News Fremantle Likely to select Tiger Duo

[Nickos66]

Joizus!?
Long ago, when I was working in a maccas drive thru, back when Dion was still on our list, him & his mates all of a sudden rocked up and walked down the drive thru and in the front door, I thought it was strange at the time.. Makes a lot of sense now.

Mitchell with his athletic skills, nippiness and tenacity would be an upgrade on JVB. But that's about it. He could be used as another deBoer, albeit 15 odd cm shorter.

 

[Righteo]

I have raised this argument with people before when comparing Mitchell to Blackwell earlier in the year after many people on here wanted us to recruit Blackwell

Mitchell in my opinion has all the athletic attributes to be a good AFL player but his most important skill is that he is a team player and follows instructions. The Ross Lyon style is going to be all about field position and you need players who know where they are going but can also get their quickly. I saw Kane play twice last year and it wasnt only his running that stood out but his ability to do the team thing. On top of that the guy oozes courage and determination. I also didnt see that much wrong with his skills, infact I think he tested very well for handball effeciency at the combine.

Also in terms of our lack of talls, Sandilands, Clarke, Griffin, Bradley, Anthony, Silvagni, Pavlich, McPharlin, Faulks, Johnson, Grover, Roberton are all 190+, about 30% of our list. Considering tall players take up 7 to 8 positions out of 22 in a game that works out to about 28% of the team needing to be a tall. By those maths I would say we have our tall situation under reasonable control especially when you add Mcphee and Morabito who are also 190cm+. Obviously we need to look long term but of the above group I would say only Grover and maybe Sandi wont be on our list in 2013 due to age issues.

Too bad you can't get away with being a midfielder these days and only handball. I notice you don't mention his kicking. The rest of your post is spot on, he's a very team orientated player and if not for his kicking he'd definitely have the potential to be a very good player.

 

[Whatname]

Too bad you can't get away with being a midfielder these days and only handball. I notice you don't mention his kicking. The rest of your post is spot on, he's a very team orientated player and if not for his kicking he'd definitely have the potential to be a very good player.

It's alot easier to teach a player how to kick than it is to make him run faster.
Some players get the ball, others use the ball it's all about filling a role in the team.

 

[DockerLand1]

I have raised this argument with people before when comparing Mitchell to Blackwell earlier in the year after many people on here wanted us to recruit Blackwell

Mitchell in my opinion has all the athletic attributes to be a good AFL player but his most important skill is that he is a team player and follows instructions. The Ross Lyon style is going to be all about field position and you need players who know where they are going but can also get their quickly. I saw Kane play twice last year and it wasnt only his running that stood out but his ability to do the team thing. On top of that the guy oozes courage and determination. I also didnt see that much wrong with his skills, infact I think he tested very well for handball effeciency at the combine.

Also in terms of our lack of talls, Sandilands, Clarke, Griffin, Bradley, Anthony, Silvagni, Pavlich, McPharlin, Faulks, Johnson, Grover, Roberton are all 190+, about 30% of our list. Considering tall players take up 7 to 8 positions out of 22 in a game that works out to about 28% of the team needing to be a tall. By those maths I would say we have our tall situation under reasonable control especially when you add Mcphee and Morabito who are also 190cm+. Obviously we need to look long term but of the above group I would say only Grover and maybe Sandi wont be on our list in 2013 due to age issues.

I dont think that people are worried about lack of talls, they are worried about lack of key forwards. All of the players that you have named there apart from Pav and JA are not specialist Key forwards.

They are a combination of Ruckmen, Key backs and utilities that get thrown forward and do not kick many goals (apart from Keplar who gives everything no matter where he plays). McPharlin, Grover, and almost Pav are 30 and over. Sandi is 29.

JA had a very poor first year (for whatever reason), Faulks is still trying to break into the team and Johnson has the heart of a pea. How is that list of tall talent looking now? Looks a little short to me

P.S. Grover is 189cm

 

[Nickos66]

Grover might be 189 but he plays taller than people that are 190+ in our team. He plays taller than MJ who's 194.

He should also never be made to play on smalls ever again..

 

[DockerLand1]

Grover might be 189 but he plays taller than people that are 190+ in our team. He plays taller than MJ who's 194.

He should also never be made to play on smalls ever again..

Grover plays with heart and dedication. If he is playing on much taller players (as he has had to do many times in the past) it is due to injury or poor planning.

If MJ could have half of the dedication of Grover he would be an excellent option for us. Unfortunately he does not.

 

[Righteo]

So goddamn frustrating how we always lament our lack of quality talls, and here we have a guy who is the perfect size (if not a bit chubby..) to fill one of those voids, has all the skills in the world and is a senior player to boot, yet is never mentioned because he has such a pea heart.

Genuinely sad.

 

[Nickos66]

Oi nar, but isn't he like our best player??

 

[Seppo]

Grover plays with heart and dedication. If he is playing on much taller players (as he has had to do many times in the past) it is due to injury or poor planning.

If MJ could have half of the dedication of Grover he would be an excellent option for us. Unfortunately he does not.

I'm putting my cojones on the line and say that MJ improves 100% next season under Lyon. Even tempted to pick him up as a buddy if by chance he makes it to pick 35!

 

[kp junior]

They are far from elite kickers...

I would say Broughton is probably up with our best off each foot, and Barlow is good-very good. How about Roger Hayden then?

 

[ilikepotatoes]

Too bad you can't get away with being a midfielder these days and only handball. I notice you don't mention his kicking. The rest of your post is spot on, he's a very team orientated player and if not for his kicking he'd definitely have the potential to be a very good player.

 

[yakamoto]

How many players can you have on your list who can't kick? We've already got Crowley and DeBoer with a few others marginal.

 

[Dr2Sheds]

They are far from elite kickers...

Jeez what does that say about the rest of the team then? I'd consider both to easily be in our top 10 at the club

 

[yakamoto]

Riteo, I see that Pav has tipped 100kg according to the club player profiles so "a bit chubby" fits. "Pea heart" is probably a little bit harsh though.

 

[DockerLand1]

Riteo, I see that Pav has tipped 100kg according to the club player profiles so "a bit chubby" fits. "Pea heart" is probably a little bit harsh though.

How would you describe him Yakamoto? A player that has all the physical gifts that a team could ask for combined with great skill who chooses not to apply himself to the extent of MJ?

 

[Plugga]

Jeez what does that say about the rest of the team then? I'd consider both to easily be in our top 10 at the club

Broughts is very efficient by foot but you wouldn't call him elite....he can't whoof it 60metres onto someone's chest....Pav would be about our most elite kick I'd say....Mundy maybe but we don't have a Buckley or Dew or Heppell in our side. Stephen Hill's left is certainly elite but his right is very average...Suban & Walters are in that category also....looking at our list, it's probably an area we need to address. Morabito may improve to the point where he is elite...he can certainly hoof it a fair way!

But getting back to the point....Mitchell is a good fit to our squad "IF" Horsley already gone. If it was up to me...I'd be picking Horsley with our Round 1 pick in the rookie.

I'm still holding what little hope there is in getting Callum Wilson to the club & also would love to see Alroy Gilligan on a wing at Subi in purple. Both unlikely it appears though

 

[Scootyb]

he actually started kicking alot more this year to great effect, putting himself in the more elite bracket of midfielder... pre 2011 and i'd have agreed

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

he actually started kicking alot more this year to great effect, putting himself in the more elite bracket of midfielder... pre 2011 and i'd have agreed

I think that underscores the previous point that kicking can be learned. I'm happy with one flaw if the other qualities are outstanding.

 

[Alfonz]

Watson's problem with kicking was not necessarily technique. It was mental. Everyone got in his head about not being able to kick, and it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Hird walked in first day and apparently said, "give me a look ... your kicking is fine". Encouraged him to kick it, and I think his foot skills last year were pretty good.

I don't believe you can really learn how to kick once you've hit 18 or 20. Or at least it is extremely hard to fix. A guy like DeBoer is probably one of the hardest workers around, and he has only improved to a level that is just OK for 20-30m chip passes. At least he plays within his limitations.

Then there are other guys like Schammer who don't look to have the worst technique, but decision making and composure under pressure is deplorable. Can't really fix that, I'm afraid.

I guess they have to ask themselves if Mitchell can at least get to DeBoer's level. The problem is, I don't think we can carry too many with DeBoer's footskills. Mitchell is a midget, so he can't impose himself physically like DeBoer. Do not want.

 

[Clay Davis]

Watson is also 190cm. That's 16-18cm taller than Mitchell. Seriously, who do you think is going to win a contest?

 

[Dockernut]

Yep, Mitchell - do not rate.

 

[strobe00]

How many players can you have on your list who can't kick? We've already got Crowley and DeBoer with a few others marginal.

I'll give you Crowley. His kicking is genuinely cr@p... loopy and frequently off target. And he often makes poor choices with where to put it.

But DeBoer's reputation for kicking outweighs the reality now. His field is now kicking is solid without being spectacular, and lacks a bit of penetration. But he's smart with it, as he typically chooses kicks that are within his range. Complete opposite to Crowley really.

Not everyone needs to be an elite kick. It'd be nice, but I'm happy with MDB's field kicking. At the end of next season I'll be surprised if people are still talking about it as a serious problem.

 

[yakamoto]

Correct Strobe, MDB's chip kicking was pretty good in that we generally retained possession. However when we have the ball the opposition doesn't need to man him up as they know he's not going to hurt them.

 

[Yoda_]

Hi guys, didn't know where to ask this.

Sorry to intrude on your board, just wondering if anyone could give me more information on Rhys Waters?

Put up excellent numbers in the colts and performed well in a few of his handful of league appearances.

Thanks guys, muchly appreciated.

 

[DockerLand1]

Correct Strobe, MDB's chip kicking was pretty good in that we generally retained possession. However when we have the ball the opposition doesn't need to man him up as they know he's not going to hurt them.

That may be, but his forward pressure is outstanding. He creates turnovers and helps our forwards retain possession. A move to the midfield is not a huge departure for him (after all that was where he got AA U/18) and depending on injuries he can head back forward. His kicking has improved greatly and I am sure that he will continue to improve in 2012.

Looking forward to a big season from DeBoer.