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

[Only Forwards]

You must be like the fifth bloke to claim he kicked two goals.

The second was disallowed due to Harry being called for a throw.

A throw that in the game now is probably called maybe 5% of the time.

He was right place, right time and nailed the snap.

 

[ferball]

Jesus.

That's exactly what I said at the time, then followed it with a few other choice words.

 

[ferball]

Think you're confused. I think Jy is shit too.

Why do you even post here then?

It'd be better for your own head to focus on something positive. Maybe take up finger painting.

 

[Junk yard]

Why do you even post here then?

It'd be better for your own head to focus on something positive. Maybe take up finger painting.

That makes no sense?

 

[Junk yard]

The second was disallowed due to Harry being called for a throw.

A throw that in the game now is probably called maybe 5% of the time.

He was right place, right time and nailed the snap.

They should retrospectively award the goal to Will then and adjust the brownlow votes to reflect.

 

[swaeney]

Think you're confused. I think Jy is shit too.

Multiple b&f winner, organises our midfield structures in games and puts his body on the line without question, even after multiple possible career ending concussions? Nop.

 

[Only Forwards]

They should retrospectively award the goal to Will then and adjust the brownlow votes to reflect.

I was just describing why KC had said two goals. But you do you.

He won't get dropped this week.

I wouldn't be surprised if he retains his spot for the rest of the year.

Out of interest if it came down to a choice between Lazzaro and Phillips who would you keep on the list? and why?

I actually think it is probably going to come down to that BTW.

 

[King Corey]

Would have been two goals if not for a bullshit umpiring call.

I'm not one for if your aunty had bollocks but assuming the coaches spend 90%+ of their focus on the process, they would look at a chain of play that finished with Will making position and finishing a difficult shot as a tick when assessing his game.

 

[ferball]

That makes no sense?

All you do here is focus on negativity. Its bad for your mental health. Same with anyone who focuses solely on negative stuff.

If you think "Jy is shit too" why do you focus so much energy just paying out on WP? What other of our players do you think are shit? LDU with his turnovers that lead directly to goals? Nick Larkey with his inability to kick 45m? Paul Curtis who only had one rebound from d50 on the weekend?

 

[north_lad]

Confirmed WilPhil rooted Junk Yard's girlfriend

 

[Junk yard]

All you do here is focus on negativity. Its bad for your mental health. Same with anyone who focuses solely on negative stuff.

If you think "Jy is shit too" why do you focus so much energy just paying out on WP? What other of our players do you think are shit? LDU with his turnovers that lead directly to goals? Nick Larkey with his inability to kick 45m? Paul Curtis who only had one rebound from d50 on the weekend?

Simply because there's not 30+ people talking up a shit game from any of them. Mostly because Will clearly didn't put the required work in over the pre season, his football and fitness have regressed from an already poor standard. Fourth year and he still can't run to a league standard, just to get to the very bottom of the standard fitness required will take at least two pre seasons. That's not even adressing his physical limitations. There's indications there that he's either not capable of improving his tank or he's not putting in the required work.

 

[Junk yard]

View attachment 2070187

Confirmed WilPhil rooted Junk Yard's girlfriend

He'd run out of puff half way!

 

[ferball]

Simply because there's not 30+ people talking up a shit game from any of them. Mostly because Will clearly didn't put the required work in over the pre season, his football and fitness have regressed from an already poor standard. Fourth year and he still can't run to a league standard, just to get to the very bottom of the standard fitness required will take at least two pre seasons. That's not even adressing his physical limitations. There's indications there that he's either not capable of improving his tank or he's not putting in the required work.

Will kicked one goal and assisted another after winning a contested ball in the middle. All up he had three score involvements (at least two were goals, in a game we won by 13 points.) So at the very least he was responsible for our winning margin. (Obviously other team members were too, its a team sport.)

We wouldn't have won without him.

That is a fact.

 

[Junk yard]

Will kicked one goal and assisted another after winning a contested ball in the middle. All up he had three score involvements (at least two were goals, in a game we won by 13 points.) So at the very least he was responsible for our winning margin. (Obviously other team members were too, its a team sport.)

We wouldn't have won without him.

That is a fact.

Sarcasm?

 

[Orange Peanut]

Guys.

 

[Junk yard]

Will kicked one goal and assisted another after winning a contested ball in the middle. All up he had three score involvements (at least two were goals, in a game we won by 13 points.) So at the very least he was responsible for our winning margin. (Obviously other team members were too, its a team sport.)

We wouldn't have won without him.

That is a fact.

At the very least he was responsible for our winning margin? Cmon mate. 15 at 73% is not a match winner.

 

[Junk yard]

Guys.

View attachment 2070202

It's the easiest thing to do when you're losing an argument.

 

[My Left Foote]

You can't realistically have every mid ball chasing without a care in the world.

Why Will's numbers are used to damn him is beyond me. Watch his involvements, he improves the team even if he's not streaming downfield taking 14 bounces.

Crikey he even chimed in with 2 goals in terms of plays he was involved in. (Yes 1 was disallowed but he still executed the play before it was nulled)

swaeney is a Will Phil supporter, I think you may have missed his sarcasm KC.

 

[ferball]

At the very least he was responsible for our winning margin? Cmon mate. 15 at 73% is not a match winner.

One goal, one goal assist after winning a contest in the middle and three score involvements is at least the difference between the sides. Without him it wouldn't exist.

These are facts. You can have an opinion on him, that's fine but arguing that factual events didn't happen doesn't help your opinion's credibility.

Maybe in some other dimension he didn't play and TT did all that stuff, but here - in reality - that's what happened.

 

[King Corey]

swaeney is a Will Phil supporter, I think you may have missed his sarcasm KC.

Nah I was on the same page my good looking friend.

 

[My Left Foote]

Nah I was on the same page my good looking friend.

I should have known, nothing gets by you.

 

[Ligma]

I should have known, nothing gets by you.

He just gaslit you

 

[My Left Foote]

He just gaslit you

Wait? What?

 

[3051]

I think through the draft in the past few years, you can tell that North's strategy is to bank on building midfield depth. So whether Will is the 5th best midfielder out of the group isn't a concern, its by design. Just a matter of if Will is happy to play that role. If we want to be good, we'll need to bat deep and as you can see with Wardlaw and Simpkin missing parts of this season, a Will Phillips backing them up is a fantastic position to be in.

IMO current version of Phillips is super intriguing - he has added the ability to play as an effective tagger, and is also one of the best ball users and decision makers on our team. He can play shutdown and also impact the scoreboard. Not an easy mix of skills to possess.

If one of the reasons why we drafted him in the first place was for his leadership, professionalism, and work ethic, then Will will sort himself out with getting himself into AFL-standard fitness and physicality. He has already demonstrated that he can adapt, follow instructions, and take critical feedback (like getting dropped) well.

Some past premiership teams have had remarkable midfield depth, some that are pure-midfielders but with many adaptable players rotating through:

2016 Bulldogs: Bont, McCrae, Hunter, Picken, Dahlhaus, Libba, Dunkley, Daniel
2007 Cats: Ablett Jnr, Bartel, Selwood, Kelly, Corey, Ling, Chapman
2006 Eagles: Judd, Cousins, Kerr, Fletcher, Stenglein, Selwood
2001 Lions: Voss, Akermanis, Lappin, Black, Hart, Power, McCrae, Ashcroft

The Bulldogs and Lions batted 8 deep! Cats and Eagles with 7 and probably more players that rotated through.

As a comparison, current North also have 7-8 potential midfield depth:
2024 Roos: Sheezel, LDU, Wardlaw, Simpkin, Powell, McKercher, Phillips

I think Phillips can play that Picken/Ling/Hart/Stenglein defensive-mid role at the minimum - he has shown he can this year. But I also think Phillips has a higher ceiling than those players, so I'm hoping he can come back in 2025 in the best shape of his life to demonstrate his potential.

 

[ferball]

He just gaslit you

That's harsh on footey.