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

[Grogg]

Boots of concrete.

Why is that?

Can it be overcome?

Is he the new Robbie Tarrant

6

Robbie Tarrant

Age

35

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.5

4star

K

9.4

4star

HB

5.1

4star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.8

4star

MG

284.7

4star

D

15.1

4star

K

11.9

5star

HB

3.3

2star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.5

2star

MG

359.3

5star

D

11.0

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

with the "hands of concrete"?

 

[Waynesworld]

Did he play today?

 

[dus]

He was better than, Zurhaar who just got a 5 year deal, RHJ, Ford, Curtis, Durz, Pink, Stephens.

I’d be keeping him for sure.

 

[Waynesworld]

He was better than, Zurhaar who just got a 5 year deal, RHJ, Ford, Curtis, Durz, Pink, Stephens.

I’d be keeping him for sure.

Well anyone was better than RHJ, so that’s just a dumb comment.

And I don’t remember him taking mark of the year, so that rules him out from being better than Durz.

 

[dus]

Well anyone was better than RHJ, so that’s just a dumb comment.

And I don’t remember him taking mark of the year, so that rules him out from being better than Durz.

Cool.

 

[Waynesworld]

Cool.

Thanks for your quality informed response.

 

[RightWingRoo]

Will's 2nd on the list to re-sign after Bailey.
I'd give him 1 and a 16 game trigger for a 2nd.
Happy to give him a crack over others to prove himself. We'll have a few to clear out, so no need to make a move on Will yet.

 

[the big lebowski]

2 years on low coin

Kicked more than Logan McDonald today. True story.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Boots of concrete.

Why is that?

Can it be overcome?

He needs to do what Froggy Dumont did in his 3rd preseason. Frog was a below avg runner, one paced and was too thick through the hips. Frog wanted to be purely an inside mid, but had to add other strings to his bow to get a game.

In that pre season Froggy lost 4.5kg and completely transformed his running capacity. So much so, that he went from a bottom 10 runner to a top 5 runner. He was never quick, but the way his body shape changed and the way he was able to get between the arcs while playing wing was pretty impressive.

Will is naturally very strong, if he lost a bit of weight to improve his running capacity I don’t think it would impact him that much.

 

[Sillygit]

Did he play today?

did you watch?

 

[Waynesworld]

did you watch?

Yep. I was there.

 

[Sillygit]

Yep. I was there.

do you suffer from a very specific form of narcolepsy?

 

[Gasometer]

Yep. I was there.

Prove it

What was his goal song?

 

[Waynesworld]

do you suffer from a very specific form of narcolepsy?

Wow that’s a big word for you.

 

[Sillygit]

Wow that’s a big word for you.

that's a big word to you?

 

[amaz199]

He's actually quite dangerous around goals.

When Sheezel got it to him and he snapped around the body, it went straight through. His set shot is ultra reliable too. Classy player as always.

I'd give him another year or two.

 

[desie]

Yeah he wasn't bad today against the WORST side in the comp, that's kind of important when one can remove emotion and be honest. We lost the midfield battle and hey if he increased his trade value I'm rapt.

Interested TAO, you seem to have gone from give him another deal because there are a heap of others OOC who are worse to ‘get rid’.

Presume it’s because a few other OOC guys have shown some improvement and gone past him?

I agreed with your original premise btw but I’m still in the keep Will camp.

 

[Jesslc]

He's actually quite dangerous around goals.

When Sheezel got it to him and he snapped around the body, it went straight through. His set shot is ultra reliable too. Classy player as always.

I'd give him another year or two.

That and his ability to regular assist goals

 

[Merlin007]

He's actually quite dangerous around goals.

When Sheezel got it to him and he snapped around the body, it went straight through. His set shot is ultra reliable too. Classy player as always.

I'd give him another year or two.

and on his left, let it be said

 

[ferball]

He needs to do what Froggy Dumont did in his 3rd preseason. Frog was a below avg runner, one paced and was too thick through the hips. Frog wanted to be purely an inside mid, but had to add other strings to his bow to get a game.

In that pre season Froggy lost 4.5kg and completely transformed his running capacity. So much so, that he went from a bottom 10 runner to a top 5 runner. He was never quick, but the way his body shape changed and the way he was able to get between the arcs while playing wing was pretty impressive.

Will is naturally very strong, if he lost a bit of weight to improve his running capacity I don’t think it would impact him that much.

As a result of that Froggy ended up one of the highest rated wings in the comp and one of the few players we had who would spread hard from contests immediately.

 

[Themanbun]

He needs to do what Froggy Dumont did in his 3rd preseason. Frog was a below avg runner, one paced and was too thick through the hips. Frog wanted to be purely an inside mid, but had to add other strings to his bow to get a game.

In that pre season Froggy lost 4.5kg and completely transformed his running capacity. So much so, that he went from a bottom 10 runner to a top 5 runner. He was never quick, but the way his body shape changed and the way he was able to get between the arcs while playing wing was pretty impressive.

Will is naturally very strong, if he lost a bit of weight to improve his running capacity I don’t think it would impact him that much.

Ironically I think that doomed his career in the end. Lost all strength and pace like a lot of blokes who focus too hard on endurance, and as such became a very dispensable role player instead of someone who could have been very explosive.

Will simply can't lose much more weight without seriously impacting what explosiveness and strength he has IMO. But each to their own opinion.

 

[The acurate one]

do you suffer from a very specific form of narcolepsy?

LOL Silly, very clever.

 

[Swallow_Wood]

He needs to do what Froggy Dumont did in his 3rd preseason. Frog was a below avg runner, one paced and was too thick through the hips. Frog wanted to be purely an inside mid, but had to add other strings to his bow to get a game.

In that pre season Froggy lost 4.5kg and completely transformed his running capacity. So much so, that he went from a bottom 10 runner to a top 5 runner. He was never quick, but the way his body shape changed and the way he was able to get between the arcs while playing wing was pretty impressive.

Will is naturally very strong, if he lost a bit of weight to improve his running capacity I don’t think it would impact him that much.

Not sure it's apples and apples here though. Frog got up to mid-90kgs at one point when trying to work his way into the mid rotations, which of course meant that his running was impacted. He was ****ing thick at that stage. As you say he stripped back a fair bit in one preseason and i think continued to strip back from there. Will is pretty lean as is and doesn't have much bulk at all to trim. Sure, a kg or two would be good but not sure the impact will be similar to Froggy.

 

[The acurate one]

Interested TAO, you seem to have gone from give him another deal because there are a heap of others OOC who are worse to ‘get rid’.

Presume it’s because a few other OOC guys have shown some improvement and gone past him?

I agreed with your original premise btw but I’m still in the keep Will camp.

It's more after sitting back and looking at other sides that are going ok, for us our midfield should consist of

1. LDU - he can go fwd
2. Wardlaw - seems more labradore chasing a ball, so purely midfield
3. Simpkin - can go fwd with some success, his ball butchering is for the first time getting on my nerves, but he knows where to be.
4. Sheezel - can do it all
5. McKercher - will be a mid who can play other roles
6. Powell - is ahead of Phillips and maybe he's learning the art of being adaptable.
7. Undrafted - I assume we will take a mid with pick 3, the local experts would have forgotten more about the available players than I'd know. I don't draft watch.
8. Phillips - one-paced stopper with limited ball winning ability.

You do the math, now yes if he stays I'm not concerned, but heck for us to improve we cannot carry players, we're 17th and will probably finish 16th. After 4 previous years of between 18th/17th.

Currently we have the below players with a very high ceiling.

1. Archer - who is going well but a mile of the finished product, that's a compliment
2. Duursma - isn't much he cannot do on the park, is 3 miles off the finished product.
3. McKercher - loving his run, 13 games in, so as above
4. Comben - cripes, I did say he'd be the ' difference'. if he ever got fit.
5. Wardlaw - sloppy trainer, but will get there.
6. Sheezel, really has arrived but will get stronger and further improve, mind boggles.

So you'd pick those six every week, ride the ups and downs.
But the likes of Phillips, Ford for example I do wonder what their ceiling will be.

I think Will would be crackers to stay fwiw.

 

[tazaa]

I don’t know what else more the kid could have done.

Pretty sure he was running with Rioli at times too?

Kicks goals. Clean. Makes the right decisions. Cracks in. 6 tackles.

Genuinely assess his game and impact and then compare him to the Captain.

He played well and the key is to let him build.