How good was Mike Pyke today?

[Nico]

BT reminds me of a dead bear with it's head up it's bum.

[goswannie14]

Discussing Pykey during the match yesterday I posed the question, "How good would this guy be if he had grown up playing Aussie Rules footy?" It's almost scary......except hes's wearing red and white.

[Nico]

Discussing Pykey during the match yesterday I posed the question, "How good would this guy be if he had grown up playing Aussie Rules footy?" It's almost scary......except hes's wearing red and white.

Think about the bad habits he doesn't have. Playing pure, simple and thinking footy.

By the way Mummy was pretty good yesterday.

[barry]

Think about the bad habits he doesn't have. Playing pure, simple and thinking footy.

By the way Mummy was pretty good yesterday.

Minson was beating Mummy in the first quarter, and only Pyke was able to break even.

Later in the match Mummy adopted a different ruck tactic of not running in, but blocking Minson leap, which saw him get on top.

[BillyRayCypress]

If you had watched the game last week on TV instead of pretending to be a brass monkey, Luke Darcy tried to get him to apologise for his comments every time Pyke got the ball.
Didn't happen.

He was at home under his doona !!!!!

Even the Cypress kids braved the elements. More to irritate Wardy than watch the game.

[Margie]

Despite being an elite athlete, Pyke has a lot of focus. He seems someone who was intent on making it and has committed himself fully to the cause. I think opposition teams have been caught out by how good he is. Also, when he, Ried and LRT are all rotating forward, that is a lot of talls to match up on.

Pyke and LRT were both outstanding yesterday and both deserve votes (in the TLM).

[Big Al]

I sit next to an older lady who lived in Canada for a number of years and she raves about Pykey every time he goes near the ball. I think if she was 30 years younger she might want to [insert your own thought here]

[unconfuseme]

Ok, I'll have a go Big Al

I sit next to an older lady who lived in Canada for a number of years and she raves about Pykey every time he goes near the ball. I think if she was 30 years younger she might want to [adopt him and marry me]

[BillyRayCypress]

I sit next to an older lady who lived in Canada for a number of years and she raves about Pykey every time he goes near the ball. I think if she was 30 years younger she might want to [insert your own thought here]

That's terrible Big Al. You're bringing the moral standard of RWO right down. Next we'll be doing the wee poo jokes. Oh, did those last week.....................

I think if she was 30 years younger she might want to pork him. With some Canadian bacon.

[Agent 86]

Set to become the first ever player to score a try vs All Blacks AND kick a goal in an AFL grand final.

[Dogzbody]

The main difference between Mike and Izzy is IQ - Mike seems to play with plenty of smarts for someone coming from where he came from; Izzy hasn't yet shown that he's learnt much. I think the Izzy experiment is a long way from working, whilst Mike is doing his thing really well and sticking it to the 'experts' who thought he'd never amount to anything. Gotta like Pyke...

Great point Jono. I think Pyke is all about what goes on from him upstairs, seems to read the game really well. On many occasions this season he has been i the right place at the right time in an instinctive way. You can't teach that, it all comes down to the way the player reads the game. A good example is where he set up LRT's snap goal in the 2nd qtr yesterday. He tales team instruction and applies thought and competetive instinct to put himself in the right position.

Add to all that he is really really quick for a big guy, and has great marking skills.

The last thing, he really loves playing this game, you can see that he is committed to being the best he can be!

[Big Al]

Agreed, but in comparison to Karmichael Hunt, Izzy seems to be lacking that real killer attitude and he doesn't really seem to want to be there. I have loved what Karmichael has done this year and he's made real progress, and what's more he looks like he wants to make it in the game. Pykey has been the same - he's taken to the game with a great combination of desire and a willingness to learn. I haven't seen that from Izzy yet which is probably what is disappointing so many people at this stage.

To make that call you must have watched a fair bit Folou play this year. Must be closet GWS fan eh Jono.

[BillyRayCypress]

To make that call you must have watched fair bit Folou play this year. Must be closet GWS fan eh Jono.

ha ha.

[jono2707]

To make that call you must have watched a fair bit Folou play this year. Must be closet GWS fan eh Jono.

Nah I get an Izzy highlights package sent to me each week. It's usually a blank disk....

I have watched him play a fair few times this year - as a league fan I am interested to see how he fares, and although no one has been expecting miracles, he really doesn't look like he wants it badly enough.

I still think that Izzy wasn't the first choice GWS league recruit - Jarryd Hayne would have made a better convert. The right recruits with the right attitude can make it in AFL...

A thing that people tend to forget about rugby converts like Mike (I'm talking rugby union not rugby league) is that rugby players tend to kick the ball in play more often, particularly fullbacks. Therefore kicking a footy would not have been as foreign to Mike as a lot of people make out. Different, I know, but the idea of kicking whilst on the run would have been a concept reasonably familar to him.

[Velour&Ruffles]

I am actually getting a little sick of the commentators going on about how great he is every time he takes a mark or kicks a goal, as if it is still a surprise. And while I don't dispute he has improved this year, I don't think it is by as much as some suggest. He was showing excellent signs at the end of 2010 - remember his performance in the Carlton final? - and looked good early last year before injury ruined his year. He has been a bona-fide footballer for a couple of years and deserves to be recognised as such.

This is correct.
Because it is what I think.