Grahaml wrote:Fair to say that Dangerfield is the better player. If both run free you'd be backing Dangerfield to have a big game. But on the flip side whose output is more important? Dangerfield has some really good midfielders around him with a top notch ruckman. Vince is almost the only one in that Melbourne side with some class and pedigree of playing well.
No doubt at all there will be always be some blokes more worried about their opponent than other blokes. That's always going to happen. I just don't see a bloke surviving in this day and age where his game is measured purely and simply by what his opponent did.
Flying the flag can be done in many ways. Dangerfield should be strong minded enough to know that the team winning is more important. Sure, there will be a tendency to try the tactic if it affects him regularly (I don't think it will personally for long) but if sides aren't picking up wins doing it they won't persist for long. It's all about winning now. I doubt many will admit it, but there have been more than a few blokes over the journey who would have been happier to get 35 and lose than 15 and win.
And the point about the fines is that it's against the rules. Keep breaking the rules and the team ends up suffering. A melee isn't the solution. Make Vince run around a few blokes getting in his way. Get Dangerfield to run around Jacobs or Walker a few times and see if the tagger wants to try to go through a shepherd from a big bloke. Those are far more effective and legal methods that wouldn't be considered flying the flag.
Vince only?
N.Jones is a better player than Vince. D.Tyson probably not that far away either.