Toast Christensen: The new Diesel?

[vinum coupe]

I remember Bomber telling Varcoe that one day he'll get it 28 times, kick 5 goals, and finally believe he is good enough.
Personally, I reckon he now knows where he can cut teams open. Only some unusual fumbles by him early stopped him from ripping them a new one on Monday.

But gee I'm going to enjoy that day if it comes.

 

[Berserker26]

I haven't posted for what feels to be a very long time.

 

[vinum coupe]

I haven't posted for what feels to be a very long time.

Good to see you back.

Now get your butt over here

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/10-0-avatar.996453/

 

[you pick one]

I haven't posted for what feels to be a very long time.

We have missed this informative kind of content.

 

[Claude Balls]

In the spirit of talking about players in threads about other players, how about Taylor Hunt?

****ing love that kid. Will be hugely valuably for a long while I reckon. Such a good attitude.

 

[FredLeDeux]

I don't understand that Fred, with that kind of thinking the club would have said to Ablett in late 2006 "oh well, you are what you are, you've played 100 games now, what you see is what we're going to get". Quite correctly neither the club nor the player accepted that as some kind of fait accompli and the rest is history. Why can't Varcoe improve further? I think his best football is ahead of him, like Hawkins we're only just starting to see what he's capable of.

If he can suddenly bump up his average output over his last 3 full years by 25%, well and good.
Every player should be working to improve.
I don't think it will happen, but if it does he'll be much more dependable, and a far more valuable asset to the team.

 

[Senatorguesty]

If he can suddenly bump up his average output over his last 3 full years by 25%, well and good.
Every player should be working to improve.
I don't think it will happen, but if it does he'll be much more dependable, and a far more valuable asset to the team.

You know me Fred, you know I value your opinion but I reckon come the end of this year you will be wrong.
I have a strong feeling that by the end of the year Varcoe will well and truly cement himself in out top half a dozen or so players and really be a huge weapon for us.

 

[FredLeDeux]

You know me Fred, you know I value your opinion but I reckon come the end of this year you will be wrong.
I have a strong feeling that by the end of the year Varcoe will well and truly cement himself in out top half a dozen or so players and really be a huge weapon for us.

I won't mind being wrong if he cements his place at that level by becoming a better and more consistent player!

 

[meto]

I won't mind being wrong if he cements his place at that level by becoming a better and more consistent player!

Neither will I, but you're not going to win praise and approval with your general 13 possession game, and I'm not trying to be harsh it's a fact those numbers under normal circumstances won't cut it!

He has to find the footy at least 15-20 times a game considering he's playing across the fat part of the ground and in the least congested areas.
He carn't be considered top dozen let alone 6 unless his numbers start to improve.
Look at the likes of Taylor Hunt.....22 possessions now that's a good days work!

 

[FredLeDeux]

You know me Fred, you know I value your opinion but I reckon come the end of this year you will be wrong.
I have a strong feeling that by the end of the year Varcoe will well and truly cement himself in out top half a dozen or so players and really be a huge weapon for us.

Neither will I, but you're not going to win praise and approval with your general 13 possession game, and I'm not trying to be harsh it's a fact those numbers under normal circumstances won't cut it!

He has to find the footy at least 15-20 times a game considering he's playing across the fat part of the ground and in the least congested areas.
He carn't be considered top dozen let alone 6 unless his numbers start to improve.
Look at the likes of Taylor Hunt.....22 possessions now that's a good days work!

Why do I think that if I act as a bridge between these 2 viewpoints, all I'm gonna end up with is a broken back?

 

[Senatorguesty]

Meto, influence > numbers.

 

[meto]

Meto, influence > numbers.

As if they don't matter?...........you can't be serious!

 

[AM]

You know me Fred, you know I value your opinion but I reckon come the end of this year you will be wrong.
I have a strong feeling that by the end of the year Varcoe will well and truly cement himself in out top half a dozen or so players and really be a huge weapon for us.

He showed in the 2011 GF he can be way more than just a flash in the pan outside player. He needs to display that sort of fierceness and willingness to get in-and-under when called upon. And to concentrate for every second. There’s no question about his talent.

 

[you pick one]

I'm here to say Travs 13 had more influence on the game than T.Hunts 22.

 

[AM]

I'm here to say Travs 13 had more influence on the game than T.Hunts 22.

For his first test under real pressure for a long time Trav’s effort was very good. But I’ll take Taylor’s desperation, gut running, in-and-under work over Trav. Not to mention his 91% efficiency rate.

 

[Senatorguesty]

As if they don't matter?...........you can't be serious!

What I'm saying is Varcoe had enormous influence on the result of the game, more than probably 15 other Geelong players yet his stats, from those who only use numbers to guage "quality" of a game, would say he was quiet.
Influence > Numbers.

 

[you pick one]

For his first test under real pressure for a long time Trav’s effort was very good. But I’ll take Taylor’s desperation, gut running, in-and-under work over Trav. Not to mention his 91% efficiency rate.

Not in that game,off the pack sea gulling all day.I spent 2 hours specifically watching him through the week.It's up on the AFL web site don't take my word for it.

 

[AM]

It's footy terminology picky.

 

[meto]

What I'm saying is Varcoe had enormous influence on the result of the game, more than probably 15 other Geelong players yet his stats, from those who only use numbers to guage "quality" of a game, would say he was quiet.
Influence > Numbers.

And what did I originally say!!!!!!.........this time his 13 looked good...didn't I....but!! in most cases 13 possessions is going to make you look like a passenger.

I said, he'll needed to lift it a bit in the future.....anything wrong with that?

THunt was a greater contributor than Varcoe that's for sure, but at the time of his major imput he stole the limelight and good on him, but 13 is not the equal of 22.

 

[catswhiskers]

Varcoe to me seems to be quite a different player this time around. Showed it in the NAB cup and carried it on in game 1.

1. Much bigger body now. Speaks volumes for his work off the park last year, and hence his commitment to this team.

2. A tolerance / liking? for the physical side. Contested ball is now available whereas from 2007-2011 he was purely a receiver / loose ball gatherer.

3. Has at last recognised his own ability. That 2011 GF has been in his head for 12 months for all the right reasons.

The same skill set, but more likely to win contested ball and to demand ball. This should allow him to naturally increase his possession tallies. If he does, watch out, there are few better finishers in the game.

 

[meto]

Varcoe to me seems to be quite a different player this time around. Showed it in the NAB cup and carried it on in game 1.

1. Much bigger body now. Speaks volumes for his work off the park last year, and hence his commitment to this team.

2. A tolerance / liking? for the physical side. Contested ball is now available whereas from 2007-2011 he was purely a receiver / loose ball gatherer.

3. Has at last recognised his own ability. That 2011 GF has been in his head for 12 months for all the right reasons.

The same skill set, but more likely to win contested ball and to demand ball. This should allow him to naturally increase his possession tallies. If he does, watch out, there are few better finishers in the game.

No1 is what it's all about with Trav and I believe he's starting to have confidence in his physicality, we might well see a different player this time around, very true, and I'm hoping.
Trav and Steve Motlop could be a deadly duo for us this year, the signs are there.

 

[CatMan28]

I've always loved Varcoe's defensive pressure, his intensity without the ball, hard tackling and ability to make opp. players dispose under pressure.

 

[meto]

I've always loved Varcoe's defensive pressure, his intensity without the ball, hard tackling and ability to make opp. players dispose under pressure.

Ummm........."OK THEN"!

 

[Footy Smarts]

Are people really still on the anti-Varcoe bandwagon? He butchered it at times in the first half but from a minute to go in the second quarter he was simply immense.

He was one of 3 players who really sparked our turn around along with Chapman and obviously Selwood. Varcoe produced probably 4 of the 10 most defining moments of a game. 3 times he was the main man in turning 50-50 balls in to scoring opportunities and once he stopped the Hawks in full flow to produce a throw in.

They were:

1 - Goal late in the 2nd quarter after gut running along the boundary and being involved in the play multiple times. So important and gave us a huge lift going in to the break.
2 - In the 3rd quarter Franklin got the ball on half back and looked to be on his way. He was going to take on Varcoe initially but Varcoe stood off him. Then when Franklin hesitated Varcoe charged him and forced a throw in. No stats there but we went from being seriously on the back foot to having a 50-50 situation.
3 - The piece of play to set up Chapman's shot at goal in the last. 50-50 ball against one hawk with a second coming in to help. Kept his feet, used his pace to take the ball and beat both opponents. Then he delayed the handball to get Chapman away despite Mitchell lining him up. Skill and class followed by courage to take the hit to the advantage of the team.
4 - On the wing when the ball looked to be going out for all money. He kept it in, by paddling it along. Was involved in the play again afterwards which led to a goal to Pods to basically seal the game.

These were 4 massive moments that changed the game. All of them also gave us a huge lift in confidence. In particular the defensive one against Franklin was a huge moment for me because you could see the lift it gave us and the Hawks players dropped their heads. Moments like these are much more important than your average disposal.

For what it's worth I think we had 2 of the better 13 possession games you'll see in Smedts and Varcoe. Both were comfortably inside our top 10 and you could argue for them being in our best 5 (probably more Varcoe than Smedts).

T Hunt played a completely different style of game since he's a different style of player. He's more inside and plays defensively on dangerous players which means he's near the ball constantly. He should rack up more possessions but they're less likely to be as damaging since they're at times in close under pressure, whereas both Smedts and Varcoe are looking at breaking away when they win the ball. For what it's worth I think T Hunt was also very, very good and was also a top 10 and arguably top 5 player for us on the day. It's an example where he had similar impact to Varcoe but in a completely different role that the stats don't let you see. Also his run down of Smith was brilliant.

As for Christensen he just produced a really solid, gutsy display. Probably didn't have quite the impact of Varcoe or Hunt but showed some of the doubters that he's easily top 22. He must've smashed a mirror some time recently though to get kicked in the head in basically his first contest of the year. Huge effort to come back after that.

 

[David the Cat]

Yea...but he only got 13 touches.