Player Watch #16 Josh Smillie

[Turka]

Smillie will be too good for VFL and pointless having him play VFL

He needs to be played AFL and learn exactly what it takes and whats expected
rated #1 most of 2024 and wanted to be selected at #1 so he is a mentally strong kid that will adapt quickly

2025 is a nothing year and just get games into the kids that have the talent

Correct me if I’m wrong - and freak Dusty aside - I can’t recall any first pre-season rookie having the impact this kid is having…He’s 195…
To hold your arms up in a tackle and get the hands off or spin around within it, that’s impressive…Would love to see it against Cripps, Round 1…

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

I’m Concerned about his longevity .

 

[Kambo]

I’m Concerned about his longevity .

He hasn’t played a game and been at the club for 3 months?

 

[lizard man]

I’m Concerned about his longevity .

Why?

 

[THE_GUN]

He hasn’t played a game and been at the club for 3 months?

2 months

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

He hasn’t played a game and been at the club for 3 months?

Why?

2 months

The expectations within this thread are extremely heavy , back stress fracture type heavy .

 

[Coach_Required]

The expectations within this thread are extremely heavy , back stress fracture type heavy .

Unlike the Blues who rely on just Cripps to carry them, we will have Smillie & Lalor sharing the carrying.

 

[Moppey]

I'm glass half full

Just a simple statement that is more likely to happen than not happen. Time waits for no man.

Simply because of age and talent it is very likely the majority core group 25 plus year olds will be gone in three years time or at best way past it.
Thats not being negative its being realistic. They cant help the new toys in three years if they aren't there.

It leaves the 22 - 24 age group to fill that void and have a look at them how would you rate them thus far.

Kossie 24 - most on here already want him gone. One of few who established himself to a degree.
Mansell 24 - established as a small defensive fwd another most are looking to upgrade.
Ross 24 - Solid average performer one of few who has established himself.
OH-B 24 - What are the expectations.
Ryan 24 - Done nothing at AFL and the clock is ticking
HRS 23 - Some will say established and to save argument i wil say barely and can still go either way.
Dow 23 - well most wanted him gone already without playing the newbies will likely play in front of him.
Blight 23 - shows good signs but has to still prove he belongs.
Rioli 22 - Most are saying he needs a big year to show he too belongs.
Trezise 22 - Shows good attributes but has yet to establish himself a poor year and he too could be in trouble.
Bauer 22 - Another who has shown only glimpses at the level.
Sonsie 22 - Go read the Sonsie thread

question where is the high end quality in all that? is there a likely A or B grader among all that.
At this point in time it is very hard to say yes. That leads to the next question how many will even be there in three years time?

It is atm mostly down to what juniors we have making it and being better than the group above and most of the core group.

What really must happen at some point is we go hard at mature types to help the kiddies.

 

[Meteoric Rise]

Just a simple statement that is more likely to happen than not happen. Time waits for no man.

Simply because of age and talent it is very likely the majority core group 25 plus year olds will be gone in three years time or at best way past it.
Thats not being negative its being realistic. They cant help the new toys in three years if they aren't there.

It leaves the 22 - 24 age group to fill that void and have a look at them how would you rate them thus far.

Kossie 24 - most on here already want him gone. One of few who established himself to a degree.
Mansell 24 - established as a small defensive fwd another most are looking to upgrade.
Ross 24 - Solid average performer one of few who has established himself.
OH-B 24 - What are the expectations.
Ryan 24 - Done nothing at AFL and the clock is ticking
HRS 23 - Some will say established and to save argument i wil say barely and can still go either way.
Dow 23 - well most wanted him gone already without playing the newbies will likely play in front of him.
Blight 23 - shows good signs but has to still prove he belongs.
Rioli 22 - Most are saying he needs a big year to show he too belongs.
Trezise 22 - Shows good attributes but has yet to establish himself a poor year and he too could be in trouble.
Bauer 22 - Another who has shown only glimpses at the level.
Sonsie 22 - Go read the Sonsie thread

question where is the high end quality in all that? is there a likely A or B grader among all that.
At this point in time it is very hard to say yes. That leads to the next question how many will even be there in three years time?

It is atm mostly down to what juniors we have making it and being better than the group above and most of the core group.

What really must happen at some point is we go hard at mature types to help the kiddies.

You have left out a load of players who will likely be there in 3 years time.

Hopper, Taranto, Miller, Balta, just from the established players, and every chance Lefau is still there if his knees hold up. There are 3 x A & B Graders there.

And then you have partially answered your own question. We will have so much cap space it is almost certain we pick up 2-3 mature A or B grade recruits in trades or as Free Agents. After 2 more drafts we should be a very attractive club for players wanting to come to us. Even if that process is delayed beyond 2-3 years, it will only likely allow us to boost our player stocks further through the draft/s.

 

[Dr Tigris]

Just a simple statement that is more likely to happen than not happen. Time waits for no man.

Simply because of age and talent it is very likely the majority core group 25 plus year olds will be gone in three years time or at best way past it.
Thats not being negative its being realistic. They cant help the new toys in three years if they aren't there.

It leaves the 22 - 24 age group to fill that void and have a look at them how would you rate them thus far.

Kossie 24 - most on here already want him gone. One of few who established himself to a degree.
Mansell 24 - established as a small defensive fwd another most are looking to upgrade.
Ross 24 - Solid average performer one of few who has established himself.
OH-B 24 - What are the expectations.
Ryan 24 - Done nothing at AFL and the clock is ticking
HRS 23 - Some will say established and to save argument i wil say barely and can still go either way.
Dow 23 - well most wanted him gone already without playing the newbies will likely play in front of him.
Blight 23 - shows good signs but has to still prove he belongs.
Rioli 22 - Most are saying he needs a big year to show he too belongs.
Trezise 22 - Shows good attributes but has yet to establish himself a poor year and he too could be in trouble.
Bauer 22 - Another who has shown only glimpses at the level.
Sonsie 22 - Go read the Sonsie thread

question where is the high end quality in all that? is there a likely A or B grader among all that.
At this point in time it is very hard to say yes. That leads to the next question how many will even be there in three years time?

It is atm mostly down to what juniors we have making it and being better than the group above and most of the core group.

What really must happen at some point is we go hard at mature types to help the kiddies.

As much as I agree with much of what you say ... in 3 years guys who are 28 will only be 31. Players can play for longer these days. So I reckon we've got about 5 years of those mature guys already on our list. Slowly decreasing in numbers of course.

Yes we do need players in that 22 - 24 year old group. We have a huge amount fo $ spare to pick a player/s up over the next couple of years. So a worry, but not too much to me.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

As much as I agree with much of what you say ... in 3 years guys who are 28 will only be 31. Players can play for longer these days. So I reckon we've got about 5 years of those mature guys already on our list. Slowly decreasing in numbers of course.

Yes we do need players in that 22 - 24 year old group. We have a huge amount fo $ spare to pick a player/s up over the next couple of years. So a worry, but not too much to me.

A definite manageable 'worry'...not an insurmountable one!

 

[Dr Tigris]

A definite manageable 'worry'...not an insurmountable one!

Listening to the Tigercast it sounds like this worry is exactly what we are tackling the next couple of off seasons.

 

[Wavvey]

Non issue. Nearing the end of a rebuild, it’s very likely you’ll be thin in the 24-28 age bracket. Its why clubs recruit heavily in the latter stages of their rebuild ie. Eagles getting Graham, Bakes and Owies.

Don’t even need to think about it until the time comes, just keep stocking up on elite young talent (just like Smillie)

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

2026 is the right time too attack the FA market

 

[Noidnadroj]

I think the expectations on Smillie are a little high right now. It took players like Dusty and even more so Bolton a few years to build the tank necessary to play midfield, half forward or half back or wherever, and they are stars.

We all want Smillie to become that Cripps/Bont type, but he hasn't even played a game and slipped from 1 to 6 as he season went on. He is not an automatic selection. Of course we want to get games into the draftees, and we all love the 195cm mid idea, but they also have to show they deserve being promoted so some VFL time is not going to stunt their development. Lalor at no.1 might be the outlier to that, but throwing young players into the spotlight and pressure doesn't always come off.

We have more than enough young talent on the list that have not really had a crack at AFL level. McAuliffe, Smith, Green, Bauer, Blight, Fawcett, Trezise, Clarke, Gray and those just pressing or coming back from injury like Banks, Ross and Gibcus all need to be given a good go. They have done their time in the VFL and have all looked good bar Fawcett and Gray at AFL level. You can only play so many kids at once. Surely Sonsie deserves one more chance also.

Build those new draftees into a team in the VFL and promote them one or two at a time when they are ready or the side needs them or injuries open up spots.

IMO Lalor and Smillie will start round one and will never leave the team. I don’t want us getting too cute … get senior games into our future ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Noidnadroj]

Non issue. Nearing the end of a rebuild, it’s very likely you’ll be thin in the 24-28 age bracket. Its why clubs recruit heavily in the latter stages of their rebuild ie. Eagles getting Graham, Bakes and Owies.

Don’t even need to think about it until the time comes, just keep stocking up on elite young talent (just like Smillie)

Yep … the worst thing we can do is panic in the next 2-years and trade away draft picks for the likes of Daniel, Darling and Parker just to get senior bodies into the club.

Bombers have done the same time and time again when they should’ve been building elite talent (Shiel, Stringer, Saad)…

The Saints the same until the last couple of years (Hanneberry, Howard, Hill, Ryder, Jones).

Acquire some early 20’s players who have promise or ate looking for opportunity on the cheap if we can as we did with Houli and Grigg.

But avoid doing anything that involves giving up a decent draft pick for the 2025 and 2026 drafts at least… then we see how things look.

And to keep things on topic .. did you know Smillie is 195cm?


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[THE_GUN]

He just keeps sucking you guys in ....................................................

Trolls only exist because you feed them

 

[Hank Heavenly]

IMO Lalor and Smillie will start round one and will never leave the team. I don’t want us getting too cute … get senior games into our future ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

I agree, unless they need a break...

And thats a rest, then back intot he ones, no coming back through the 2's

 

[Grrr]

IMO Lalor and Smillie will start round one and will never leave the team. I don’t want us getting too cute … get senior games into our future ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

They might need to be managed that is all. Lalor has a really big body to carry around, needs to be handled with kid gloves for a season or two. They did it with McAuliffe last year, and plenty of new kids get stress related injuries.

Smillie is big but not overly muscled so will come up against seasoned 90kg mids who will try to physically intimidate him and then run him into the ground. Centre square mid is not an easy gig for an 18 year old.

I have no problem starting them as long as they have shown on the track and preseason that they deserve it, but letting them play VFL at the same time will aid their development just as much, and build their bodies as well.

 

[Groupie_]

classic bust

 

[Sir_Loin]

classic bust

You’re having RCD nightmares

 

[Yo Yo Ma!!!]

Just a simple statement that is more likely to happen than not happen. Time waits for no man.

Simply because of age and talent it is very likely the majority core group 25 plus year olds will be gone in three years time or at best way past it.
Thats not being negative its being realistic. They cant help the new toys in three years if they aren't there.

It leaves the 22 - 24 age group to fill that void and have a look at them how would you rate them thus far.

Kossie 24 - most on here already want him gone. One of few who established himself to a degree.
Mansell 24 - established as a small defensive fwd another most are looking to upgrade.
Ross 24 - Solid average performer one of few who has established himself.
OH-B 24 - What are the expectations.
Ryan 24 - Done nothing at AFL and the clock is ticking
HRS 23 - Some will say established and to save argument i wil say barely and can still go either way.
Dow 23 - well most wanted him gone already without playing the newbies will likely play in front of him.
Blight 23 - shows good signs but has to still prove he belongs.
Rioli 22 - Most are saying he needs a big year to show he too belongs.
Trezise 22 - Shows good attributes but has yet to establish himself a poor year and he too could be in trouble.
Bauer 22 - Another who has shown only glimpses at the level.
Sonsie 22 - Go read the Sonsie thread

question where is the high end quality in all that? is there a likely A or B grader among all that.
At this point in time it is very hard to say yes. That leads to the next question how many will even be there in three years time?

It is atm mostly down to what juniors we have making it and being better than the group above and most of the core group.

What really must happen at some point is we go hard at mature types to help the kiddies.

You lost me early with Kossie being "one of the few to establish himself to a degree". Kossie did nothing last year in my opinion to warrant being close to even passable as a player. putrid Forward, barely passable back up ruck that had little to nil utility value anywhere else on the field and as such a wasted team selection in 24. Will admit him being groomed as playing Key back has me intrigued, noting he was a U18 All Australian as a Key back.

 

[Sir_Loin]

You lost me early with Kossie being "one of the few to establish himself to a degree". Kossie did nothing last year in my opinion to warrant being close to even passable as a player. putrid Forward, barely passable back up ruck that had little to nil utility value anywhere else on the field and as such a wasted team selection in 24. Will admit him being groomed as playing Key back has me intrigued, noting he was a U18 All Australian as a Key back.

Very funny handle

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

classic bust

Time to go and check out Spec Savers...this is a classic 'bust'...

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

You lost me early with Kossie being "one of the few to establish himself to a degree". Kossie did nothing last year in my opinion to warrant being close to even passable as a player. putrid Forward, barely passable back up ruck that had little to nil utility value anywhere else on the field and as such a wasted team selection in 24. Will admit him being groomed as playing Key back has me intrigued, noting he was a U18 All Australian as a Key back.

You lost me as well...
I suppose you could have done better coming into and playing in a injury destroyed young side...
Getting used to a new Team and team mates and team tactics and coach...
Getting played forward, ruck and then back...
One word for you...perspective!