swoop42 wrote:AN_Inkling wrote:Cloke: what a gun. Simply unstoppable. Was rested a bit in the last, but was the clear difference in the game. They simply had no one up forward who could emulate him. and no one down back who could stop him.
Wellingham: best game of his career.
37 touches
20 contested disposals
9 clearances
I said in the votes thread that Cloke was clear best on. I'll amend that and say just ahead of Sharrod. Scrap that,
I got it wrong - yes Swoop, first time ever! Wellingham was best on. Anyone who still thinks he doesn't get the tough ball or is protected by Swan, Thomas and Pendlebury, is a loon.
Well ahead of Beams in our 22.
This was a super win. We won by 88, without Swan, Thomas and Jolly and without a significant impact from Pendlebury or Shaw. That is an amazing effort.
The Fas was not out of place in his first game. 15 touches, 12 contested (great sign for a young player) and some very nice ball handling in tight.
The fringe: Buckley, McCarthy, Blair all did a good job without starring.
Oh please.
Awesome today but it was one game.
The gap between his best and worst is still to wide and it was only two weeks a go he could only gather 11 possessions (Beams 26) againt West Coast.
For all the games he plays like today he plays another where he lacks urgency.
Hopefully today he learnt a valuable lesson about playing with intensity and the awards it brings.
For the record Beams has gathered 20+ possies in 6 out of 8 games, Wellingham 5 of 11.
Not just one game. You may remember, I made the same statement before this game. This game just proved it further.
Understand that Beams stats are pretty good. But, this is where my "stats schmats" comment comes in. I haven't rated too many of Beams's games this year - probably played 1 good one, maybe two. Gets a lot of soft ball, and not enough of his own. Wellingham's disposals have been down a bit this year, and I have been calling for him to get more of it. He has often done a defensive job though (11 tackles last week) - another thing that is lacking a bit in Beamer's game - and wins a lot of ball in close.
Today, Wellingham showed how good he is when freed up from the defensive role. Without Swan and Thomas we couldn't afford him to tag, he had to become an offensive weapon. I think he filled the gap brilliantly.
Don't take any of this to mean I don't like Beams. I like every Collingwood player. I just see Wellingham as far more integral to our side at this stage. Beams and Sidey are at similar levels - with my personal preference putting Sidey above him due to being a harder worker and tougher in the contest. Sidey is just about my favourite player at the club - but, as with Beams, Wellingham's still well ahead of him in our best team, for mine.
I think we have a number of players that can play the Beams, Sidey role, at this stage of their careers, but few that can match Wellingham's skillset - inside / outside, genuine midfielder with pace, class, good clearance ability, a goal sense, and an ability to tag.
