Traded #10: Aaron Francis - Traded to Sydney w. Pick 42 + Future fourth rounder for Pick 37. Thanks Frang!

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10 - Frang.jpg
Contract Status: Out of contract 2022
Injury Status: n/a

My Boy Draft 2022: Pick 29, Mr Bultitude
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Legend Lucas said:
Whenever he tries a tough kick he turns it over every time. Stats would only be padded up by sideways 10m chips like Hurley does. Watch the game.
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Yeah nah. Try again.
 
He wasn't bad. He had average moments in the first half but he was ok after that. Kept King relatively quiet considering his size. Like others have mentioned, King's goals would have been hard to stop for any defender.
 
I'll never understand why a kid, with 30 games under his belt, is held to a higher standard than anyone else in the team... The commentary in this thread is irrational.

Francis did his job tonight. He impacted each contest and, for the most part, nullified King. Yes, he makes mistakes... as does everyone (yes, even Ridley), but these are becoming fewer each game.

We have a player with an incredible skillset who is learning about his capabilities. Heaven forbid the upside is beaten out of him by ultra conservative armchair critics. Nuff.

Essendon is a better team with him firing. Period.
 

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He seemed to spend as much time on Day than he did on King tbh
 
Has done well in the last two weeks playing on the opposition's number one tall defender - This will probably be his long term role.
 
His PRF (points responsible for) are off the charts - even for a back.

He leads Essendon in that statistic (by a wide margin - although I think most would struggle to know/guess who is in second place) and league wide he’s in the top 2% for PRF.

His infrequent high flying marks are considerably offset by how many points he gives up game after game.

He’s not a reliable back man in the slightest.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Big Slam said:
His PRF (points responsible for) are off the charts - even for a back.

He leads Essendon in that statistic (by a wide margin - although I think most would struggle to know/guess who is in second place) and league wide he’s in the top 2% for PRF.

His infrequent high flying marks are considerably offset by how many points he gives up game after game.

He’s not a reliable back man in the slightest.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
Where do you get this stat? Never heard of it honestly and I'm a stats nerd.
 
donlav99 said:
I feel like he's been stifled to the point where he's unrecognizable. He used to unleash by foot, now he's so scared of turning it over, he kicks sideways. He used to fly for marks, now he's so reluctant. We need instill some confidence in him.
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I think the way to view it is that he's literally learning to be a defender.

He didn't come to us a defender as much as he was a guy who could take intercept marks. They're not the same thing. Hurley and Zerk Thatcher are examples of guys who arrived as specialist defenders. Remember Hurley belting Tredrea 1 v 1 in one of his first few matches?

He hasn't lost what can be sublime foot skills, the ability do some pretty special explosive things at ground level or the ability to fly for an intercept mark.

I wouldn't lose sight of how much he is working on to play on key forward for a whole game. I can see how his head would be swimming in that pressure. He might still be learning in the VFL if Ambrose was fit and it was a normal season.

Jury's out on whether he gets there but I think it is a very necessary part of his evolution. He will need a few strings to his bow as a defender as there are very few defenders in good teams who can get away with being as one dimensional as Francis has been.

If he can develop a quality defensive game he could eclipse Hurley as a player (because of the quality of his intercept game). That he is a similar athlete to Hurley gives me quite a bit of confidence, actually. It should be said that Hurley was a very good 1 v 1 defender. His 2014 and 2015 were as good as any key defender has played in recent time.
 
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BrunoV said:
I think the way to view it is that he's literally learning to be a defender.

He didn't come to us a defender as much as he was a guy who could take intercept marks. They're not the same thing. Hurley and Zerk Thatcher are examples of guys who arrived as specialist defenders. Remember Hurley belting Tredrea 1 v 1 in one of his first few matches?

He hasn't lost what can be sublime foot skills, the ability do some pretty special explosive things at ground level or the ability to fly for an intercept mark.

I wouldn't lose sight of how much he is working on to play on key forward for a whole game. I can see how his head would be swimming in that pressure. He might still be learning in the VFL if Ambrose was fit and it was a normal season.

Jury's out on whether he gets there but I think it is a very necessary part of his evolution. He will need a few strings to his bow as a defender as there are very few defenders in good teams who can get away with being as one dimensional as Francis has been.

If he can develop a quality defensive game he could eclipse Hurley as a player (because of the quality of his intercept game). That he is a similar athlete to Hurley gives me quite a bit of confidence, actually. Hurley was a very good 1 v 1 defender. His 2014 and 2015 were as good as any key defender has played in recent time.
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very fair and well-articulated points.

Like James Bond, when he's given his license to kill, i think we'll see those bag of tricks coming back out. At the moment, he's been given a wooden gun & been told "just learn how to handle that first before you get the real thing". (i think i've lost the plot haha)
 
BrunoV said:
I think the way to view it is that he's literally learning to be a defender.

He didn't come to us a defender as much as he was a guy who could take intercept marks. They're not the same thing. Hurley and Zerk Thatcher are examples of guys who arrived as specialist defenders. Remember Hurley belting Tredrea 1 v 1 in one of his first few matches?

He hasn't lost what can be sublime foot skills, the ability do some pretty special explosive things at ground level or the ability to fly for an intercept mark.

I wouldn't lose sight of how much he is working on to play on key forward for a whole game. I can see how his head would be swimming in that pressure. He might still be learning in the VFL if Ambrose was fit and it was a normal season.

Jury's out on whether he gets there but I think it is a very necessary part of his evolution. He will need a few strings to his bow as a defender as there are very few defenders in good teams who can get away with being as one dimensional as Francis has been.

If he can develop a quality defensive game he could eclipse Hurley as a player (because of the quality of his intercept game). That he is a similar athlete to Hurley gives me quite a bit of confidence, actually. Hurley was a very good 1 v 1 defender. His 2014 and 2015 were as good as any key defender has played in recent time.
Click to expand...
He is much better when he has the freedom to zone off.
 

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Big Slam said:
His PRF (points responsible for) are off the charts - even for a back.

He leads Essendon in that statistic (by a wide margin - although I think most would struggle to know/guess who is in second place) and league wide he’s in the top 2% for PRF.

His infrequent high flying marks are considerably offset by how many points he gives up game after game.

He’s not a reliable back man in the slightest.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
lol what corner of your arse are you getting these weird stats from
 
The Camel said:
I'll never understand why a kid, with 30 games under his belt, is held to a higher standard than anyone else in the team... The commentary in this thread is irrational.

Francis did his job tonight. He impacted each contest and, for the most part, nullified King. Yes, he makes mistakes... as does everyone (yes, even Ridley), but these are becoming fewer each game.

We have a player with an incredible skillset who is learning about his capabilities. Heaven forbid the upside is beaten out of him by ultra conservative armchair critics. Nuff.

Essendon is a better team with him firing. Period.
Click to expand...

Furthermore, the match committee are changing his role from free wheeling intercepter to more lock down key position defender.

Would be hella tough for Red to tone down his natural flair and instinct that still tears it head in moments during games but for the most part he is doing well in his newish role.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yoda_ said:
People are happy to dig the heels in to Francis but what are people expecting him to do as a lock down key defender?
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keep his opponent to 0 touches while getting 40 himself and kicking 10 goals.

Otherwise, why even bother?
 
eth-dog said:
Where do you get this stat? Never heard of it honestly and I'm a stats nerd.
Click to expand...

Champion Data. I can get them too but I do not post them as I would not really want to my log in deleted for publicly posting stats that the clubs have to pay for.
 
Iced up on the bench 😡
 

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Traded #10: Aaron Francis - Traded to Sydney w. Pick 42 + Future fourth rounder for Pick 37. Thanks Frang!

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