Jurrah never made it to Port Adelaide

[Phhht]

I understood your point and don't believe it to be strong enough to change my opinion of Motlop, Jurrah and the baggage associated with either. The truth of the matter is I have no interest in Liam Jurrah. If we do sign him, it's the typical I'm in over my head and need to bring in names to make it look like I know what I am doing Rohde move. There's no value in it for Port Adelaide and I'm going to feel sorry for the new coach with that inept fool continuing in his position.

The next few seasons are a grind. I'm not interested in x factor players. We already have Robbie Gray and Chad Wingard. Moving forward it's about getting 45 odd guys to know a game plan inside out playing their specific roles across the next 2-3 seasons. I'll happily wear that progress.

i'd only be getting worried about mr Rhode's process if Jurrah starts training down the parade way 1st! You know, partner in crime to phillips!

 

[Janey]

I think the risks outweigh the possible advantages with Jurrah.

By the time next season starts he will not have played for well over 12 months so we have no idea what sort of condition he is in and how well his body will stand up to playing again.

His court case will be in March, just when we need him to be completely focussed on his game. Depending on how it goes he may end up in prison or just go missing from the club, and is most unlikely to be mentally set to play. The whole case could drag on through the courts for months. I think the chances of him becoming a reliable long-term player are slim to non-existant.

The club seem to be heavily focussed on developing a good team culture at the moment and we will possibly have a new captain and a relatively young leadership group next year. I think the last thing they need is to be continually fielding questions about Jurrah and his court case or to be dealing with any issues that the whole saga may create within the playing group.

On-field, as oporto says, we need to concentrate on playing strong, contested, winning team football (not really what Jurrah is about). That is what will bring the crowds back on a regular basis, rather than coming along in the hope of seeing 3 minutes of exciting football and a good speccy from Jurrah. We have players like Wingard and Robbie Gray who are very talented, competitive footballers and are also exciting to watch.

At the moment we have a pretty tight knit group who seem set on sticking together to make the club better. I really don't want to see that compromised.

 

[Janey]

OMG! Our club has told us that first and foremost anyone who plays for the club needs to be of 'good charachter'. How can we then recruit Jurrah and continue the same line? Dont get me wrong i love the way he plays and think it would be great to get in some desperately needed talent - but not that desperate..... I think we would be asking for trouble.

Couldn't agree more. We passed on Fev and Ben Cousins and we also apparently passed on Leon Davis because the club was not convinced that he really wanted to seriously commit to playing footy again.

Possibly the main reason we have been able to keep our good young players over the last couple of seasons is because of creating a good culture within the group. The last thing we need to do now is stuff that up.

 

[Macca19]

I dont see Jurrah as a party trick show pony at all. Hes a quick lead-mark forward who has a big leap. No more, no less. Hes certainly not an eccentric, try to evade 13 tackles and kick a goal with the back of his foot whilst doing a somersault like Motlop was. Not anywhere near the same player.

IF - and it is a big if - he can prove he is committed to wanting to play at AFL level, then we'd be silly not to consider him. A 2.5 goal a game forward...we'd be silly not to talk to him.

 

[PJ Power]

So there are questions about the effect on player culture and on the calibre and type of footballer he is.

Living on the other side of the world since 2009, I have seen very few of Jurrah's games in their entirety. I had the sense that he was more than a show-pony and wasn't bad defensively, but it sounds like others see him as lazy and unreliable on-field.

Going by 2011 stats only, he kicked 5 goals once, 3 goals on 8 occasions, and 2 goals in four matches and was goalless just twice (total of 18 matches played). This was as a 22-23 yo. Importantly, he had three goal efforts in some losses, but notably could only score one goal against crack opposition like Collingwood and Geelong.

No-one would suggest he would replace Butcher or Schulz, or be the cornerstone of a tilt at finals, but if added to the list as our 44th player (last rookie) or as player 38 (PSD), he'd sure as hell be an improvement in talent alone on players 28-44 we currently have. Admittedly, unlike Westhoff or Motlop, there would be question marks over his versatility - I recall it being said that he can only play close to goal.

My pre-requisites to selecting him to play matches, if on our list, would be (other than the obvious regards criminal proceedings):
1. That he not interfere with forward structure in a detrimental way, as per Brett Ebert or Motlop.
2. That he display outstanding training ethic and character when around his teammates.
3. That he show consistency of effort on the field.
4. That he never be selected as the main kpf, unless injury crisis sees Butcher and Schulz absent - don't see how this is worse than our current plight of relying on Westhoff, Ebert or Stewart to play this role.

In addition, we would need to use any avaiable opportunity in the next three years to recruit the best possible kpf.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

A couple of things to consider

1. Would you go after another blackfella that is young has lots of upside, very skillful, an excitement machine, I loved watching him play, he has played about 40 games like Jurrah, is skinny still, but is troubled off the field and needs lot of attention from the club and has walked out of a club. I give you Nathan Krakouer. Who would want the club to go and get Krakouer if he moved back to SA to be close to his kid and said he wanted to play AFL again???

2. Lets say Jurrah avoids going to jail. He will still want to go back to his country. What happens if he has to go bak for a funeral or for some other reason which continues to eat away at him. What happens if its May or June and he decided to go back up there and he decides to accept tribal payback. Do you reckon a spearing in the thigh and having to have the spear stay in there for a couple of hours isn't going to see him on the long term injury list for the rest of the year??

 

[Schulzenfest]

Jurrah is twice the footballer that Nathan Krakouer is.

 

[YoungsterPA]

Or 3rd

We pick up Waylon Manson and we invest a lot into him, have wangas and choppy help mentor him and we have no baggage and we are treated brilliant by the media for giving the kid a go

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

How has Manson gone this year though?

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Jurrah is twice the footballer that Nathan Krakouer is.

In terms of skill and ability - no he isn't.

 

[YoungsterPA]

http://www.sportingpulse.com/nf/tea...=193751779&client=1-4100-52040-184674-5571681

 

[oporto]

I dont see Jurrah as a party trick show pony at all. Hes a quick lead-mark forward who has a big leap. No more, no less. Hes certainly not an eccentric, try to evade 13 tackles and kick a goal with the back of his foot whilst doing a somersault like Motlop was. Not anywhere near the same player.

IF - and it is a big if - he can prove he is committed to wanting to play at AFL level, then we'd be silly not to consider him. A 2.5 goal a game forward...we'd be silly not to talk to him.

You don't view him as a party trick pony but a one trick pony instead? Colour me pink if that doesn't enthuse.

 

[questionable]

A couple of things to consider

1. Would you go after another blackfella that is young has lots of upside, very skillful, an excitement machine, I loved watching him play, he has played about 40 games like Jurrah, is skinny still, but is troubled off the field and needs lot of attention from the club and has walked out of a club. I give you Nathan Krakouer. Who would want the club to go and get Krakouer if he moved back to SA to be close to his kid and said he wanted to play AFL again???

2. Lets say Jurrah avoids going to jail. He will still want to go back to his country. What happens if he has to go bak for a funeral or for some other reason which continues to eat away at him. What happens if its May or June and he decided to go back up there and he decides to accept tribal payback. Do you reckon a spearing in the thigh and having to have the spear stay in there for a couple of hours isn't going to see him on the long term injury list for the rest of the year??

1. krakouer was always a lazy footballer. he didn't have the motivation on or off the field to get the best out of himself. jurrah has the work ethic to make it as a footballer, but he has a lot of other crap going on in his life that can get in the way.

2. what if he steps on the soap in the shower, falls, and bleeds to death? what if he contracts meningitis? feel free to quote this post if it ever happens, but i don't think spearing in the thigh as tribal payback is a very likely outcome. and even if it does happen, what have we lost? a player picked up in the PSD on a minimal contract. how many games did scott harding play for us?

 

[King_Tredrea]

Think it COULD work. Definitely not dead against it.

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

Im all for using the Rookie List as an opportunity for players who have the talent or potential but are missing something.

Manson
Jurrah
An American big bodied ruckman type
A Fijian

Crazy potential, but missing something. Think we would gain something from that more so than how we currently utilize it.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

1. krakouer was always a lazy footballer. he didn't have the motivation on or off the field to get the best out of himself. jurrah has the work ethic to make it as a footballer, but he has a lot of other crap going on in his life that can get in the way.

Krakouer wasn't always a lazy footballer. Look at his first year with Port. There was nothing lazy about that. He lost his way and couldn't make a full AFL committment after his first year. It was a great disappointment but don't judge year 1 by the same standards as year 4 because that's all you remember.

Krakouer had to have a babysitter or two after his first 18 months with the club. Jurrah will have to have a few.

2. what if he steps on the soap in the shower, falls, and bleeds to death? what if he contracts meningitis? feel free to quote this post if it ever happens, but i don't think spearing in the thigh as tribal payback is a very likely outcome. and even if it does happen, what have we lost? a player picked up in the PSD on a minimal contract. how many games did scott harding play for us?

You just don't get it. Jurrah is facing two sets of convictions, whiteman's and blackfella's. He might luck out with whiteman's law and punishment but he wont with blackfella's. He will only avoid that if he never steps on his country again or does so on death's door and the community takes pity on him.

There is a shit load of PR issues around Jurrah that weren't around Harding.

 

[Chrizzt]

I dont see Jurrah as a party trick show pony at all. Hes a quick lead-mark forward who has a big leap. No more, no less. Hes certainly not an eccentric, try to evade 13 tackles and kick a goal with the back of his foot whilst doing a somersault like Motlop was. Not anywhere near the same player.

IF - and it is a big if - he can prove he is committed to wanting to play at AFL level, then we'd be silly not to consider him. A 2.5 goal a game forward...we'd be silly not to talk to him.

You could even say that we'd be ratbags not to talk to him.

 

[Power Pete]

If he's still there to be picked up after his court case, i'd do a round 3-4 draft pick.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

If he's still there to be picked up after his court case, i'd do a round 3-4 draft pick.

His 10 day court case is in March next year. It starts either on 10 or 11th.

So after that he is a free agent and you have to wait until the 2013 draft

 

[Forzaport]

Krakouer. Gave that some thought a little while ago. I'd be open to the suggestion of him returning, if he used the "former employee" door. I.e. If he came crawling back desperate to play AFL again.

 

[PJ Power]

I would think Jurrah would have Krakoeur easily covered for both talent and output, to this point of their respective careers. I can understand off-field similarities in terms of commitment to football and reliability, however.

 

[b0ydman]

I am ex military too, but Jurrah is not, he is a footballer and should be allowed to continue his trade once he has been punished. In the military you go to the galsshouse for a few weeks and come back a better soldier, its not really too much of an extra punishment.

If he is not found guilty of a crime at all then he should be completely free to do what he wants. If he is punish him and let that be the end of it.

From a purely footballing point of view, he would be an immense signing for Port, particularly as he will effectively come at no cost.

Can I ask if you believe "grunts' in the military should not be able to join if they have a criminal record?
There is a difference between Coach, Board member, and employee/ player
There is a difference between Minister for Defense, General, Captain, and grunt/ private

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

Not possible Pete.

If we pick him up AFTER his court case, the only way is through as a Rookie.

 

[Schulzenfest]

In terms of skill and ability - no he isn't.

Strongly disagree. I hate to play the race card, but if Krakouer wasn't Aboriginal I don't think anyone would've rated his skills. They were OK but nothing special. All he had going for him is speed.

 

[no_remorse28]

Im all for using the Rookie List as an opportunity for players who have the talent or potential but are missing something.

Manson
Jurrah
An American big bodied ruckman type
A Fijian

Crazy potential, but missing something. Think we would gain something from that more so than how we currently utilize it.

West Indian Fast Bowler