Enough Scotty bashing please...

[Megan]

Ah thanks Mrs M, thought it was his knee - corky is bad enough, hopefully they'll work it out for him!

[Mrs Mercuri]

Ah thanks Mrs M, thought it was his knee - corky is bad enough, hopefully they'll work it out for him!

Yeah a badly corked quad i think, Lonergan got a corky as well be he managed to get back on the ground and play ok.

[bombercol]

He'll be right.

[tom9779]

funny.

in 2008 Scott Lucas was the difference between winning and losing.
without him we would have been a complete basket case last year.

[tonysoprano]

struggling - but goes to show what impact injuries and/or interupted pre-seasons do to elite players. I think we need to keep the faith - he is a legend of the club and when he gets fits our much improved mid-field are going to see Scotty finish of their hard work.

[jimmyc1985]

He's gone. Thank you linesmen, thank you ball boys.

Call a spade a spade. He was embarrassing for large parts of yesterday, and has been so for large parts of the first five rounds. He'll still cobble together the odd good performance here and there throughout the season because he's good enough to do so, but the consistent, champion CHF he's been for a decade is not going to ever reappear.

And no, i was not bronx cheering him yesterday. I have nothing but utter reverence for the man. But he's gone.

[Rossoneri]

The Bronx cheers was ordinary, he did keep presenting but his confidence on a scale from 1-10 would be at -5.

[merc_2]

The bronx cheers Scotty got yesterday were disgraceful. The guy missed most of the year injured last year, had a limited pre-season and has given great service to our club. I think he deserves some slack. Shame on all the Essendon fans who gave him a bronx...

[Mrs Mercuri]

The bronx cheers Scotty got yesterday were disgraceful. The guy missed most of the year injured last year, had a limited pre-season and has given great service to our club. I think he deserves some slack. Shame on all the Essendon fans who gave him a bronx...

I agree. I was quite shocked when i heard the bronx cheers when Scotty finally held a mark. Yes the big guy is struggling (probably from that knee injury from last year) but he has been a champion for a very very long time and deserves better than that. Hearing that from his own supporters wont really help his already battered confidence. He has a history of playing well against the Lions so hopefully he turns his form around on Sat night!

[danstar84]

He is starting to get more of the ball which is encouraging. His kicking is still well off. I have faith and believe that he will come good.

Over the past few years he has really struggled against the pies, even when in good form.

[Mrs Mercuri]

He is starting to get more of the ball which is encouraging. His kicking is still well off. I have faith and believe that he will come good.

Over the past few years he has really struggled against the pies, even when in good form.

Nathan Brown and Harry O did a pretty good job on Scotty yesterday.

[BenDoolan]

The bronx cheers Scotty got yesterday were disgraceful. The guy missed most of the year injured last year, had a limited pre-season and has given great service to our club. I think he deserves some slack. Shame on all the Essendon fans who gave him a bronx...

I agree. I was quite shocked when i heard the bronx cheers when Scotty finally held a mark. Yes the big guy is struggling (probably from that knee injury from last year) but he has been a champion for a very very long time and deserves better than that. Hearing that from his own supporters wont really help his already battered confidence. He has a history of playing well against the Lions so hopefully he turns his form around on Sat night!

Being at the ground, I didn't think it was all that bad (whoever did it). It was more of an encouraging "bronx" if there is such a thing. I was there last year when McPhee copped an absolute raucous bronx when he marked a ball after he kept dropping sitters. That bronx seemed to be like "lift your game you f****** dickhead!"

Anyway, the only truly disgraceful act by our supporters IMO was back in 1995 when a section of arseholes actually booed Paul Salmon off the ground after we beat West Coast in a Semi Final. I was absolutely ashamed of our supporters that day. Disgusting.

[BenDoolan]

Punters who think Scotty is playing shit (probably) and is "gorn", should perhaps contemplate a dispassionate view of the replay.

Putting aside losing a season at age 30 and a subsequent interrupted pre-season, the man and to a lesser extent Lloyd, is victim to shit disposal. And it has head f.cked his confidence.

The number of times both were out front on the lead and the aget either went over their heads or it was to high and made them stop and prop was embarassing as the goal Scotty missed in the last that he usually gets blindfolded ....when confident. The consequences of shit passing can be cruel. Ask Hille.

By the end of the year we will see them breaking apart games.......maybe soon.

Disagree with that. Our ball use into the F50 has been excellent.

[BenDoolan]

Agree on that BD most of the time, but look a the replay again Doolan.

I stopped counting at about 8 the number of times that the pass went over Scottys head or it became a defenders paradise when he had to stop a prop.

Bu anyway he is one brilliant piece of Footy away from getting his mojo back and still takes a #1 or2 defender each week.

I stopped counting at about 15 the amount of times he was in perfect position to mark the ball and didn't. It all started in that first quarter where he dropped a perfect pass on his chest.

He'll come good, but it aint anyone else's fault that he is in crap form but himself.

[Crazyman]

Not gunna bash him...yesterday his worst efforts were glaring (starting from the dropped mark he would take 999 times in 1000) and truly showed how out of form he is atm...that said, he kept trying and worked hard and kept going and he also did do a few good things...

Unfortunately, one thing I did notice was how often he was caught behind his opponent and his lack of pace really showed...

I don't think he is that far away from a pearler and when he has one, it will be a beauty, but sadly, if he continues performing like on Anzac Day, then he could be in real trouble for the longer term...

[Madden]

He's not gone just yet and I'm surprised that some people are saying so.

Here's the thing about Lucas - he has never EVER been a good contested mark. He has always taken his marks out in front of his chest on the lead, and has done so well over the years because of his pace. At the moment, he is not marking the ball because he has lost a yard of pace, and that's allowing defenders to get a fist in where they havent been able to do so in previous years.

In my mind there's three possible reasons why he has lost this yard of pace;

1. He has had absolutely no pre-season; or
2. His injuries have destroyed his pace; or
3. His age means he doesn't have that pace anymore.

I'm prepared to wait another 5 or so weeks so get the answer to that question. Let him get lots more miles into the legs and see how he goes. If he's still struggling by mid-year, then the answer is either 2 or 3 and Jimmy and co may well be right. But let's just wait and see.

[rockhole]

Good post, Staggy.

His confidence is shot. That can be rectified

His kicking is crap. That can also be rectified. irrespective of other attributes, this skill is rarely lost for long. He is still one of the best left footers in the game.

His pace is questionable. This is the big concern. if he cannot get clear of a defender, he is in trouble as he is not a pack marker. Maybe with confidence returning, he will get a bit smarter and time his leads a lot better. Some delivery on Saturday was crap but he also let himself down with basic skill errors.

Overall, still worth perservering with. Easily could have had a couple of goals from last two games and net result would have been fair to OK. More likely to get Scotty back on track than any other apparent solution, short term.

[jimmyc1985]

He's not gone just yet and I'm surprised that some people are saying so.

Here's the thing about Lucas - he has never EVER been a good contested mark. He has always taken his marks out in front of his chest on the lead, and has done so well over the years because of his pace. At the moment, he is not marking the ball because he has lost a yard of pace, and that's allowing defenders to get a fist in where they havent been able to do so in previous years.

In my mind there's three possible reasons why he has lost this yard of pace;

1. He has had absolutely no pre-season; or
2. His injuries have destroyed his pace; or
3. His age means he doesn't have that pace anymore.

I'm prepared to wait another 5 or so weeks so get the answer to that question. Let him get lots more miles into the legs and see how he goes. If he's still struggling by mid-year, then the answer is either 2 or 3 and Jimmy and co may well be right. But let's just wait and see.

I think it's a combination of all 3 things. But it's not just pace he appears to have lost - it's power. He's slower off the mark, and he struggles from beyond 50m whereas pre-2008 he'd have no problem going 55m most of the time.

He'll improve a bit as the season goes on and will still have a few really good games, but the glory days are over. The club knows it, too - why do you think they pushed back so hard on him to take a one year deal when he wanted two?

[robbie67]

He's gone. Thank you linesmen, thank you ball boys.

Call a spade a spade. He was embarrassing for large parts of yesterday, and has been so for large parts of the first five rounds. He'll still cobble together the odd good performance here and there throughout the season because he's good enough to do so, but the consistent, champion CHF he's been for a decade is not going to ever reappear.

And no, i was not bronx cheering him yesterday. I have nothing but utter reverence for the man. But he's gone.

Wow you really think that? I reckon it's a big call after 5 rounds with an interupted pre-season. I think the best solution may be to give him a run across half back again. That has worked for him, when he has been down on confidence in the past.