Round 12 vs Melbourne Demons @ MCG

[TheBloods]

Lol

[stevoswan]

Perhaps they are trying to develop the defensive side of his game for the future. Seems to have worked with Callum Mills

Exactly what I was thinking.

[TheBloods]

McDonald rising star nomination , another one . What a team we are putting together .

[Thunder Shaker]

I’ve said it before, he’s got one of the highest footy IQs I’ve seen, so I’d trust him with the “whatever you reckon Errol” role.

Would Errol be a future coach?

[AB Swannie]

The spotlight was on Campbell and Hawthorn were circling, plus 16 other clubs would have taken him in a heartbeat. But we don't appear to rate Campbell. I would suggest some clubs are already asking his manager of his availability.

He is signed until end of 2025. He’ll be in the mids by then. Needs another preseason.

Plenty of players take a few years before getting big midfield minutes.

[Thunder Shaker]

I'd be surprised if the club didn't, I distinctly remember some RWOers wanting to draft him in 2019 - the year before he was eligable. It was a piece of folly that the other clubs didn't rate him.

If a player is under 175 cm, they are deemed "too short for the AFL". This is probably why Gulden wasn't rated by the other clubs. If he was 5 cm taller he would probably have been drafted in the first round.

If a player is good enough height doesn't matter much. "I see you picked a jockey", North Melbourne coach Pagan said when Brent Harvey was drafted at 175 cm. Harvey eventually broke the record for number of games played.

[Agent 86]

If a player is under 175 cm, they are deemed "too short for the AFL". This is probably why Gulden wasn't rated by the other clubs. If he was 5 cm taller he would probably have been drafted in the first round.

If a player is good enough height doesn't matter much. "I see you picked a jockey", North Melbourne coach Pagan said when Brent Harvey was drafted at 175 cm. Harvey eventually broke the record for number of games played.

Errol seems taller than that? Surely he’s got a few inches at least on Boomer? Although he did look pretty small when Horse gave him the big hug after the game.

[waswan]

Exactly what I was thinking.

Maybe like Blakey and Warner he is played totally out of position for 12months ......2yrs in Blakeys case

[Aprilbr]

I am very confident that Campbell will turn out to be a very good player for us - probably in the midfield. He is still learning the game at this level. I watched him closely on the weekend in the Reserves and while he did not dominate, he played in the midfield and his speed, class and good disposal stood out at times in the game.

[Jimitron5000]

Campbell will be a gun, and I still have high hopes for Dylan Stephens.
Not all draft picks walk into the senior side and play great footy from day 1. Errol is something of an exception there.

[Mr Magoo]

Campbell will be a gun, and I still have high hopes for Dylan Stephens.
Not all draft picks walk into the senior side and play great footy from day 1. Errol is something of an exception there.

Campbell was never a big numbers player as a junior - more impactful than most with his raking kick but never a 20 plus disposal player every week .He played some of his State level games as a half back but I think he is more of a wingman / half forward than a half back. He never had an elite tank as a junior (Errol did) so I doubt he could spend a lot of time in midfield at this level at this point in time. His development will be interesting but unfortunately at the moment hes not a good lock down half back and hes not gaining any big metres as a running half back. He just needs time to develop but I worry of a big drop in confidence if you are not playing well in the role they keep giving you. Stephens looks a little like that in my view.

[Nico]

Just watched the replay.

Rowbottom outstanding. 86 Pressure points. Next best was Mills on 63. Melbourne's best was Neil-Bullen on 38.
Heeney had a great 3rd quarter and a heap on 1%ers.
Sam Wicks played well enough and keeps his spot. Had a few good goal assists. Last quarter was good.
Logan was very good.
Tackles were top notch. This week they stuck and we got rewarded.
Errol was very fortunate to get that late free.
Chad was very consistent over 4 quarters. Uncannily gets to the fall of the ball from contest to contest. Always seems to be in the right spot.
Defence is now set in stone. Robbie Fox adds a bit back there.
We play better on big grounds.

[Aprilbr]

Just watched the replay.

Rowbottom outstanding. 86 Pressure points. Next best was Mills on 63. Melbourne's best was Neil-Bullen on 38.
Heeney had a great 3rd quarter and a heap on 1%ers.
Sam Wicks played well enough and keeps his spot. Had a few good goal assists. Last quarter was good.
Logan was very good.
Tackles were top notch. This week they stuck and we got rewarded.
Errol was very fortunate to get that late free.
Chad was very consistent over 4 quarters. Uncannily gets to the fall of the ball from contest to contest. Always seems to be in the right spot.
Defence is now set in stone. Robbie Fox adds a bit back there.
We play better on big grounds.

Good points, Nico. On Fox, I think he played a lot on Bayley Fritsch against Melbourne. BF was dangerous all night kicking 3 goals and was one of their best. So Fox will need to be a little tighter in the future in order to hold his spot.

[Ludwig]

We probably only have room for one of Cunningham, COR or Fox, especially the way Florent has taken to playing defence. He was superb on Saturday. I think they're all good players and don't feel we would be hurt by playing any of them.

With both Hickey and Franklin available for the next game, it looks certain that Amartey will be dropped. Can we play both Hickey and Ladhams in the same side if we also want to carry 3 tall forwards, e.g. Franklin, Reid and McDonald?

Campbell played very well as a HF in some of the Allies games. It doesn't make sense to continue to play him as a defender, especially when we have so many options down back. It doesn't look like Wicks will lose his spot, so how can Campbell get into the side?

It's great to have a healthy list, but it makes selection difficult.

[ugg]

I thought the way our defence held up in the 3rd quarter was really pivotal in contributing to the win. We've had a run of scores kicked against us when momentum has been with the opposition (e.g. Carlton in 2nd quarter), but this time the we managed to (with some help from their missed shots) keep them to one goal.