Player Watch #49 Kaleb Smith - Re-Signed for 2025

[guruisatiger]

smith will be the best back pocket since kevin O'Neill

 

[Spluff]

Worked his way into it I thought. A few good moments.

 

[Danog]

Worked his way into it I thought. A few good moments.

Had 1 very good moment late in the game with his pace and courage. Otherwise he was just a solid 'good' player. Nothing amazing but nothing awful. Keep him in.

 

[Morro]

solid little unit, I want him to play the rest of the season.

 

[Sol23]

Pretty impressive.
Saw enough to have me think he’s going to be a very good player.

 

[Groupie_]

didnt know he played one game

when was that ?

thought he debuted yesterday

 

[tiger_tough]

Looked quite good. Looks like he has a few tools.

Great effort to get a debut before MRJ too.

 

[Grockadoc]

didnt know he played one game

when was that ?

thought he debuted yesterday

Debuted against Geelong. Flew his family over from WA only to watch him play like, 4 minutes of the game due to a late sub.

 

[Groupie_]

Debuted against Geelong. Flew his family over from WA only to watch him play like, 4 minutes of the game due to a late sub.

oh yeah now I remember , was prob too pissed

 

[Madtiger2006]

Another young gun. We’ll rise quickly

 

[Meteoric Rise]

Looked decent running our way. But zero tackles, zero pressure acts is the area he will need to do some work on.

 

[voorhees]

just the player we all want to see play and be given a opportunity to wear the Y&B.
kids done his apprenticeship in the VFL
Play the kid in the seniors for the rest of the season and give him the chance to progress into a bigger and better 25'

 

[tigs2010]

didnt know he played one game

when was that ?

thought he debuted yesterday

He's played 1 game and 2 mins 13 seconds

 

[THE_GUN]

Im over seas and wont see any games next 6 weeks

So is he our Rioli replacement or Cumby replacement

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

Im over seas and wont see any games next 6 weeks

So is he our Rioli replacement or Cumby replacement

Neither, he’s a high probability of being delisted imo


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[tropicaltiger]

More too do with match committee being to wary of playing to many kids at the expense of 'experience'.

500%

 

[sregit]

Neither, he’s a high probability of being delisted imo


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Will not get delisted.

 

[Morro]

Looked decent running our way. But zero tackles, zero pressure acts is the area he will need to do some work on.

Good pick up, I wonder if this is what has held him back.

 

[Grrr]

Good pick up, I wonder if this is what has held him back.

In the VFL he was notably outside, he went in when it was his turn, applied pressure, stood under high balls etc, but he is very much an attacking player. He sees a gap and he goes for it, has a bit of a rugby step and good acceleration. He did it once on Saturday, but that bit of play where he ran past Prestia and kicked to MacIntosh is his main weapon.

So yes maybe his tackling/pressure is not high, but his run and carry off half back is something we have lost. GWS had it when we played them, about 4 of them. We have Rioli who does it, before that how important was Houli doing it. He should have been playing 10 weeks earlier, but better late than never.

 

[Morro]

In the VFL he was notably outside, he went in when it was his turn, applied pressure, stood under high balls etc, but he is very much an attacking player. He sees a gap and he goes for it, has a bit of a rugby step and good acceleration. He did it once on Saturday, but that bit of play where he ran past Prestia and kicked to MacIntosh is his main weapon.

So yes maybe his tackling/pressure is not high, but his run and carry off half back is something we have lost. GWS had it when we played them, about 4 of them. We have Rioli who does it, before that how important was Houli doing it. He should have been playing 10 weeks earlier, but better late than never.

fair, but you know how much coaches expect all players to contribute defensively unless they are STARS

 

[Meteoric Rise]

In the VFL he was notably outside, he went in when it was his turn, applied pressure, stood under high balls etc, but he is very much an attacking player. He sees a gap and he goes for it, has a bit of a rugby step and good acceleration. He did it once on Saturday, but that bit of play where he ran past Prestia and kicked to MacIntosh is his main weapon.

So yes maybe his tackling/pressure is not high, but his run and carry off half back is something we have lost. GWS had it when we played them, about 4 of them. We have Rioli who does it, before that how important was Houli doing it. He should have been playing 10 weeks earlier, but better late than never.

I think you can safely assume if Smith should have been playing 10 weeks earlier, then he would have been. But one or a combination of the following kept him out of the team:

• no clear opportunity in the back 7 to slot him into
• insufficient conditioning for AFL level
• lack of knowledge of team structures
• lack of defensive side to his game

As we've seen with Cumby, just accelerating when you think you can win the ball only is not going to get you anywhere near being an AFL footballer. Smith will need to establish he can defend as well, and then at a certain point put the 2 sides of his game together at a sufficient standard to get it done at AFL level. We have seen this took a few years with Mansell and M Rioli to put both sides of the game together. Cumberland seems to be proving this year he just can't do it. Ralphsmith has taken several years but appears to be getting it now, with a much higher amount of tackles and pressure acts to go with some nice attacking glimpses as well. Jack Ross is one who was held back a little by being too heavily tilted towards attacking energy versus defensive energy. Campbell seems to have a nice balance immediately, but will develop his decision making over coming seasons. Green appears to have been doing all the defensive and team orientated stuff in the VFL, but often isn't getting enough of the ball. Smith just seems to be very much at the start of this journey to develop the 2 sides of the game almost all players need to be AFL footballers.

 

[Grrr]

fair, but you know how much coaches expect all players to contribute defensively unless they are STARS

I actually thought his first half was pretty much total defence. Maybe it didn't show in stats, but he was sticking to his man and that was pretty much it. It was is first game so fair enough. Second half he got a bit more daring. As I said, in the VFL he was pretty tough. When they tossed him in the middle two weeks ago he had 3 tackles in row and they were good aggressive tackles, so he knows how to play hard. Maybe he was concentrating on not making any mistakes.

 

[Morro]

I actually thought his first half was pretty much total defence. Maybe it didn't show in stats, but he was sticking to his man and that was pretty much it. It was is first game so fair enough. Second half he got a bit more daring. As I said, in the VFL he was pretty tough. When they tossed him in the middle two weeks ago he had 3 tackles in row and they were good aggressive tackles, so he knows how to play hard. Maybe he was concentrating on not making any mistakes.

I loved the idea of some VFL midfield minutes. We have seen plenty of HB's with speed become damaging mids.

 

[voorhees]

Neither, he’s a high probability of being delisted imo


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no way were letting potential gold just walk away.
the exact talent we need to unearth from a player already on the list.

 

[Grrr]

I think you can safely assume if Smith should have been playing 10 weeks earlier, then he would have been. But one or a combination of the following kept him out of the team:

• no clear opportunity in the back 7 to slot him into
• insufficient conditioning for AFL level
• lack of knowledge of team structures
• lack of defensive side to his game

As we've seen with Cumby, just accelerating when you think you can win the ball only is not going to get you anywhere near being an AFL footballer. Smith will need to establish he can defend as well, and then at a certain point put the 2 sides of his game together at a sufficient standard to get it done at AFL level. We have seen this took a few years with Mansell and M Rioli to put both sides of the game together. Cumberland seems to be proving this year he just can't do it. Ralphsmith has taken several years but appears to be getting it now, with a much higher amount of tackles and pressure acts to go with some nice attacking glimpses as well. Jack Ross is one who was held back a little by being too heavily tilted towards attacking energy versus defensive energy. Campbell seems to have a nice balance immediately, but will develop his decision making over coming seasons. Green appears to have been doing all the defensive and team orientated stuff in the VFL, but often isn't getting enough of the ball. Smith just seems to be very much at the start of this journey to develop the 2 sides of the game almost all players need to be AFL footballers.

Noting wrong with Smith's defensive side in the VFL. His tackle count was pretty good for a half back flanker with games of 4, 5, 6 and most notably 9 last week. He is hard at the ball and took a lot of marks under pressure. He was just playing a bit safe, first game that's what you do. Can't judge a players gaming style after one game.

He is not Trezise, who is a very hard uncompromising type, but he is no Houli when he first started either, who was totally offensive and a bit of a liability close to the opposition goal. Smith has very good composure and rarely got caught out in the VFL.