04-02-2018, 03:04 AM
(04-02-2018, 02:14 AM)Shakin77 link Wrote:It's a catch 20/20. Maybe 2 or 3 sides have a match up for all of Marchbank/Jones/Weitering. Ideally we would get by with 2 and Plowman who can play oversized at a pinch. So what's the catch?
For the future it's
Marchbank, Weitering then Jones.
On form it's
Jones, Marchbank then Weitering.
Marchbank and Weitering are blue chip talents who have only played 22 games and 44 games. They need to play AFL level to together. Not VFL. So what do you do?
Drop Jones? Harsh.
Drop Weitering? Yeah maybe now. But I never hated the decision to play him, even though it clearly didn't work. Doens't mean the idea wasn't great.
Thirdly if you are going with 2, then maybe (just maybe) you might look at trading one at seasons end. Playing VFL is not great for their trade value.
I don't think it's as simple as dropping him and waiting until he has a match up.
I agree with most of that, and i know there is no easy solution to the problem.
I haven't given up on Weitering yet, far from it, but i don't think playing him at present is doing him and us any good...especially when there is no matchup for him.
Short term? So yes, send him to VFL, let him dominate, let him enjoy playing footy again. Let him spend some time up forward if kick a goal or 2.
Medium term? See how he goes in the VFL, if he regains some form, maybe try him again at senior level. If we have injuries, we have cover.
Long term? Hard to say. Jones is only 27 and has plenty of footy ahead of him. Blokes his size are generally just hitting their peak now. Do we cash in? Maybe.
I'd certainly keep Marchbank as he has barely put a foot wrong in his time at the club.
Weitering is probably your best long term option....but he might also hold the most value at the trade table. Look at offers and let them dictate what you wanna do.
If we could snare a young-ish, but AFL ready key forward in a trade for Weitering....even if we throw in a kicker, should we do it? If it was Lynch??
You gotta explore these options.
However, short term, i see no benefit to playing Weitering right now, not for him, not for our future and not helping us win.