Player Watch Ned Long

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Jelly Bean said:
Haha. Comparing his speed to one bloke who is below AFL standard due in no small part to his lack of speed (Lippa), and another who is a gun because of his absolute never-seen-before game and congestion awareness, disposal quality, and never-seen-before decision making, each of which can cover up for his lack of speed.

The trouble with Long is that he doesn't just lack speed, he also lacks disposal polish / decision making.
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Might help when he has a Better Midfield around him
 
Ugene41 said:
Bear was fast and had great hands.

Long plays more like Rupert Wills. Mainly just tackles.
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There have been lots of players who’ve taken time to find their feet at senior level. A guy like Connor Nash (as an example off the top of my head) was into his 6th season before he established himself as a regular. Hopefully Long continues to build as he becomes more comfortable at the level but at this stage he’s only 3rd year and 11 games into it.
 
I don't tend to like comparing youngsters to bonafide stars of the game, but Ned's early numbers are fairly similar to Cripps in first few games, and although I highly doubt he ever becomes a Cripps caliber player, they do hold a similar body shape and skillset, so I could see Ned becoming a "Cripps-lite" for us.

Felt like his game against the swans was really promising, and the challenge for Ned is for that to now be his "minimum standard" game, especially for these last 2 rounds. I think for me it's pretty clear with Ned the required progression for him, he needs to go from an 8-13 possession/2-3 clearances guy into that 18-22 possession/6-7 clearances bracket.

This doesn't put him into an "elite" level bracket, as I don't think that's realistic - but it certainly means there a role for him in a midfield, especially one like ours that boasts such a rare talent in Nick Daicos. He can lighten the load on Nick a bit, particularly in that tough contested/clearance area, and allow Nick to get a bit more time and chances on the outside where he is at his most damaging.

Beyond that if Ned could develop/improve his aerial game further, it would add another string to his bow if he's pushed forward/around the ground, but for now I'd be content on him focusing on his body/ground work in stoppages and building that chemistry/relationship with the likes of Nick and JDG.
 
Johno9911 said:
I don't tend to like comparing youngsters to bonafide stars of the game, but Ned's early numbers are fairly similar to Cripps in first few games, and although I highly doubt he ever becomes a Cripps caliber player, they do hold a similar body shape and skillset, so I could see Ned becoming a "Cripps-lite" for us.

Felt like his game against the swans was really promising, and the challenge for Ned is for that to now be his "minimum standard" game, especially for these last 2 rounds. I think for me it's pretty clear with Ned the required progression for him, he needs to go from an 8-13 possession/2-3 clearances guy into that 18-22 possession/6-7 clearances bracket.

This doesn't put him into an "elite" level bracket, as I don't think that's realistic - but it certainly means there a role for him in a midfield, especially one like ours that boasts such a rare talent in Nick Daicos. He can lighten the load on Nick a bit, particularly in that tough contested/clearance area, and allow Nick to get a bit more time and chances on the outside where he is at his most damaging.

Beyond that if Ned could develop/improve his aerial game further, it would add another string to his bow if he's pushed forward/around the ground, but for now I'd be content on him focusing on his body/ground work in stoppages and building that chemistry/relationship with the likes of Nick and JDG.
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Your post got me thinking and I just made a rough comparison between Ned and Garry Ablett Jnr at similar stages in their careers and while Ned doesnt get as much of the ball, he is clearly a better tackler. Who knows how many brownlows this bloke might win in the coming years....
 
OniAu said:
Gosh i love seeing stats/facts outweigh the eye test
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Top speed isn't necessarily game day speed - particularly for mids where it's usually more about short sprints.

The eye test has him slow to react, slow to build up pace and slow to make decisions with the ball in hand. Top speed measurements aren't particularly relevant for any of that. However, it is possible that the eye test is wrong.
 
He got more kicks than normal last week. He got a goal too. Evidently, his top speed or his median speed or some other speed is improving. i'm hoping for more top speed and therefore more kicks....and more goals

The other thing that i worry about is he being played in the right position. Finn, for example, needs to be played on vfl grounds. It would be disappointing if Ned needed to be played at grounds other than the MCG
 
Markfs said:
He got more kicks than normal last week. He got a goal too. Evidently, his top speed or his median speed or some other speed is improving. i'm hoping for more top speed and therefore more kicks....and more goals

The other thing that i worry about is he being played in the right position. Finn, for example, needs to be played on vfl grounds. It would be disappointing if Ned needed to be played at grounds other than the MCG
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And he’s had a couple of nice I50 kicks breaking from stoppage in successive weeks that resulted in goals.
Improving week to week, and as his confidence builds I think we’ll see a more than serviceable player.
 

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sideswipe said:
Rather odd timing to do this a week after the exit interviews?
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Is it though? I would've thought they'd tell someone like Long "We won't be offering you a new contract. We suggest you check with your manager to see if there's any interest from other clubs" etc. Perhaps his manager has spent the week gauging interest?

Although nowadays with DFA, SSP etc. I think we'll see less and less trading of dead wood unless the player going is likely to have more than one club chasing them.
 

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Player Watch Ned Long

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