Player Watch #30: Reece Conca

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TheDarkKnighta said:
His jumper's on the wall in there. Grab a pic and some chilli mussels on your way through!
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I live about half a km away from it. When he kicked the goal against north with his first touch in the elimination final I was going to shout the gathering pizza from their shop. Next minute he turns it over in the corridor and I haven't stepped foot inside since! Haha
 
There is a big thing to consider here and probably a good reason we kept him rather than take peanuts for him.

He progressed the first 3 years he was at the club, stagnated a bit in 2014 but so did the whole team. At this stage he was only a 4th year mid or 22 years old. For most mids their best developed comes from about 22-26 until they peak which lasts until their late 20s early 30s for the lucky ones. Conca has had really bad luck with injuries over the past 2 important seasons and as a result his football has deteriorated. That doesn't necessarily mean he is done, it could mean you need to consider him more like a player still developing, however his body should be close to a adult males peak.

Put simply, if Conca has a really big preseason and hits preseason weeks 1-3 a full flight, he could easily gain the confidence needed to take his game to another level, the level we expected 2 years ago. I'm not sure if he'll ever be as good as a pick 6 should be but he might be able to give us solid depth in the midfield.

Fingers and ballsack crossed.
 

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Conca and Vlastuin will benefit from the additions of Caddy and Prestia to our midfield consisting of Martin, Miles, and Cotchin. Both he and Vlastuin are links players who run with their team mates and play out of congested situations using their hands when ever possible. By having a couple of extra ball winners in Caddy and Prestia both should be able to get more involved then what they otherwise would.
 
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If he can get his body right he can now be handy depth , before we needed him to come good ! Now with Prestia & Caddy coming in having him as depth is a bonus
 
should have been cut
Why save face because he was pick 6 and offer 2 years. He wanted out, didn't find a home, should have just shown him the door.
Sorry Reece, Going to have to get your Conca Cuddles from mumma!

We've got enough players on the list we don't need him. Prestia and Caddy would have pushed his name further down the pecking order.
I'd play Oleg Markov ahead of Conca. might even go so far as give Taylor Hunt a game before him too.

So much hype when he was drafted but I've not seen it come through. Just add him to the Richard Tambling pile and move on.
 
Grechy said:
I actually thought in last years pre-season he looked as fit as he’s ever been and then went down with that hamstring injury against Port which was the beginning of an injury ridden disaster start to the year.

If he gets his body right and can play more minutes in the midfield our depth running through that area of that ground starts to look a lot better. He’s a best 22 for me when fit – he started showing signs in the VFL last year when he put some games together.
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How many off seasons have we heard the same catch cry "Just you wait till he has a full preseason and gets fit"; problem is he never does have a full preseason.

Is it RFC medicos that has ensured his poor fitness record or his lack of professionalism?

Very lucky to have got a 12 month extension let alone 2 years.
 

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Robsjourney said:
He'll be very solid for us this year you'll see :)
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Considering its his body that continually fails, even he has no control on this.

If the hammy goes 'twaaang'... there goes that 'solid' year.

But, if the hammy holds up, and the rest of the midfield is on the park, I rate him back at 5-6th as a midielder, and down back, Id even have Morris playing on the small forward before him, so where does he play if we are full strenth.
He's when fitt better than Miles/Lambert/Townsend, but if Markov and Cellis have big preseasons and become regular 22, not sure even a fit Conca gets a jumper.
 
Get him fit (I'm hoping they gave him 2 years because they reckon he is over the hammys) and he will be a fine performer for us. Willing to stand by that. When fit he is a very good player. Unfortunately that isn't all that often. Surprised they gave him 2 years. Must be on chicken feed, with an out clause, and only two free pasta meal vouchers. Standard is five I hear.
 
RememberRoyce said:
Considering its his body that continually fails, even he has no control on this.

If the hammy goes 'twaaang'... there goes that 'solid' year.

But, if the hammy holds up, and the rest of the midfield is on the park, I rate him back at 5-6th as a midielder, and down back, Id even have Morris playing on the small forward before him, so where does he play if we are full strenth.
He's when fitt better than Miles/Lambert/Townsend, but if Markov and Cellis have big preseasons and become regular 22, not sure even a fit Conca gets a jumper.
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Not a lot of love about the place for Miles.Conca is so far behind this little fella it aint funny. He is a in and under bottom of the pack player and he cops criticism for being slow does not kick well enough etc he does his job pretty well and if anyone has suffered from the lack of big bodies at stoppages it is him.
Funny Caddy is talked up as a contested ball player yet has been only average in this area and here we have an in and under little fella who is actually elite when it comes to c/p's.
Yeah he had a poor season or more to the point a less effective season but id have him over Conca every day of the week.
 
mopsy said:
Not a lot of love about the place for Miles.Conca is so far behind this little fella it aint funny. He is a in and under bottom of the pack player and he cops criticism for being slow does not kick well enough etc he does his job pretty well and if anyone has suffered from the lack of big bodies at stoppages it is him.
Funny Caddy is talked up as a contested ball player yet has been only average in this area and here we have an in and under little fella who is actually elite when it comes to c/p's.
Yeah he had a poor season or more to the point a less effective season but id have him over Conca every day of the week.
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Fair call. Conca PRE injuries I rate ahead of Miles, but the consistently was lacking even then. Miles gives consistency and slightly ahead.
Agree on Caddy. Think he should be played 2nd/3rd rotation and more forward. He can score which you seem to be overlooking. Hasn't got alot of midfield dominating games, especially as you mentioned as an inside extractor. Likely to be standing beside Ellis ;)
 
THE THIN MAN said:
How many off seasons have we heard the same catch cry "Just you wait till he has a full preseason and gets fit"; problem is he never does have a full preseason.

Is it RFC medicos that has ensured his poor fitness record or his lack of professionalism?

Very lucky to have got a 12 month extension let alone 2 years.
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Or simply his body.
 
RememberRoyce said:
Fair call. Conca PRE injuries I rate ahead of Miles, but the consistently was lacking even then. Miles gives consistency and slightly ahead.
Agree on Caddy. Think he should be played 2nd/3rd rotation and more forward. He can score which you seem to be overlooking. Hasn't got alot of midfield dominating games, especially as you mentioned as an inside extractor. Likely to be standing beside Ellis ;)
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Sorry RR i can not even buy into that.
Conca has never ever performed at anywhere near Miles level outside of the odd game here or there.He certainly has never ever been in front of Miles while Miles has been at the Club.The performances between the two is an actual chasm.

I suppose it all depends on what criteria you set for each type of player.
For me inside mids should be very good ball winners any mid who spends significant time there should be attaining at least 20 disposals a game as a pass mark.Being inside they should excell at tackling, Contested ball and win their share of clearances as they wont always be first to ball it is a pretty simple criteria.
Career
Miles 24yo/65gms - Disposals 22.45. Tackles 4.18, C/P's 10.49, CLR 5.06
Conca 24yo/80gms - Disposals 17.81, Tackles 3.44, C/P's 6.16, CLR 2.30
Caddy 24yo/95gms - Disposals 17.34, Tackles 3.76, C/P's 7.84, CLR 2.86.
Cotchin 26yo/173gms - Disposals 23.92, Tackles 3.67, C/P's 11.02, CLR 4.92
Martin 25yo/153gms - Disposals 24.55, Tackles 3.21, C/P's 9.01, CLR 3.61

As i said these are the key stats imo for an inside mid Miles overall compares favorably to cotchin and Martin in these areas.IMO even coming off what was a slightly worse yr and called a poor one by a lot of people Miles drop was minimal. I have held the belief that it is Miles who has suffered the most without some real good big bodied inside help teams were just sitting on him preventing him getting to the drop.
Miles is easily the third best mid we have and i still think most people do not appreciate what he does.

His so called horrible yr in these areas yielded
22.74 disposals of which 10.05 half of them were contested, only Martin and Cotchin actually won more contested ball !!!!!. He averaged 4.47 tackles only cotchin averaged more per game, and averaged 4.84 clearances and again only Cotchin and Martin averaged more. And all this in what was a less effective down yr for him.
If only Conca and to a lesser degree Caddy could ever consistently churn out these kind of stats.I think with Prestia and Caddy this little fella is going to be the biggest benefactor and most are talking like he is very expendable.

Finally weather we like it or not imo he is the third best we mid we have had and f the new blokes is only surpassed by Prestia.
Miles is what he is an inside mostly in and under ball winner and he has been damn good at it of all our mids he is the one who has needed the most help.
 
mopsy said:
Sorry RR i can not even buy into that.
Conca has never ever performed at anywhere near Miles level outside of the odd game here or there.He certainly has never ever been in front of Miles while Miles has been at the Club.The performances between the two is an actual chasm.

I suppose it all depends on what criteria you set for each type of player.
For me inside mids should be very good ball winners any mid who spends significant time there should be attaining at least 20 disposals a game as a pass mark.Being inside they should excell at tackling, Contested ball and win their share of clearances as they wont always be first to ball it is a pretty simple criteria.
Career
Miles 24yo/65gms - Disposals 22.45. Tackles 4.18, C/P's 10.49, CLR 5.06
Conca 24yo/80gms - Disposals 17.81, Tackles 3.44, C/P's 6.16, CLR 2.30
Caddy 24yo/95gms - Disposals 17.34, Tackles 3.76, C/P's 7.84, CLR 2.86.
Cotchin 26yo/173gms - Disposals 23.92, Tackles 3.67, C/P's 11.02, CLR 4.92
Martin 25yo/153gms - Disposals 24.55, Tackles 3.21, C/P's 9.01, CLR 3.61

As i said these are the key stats imo for an inside mid Miles overall compares favorably to cotchin and Martin in these areas.IMO even coming off what was a slightly worse yr and called a poor one by a lot of people Miles drop was minimal. I have held the belief that it is Miles who has suffered the most without some real good big bodied inside help teams were just sitting on him preventing him getting to the drop.
Miles is easily the third best mid we have and i still think most people do not appreciate what he does.

His so called horrible yr in these areas yielded
22.74 disposals of which 10.05 half of them were contested, only Martin and Cotchin actually won more contested ball !!!!!. He averaged 4.47 tackles only cotchin averaged more per game, and averaged 4.84 clearances and again only Cotchin and Martin averaged more. And all this in what was a less effective down yr for him.
If only Conca and to a lesser degree Caddy could ever consistently churn out these kind of stats.I think with Prestia and Caddy this little fella is going to be the biggest benefactor and most are talking like he is very expendable.

Finally weather we like it or not imo he is the third best we mid we have had and f the new blokes is only surpassed by Prestia.
Miles is what he is an inside mostly in and under ball winner and he has been damn good at it of all our mids he is the one who has needed the most help.
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Miles is massively underrated. Very solid player.
 

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Player Watch #30: Reece Conca

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