Training 2025 Pre-Season - Standards ARE being driven - Solo captain Jy - Intraclub & Family Day CONFIRMED for Saturday, February 15 | 9.30am - 1pm

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Brutal that I only half-believe him. I treat pre-season hype these days with more cynicism than I do an LNP billboard. Been such a dire few years. Hope to God he's right
I've got no doubt they'd be training and working more than they ever have in the past. Good remain hopeful but given recent results it might be best to temper the excitement until it translates when the real stuff starts.
 
Brutal that I only half-believe him. I treat pre-season hype these days with more cynicism than I do an LNP billboard. Been such a dire few years. Hope to God he's right

For what it’s worth, the overall training standard has been puke for the last few years. I haven’t seen training this pre season yet, but you couldn’t help walk away previously with a pit of doom in your stomach.

To hear someone that has seen that in the past indicate things have changed is a reason for optimism.
 

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He was my FAVOURITE. Username made after him and I refuse to change it.

But he averaged 20 touches man and struggled on the spread. Absolute menace in the clinches though. He was our preferred third but to compare his quality to say, Parker as our third, just shows the difference in depth.

Jy was far from a lock at that point. 2020 was his breakout year as a mid.
In 2019 Jy was just learning and so was LDU, even more so. Wardlaw and Sheeze are where Jy was, Kerch for LDU.

Agree with everything about Jed ... but if someone spends that much time playing like that on the inside its no surprise if they're too cooked to spread. I don't think he ever really recovered from that pneumonia. He was a major reason we didn't stay bottomed out ion 2018 (along with Maj down back and JZ forward).
 
IMO the problem with any hypothesis that suggests Wardlaw will be in the twos for more than injury/form recovery, is that not only is he one of our top four mids, and a long term pillar for our mid-heavy gameplan, but he’d also be in our two top small forwards if he ever had half a chance to play there too.
 
There's serious midfield depth with Parker in and reports of Mckercher improving by leaps and bounds, Warlord's tank isn't great, and he hasn't demonstrated real versatility yet.

Pretty easy to surmise there's a chance at some VFL for the lad. Being the numero uno centre square in the VFL wouldn't be the worst thing for his development either.

Interesting times ahead. Hopefully in a good way... heh.
In his 20th senior game he had 30 posessions (10 contested) and 10 clearances. He also took six marks and kicked a goal. The following week he had 23, 15 contested, as well as seven clearances. Then he got his knock at training.
 
Do not necessarily agree that warlord will be playing a heap of vfl footy, but I think it would not hurt him to dominate at the second level for a game or two next year.
Would he not get better / learn more playing against the top players in the league…?!
 
Less go - $50 bet to the children's hospital if it's not Sheez, Parker and LDU at the first bounce of the first game of the season. Loser donates.

Bet null and void if you want if there's injury to any of our midfielders.

It's a win win for me. I lose the bet and a young gun has earnt their spot.
Always down for a good bet and for the children… wil struggle to remember in 3 months but happy to be reminded
 
Brutal that I only half-believe him. I treat pre-season hype these days with more cynicism than I do an LNP billboard. Been such a dire few years. Hope to God he's right

It’s only second hand as I can’t get down there anymore, so take it with a grain of salt, but this bloke has been very pessimistic when talking about Norths training standards for a long time.

He wasn’t saying we’re going to win the flag or anything, he just said that they were very sharp and training hard.

Coming from him, that’s about as positive I think he’s capable of.
 
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Wow-wee.

Wardlaw is either the First or Second picked midfielder. It’s out of him and LDU. I absolutely love Sheez, but if you are picking pure mids you have to go with the ones who are a real physical presence. I fail to see it any other way. So many of his attributes aren’t really measurable, manic pressure, repeat efforts, ability to recover

Wardlaw with another pre-season under his belt will be a totally different beast.

He is only a year or two from totally tearing the comp apart.
 

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I love George as a player and what I’ve seen at his best. That Pies game for 3qtrs was one of the best individual performances for us as a whole.
His biggest issue is the same it has been for the last 2 years. He doesn’t have the engine to run out a game let alone a season. Each preseason though you will see him improve this is the thought. Unlike Kerch and Sheez, likely FOS aswell who came in with incredible cardio he hasn’t.
I still have a call with a mate if George finishes in our top 5 BnF we win 10 games.
 
Wow-wee.

Wardlaw is either the First or Second picked midfielder. It’s out of him and LDU. I absolutely love Sheez, but if you are picking pure mids you have to go with the ones who are a real physical presence. I fail to see it any other way. So many of his attributes aren’t really measurable, manic pressure, repeat efforts, ability to recover

Wardlaw with another pre-season under his belt will be a totally different beast.

He is only a year or two from totally tearing the comp apart.

Sheez looks good and delivers everywhere.

Just can’t help but think that’s best for us at hf/wing.

He was drafted as a difference making forward. Let him make a difference forward. Colby and Sheez to be the deliveres inside 50

LDU, warlord, Jy and Parker getting it out to them.
 
I dont like the way that stat is quantified. I think CP’s are given away when the ball isn’t in contest far too often.

Everyone conflates Contested Possessions with Hard Ball Gets. Contested possessions are simply aquiring the ball when it's in dispute as opposed to acquiring it from a team-mate's pass.

Contested Possessions include:
  • Contested marks
  • Hard Ball Gets
  • Loose Ball Gets
  • Intercepts
  • First possession from the ruck (doesn't matter if it's from a nice tap)
  • Getting a free kick
i.e Winning your own ball.

Uncontested Possessions include:
  • Handball receive
  • Uncontested Mark from team mate
  • Uncontested mark from opposition clanger kick
i.e. Outside footy

Also, Possession doe NOT equal Disposal! (think about the names)

You can have a possession and not a disposal:
  • You get tackled
  • You end up out of bounds
  • You give away a free kick
  • You accidentally drop the ball
  • The siren sounds


I agree with the naming conventions. Every time a ball is there to be won, including a loose ball, it's a contest. I just wish Hard Ball Gets would come back into fashion as a stat.
 
Everyone conflates Contested Possessions with Hard Ball Gets. Contested possessions are simply aquiring the ball when it's in dispute as opposed to acquiring it from a team-mate's pass.

Contested Possessions include:
  • Contested marks
  • Hard Ball Gets
  • Loose Ball Gets
  • Intercepts
  • First possession from the ruck (doesn't matter if it's from a nice tap)
  • Getting a free kick
i.e Winning your own ball.

Uncontested Possessions include:
  • Handball receive
  • Uncontested Mark from team mate
  • Uncontested mark from opposition clanger kick
i.e. Outside footy

Also, Possession doe NOT equal Disposal! (think about the names)

You can have a possession and not a disposal:
  • You get tackled
  • You end up out of bounds
  • You give away a free kick
  • You accidentally drop the ball
  • The siren sounds


I agree with the naming conventions. Every time a ball is there to be won, including a loose ball, it's a contest. I just wish Hard Ball Gets would come back into fashion as a stat.
I am aware. The way “contested” possessions are projected, it’s suggested its all hard ball. Its far from it as you pointed out and I dont like it. Most of that is just getting a touch and should fall in UP category
 
Would he not get better / learn more playing against the top players in the league…?!
Sure, but I am also aware he is still building his tank and confidence. He is still very young.

I doubt he will play any vfl next year anyway.
 
Champion data helped destroy our rebuild.

And yeah we are. People may think I'm a loon, but whatever. Don't be surprised if he starts in the B team in the intras and don't be surprised if he ends up spending some time in the 2s to get some more midfield time.

It's one thing to say he's gonna be a gun and we're shit so we can fit him in.

The question is - where do we play all these blokes?

If Colby and Powell earn midfield rotations on merit and result in a better team doing so, do you just boot them out because our fave can't play elsewhere? Yeah Colbs I know you worked harder in the off season than anyone, bar none, but you can't have the spot you earnt because other blokes aren't as flexible.

Do you put arguably our best midfielder (Sheez) forward into his third position in three years, when he's already shown he's one of the best in the comp in the guts?

Maybe you chuck LDU onto a flank and watch him walk at the end of the year?

Do you rob our midfield of Parker's experience and leadership when the rest of the AFL world knows that it's not talent, but THAT we lack, especially when we need to win games and soon?

Or do you take some time with his development knowing that Parker will shift to a flank after his teaching is done and that will shift everyone up a rung in the pecking order, and that will also give him time to get his fitness up?

No one here has said "he's shit, drop him", which you wouldn't be able to tell looking at the absolute hysteria my comment invoked.

You simply cannot play 6-7 blokes >50% time in the guts each and every game. No team does. It was always a fantasy that we convinced ourselves of. It's even harder if Clarko shifts our game plan to using a spare rather than a contest extra. I'm not even sure it's mathematically possible. Someone will miss out. While Parker is a preferred midfielder, that is likely to be one of our beloved youngsters.

And that is more than ok.

George is the only midfielder with an elite defensive side in our entire group.

Sheezel has high pressure numbers, but he can't get players that break out of congestion with speed.

LDU? One of the most unaccountable footballers in the comp and has been for years. Tackle numbers have increased around stoppage, so he's gone from diabolical to just bad defensively.

Simpkin? See above

Powell - Nope, can't run with the best mids. Doesn't have the footspeed AND it's not his natural game.

McKercher - Nope, it's not his go, he's always in attack and accumulation mode. I'd be surprised if he averages more than 3 tackles a game across his career.

Why do you think Clarko played Phillips as much as he did, went out to get Parker and then still drafted Urquhart?

Without him, it's so unbalanced it's not funny. Why do you think we get pumped week in week out with some of the same very talented players?

Clarko willingly not playing our best defensive mid with the above group will ensure we finish in the bottom 2 again. Parker will provide some support, but this board is already expecting way too much of him at 32 years of age in my opinion. He's not the player he was 6-7 years ago and should be nowhere near our best 3 mids by the end of the year. He should be a rotation piece mid/fwd.

Games when GW was fit firing and running ontop of the ground, were our strongest games for the year. As soon as he had the concussion break and didn't quite recover the form, we looked a completely limp side around stoppage without the same defensive edge.


If anything GW should be the first picked in the middle and everyone rotated around him because of the above. As we only have one of him.

This is also ignoring everything else he brings to the table and the fact he's also the best u/22 clearance player in the comp not named Daicos or Judas (and he's a year younger than both).

Wardlaw wins 9% of every center bounce he attends. Some on here who are proclaiming LDU the messiah wins 11% and he has 6 pre-seasons on him and is about to be getting offers of $1.5m a year. Sheezel is the best at North with 13% and it's why he will be starting in there.

He averaged more contested possessions, clearances, tackles, pressure acts and goals per game than Powell last season and he's 2 years younger than him. I see zero sensible argument for him being in the side and having midfield time with Wardlaw being in the VFL.

Should Brisbane play Will Ashcroft in the VFL because they have Neale, McCluggage, Dunkley, Berry? Playing someone like Simpkin ahead of Wardlaw would be about as stupid as playing Berry ahead of Ashcroft.

No, you simply fit your very best players into the side. Wardlaw fits this category.
 
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George is the only midfielder with an elite defensive side in our entire group.

Sheezel has high pressure numbers, but he can't get players that break out of congestion with speed.

LDU? One of the most unaccountable footballers in the comp and has been for years. Tackle numbers have increased around stoppage, so he's gone from diabolical to just bad defensively.

Simpkin? See above

Powell - Nope, can't run with the best mids. Doesn't have the footspeed AND it's not his natural game.

McKercher - Nope, it's not his go, he's always in attack and accumulation mode. I'd be surprised if he averages more than 3 tackles a game across his career.

Why do you think Clarko played Phillips as much as he did, went out to get Parker and then still drafted Urquhart?




Clarko willingly not playing our best defensive mid with the above group will ensure we finish in the bottom 2 again. Parker will provide some support, but this board is already expecting way too much of him at 32 years of age in my opinion. He's not the player he was 6-7 years ago and should be nowhere near our best 3 mids by the end of the year. He should be a rotation piece mid/fwd.

Games when GW was fit firing and running ontop of the ground, were our strongest games for the year. As soon as he had the concussion break and didn't quite recover the form, we looked a completely limp side around stoppage without the same defensive edge.


If anything GW should be the first picked in the middle and everyone rotated around him because of the above. As we only have one of him.

Protecting GW’s head will be crucial for him
 
Man I hope you're right.

To my eyes he has immense potential. But he's not an innate run and carry LDU type, he will be a guy who always plays full throttle. When he has time and space his disposal is weaker.


Are we just ignoring LDU being one of the most inconsistent kicks in the side now?

Nobody completely fluffs more kicks in time and space than LDU, with the exception of Simpkins talent for somehow kicking the ratio of weird helicopters he does.

Wardlaw is a far better kick than both of them. He absolutely kicks grubbers every now and then, he probably needs to learn to not go for the hero kick like he does on occasion (which will come with experience), but I don't know how anyone that has watched him like all of us could consider him a weak kick.

LDU has a noticeably bad ball drop, where he tends to over rotate the ball forwards on it's axis regularly, he holds it too vertical. Because of the momentum he carries he kicks it end over end when the ball rotates forward in his awkward ball drop.

Wardlaw's tends to be decision making rather than technical and trying to kick the ball too flat, because he's trying to kick these 25-30m kicks to a player under pressure he shouldn't. When you try to kick the ball too flat, you tend to hit it to far towards your toe and it will run along the ground when you miss the belly of the ball.
 
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I dont like the way that stat is quantified. I think CP’s are given away when the ball isn’t in contest far too often.
Well that's a fair point but George gets old school contested possessions. The old "hard ball gets" from actual contests where the ball is in dispute.
 

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Training 2025 Pre-Season - Standards ARE being driven - Solo captain Jy - Intraclub & Family Day CONFIRMED for Saturday, February 15 | 9.30am - 1pm


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