Mark Williams - 1st Game Impressions

[TeamHurley]

Laconic? He does have that look about him. But it's like Mark Waugh, he just appears to be cruising, even if he's not. Check out the 2008 GF and see his brilliant pressure goal, where he teamed up with a teammate to kick a great goal. If we get 50 goals out of him, Essendon win the deal hands down. Remember we traded Lovett who probably won't play a single game for his club.

We got 16 for lovett.

We traded 16 for Williams and also got pick 24.

So we gave up 8 spots in a so called weak draft.

picks around 16.

16 Jasper Pittard Geelong Falcons Port Adelaide
17 Daniel Menzel Central District Geelong
18 Luke Tapscott
19 Benjamin Griffiths Eastern Ranges Richmond
20 Nathan Fyfe

If any of these guys are stars im sure Kelvin will be on about this for the next 5 years.

If williams gives us 50 goals a year for the next 3-5 years we are laughing out of this deal.

We needed to inject some goals in our forward line and you would think that none of the above players were immediatly going to do that for us.

 

[eth-dog]

Midfielders... more midfielders.

So Myers, Zaharakis, Melksham, Colyer and Long not good enough for you? What about Watson, Stanton, Winderlich, McVeigh, Welsh, Dyson and Hocking? They not good enough either? Forward line is a much bigger issue atm

 

[Dragz]

Glad to hear that Willo did well in his first game.

As it happens, I was at the Airport on Saturday arvo when your lads came back from Perth. Willo had a slight limp. As in, it wasn't one that you'd turn to look at, but it was certainly there. Anyone heard anything about an injury to him? Hopefully it's just the usual soreness and stiffness after a long flight.

 

[Skeeta Olly]

So Myers, Zaharakis, Melksham, Colyer and Long not good enough for you? What about Watson, Stanton, Winderlich, McVeigh, Welsh, Dyson and Hocking? They not good enough either? Forward line is a much bigger issue atm

He wants more goal kicking midfielders, I think.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

So Myers, Zaharakis, Melksham, Colyer and Long not good enough for you? What about Watson, Stanton, Winderlich, McVeigh, Welsh, Dyson and Hocking? They not good enough either? Forward line is a much bigger issue atm

None of the kids you mentioned are good inside mids with clean hands apart from possibly Melksham but he is a few years away.

Waston is the only good inside guy we have. Winderlich's hands are alright so hopefully he can turn into a ball winning type even though his body shape might not be suited.

The rest aren't clean enough by hand to get our midfield up and running into a top 4 spot.

We'd drafted enough talls and need more mids. Not point in a 27 year old spasmodic forward who's had injury concerns.

 

[Skeeta Olly]

We'd drafted enough talls and need more mids. Not point in a 27 year old spasmodic forward who's had injury concerns.

As much as you hate it, Myers could satisfy a clean inside midfielder.

As for the point above, the recent draft brought about Melksham, Colyer and Long, plus a tall in Carlisle.

 

[rusman]

We got 16 for lovett.

We traded 16 for Williams and also got pick 24.

So we gave up 8 spots in a so called weak draft.

Id also argue that we got more then 24 and williams as we got 33 for nash which wouldnt have happened by itself as nash is worth next to nothing on the trade table.

Definately owned that trade.

As for williams seems to me like he is exactly what we need at the price we got him. We need people who can kick goals as we lost 3 of our top 4 goal kickers last year. Also i think he will provide good leadership to small forwards in our team who havnt taken next step i.e jetta monfries (even davey taking step back).
I definately dont think kevin saw this game as he did provide defensive pressure when i was watching

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Before anyone is concerned by Dragz comment, I don't think I've seen Williams walk around without a slight limp for years.

Even when he was fully fit (before the knees) he walked with a slight (but noticeable) limp.

 

[Kong]

None of the kids you mentioned are good inside mids with clean hands apart from possibly Melksham but he is a few years away.

Waston is the only good inside guy we have. Winderlich's hands are alright so hopefully he can turn into a ball winning type even though his body shape might not be suited.

The rest aren't clean enough by hand to get our midfield up and running into a top 4 spot.

As Olly said, Myers is the potential wildcard. Even in the games where he was rather average in 2009, playing in defence, his stoppage work and hands in closer were pretty decent. If I find some footage I'll be sure to post it.

As for the other one, Zaharakis. Of course he's not a pure insider midfielder, but even his first game showed he can win the contested ball and clear it with precision. He's probably still at least a year away from having the endurance to play predominantly on-ball, but the ability's definitely there, in my opinion.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

As Olly said, Myers is the potential wildcard. Even in the games where he was rather average in 2009, playing in defence, his stoppage work and hands in closer were pretty decent. If I find some footage I'll be sure to post it.

Myers hands have been nothing but terrible... especially below the knees.

I seem to recall him fumbling plenty of times and not being able to pick up the ball. I don't think he's a one touch player and that's what we need.

Here's a video of him in the juniors which sort of highlights what I'm saying. He double grabs to handball it off at the 31 second mark. He gets away with it here because its junior footy but he would be feeling body contact and a lot more pressure at AFL level. If you don't have complete control of the ball it'll spill out.

Fingers crossed that I've only seen his bad side and not the good.

[youtube]3Tw8-_urKu8[/youtube]

 

[yaco55]

As Olly said, Myers is the potential wildcard. Even in the games where he was rather average in 2009, playing in defence, his stoppage work and hands in closer were pretty decent. If I find some footage I'll be sure to post it.

As for the other one, Zaharakis. Of course he's not a pure insider midfielder, but even his first game showed he can win the contested ball and clear it with precision. He's probably still at least a year away from having the endurance to play predominantly on-ball, but the ability's definitely there, in my opinion.

I agree that Zaharakis will eventually play as a midfielder but I would play him in the small forward's role for the next two years.

I dont have much confidence in Jetta or Davey filling this role.

 

[Kong]

Myers hands have been nothing but terrible... especially below the knees.

I seem to recall him fumbling plenty of times and not being able to pick up the ball. I don't think he's a one touch player and that's what we need.

Perhaps you're right with regards to the "one-touch" comment. I was referring moreso to his ability to win the ball - even if it requires more time - and dish it off to space. He's obviously done well enough - at times - to clear it in time, despite his apparent fumbles.

Here's a video of him in the juniors which sort of highlights what I'm saying. He double grabs to handball it off at the 31 second mark. He gets away with it here because its junior footy but he would be feeling body contact and a lot more pressure at AFL level. If you don't have complete control of the ball it'll spill out.

Fingers crossed that I've only seen his bad side and not the good.

That footage isn't great, and to be honest, not much of his carnival is. His kicking was severely overrated, especially on BigFooty, but I distinctly remember him doing pretty solid with regards to clearance work, even at AFL level. I remember the Carlton Round 3 game last year where Wiggins touched him up, and how bad he looked. Even then, there were one or two pieces of play near my end where he kept his feet in a contest, won the ball and disposed of it to a player in the clear.

We obviously remember different parts of his game, and he sure has a long way to go, but I hold out hope that he'll - at the very least - give Jobe much-needed support in the ball-winning department.

What are your thoughts on the Zaharakis comment?

 

[yaco55]

Whomb

I agree with your comments about Myers being solid at extracting the pill from congested situations, and seeing that he was played as an inside midfielder in the VFL late in 2009, he is likely to be given every chance to play in the midfield.

I also understand where Kelvin is coming from - He is referring to Myers ball handling being clumsy when he has to run on too loose balls.

It is an interesting dilemma because Royal Eagle ( who is knowledgeable about Junior WA footy ) posted earlier that he sees Myers as a defender.

Time will tell.

 

[Kong]

Whomb

I agree with your comments about Myers being solid at extracting the pill from congested situations, and seeing that he was played as an inside midfielder in the VFL late in 2009, he is likely to be given every chance to play in the midfield.

I also understand where Kelvin is coming from - He is referring to Myers ball handling being clumsy when he has to run on too loose balls.

I don't seem to remember it too much myself, but I'll take both of your words on it. As I said, that footage (and other U18s I've seen) back that statement up.

It is an interesting dilemma because Royal Eagle ( who is knowledgeable about Junior WA footy ) posted earlier that he sees Myers as a defender.

Time will tell.

I would've thought that's the last place he'd blossom, but hopefully we'll know by year's end.

 

[windyhill]

Not knowing the stats but his shots at goal percentage would be very high.(In terms of goal/point)
When he was at hawfforn i`d always say " This bloke never bloody misses"

 

[drybones]

Absolutely spot on.

Would love to be proved wrong too - but I'm still shaking my head at this piece of recruiting in almost every respect.

Not sure what all the fuss is about from last night, either. I didn't think he did much.

If he didn't do much, I'd love to see what happens when he does do much!!
He's kicked 3 so you're pretty much saying when he plays well he'll kick 7 or 8+.
Had to play on their best defender in Glass as well. Imagine if Monfries had to stand against the best defender each week, he'd be shocking! But he doesn't and he's a quality forward because of it. Wait til Willow is standing against the 3rd or so defender (when the top couple have to hold the likes of Gumby, Neagle, Hille, Ryder or Hurley) and see what he can do. It's also going to work wonders for Monfries who will then be opposed to an even lesser defender..

 

[skilgannon_au]

TBH i was absolutely flabbergasted when we traded pick 16 for Mark. I can guess the reasons behind the move with Lloyd and Lucas retiring, and losing Lovett, thus needing a backup player who can kick goals in case Gumbleton and/or Neagle doesn't come up, but i still don't like the trade.

Personally, I wouldn't like trading for/drafting a small forward (even if Mark plays tall) in exchange for a first round pick (albeit a high one in a weak draft) even for reason of team balance (ala Carlton with Yarran) for the reason that they're not that important relative to midfielders and kp players which you would be losing a chance of getting if you trade/draft for a small forward.

Put another way, if our team had no specialist small forward and had an abundance of good midfielders, i would still use our first round pick for midfielder (or utility) rather than draft/trade for small forward.

I would stress im not ruling out trading/drafting a small forward at all, just not for the equivalent of a first round pick.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

TBH i was absolutely flabbergasted when we traded pick 16 for Mark. I can guess the reasons behind the move with Lloyd and Lucas retiring, and losing Lovett, thus needing a backup player who can kick goals in case Gumbleton and/or Neagle doesn't come up, but i still don't like the trade.

Personally, I wouldn't like trading for/drafting a small forward (even if Mark plays tall) in exchange for a first round pick (albeit a high one in a weak draft) even for reason of team balance (ala Carlton with Yarran) for the reason that they're not that important relative to midfielders and kp players which you would be losing a chance of getting if you trade/draft for a small forward.

Put another way, if our team had no specialist small forward and had an abundance of good midfielders, i would still use our first round pick for midfielder (or utility) rather than draft/trade for small forward.

I would stress im not ruling out trading/drafting a small forward at all, just not for the equivalent of a first round pick.

But it was 16 for Williams and 24, in effect.

 

[skilgannon_au]

Hey BiG, yeah effectively it was a trade for Mark and 24, but i still don't think its worth it.

Its a pet hate, but I hate trading for old players (even if they come cheap). The hate comes from the days when sheedy went and got Zantuck, Murphy, Mark Allan, that WB players etc etc. I think you get the drift. lol.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

Hey BiG, yeah effectively it was a trade for Mark and 24, but i still don't think its worth it.

Its a pet hate, but I hate trading for old players (even if they come cheap). The hate comes from the days when sheedy went and got Zantuck, Murphy, Mark Allan, that WB players etc etc. I think you get the drift. lol.

Williams is slightly better than Alvey, Zantuck etc.

 

[Hurley Bird]

Williams is slightly better than Alvey, Zantuck etc.

What do you mean? Zantuck was a gun? His accuracy at goals was close to par with Williams'

I saw a highlights package with the worse shots at goal and I think Zantuck was in it about 12 times.. Haha

Back on topic, I actually got goosebumps when I saw Williams warming up before the game, and his first shot at goal (pretty sure it was his first) was typical Williams.. Dead Eyed Dick..

Everyone should stop being negative and judging the trade. Wait until the end of the season before we judge!!!

 

[Skeeta Olly]

Ant has said countless times on here that he was very impressed with Myers' inside work at stoppages for Bendigo, that's something special when Bock is rucking. I'll take his opinion over probably everyone on here.

 

[NathanS]

I think the William's trade was definitely worth it. I'm sure the club looked at the probable draft picks between 16 and 22 and looked at the speculative potential vs a "known" in Williams.

I said last year that Essendon was missing a good small / medium forward - our forward line was bordering on dysfunctional last year. Davey had lost a yard of agility after his knee. Jetta wasn't firing. Reimers was injured. Monfries while serviceable I don't believe will ever be a superstar. And we were losing our two best full-forwards for the last decade. Goal kicking power has to come from somewhere. A forward was the logical choice.

That said, I think there are still plenty of holes in our list :-(

 

[Pumper Rubberfunk]

Good the spoil he made in the 1st quater was great for jetta.. kicking backwards and slowing the play around our forward 50 will help with no big targets to aim at.. am worried the DONS forward line could turn into the new bulldogs dwarfe line up

 

[stay true]

I think he did well in his first hitout for us. I thought it was a good trade when we made it and in the wake of today's happenings the trade is further justified.

Just need him to stay fit and kick 40+ and we can be very, very happy with the trade.