Toast #166 Shannon Hurn (2006 - 2023)

Remove this Banner Ad

Round 14 vs St Kilda

Player stats: 15 disposals (10 kicks, 5 handballs, 4 marks, 1 tackle).

Unfortunately I was unable to watch the match due to overseas conference duties (as mentioned above), however from my very limited understanding from Hurn's stats and brief glimpses in a number of match highlight packages, it sounds like Hurn had a reasonable outing in the Eagles 33 point victory over the Saints. It may not be the same return as the previous week against the Suns where he tore Gold Coast a new one, but it appears he was still solid.

Hopefully he can continue to perform for the remainder of the season to the level he has shown thus far, as we are a hugely more effective team with Hurn fit and firing.
 
Round 15 vs Fremantle

Player stats: 21 disposals (16 kicks, 5 handballs, 5 marks)

While I was only able to watch a portion of this game, I thought Hurn had one of his better performances in a game that he had the honor of being captain. Freo, as much as this pains me, where again clearly the better side, with our midfield depth and class again being exploited. While we were able to show a fight that we hasn't been a regular feature of this or last year, we ultimately went down in a close finish by 7 points.

Sponsorship aside, I think Hurn would make an excellent captain. Not only is he one of our most consistent players week in, week out, he is also in an ideal role for a captain, playing as almost a quarter-back/rebounding-type general, where he is able to greatly influence set ups and the plays from the half-back line. Further, I have noticed Hurn's 'vocal-ity', ability to command the back-line, and general effort-levels have been up this year, which indicates he is ready to take the role on captain from next year onward.
 
Last edited:
Round 16 vs Sydney

Players stats: 15 disposals (14 kicks, 1 handball, 4 marks, 3 tackles)

I had the fortune to being able to make the game live against the Swans over the weekend, however it was somewhat marred by terrible weather (compounded by the fact I was not undercover and wearing very little in the way of warm clothes thanks to a volunteering shift immediately prior to the game) and some (at times) very scrappy wet-weather footy. While I thought the intent was there for the most part from our boys, but the class of the Sydney midfield was ultimately the difference, with the eagles going down by 28 points. I thought E.Mac was clearly our best, with great support being provided by Lycett, X, and others. Hurn, while not performing as well as he has done for most of the season, was still more than serviceable. While there was a lot of the 'bomb it long' philosophy being practiced by our team over the weekend, including Hurn at times, I thought that Hurn's accuracy by boot for the most part was amplified by the wet-weather footy on show, in that the majority of our boys couldn't hit targets. While Hurn is one of our few 'elite' field-kicks, the number in Sydney's line-up put our list to shame. Parker, Jack, Bird et al. showed us where our midfield needs to get to, and how far we have to go to get there.

As I said, good intent by the boys, but we have some way to go if we wanted to start matching the top teams like Sydney.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Round 17 vs Brisbane

Player stats: 17 disposals (14 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks, 6 tackles)

While it wasn't the most spectacular game of AFL I have ever watched, due in large part by the lack of skills and poor disposal efficiency on display, I was still pleased to see the Eagles have a 12 point win against the Lions over the weekend. Hurn was again one of the Eagles better players for the night, along with others such as Shuey and Lycett. In particular, it was pleasing to see a personal season-high 6 tackles from Hurn, an aspect of his game that has been somewhat lacking thus far in 2014. If he can improve the defensive side of his game, in addition to his already stellar skill-set and aerobic capacity, it could see him scale to bigger and better things in the future, perhaps even AA selection.

Recent Hurn article about kick-ins:
http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2014-07-15/the-hardest-job-in-footy

Recent Hurn presser about Eagles chances at making finals this year:
http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2014-07-14/eagles-hold-september-hopes
--> Gee he speaks well, would make a great captain in my book
 
Round 18 vs Richmond

Player stats: 17 disposals (12 kicks, 5 handballs), 2 marks, 13 tackles.

It was another disappointing outing for the Eagles, with West Coast going down by 17 points to Richmond in horrendous conditions at home. It was your typical scrappy, low-scoring, wet weather game. Pardon the pun, but we simply got toweled up in the rain by a superior Ninthmond midfield. In a game that will be remembered by TV's 'dog act' on Cox, there were few that stood up for the home side, however impressive efforts were shown by NN, Ellis, Shuey, (dare I say?!) Priddis and Hurn. A highlight for Hurn was definitely his tackling. Just last week, I was saying that this was an area that Hurn needed to step up in, and only a week later did he manage to more than double his previous season-high tackle count. Impressive effort by Hurn in his second game as acting captain.
 
Round 19 vs Adelaide

Player stats: 21 disposals (15 kicks, 6 handballs), 5 marks, 2 tackles, 1 goal.

What happened over the weekend?! The Eagles decided to show up at the 'new' Adelaide Oval and show some real heart and passion, that's what! I don't know whether Simmo gave them a massive rocket during the week, but the Eagles outran and outplayed the Crows in a display that gives some encouragement for the remainder of the season, with the Eagles ultimately running away to a 31 point win. There were positive signs across the board with almost all of the playing 22 contributing to the win. Personally, I rated Gaff, Lycash, Shuey and Hurn as the better players for the game, but as I just mentioned, it was quite an impressive display across the board. I really rated Hurn's game, he was everywhere, particularly in the first half. The highlight of his game was definitely his 'silver service' delivery into the forward 50, culminating in a number of sublime passes and marks to our forwards. We need the ball in Hurn's hands as often as possible, as you know you are always going to get something special. I also rated his goal from near the center circle as possibly the highlight of the entire game, what an absolute gem. I loved Roo's commentary, 'BUNG'!

What a difference a week makes. Last week against Richmond it seemed all doom and gloom for us fans, however this game gives us some hope moving forward. Good work Eags!
 
Round 20 vs Collingwood

Player stats: 20 disposals (12 kicks, 8 handballs), 4 marks, 2 tackles.

While I wasn't able to see the entirety of the game over the weekend (due to attending a wedding), I was able to see the first half of the game against the Pies, and what a half it was!.. especially by Hurn. Bung's elite kicking and rebounding skills were on show for all to see, racking up 10 quality first quarter possessions. He was easily BOG during this quarter and really help set up a great start for the Eagles. The second half saw a role change for Hurn as Ellis went off with a shoulder injury, while Brown also pulled up somewhat lame, requiring Hurn to play as more of a lock-down defender. He played this role well, however it obviously limited his disposal output. Watching the highlights and reading through the stats indicating that there were a lot of good contributors on the day, Lycash and Darling for example, with the Eagles thumping the Pies by 10 goals... oh how sweet it is Eddie ;)

What an impressive two weeks for the eagles. While we are definitely a good shot for the finals now, especially if we win against the Dons this coming weekend, much will depend on which Eagles side actually turns up in the next three weeks. If we see the same Eagles from the Crows and Pies games, then yeah, finals is a real possibility... but if we return to the sad and sorry eagles side of most of this season.. oh dear.

Come on Eags, let's smash the Dons and do the West proud!
 
Round 21 vs Essendon

Player stats: 23 disposals (20 kicks, 3 handballs), 10 marks and 2 tackles.

It took me a while to recover from the 3 point loss to the Dons over the weekend given that a spot in the 8 was up for grabs, and as such, my player summary for the week was somewhat later than usual lol. I guess if we took an optimistic point of view, we could say that the Eagles really turned up with a passion, hunger, and most importantly, a Simmo game-plan that appears to have finally clicked with the players, that has defined the last three weeks. I was impressed with the teams first three quarters, very impressed actually. The Dons, while at times inconsistent this year, are a good team, and it was pleasing that we could outplay them for the majority of the game.. especially considering it was an away game with hugely one-sided support for the home team. A number of players performed well, including Shuey, E.Mac, Masto (two of four quarters lol) and even Cripps had a blinder in the second half. Hurn, for mine, was probably our BOG (bias aside) in his 150th game. He racked up disposals at will, especially in the first half, with each being incredibly effective and potent. It's been said many times before, but we want the ball in Hurn's hands as much as possible, because his kicking has so so much 'hurt-factor', and he almost single-handedly won the game early on for us, but ultimately we were overrun in the last quarter.

Hurn has been having a blinder recently, perhaps it has something to do with the leadership opportunities he has been given, but this rich vein of form has not been lost on people inside and outside the AFL. In fact, there is a chance that Hurn may make the preliminary squad for the AA team this year:

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-20/wednesday-special-all-australian-contenders

"WEST COAST
Shannon Hurn Unlikely to make the final 22, but his past month of football could put him into consideration for the 40-man squad. Hurn's value is not in raw numbers but rather the damage he does when he has the ball in his hands. He is averaging 18 touches, more than in 2012 when he finished third in the Eagles' best and fairest, but fewer than the 20 disposals he averaged in 2009 when he finished second to club champion Darren Glass."

The Dons' loss was a tough pill to swallow, but amazingly, we are still in the hunt for a September birth. Win the next two games, ideally by some big margins (I'm looking at you Melbourne!), and rely on the favorites to win in a couple of other games, and it's happy days. Let's give Big Cox the send-off he deserves!
 
Round 22 vs Melbourne

Player stats: 21 disposals (16 kicks and 5 handballs), 9 marks, 3 tackles, 1 hit-out.

I was fortunate to be able to attend Saturday night's fixture against the Demons. The game itself played out as expected, with the Eagles running away with a 66 point win against a struggling Melbourne outfit. Perhaps, it should have been a larger margin in favour of the Eagles, however, the Demons displayed some grit and determination in the final quarter that prevented a massive blow-out in the scoreline. The Eagles had winning match-ups across the board.. with E.Mac, McGov (particularly the first half) in defense, Masto, Gaff and Shuey in the middle, and LeCras, Darling and JK up forward, particularly good.

Hurn has put in some amazing efforts in the last month or so, and Saturday's game was no exception. He collected 21 quality disposals during the game, while lining up on the right wing for the majority of the game. The highlight of his game for mine was definitely his run down the right wing, getting in to space on the forward 50, and rather than blazing away for goal (in his form he probably would have slotted it anyway lol), he unselfishly lowered his eyes and hit JK on the tit. This 'lowering of the eyes' has been an extremely pleasing part of the Simmo gameplan, and that play exemplified it perfectly.

With one game against the Suns remaining.. anything is possible, thanks in large part to Norf. Lose against the Suns and we could finish as low as 12th, win and we still may not make finals. But a win, and victories to the favourites in the Hawks/Pies and Swans/Richmond games, and 8th is ours (assuming the Crows don't have a 10-goal something win over the Saints). What an interesting weekend ahead. I know what I'll be doing!

men-who-love-sports-way-too-much.jpg
 
Round 23 vs Gold Coast

Player stats: 9 disposals (6 kicks, 3 handballs), 3 marks.

Thanks to a upset Richmond win against the top-of-the-table Swans on Saturday evening, finals were not on the cards at the commencement of Sunday's final round match for the Eagles against the Suns at Metricon. Despite this, the Eagles of the last month or two again showed up and displayed passion, skills and disposal efficiency that has brought supporters confidence ahead of season 2015. The highlight of the Sun's game for mine was definitely the forward-50 delivery of our midfielders to JK, NN, LeCras and co. This was typified by the 11-goal third quarter. It was a rare quiet game for Hurn, picking up a heavy offensive tag from the Suns (Stanley in particular) which significantly limited his output to only 9 possessions.

As much as the win gave me a positive outlook ahead, I can't help but rue the handful of games throughout the year that just slipped away. I know it is obvious, but it was certainly a matter of our own doing that put us in the position that we are now. An extra goal here or there throughout the year and we would've locked away a top 8 spot weeks ago. In saying that though, Simmo's objective this year was improvement, and I do believe we have seen that. From here, I believe we need to draft (and perhaps trade) well, with a particular focus on fast, line-breaking, quality mids. Hitting the pre-season hard is also crucial for next season.

It has been a pleasure to sponsor Shannon Hurn this year. A quiet game here and there aside, it has been a very impressive season from Hurn, potentially culminating in a high finish in the John Worsfold medal, or even a nod in the 40-man AA squad. Additionally, thanks to some impressive efforts on and off the track, Hurn is a good chance to inherit the captaincy from the retired Darren Glass. Sponsorship aside, I do believe Hurn is the best candidate. Fingers crossed to him!

I know nobody probably reads these updates, but it has still been fun writing them! Bring on sponsorship 2015!
 
Was interviewed on "The Couch" last night, and during the interview the panel revealed he had kicked a torp at training the day before that was measured at 90m!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

kane249
#41 Ryan Maric (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
595
Mop
Mop
kane249
#5 Jayden Hunt (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
469
kane249
kane249
kane249
#7 Reuben Ginbey (2023 - )
Replies
2
Views
485
kane249
kane249
kane249
#8 Elijah Hewett (2023 - )
Replies
2
Views
493
kane249
kane249
kane249
#30 Harry Barnett (2023 - )
Replies
3
Views
671
Mop
Mop
kane249
#38 Jordyn Baker (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
2K
kane249
kane249
kane249
#43 Tyrell Dewar (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
420
kane249
kane249

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top