Player Watch #29: Will Phillips

[Ichiro #51]

Nakia Cockatoo, Jackson Thurlow, Billie Smedts, Darcy Lang…..

It’s just they’ve been able to trade for whoever the * they want which has allowed them to hide these failures.

There you go. Happens at every team. The one thing the good clubs do well is recognize the bust early and move them on asap. Usually to some gullible fool like (do I need to name names).

 

[scottywiper]

Yikes. When he botched that handball and then kicked to a 2 on 1, with Drury the one, I think all hope vanished in 15 seconds.
The Will Phil that was pretty handy in the win over the Eagles in Perth a few years back is but a memory.

 

[DocSholl]

So who should we have picked.

In hindsight we should have bid on Gulden, but that was obviously not going to happen at that time.

McDonald was probably the correct pick, especially watching yet another team set intercept mark records against us. But he'd probably be back in Perth by now if we'd picked him.

 

[justroyal]

Nah they were crying for leadership and building a team around the mid. They didn’t know we were going to land Sheezel though otherwise yep McDonald was right

 

[Themanbun]

So who should we have picked.

We should have got the * out of that draft as much as possible instead of overreacting to a poor season with several close losses and unprecedented events contributing to those losses.

It did not make sense to pick up 4, arguably 5 midfielders at the start of an over the top root and branch rebuild when the following drafts (2021, 2022) which you could expect us to be at the pointy end of were *ing loaded with midfielders.

There has been ZERO foresight in our list management, drafting and recruiting strategy, relative to where we are at as a club. It appears to be focused on one draft at a time which just can't be the way you operate at this level.

The pick of Phillips at 3 wasn't that bad. But we were always setting up a few of these blokes to fail with how many midfielders we went chips in on.

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

Yikes. When he botched that handball and then kicked to a 2 on 1, with Drury the one, I think all hope vanished in 15 seconds.
The Will Phil that was pretty handy in the win over the Eagles in Perth a few years back is but a memory.

I remember seeing Lance Piciaone miss a target under no pressure 2 metres away from him by about 2 metres late in the 2005 Elimination Final and I commented at the time that it might just be his last touch in AFL. It was. I truly hope this is not the case for Will but that was 15 seconds of play that seems to have decided his fate to be subbed off today.

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

We drafted one small, slow mid at 2. Then went back for another at 11.

Powell might have just enough pop to be a contributor but is no game changer.


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If we are going to slam Phillips for his performance, Powell also needs to receive some heat. He was awful today. Non-existent.

 

[Themanbun]

We drafted one small, slow mid at 2. Then went back for another at 11.

Powell might have just enough pop to be a contributor but is no game changer.


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Don't forget our next pick was, another undersized midfielder! Followed by a speculative wingman who couldn't get a kick.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

LDU, Phillips, Wardlaw, Powell, Simpkin.

Can only play in the guts. Can’t play on a wing, pinch hit forward, go to half back.


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[Colby Cheer Squad]

There you go. Happens at every team. The one thing the good clubs do well is recognize the bust early and move them on asap. Usually to some gullible fool like (do I need to name names).

It also goes to show that superior development, while important, is not always the be all and end all. If a high end draft pick turns out to be considerably less than his output as a junior, sometimes it's not the fault of development coaches.

 

[Devil Fish]

There’s absolutely no reason why he can’t be Libba.

He doesn’t have half of Libba’s talent. That’s the reason.

 

[Devil Fish]

Yikes. When he botched that handball and then kicked to a 2 on 1, with Drury the one, I think all hope vanished in 15 seconds.
The Will Phil that was pretty handy in the win over the Eagles in Perth a few years back is but a memory.

What about the Brownlow vote vs the Suns?

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

He doesn’t have half of Libba’s talent. That’s the reason.

He absolutely does. LDU will go elsewhere and win a Brownlow within 3 years. No idea what’s happening with our development.

Doesn’t help that Clarko clearly doesn’t rate him.


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[Colby Cheer Squad]

What about the Brownlow vote vs the Suns?

Elsa, we'll always have Paris.

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

We should have got the * out of that draft as much as possible instead of overreacting to a poor season with several close losses and unprecedented events contributing to those losses.

It did not make sense to pick up 4, arguably 5 midfielders at the start of an over the top root and branch rebuild when the following drafts (2021, 2022) which you could expect us to be at the pointy end of were *ing loaded with midfielders.

There has been ZERO foresight in our list management, drafting and recruiting strategy, relative to where we are at as a club. It appears to be focused on one draft at a time which just can't be the way you operate at this level.

The pick of Phillips at 3 wasn't that bad. But we were always setting up a few of these blokes to fail with how many midfielders we went chips in on.

To be fair, it was our highest pick since Wells, it wasn’t really likely we would trade away the pick.

 

[fusion]

Yikes. When he botched that handball and then kicked to a 2 on 1, with Drury the one, I think all hope vanished in 15 seconds.
The Will Phil that was pretty handy in the win over the Eagles in Perth a few years back is but a memory.

I was driving when that happened and heard on the radio that his hand missed the ball when he tried to handball. Just watched the replay, and I think that's the case. His confidence must be shot. Needs a change of club for his own sake.

 

[Themanbun]

To be fair, it was our highest pick since Wells, it wasn’t really likely we would trade away the pick.

Then we should have tried to bail out with our other picks, and hold onto some of our KPPs, instead of picking the same bloke 3 times at 3, 13 and 33.

But what you say is pretty illustrative of our how recruitment team has lacked foresight. For what it's worth I don't disagree with you, it would've been weird if we did try to trade out, but those are the types of decisions that go against popular non-expert opinion that can make clubs. If our list management saw we'd be trash for a few years and the upcoming drafts were all mids who were even more dynamic than the 2020 crop, they should have had the guts to buck popular opinion.

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

To be fair, it was our highest pick since Wells, it wasn’t really likely we would trade away the pick.

True. Almost as unlikely as us trading away pick 1 the following year regardless of what was offered.

 

[fusion]

So who should we have picked.

I thought Elijah Hollands, like a few others here too... thay draft was terrible.

 

[koshari]

In hindsight we should have bid on Gulden, but that was obviously not going to happen at that time.

McDonald was probably the correct pick, especially watching yet another team set intercept mark records against us. But he'd probably be back in Perth by now if we'd picked him.

Im a redraft atm on who was available i would take cox.

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

Then we should have tried to bail out with our other picks, and hold onto some of our KPPs, instead of picking the same bloke 3 times at 3, 13 and 33.

I completely agree. We are getting killed (and have been for 5 years) in the air.

They kicked it inside their fifty, waited for our inept leaders to try to clear it and then waited for their height and marking advantage to do the rest.

It’s awfully depressing to watch.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

If it was me, I would have picked Goulden.

And every time Gil would say he’s tied to the Sydney academy and it’s an illegal pick I’d say “I know you are but what am I”.

Eventually the pressure to get on with the draft from commercial partners would become too great and they’d wilt like spinach and let me draft Goulden.


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[Epictetus]

He absolutely does. LDU will go elsewhere and win a Brownlow within 3 years. No idea what’s happening with our development.

Tired of this bullshit. He is playing a different sport to Libba. To suggest he has similar talent is actually unfair on Will and the club, because it infers he's not doing the work or the club has ruined him.

Will Phillips is not good enough. And he never was. And it was obvious from the jump. The. *******. End.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Tired of this bullshit. He is playing a different sport to Libba. To suggest he has similar talent is actually unfair on Will and the club, because it infers he's not doing the work or the club has ruined him.

Will Phillips is not good enough. And he never was. And it was obvious from the jump. The. *******. End.

Perish the thought that a club about to win less than 3 games for a 5th consecutive year is having issues developing players.


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[Colby Cheer Squad]

If it was me, I would have picked Goulden.

And every time Gil would say he’s tied to the Sydney academy and it’s an illegal pick I’d say “I know you are but what am I”.

Eventually the pressure to get on with the draft from commercial partners would become too great and they’d wilt like spinach and let me draft Goulden.


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We've had Redfoo at the draft table, may as well add Pee Wee Herman.