Player Watch #30: Charlie Comben - defender or forward? CC T5 in the AFL for avg.intercept marks p/game - re-signed until end of 2027

[FootySmartSimpson]

100%
We have an elite kpf.
It would be great to get a chb as well.

Look, as much as I have been banging on about needing a CHF for 5 years, I would be perfectly happy for Chom to have a successful career at CHB.

His defensive game playing forward last year was thrilling, but he never really looked like he was going to breakout in the few games we saw.

He played one game at CHB (and while it might be beginners luck) looked like he belonged there.

 

[buttox]

Look, as much as I have been banging on about needing a CHF for 5 years, I would be perfectly happy for Chom to have a successful career at CHB.

His defensive game playing forward last year was thrilling, but he never really looked like he was going to breakout in the few games we saw.

He played one game at CHB (and while it might be beginners luck) looked like he belonged there.

I recognise folks on here don't like stats.
But he scored 43 sc points in the first half 83 in the second as his confidence grew and ended up the top ranked player on the ground in a thumping. You could see his confidence grow through the game. He had a game like we have come to expect from tom Stewart or Sicily.
He could be anything back there we must persist.

 

[The Y Factor]

I recognise folks on here don't like stats.
But he scored 43 sc points in the first half 83 in the second as his confidence grew and ended up the top ranked player on the ground in a thumping. You could see his confidence grow through the game. He had a game like we have come to expect from tom Stewart or Sicily.
He could be anything back there we must persist.

100% you could see the confidence grow quarter to quarter. Don’t want to put pressure on but his ceiling is huge and his desire to get here in a hurry is just as big

 

[7577969923]

I recognise folks on here don't like stats.
But he scored 43 sc points in the first half 83 in the second as his confidence grew and ended up the top ranked player on the ground in a thumping. You could see his confidence grow through the game. He had a game like we have come to expect from tom Stewart or Sicily.
He could be anything back there we must persist.

I've pencilled him in as the All-Australian CHB on the back of that performance.

 

[leighlee13]

Charlie Comben: 'I've broken 23 or 24 bones. That's just ridiculous'

Comben on why he wants to be part of the group that lifts the Roos back up

www.nmfc.com.au

After all he has been through (and I wasn't aware of just how much), I am praying for a full season for Charlie. He certainly deserves it!

 

[the big lebowski]

Charlie Comben: 'I've broken 23 or 24 bones. That's just ridiculous'

Comben on why he wants to be part of the group that lifts the Roos back up

www.nmfc.com.au

After all he has been through (and I wasn't aware of just how much), I am praying for a full season for Charlie. He certainly deserves it!

So not “gettable”?

 

[tales129]

He’s such a ****ing genuine bloke. Love his honesty and his appraisal, clearly one of the great blokes at the club, and has that aura of aggression and leadership without the over the top w***er status that can go with those style of individuals.

Can’t wait for him to have a full season

 

[koshari]

I guess if we were scratching around for positives, Charlie looked better with the ball in hand than McKay ever did, in what was a 71-31 inside 50 avalanche.

If he can intercept in a game where the count is even, we might have a chance of winning. Charlie, Logue and Wil Dawson down the track might mean the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train.

Still need some genuine depth options

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Jared Polec

13

Jared Polec

Age

32

Ht

187cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

20.6

5star

K

12.9

5star

HB

7.7

5star

M

3.7

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

2.0

4star

D

20.5

5star

K

13.1

5star

HB

7.4

4star

M

3.4

3star

T

3.1

4star

CL

2.9

4star

D

13.4

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

3.2

5star

CL

1.4

4star

broke his collarbone with a fend off?

This campaigner made of talcum powder?

 

[tales129]

Jared Polec broke his collarbone with a fend off?

This campaigner made of talcum powder?

Give the campaigner some milk

 

[Chadwiko]

AFL's website taking the piss. Love it.

 

[DesertRoo]

AFL's website taking the piss. Love it.

View attachment 1959575

Shhhh, McKay is getting paid 1.5m this year.
Teams will be coming hard.

 

[Devil Fish]

More positive signs again today. Keep building Chom.

 

[The acurate one]

AFL's website taking the piss. Love it.

View attachment 1959575

I did chat to a North person who said being better than Magoo isn't a very difficult or to be celebrated

 

[Sphynx]

More positive signs again today. Keep building Chom.

Still an understatement.

He took 3 contested marks and 5 intercept marks.

Very early days and a small sample size but his stats profile is absolutely elite so far as far As KPD and I reckon he will get some air time if he backs it up over 4-5 games.

Sam Taylor is basically the rolled gold standard at the moment with 4.6 intercept marks per game and a massive 3.5 contested marks per game.

Harris Andrews is also 4.6 intercept marks and 2.4 contested marks per game.

Chom is average 5.5 intercept marks and 3 contested marks per game after his first 2 games. He also hit 3-4 of the most aggressive, pack splitting, contest killing spoils in addition to those.

If he averages those numbers across the whole season, he will be the find of the season competition wide and it won’t even be close to second.

Elite intercept marking KPD are probably more valuable than even the best A grade mids these days.

 

[Sphynx]

There’s going to be growing pains and it is dependent on Logues return.

But from early viewing, I think Comben, Will Dawson and Logue will have the makings of something special.

It’s an early crow, but I think in 5 years Comben and W.Dawson will be a pretty formidable KPD duo.

 

[Only Forwards]

With Logue back at the bye.

If all our KPD stay healthy I find it hard to see an outcome where Charlie doesn't move forward later in the year.

if everyone is healthy we would have
Logue
Chom
Corr
Dawson
Dawson
Pink
Biggie

Where as KPF we would have
Larkey
Sellers
Maley

The move back has hopefully just been for education and stop gap while we bridged the Logue absence.

 

[RobZombie]

With Logue back at the bye.

If all our KPD stay healthy I find it hard to see an outcome where Charlie doesn't move forward later in the year.

if everyone is healthy we would have
Logue
Chom
Corr
Dawson
Dawson
Pink
Biggie

Where as KPF we would have
Larkey
Sellers
Maley

The move back has hopefully just been for education and stop gap while we bridged the Logue absence.

It’s rare that I disagree with you OF, but IMO Chom has never looked like a potential elite CHF, albeit talented and athletic. Even at only two games in, he does look like a potentially elite KPD and I’d much rather address the imbalance in other ways at this point.

 

[Only Forwards]

It’s rare that I disagree with you OF, but IMO Chom has never looked like a potential elite CHF, albeit talented and athletic. Even at only two games in, he does look like a potentially elite KPD and I’d much rather address the imbalance in other ways at this point.

Fair point, although potentially he could take the improved output back and it may translate forward?

Over the list of KPP I wrote out, realistically it would be him or at a stretch Biggie that would be moving forward. I doubt we would do it with Logue given it was an issue that he had with Freo playing him there. The rest we wouldn't even look at forward.

It is a robbing Peter to pay Paul move though, I'll give you that.

I kind of want to see a forward line where Sellers or Maley are playing third banana because we have a second key tall.

As a side note, it would be funny if we end up with Chom, KDawson, and Biggie all showing significant signs this year and us probably needing to off load a KPD at the end of the year because they have moved beyond playing VFL.

 

[Chadwiko]

If all our KPD stay healthy I find it hard to see an outcome where Charlie doesn't move forward later in the year.

In the modern AFL it's not really that simple to switch positions like that.

Gameplans, rotations, and structures are complicated and dynamic beasts. Comben hasn't been training with the forwards all year.

I would be extremely shocked if we see him move forward. I think for better or worse they'll keep him in defense for the entirety of the year.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

He’ll stay back and we’ll continue to have a yawning chasm in the most important part of the field.

 

[Only Forwards]

In the modern AFL it's not really that simple to switch positions like that.

Gameplans, rotations, and structures are complicated and dynamic beasts. Comben hasn't been training with the forwards all year.

I would be extremely shocked if we see him move forward. I think for better or worse they'll keep him in defense for the entirety of the year.

I mean what’s gonna happen? We’ll look dysfunctional?

Points to practically everywhere on field so far.

My point is we are looking likely to hit a point this year where we have to some degree sorted out KPD problem and the most likely fit (to my eyes) to move into the huge KPF hole is Chom.

If it happens or not is fine. By far the most important thing is for him to stay on the park.

 

[Engimal v3]

AFL's website taking the piss. Love it.

View attachment 1959575

Main board is gonna love this lol

 

[archereleven]

I don't mind Chom down back for a season to learn some craft and get confidence up for his return to CHF whete he belongs...

On SM-G991B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Passmore]

It’s rare that I disagree with you OF, but IMO Chom has never looked like a potential elite CHF, albeit talented and athletic. Even at only two games in, he does look like a potentially elite KPD and I’d much rather address the imbalance in other ways at this point.

He looks a far better prospect down back.