AFL Player # 5: Elijah Tsatas

[TheGrizz]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2026
2024 My Boy Draft: Pick 14, Lore

 

[ant555]

Having done a bit of research on goals against from turnover (we average 8.7 against this year) we have a serious issue in regards to the fact he kicks at under 50% . Personally I do not see the fix in his kicking so we have a serious issue. We have spent a top 10 pick on a bloke who can find the footy but will not fix one of our major issues. I know people throw up Watson as not a great kick but Jobe's issue was not really in his action and more a lazy ball drop that improved because he put a lot of time into the concentration part but also improved when his fitness went up and the fatigue factor was less.
Tsatas just can not get any timing on the ball when he tries to kick it with any power.
I have stayed on the fence a bit to see where he has been going. He has improved his defensive effort and tackling effort which is good but he can not demand a spot in the side if he is going to butcher the footy 3 out of every 5 kicks.
Hate to say it but I just can not see him as the guy.

 

[Kong]

Having done a bit of research on goals against from turnover (we average 8.7 against this year) we have a serious issue in regards to the fact he kicks at under 50% . Personally I do not see the fix in his kicking so we have a serious issue. We have spent a top 10 pick on a bloke who can find the footy but will not fix one of our major issues. I know people throw up Watson as not a great kick but Jobe's issue was not really in his action and more a lazy ball drop that improved because he put a lot of time into the concentration part but also improved when his fitness went up and the fatigue factor was less.
Tsatas just can not get any timing on the ball when he tries to kick it with any power.
I have stayed on the fence a bit to see where he has been going. He has improved his defensive effort and tackling effort which is good but he can not demand a spot in the side if he is going to butcher the footy 3 out of every 5 kicks.
Hate to say it but I just can not see him as the guy.

I feel a bit OTT in hammering him, but not only is he looking like a top 5 bust, but just an overall one.

If he was picked at 65, he'd have a strong argument to be delisted.

 

[gillon]

Having done a bit of research on goals against from turnover (we average 8.7 against this year) we have a serious issue in regards to the fact he kicks at under 50% . Personally I do not see the fix in his kicking so we have a serious issue. We have spent a top 10 pick on a bloke who can find the footy but will not fix one of our major issues. I know people throw up Watson as not a great kick but Jobe's issue was not really in his action and more a lazy ball drop that improved because he put a lot of time into the concentration part but also improved when his fitness went up and the fatigue factor was less.
Tsatas just can not get any timing on the ball when he tries to kick it with any power.
I have stayed on the fence a bit to see where he has been going. He has improved his defensive effort and tackling effort which is good but he can not demand a spot in the side if he is going to butcher the footy 3 out of every 5 kicks.
Hate to say it but I just can not see him as the guy.

I think his biggest issue is penetration. He can barely kick it 40 metres which makes it hard to even get the ball to a pack of players. This was an issue pre draft and was obviously not taken seriously enough

 

[bombreys]

Having done a bit of research on goals against from turnover (we average 8.7 against this year) we have a serious issue in regards to the fact he kicks at under 50% . Personally I do not see the fix in his kicking so we have a serious issue. We have spent a top 10 pick on a bloke who can find the footy but will not fix one of our major issues. I know people throw up Watson as not a great kick but Jobe's issue was not really in his action and more a lazy ball drop that improved because he put a lot of time into the concentration part but also improved when his fitness went up and the fatigue factor was less.
Tsatas just can not get any timing on the ball when he tries to kick it with any power.
I have stayed on the fence a bit to see where he has been going. He has improved his defensive effort and tackling effort which is good but he can not demand a spot in the side if he is going to butcher the footy 3 out of every 5 kicks.
Hate to say it but I just can not see him as the guy.

My hope is that they see something in him we don’t. He is the exact player they drafted - they knew his kicking was no good.

He is a fair way off it right now. I can’t see him playing AFL again this season, especially given the health of our list

 

[DapperDon]

I'd like to see the clubs list of faults he had as a player before he was drafted, because if purtid kicking was one of the worries then anyone who had a say in his selection should fall on their sword.

 

[Shanghaistu]

I'd like to see the clubs list of faults he had as a player before he was drafted, because if purtid kicking was one of the worries then anyone who had a say in his selection should fall on their sword.

Maybe that’s the criteria - horrific ball users are priority (along with key position players who can’t get on the park) ?

 

[Old Campaigner]

Cal's draft rankings had him at number 4 in July, then at number 3 thereafter until the draft.

No mention of his kicking, although I note that Cal does tend to focus on positive attributes.

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' July ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances so far of 2022's top 25 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' August ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances so far of 2022's top 30 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' September ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates takes a look at 2022's top 30 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' October ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances of 30 of 2022's top draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' November ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances of 30 of 2022's top draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Rookieme says kicking was a strength, but then goes on to say the following:

"His kicking on the other hand could use some improvement with a lack of penetration at times and he tends to kick out one step after marks which can loop up and put his teammates under pressure, but kicking inside 50 he often kicks to advantage and makes the right decisions so there is certainly no big concern but overall could be better."

Elijah Tsatas Draft Profile

central.rookieme.com

It certainly seems to imply a fairly minor issue, not gross inaccuracy.

Dunno who else there is analysing drafts and what their thoughts were but Cal and Rookieme seem fairly authoritative and they both had him in the top 5. It points to a player who had been highly rated for some time in the lead up to the draft, and not just a bolter the draft watchers realised some club was really interested in and added to their rankings. In fact after the 2021 draft Cal included him in the top 10 prospects for 2022, even being mentioned as a contender for pick 1.

Eye on the future: 10 draft prospects to watch in 2022

Draft guru Callum Twomey looks ahead to the best prospects in 2022

www.afl.com.au

Given the lack of attention drawn to it in his draft year I wonder if it's something he has developed since being drafted. For example he might be struggling to adjust to the speed of the game or feeling under more pressure than he's used to and it's affecting his kicking.

 

[Phone]

Watched his highlights and his kicking seems to be pretty poor but otherwise a weapon.

congrats to petrify for being the first one in the thread to really say it. your reward is a lemon.

 

[Vander18]

Cal's draft rankings had him at number 4 in July, then at number 3 thereafter until the draft.

No mention of his kicking, although I note that Cal does tend to focus on positive attributes.

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' July ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances so far of 2022's top 25 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' August ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances so far of 2022's top 30 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' September ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates takes a look at 2022's top 30 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' October ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances of 30 of 2022's top draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' November ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances of 30 of 2022's top draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Rookieme says kicking was a strength, but then goes on to say the following:

"His kicking on the other hand could use some improvement with a lack of penetration at times and he tends to kick out one step after marks which can loop up and put his teammates under pressure, but kicking inside 50 he often kicks to advantage and makes the right decisions so there is certainly no big concern but overall could be better."

View attachment 2036160

Elijah Tsatas Draft Profile

central.rookieme.com

It certainly seems to imply a fairly minor issue, not gross inaccuracy.

Dunno who else there is analysing drafts and what their thoughts were but Cal and Rookieme seem fairly authoritative and they both had him in the top 5. It points to a player who had been highly rated for some time in the lead up to the draft, and not just a bolter the draft watchers realised some club was really interested in and added to their rankings. In fact after the 2021 draft Cal included him in the top 10 prospects for 2022, even being mentioned as a contender for pick 1.

Eye on the future: 10 draft prospects to watch in 2022

Draft guru Callum Twomey looks ahead to the best prospects in 2022

www.afl.com.au

Given the lack of attention drawn to it in his draft year I wonder if it's something he has developed since being drafted. For example he might be struggling to adjust to the speed of the game or feeling under more pressure than he's used to and it's affecting his kicking.

Look at the highlight reel in posts above. His kicking was clearly an issue in u18 footy. It’s baffling that his inability to kick wasn’t a much bigger red flag to clubs. Furthermore, find me a top 5 pick with a more underwhelming highlight reel…..

Through no fault of his own, Tsatas became a classic example of group think. Someone decided he was a dynamic inside/outside mid and it was adopted as fact the industry (or at least a chunk of it). To me he was never in the same class as Wardlaw or Sheezel.

 

[ant555]

Look at the highlight reel in posts above. His kicking was clearly an issue in u18 footy. It’s baffling that his inability to kick wasn’t a much bigger red flag to clubs. Furthermore, find me a top 5 pick with a more underwhelming highlight reel…..

Through no fault of his own, Tsatas became a classic example of group think. Someone decided he was a dynamic inside/outside mid and it was adopted as fact the industry (or at least a chunk of it). To me he was never in the same class as Wardlaw or Sheezel.

It is an example of clubs looking at what they think they can fix to make the finished product . I was never a fan more so based on his defensive side but I have also said in the past he is Adam Treloar if he gets to his best. A player that frustrated the crap out of Pies supporters for being a jet who simply blazed the footy forward.
Maybe the sample size was simply too small in his top age year for a lot of the punters to really get a look at his kicking issues. The speed of under 18 footy compared to AFL is also a factor.
All this being said you have to say it is a poor decision from a club looking to maximize with a top end pick. It was a pcik we should not have been taking on any obvious risk. They passed on my man Phillipou based on possible personality issues. The should have passed on Tsatas based on kicking issues.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Look at the highlight reel in posts above. His kicking was clearly an issue in u18 footy. It’s baffling that his inability to kick wasn’t a much bigger red flag to clubs. Furthermore, find me a top 5 pick with a more underwhelming highlight reel…..

Through no fault of his own, Tsatas became a classic example of group think. Someone decided he was a dynamic inside/outside mid and it was adopted as fact the industry (or at least a chunk of it). To me he was never in the same class as Wardlaw or Sheezel.

I don't know if it was group think, he was racking up some seriously big numbers and was on peoples' radars long before his draft year.

I think it's probably as Ant says and we picked him thinking it was a flaw that could be ironed out. And for all we know it still could be. Certainly if he can sort it out and at least become the sort of player who knows to take the safe option I think he can be a really good contributor for us. Priddis was a shit kick and managed to win a Brownlow...

(I wanted Humphrey)

 

[ant555]

I don't know if it was group think, he was racking up some seriously big numbers and was on peoples' radars long before his draft year.

I think it's probably as Ant says and we picked him thinking it was a flaw that could be ironed out. And for all we know it still could be. Certainly if he can sort it out and at least become the sort of player who knows to take the safe option I think he can be a really good contributor for us. Priddis was a shit kick and managed to win a Brownlow...

(I wanted Humphrey)

The issue for me is he will not be a great kick even if he gets it sorted .
Parish is not a great kick. Caldwell is not a great kick . Durham is not a great kick. Hobbs is not a great kick. Apart from Merrett we have a midfield full of okay kicks .

 

[Old Campaigner]

The issue for me is he will not be a great kick even if he gets it sorted .
Parish is not a great kick. Caldwell is not a great kick . Durham is not a great kick. Hobbs is not a great kick. Apart from Merrett we have a midfield full of okay kicks .

Caldwell seems to be a pretty good kick but despite that it's definitely an issue. Fortunately it's one that trading Parish can go some way to fixing.

 

[yodellinhank]

Having done a bit of research on goals against from turnover (we average 8.7 against this year) we have a serious issue in regards to the fact he kicks at under 50% . Personally I do not see the fix in his kicking so we have a serious issue. We have spent a top 10 pick on a bloke who can find the footy but will not fix one of our major issues. I know people throw up Watson as not a great kick but Jobe's issue was not really in his action and more a lazy ball drop that improved because he put a lot of time into the concentration part but also improved when his fitness went up and the fatigue factor was less.
Tsatas just can not get any timing on the ball when he tries to kick it with any power.
I have stayed on the fence a bit to see where he has been going. He has improved his defensive effort and tackling effort which is good but he can not demand a spot in the side if he is going to butcher the footy 3 out of every 5 kicks.
Hate to say it but I just can not see him as the guy.

What about his short kicks?

 

[bombreys]

Cal's draft rankings had him at number 4 in July, then at number 3 thereafter until the draft.

No mention of his kicking, although I note that Cal does tend to focus on positive attributes.

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' July ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances so far of 2022's top 25 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' August ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances so far of 2022's top 30 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' September ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates takes a look at 2022's top 30 draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' October ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances of 30 of 2022's top draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' November ranking

AFL.com.au's draft guru Cal Twomey rates the performances of 30 of 2022's top draft prospects

www.afl.com.au

Rookieme says kicking was a strength, but then goes on to say the following:

"His kicking on the other hand could use some improvement with a lack of penetration at times and he tends to kick out one step after marks which can loop up and put his teammates under pressure, but kicking inside 50 he often kicks to advantage and makes the right decisions so there is certainly no big concern but overall could be better."

View attachment 2036160

Elijah Tsatas Draft Profile

central.rookieme.com

It certainly seems to imply a fairly minor issue, not gross inaccuracy.

Dunno who else there is analysing drafts and what their thoughts were but Cal and Rookieme seem fairly authoritative and they both had him in the top 5. It points to a player who had been highly rated for some time in the lead up to the draft, and not just a bolter the draft watchers realised some club was really interested in and added to their rankings. In fact after the 2021 draft Cal included him in the top 10 prospects for 2022, even being mentioned as a contender for pick 1.

Eye on the future: 10 draft prospects to watch in 2022

Draft guru Callum Twomey looks ahead to the best prospects in 2022

www.afl.com.au

Given the lack of attention drawn to it in his draft year I wonder if it's something he has developed since being drafted. For example he might be struggling to adjust to the speed of the game or feeling under more pressure than he's used to and it's affecting his kicking.

Definitely not. The club would have known his kicking was a weakness when they drafted him, they just obviously either thought they could fix it or that his other strengths would outweight the kicking issue.

 

[Old Campaigner]

I wonder if it's just one of those things where it's easier to teach him to kick on his left than fix his right.

Either way, I'd like to see how he goes with a couple of off seasons and preseasons really focusing on improving his kicking, even if that means engaging his own kicking coach and putting in the work outside of his normal training regime. He's clearly got some really valuable skills and traits you simply can't teach a player and it'd be a shame if poor kicking means he's not able to make it as an AFL footballer.

 

[mcgrath_truther]

realistically the club thought that trainers/biomechanists could fix an otherwise glaring issue.

biting off more than we can chew? how essendon

 

[yodellinhank]

Maybe they could get him a pooper scooper and he can make a start on the second oval?

 

[mcgrath_truther]

I wonder if it's just one of those things where it's easier to teach him to kick on his left than fix his right.

Either way, I'd like to see how he goes with a couple of off seasons and preseasons really focusing on improving his kicking, even if that means engaging his own kicking coach and putting in the work outside of his normal training regime. He's clearly got some really valuable skills and traits you simply can't teach a player and it'd be a shame if poor kicking means he's not able to make it as an AFL footballer.

wouldn’t be opposed to it, if a brute like mason cox can kick fairly accurately i’m sure lij has the potential to as well. will depend on how interested he is though

 

[Old Campaigner]

Maybe they could get him a pooper scooper and he can make a start on the second oval?

Is that where your posts ended up?

 

[IHurley]

I'm starting to think you're right Ant. His kicks on Saturday looked as though he had to think about every one.

 

[madrigal]

I'm starting to think you're right Ant. His kicks on Saturday looked as though he had to think about every one.

Definitely won't fit in at Essendon if he thinks before he kicks.

 

[Nicholas61]

wouldn’t be opposed to it, if a brute like mason cox can kick fairly accurately i’m sure lij has the potential to as well. will depend on how interested he is though

I think he has the desire as highlighted with the other areas he has worked on that Ant mentioned. He just needs to not drop his head if he has to spend a year in the reserves working on it - must stay humble. We need to make the call if someone other than Rath can better help him.

 

[Petrify]

congrats to petrify for being the first one in the thread to really say it. your reward is a lemon.

Essendon should hire me as a scout. I divined his bad kicking immediately

 

[Vander18]

I don't know if it was group think, he was racking up some seriously big numbers and was on peoples' radars long before his draft year.

I think it's probably as Ant says and we picked him thinking it was a flaw that could be ironed out. And for all we know it still could be. Certainly if he can sort it out and at least become the sort of player who knows to take the safe option I think he can be a really good contributor for us. Priddis was a shit kick and managed to win a Brownlow...

(I wanted Humphrey)

Kicking is only part of the issue.

The other issue is that he’s simply not the player we (and many draft watchers) thought he was. He’s not an inside breakaway mid….which is 100% what we thought we drafted. That’s where the group think took place in my view.