Anyone have vid of Mike Pyke's mark and play on goal?

[Wardy]

Jets kicked a goal in the ressies.

thats good - now lets hope he gets one in Seniors sooner rather than later!

[Primmy]

Actually Pykie has a few goals in ressies, one outstanding going back with the flight mark as well plus a lot of other good things, especially his tap rucking. Must concur that his first senior goal was a bit of all right. Highlight reel.

I think they are grooming him as a popup player, come in when someone gets injured. After all he has only being playing the game for 18 months, in total.......it seems to me that an awful lot is expected from him by the fans. A lot of it is unreasonable.

He had to play seniors last year (it wasn't planned), we ran out of ruckmen. He had to play this year, ditto. Hells Bells people, the man is doing just fine, for a rugby union player from Canada....!!!!!!!! He looks more and more like an AFL player each time I watch him play.

[swansrule100]

Actually Pykie has a few goals in ressies, one outstanding going back with the flight mark as well plus a lot of other good things, especially his tap rucking. Must concur that his first senior goal was a bit of all right. Highlight reel.

I think they are grooming him as a popup player, come in when someone gets injured. After all he has only being playing the game for 18 months, in total.......it seems to me that an awful lot is expected from him by the fans. A lot of it is unreasonable.

He had to play seniors last year (it wasn't planned), we ran out of ruckmen. He had to play this year, ditto. Hells Bells people, the man is doing just fine, for a rugby union player from Canada....!!!!!!!! He looks more and more like an AFL player each time I watch him play.

theres no denying his improvement and how well he has done but this is the premier competition in the country, well in the world, wouldnt it make sense to give the same developmental opportunity to a young player who has played the game growing up and isnt learning from scratch

[Go Swannies]

theres no denying his improvement and how well he has done but this is the premier competition in the country, well in the world, wouldnt it make sense to give the same developmental opportunity to a young player who has played the game growing up and isnt learning from scratch

As long as they are established international football players we should.

Alternatively, we could pay him five times as much as we do to give him some parity with Australian players coming across from the Rugby codes.

[Bas]

I don't understand why he always passes the ball off, he's not a bad kick from the rare times that he has kicked it. His ruckwork has really improved and they will fit him in somewhere in the team next year.

[bondy]

I don't understand why he always passes the ball off, he's not a bad kick from the rare times that he has kicked it..

I couldn't agree more - every time he gets the ball he looks to dish. I think his kicking is pretty good. The pass into Geelong's forward 50 at Kardina was great IIRC.

[swansrob]

theres no denying his improvement and how well he has done but this is the premier competition in the country, well in the world, wouldnt it make sense to give the same developmental opportunity to a young player who has played the game growing up and isnt learning from scratch

Pyke is the only ruckman playing regular reserves footy with senior experience, so in that respect it makes more sense to play Pyke than Currie/Orreal (when fit). Those guys are still young, they have plenty of time, and they probably need to bulk up a bit to really match it with the bigger bodies at AFL level. Pyke doesn't need that - he's probably better built than a lot of his opponents. I know where you're coming from, but IMO, Pyke makes sense.

[Primmy]

theres no denying his improvement and how well he has done but this is the premier competition in the country, well in the world, wouldnt it make sense to give the same developmental opportunity to a young player who has played the game growing up and isnt learning from scratch

Who did you have in mind. Developing ruckmen take a great deal longer than their counterparts to develop and its not as though the afl are knee deep in them. They are the tenors of the competition. Ruckman are rare, and good ones moreso.

How much did Pyke cost? We got him cheap with concessions and a ready made big bodied athlete with known credentials and big game experience. How much do you rate enthusiasm? He came knocking; and he has learned this game in 18 months.

Noone can doubt his rucking ability, and that's the important part at this stage. With Seaby gone we had to have a backup to rest Mummy, and to also release him when needed, such as we did against Richmond when Henry went down. It meant that Mummy could play up the ground, and Pyke take over the ruck.

We would not have been able to do that with an inexperienced young player.

[RogueSwan]

Who did you have in mind. Developing ruckmen take a great deal longer than their counterparts to develop and its not as though the afl are knee deep in them...

Exactly, look how long it took for Jamar to reach the top level. He has been playing seniors for 7 years, admittedly as second or third choice early on, but he is only this year become one of the top ruckmen in the league.
But then I s'pose the counter argument is Mummy, who is just a natural.

edit: just looked at Nich's Rohan vid. Love that effort, bring back the Rooster.

[swansrule100]

Who did you have in mind. Developing ruckmen take a great deal longer than their counterparts to develop and its not as though the afl are knee deep in them. They are the tenors of the competition. Ruckman are rare, and good ones moreso.

How much did Pyke cost? We got him cheap with concessions and a ready made big bodied athlete with known credentials and big game experience. How much do you rate enthusiasm? He came knocking; and he has learned this game in 18 months.

Noone can doubt his rucking ability, and that's the important part at this stage. With Seaby gone we had to have a backup to rest Mummy, and to also release him when needed, such as we did against Richmond when Henry went down. It meant that Mummy could play up the ground, and Pyke take over the ruck.

We would not have been able to do that with an inexperienced young player.

granted i just think you could of looked at someone from a vfl level or something like and put the same amount of time in and with the same endevour they could be ahead of where pyke is. Yes his ruckwork isnt too and and he has improved a bit, but it helps expectation is so low as well.

I admire what his done and how he has developed but it just seems a bit silly at times given he cannot do much else outside of get the odd tap. I just wonder if as i said a mature age player was drafted with a bit of lower level experience could we not of developed someone better than what pyke is now

[CJK]

given he cannot do much else outside of get the odd tap.

Ludicrous considering the thread title!

[liz]

granted i just think you could of looked at someone from a vfl level or something like and put the same amount of time in and with the same endevour they could be ahead of where pyke is. Yes his ruckwork isnt too and and he has improved a bit, but it helps expectation is so low as well.

I admire what his done and how he has developed but it just seems a bit silly at times given he cannot do much else outside of get the odd tap. I just wonder if as i said a mature age player was drafted with a bit of lower level experience could we not of developed someone better than what pyke is now

Like Chambers maybe?

There are a lot of ruckmen plying their trade in the senior AFL ranks who add very little other than competing at centre bounces. Some struggle to do more than that until they have a few years under their belt. Some struggle to do more after years in the AFL. Pyke already contributes reasonably well around the ground. Sure, he looked lost against the Pies but was solid in defence against Port, taking a few very handy marks. He's is certainly streets ahead of anything Chambers ever produced for us, while Meiklejohn, Shaw, Erickson and Piltz are names of illustrious rucks who between them filled a spot on our list for nearly a decade for the grand total of about 2 senior games, and probably one mark and one tackle between them. Meiklejohn and Chambers couldn't even mark the ball at reserves level (though MJ sounds like he has developed significantly since he left us, to the point of being talked up as a mature aged draftee in the next year or so).

[Go Swannies]

Good post Liz. Can I be more simplistic? I go to games to watch the players on my team improve. When I see Mummy and Jude and LRT, B2 and Shaw and how they have improved in very different time frames I'm amazed by their effort and skill. On the other hand I see lazy players waste their gifts and I despair - Hanners' upward trajectory may soon cross Adam's downward one. We knew Mummy had potential and he's on track to reach it. Pike was a no-risk gamble and it's a mark of his maturity that he stepped in last year when he wasn't ready but was needed. This year I can't think of another Swans player that I can watch improve almost game by game as I can with him. I think back to when Cox was crap and wonder just how far Myke can go - could he become a star? He's got the speed, smarts and agility and obviously the dedication. So in one way he's the reason I go to the footy.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Around the packs he looks lost when the balls on the deck, Mummy is exceptionally good in these situations. On the other hand Mummy isn't that great a mark currently, where as Pykey has displayed pretty strong clean hands. Sticking Pykey in the goal square now and then could prove to be profitable both for the team and for Pyke's confidence. I would like to see this more often.

[dimelb]

Around the packs he looks lost when the balls on the deck, Mummy is exceptionally good in these situations. On the other hand Mummy isn't that great a mark currently, where as Pykey has displayed pretty strong clean hands. Sticking Pykey in the goal square now and then could prove to be profitable both for the team and for Pyke's confidence. I would like to see this more often.

Emphatically agree with this. Hard to think of a more dangerous 'resting' ruckman. That grab on Sunday, splitting two defenders and sending them sprawling, was genuinely awesome, topped off by the smarts and agility to play on and goal.