at the man in the forwardline has been great and given his age and experience he should be perservered with in this position

so what you're saying is that hamill was good at half forward, and gwilt's not as good as hamill, therefore... um, what?

[St Plugger]

Perservere with Gwilt.
The Hawks sealed the Premiership with a Gwilt like player, albeit more expereinced...Stewart Dew!!!!
When Gwilt has a flat period, which all players have over a season, he'll be dropped. Until then, appreciate how far he's come, ah la Blake.

[saintbob]

Early in the year I was calling for his head as well, not believing that he was in our best 22.
I've since come to the conclusion that he hasn't done too much wrong and his ability to go back or forward gives Ross that extra flexibility needed in our current game plan.

[Solar]

gwilt was an interesting one

would not discount the idea that he was there to take lake away from the ball. Did it work? well we got the 4points but we were a little roo obsessed for the first time this year.

gwilt's good form has come as a lead up third forward who works up hard, then doubles back as almost a winger.

The best explantation of this was when he lead up, the ball went to someone els and he worked back to half forward, gained possesion, burst through three bulddogs and kicked to 30 out and space (resulting in a goal)

Is alot more effective when he has 2 big forwards around him and this comes back to balance. when king comes in and kosi goes forward gwilt will become very effective again IMO. Lyon has found a very good role for him

(btw I was actually a big crictic of gwilt as he is not a natural footballer)

[n1ck]

nope, i just expect him to play his part. he didn't.

How do you know what 'his part' is? I recko if he wasnt playing 'his part' or performing a role, Eoss would have dropped him by now.

Obviously the boss thinks he is playing 'his part'.

[perfectionist]

As I have said elsewhere, he's a about player number 21 or 22 in the team. But you have to have 22 players and his height and flexibility gets him a game.

But to compare him with Hamill? Geez. Aaron could run faster, hit harder, jump and take marks well above his height, handball with both hands and kick with both feet. I suppose they both have the same number of arms and legs, but other than playing for the Saints, the similarity ends there.

[Ice Wolf]

Loved some of Gwilt's marks yesterday when he would jump up and grab the ball out of the air and quickly pull it to his chest, it was reminiscent of Gehrig.

[Ice Wolf]

As I have said elsewhere, he's a about player number 21 or 22 in the team. But you have to have 22 players and his height and flexibility gets him a game.

But to compare him with Hamill? Geez. Aaron could run faster, hit harder, jump and take marks well above his height, handball with both hands and kick with both feet. I suppose they both have the same number of arms and legs, but other than playing for the Saints, the similarity ends there.

Well you can never please a "perfectionist"

[BAM! (shhhh)]

I would actually think that he is playing his role just right and there would be little chance of Lyon dropping Gwilt who is doing what is required!

which is? did ya read the post? too many words and numbers there?

Thought Gwilt was fantastic in the first half. I was surprised when his stats went up on the board at the beginning of the 3rd and he was just getting his 9th touch.

Through the 4th, when Roo moved up the ground Gwilt got left int he goalsquare for structure - tough to get the ball when it's not coming down there.

I suspect it may be Gwilt who makes way for Raph Clarke at some stage, or even for Hudghton with Dawson/Gilbert being thrown forward in Gwilt's place.

Right now Gwilt is playing a swing/utility role and doing it well. To get him out of the team, someone's going to need to take his place from him, because he's certainly not doing anything to suggest he'll be dropped for his own game.

[bethb7]

IMO Gwilt has done enough to keep himself in the side, good set shot at goal & good overhead. Has earned his spot we haven't lost a game why change a winning team?

[markp]

nope, i just expect him to play his part. he didn't.

How do you know what 'his part' is? I recko if he wasnt playing 'his part' or performing a role, Eoss would have dropped him by now.

Obviously the boss thinks he is playing 'his part'.

Yup, RL wouldn't tolerate passengers and evidently has confidence in him, he must be doing what is required of him.

Surely Ross has earned a little trust in his judgement by now.

We're flying too, so if it aint broke....

[bigcarl]

Did not see this coming at all!
I actually thought he was good last night.
Guess others saw things differently.

look i actually rate him as a half back or winger or even a third tall forward (albeit one who doesn't kick a lot of goals).

the problem is that yesterday ... with kosi rucking a lot of the time ... he was asked to play mainly as our second tall forward.

the predictable consequence?

KICK-IT-TO-ROO.

we got away with that yesterday, but mark my words, it will come back to bite us at some stage.

[terry smith rules]

As I have said elsewhere, he's a about player number 21 or 22 in the team. But you have to have 22 players and his height and flexibility gets him a game.

But to compare him with Hamill? Geez. Aaron could run faster, hit harder, jump and take marks well above his height, handball with both hands and kick with both feet. I suppose they both have the same number of arms and legs, but other than playing for the Saints, the similarity ends there.

I think the comparison is to a Hamill type player.

Hamill came to us as a carlton champion and premiership player , he was ready made.

Gwilt is still learning!!

I think that he is doing his job, yesterday to try and take Lake out of contests. He also provides a strong body. Like many big guys sometimes he looks slow to react, we can live with that as long as he makes a presence when he gets there.

Go jimmy

[spert]

Let's get out of the dreamworld -it would be fantastic if every player in our team got 30+ possessions every week, but it's not going to happen. Gwilt is still developing and is doing good work in a winning team without being an outright star.

[BringBackMadDog]

armitage is only 20 years old, has only played 16 games and will only continue to improve. why not give him a run in the seniors instead of gwilt? yeah, they're different players, but armo on a half-forward flank would be as useful as gwilt as a target (not very) and better on the ground and kicking goals.

What a load of bollocks, This is where your credibility just bit the dust, Armo is a good kid and tough as nails but he is an ordinary kick at best and no good overhead. Gwilt is a beautiful kick and deadly accurate from 60 metres in. He is also extremely important to our structure as he is one of the few guys in the side who can kick over a zone defence. He has been solid for us all year

[bigcarl]

He is also extremely important to our structure as he is one of the few guys in the side who can kick over a zone defence.

that's why i like him as a winger or half forward, not the only marking target in the forward line apart from roo.

[degruch]

Hey, I'm a Jimmy fan...why not, he's doing a good job. I don't think there's much chance of him being dropped for an unknown forward option when he's performing a good job in a team that's travelling well, especially based on the over-expectation of a few fans that he should be a superstar.

Yeah, he's made a few mistakes...so has BJ...so has Gram...so has Roo. There's no reason why RL shouldn't persist with him IMO. I'm glad others feel the same way.

[Leo.J]

gwilt isn't good enough and he's taking game time away from someone else...we're winning games, so it's not obvious, but our 22nd player is an absolute passenger. i'm sure he's a really nice guy and he's trying hard, but he's not up to it.

Is this a JOKE?!

[Sobraz]

Thought his first quater was his poorest for the year so far, but he kept backing himself and worked his way into the game nicely... Ended up being a solid game for Gwilt...

I like Jimmy, and I think he's a very important part of our team... His body strength is so important, which he is starting to use well, and most of all his skills, particularly his kicking, are a massive weapon...

Last night he showed on 2 or 3 occassions a good turn of pace, and burnt off a few dogs opponants a few times... He hasnt really showed this much, and proves he has many more strings to his bow, which will come out as his confidence grows...

With respect to playing him forward, it is obvious RL used him in a specific role last night, which worked well, and he did contribute with a few score assists, the one mentioned earlier about Gardinder was of the highest quality...

Jimmy stays for mine...