AFL Player # 5: Elijah Tsatas

[TheGrizz]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2026
2024 My Boy Draft: Pick 14, Lore

 

[BrunoV]

My position is simple.

Long kicks or any kick at real speed where he has to put power into the kick are generally no good. He loses any timing he has and looks to be trying to kick the ball too hard.

Short kicks not under pressure okay so kicks from behind the mark or when he is in space. No real issues with his action .

I do not need to over think it as I did not agree with Hank or you on the short kicking despite him butchering two short kicks against the Blues. I base this on going back and looking at his under 18 footy. His training. His VFL games and AFL. It is not perfect but I just do not agree that it is as big an issue as his longer kicks and it is not an issue in his action until he tires to really put some zip on it. I watched him the other night taking kicks from 35 out and he kicked 19/20 and hit the post with the other. Poor decisions or lazy one step kicks aside it is only when he tries to kick the ball harder than normal that he starts having serious issues.

I am not a fan. He has issues I do not think they can fix. I was not in his fan club before the draft and I am not now. He can find the footy. His clearance stuff is good. I think he will end up a solid type body wise but he is looking like Dylan Shiel only his disposal is actually worse.

Like I said give me a choice between him and D'Ambrosio on a wing and I am taking Mass and I do not rate his defensive work at all.
All I have done is disagree that his short kicking game has the same issues as when he tries to put some power onto the ball. If you want me to rate the whole lot as a whole then no I am not convinced taking a guy at 5 who has issues with defense and also issues with with doing something with the ball when he gets is then no I do not rate it.

I do not see him as a great pick up at 5 but the flip side of that is my man for that pick is not tearing it up either so who am I to jump up and down. Even Humphry is in a bit of a second year rut .

But you're not even saying it is short kicks which are okay. It is the subset of short kicks, which also happens to be about the most useless possessions a player can have, short kicks from over the mark including those which go backwards, which are fine.

Doesn't that just account for the positive 25% of his kicks? How on earth is it to misrepresent his kicking when the best you can say about it is that it's fine when he's chipping the ball sideways 15m off the mark?

Now I am no expert but I would say that a player has a serious technical deficiency if the only time his technique is not a problem is when he is standing still and kicking the ball 15m.

 

[ant555]

But you're not even saying it is short kicks which are okay. It is the subset of short kicks, which also happens to be about the most useless possessions a player can have, short kicks from over the mark including those which go backwards, which are fine.

Doesn't that just account for the positive 25% of his kicks? How on earth is it to misrepresent his kicking when the best you can say about it is that it's fine when he's chipping the ball sideways 15m off the mark?

Now I am no expert but I would say that a player has a serious technical deficiency if the only time his technique is not a problem is when he is standing still and kicking the ball 15m.

What do you want me to say. I do not rate him anyway so does it really matter if I rate his short kicking more than you or Hank ? I still think he was the wrong pick.

I have explained what his issue is and I did not say just standing still and kicking the ball 15m. The issue is only there when he tries to put more power on the footy. That is long kicks. Kicking when he is going flat out or when he tries to spear a short pass. He was not standing still and taking set shots. His action is actually fine when he steadies.

 

[Nifft]

Was just eating dinner next to him at a restaurant in south Melbourne. Had an urge to scream "I believe in you". Cooler heads prevailed and I saved him and my wife the embarrassment.

How did he look in person? More manly than his bigfooty pic?

 

[jmoo wan]

He plays like he's justbegging for someone to just tell him they believe in him. Could be anyone really, a coach, his parents, some rando in a restaurant.

I think that's all this kid needs.

 

[Nifft]

He plays like he's justbegging for someone to just tell him they believe in him. Could be anyone really, a coach, his parents, some rando in a restaurant.

I think that's all this kid needs.

Maybe he just needs a hug...

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

He plays like he's justbegging for someone to just tell him they believe in him. Could be anyone really, a coach, his parents, some rando in a restaurant.

I think that's all this kid needs.

jeez dude way to make me feel bad

 

[Nifft]

jeez dude way to make me feel bad

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

View attachment 2021715

Thought it came off as playful, forgive the inability of text to display tone

 

[jmoo wan]

View attachment 2021715

nah - he got it, he got it good!

 

[Nifft]

Thought it came off as playful, forgive the inability of text to display tone

You probably should've just reposted that same gif back at me.

 

[DERO]

Was just eating dinner next to him at a restaurant in south Melbourne. Had an urge to scream "I believe in you". Cooler heads prevailed and I saved him and my wife the embarrassment.

He’d be a Souva man, I’m certain.

 

[faible]

One thing I’ve noticed with Elijah is that when he’s running pre-kick, his hands (holding the ball) are constantly waving about which does make you think it would be increasing the chance of error.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Needs to talk to whoever Hind worked with on his kicking at speed, from memory it might have been while he was at the Saints? Which might have coincided with David Rath?

Hind is pretty reliable at speed now, learnt how to steady himself.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

He plays like he's justbegging for someone to just tell him they believe in him. Could be anyone really, a coach, his parents, some rando in a restaurant.

I think that's all this kid needs.

This comment has set my alarm bells off.

It's a Jack Watts like comment.

 

[fairbump_playon]

This comment has set my alarm bells off.

It's a Jack Watts like comment.

Be wary of allowing BF comments to set off your alarm.

A comment here isn't a true thing, it's a person's opinion.

As a contrasting take, Tsatas has really good thighs. I believe in the future of his thighs.

 

[DERO]

Be wary of allowing BF comments to set off your alarm.

A comment here isn't a true thing, it's a person's opinion.

As a contrasting take, Tsatas has really good thighs. I believe in the future of his thighs.

Lachie Neale thighs.

 

[DapperDon]

Feel like chicken thighs for dinner, unsure why.

 

[SydneyBomber]

This comment has set my alarm bells off.

It's a Jack Watts like comment.

There were no references in the comment to swimming, coke or ****, so I don't believe you.

 

[Agronomus]

Would a moustache help him once he finishes puberty?

 

[DERO]

Would a moustache help him once he finishes puberty?

Sure, provided it teaches him how to kick

 

[Nifft]

Would a moustache help him once he finishes puberty?

The answer is yes. The moustache is very sensitive organ, not unlike a cat's whiskers, and allows the wearer to measure atmospheric conditions such as wind direction and humidity. Do you think Langford would be so accurate without his moustache?

 

[Rick Ross]

I've always defended Adrian Dodoro, but this pick in the draft baffles me.

Unless Dodoro has some super human foresight, I don't understand why he'd use pick 4 on a kid that had a clear kicking deficiency?

And to make matters worse, he rejected 3 first rounders from Melbourne for that pick, to instead take Tsatas.

Tsatas may well become a Wines type inside bull that can't kick, but using pick 4 betting on that outcome is a big what if gamble.

Pre draft, plenty on here said Tsatas was the clear pick at our selection. But plenty on here were concerned about his kicking too.

You lost me at, “I've always defended Adrian Dodoro…”

 

[supportyourteam]

Where does he eat?

 

[Rick Ross]

Where does he eat?

Plus… what did he eat - “AFL lifestyle” appropriate?

 

[supportyourteam]

Just prepared to be the belief instilling random.