GIve it up for Dempster

[dendol]

I'll ask again - is it possible for him to put on about 20kg of muscle to play KP? Im not sure, but an extra 20kg has surely gotta slow him down! Imagine Kennelly with another 20kg - I doubt he'd be the same dashing HB flanker.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by dendol
I'll ask again - is it possible for him to put on about 20kg of muscle to play KP? Im not sure, but an extra 20kg has surely gotta slow him down! Imagine Kennelly with another 20kg - I doubt he'd be the same dashing HB flanker.

Yes it is, but it will take about 5 years minimum. Remember that LRT put on 9kg over the pre-season, and a few of the others got an extra 5 or 6kg.

As a KPP he really doesn't need to peak until about 28, with about 4-5yrs of good but inconsistent footy up till then. So he will most likely develop in the flanks for the next couple of years, and put on about 15kg over that time. Then he will be ready for CHB (if thats where he develops to) and hopefully give us ten years in that position.

[dendol]

Originally posted by Schneiderman
Yes it is, but it will take about 5 years minimum. Remember that LRT put on 9kg over the pre-season, and a few of the others got an extra 5 or 6kg.

As a KPP he really doesn't need to peak until about 28, with about 4-5yrs of good but inconsistent footy up till then. So he will most likely develop in the flanks for the next couple of years, and put on about 15kg over that time. Then he will be ready for CHB (if thats where he develops to) and hopefully give us ten years in that position.

OK, but I still think he is a few cms too short. Look at the CHF's he'll have to face:

Tredrea: 194cm 94kg
J Brown: 195cm 99kg
Riewoldt: 193cm 92kg (and getting bigger)
Tarrant: 193cm 94kg
A Rocca: 195cm 104kg

These guys will all have height on him, which means he'll need to be stronger and more mobile to be effective at CHB. You may think its only a few cms but, for eg, C Bolton is 188cm and is only ever going to be a fill-in CHB when we get desperate. He is simply not tall enough to play a KP, and I think to pin our hopes on Dempster now is folly.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by dendol
He is simply not tall enough to play a KP, and I think to pin our hopes on Dempster now is folly.

Never said any hopes were pinned on anyone. And he still has another 4-5yrs to grow his height (I grew 3cm between 21 and 25).

And BTW, Paul Roos was 188cm and 88kg in 1996, and still did very well against the likes of Dunstall, Kernahan, Carey and Ablett.

[dendol]

Originally posted by Schneiderman
Never said any hopes were pinned on anyone. And he still has another 4-5yrs to grow his height (I grew 3cm between 21 and 25).

And BTW, Paul Roos was 188cm and 88kg in 1996, and still did very well against the likes of Dunstall, Kernahan, Carey and Ablett.

Kennelly is 190cm, 83kg, yet will never be considered for CHB. I guess my point is that Dempster looks a likely rebounding defender in the mould of Kennelly and C Bolton, not a CHB in the making.

[NMWBloods]

Most people don't get much taller after 21 and Roos generally didn't play on those guys.

[dendol]

I seem to remember Roos playing a Chad Cornes type role as well, where he didn't really seem to always have an opponent (or simply knew when to zone off his oppoent by reading the play and rebounding). I only really started following footy after '96, so maybe my memory is not serving me well here. Can one of the wiser heads please correct me if Im wrong.

[NMWBloods]

In his latter days Roos was more a rebounding CHB than a defensive one. In his younger days he could do either.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Most people don't get much taller after 21 and Roos generally didn't play on those guys.

Really? Who was our CHB? I think you'll find that he didn't play "on" them, because he was too darn quick and read the play too well. From what I can see of Dempster so far, he may well be of the same mould.

And Dunkley was only 191cm and about 90kg at his prime (although I have read he got as heavy as 100kg at one stage?).

[NMWBloods]

Dunkley played on the key forwards such as Carey and Dunstall. Dunkley was exceptionally strong and could compete with the forwards who tried to outbody him.

[Schneiderman]

So then we need a FB to match a CHB as well. That hardly means Dempster cant still become a quality CHB.

[dendol]

Originally posted by Schneiderman
So then we need a FB to match a CHB as well. That hardly means Dempster cant still become a quality CHB.

I won't discount the idea, but I think it very unlikely. Where was Dempster's name EVER mentioned when we had the numerous threads about our need for a CHB in the off-season?

The names that we considered were LRT, Goodes, James (moreso at FB), and our new rookie recruits (whose bodies are ready-made for senior footy) in Grundy (192cm, 92kg), Campbell (196cm, 95kg), and Vogels (194cm, 88kg).

Now after one solid debut game and a miracle come-from-behind win the masses get excited and start thinking we can turn anything into gold.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by dendol
Now after one solid debut game and a miracle come-from-behind win the masses get excited and start thinking we can turn anything into gold.

Eight emergencies last year, and Roos has said every single week this year that he was really hard-done by to miss out.

I just liked what I saw, and the other three look more likely for the forward line personally.

[Chiasmus]

I agree - dempster was cool, calm and collected. He should have had a run before this time i think - and could've come in instead of hyphen (LRT) a few times. I'm looking forward to watching him and spriggs in the next few matches to see how they develop.

[dendol]

Originally posted by Schneiderman
Eight emergencies last year, and Roos has said every single week this year that he was really hard-done by to miss out.

I just liked what I saw, and the other three look more likely for the forward line personally.

Yes, hard done by, but that doesn't make him CHB material after one game on a flank.

All three rookies played most their junior footy at CHB. Roos played them up forward (with Vogels looking the most promising) in the practice matches because LRT and Goodes were at CHB.