Hayduke. I was astounded they left out Keefe after one bad game...

Hayduke.

I was astounded they left out Keefe after one bad game yet many good games. Carlisle had a field day on Maxwell, fairly predictable as Maxwell never takes key forwards.

But the true problem is in contested ball and clearances, particularly the quality of the clearances. Swan must be injured and his sure hands are being badly missed around the congestion. As mentioned Ball works hard but is near the end. Beams is a fine player but has been less consistent this year, and McCaffer's main role is to negate. That leaves Pendulbury with much of of work to do, especially made hard when he is being closely checked. Fringe players such as Adams and Blair who occasionally spend time in the middle don't really provide depth. Sidebottom is a quality player but more of an outside runner like Young. The midfield depth is just not there, and worryingly there isn't much coming through.

The positives are that young players Seedsman, Langdon, Elliot, Grundy and Frost have all shown they can play. Not a great surprise to see young players showing patchy form and feeling the pinch at this time of year. I generally feel the team has performed quite well this year, but they certainly need to improve in the area of contested ball.