Player Watch #30: Reece Conca

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Never been sure of Conca myself, but on Sunday he was immense, first keeping Gaz quiet (or as quiet as Gaz can be kept) in the 2nd and 3rd then in the fourth where he joined Dusty and Cotch in lifting us over the line, Cotch and Dusty's shoulder load look a bit lighter with him playing well. Hopefully he stays injury free and stays on the park!
 
It's good just having another proper mid in the team. For a while there our rotations were literally Cotch, Dusty, Miles, Grigg and then I guess someone like Lambo or Sheds for a bit. Pretty thin.
 

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RunningBounce said:
One of the few on the list I’d back to stick a tackle when it really counts.
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oh yes! His Koala-hug tackles are the stuff of legend, I think he got one in on the weekend too. Once Reece's arms...and both his legs...wrap around you, there really is no escape!

edit: you saw it too Bobsleder :)
 
tunksy said:
Id be giving him a two year deal on low coin that would fininicially reward him based on games played with a trigger clause for a third. If his body stays good hes a best 22 player
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i would give him a few more weeks b4 contract talks start as he's played two good games in 3years due to injury interruptions.
I remember he came back last year and played a bottler and everybody on BF were hailing him as the missing mid fielder/HBF and then the spaghetti hammies went the very next week.I would be hoping he hangs in for the year and plays super footy and then trade him off bc he will demand his usual 350-400 bc of the go home factor blackmail clause.He's a good footballer,but no superstar ,but carries around a meh meh pair of legs.
 
TigerImposter said:
i would give him a few more weeks b4 contract talks start as he's played two good games in 3years due to injury interruptions.
I remember he came back last year and played a bottler and everybody on BF were hailing him as the missing mid fielder/HBF and then the spaghetti hammies went the very next week.I would be hoping he hangs in for the year and plays super footy and then trade him off bc he will demand his usual 350-400 bc of the go home factor blackmail clause.He's a good footballer,but no superstar ,but carries around a meh meh pair of legs.
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Obviously give him say a month or two before even talking about contracts. But if hes ok. Offer him one. He and the club wouldnt be offering him a flat contract on that much coin. Give him games played and performance incentives to boost his pay. Wouldnt sell at hos lowest value.
 
ize_ said:
He does pretty well too. Obviously not a long term solution but I like having the ability to chuck him in there once or twice a game knowing he'll probably win the clearance.
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I think everyone needs to be able to contribute at a clearance with the new cap. He's added to his game and is becoming a bit of a player this year.
 
Just an average player and wasted top 10 pick. Dont think he will ever become a top flight mid lacks awareness and makes too many poor decisions.
Will have to play a lot of awful good footy on a very consistent basis without the weaknesses rearing their heads for me to change my mind.
For now i judge him on his 6 yrs to date and what has gone before rather than what he might become.
He is one player i am really keen to see what he can deliver in defense. H ei sone player i really believe needs the play in front of him.
 

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mopsy said:
Just an average player and wasted top 10 pick. Dont think he will ever become a top flight mid lacks awareness and makes too many poor decisions.
Will have to play a lot of awful good footy on a very consistent basis without the weaknesses rearing their heads for me to change my mind.
For now i judge him on his 6 yrs to date and what has gone before rather than what he might become.
He is one player i am really keen to see what he can deliver in defense. H ei sone player i really believe needs the play in front of him.
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Fair enough. I'm hoping we get something out of him, an A grade players seems unlikely but a solid B is better than what he's been so far.
 
TigerImposter said:
Flavour of the month. We're all desperate :cool:
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I know it was a bit of a throw away line but You know there is more truth in that than you realise.

How many times have we seen players perform lets say below average for long periods, yet as soon as they have a game that is pretty good they can suddenly play.

Players are judged on one game rather than people expecting sustained quality performances.Every player who is drafted can have a good game but the real trick is performing to a consistent high standard or in a lot of cases a consistent afl level.
 
mopsy said:
I know it was a bit of a throw away line but You know there is more truth in that than you realise.

How many times have we seen players perform lets say below average for long periods, yet as soon as they have a game that is pretty good they can suddenly play.

Players are judged on one game rather than people expecting sustained quality performances.Every player who is drafted can have a good game but the real trick is performing to a consistent high standard or in a lot of cases a consistent afl level.
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Agree we've had 3 decades of it. This is why I only rate Jack Rance and Dusty as our three A graders.
 
TigerImposter said:
I agree , but you quoted me from the EF last year when Conca came back under done
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I just found it ironic that in your post about the EF you used Ablett as an example, what are the odds that very next game he plays after missing half the season with injury IS against Ablett and he gets the job done - a very impressive performance for first game back.

Interesting that the midfield that Francis Jackson and Blair Hartley recruited to go with Deledio and Cotchin are all on the field together now - from Hampson, Martin, Grigg, Miles, Lambert, Conca, Corey, Brandon and Vlastuin. The only midfielder missing is McIntosh. They are all very different players and I am interested to see how they all mesh together. Is the whole going to be greater than the sum of its parts?
 
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Good news. Conca has consistently been a good player whenever he's been on the field over the past 3 years.

The frustration is with his injury issues, not his talent, a bit like Dylan Grimes a couple of years ago.

I still remember some of the moves he did in U18s... there's a chance he freshens up and becomes a quality player for us, not just a role player.
 
Rubber Hips said:
Neil Balme has talked Reece into staying and offered him a contract...Balmey's could believe we were going to give Reecey the flick
Concas hammy's are now 100% and will partake in pre season training in a month
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True story?

I have to admit I wouldn't have minded trading Conca if the right trade came along but I do like him and if he can stay fit and get a good run at it, I think he'd slot into the best 22 quite well. His ability to weave through congestion and weigh up his options under pressure is still a great skill to have in the side IMO. All the best teams have poise when the crunch is on. Conca can help bring that to the table.
 
tigs2010 said:
Will ping his hammy first day of pre-season :p
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Possibly, but I'm happy with Conca being offered another contract. Was a terrible time to offload him when his value was so low and when not injured he is currently best 22 and for me he has a lot more upside than Morris or Hunt in the side.
He did have a good run at the end of the season in the twos, hopefully this can continue over the off season and into next year.
 
Heard a whisper that this was the crowd of list managers waiting to talk to us about trading for him, which made us think twice about it.

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Player Watch #30: Reece Conca

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