Past #25: Robbie Tarrant - traded to RFC for CCJ&picks - 2yr deal at RFC - 174 NM games/44 NM goals - retires 13/7/23 effective immediately

[tazaa]

Given that it is likely that Daw will not be ready for senior footy for most of 2014 I don't want Drew Petrie running km's that he does not need to be running in 2015. Not at his age and with his history of foot issues. And I don't see the logic in removing our best FF of the last 8 years away from that position late in his career, especially given that it is highly likely that Daw would not be able to match his level of output. Perhaps Dish will start to decline somewhat in 2015 and Daw can transition in over the course of that season.

I watched Dishes highlight reek from 2011. That year off in 2010 did wonders or him.
There was a facebook page set up in his honour titled 'Jumping on campaigners backs because your Drew Petrie'.

Since then a toll of ageing and defenders holding Drew down by an arm around the waist of the tug of his jumper is not allowing Drew clear access to the pill. He still has that leap and we didnt see it as much in 2013 as 2011-12.

 

[UmpiringFooty]

Daw will only be a plonk in the goal square FF/second ruck. He simply does not nor will not have the footy aptitude nor possibly the tank to play a key forward role that requires adherence to structural play which requires him to run leading patters well away from goal and out of the forward fifty or to get involved in general play around the ground. Give him an opponent in the goal square, great. Give him a ball up against another ruck, fine. Give him the ball with space to run into, awesome.

Tarrant is and will always be a more natural footballer and better option for CHF, roaming tall marking target. Given Daw is at least 12 months from demanding a spot in the side I think Taz is safe for at least another 12 months. In reality Daw is more a long term replacement for Petrie.

So you think Maj would be suited to a similar role that Nic Nat plays over at West Coast. I tend to agree there but he's too tall for FF. He'd be better off playing at CHF and be able to ruck around the ground. I think Aaron Black has got Drew's spot covered.

 

[UmpiringFooty]

As a side question at what point this year did he sustain the unreported injury?

Take a look at the brisbane game where he was subbed out early

 

[tazaa]

Majak would collapse playing at CHF.

 

[King Corey]

There seems an undercurrent of deriding Majak if you see merit in Tarrant creeping through in some posts.

One thing that I don't necessarily agree with - Majak is all athlete and not a footballer.

He is an inexperienced footballer in terms of having less years of development than others and not having come from serious formal training in an equivalent sport.

But Majak's innate football ability is obviously strong enough in spite of his later development to shine through and he's shown enough individual skill, intensity and mental strength through his career thus far to prove he's more than mere athlete. Ffs I'd take him over friggin Hampson if we're making comparisons.

My comparison for a while for Majak has been Corey McKernan. Similar sizes with athletic gifts and solid skills, capable of big bursts of gamebreaking intensity and an ability to deliver under pressure. If he can reach something like a 1994-5 Corey Mac - I wont' be silly enough to suggest a 1996-99 Corey - then it'd still be a very handy weapon in our side.

Anyway enough thread derailment. Just don't see why supporting Tarrant has to translate to running down Maj.

 

[Only Forwards]

There seems an undercurrent of deriding Majak if you see merit in Tarrant creeping through in some posts.

One thing that I don't necessarily agree with - Majak is all athlete and not a footballer.

He is an inexperienced footballer in terms of having less years of development than others and not having come from serious formal training in an equivalent sport.

But Majak's innate football ability is obviously strong enough in spite of his later development to shine through and he's shown enough individual skill, intensity and mental strength through his career thus far to prove he's more than mere athlete. Ffs I'd take him over friggin Hampson if we're making comparisons.

My comparison for a while for Majak has been Corey McKernan. Similar sizes with athletic gifts and solid skills, capable of big bursts of gamebreaking intensity and an ability to deliver under pressure. If he can reach something like a 1994-5 Corey Mac - I wont' be silly enough to suggest a 1996-99 Corey - then it'd still be a very handy weapon in our side.

Anyway enough thread derailment. Just don't see why supporting Tarrant has to translate to running down Maj.

How far away from being the best player in the league do you think Majak is?

Corey was that in 1996.

Personally I think he is miles from that level.

He is exciting, and I hope that he can have consistent influence in the games that he plays, but I am not sure that a comparison to Corey is fair.

 

[Reginald0]

But Majak's innate football ability is obviously strong enough in spite of his later development to shine through and he's shown enough individual skill, intensity and mental strength through his career thus far to prove he's more than mere athlete.

some of us think ^^^ is virtually non existent
he is athletic
he is a 1 or 2 trick pony, maybe that will work, Lord knows there are other hopeless footballers who do alrite, either ruckmen full forwards and stoppers and you can get away with this in a good team
but as of right now, as a footballer his lack of awareness, body positioning etc from wot I have seen he is a liability mostly due to fitness, hard to see a PCL whatever helping
fabulous leap good mark and can kick
good in parts

 

[A_Typing_Llama]

To much expectation, If he plays like a Cory Jones I'd be more then happy from our third tall.

 

[GarnerSmash]

I don't want to deride Majak at all. I think the gifts he has could see him become a very good full forward/chop out ruck. But he does have significant weaknesses which include fitness, game sense and plain old footy nous.

One passage of play highlighted this to me more than any other this year. In the game against the Lions his second mark, the one hander in the pocket against Merrett, along with his towering mark and goal, displayed his innate abilities. Strength, good hands etc. He then lined up for goal on the wrong side for a right footer, on the tightest of tight angles and proceeded to run in on a straight line and kick a drop punt. No widening of the angle, no run around, no left foot and no banana, all of which were better options and would automatically come to the mind of any other AFL footballer.

It is a small thing but it is indicative of a larger problem with Maj, one I think will never fully be resolved due to him not having a solid grounding in competitive football. He seems not to have the array of options available to him when it comes to execution of fundamentals on the footy field, and I am sure this translates to the understanding of roles played on game day. In time he will improve but in this respect he is coming from a long way back.

I really do hope that he does become our Drew replacement because he could be an awesome see ball, mark ball FF and relief ruck. I love the bloke in our colours and long may this continue but I think I see him for what he is.

 

[King Corey]

How far away from being the best player in the league do you think Majak is?

Corey was that in 1996.

Personally I think he is miles from that level.

He is exciting, and I hope that he can have consistent influence in the games that he plays, but I am not sure that a comparison to Corey is fair.

I think you know what I meant mate.

He has similar attributes but lacks the development years to get close to Corey's peak. Which as you saw I excluded from the comparison.

Which is why I stated his best case scenario would be equivalent to Corey at 19 or 20. Which is still more than handy.

some of us think ^^^ is virtually non existent
he is athletic

His size, athleticism, intensity and skill can still go a long way. Not sure why people think you've got to have it all to have a successful AFL career.

Mike Pyke, Shane Clayton, Mitch Morton all got premiership medals with glaring weakness in their overall armoury. But '1 or 2 tricks' developed to their max while the overall squad is poised ready to strike could be very effective.

I still maintain people are underestimating how hard AFL is and that Majak has already proven some footballability. We've drafted umpteenth blokes over the years who stood 192cm or taller, grew up playing the game and could barely get a kick in the VFL/reserves let alone dream of taking a hanger and sinking a pressure shot on debut or kicking 6 in a game. This tells me he is more than just athlete.

 

[boneofshin]

He then lined up for goal on the wrong side for a right footer, on the tightest of tight angles and proceeded to run in on a straight line and kick a drop punt. No widening of the angle, no run around, no left foot and no banana, all of which were better options and would automatically come to the mind of any other AFL footballer.

That's true, but I do remember Boomer getting into his ear before the kick at goal and tried to give him a pointers. Majak might have just been put on the spot a bit trying to do what Boomer told him to do.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Daw can play.

He is being held back by the fact that he is knackered after one effort. He needs a fitness base far and away above what he currently has to allow him to make a consistent impact.

He is a far better mark than Robbie, has the ability to go into the ruck and be more than serviceable and is a better kick IMO. However, his position is currently being held down by our best forward who will need to make way before Majak can be seen as a viable option.

 

[GarnerSmash]

That's true, but I do remember Boomer getting into his ear before the kick at goal and tried to give him a pointers. Majak might have just been put on the spot a bit trying to do what Boomer told him to do.

Not sure Boomer would have told him to kick a drop punt from an angle at which the ball would not have fit through the goal posts. But even so, you do what brings the greatest odds of success. Either Maj didn't think of that or he doesn't have faith in his ability to execute something different.

 

[GarnerSmash]

Daw can play.

He is being held back by the fact that he is knackered after one effort. He needs a fitness base far and away above what he currently has to allow him to make a consistent impact.

He is a far better mark than Robbie, has the ability to go into the ruck and be more than serviceable and is a better kick IMO. However, his position is currently being held down by our best forward who will need to make way before Majak can be seen as a viable option.

Robbie has shown he is an pretty decent kick at goal but his kicking this year was obviously affected by the nerve injury in his leg which then brought on a case of yips. Even so he kicked 16.15 whereas Maj kicked 9.8.

As for field kicking, there is no comparison.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Robbie has shown he is an pretty decent kick at goal but his kicking this year was obviously affected by the nerve injury in his leg which then brought on a case of yips. Even so he kicked 16.15 whereas Maj kicked 9.8.

As for field kicking, there is no comparison.

I'm talking purely about kicking for goal. Maj's technique seems to be effortless from 45+ (I'm including VFL here as he hasn't had many from that distance in the seniors) whereas Tarrant look like he is trying to kick the air out of the ball. Whether or not his injury has contributed to that, I don't know.

 

[King Corey]

Not sure Boomer would have told him to kick a drop punt from an angle at which the ball would not have fit through the goal posts. But even so, you do what brings the greatest odds of success. Either Maj didn't think of that or he doesn't have faith in his ability to execute something different.

IF the suggestion of Boomer advising him was right, am I right in understanding you're criticising a kid in his first 5 minutes of senior football for not overruling the advice he was just given by a overshadowing legend of the club and game?

 

[NiceCunnington]

There seems an undercurrent of deriding Majak if you see merit in Tarrant creeping through in some posts.

Agree with that. I don't like the defensive cutting down of Majak to support Tarrant. The post where Jay-Z (a normally sensible poster) brought out those absurd percentages and the Anthony/Boomer analogy was a shocker. I don't like it when people bring up Hansen either because I've never considered Tarrant to be anywhere near as talented.

Having said that, I don't think Tarrant is tracking that badly at all. He took some pretty strong grabs this year despite the concrete hands tag. With Majak and Wood's injuries his spot seems pretty safe for at least the first half of the year. But I expect Currie to play a fair bit of footy, so I'm very interested to see how he fits in.

I'll go with 33.25 for a goal prediction.

 

[GarnerSmash]

IF the suggestion of Boomer advising him was right, am I right in understanding you're criticising a kid in his first 5 minutes of senior football for not overruling the advice he was just given by a overshadowing legend of the club and game?

he odds that Boomer, the master of the banana and the run around, advised him to kick a drop punt when there was zero chance of success?

I'd say it was moreso a word to calm him down and to ignore the fans leaning over the fence to his right.

 

[King Corey]

he odds that Boomer, the master of the banana and the run around, advised him to kick a drop punt when there was zero chance of success?

I'd say it was moreso a word to calm him down and to ignore the fans leaning over the fence to his right.

We'll go with that then. So then you were extrapolating his full spectrum of football ability based on his decision to go with a drop punt in his 2nd set shot in AFL?

 

[GarnerSmash]

We'll go with that then. So then you were extrapolating his full spectrum of football ability based on his decision to go with a drop punt in his 2nd set shot in AFL?

No.

If you care to read my post into the next paragraph...

It is a small thing but it is indicative of a larger problem with Maj, one I think will never fully be resolved due to him not having a solid grounding in competitive football. He seems not to have the array of options available to him when it comes to execution of fundamentals on the footy field, and I am sure this translates to the understanding of roles played on game day. In time he will improve but in this respect he is coming from a long way back.

I used an example to highlight an overall trend that I have noticed. I would have thought my post made that quite clear.

 

[Ischenko]

Something seemed to go awry with Tarrant's ball drop in the latter part of the year?
Can't find footage 'cos I'm at work but it would be interesting to compare his 2012 and 2013 kicking actions.

 

[Black2Blue]

Daw can play. Can, should, and will improve in my book. Tarrant can play. Can, should, and will improve too. Problem is we can't fit the both of them in the same team with Petrie and Black set in stone as our best 2 key forwards. It's a nice problem to have. Let's just hope that the problem doesn't get resolved through injury or through one of them falling off the perch form wise and spending the year fumbling around the 2s. I think despite the various pro and con arguments for both Daw and Tarrant we will all be happy if they are both playing well and making it bloody hard for selectors to choose between them.

After doing a lot of midfield watching as JZ, Cunners, Basti, Ats, etc mature into their games, 2014 looks like the year of the tall forward watching. Although Black has come on like a bomb this year, we basically have our future post-Petrie forward line still auditioning. No more needs to be said about Black, although it is nice to remind ourselves that we have a 22-game star on our team. Tarrant is creeping towards that 50-game marker that often seems a good measuring stick. Daw, a 6-game veteran, was mentioned as being groomed post-Petrie and I think we are all just keen to see him get his knee right and get plenty of game time, whether in the seniors or the VFL. And Curran, I think all would be pleased just to see him getting written up "In The Mix" next year.

Tarrant is the one with most pressure and expectations, and I would think he is setting himself for a big 2014. With Daw and Curran, it will be a case of watch and wait. How this forward mix is played out will actually depend most on the health and fitness of Black and Petrie. If they stay injury free, I think the triple towers of Black, Petrie, and Tarrant is a lock for the first half of the season, as Daw's issues with match fitness could potentially make playing seniors early in the year counterproductive to his development. So my Christmas wish is for Black and Petrie to stay injury free in 2014, for Tarrant to step it up, and for Daw and Curran to get fit and healthy and start to burn it up for Werribee and North Ballarat.

Wouldn't the Carlton board dream of having debates like in this thread.

 

[LETSGOKANGAS]

11.5

 

[Reginald0]

sometimes when you think you've seen it all
something comes along to make you just shake your head and say
well I guess I haven't seen it all

'My comparison for a while for Majak has been Corey McKernan. Similar sizes with athletic gifts and solid skills, capable of big bursts of gamebreaking intensity and an ability to deliver under pressure. If he can reach something like a 1994-5 Corey Mac - I wont' be silly enough to suggest a 1996-99 Corey - then it'd still be a very handy weapon in our side.'
This post

Daw has kicked a few goals against a midget Dogs backline, spent a couple of games looking like he was on a tourist visa and you compare him to a legend of the club who should have won a Brownlow, should have won a Norm Smith, and singlehandedly played one of the great Finals games of all time (that wld be V Brissy in 99 if u weren't there)

 

[Daz]

Tarrant's kicking for goal has always been a bit dodgy. His 2012 was the exception rather than the norm, unfortunately.

Daw's kicking from an angle was a nice illustration of how raw he still is. I suspect it's something that he simply hadn't got around to learning yet.