- Jun 23, 2004
- 13,506
- 38
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
If you guys would be able to (if you get around to it) check out this site, and the one listed below...it'd be appreciated.
http://www.freewebs.com/cwood08/
Eleven players (or thereabouts) will be looked at each week.
Leon Davis: Davis enjoyed probably what was his best season todate in ’07, and in all honesty, unless he kicks up his fitness a cog or two, which is possible, but we’ve said that for a while, has probably reached his very best, in terms of what we can in terms of consistency and output. Not trying to knock Davis here, as his efforts last year (I can finally say that!) were outstanding, extremely underrated. He now ticks all the boxes required for his position as a forward pocket who plays stints onball. He has added muscle to his frame without robbing himself of pace, and will never lose the instincts around goal which are his trademark.
Fortunately, we have seen a tougher, more physical Davis in recent times, one who is now a real leader for his team. Leading the club in tackles in a year in which we played 25 games is nothing short of sensational. Add to this his ability to buy us a quick goal or three courtesy of a five minute burst in the middle, where his pace and sure ball handling is vital, and we have a player we can bank on.
I’m expecting no less from Davis in 2008. Despite his broken jaw, suffered outside a hotel during December, was a blow, it came at the right end of the pre-season, in that it has allowed him plenty of time to recover.
Sean Rusling: Speaking with another Magpie fan today, we both came to the consensus. The time has come for Rusling to make his mark on the AFL scene. On face value, he will. 16 matches over three injury interrupted seasons, four finals, a body perfect for league football with pace to match.
Injury aside, we should prepare ourselves for something special from Rusling in ’08. But in the three short years of Rusling’s tenure at the club, injury has never been far away. Three shoulder/collarbone operations aren’t promising, and neither this morning was his jarred knee, thanks to a Tarkyn Lockyer tackle. Fortunately, it appears as if he’ll be ok.
The main thing Rusling needs to improve his season is his work below his knees, for in the past, when the ball’s hit the deck, he’s appeared all at sea. When his confidence is up, he doesn’t grass many, but when he’s enduring an off night, he’s simply taking another defender. Should he rectify this (which he showed in spades in his late season flurry), then I’d suggest playing him on the wing. Now I never saw Darren Millane play live, but having watched videos, and listened to those who were privileged, I feel I can make a comparison in body shapes and abilities between the two. Speed and size are two vital ingredients in football. Most players are lucky to be blessed with just one. Rusling has two. With competition hot for a key forward position (Anthony Rocca, Travis Cloke, Ben Reid, Chris Dawes, Josh Fraser), Rusling’s best bet to shake himself free from the pack might well be to take a stint on the wing.
Ryan Lonie: It’s been said for a while about Lonie, but 2008 truly is crunch time for the elegant left footer. At his best, we know exactly what he offers: he breaks the lines, kicks over floods, and can unnerve key defenders while comforting his forwards in the process with his deep, penetrating left boot.
Sadly, Lonie hasn’t offered us this on a consistent basis since 2002, perhaps the early stages of 2003, at a pinch. Since 2003, he has slowly morphed into a player who wins plenty of the football, but does not run it as he once kid, and often opts to take the shorter option by foot. He is always, in this role, good for 20-25 possessions a week, but to be truthful, you do tend to wonder whether they are truly helping the cause? Its Shane Woewodin-it is, and Brodie Holland is beginning to take a trip down that path.
Take the match against Brisbane. Lonie was listed by the national newspapers as one of our better players. And on statistics alone, he was. And while you might argue that the way we played (flat is one way to describe it, meek is another) wouldn’t have contributed to our hesitant ball movement, the majority of Lonie’s disposals were the 20-metre chip types which give the side no life.
I’ll acknowledge that his 2006 was solid, if not spectacular, and injury (Osteitis Pubis, I’m guessing) curtailed any possibility of an impact on’07, but Lonie does need to put the foot down this year and make every post a winner.
No team in the competition will turn back a more lethal version of Lindsay Gilbee. And that is exactly what Lonie can be when in full flight. He’s not a naturally ‘hard’ footballer, found at the base of the packs. But he does lay the tackles, and, as of this time last year, had rounded out his game nicely.
But it’s time for Lonie to return to that form, take opposition players on, and look for the longer option as he once did. As a wingman-cum-defender, as he was in the 2002 finals series, he was invaluable. A true paradox, is Lones, and I still hold hopes for a return to his best this year.
It won’t be easy, with Ben Johnson, Heath Shaw, Rhyce Shaw, Shannon Cox and Martin Clarke all occupying similar roles. However, the challenge of turning around one’s career cannot be dismissed. Lonie at his best remains a huge injection of class and unpredictability.
Alan Didak: I think we all know what to hope for, and expect from Didak in 2008. Knee injury and off field woes behind him, not to mention a sterling finals performance, in particular his key role in the Extra Time victory over West Coast, Didak is set to explode. He’s been built up slowly on the track, and will no doubt time his run. A player of his quality is a luxury up forward, but absolute dynamite in the midfield, as was shown against the Eagles. Pound for pound, Didak’s the best we have. They say he’s the sort who needs only five touches a week to hurt you. Why not quintuple that with a role onball?
Either way, I won’t object if he remains as a ‘high half forward flanker’, though if better is possible…
Nick Maxwell: (As an aside, by nature I typed the ‘N’ in anticipation of writing ‘Nathan Buckley’. It’ll take some time to acclimatise). Maxwell’s been honoured, rightfully, as the man to take the famous number five into the next era. No one can question his absolute commitment or love for the club, and the way he has progressed from rank-and-file rookie to team leader is inspiring.
So much so that the Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson labeled him the eighth best product of all three 2002 Drafts (National, Pre-Season and Rookie).
For all his grit and determination, Maxwell is not the most glamorous of footballers, and will always be under pressure from those who are more naturally gifted. I’m not knocking Maxwell, for he knows his limitations, and rarely fails to produce when his number’s up. Think of his goal opposed to Brad Ottens against Geelong in round 15 – he knew it was time to do his job, and he did it, winning the ball, arching his back before snapping truly. He plays the percentages, and is to be applauded for his hardened style of play.
2008 won’t be easy for Maxwell with the pressure of the number five set to be a focus early on, whilst with the side progressing and revolving, players such as Cox, John Anthony and Nathan Brown will press their claims for his role as the third or fourth tall defender.
What Maxwell has going for him is his ability to act as the swingman, thrown from one end of the ground to the other as match ups dictate, in much the same fashion as Eagle Adam Hunter. He’s mighty effective; too, his career-high four goals against Brisbane in round 17 testimony to not only that, but also his ability to play at a consistent level each and every week. While others wilted after a long season and in the face of our biggest bully, Maxwell held his form and never relaxed – and it showed. He stood out from the crowd with four majors whilst doing what he’d been doing all year.
In ’08, I feel Maxwell will need to continue to play in that role of the swingman, and even taking spells in the ruck, as he did midway through 2007. Yet the beauty of Maxwell is that, despite his slender frame, he is an enforcer in his own right, and protects his teammates, and what’s more, rarely loses his position (though he is prone to the odd match up defeat, for example, Mitchell Clark’s five goals in round nine, though in fairness, Simon Prestigiacomo was also trialed and was unable to do much in the way of stopping the Lions youngster).
Brodie Holland: Testing times for Holland up ahead, a one-year fixed contract an indication that the club knows that another year of achilles tendon problems will not suffice.
I lost a lot of faith in Brodie after his ugly run in with Bulldog Brett Montgomery in the 2006 Elimination Final. In a sense, he’d been building up to it with some heavy hits along the previous season’s journeys. It was obviously a spur of the moment thing, betraying the team’s flimsy (as it proved) mindset on the day.
A blessing of his six week suspension to start the year was the fact that it gave him an opportunity to mend his troublesome heel. It seemed he was over the worst of it when he returned, cold, as it turned out, against Carlton in round seven. Yet that was a foolish decision in hindsight, to rush him back as quickly as he was. It was a mark of respect for what Holland had achieved over the past four years, however not even Nathan Buckley can return from such a lay off and expect to dominate at senior level.
In my round seven AFL Record, the centre page has scrawled in angry writing (we were getting flogged at half time) ‘Back to Williamstown, Brodie’.
To his credit, he performed credibly against Melbourne a few weeks later, though aside from that outing was rarely at his best, and was certainly more than a fraction slower than usual. As it turned out, his achilles was still yet to recover, and he spent the rest of the season hopscotching between Williamstown and the medical room, unsure whether or not to play through the pain in hope of a finals berth, or to shut up shop for the season.
It has paved the way for a delayed start to the pre-season, one which shapes as crucial to his career.
Some wanted Holland traded last October. I had a foot in both camps. On the upside, we’d be losing a player who had given us great service, in particular since 2003, and one which provides bite and grit around the packs. On his day, he can be the most damaging midfielder on the ground, and when attacking resembles Eagle Daniel Kerr. Not only that, but to lose three of the club’s four most marketable players since 2000 (Chris Tarrant, Nathan Buckley and Dale Thomas being the other three – not forgetting the valiant efforts of Strauchnie) in two years would not have been right.
On the downside, Holland had shown signs since late ’06 that his best might be behind him, while undisciplined free kicks conceded, the 50-metre penalty awarded against him when he was ON THE BENCH in round 12 against the Swans for time wasting a prime example, were becoming more regular.
But track record, loyalty and depth are three elements which are surely still important in today’s football, and combined mean that Holland can still be a very important player in our 2008 assault, his best another huge boost to a team which can still eke more out of Holland, Ben Johnson, Ryan Lonie and Josh Fraser than it did in 2007.
It won’t be an easy task for Holland, for the game is getting quicker by the week, and his foot issues won’t do him any favours, and while I don’t believe that he is in our starting 22 for the 2008 season, his ability and record mean that he cannot be discounted. Perhaps a reincarnation as a crumbing forward pocket (his eight goals against West Coast in round 2, 2002 is still the greatest haul by a Magpie this Millennium) might be the way to go?
Paul Medhurst: Medhurst surprised me in 2007, displaying grit and steel I didn’t believe he possessed. It’s that Fremantle history. For every gritty, tough (not ‘I’ll-bump-someone-tough’) footballer the Dockers have had, there are 100 who are the anti-tough. At Collingwood, it took Mick Malthouse only 19 weeks to tap into Medhurst’s resources.
Watching the Road to Victory lately, Medhurst reminds me of Doug Barwick, good for a goal or three, and the sort of player who can easily be disregarded as inconsistent yet will never be out of an opposition coach’s mind for long. He’s well built, too, quite stocky in the mould of Barwick, and wears a number similar to the 1990 flag hero (ok, 17 is removed a fair way from 7, but you get the drift).
There was talk 12 months ago of Medhurst becoming a part-time midfielder. I disagree. He now knows his role, that of a high half forward, and is very good at locking the ball inside attacking fifty. What’s more, that pinpoint right boot cannot be dismissed. A reasonable aim for Medhurst is to boot two goals per week (if not three, and there’ll be the odd day out or two), which, if he holds his line, will buy him 44 goals for the season (discounting the 3-4 finals we hope to play).
Harry O'Brien: (I’ve done it again, was about to begin typing ‘James Clement’ before I thought better of it). Clement’s shoes will be difficult to fill, but Harry O'Brien is more than up to the task. With each year at the Lexus Centre, O’Brien has made steady improvement, to the point where last year he was not dropped once, and missed only two matches due to a shoulder injury.
He still has the odd kink in his amour, and can frighten his supporters with his daring dashes through defensive mazes. But it works, and rarely backfires. As he grows in experience (all going well he’ll hit the 50-game barrier in round 14 this season), he will iron out what needs to be flattened, yet I’m sure retain the idiosyncrasies which have served him (and us) so well todate.
His performance against Paul Chapman in the Preliminary Final was sensational. When the side was on the brink in the second and fourth quarters, it was O’Brien who was firm of nerve in defense, and continually weaved his way out of heavy fire and found safety further afield.
That evening might prove a coming of age for O’Brien, who is beginning to emerge as a real team leader. Having inherited Clement’s number eight, O’Brien has the chance to grow into his role as the general of the backline, as well as replacing Clement’s ability to compete against players of all shapes and sizes.
John Anthony: It’s a big year for Anthony, though arguably in many respects it will be only his second, for he lost a year’s worth of onfield development due to his neck injury a year ago. But, outwardly, he doesn’t appear the sort to be tied down mentally by his injury, possessing a fierce determination to succeed. And I have no doubt he will, for what stood out from what (limited) I saw of him with Williamstown in 2006 was a Burns-like attack on the Sherrin and the ball carrier, and a Kelly-like way of ensuring that each contest was a challenge for his opponent.
I’m expecting him to get a run early this year, in particular during the NAB Cup, for the club will be eager to see how he handles the AFL forward lines. He is a sure bet, or so you gather, the club having talked him up ever since his VFL debut.
Scott Pendlebury: Just how far can this guy go? It’s a question which taunts the footballing tastebuds after Pendlebury whet our appetites with a slashing second year of football. When drafted, he was likened to St Kilda’s Nick Dal Santo, but last year surpassed him in terms of output. His is slick, classy, can win the ball in tight and can warp a game into slow-motion while he has the leather in his hands. Again, I loved the way he stuck up for his teammates when they wore some heavy hits, as well as dishing them out himself (have a look at his fine hip-and-shoulder on Carlton’s Brad Fisher in round seven, clean as a whistle, as Bill Lawry might say).
They talk him up as a leadership prospect, and there’s nothing wrong with those assertions, for to blood him into the leadership group (as was stated by Maxwell in the Herald Sun) is a move which will bare fruit over the course of the next decade.
Derek Hine spoke of his enormous upside when drafted, and we have only yet been shown glimpses of it, and yet he already has claimed second in a Copeland Trophy. I suppose in time we will see consistency arrive at the forefront as his body matures, yet after only 32 matches, we can only dream of what is to come.
Just quickly, did we manage to trump Carlton in 2005 or what! They won a wooden spoon, we avoided it. They nabbed Marc Murphy (who will be a star, no questions asked) and Josh Kennedy, who is now an Eagle. Instead, we got Dale Thomas and Scott Pendlebury, although the latter was thought to be underrated by all bar West Coast.
Shane O’Bree: After a splendid 2000-2001, O’Bree’s form, initially due to hamstring troubles, took a dive in 2002, and was never able to consistently touch the heights of his early years at the club, before midway through 2005 he seemingly bounced, his form-line taking a sharp ascent upwards, culminating in a sensational 2007.
Unfortunately, O’Bree rarely receives the acclaim he deserves. While supporters and the media focus on the wizardry of messers Thomas, Pendlebury, Swan and co, O’Bree continually escapes the eye, though those in the know understand his true value to the side.
Be it his regular 20 or more disposals a week, a goal-saving tackle here or a canny deflection by hand there, O’Bree does not have quiet matches. At the age of 28, O’Bree still has much to offer the club onfield, named in the best for all three finals. He is forever a consistent contributor, and never lets the side down. Now, with the leadership void of Buckley, Clement and Licuria, it wouldn’t surprise to see O’Bree enter the leadership group, for in the April edition of In Black and White, Mick Malthouse named O’Bree as the player his teammates learnt most from in 2006. While not one with a huge media profile, O’Bree, with his wealth of experience and sharp football brain, has plenty to offer in the leadership stakes, and another season of high-quality football should again be on the agenda.
http://www.freewebs.com/collingwood08/index.htm
http://www.freewebs.com/cwood08/
Eleven players (or thereabouts) will be looked at each week.
Leon Davis: Davis enjoyed probably what was his best season todate in ’07, and in all honesty, unless he kicks up his fitness a cog or two, which is possible, but we’ve said that for a while, has probably reached his very best, in terms of what we can in terms of consistency and output. Not trying to knock Davis here, as his efforts last year (I can finally say that!) were outstanding, extremely underrated. He now ticks all the boxes required for his position as a forward pocket who plays stints onball. He has added muscle to his frame without robbing himself of pace, and will never lose the instincts around goal which are his trademark.
Fortunately, we have seen a tougher, more physical Davis in recent times, one who is now a real leader for his team. Leading the club in tackles in a year in which we played 25 games is nothing short of sensational. Add to this his ability to buy us a quick goal or three courtesy of a five minute burst in the middle, where his pace and sure ball handling is vital, and we have a player we can bank on.
I’m expecting no less from Davis in 2008. Despite his broken jaw, suffered outside a hotel during December, was a blow, it came at the right end of the pre-season, in that it has allowed him plenty of time to recover.
Sean Rusling: Speaking with another Magpie fan today, we both came to the consensus. The time has come for Rusling to make his mark on the AFL scene. On face value, he will. 16 matches over three injury interrupted seasons, four finals, a body perfect for league football with pace to match.
Injury aside, we should prepare ourselves for something special from Rusling in ’08. But in the three short years of Rusling’s tenure at the club, injury has never been far away. Three shoulder/collarbone operations aren’t promising, and neither this morning was his jarred knee, thanks to a Tarkyn Lockyer tackle. Fortunately, it appears as if he’ll be ok.
The main thing Rusling needs to improve his season is his work below his knees, for in the past, when the ball’s hit the deck, he’s appeared all at sea. When his confidence is up, he doesn’t grass many, but when he’s enduring an off night, he’s simply taking another defender. Should he rectify this (which he showed in spades in his late season flurry), then I’d suggest playing him on the wing. Now I never saw Darren Millane play live, but having watched videos, and listened to those who were privileged, I feel I can make a comparison in body shapes and abilities between the two. Speed and size are two vital ingredients in football. Most players are lucky to be blessed with just one. Rusling has two. With competition hot for a key forward position (Anthony Rocca, Travis Cloke, Ben Reid, Chris Dawes, Josh Fraser), Rusling’s best bet to shake himself free from the pack might well be to take a stint on the wing.
Ryan Lonie: It’s been said for a while about Lonie, but 2008 truly is crunch time for the elegant left footer. At his best, we know exactly what he offers: he breaks the lines, kicks over floods, and can unnerve key defenders while comforting his forwards in the process with his deep, penetrating left boot.
Sadly, Lonie hasn’t offered us this on a consistent basis since 2002, perhaps the early stages of 2003, at a pinch. Since 2003, he has slowly morphed into a player who wins plenty of the football, but does not run it as he once kid, and often opts to take the shorter option by foot. He is always, in this role, good for 20-25 possessions a week, but to be truthful, you do tend to wonder whether they are truly helping the cause? Its Shane Woewodin-it is, and Brodie Holland is beginning to take a trip down that path.
Take the match against Brisbane. Lonie was listed by the national newspapers as one of our better players. And on statistics alone, he was. And while you might argue that the way we played (flat is one way to describe it, meek is another) wouldn’t have contributed to our hesitant ball movement, the majority of Lonie’s disposals were the 20-metre chip types which give the side no life.
I’ll acknowledge that his 2006 was solid, if not spectacular, and injury (Osteitis Pubis, I’m guessing) curtailed any possibility of an impact on’07, but Lonie does need to put the foot down this year and make every post a winner.
No team in the competition will turn back a more lethal version of Lindsay Gilbee. And that is exactly what Lonie can be when in full flight. He’s not a naturally ‘hard’ footballer, found at the base of the packs. But he does lay the tackles, and, as of this time last year, had rounded out his game nicely.
But it’s time for Lonie to return to that form, take opposition players on, and look for the longer option as he once did. As a wingman-cum-defender, as he was in the 2002 finals series, he was invaluable. A true paradox, is Lones, and I still hold hopes for a return to his best this year.
It won’t be easy, with Ben Johnson, Heath Shaw, Rhyce Shaw, Shannon Cox and Martin Clarke all occupying similar roles. However, the challenge of turning around one’s career cannot be dismissed. Lonie at his best remains a huge injection of class and unpredictability.
Alan Didak: I think we all know what to hope for, and expect from Didak in 2008. Knee injury and off field woes behind him, not to mention a sterling finals performance, in particular his key role in the Extra Time victory over West Coast, Didak is set to explode. He’s been built up slowly on the track, and will no doubt time his run. A player of his quality is a luxury up forward, but absolute dynamite in the midfield, as was shown against the Eagles. Pound for pound, Didak’s the best we have. They say he’s the sort who needs only five touches a week to hurt you. Why not quintuple that with a role onball?
Either way, I won’t object if he remains as a ‘high half forward flanker’, though if better is possible…
Nick Maxwell: (As an aside, by nature I typed the ‘N’ in anticipation of writing ‘Nathan Buckley’. It’ll take some time to acclimatise). Maxwell’s been honoured, rightfully, as the man to take the famous number five into the next era. No one can question his absolute commitment or love for the club, and the way he has progressed from rank-and-file rookie to team leader is inspiring.
So much so that the Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson labeled him the eighth best product of all three 2002 Drafts (National, Pre-Season and Rookie).
For all his grit and determination, Maxwell is not the most glamorous of footballers, and will always be under pressure from those who are more naturally gifted. I’m not knocking Maxwell, for he knows his limitations, and rarely fails to produce when his number’s up. Think of his goal opposed to Brad Ottens against Geelong in round 15 – he knew it was time to do his job, and he did it, winning the ball, arching his back before snapping truly. He plays the percentages, and is to be applauded for his hardened style of play.
2008 won’t be easy for Maxwell with the pressure of the number five set to be a focus early on, whilst with the side progressing and revolving, players such as Cox, John Anthony and Nathan Brown will press their claims for his role as the third or fourth tall defender.
What Maxwell has going for him is his ability to act as the swingman, thrown from one end of the ground to the other as match ups dictate, in much the same fashion as Eagle Adam Hunter. He’s mighty effective; too, his career-high four goals against Brisbane in round 17 testimony to not only that, but also his ability to play at a consistent level each and every week. While others wilted after a long season and in the face of our biggest bully, Maxwell held his form and never relaxed – and it showed. He stood out from the crowd with four majors whilst doing what he’d been doing all year.
In ’08, I feel Maxwell will need to continue to play in that role of the swingman, and even taking spells in the ruck, as he did midway through 2007. Yet the beauty of Maxwell is that, despite his slender frame, he is an enforcer in his own right, and protects his teammates, and what’s more, rarely loses his position (though he is prone to the odd match up defeat, for example, Mitchell Clark’s five goals in round nine, though in fairness, Simon Prestigiacomo was also trialed and was unable to do much in the way of stopping the Lions youngster).
Brodie Holland: Testing times for Holland up ahead, a one-year fixed contract an indication that the club knows that another year of achilles tendon problems will not suffice.
I lost a lot of faith in Brodie after his ugly run in with Bulldog Brett Montgomery in the 2006 Elimination Final. In a sense, he’d been building up to it with some heavy hits along the previous season’s journeys. It was obviously a spur of the moment thing, betraying the team’s flimsy (as it proved) mindset on the day.
A blessing of his six week suspension to start the year was the fact that it gave him an opportunity to mend his troublesome heel. It seemed he was over the worst of it when he returned, cold, as it turned out, against Carlton in round seven. Yet that was a foolish decision in hindsight, to rush him back as quickly as he was. It was a mark of respect for what Holland had achieved over the past four years, however not even Nathan Buckley can return from such a lay off and expect to dominate at senior level.
In my round seven AFL Record, the centre page has scrawled in angry writing (we were getting flogged at half time) ‘Back to Williamstown, Brodie’.
To his credit, he performed credibly against Melbourne a few weeks later, though aside from that outing was rarely at his best, and was certainly more than a fraction slower than usual. As it turned out, his achilles was still yet to recover, and he spent the rest of the season hopscotching between Williamstown and the medical room, unsure whether or not to play through the pain in hope of a finals berth, or to shut up shop for the season.
It has paved the way for a delayed start to the pre-season, one which shapes as crucial to his career.
Some wanted Holland traded last October. I had a foot in both camps. On the upside, we’d be losing a player who had given us great service, in particular since 2003, and one which provides bite and grit around the packs. On his day, he can be the most damaging midfielder on the ground, and when attacking resembles Eagle Daniel Kerr. Not only that, but to lose three of the club’s four most marketable players since 2000 (Chris Tarrant, Nathan Buckley and Dale Thomas being the other three – not forgetting the valiant efforts of Strauchnie) in two years would not have been right.
On the downside, Holland had shown signs since late ’06 that his best might be behind him, while undisciplined free kicks conceded, the 50-metre penalty awarded against him when he was ON THE BENCH in round 12 against the Swans for time wasting a prime example, were becoming more regular.
But track record, loyalty and depth are three elements which are surely still important in today’s football, and combined mean that Holland can still be a very important player in our 2008 assault, his best another huge boost to a team which can still eke more out of Holland, Ben Johnson, Ryan Lonie and Josh Fraser than it did in 2007.
It won’t be an easy task for Holland, for the game is getting quicker by the week, and his foot issues won’t do him any favours, and while I don’t believe that he is in our starting 22 for the 2008 season, his ability and record mean that he cannot be discounted. Perhaps a reincarnation as a crumbing forward pocket (his eight goals against West Coast in round 2, 2002 is still the greatest haul by a Magpie this Millennium) might be the way to go?
Paul Medhurst: Medhurst surprised me in 2007, displaying grit and steel I didn’t believe he possessed. It’s that Fremantle history. For every gritty, tough (not ‘I’ll-bump-someone-tough’) footballer the Dockers have had, there are 100 who are the anti-tough. At Collingwood, it took Mick Malthouse only 19 weeks to tap into Medhurst’s resources.
Watching the Road to Victory lately, Medhurst reminds me of Doug Barwick, good for a goal or three, and the sort of player who can easily be disregarded as inconsistent yet will never be out of an opposition coach’s mind for long. He’s well built, too, quite stocky in the mould of Barwick, and wears a number similar to the 1990 flag hero (ok, 17 is removed a fair way from 7, but you get the drift).
There was talk 12 months ago of Medhurst becoming a part-time midfielder. I disagree. He now knows his role, that of a high half forward, and is very good at locking the ball inside attacking fifty. What’s more, that pinpoint right boot cannot be dismissed. A reasonable aim for Medhurst is to boot two goals per week (if not three, and there’ll be the odd day out or two), which, if he holds his line, will buy him 44 goals for the season (discounting the 3-4 finals we hope to play).
Harry O'Brien: (I’ve done it again, was about to begin typing ‘James Clement’ before I thought better of it). Clement’s shoes will be difficult to fill, but Harry O'Brien is more than up to the task. With each year at the Lexus Centre, O’Brien has made steady improvement, to the point where last year he was not dropped once, and missed only two matches due to a shoulder injury.
He still has the odd kink in his amour, and can frighten his supporters with his daring dashes through defensive mazes. But it works, and rarely backfires. As he grows in experience (all going well he’ll hit the 50-game barrier in round 14 this season), he will iron out what needs to be flattened, yet I’m sure retain the idiosyncrasies which have served him (and us) so well todate.
His performance against Paul Chapman in the Preliminary Final was sensational. When the side was on the brink in the second and fourth quarters, it was O’Brien who was firm of nerve in defense, and continually weaved his way out of heavy fire and found safety further afield.
That evening might prove a coming of age for O’Brien, who is beginning to emerge as a real team leader. Having inherited Clement’s number eight, O’Brien has the chance to grow into his role as the general of the backline, as well as replacing Clement’s ability to compete against players of all shapes and sizes.
John Anthony: It’s a big year for Anthony, though arguably in many respects it will be only his second, for he lost a year’s worth of onfield development due to his neck injury a year ago. But, outwardly, he doesn’t appear the sort to be tied down mentally by his injury, possessing a fierce determination to succeed. And I have no doubt he will, for what stood out from what (limited) I saw of him with Williamstown in 2006 was a Burns-like attack on the Sherrin and the ball carrier, and a Kelly-like way of ensuring that each contest was a challenge for his opponent.
I’m expecting him to get a run early this year, in particular during the NAB Cup, for the club will be eager to see how he handles the AFL forward lines. He is a sure bet, or so you gather, the club having talked him up ever since his VFL debut.
Scott Pendlebury: Just how far can this guy go? It’s a question which taunts the footballing tastebuds after Pendlebury whet our appetites with a slashing second year of football. When drafted, he was likened to St Kilda’s Nick Dal Santo, but last year surpassed him in terms of output. His is slick, classy, can win the ball in tight and can warp a game into slow-motion while he has the leather in his hands. Again, I loved the way he stuck up for his teammates when they wore some heavy hits, as well as dishing them out himself (have a look at his fine hip-and-shoulder on Carlton’s Brad Fisher in round seven, clean as a whistle, as Bill Lawry might say).
They talk him up as a leadership prospect, and there’s nothing wrong with those assertions, for to blood him into the leadership group (as was stated by Maxwell in the Herald Sun) is a move which will bare fruit over the course of the next decade.
Derek Hine spoke of his enormous upside when drafted, and we have only yet been shown glimpses of it, and yet he already has claimed second in a Copeland Trophy. I suppose in time we will see consistency arrive at the forefront as his body matures, yet after only 32 matches, we can only dream of what is to come.
Just quickly, did we manage to trump Carlton in 2005 or what! They won a wooden spoon, we avoided it. They nabbed Marc Murphy (who will be a star, no questions asked) and Josh Kennedy, who is now an Eagle. Instead, we got Dale Thomas and Scott Pendlebury, although the latter was thought to be underrated by all bar West Coast.
Shane O’Bree: After a splendid 2000-2001, O’Bree’s form, initially due to hamstring troubles, took a dive in 2002, and was never able to consistently touch the heights of his early years at the club, before midway through 2005 he seemingly bounced, his form-line taking a sharp ascent upwards, culminating in a sensational 2007.
Unfortunately, O’Bree rarely receives the acclaim he deserves. While supporters and the media focus on the wizardry of messers Thomas, Pendlebury, Swan and co, O’Bree continually escapes the eye, though those in the know understand his true value to the side.
Be it his regular 20 or more disposals a week, a goal-saving tackle here or a canny deflection by hand there, O’Bree does not have quiet matches. At the age of 28, O’Bree still has much to offer the club onfield, named in the best for all three finals. He is forever a consistent contributor, and never lets the side down. Now, with the leadership void of Buckley, Clement and Licuria, it wouldn’t surprise to see O’Bree enter the leadership group, for in the April edition of In Black and White, Mick Malthouse named O’Bree as the player his teammates learnt most from in 2006. While not one with a huge media profile, O’Bree, with his wealth of experience and sharp football brain, has plenty to offer in the leadership stakes, and another season of high-quality football should again be on the agenda.
http://www.freewebs.com/collingwood08/index.htm
I suppose you use Bf to think out loud?
