Every player has faults, some more scrutinized than others.
Dufty has faults, yes he does. Aitken has faults, yes he does. Even going down to Frizell, yes he has faults too!
The problem with Dufty imo, lies not on his defensive positioning, more on his strength and physicality. Yes he has been ragged dolled, but so was Tedesco yesterday, but no real big deal right, because it was Tedesco. He also needs some variation in his attack, like through the middle rather than running around them.
Some say he is dubious under the high ball, and yes he's dropped a few and let some bounce, but I challenge anyone to go out to a park and get someone to kick high balls to you and at the same time have someone going to smash you....not so easy. I have suggested previously, I would send young Dufty and our wingers to some AFL training sessions. Another pre-season and some bulking up may assist his strength, hopefully with compromising speed.
Aitken is another story. Either he isn't listening to his coaches and surviving on a few good moments in games, or they are just ignoring his development. His lack of skills progression is such a worry, it makes you wonder what future lies for him after 3yrs basically doing the same thing. Time in reserve grade, time on the bench, I'm not sure any of that would help him, imo only a new coach can do that for him. The current regime don't seem able to do that. I feel for the lad because he does have talent.
As I said, you can find any amount of fault, or favour, in any player. It's just a shame our coaching staff can't.
