Player Watch #38: Tristan Xerri - signed thru '29 - 2024 All Australian squad member - runner up '24 SBM

[Billy Not Really]

Expectations are super high for him next season he has to go to another level or else he has to go.

Marking needs to improve, ground ball needs to improve, hitouts need to improve, just about everything needs to be better next year and he has to own that number one ruck spot.

 

[koshari]

Expectations are super high for him next season he has to go to another level or else he has to go.

Marking needs to improve, ground ball needs to improve, hitouts need to improve, just about everything needs to be better next year and he has to own that number one ruck spot.

Based on what trajectory?

 

[tazaa]

Career hangs in the balance.
Goldstein is gone and I have now seen 2 articles stating were looking for a Goldi replacement and even looking at a cooked Lycett to come in who wants to retire, but wont say no to a contract.

I am glad the club has woken up but gee how he sill has 2 more years on his contract is criminal. Rawlings is just so lucky to have a job still with some of the deals he ticked off.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

“The most surprising part of this pre-season is the outstanding form of X. He has improved his running again, has added a few kg, is super vocal and he is desperate to prove he is the long term number 1 ruck at the club…was very close to being put in the leadership group…expecting a huge year from him”

 

[speedy]

“The most surprising part of this pre-season is the outstanding form of X. He has improved his running again, has added a few kg, is super vocal and he is desperate to prove he is the long term number 1 ruck at the club…expecting a huge year from him”

Needs to clunk those marks.... that's where he needs to improve most.

 

[Engimal v3]

“The most surprising part of this pre-season is the outstanding form of X. He has improved his running again, has added a few kg, is super vocal and he is desperate to prove he is the long term number 1 ruck at the club…expecting a huge year from him”

Love to hear that. The club is giving him the #1 ruck spot on a platter, glad he's stepping up.

 

[The Brady Bunch]

X very impressive in an endurance running drill towards the end of the session today.

 

[RightWingRoo]

By the sounds of things, X is building towards having an elite tank. Which is music to my ears, because he'll have to ruck 80-85% of the game next year.
He'll get a chop out from Chom or CCJ, depending on selection. But wouldn't want them doing more than 5 minutes a quarter.

 

[king of the road]

By the sounds of things, X is building towards having an elite tank. Which is music to my ears, because he'll have to ruck 80-85% of the game next year.
He'll get a chop out from Chom or CCJ, depending on selection. But wouldn't want them doing more than 5 minutes a quarter.

Greenwood and Maley also capable of chop out.

 

[RightWingRoo]

Greenwood and Maley also capable of chop out.

That's true, both are capable of filling in for 5 minutes a quartet as well. But unsure how many senior games they'll get at this stage

 

[Makeshift Park]

Hmm, he's $407k in supercoach next year. If the hype is real, he could make a good midpricer.

 

[Hazey1977]

Hmm, he's $407k in supercoach next year. If the hype is real, he could make a good midpricer.

Awkward price. English & Grundy will be the straight bat play. Ruck's could be interesting this year. Hard to look past Maxi solo as well.

On SM-G781B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Makeshift Park]

Awkward price. English & Grundy will be the straight bat play. Ruck's could be interesting this year. Hard to look past Maxi solo as well.

On SM-G781B using BigFooty.com mobile app

Yeah I've got cut-price Grawndy as my default set-and-forget option.

But saving $170k on rucks means I can get Butters instead of my current D3 or F3.

 

[shinboner magic]

Xerri and SuperCoach in his thread wasn’t on my bingo card

 

[The Dingrel]

Xerri and SuperCoach in his thread wasn’t on my bingo card

Blimey, im already massively overweight north players (as usual) with Sheez, Wardlaw, Brayden George, Colby, LDU, Dylan Stephens, Zac Fisher, Lazarro, (oh plus Pink propping up the pine).....have to see how the praccy matches go, and who ultimately lines up where....there's value everywhere.

 

[Devington]

No secret that I really like Xerri and think that with continuity and rounding out some rough edges he can be a player whose magnet you glue to the whiteboard. Not because he's a top tier ruck of the comp who can do any and everything, but because he will work hard to what I reckon will be a more than acceptable level. It's great if you can have an elite ruck, but IMO as long as they're ~200cm and break even at the contest while they don't have their opponent running off of them, then you can absolutely work a gameplan successfully around them.

Goldy had a lot of excellent years, and just as many good to very good years. Most rucks aren't Goldy though. Expectations shouldn't be for Goldy 2.0

The way I see it is that he trains hard, he plays hard, he can mark (but often doesn't!), he can ruck (even if it doesn't always look great in the AFL), and while he lacks speed he has good athleticism. He's played 33 games in his career, over 4 years, and for the last couple while we've been trying to transition to him he keeps getting injured. That's not a winning fomula. There is room for growth, alongside a very young squad, if he can stay healthy.

I really do have a soft spot for the honest triers, and always hope there's silver linings to be found and luck to be had with blokes who keep getting injured. Xerri sitting in that sweet spot which has me rooting for him.

 

[The Talent Scout]

Blimey, im already massively overweight north players (as usual) with Sheez, Wardlaw, Brayden George, Colby, LDU, Dylan Stephens, Zac Fisher, Lazarro, (oh plus Pink propping up the pine).....have to see how the praccy matches go, and who ultimately lines up where....there's value everywhere.

I know this isn't the thread for it but I'm in A.F.L. fantasy and I'm having the same little problem, too many North players! I can see such huge improvement next year that I don't really want to leave out certain players, but like supercoach you can't or shouldn't have too many players from one team.

 

[The Talent Scout]

No secret that I really like Xerri and think that with continuity and rounding out some rough edges he can be a player whose magnet you glue to the whiteboard. Not because he's a top tier ruck of the comp who can do any and everything, but because he will work hard to what I reckon will be a more than acceptable level. It's great if you can have an elite ruck, but IMO as long as they're ~200cm and break even at the contest while they don't have their opponent running off of them, then you can absolutely work a gameplan successfully around them.

Goldy had a lot of excellent years, and just as many good to very good years. Most rucks aren't Goldy though. Expectations shouldn't be for Goldy 2.0

The way I see it is that he trains hard, he plays hard, he can mark (but often doesn't!), he can ruck (even if it doesn't always look great in the AFL), and while he lacks speed he has good athleticism. He's played 33 games in his career, over 4 years, and for the last couple while we've been trying to transition to him he keeps getting injured. That's not a winning fomula. There is room for growth, alongside a very young squad, if he can stay healthy.

I really do have a soft spot for the honest triers, and always hope there's silver linings to be found and luck to be had with blokes who keep getting injured. Xerri sitting in that sweet spot which has me rooting for him.

Very good post Devington, quite true, the thing with Tristan is his aggressive approach, I like it and I think it suits his game. The one thing he's got to cut out of his game is giving away silly free kicks. Now the odd one here and there doesn't matter to much but when there is a spate of them then it becomes an issue.

I think with our new coaches that this will have been addressed in small detail, like not wanting him to change too much but to be aware of it, and in games when you have a run on it can kill you! Tristan is a confidence player, even though it was reserves, remember a few years ago when in several games he ripped the opposition rucks to shreds. He just needs to get fitter, like a few other players, also be aware with the shadow of Todd looking over his shoulder not happening, that there won't be as much pressure on him.

We were spoilt with having such a champion ruckman for so long, as sad as it was, the timing of Todd exiting our club was the right time, with injuries and concussions we had to give Todd another year, 2023 will be remembered as where it all started and we needed Todd for that one more year.

Going back a bit where I said there won't be as much pressure on him, some might say hang on, with Todd now gone, won't he be under even more pressure to preform? The simple answer to that question is no. I'll give my reasoning in a short few bursts; The club {the coaches} will have said to Tristan, we are backing you in, your our number one ruck, do your best, we don't expect miracles, just give us a contest.

We don't expect you to be something your not, just be you, and you can bet your bottom dollar they{the coaches} will be giving him so much confidence its not funny. Like Devington said, if Tristan can cut out some of the rough edges to his game, get fitter{which he has} and get his confidence up even further, what he did in those reserve games will transfer to the A.F.L. A young man training the way he is at the moment tells me your going to see a much improved footballer next year, like a few of our other boys, "eye of the kangaroo" is real, {would of said tiger, but time to start our own destiny/path to greatness} it starts now.
"Eye of the kangaroo" baby!

 

[Makeshift Park]

Xerri and SuperCoach in his thread wasn’t on my bingo card

Look at all those hitouts up for grabs!

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Needs to stop trying to take marks with his face.

 

[Uncle_Leo]

Mark Porter

Mark Porter

Age

48

Ht

199cm

Wt

103kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

6.9

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.9

3star

HO

13.7

5star

No current season stats available

D

9.4

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.4

4star

HO

12.8

5star

2.0

With less skill.

Looking forward to us getting in a decent ruck at the end of 2024.

Would love to be proven wrong. It won't happen.

 

[shinboner magic]

Really needs to smash guys in there like Mumford and nank did.
Those two have more talent but used hardness as well.
Xerri just needs to be aggressive and negate the opponent - that’ll be enough we the quality we have amassed in the middle.

 

[The Talent Scout]

Mark Porter 2.0

With less skill.

Looking forward to us getting in a decent ruck at the end of 2024.

Would love to be proven wrong. It won't happen.

Now, now, Uncle_Leo lets give Tristan a chance before we do a LDU, Petracca, or Cunnington. I've said elsewhere, what a lot of posters from everywhere were saying after the first 2 or 3 years about those two midfield dynamo's, a bit of patience was needed but no, "bloody hell we've wasted a high draft pick, we're screwed." He ain't gonna live up to what we thought he'd be, typical us".

Ben, well where do I start, his first two years weren't great, he was injured, interruptions galore and homesickness a factor, lets just say for a number 5 draft pick there were more than a few people rolling their eyes and thinking things that I won't post on here, I remember after one of the early rounds in Bens second year where we played Sydney and we got beat, Sydney's coach at the time, Paul Roos let fly in an almighty spray at two of our players, those two players were Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington.

The famous spray, well he pretty much called them "USELESS", after we had the game won only to let Sydney steal it from us. Now there's that word popping up again "patience", I hear people saying yes but their different players, yes they are, all the more reason to give him a chance, is it not said that big men take time?

I'm pretty sure we won't be going after a ruckman at the end of 2024 unless other things beyond our control take over, then that might be a possibility, just my opinion but if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times we don't need a great ruckman, someone to make a contest and help around the ground as well as the routine stuff a ruckman does. All I ask is to have a little patience with him and see what he can do with our midfield, I think you'll see a different player next year and even the year after.

 

[LB2Snake]

Place filler while Goad gets ready. I like big X, but needs to clunk grabs

 

[zoomba23]

Place filler while Goad gets ready. I like big X, but needs to clunk grabs

Lol, place filler. Not jumping ahead there at all are we