Papley the Rising Star

[i'm-uninformed2]

Small Swan continues trend with Rising Star nomination - AFL.com.au

Here we go

[Nico]

I backed Mills for the RS. But will he get a nomination.

[ugg]

Well done to Paps but I would have thought Peter Wright was the outstanding candidate this round.

[liz]

I backed Mills for the RS. But will he get a nomination.

Unless he gets injured shortly, absolutely he will. He wouldn't have been far off after last week's game, which followed a consistent body of work. His class shines through and eventually he'll get the nod.

That said, while RS nominations (and awards) are nice things to get, there are plenty of players who've received nominations in past years who faded quickly and now are nowhere to be seen. On the other hand, you get players like Luke Parker who never received a RS nomination.

[dejavoodoo44]

Excellent work by Papley. Especially when you consider that before the NAB challenge, most people wouldn't have had him in line to debut this year; if at all. What with him being taken in the rookie draft, a year after he was first eligible to be drafted.
And yes, Mills will get a nomination. Unless the people who do the selecting look at his general onfield demeanour and assume that he's already been playing for a few seasons.

[Mug Punter]

Excellent work by Papley. Especially when you consider that before the NAB challenge, most people wouldn't have had him in line to debut this year; if at all. What with him being taken in the rookie draft, a year after he was first eligible to be drafted.
And yes, Mills will get a nomination. Unless the people who do the selecting look at his general onfield demeanour and assume that he's already been playing for a few seasons.

That kid amazes me, he looks like he has been playing senior football for four or five seasons not five games. At some stage he will tear up a game and get a nomination but on the whole I don't really think it matters but I do think the recognition for Papley is great.

Another one of the advantages of the academy system is that the drafted kids come in well versed in our structures and methods so settling in is so much easier.

[Beerman]

Congrats to Paps. I think he might have quite a bit of improvement in him as well as he gets more skill training & experience.

More importantly though - does he remind anyone else of Quentin Tarantino, or is it just me?

[Mug Punter]

Congrats to Paps. I think he might have quite a bit of improvement in him as well as he gets more skill training & experience.

More importantly though - does he remind anyone else of Quentin Tarantino, or is it just me?

Long term you'd think he has to have some upside but I wouldn't be surprised if he levels out at some stage this year. Plus other teams may start to work him out.

He has 8 goals after 5 games, we have been crying out for a small forward for ages, if he can average 1.5 goals a game for the year i.e. mid 30s for the season then he will have really contributed

[bloodspirit]

Well done to Paps but I would have thought Peter Wright was the outstanding candidate this round.

My impression is that while you have to have had a good game, they also look at your body of work across the season. That might account for preferring Papps over Wright?

[rojo]

Papley interview on Swan's website is very revealing. Not only does he have footballer grandparents, his father was Mummy's first football coach!! Football has been at the centre of his life since before he could walk and he is used to hanging out with the 'big' boys. Helps to explain how he has settled so amazingly effortlessly into senior football, from the rookie list. What a find!

[Nico]

Max Papley was a quick highly skilled footballer. Jeff Bray was a barrel chested tough footballer of not great speed. However if you look at it the genes seem to have combined to give us a quick thinking, big tanked player with a bit from each side. Max's side the skills, Jeff's side the toughness/ wiryness. From the first time I saw him in the pre season games I thought this guy has a real X factor. Yes I am biased, because me and my brothers saw and admired the skills of Max. Tom is a high age draft pick so he is not one of those draftees seen as a player in development. I am stunned like all others how he has slotted in. A genuine revelation, who appears to have no downside. Hey, it looks like we have 3 real keepers in Paps, Heeney and Mills.

[bloodsbigot]

I thought Papley had better games in the first two rounds in all honesty.

[Danzar]

I thought Papley had better games in the first two rounds in all honesty.

That was my first thought, but on watching the replay, his pressure around the ball was constant. Probably created more opportunities without a touch, but still racked up 20+ disposals and two goals.

[liz]

Some games stick in the memory - often not particularly memorable games on the face of it. One such game for me is round 5 2014. It was against Freo at the SCG. Many will remember that we had started that season in pretty ordinary form. First there was the ignominy of the club's first loss to GWS, followed by an ordinary performance against the Pies out at Stadium Australia. The team looked to have redeemed itself with that great win in Adelaide against the Crows, only to dish up rubbish against North Melbourne in the pissing down rain back at the SCG.

So we entered round 5 1 and 3, with the season looking very much on the line. The first quarter started scrappily and it looked like we were in for a long afternoon. Enter Ben McGlynn. His first quarter epitomised so much of the Swans' season to date (and, at times, McGlynn's career). He attacked every contest as if it might be his last, but then dished up turnovers that had the crowd groaning and holding its collective head in its hands. But he persisted. And the rest of the team started to come along for the ride. And as the team's intensity lifted, so did their confidence. They started hitting targets more regularly, and the team regained its coherence. Despite Nat Fyfe playing a blinder, Freo were never in with a chance from the second quarter onwards. The Swans have had better and more memorable wins, but this one was critical in kick starting the season.

The point? I think Papley's first half efforts on Saturday had a similar effect. The team was not as low on confidence as it had been in 2014, and the season wasn't exactly on the line. But they had lost the previous weekend - albeit playing well - and much of the first quarter was played on West Coast's terms. Papley was the beacon that refused to let the game slip away. He was far from perfect, and made some bad errors in his enthusiastic inexperience. But the errors mattered less than his refusal to let West Coast have their way around the contests. Part way through the second quarter, despite the loathsome rain, the team dug in and you could literally feel them wrest control of the contests back from the Eagles, and to strangle them with pressure all over the ground. It would be simplistic to credit this all to Papley. In particular, the defence was already doing a great job holding back the dam walls. But I do think it was Papley who largely showed the way to a number of vastly more experienced team mates.

[bloodspirit]

Some games stick in the memory - often not particularly memorable games on the face of it. One such game for me is round 5 2014. It was against Freo at the SCG. Many will remember that we had started that season in pretty ordinary form. First there was the ignominy of the club's first loss to GWS, followed by an ordinary performance against the Pies out at Stadium Australia. The team looked to have redeemed itself with that great win in Adelaide against the Crows, only to dish up rubbish against North Melbourne in the pissing down rain back at the SCG.

So we entered round 5 1 and 3, with the season looking very much on the line. The first quarter started scrappily and it looked like we were in for a long afternoon. Enter Ben McGlynn. His first quarter epitomised so much of the Swans' season to date (and, at times, McGlynn's career). He attacked every contest as if it might be his last, but then dished up turnovers that had the crowd groaning and holding its collective head in its hands. But he persisted. And the rest of the team started to come along for the ride. And as the team's intensity lifted, so did their confidence. They started hitting targets more regularly, and the team regained its coherence. Despite Nat Fyfe playing a blinder, Freo were never in with a chance from the second quarter onwards. The Swans have had better and more memorable wins, but this one was critical in kick starting the season.

The point? I think Papley's first half efforts on Saturday had a similar effect. The team was not as low on confidence as it had been in 2014, and the season wasn't exactly on the line. But they had lost the previous weekend - albeit playing well - and much of the first quarter was played on West Coast's terms. Papley was the beacon that refused to let the game slip away. He was far from perfect, and made some bad errors in his enthusiastic inexperience. But the errors mattered less than his refusal to let West Coast have their way around the contests. Part way through the second quarter, despite the loathsome rain, the team dug in and you could literally feel them wrest control of the contests back from the Eagles, and to strangle them with pressure all over the ground. It would be simplistic to credit this all to Papley. In particular, the defence was already doing a great job holding back the dam walls. But I do think it was Papley who largely showed the way to a number of vastly more experienced team mates.

What a brilliant post, liz. Illuminating, entertaining and insightful. Thank you!