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Anyone else really excited by some of the prospects coming through the reserves? Watching some of the highlight reels, I think theres some fruitful talent coming through to take over the veterans of the football club and the new look Swannies outfit. Towers, B.Jack, Membrey, Cunningham, Mitchell from what I've seen in limited video look the don the goods. Towers has really impressed me. Any reserves watchers out there that can comment on his progress? Could be our new Teddy. Quick, Good hands, gets in the right positions. Thoughts? Also just on B.Jack, I think he'll develop into a really quick outside winger/small forward.
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LRT. Lord Roberts-Thompson. He may look like the Munster, but looks can be deceiving.
2012 Bloods Premiers. -
We regularly hear from the ressie watchers about these players and I too would be interested in their assessments so far. But I don't think Towers has the height (so to speak) to take Ted's role. However I get the impression Xav might just do it.He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball) -
it would be fair to say that we have some of the greatest potential in our ressies for some time !
a few maybe one or two seasons away but by mid to late season there will be a few others that will get game time via injury to players in our regular 22
Rampe is an exciting example........i remember AJ having some scary moments in his first 6 games or so and then he went on to be an integral part of our back 6
I think Rampe can development into Mattners role.........they are both the same height and both cover the backs very well and I am so confident of Rampe if persisted with could even play tagging type roles as well as his base fitness is exceptional and he is physical
another pre season will certainly lift the base and strength of a stack of the young brigade !
pumped !!
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
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Mitchell, Rampe, Marsh, Cunningham, Towers, Brandon, Xavier, Brown, Dick, Membrey, Lloyd off the top of my head could all be serious change of the guard players that could go beyond fringe to important players in the 22.............like Bird did the last few seasons ie play a role and play it well for a few seasons and then who knows as anything can happen
Tippett on the field very soon......and Rohan and AJ to come back
Everitt, Morton, White, Armstrong great depth to fill in and possibly one or two of them may feature more in the future"be tough, only when it gets tough"
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Any news/sightings of Rohan and where he is up to with his rehab?
Only six more games without Tippett and hell do we need him to stand up for us as the forward line is giving us nothing at present.Comment
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Latest I heard about Rohan is that he is expected to join normal training in a few weeks. He has apparently stepped up his running. No idea when he will be ready though.Comment
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The reality is that most of the players we drafted last year are likely to depart after 1-4 years on the list. Yes, they all seem to have a bit of footy talent (they wouldn't have been drafted otherwise) and they are playing exceptionally well discplined football in the NEAFL under Mr Crouch. But it is a long way from there to regular senior players. If we find a couple of gems from that group we'll be doing reasonably well, but it's far too early yet to predict who those are most likely to be.
Sorry if this is a bit of a dampener - but history indicates that's what happens. Some will be plagued by niggling injuries, some won't improve quickly enough, some just won't be able to edge in front of a senior team encumbant before their time runs out. Bear in mind that our reserves team has been quite dominant in most years in the ACTAFL / NEAFL, at least while there have been low levels of injury. Look back at the mid-noughties, where we drafted a very capable and deep lists of rookies, including the likes of Simpkin, Phillips, Barlow, Rowe, Wall, Terlich, Clarke, Grundy, Vogels, Smith, Jack. Supplemented by senior list players like Brabazon, Thornton, and Laidlaw, the team was as dominant as the current one. It's an interesting list of names in that Simpkin, Rowe, Phillips and Terlich have all moved on but then earned a recall to another AFL club. None has (yet) graduated past bit part player however.
The fact that we've found three first choice (and premiership) players from that list of rookies is impressive (or lucky) but almost none of our senior list draftees over that period ever became regular seniors, which tempers things a bit.Comment
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Agree Liz, it's always easy to think we have lots of potential senior players in the ressies but as you point out, few actually make the grade.
It's the same at every club. If you read other clubs Bigfooty chat sites, supporters are always talking up their ressie players, every team has a really bright future in the eyes of ever hopeful supporters, it's what we cling to. How often have talked up players only to see them get delisted. We are eternal optimists, always hopeful that a Swans number one draft pick will actually warrant their draft position!
Liz, as a long time watcher, any of this current crop of ressies catch your eye as likely to succeed? The sentimentalist in me desperately wants Jack Jnr to make it.Comment
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Also sadly agree Liz. Isn't it a pity that statistics beats talent. It always seems to find a way.
I remember the hope we had with White and Walsh, and the likes of Meredith, Veszpremi and Tim Schmidt, just to name a few. But somehow there always seems to be a way the hope vanishes into thin air.
And even when you find a winner, they seem to either break a leg, tear an ACL or mysteriously fall out of form.Comment
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White hasn't been a failure by any means. He was picked up at pick 79, and has made a fairly formidable career coming from that deep and has played a role in a lot of vital games for us. Horse, for some reason doesn't favour Whitey and even with LRT going out of the side, still not getting a game says something about how much he rates him. Walsh is still coming along and I think he can still play a role as a backman. Definitely don't see him having the smarts for a permanent forward position.
Agreed on the others, but in Jimmy's opinion, draft choices can be hit and miss as we've seen in so many of them. How did hanners slip to pick 30? Baffling really.LRT. Lord Roberts-Thompson. He may look like the Munster, but looks can be deceiving.
2012 Bloods Premiers.Comment
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I think White won't get a game unless necessary because we can't afford to have him on the payroll next year. He's 25 yo. There was a lot of hope for many years. You can't say he's delivered. Will almost certainly be off our list next year, and would have been this year if not for the AFC screw up on Tippett.Comment
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I am very wary about making calls too soon. I remember coming back from a pre-season reserves practice game at Lakeside (Bus Loop) Oval a few years back and declaring I had seen the future of the side, after watching Vez dominate in his first outing with the club, and seeing some very promising signs in the first competitive game of the sport ever played by Brendan Murphy. DOH!
As already commented, most of our recent recruits show talent, and some have definite AFL attributes. Particularly for the rookies, I suspect what the club is looking for during their first year is genuine improvement. I think this is what gets some rookies second years on the list, while others - apparently more developed - sometimes don't. No doubt there's a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff taken into account too, like their overall attitude, the way they train, how desparate they are to succeed, and things that are measurable but not necessarily apparent to an outsider watching their early steps, such as inherent physical ability to achieve high levels of endurance in time.
Kieran Jack was an interesting case at the end of his first rookie year. We had a really strong crop of rookies that year, and there was a restriction on how many could be retained on the rookie list -three, I believe. Phillips had already played senior football, while Rowe and Simpkin were showing something, and Barlow had some x-factor apparent, even though his first year blooper tape would have been long and varied. Jack was probably the least obvious "AFL" possible of the group, having played mostly as a back pocket, showing dash and enthusiam but limited finesse. I thought he was borderline to get another year, and Roos has subsequently mentioned in the media that they thought long and hard about it. But he had clearly improved over that first year, and there was something "je ne sais quoi" about him. Obviously he did make the cut, and at the start of the next season starting tearing it up in the midfield, to the point where he was elevated and made his debut halfway through that season.Comment
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My 5c says Brandon, Lloyd and Membrey will play seniors in time (and obviously Rampe is playing already). The rest I am not so sure about as they haven't stood out to me just yet, but who knows!Comment
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Mitchell is a walk in once he has his base and there is a spot that ROK or Jude etc are not holding down
Brandon is very raw and exciting but who knows as we have Jetta, Rohan, Morton as wide lighter bodied outside players
Lamb is the million dollar question - he is developing into a midfielder and showing signs he is trending upwards with his tank and ability to run as hard both ways. he has the skill.
If Membrey was or ends up 191cm or taller he would be a walk in as a Bradshaw style player. He is so dominant as a young fella in the marking contest, he has a brilliant kick and could be a swing player from the forwards and backs in early years.
Marsh for me stood out on his high light video like Luke Parker as being decisive and strong bodied and they both just looked like AFL level footy players !.......Marsh appears in the coaches eyes as needing to be developed as an inside midfielder so that may take some time but he does have that little bit of Kennedy about him
Alex Brown could be one of those players a little like AJ that if they get a sniff could grab the chance with both hands
Lloyd could be one of those players that is clean and skill wise but a bigger bodied midfielder may get the nod ahead of him ie a Mitchell, Parker, Marsh or even Rampe who was a midfielder.
Cunningham has all the opportunity to take over from Shaw in the future
Rampe has his opportunity now to shine and I still feel he could tag in the midfield
Towers i am guessing as a rebound defender or wing but may only get a shot if a Jetta was injured etc
Xavier we will need a 195cm defender big time in a few years- so bit by bit development
Dick has the speed but not sure yet.......i need to see more ressie games"be tough, only when it gets tough"
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