#31,#26 Ben Johnson

[rocketronnie]

[pietillidie]

[cityslick1]

so it takes until he's 27 and after 8-9 of league footy fpr the penny to drop does it?! he is taking the p*ss surely. Sounds like our new Nick Davis.

Should have been traded/delisted.

[jack_spain]

Oh, gimme a break. It's a hell of a job picking a side already, but at least one decision was easy: there were four or five kids floating around the edge of selection that you'd obviously pick before you'd even think about BJ. At least BJ was easy to pick: you stuck him on the HB flank in the seconds and hoped like crazy you didn't have such a dreadful run with injuries in the seniors that you'd have to consider him for the first 22.

If he's really turned himself around the way he says he has, then there is another one you have to look at at the selection table and try to fit into the side, another[ good kid stuck in the twos and not learning his trade in the seniors as he ought to be.

Sigh.

Well, we will have to wait and see.

On the one hand, there can be fantastic value in a player who reaches that 27ish mark. Still young enough to have a strong young body instead the mass of scars and long-term niggles which is your typical 32-year-old, but suddenly old enough to realise he only has a few years left at the top level and if he wants to make his mark it has to happen now! You can't screw around anymore when you are looking 30 in the face. Look at what happened with Lockyer in '07 (but for a short while only - his '08 form wasn't even close, alas), or with Leon, who is getting better and better as he approaches the beginning of the end of his career.

So could a grog-free, clean-living, hard-training, super-fit BJ have a couple of golden seasons near his end? Or is this just holding back the development of a Dick or a Wellingham?

Beats me. Have to wait and see. But I'll make one prediction: there are going to be some huge arguments over selections here at Nick's this year.

Good to read your thoughts Tannin. So BJ has reformed? How does that explain the double-bird he gave everyone in the Arizona photo? No, I agree with you that with the great young talent coming along we need to play them as they are our future. BJ is no Cousins, and I'd much rather get games under Sidebottom's belt. I also agree with you about Lockyer who looked like he was running on the spot this year. I really thought he'd retire. A few of these older players won't be in our next finals team.

[Magpie Jack]

With all due respect,can anyone honestly see either him or OBree being part of a Collingwood premiership team? Anybody?

I can see where you are coming from. Personally I'm amazed Jonno is still on the list but when they bounce the ball I'll be supportive of whoever is wearing the black and white. Let's hope he makes the most of his second chance at the big time.

[mackasmatt]

I hope people understand the huge difference between Johnson and Obree. Fair enough they may turn the ball over a bit.. in Johnson's case it occurs in the back pocket causing a damaging turnover, alternatively Obree takes a rough centre clearance into the 50 giving opportunity for our talls. With the likes of Rocca, Reid, Dawes, Anthony, Rusling being present in the forward 50 (unless 2 of em start to emerge down back), we will definitely start seeing more value.

[rocketronnie]

He should be given a go next year but if he doesn't show real immediate improvement on his best from previous years (rather than just playing better than he has recently) then out he goes and some new talent should be given a go instead. We know what we get from Johnson and our developing new forward line structure doesn't need to have Johnson's second rate helicopter kicks into the forward line inflicted on it.

[tcnthat]

With all due respect,can anyone honestly see either him or OBree being part of a Collingwood premiership team? Anybody?

Not sure about Johnno, hopefully he has a cracker and solidifies a spot in the side.

But the other guy? Mate if you dont realise the importance of OB, with or without his faults, to our side, you are only demonstrating your ignorance. Bit hard to win games when you dont get to contest for the ball until the half back line.

[leonmagic]

o'bree is a bloody good footballer and twice the footballer johnson is. how someone can compare the two is beyond me.

as a wise man once said; "if you dont realise the importance of OB, with or without his faults, to our side, you are only demonstrating your ignorance."

[Pied Piper]

With all due respect,can anyone honestly see either him or OBree being part of a Collingwood premiership team? Anybody?

Definitely !!

Anyone heard of Lewis Roberts-Thompson ? Must be the most unlikely premiership player in the last decade but that bottom line is he IS a premiership player and it can never be taken away from him.

Not only is LRT a premiership player - he was close to Sydney's best player on the day and was well in contention for a Norm Smith medal by half-time. The unlikeliest players not only can play in grand finals; they can also play a big part in winning them.

The fact is all premiership sides contain a combination of stars, workhorses and the plain lucky. Collingwood's 1990 side is a prime example. Johnson and O'Bree, with a little luck, could easily have been premiership players already.

To look at this argument from another angle, though, the 2002-2003 Collingwood sides, relative to the Brisbane Lions, had too few stars (Buckley, Rocca, Clement), too many workhorses (Licuria, O'Bree, Johnson) and in 2003 in particular too many players lucky to get a game at all (Matthew Lokan, Ben Kinnear, an inexperienced Rhyce Shaw, Tristan Walker and Richard Cole all come to mind, and the fact they got so far says something about our coach IMHO. )

I'd say this emerging side is a very different proposition - we have a much better balanced list, and a much deeper well of talent to draw on. Johnson and O'Bree could still play in a premiership, but Johnson in particular will have to run twice as hard to keep up with the kids looking to overtake him. O'Bree remains vital, at least in the short term; the bigger question for him is whether he'll be around long enough. Lockyer (a player whose name is frequently mentioned alongside these two) has more talent than Johnson, is a better kick than O'Bree and is a leader - again, time is his only enemy.

[Piesnchess]

With all due respect,can anyone honestly see either him or OBree being part of a Collingwood premiership team? Anybody?

Not sure about Johnno, hopefully he has a cracker and solidifies a spot in the side.

But the other guy? Mate if you dont realise the importance of OB, with or without his faults, to our side, you are only demonstrating your ignorance. Bit hard to win games when you dont get to contest for the ball until the half back line.

Yeah ok mate,but i just get palpitations evertime a really class centreman like Judd,Cousins(tiger)Harvey move onto Obree,as i just think he lacks the skills to go with them.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

We'd all love a good BJ, fit and firing

[DaVe86]

I think Jonno's days are numbered. He has always been an important cog in our engine...but Marty Clarke and Heath Shaw have pushed him aside. Guys like Corrie, Sidebottom, Beams, Stanley, Cook etc are going to make it very hard for him to fit back in.


His pace will always be an asset, and his kicking on goal is very accurate...it is obviously the field kicking that will always be the issue. Reckon he played some decent footy on the half forward line in recent years and this could be a good spot for him.

[Tannin]

Dave86, I reckon you are making sense. These days, the idea that a HB flanker should be a "defender" and a HF flanker should be an "attacker" is looking a bit worn. The lines blur, the roles morph one into another. We regularly see opposition clubs play a stopper on Heater, we do the same to them if they have an attacking, running player on the HBF. And we just as regularly see some of our blokes on the half-forward line tasked with stopping opponents who provide drive. (Nick Maxwell often gets this job.)

So why not play BJ as a half-forward? If he is good enough and works hard enough to keep Dick, Sidebottom, Beams, Cook, Corrie, Stanley, Cook, and company out of the side, then good luck to him. And if he doesn't .... well, maybe he'll just make them work a bit harder to earn their places in the senior side. So be it.

[gregpie]

Last roll of the dice for Roids in 2009