Player Watch #12 Angus Sheldrick

[S120]

With all due respect though this is nothing that hasn't been said about half a dozen others who are now yesterday's news in regards to the midfield. So I'm just not seeing what makes Sheldrick so different. When I arrived at the games where Sheldrick was playing midfield this year on my rewatch I kept waiting to see something we hadn't seen from basically every other young mid prospect over the last say decade and it never really came.

Which young prospects from the past decade are we talking about?

 

[ScottBo]

Oh don't get me wrong I can totally see where Sheldrick fits in the future (and to a lesser extent the present) and I think he's very promising. I'm definitely excited by his prospects.

But Sheldrick is genuinely challenging Gulden for the most-hyped Swans player by fans and it's based on four games where he was good not great. It is just baffling to me. Not knocking everyone - hype whoever you choose! Just saying I don't get it at all and feel like I'm missing something.

Maybe I'm just too cynical!

How about his five stoppage clearances against St Kilda? As well as his low number of games, from memory he was also getting low TOG. The best a seasoned Mills hit last season was four, in 20 games and av 79% TOG.

 

[caesar88]

Which young prospects from the past decade are we talking about?

I can remember when Jones was going to be the line-breaking mid we'd been crying out for.

Then it was going to be Florent.

Heeney was going to be a game-breaking mid.

Blakey our Bontempelli-esque, big-bodied dynamic type.

When Dawson & Hewett were in the NEAFL they were going to effortlessly take over from the JPK & Hanners era.

And the praise for Sheldrick is almost identical to that given to Rowbottom early on.

Even going a little further out to the wing, remember when McInerney was going to be elite? Now I see people on social media saying he shouldn't be in the team over Sheldrick.

It's the full circle of unfulfilled promise and expectations not met.

 

[rustycrate]

I can remember when Jones was going to be the line-breaking mid we'd been crying out for.

Then it was going to be Florent.

Heeney was going to be a game-breaking mid.

Blakey our Bontempelli-esque, big-bodied dynamic type.

When Dawson & Hewett were in the NEAFL they were going to effortlessly take over from the JPK & Hanners era.

And the praise for Sheldrick is almost identical to that given to Rowbottom early on.

Even going a little further out to the wing, remember when McInerney was going to be elite? Now I see people on social media saying he shouldn't be in the team over Sheldrick.

It's the full circle of unfulfilled promise and expectations not met.

It is like believing in Santa Claus. If you believe in Santa Claus you see the magic in Christmas. If you don't believe in Santa Claus then Christmas loses its magic. I believe in Sheldrick and I am looking forward to seeing some magic this year.

 

[caesar88]

It is like believing in Santa Claus. If you believe in Santa Claus you see the magic in Christmas. If you don't believe in Santa Claus then Christmas loses its magic. I believe in Sheldrick and I am looking forward to seeing some magic this year.

If it is that simple rusty then I am believing in Lewis Melican this year in the hopes of seeing some magic from him.

 

[SGBeach]

I can remember when Jones was going to be the line-breaking mid we'd been crying out for.

Then it was going to be Florent.

Heeney was going to be a game-breaking mid.

Blakey our Bontempelli-esque, big-bodied dynamic type.

When Dawson & Hewett were in the NEAFL they were going to effortlessly take over from the JPK & Hanners era.

And the praise for Sheldrick is almost identical to that given to Rowbottom early on.

Even going a little further out to the wing, remember when McInerney was going to be elite? Now I see people on social media saying he shouldn't be in the team over Sheldrick.

It's the full circle of unfulfilled promise and expectations not met.

Sheldrick is/was never going to be a line breaking mid.. so comparisons to Florent and Jones are not applicable
Heeney was all-australian in 2022 and when fit (his ankle is clearly still hurting him) is an elite fwd-mid
Blakey was going to be a high half forward /wing. again very different to sheldrick
Dawson is an elite mid that can play other positions - captains his club , unfortunately for adelaide.
You right that Hewett played a similar role and didn't turn into much
Rowbottom is tracking very well

Ill back sheldrick to be a very good inside mid. At the moment is behind Rowbottom, Parker, Adams, Warner. If he was drafted earlier in our re-build we would be seeing a lot more of him

 

[caesar88]

Sheldrick is/was never going to be a line breaking mid.. so comparisons to Florent and Jones are not applicable
Heeney was all-australian in 2022 and when fit (his ankle is clearly still hurting him) is an elite fwd-mid
Blakey was going to be a high half forward /wing. again very different to sheldrick
Dawson is an elite mid that can play other positions - captains his club , unfortunately for adelaide.
You right that Hewett played a similar role and didn't turn into much
Rowbottom is tracking very well

Ill back sheldrick to be a very good inside mid. At the moment is behind Rowbottom, Parker, Adams, Warner. If he was drafted earlier in our re-build we would be seeing a lot more of him

My point was they were all players we thought were going to be something to the midfield that they didn't turn out to be. It happens in footy all the time.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

My point was they were all players we thought were going to be something to the midfield that they didn't turn out to be. It happens in footy all the time.

My own reaction to Rowy which is he is a bit meh, good tackler but…mirrors your reaction to Gus.

 

[caesar88]

My own reaction to Rowy which is he is a bit meh, good tackler but…mirrors your reaction to Gus.

And yet early on...

Feel for Rowbottom. He is clearly an in and under mid and Jose will not play him there.Like Blakey he is undersized but has all the right instincts. Hope he gets a fair block and the opportunity to improve.

They are missing a shedload of Giant discards, the mighty Oak of Cripps may be vulnerable with root rot and Walsh ain't a patch on Rowbottom.

Rowbottom is the opposite, a ball playing hard nut.

We must get a robust competitive ruckman of decent size in this draft. Our ruck stocks are the worst in the comp. They are undersized or injury prone or void of talent. This is compounded by the absence of an A grade mid (JPK is toast). Rowbottom seems the only potential A grader.

Almost inevitably Rowbottom will be doing double duty in defensive transition and will be criticised for his lack of impact.

You became the very thing you swore to defeat with that last one...

In any case, I'm not knocking Sheldrick in any way. Have said numerous times I like the look of him and think he's very promising going forward. I just don't think his performance so far in his career warrants the hype around him. No big issue.

 

[Millky95]

Blakey our Bontempelli-esque, big-bodied dynamic type.

I'm sorry did anyone think Blakey was ever going to be big? Maybe by normal people standards but by AFL player standards he was always going to be a twig

 

[caesar88]

I'm sorry did anyone think Blakey was ever going to be big? Maybe by normal people standards but by AFL player standards he was always going to be a twig

Height-wise. Was never going to be anywhere near the Bontempellis in terms of muscle. Even in one of those training galleries from the other day, Blakey was recognisable as a blurry figure in the background of one of them purely from his sloped shoulders

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Curses to murgatroyed. I have been foiled by the dratted search function.

I tend to be positive about recruits and young players unless they are not up to it.

Even then I was hardly effusive, just looking for the upside

 

[caesar88]

I tend to be positive about recruits and young players unless they are not up to it.

In a lengthy career as a comedian, this might be one of your best ones ever!

 

[the hypnotoad]

Oh don't get me wrong I can totally see where Sheldrick fits in the future (and to a lesser extent the present) and I think he's very promising. I'm definitely excited by his prospects.

But Sheldrick is genuinely challenging Gulden for the most-hyped Swans player by fans and it's based on four games where he was good not great. It is just baffling to me. Not knocking everyone - hype whoever you choose! Just saying I don't get it at all and feel like I'm missing something.

Maybe I'm just too cynical!

but isn't that just the point? ... four games where he was good, at senior level!
he looked composed, skilful, classy and very much at home at senior level! ... in just the first few games of his career
i think that's where a lot of posters are missing the point ... in his first games at senior level he clearly looks like he belongs, and he knows he belongs
he's not a big key position player expected to produce spectacular individual moments, his role is all about being strong, busy, effective and where possible creative at and around the ball, and he was all that ... you could see he had an appetite for the contest, he embraced the occasion ...
just turned 20, not yet a dozen games in ... yes, you're missing something

 

[dosser]

Curses to murgatroyed. I have been foiled by the dratted search function.

I tend to be positive about recruits and young players unless they are not up to it.

Even then I was hardly effusive, just looking for the upside

Don't you just hate the internet?

 

[caesar88]

but isn't that just the point ... four games where he was good, at senior level!
he looked composed, skilful, classy and very much at home at senior level! ... in just the first few games of his career
i think that's where a lot of posters are missing the point ... in his first games at senior level he clearly looks like he belongs, and he knows he belongs
he's not a big key position player expected to produce spectacular individual moments, his role is all about being strong, busy, effective and where possible creative at and around the ball, and he was all that ... you could see he had an appetite for the contest, he embraced the occasion ...
just turned 20, not yet a dozen games in ... yes, you're missing something

But as mentioned, so have loads of players. I didn't see Sheldrick do anything that others before him who have came and went didn't already do.

 

[Dan87]

But as mentioned, so have loads of players. I didn't see Sheldrick do anything that others before him who have came and went didn't already do.

I mean you mentioned them and everyone disputed them

 

[Bloods86]

But as mentioned, so have loads of players. I didn't see Sheldrick do anything that others before him who have came and went didn't already do.

For me, there were some moments where he just looked composed and like he belonged at the level, moreso than Corey W or Roberts have (same draft class).

A lot of kids get a few touches, do one or two nice things, but Sheldrick hit different to me in a couple of those games (including against decent opposition in the Lions, Saints and the Cats midfield). The fact that we, and supposedly the Cats were prepared to go early on him, suggests there's something there worth getting excited about too.

Just needs a clear run.

 

[BarneyBent]

Oh don't get me wrong I can totally see where Sheldrick fits in the future (and to a lesser extent the present) and I think he's very promising. I'm definitely excited by his prospects.

But Sheldrick is genuinely challenging Gulden for the most-hyped Swans player by fans and it's based on four games where he was good not great. It is just baffling to me. Not knocking everyone - hype whoever you choose! Just saying I don't get it at all and feel like I'm missing something.

Maybe I'm just too cynical!

I think it's just that in those four games before injury, he often looked like our only midfielder who could win a clearance and bring other mids into the game, despite playing relatively few minutes in the guts. We just looked so much more potent with him in there, despite his numbers not being extraordinary.

It's not so much about him being seen as a future Brownlow medallist or anything, just that he looks like the missing piece.

 

[Dan87]

There was a ground ball intercept followed by an i50 in a few steps that needed serious composure this year and that's when I knew

If you know you know

 

[caesar88]

For me, there were some moments where he just looked composed and like he belonged at the level, moreso than Corey W or Roberts have (same draft class).

A lot of kids get a few touches, do one or two nice things, but Sheldrick hit different to me in a couple of those games (including against decent opposition in the Lions, Saints and the Cats midfield). The fact that we, and supposedly the Cats were prepared to go early on him, suggests there's something there worth getting excited about too.

Just needs a clear run.

Sure, not saying there wasn't bits to like. I think there definitely were but I just feel like they've been blown out of proportion somewhat and I don't feel any surer about him as a player now, after those four games, than I did before them. Clearly I am in the minority on this so I won't comment on it any further except to say that I hope he builds on what he's shown and becomes a player for us going forward and long-term.

 

[Kiama Chris]

But as mentioned, so have loads of players. I didn't see Sheldrick do anything that others before him who have came and went didn't already do.

You're seeing the glass half empty, the toad half full. What I have liked about Sheldrick thus far is that every time he has been pushed up a level he has performed. There are never any guarantees but I hope that characteristic continues. His and Roberts' injuries were most inopportune. With two strong new mids on the list their row just got harder to hoe.

 

[rustycrate]

You're seeing the glass half empty, the toad half full. What I have liked about Sheldrick thus far is that every time he has been pushed up a level he has performed. There are never any guarantees but I hope that characteristic continues. His and Roberts' injuries were most inopportune. With two strong new mids on the list their row just got harder to hoe.

But competition is always good. Brings out the best. If anyone is good enough, if they put the work in then then cream rises to the top. Lets see who wins and gets a gig in round one.

 

[GoTheSwannies]

You'll need to spare a seat on the bandwagon for me as well.

I'd have to re-watch his games again to recall what I liked about his game, but from what I remember, I just thought he looked like he belonged, he was dynamic and looked like he had a huge appetite for the contest. He just offered something different, our midfield has been a bit one dimensional being led by Parker, Mills and Rowbottom. Sheldrick looks like he could turn into an inside bull with a bit of flare. Kind of like prime K Jack but hopefully with a bit more upside.

 

[the hypnotoad]

But as mentioned, so have loads of players. I didn't see Sheldrick do anything that others before him who have came and went didn't already do.

how about stephens?