Player Watch #29: Will Phillips [Part II] - Extends to End of 2025

[ToxicMegaPunts]

Why? What is Will's ceiling?

 

[perplexed]

We are in all likelihood going to take 6-8 picks to the draft and maybe take a couple of delisted free agents.

I’d rather give Will another year than take a punt on a speculative pick in the 70’s.

I'd rather the pick, especially this year. Even if he gets fit, I just don't see Will ever being more than depth.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

I'd rather the pick, especially this year. Even if he gets fit, I just don't see Will ever being more than depth.

That’s fair, I’m neither here nor there, if Phillips survives that cut or not, but we’ve shown that continually cutting 10-12 players and exposing a stack of kids before they are ready isn’t the answer.

 

[Kanga1996]

Let’s be honest, if he wasn’t pick 3 he wouldn’t be offered another contract. Didn’t look like a player playing for his career today, I would still give him another year.

 

[perplexed]

That’s fair, I’m neither here nor there, if Phillips survives that cut or not, but we’ve shown that continually cutting 10-12 players and exposing a stack of kids before they are ready isn’t the answer.

True. But then I look at our list and the players out of contract this year and next. There are 16 who I'd say are no chance of making it and another five I'm iffy on. I'd rather that we cut hard this year when the late picks look promising.

 

[Uncle_Leo]

Bye bye. All the best

 

[RossHenshaw]

Will Phill take your short arse donkey legs out of Arden st & don’t slam the door on your way out.
Good luck with your coaching career .

 

[Zondor]

On the bolded you're 100% wrong.
And I'm not going to argue you're wrong with offering him 2 years. You're entitled to your opinion. And when I said he'd played his last game for us, that was and I stated it at the time as my opinion.
Whereas the contractual discussions aren't, you guessed it, my opinion.

I have said it for years, I have no info on trades, drafting thoughts. Hence why I rarely comment in that space. Just to finish it's not cool to suggest I'm lying.

But I take solace in the fact there's a handful that know I'm not. And funnily enough they're the posters I respect the most.

Anyways go Roos and go willip, hope he plays well.

Thanks Mate. :stern look

 

[Junk yard]

Wasn't great today (who was?), but;

Will Phillips
ToG 72%
12 disposals
9 tackles (= most for NMFC today)
3 score involvements
75% disposal efficiency

Compared to...

Tom Powell
ToG 84%
8 disposals
4 tackles
1 score involvement
62% disposal efficiency

Bailey Scott
ToG 83%
12 disposals
3 tackles
0 score involvements
66% disposal efficiency

In less time on the field, Phillips did more than Powell or Scott.

I make this point to suggest that Phillips is marked unfairly on a curve for some people here, if they think he was horrible today but say nothing about players like Powell or Scott (or Tucker, or Shiels, or Zurhaar, or Stephens, etc).

Last man standing defending that performance. Was smashed in the VFL and didn't deserve a recall. Playing for his future and was putrid again. He wasn't alone but the rest have shown something throughout the season, absolute disgrace if there's any contract infront of him after the year he's had. I do commend your tenacity, definitely the last man standing.

 

[tazaa]

1 year. No triggers. Club wanted to but were declined.
Its gonna be make or break.

If he's not best 22 at the end of 2025 and solidified in the side then he will be gone.
So Big preseason ahead. This summer will determine his future at North.

 

[Junk yard]

1 year. No triggers. Club wanted to but were declined.
Its gonna be make or break.

If he's not best 22 at the end of 2025 and solidified in the side then he will be gone.
So Big preseason ahead. This summer will determine his future at North.

He's worse than he was this time last year. I'd be very surprised if there's any contracts infront of him. He's no where near AFL standard, fitness, commitment or skills. There's at least 20 state league mids deserving a contract over him. He was pick 3, that means noting now. We ****ed up and now we move on.

 

[The Other Dean]

This is a tough one. The last thing I want to do is pour more petrol on this raging dumpster fire of a thread but hey, what the hell.

To the surprise of very few, the knock on Will at the club continues to be pretty much exclusively around fitness. Simply put, he is still yet to acquire the level of fitness required for an AFL Mid. That is the problem, that is the issue. In Will's defence, I have heard nothing re him not pushing himself hard enough to get his fitness up to a satisfactory level. Some may say that the proof is in the pudding gut on that front, but as boring as it sounds - and f*ck knows I have no interest in getting into an argument over injury/illness recovery timelines - the glandular has no doubt hampered him (long term) more than people may realise.

If the club is indeed shopping him around as TAO says (and it wouldn't exactly surprise me if that were true), then I would assume that the club has either decided that bringing his fitness up to the required level is either Mission Impossible, or at least A Bridge Too Far. The latter is a better film so we'll go with that.

But again, in Will's defence, for better or worse, the club has zero problem with his ability or skill level as a footballer. Although I guess for his critics that might just be further evidence of the poor standards inherent at the club. Nor do they have any problem with Will's attitude or loyalty to North or any of that good stuff. Once again, it's just his fitness.

Personally I'd chuck him another year to give it one last old college try. Dude can football and we have far more pressing deadwood to burn. That said, not really fussed however it plays out.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Yep. Stay or go.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

This is a tough one. The last thing I want to do is pour more petrol on this raging dumpster fire of a thread but hey, what the hell.

To the surprise of very few, the knock on Will at the club continues to be pretty much exclusively around fitness. Simply put, he is still yet to acquire the level of fitness required for an AFL Mid. That is the problem, that is the issue. In Will's defence, I have heard nothing re him not pushing himself hard enough to get his fitness up to a satisfactory level. Some may say that the proof is in the pudding gut on that front, but as boring as it sounds - and f*ck knows I have no interest in getting into an argument over injury/illness recovery timelines - the glandular has no doubt hampered him (long term) more than people may realise.

If the club is indeed shopping him around as TAO says (and it wouldn't exactly surprise me if that were true), then I would assume that the club has either decided that bringing his fitness up to the required level is either Mission Impossible, or at least A Bridge Too Far. The latter is a better film so we'll go with that.

But again, in Will's defence, for better or worse, the club has zero problem with his ability or skill level as a footballer. Although I guess for his critics that might just be further evidence of the poor standards inherent at the club. Nor do they have any problem with Will's attitude or loyalty to North or any of that good stuff. Once again, it's just his fitness.

Personally I'd chuck him another year to give it one last old college try. Dude can football and we have far more pressing deadwood to burn. That said, not really fussed however it plays out.

Frustrating thing is half the list would fall into this bucket. Our skills are (generally) fine, but our work rate is in the pits. Last two weeks we’ve been out worked from the first bounce and made to look amateurish. West coast rolled us after getting out to a 30 point lead. So we gotta get this fixed as a priority.

 

[Scylla]

Been offered a one year deal according to Tom Morris. Wanting two apparently.

 

[The acurate one]

Been offered a one year deal according to Tom Morris. Wanting two apparently.

Really, did not know that.

 

[koshari]

As poor as he has been he is miles better than at least 15 blokes on the list. You dont get better collectively losing your better players given how difficult it is to access talent.

 

[The Warlord]

We are in all likelihood going to take 6-8 picks to the draft and maybe take a couple of delisted free agents.

I’d rather give Will another year than take a punt on a speculative pick in the 70’s.

We're desperately short on midfield quality and depth, especially guys in their mid 20s.

Will turns 23 early next season and was pick 3 for a reason.

Maybe he's not ever going to be Josh Kelly or Bont, but we're not in a position to be pushing these types away.

FFS if Will played for another side and was in the exact same position, we'd likely be looking to recruit him.

 

[Souup]

That’s fair, I’m neither here nor there, if Phillips survives that cut or not, but we’ve shown that continually cutting 10-12 players and exposing a stack of kids before they are ready isn’t the answer.

This.

A lot of comments on this board RE: List management are often narrow minded in that we want to delist 15 players, regardless of age, list profile, depth etc. Stability is key and it's amazing how good previously 'average' or 'below average' players look in a competitive team - we saw this for a stretch post-bye.

The reality is we're better off keeping Phillips for a year than delisting him and picking up a raw 18 year old with a 3rd round pick who's no more likely to make it, has less leadership and no existing relationships with the group.

 

[The Warlord]

This.

A lot of comments on this board RE: List management are often narrow minded in that we want to delist 15 players, regardless of age, list profile, depth etc. Stability is key and it's amazing how good previously 'average' or 'below average' players look in a competitive team - we saw this for a stretch post-bye.

The reality is we're better off keeping Phillips for a year than delisting him and picking up a raw 18 year old with a 3rd round pick who's no more likely to make it, has less leadership and no existing relationships with the group.

Good teams bat very deep too.

 

[Junk yard]

As poor as he has been he is miles better than at least 15 blokes on the list. You dont get better collectively losing your better players given how difficult it is to access talent.

Brodie, Fiorini, Robertson all limited footballers on other lists that would be an instant upgrade on a bloke that can only find the footy 20 times in the VFL and can't run. You could go through and pick at least one from each second tier team. If there's a year infront of him It'd be new levels of list mismanagement. He's not better than anyone on the list at his position. We need to get better, we can't do that dishing out contracts to blokes that have proven not up too it.

 

[RooDave]

Been offered a one year deal according to Tom Morris. Wanting two apparently.

He can want two all he likes. Bit like how i'd like my boss to come to me with a massive payrise. It aint gonna happen.

No club is offering 2 years to a bloke who for the most part is a fringe AFL player in the worst team in the league.

Deal needs to be 1 year with substantial triggers for a second.

 

[Junk yard]

Good teams bat very deep too.

His draft pick doesn't determine his worth, it's his footy. 20 possessions playing full-time inside mid in a second tier comp does not constitute good midfield depth.

 

[koshari]

Brodie, Fiorini, Robertson all limited footballers on other lists that would be an instant upgrade on a bloke that can only find the footy 20 times in the VFL and can't run. You could go through and pick at least one from each second tier team. If there's a year infront of him It'd be new levels of list mismanagement. He's not better than anyone on the list at his position. We need to get better, we can't do that dishing out contracts to blokes that have proven not up too it.

So replace sleevo, ccj and biggy with them. Theres your instant upgrade with added depth.

 

[Recently retired]

No smart football program would rid themselves of a 22 year old who this year showed they could play on mids like Rowell, Oliver, Daicos and Treloar (unless they get a high-value trade offer). That is clearly someone who can be a contributor to the football club.

There is no doubt that Phillips isn't tracking to produce what many would hope from a pick 3, but that only has relevance now in terms of assessing the people involved in making that selection.