AFL Player #35: Matt Guelfi - What a guy! 💅 100 games up v norf!

[Lore]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2024
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 23, DERO

 

[ghostdog]

I thought a couple of years ago I called him someone who wasn't much chop but had certain attributes that are like cat-nip to people, and I looked it up and I did at the end of 2019. good grief

anyway, he's not much chop but has certain attributes that are like cat-nip to people. the one positive thing I'll say is at the end of 2021, he was basically 1:1 for goals/behinds, which to my mind just made his presence particularly not appealing, but over the past two seasons it's been more 2:1...now a decent part of those 31 goals were from the goal square, but good for him. why he decided to ruin his goal-kicking rep with that set shot is a real mystery

but also kinda....what the hell is with you guys jumping on him after one pre-season game. it's not like anything has changed. he is who he is

This is such an astute post. Ghostdog is a cat. Ghostcat, as enamoured as I have been.

Rubbish kick at goal aside, in a forwardline that had zero defensive pressure it was Guelfi who brought that when he was placed there, and in every other position as patchwork that he's been placed in. His acts of extreme physicality and potential self-harm stay in the memory as examples of what I want from all the players, but they are tokens. Mostly he's making up the numbers but the effort has kept him in the side.

Alwyn should play. We have more to gain from him getting consistency at the top level and finding out about his capacity than from Guelf whose ceiling is fairly clear.

 

[Foxx]

Like all small forwards, he can't afford to miss easy shots on goal.

They all do that. It's his output outside of those misses that's just not enough.

 

[Zach Package]

He has because coaches like his physical style and when the list has lacked physical players it is hard not to pick him

Yep, and he used to be able to take an overhead mark as well.

Moreso saying it’s a bit disingenuous to say ‘he’s a Scott special’ when he predates Scott and also the coach before Scott

 

[Phone]

was extended during the dying days of rutten iirc (which itself is insane) so scott hasn't really even had the chance to get rid of him

although if one of the WA clubs ever happens to be interested...

 

[Call Me Cake]

was extended during the dying days of rutten iirc (which itself is insane)

How so though? He was 4th in the scoreboard tally, 2 goals behind 3rd, and was 3rd in the B&F. In hindsight it's silly cos he dropped his form but you could see why it would've made sense to them at the time.

 

[brutus76]

Might need to bring back the bleach

 

[Ambrosia]

I’m not a Guelfi fan but the reaction in this thread is over the top.

Guelfi’s number one attribute is attack on the footy and the man which is never going to translate to practice matches.

Guelfi is not good and I’m sure the coaches know that. If any of the young small forwards had shown much over the preseason I’m sure they would be given a chance.

 

[faible]

I’m not a Guelfi fan but the reaction in this thread is over the top.

Guelfi’s number one attribute is attack on the footy and the man which is never going to translate to practice matches.

Guelfi is not good and I’m sure the coaches know that. If any of the young small forwards had shown much over the preseason I’m sure they would be given a chance.

IMO He's in the same category of Jake Kelly. A guy who gives 100% on the field and provides a standard for players to meet if they want to dislodge him from the AFL side.

If our young smalls can't push Guelfi out by being as hard working as he is, do they really deserve to play?

 

[Ambrosia]

IMO He's in the same category of Jake Kelly. A guy who gives 100% on the field and provides a standard for players to meet if they want to dislodge him from the AFL side.

If our young smalls can't push Guelfi out by being as hard working as he is, do they really deserve to play?

Yeah reasonable comparison although I can’t stand Kelly because I think his skill set doesn’t make any sense for a backman in todays game.

 

[jdstorm]

This is such an astute post. Ghostdog is a cat. Ghostcat, as enamoured as I have been.

Rubbish kick at goal aside, in a forwardline that had zero defensive pressure it was Guelfi who brought that when he was placed there, and in every other position as patchwork that he's been placed in. His acts of extreme physicality and potential self-harm stay in the memory as examples of what I want from all the players, but they are tokens. Mostly he's making up the numbers but the effort has kept him in the side.

Alwyn should play. We have more to gain from him getting consistency at the top level and finding out about his capacity than from Guelf whose ceiling is fairly clear.

Guelfi is only a few games short of father son eligibility and that’s the biggest rort in the game. That’s a pretty valuable thing in itself

 

[katana]

Yeah reasonable comparison although I can’t stand Kelly because I think his skill set doesn’t make any sense for a backman in todays game.

replace backman with forward and you can say that about guelfi. he's just not a good enough runner.

 

[Ambrosia]

replace backman with forward and you can say that about guelfi. he's just not a good enough runner.

I would have thought ground covered would be one of the least of Guelfi’s problems

 

[BrunoV]

How so though? He was 4th in the scoreboard tally, 2 goals behind 3rd, and was 3rd in the B&F. In hindsight it's silly cos he dropped his form but you could see why it would've made sense to them at the time.

It's the standard fallacy that applies to certain small forwards. The guy who is always deep and in position for a Joe the goose is not even doing the minimum at a goal a game.

Darren Bewick could come out of retirement at 50 odd years of age and have the impact Guelfi has on a game.

 

[Petrify]

I was skeptical of his selection but he was almost BOG. Shut down Sicily, scored some goals and assisted in even more. Deserves some credit.

 

[DERO]

It's the standard fallacy that applies to certain small forwards. The guy who is always deep and in position for a Joe the goose is not even doing the minimum at a goal a game.

Darren Bewick could come out of retirement at 50 odd years of age and have the impact Guelfi has on a game.

He was pretty good today old mate .

 

[fairbump_playon]

His two "non vanilla" attributes are his marking for his size and his tenacity

Credit where it's due - he did well today

 

[ghostdog]

I was skeptical of his selection but he was almost BOG. Shut down Sicily, scored some goals and assisted in even more. Deserves some credit.

I dare say Menzie could learn a bit from Guelf about forward pressure.

 

[Zach Package]

The difference between Guelfi just being another guy and being something of value is him taking overhead marks and drawing the footy on the lead. Provided he can continue to do that he will and should hold his place.

The fact that he kicked 2 and had like 5 goal assists while annoying Sicily is a happy bonus.

 

[mcgrath_truther]

i understand the frustration about his selection this week but he legitimately played very well on siciliy. if you look at a number of his games last year, he was a dominant force for both hawthorn in general and their back six, but he was listless today and guelf got 2 goals.

he just needs to play that defensive role (and kick a few snags) each week and he'll be golden.

 

[DERO]

The difference between Guelfi just being another guy and being something of value is him taking overhead marks and drawing the footy on the lead. Provided he can continue to do that he will and should hold his place.

The fact that he kicked 2 and had like 5 goal assists while annoying Sicily is a happy bonus.

Sicily gave away a 50 yeah? Not sure the leopard has changed its spots.

 

[Call Me Cake]

Created a few scoring opportunities Gresh-style and got on the end of a couple himself. Reckon if he can keep that up he'll be filling a spot. Emphasis on keeping it up. Think people overreacted a bit over practice match performances. Gotta see real games to judge this sort of stuff.

 

[cobra land]

He's willing to play a role for the team which makes him a vital player.

 

[citizen-erased]

The little weighted kick to langford to seal it was great play too. Off balance and under pressure and did the team thing

Went hard with zero self preservation at an up and under i50 kick too.
Can stay. I like what he brings

 

[Zach Package]

Sicily gave away a 50 yeah? Not sure the leopard has changed its spots.

Yep, Guelfi got into him initially but then he decided to judo hip toss McGrath and dump him on his head

 

[Happyskeret]

If Guelfi keeps standing on the goal line and gets easy goals than good!!!. I hope he keeps doing it. He’s like that person at a nightclub that spikes your drinks without you even knowing it.