Chad Wingard

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SwampRat said:
Matt Westhoff is long gone. (thankfully)
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Thanks SR. One of the many disadvantages of the year we had is I couldn't bear to read all the footy media I used to obsessively follow and I thought he finished in 2012.
 
Jonts said:
.... Is it settled that he should get one of 7, 4,35 as his number?
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35 surely? A continuation of 'Go Chad' when you see #35 helps us older fans.
 
Jonts said:
I'm thinking 4, keep 35 forever known as Chad's number
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Forever lasts about 2 years in footy, and that sentimental nonsense always backfires.
 
Just for fun, I was looking up 2011 Phantom Drafts, and I came across the highly respected Quigley who thought GWS should have taken Wingard with the number one pick. In fact, everything said in the writeup seems pretty well spot on. In the end, it means nothing now - it all comes down to how well Chad plays from here on out, but I thought after Chad's year so far being phenomenal for a second year player, it was nice to read the opinion of someone who rated him very highly as a junior.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/quigleys-2011-mock-warning-reading-required.890556/

Quigley said:
Pick 1 – GWS

With pick 1 I take the guy I rate the highest and that is Wingard. I have loved his work for the last couple of years and he didn’t give me any real reason to doubt him this year. Some talk that GWS might pass over him but I struggle to see why they would and both Sheeds and Choco love their indigenous talent. On talent there are three standouts this year and he is one and he can play both in the midfield and as a small forward which they could definitely use.

Chad Wingard
DOB 29/7/93 Ht 181 Wt 77

If you offered me anyone in this draft I would take Wingard and not even think twice. Chad is an all around talent that brings class to wherever he is playing. He is equally capable in the midfield and up forward and played a lot in both positions throughout his junior career. He is another elite basketballer (State and National representation) who brings the great spatial awareness common the good basketballers to his football. He has an uncanny knack of knowing what is going on around him and where everyone is and he reacts very quickly to take advantage of this.

There is no-one who was tagged harder at the Champs this year than Wingard and he showed excellent patience and determination to keep working. He went forward, into the contest and generally just continued to work to find the ball. He was restricted by a few guys who did a really nice job on him like Newell of Qld but his class still showed. He is a left footer and is an elite user of the ball with great feel and touch on his kicks. His decision making is the equal of anyone in this draft. One particular time in the Qld game really sticks in my mind when thinking of him. On one occasion he was going forward with Newell closing him down but he held, held, held until his man got open and then delivered it perfectly whilst getting tackled. It was great poise under pressure and ability to read the play and execute.

In the clearances he has excellent hands and works very nicely in the phone box. He also doesn’t commit too early and if the ball doesn’t come to him straight away he will work to get open to receive or shadow the ball to enable him to attack the play if something presents. He is still slight in build and despite having good balance he gets buffeted around a lot at present.

Up forward he will give you an aerial target but he is also an excellent crumber who will arrive at the spillage at just the right time to gather and finish. He also has the tricks and will regularly do things like prop to get the man into his back or run him under the ball to beat him back the other way. He is not an exceptionally long kick but he has reasonable penetration. He is a good kick for goal but he does tend to guide the ball through rather than kick through it. Whatever though it does work. His agility is very good and he is elusive. He reminds me a bit of Cyril in the way he plays up forward and through the midfield although he is probably a step below Cyril in elusiveness but a step above him in running ability and marking. He has that same kind of class and game winning ability though. He can really get up in the air for his height and can mark the ball once he is up there. He won the running jump at Combine and would also have been in the top ten jumping off his non-preferred leg which is not something I think I have seen before. He was also in the top ten in the standing jump.

It’s really noticeable that wherever he is on the ground the group just seems to work that much better and is more dangerous. He lifts those around him and they know that he will get them the ball if they are open and they can rely on him the other way if they need to use him. He is class and it rubs off onto those around him and this is not always the case even with the top talents.

One thing teams will look to try and do from day one though is get some weight on his bones. He still looked very thin at the Champs but he weigh in a few kilos heavier at Camp which was good to see although that might not have helped his endurance which was poor. His strength is below average at the moment and he definitely needs some serious time in the gym. I am sure he has been on a program and this might cause teams some concern with regards to likely durability. Durability is a big thing for him as he has missed games this year with an assortment of ailments and has had a couple of concussions. Nothing major that I am aware of but teams will want to check him out medically.

Wingard was the captain of the SA team and teams like to see leadership potential in their high draft picks. Chad is not a great tackler but he is around the ball so much that he ends up making quite a few. He will work defensively but this has not really been a focus for him to date and he does not really have the engine to do too much work. He is not adverse to doing the 1%ers which again teams like to see from star juniors.

His form dropped off toward the end of the year and combined with his durability issues this has some particularly in the media dropping him down the order. What I see though is a thin kid who played fantastically well despite having a beep test result that put him in the bottom 7% at Combine and is far from physically mature. Look at the upside here people, the kid is prepared to do the work and imagine what he is going to be like once he gets his body up to where his competitors are. Sure he might start slow in the AFL but like Cyril, Chad has a massive amount of talent and his ceiling is sky high. He is more of a midfielder than Cyril and if he gets anywhere near his potential he will be an elite player in the competition. If GWS allow him to fall through to Port they are fools.
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Another awesome pickup by Quigley is putting Toby Greene in the top 10, which no one else did (and to us at Pick 6, saying we needed the ball magnet inside midfielder - Ollie Wines anyone?).
 
With the form we are seeing from Chad and others this year, we only need Butch to come on for us to have the draft pick 4 (Hartlett), 5 (Boak), 6 (Chad), 7 (Ollie), 8 (Butch) full house.
 

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Malibu#27 said:
With the form we are seeing from Chad and others this year, we only need Butch to come on for us to have the draft pick 4 (Hartlett), 5 (Boak), 6 (Chad), 7 (Ollie), 8 (Butch) full house.
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Moore at 9?
 
Killer Power said:
Was right behind Chad when he kicked that goal from the boundary on his non-preferred. It was exquisite.... Wanganeen-esque.
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right in front of you!?
 
Macca19 said:
Chad Wingard it is!

Left-footed midfielder/forward who excelled at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, recording the highest in the running vertical jump test with 92cm. He also managed the fourth best score in the clean hands test, as well as top scores in the agility run and the standing vertical jump test. He captained South Australia at the NAB AFL U18 Championships
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The Smaller Warrior said:
Article up:

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6038/newsid/126481/default.aspx
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We should have realised he'd have two AAs by age 22 after seeing his highlights reel:



Reading through the start of this thread was awesome.
 
LisaR said:
Hey Port fans.

I was at the draft last night and without a doubt, Chad was the happiest draftee in the room! He could not wipe the smile off his face. I actually spoke to him, his parents and Matty Primus as they were leaving and told them as much. They agreed and his Dad said he is a very happy lad. The fact that he is the only player picked before my Tiges picked Ellis that doesn't have to move interstate may have something to do with it!

Anyway, he came across really well, down to earth and friendly, you will have a new supporter favourite I think.

Don't know if your media guys have posted it yet, but they were interviewing his dad for PTV as well. So look out for that.

Cheers and good luck next year!
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Great post.
 

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