Past #39: Leigh Harding - selected with #13 in 2000 RD - retired at end of 2010 season - coaches at BL

[Z_K]

Just proves what really makes players good players. His turn around is all work ethic. It's all effort. With that effort has come belief. Results have just unfolded for him, and I am wrapt.

I also doubted if he could turn it around. In fact I was certain he was gone.

 

[Tas]

Just proves what really makes players good players. His turn around is all work ethic. It's all effort. With that effort has come belief. Results have just unfolded for him, and I am wrapt.

I also doubted if he could turn it around. In fact I was certain he was gone.

I didn't know if he was going to either, after seeing a lot of guys with ability fade into the memories you do have doubts.

But I think it is important that we focus on being positive. We can say that we think Harding should be dropped due to poor form, etc. We just do not need the witch hunt threads I guess. Not only because it makes you look a bit silly if they come good but because they are North players, we shouldn't really treat any of them with disrespect.

We can call it as we see it, but we can keep a positive frame of mind. Some of those Harding/Watt comments have been almost feral.

 

[sross]

He also took a heavy bump from Solomon right in front of us on the boundary line. Solomon ran past the ball and cleaned him up head high as he was bending over to pick up the ball. Just the type of bump that has been reported many times times this year.

He got up, shook his head and went straight back into it. Great stuff by Turtle. People around us, including Essendon supporters, thought it was reportable. The only reason it problably won't get looked at is because Turtle wasn't hurt. A cheap shot from the thug who always does this crap against us.

 

[Falkroo]

I, for one was a big rap on Harding when first appeared on the scene, but his poor kicking (and i'm talking in general, no just goal kicking, running at pace he had no control over it) let him down, his form dipped and when he wasn't getting getting the ball he had nothing else to offer (wasn't a great chaser, poor tackler, generally didn't put a lot of pressure on), for a couple of seasons has been ordinary at best, but on form this year is starting to show what he is capable of, his kicking, marking and attack on the ball and the man with the ball has been sensational, i'm glad to say, he has proved me wrong!!

 

[mav-1]

He kicked a lot of goals by being on the end of some handballs and running in to goal from within 20 meters. He isn't going to miss those and that's why his percentage looked good last year.

I've got in my mind that these are just the one he would miss!

Great work from Turtle. Has really help us in keeping the ball in the forward line not letting the op have easy run out of the back half. He's going to play finals footy

 

[Woodson]

Re: Dirty Carpet = Sniper Dog

He also took a heavy bump from Solomon right in front of us on the boundary line. Solomon ran past the ball and cleaned him up head high as he was bending over to pick up the ball. Just the type of bump that has been reported many times times this year.

He got up, shook his head and went straight back into it. Great stuff by Turtle. People around us, including Essendon supporters, thought it was reportable. The only reason it problably won't get looked at is because Turtle wasn't hurt. A cheap shot from the thug who always does this crap against us.

The dirty carpet needs to be truly cleaned up ONE DAY . I also thought the reckless 'charge' @ Thommo by thier #26 deserves to be looked at. WTF was that ? Lucky Thommo didn't have his nuts split... I was infuriated. AFL better wake up as they are forever letting cheap shots go very very lightly. The new suspension system is also soft. How Burton got away with his intentional HIT a few weeks ago sends too much conflicting messages.

 

[KingyOrTheKing]

His accuracy last year was a tad over 70%, which put him above average for forwards, Lloyds was 75% i think and was one of the highest.

His accuracy is... 62.5% this year. I think when you look for reasons to not like players you will find them, even if they are not there.

When I watch the footy I make the call "Once kicked 1 goal 6", waiting for some peanut commentator like KB to say it. Probably more annoying than the commentators always barracking against us.

 

[daggles]

Has time proved Laidley right? This time last year you would only pick Davey. But with Hardings improved form who would you pick now? Both are quick, tackle well. Davey is a better kick but Harding is better overhead . I know we couldn't get davey cos of money probs but we also had a wealth of small forwards with Motlop, J.Clayton and S.Harvey as well.

 

[NeoBlaze]

For mine I backed Harding for a very long time, but lost confidence in his ability to recapture his previous form. On balance I'd prefer Harding, he has the pace and has bulked up which makes him more balanced than Davey. My argument for not getting Davey was that one bad tackle, one bad injury and you've lost the player forever because speed is his only weapon. Saying that in hindsight I would have kept him, he's far outstripped my expectations of what he would provide at AFL level.

 

[R00StaR]

Time proved right between Davey and Harding? We took S.Harvey instead of Davey didn’t we?

 

[The Zebra]

Interesting question.

You would have to say Davey is ahead, although his impact is way down this year. That speed in the forward line is swesome, plus he can kick the ball a mile and is able to pull off a freakish snap.

That said, if Leigh was to consistently maintain the form he has shown over the past month - he is definately catching Davey fast. Leigh has a natural feel for where the goals are, and when he doesn't have to think about his coversion is very good. If is just on those set shots that it all falls to pieces - and significantly we haven't seen many of them over the last month.

Plus, he is a hog. Big time. Which I love. Looks to the goal first. I know it has ********ed people off before, but even if a guy kicks 1.7 you HAVE to look at the upside (i.e. he managed to get himself 8 shots). Maybe we can all accept his goal hungry ways now that he is also chasing and tackling hard. With all that running he earns the right to have a few shots.

 

[daggles]

Time proved right between Davey and Harding? We took S.Harvey instead of Davey didn’t we?

It may have come down to Davey and Harvey but Harding is now playing that position and this time last year i wouldv'e flicked him without a trade!! So his stock has improved considerably.

 

[thumping]

Yes I know he hit the post when he was only afoot out,But apart from that I just wanted to say what another great game by leigh.

His hard running was a feature all night and I wish that Laids could've Isolated him in the forward 50 at times.
Oh well atleast we are finally seeing what he has promised for so long.

Keep up the good work Turtle....

 

[Tas]

Yes I know he hit the post when he was only afoot out,But apart from that I just wanted to say what another great game by leigh.

His hard running was a feature all night and I wish that Laids could've Isolated him in the forward 50 at times.
Oh well atleast we are finally seeing what he has promised for so long.

Keep up the good work Turtle....

He did a lot of running into the midfield and defense and ran forward. I think like Petrie they started to tire badly late in the game. I think Harding and Sansbury's run really sparked the team in the last quarter. It was a pity we couldn't capitalise on the opportunities, 3.4 was a bit disappointing, could have easily been 5 and come home with the chocolates but it is hard to be overly critical when someone busts a gut all over the ground.

Jones was also very good in patches in the midfield. We just needed to target some quality kickers late in the game. Harding and Petrie are not going to win a lot of games for us in the dying minutes.

I think JYD should have put Rocca on a lot earlier in the last quarter, when they flooded we really needed to take some contested marks.

 

[KingyOrTheKing]

I must admit that at half time, I was thinking how much we had built him up and that he had cracked under pressure. But he got plenty of it after half time which was pleasing. He missed a couple of easy ones, but he played very well overall that those misses seem insignificant.

 

[scottywiper]

The turtle

Oh, the agony and the ecstasy. My grandma would have kicked that goal!
And she's six foot under.
But, he was otherwise good (aside from his first quarter clanger) and is playing some great footy.
Life with Harding is like a box of chocolates...

 

[Benno_900]

Harding was one of our best tonight, without him we would've lost by 5 goals.

 

[jasps1]

yeah magnificent
hes a bloody top mark, and outrun wirrupunda too, which is no mean feat.
Love having him in the forward 50

 

[Woodson]

He did a lot of running into the midfield and defense and ran forward. I think like Petrie they started to tire badly late in the game. I think Harding and Sansbury's run really sparked the team in the last quarter. It was a pity we couldn't capitalise on the opportunities, 3.4 was a bit disappointing, could have easily been 5 and come home with the chocolates but it is hard to be overly critical when someone busts a gut all over the ground.

Jones was also very good in patches in the midfield. We just needed to target some quality kickers late in the game. Harding and Petrie are not going to win a lot of games for us in the dying minutes.

I think JYD should have put Rocca on a lot earlier in the last quarter, when they flooded we really needed to take some contested marks.

Well said Tas. Why Sav wasn't brought on earlier or for most of the last qtr is staggering. Harding is at least improving his overall game. Good on him. He'll learn from tonight to KICK THRU the ball instead of tapping it like that. I'm sure it's more about karma on my behalf as I laughed at Didak vs the Swans when he missed a gimme. I'll bite my tongue from now on.

 

[Angus1]

Great game by Harding but those misses.........
I agree that without him we wouldn't have even been in the hunt.

 

[Shagga is all Class]

Yes I know he hit the post
Keep up the good work Turtle....

He kicked around 25% of North's score, 19 touches and worked real hard but some media wannabees and ex-footballers want to bag him for hitting the post near the end?

 

[Woodson]

Great game by Harding but those misses.........
I agree that without him we wouldn't have even been in the hunt.

Absolutely ! Tarnished his game but WTF >>> that's Turtle being Turtle !

Felt North were insipid in letting WCE run riot getting easy 'no pressure' possessions that set up thier game that infuriated me the most. Didn't expect WCE to sleepwalk in the last and it almost made them look STUPID had North pinched it. I love the attempt at the end of whoever, North player, tossing over Petrie's head (centre square infringement) to fool the umps for a 50m penalty. Would of topped it as one of the biggest laughs ever and Petrie as 'the hero' >>> fairytale stuff.

 

[Tas]

Absolutely ! Tarnished his game but WTF >>> that's Turtle being Turtle !

Felt North were insipid in letting WCE run riot getting easy 'no pressure' possessions that set up thier game that infuriated me the most. Didn't expect WCE to sleepwalk in the last and it almost made them look STUPID had North pinched it. I love the attempt at the end of whoever, North player, tossing over Petrie's head (centre square infringement) to fool the umps for a 50m penalty. Would of topped it as one of the biggest laughs ever and Petrie as 'the hero' >>> fairytale stuff.

Yeah, our tackle count was way down this week. Eagle midfielders have a lot more class and a lot harder to tackle but we just didn't put the pressure on in the midfield during the third quarter and we paid the price. I thought overall apart from that third quarter we were pretty good.

We just need to learn to use the ball better. But, we haven't had a lot of games to play without Wells and Sinclair this year and we really missed their run and polish. We will get better.

I think we are going to take out our frustration on the Hawks next week.

 

[Mr Reliable]

Nearly gave him a vote and lots of people did vote for him, definitely in our best 5. Shows how much he's improved overall that he's forgiven for missing a goal that scottywiper's right footed Nana would have kicked (with her left foot).

Ms Reliable and I sat behind and chatted to Turtle's parents at the MCG a few years back and they are lovely people, very proud of their young Turtle. You'll all remember the game- it was the day he kicked five behinds in the last 1/4 .

Anyhow, we always felt for them when he played poorly in the last few years but I bet they're enjoying his form now.

 

[hopper]

If he'd played a squibby game with no chase and lacklustre efforts then we may have been in our right to have complaints with his miss BUT when the guy runs his @rse off and has a right royal dig and never stopped trying then he deserved some slack. None will be more down than Leigh and I bet he can't believe he missed, just don't do it again good to hear JYD talk his effort up in the interview.

Cheers all