Nick Lower

[jarmanagic]

Well you cant take everyone. Goldsworthy and Allmond look ok, and Alex Carey trained with us as well. We went with Hitchcock from the train-on SANFL players and you'd have to say he looks alright at this point.

I understand why we picked Harding, and why we kept Thompson. It was about getting pace into a sluggish line up. Unfortunately for us, they'd have just as much luck finding the football on a sprint track than they do on a football field.



I couldnt care less about that. I was a big fan of Lower when on our list and wanted Port to keep him, but hey, he played excellent at SANFL level last year, got his chance 3-4 times at AFL level and couldnt cut it. Again, playing in the midfield. Too slow to dispose and not accurate enough with his disposal. These were major faults at AFL level. I could just as easily say you are blinded by the fact hes a Redleg! I agree hes a quality SANFL player, but theres been plenty of those around that never went on with it. And as I said, weve heard the 'stupid Port, that will bite them on the arse' the last two years with Ezard and Thomson. Ezard didnt get looked at and Thomson still isnt over that alleged 'fake' injury that Choco supposedly told him he had.

If he gets a go then good on him and I hope he makes the most of it.

Fair point, I forgot about Hitchcock who has been a good pick up

Wade Thompson and Harding are at their best sprinting, agreed mind you everyone said Jericho was lightning quick and he couldnt even give us a AFL grand final half time sprint victory

I reckon Puopolo is an AFL level player and deserves a chance. only 21 after all. Lower, maybe but unlike Puopolo has already had one shot at it.

Mind you given the wave of excitement going for the Legs at the moment going Im starting to think Brett Zorzi can play AFL and that young Timmy Weatherald might make it too. I'd forgotten he'd played over 300 games for the Legs, time flies so fast

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Can't fault his tenacity and endeavour, but his kicking isn't up to AFL standard. Can get away with it at SANFL level, but it'd get exposed in the faster more open game style of the AFL

This for me, Ned's kicking is still a major issue even thought its got better this year.

And you can all stay away from Pauly Pup, Duigs, Dawe, Jonas, Geogiou etc.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

I reckon Puopolo is an AFL level player and deserves a chance. only 21 after all. Lower, maybe but unlike Puopolo has already had one shot at it.

Has made a massive effort to improve himself as well, lost something like 5KGs over the pre-season and everyone can see the benefits this year. Could just imagine in a professional AFL environment he would flourish. Reminds me a bit and I stress a little bit of Johncock's game.

 

[lunacy]

I still don't believe we have the required toughness to go deep in September. A mature aged, hardnut type like Lower would be pretty handy. I wonder if he would be any good as a tagger as I think its one of the positions where we still have a hole.

This. We need one genuine hard nut. Someone that plays the ball hard but doesnt mind crunching the man when given the opportunity (within rules). I want a player who can get stuck into his opponent and stick up for teammates when required.

I like Lower. He's in the mould of Hardwick, Campbell Brown, Matt Thomas. Need one of these guys come September. IMO one of the reasons Central do so well in September with the Gowans.

The crows are too nice. Whilst a quick, skillful, run and carry player should be our first priority, I'd love to get Lower cheap (probably rookie draft).

Plus his skills are pretty reasonable. Has a nice left boot. Reilly has had a good year, but he's a gentleman. I want a tough, antagonistic tagger like Lower who will lay a tackle to maim his opponent . Would really get in the head of his opponent whilst winning the hard ball for us as well.

 

[Magma]

Actually he spent more time playing as a midfielder at AFL level than he did a defender. He spent the last 11 matches of 2008 playing predominantly as a centre square midfield/tagger.

I like him and wish him success, but hes certainly no guarantee to get drafted again. After Ezard won the Magarey last year all we heard was 'how stupid were Port?', 'He'll be picked up for sure' and it never happened. There have been a number of very good state league players with more skill than Nick to not get a look in (Powell and Clayton are two for example) and a couple of others that did get a look in and looked out of their depth. Id rate Bryce Campbell a better player than Nick and he struggled.

Good luck to him and I hope someone gives him a go, but I still think his deficiencies are such that will see him still have a hard time making a name for himself at AFL level.

Ezard won a Magarey because he stood out in a poor team. This year, besides a couple of good performances, has really been shown up. He got really lucky last year. Never really a ball magnet, but whenever he won, he seemed to be our best player. Now others like Nat Caruso are at his level, even beyond it in one year.

 

[NTRabbit]

This. We need one genuine hard nut. Someone that plays the ball hard but doesnt mind crunching the man when given the opportunity (within rules). I want a player who can get stuck into his opponent and stick up for teammates when required.

I like Lower. He's in the mould of Hardwick, Campbell Brown, Matt Thomas. Need one of these guys come September. IMO one of the reasons Central do so well in September with the Gowans.

The crows are too nice. Whilst a quick, skillful, run and carry player should be our first priority, I'd love to get Lower cheap (probably rookie draft).

Plus his skills are pretty reasonable. Has a nice left boot. Reilly has had a good year, but he's a gentleman. I want a tough, antagonistic tagger like Lower who will lay a tackle to maim his opponent . Would really get in the head of his opponent whilst winning the hard ball for us as well.

We don't need thugs and snipers, we need fast and skillful midfielders, a genuine quality first choice ruck, and a rebounding defender who can put a 60 metre spear onto a 10c piece under pressure.

The obsession with "tough nuts", and I use that term loosely since most of these players are genuinely as tough as wet cardboard, that win you flags is a complete furphy, especially since the unsociable football the media loved had bugger all to do with the Hawks winning a flag.

Do you see any of these kinds of thugs in the Geelong side? No, they're genuinely tough, players who go hard after the ball rather than the man, win it, and move on without any histrionics or deliberate attempts to injure. Max Rooke is a tough nut. Campbell Brown is not.

We already have insiders like that, Scott Thompson in chief, Reilly when he is under orders to work his tag target the other way, plus Sloane and Dangerfield to hopefully increase their output, and Maric to follow up on "what Hudson taught him" and throw himself into the scrums harder and more often.

Too nice to win? Such utter ****ing dribble, the kind of stuff supporters in their 60's talk about in the SANFL members because they don't understand the real problems.

 

[LC40]

I see a lot of SANFL football and I have been a fan of Lower for a while now.
I keep hearing his disposal is average but from what I see its has improved considerably.

At Port I thought he was played out of position, he's not a tagger, he's not a backman.

He is a tough in and under footballer with some pace who actually reads the game as good as anyone in this league and finds the loose man.
Yes the Crows need some outside midfielders but they are crying out for a tough inside player. Really crying out for one!

Lower is a ready made player who has actually improved and is twice the player he was four years ago.

I'm convinced there are posters here who rarely see a game of SANFL but are quick to down players on a quarter they saw in one game on the ABC.

Lower is a solid player, who actually finds the ball over 20 times a game. He isn't a player who has the ability to "potentially find it " he actually goes and gets it and his hardness is an asset we lack in spades.

If he isn't earmarked for an onballer role then there is no use drafting him or putting him on a rookie list but as a ready made footballer who should come cheap he is a no brainer.

A Barlow rarely comes along but there are many good SANFL players who are up to AFL standard who just need an opportunity.
Quality juniors are hard to find, here is an above average player right under our noses.

Puopolo I've been told has come under the eye of the Western Bulldogs who love his toughness and rebound. Another good player who many will write off but who has the ability to be a solid AFL player if given the opportunity.

No I don't support Norwood I just like watching good honest footballers go around.

 

[LC40]

We don't need thugs and snipers, we need fast and skillful midfielders, a genuine quality first choice ruck, and a rebounding defender who can put a 60 metre spear onto a 10c piece under pressure.

The obsession with "tough nuts", and I use that term loosely since most of these players are genuinely as tough as wet cardboard, that win you flags is a complete furphy, especially since the unsociable football the media loved had bugger all to do with the Hawks winning a flag.

Do you see any of these kinds of thugs in the Geelong side? No, they're genuinely tough, players who go hard after the ball rather than the man, win it, and move on without any histrionics or deliberate attempts to injure. Max Rooke is a tough nut. Campbell Brown is not.

We already have insiders like that, Scott Thompson in chief, Reilly when he is under orders to work his tag target the other way, plus Sloane and Dangerfield to hopefully increase their output, and Maric to follow up on "what Hudson taught him" and throw himself into the scrums harder and more often.

Too nice to win? Such utter ****ing dribble, the kind of stuff supporters in their 60's talk about in the SANFL members because they don't understand the real problems.

Every team would like to find a player that can hit a target 60 metres away under pressure onto a 10 cent piece.
Hell getting a player to kick 60 metres is a rarity these days.

These types don't grow on trees and so are normally low draft picks which we seldom have. If we can get one then I'll love him to play for us!

Lower isn't one of these players neither is he a thug or a sniper.
He is a hard footballer who puts his head over the ball, someone Henderson should watch and admire.

He doesn't play the game to go out and injure blokes,he is genuinely hard ball getter who makes good decisions in traffic.

I can't agree with you on the point that we have enough insiders.
Reilly has improved markedly now he has a game role to play but he isn't a consistent player who goes and gets the ball.
Thompson yes, Sloane and Dangerfield 'hopefully increases their output'.

Well we all live in hope but sometimes hope doesn't translate into reality.

Both are fine players but by no means clearance machines yet.

Lower I think could play a part in our game structure for he does consistently find the ball, admittedly at a 'Lower' level but his numbers do show his output is high.

He's not the answer to all our woes as you have mentioned our other needs but I think dismissing him outright is foolhardy for this player is at least worth a second look.

 

[cmndstab]

Lower was just mentioned (among a list of 12 or so players) as a potential rookie pick by Rendell on 5AA. Said he'd be a tough inside midfielder.

 

[lunacy]

Lower was just mentioned (among a list of 12 or so players) as a potential rookie pick by Rendell on 5AA. Said he'd be a tough inside midfielder.

He would be my pick of the bunch if Giles is unlikely. I wish Rowey would stop going on about Gum and Ty Allen. Surely Gum (28) is too old. Maybe if he was an absolute star but given he'd just be average at AFL level surely 28 yrs is too old. And Ty Allen, gees, he'd be a hack at AFL level.

Nick Lower please. I don't want to give up too much on inside mids as I dont think it's as much of a priority. But at that price. Yes please.

 

[NTRabbit]

He said he would be worth a rookie pick if you were in need of an inside midfielder, and I took it to mean that we weren't interested in him at all.

Most of his rookie mentions were either the obvious ones, or some smokescreens to keep prying eyes away from his actual possible targetts.

 

[iwillneverbesilenced]

if GC don't pick him up in their pre-season op to pick 10 previously listed AFL players then they are not doing their job right. He's a better player than that bloke from North Melbourne that is playing VFL for them now, his name escapes me now, SA kid, wore #4.

edit: Daniel Harris

Victorian "kid" mate and he's a bloody good player to. better than half the blokes running around in the AFL at the moment.

 

[Macca19]

1 vote off with a few rounds left. Hes a big chance.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Just fell short, knew he was in trouble when he didn't get a vote in our loss to the Bays. Bloody hell if only we had woken up and played footy the first four rounds!

 

[RoosterLad]

Finished 2nd in the end.

Another medal for Jimmy Allan, should be 3 in a row really but nice to see him win again as he is a class act.

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Matty R rates Giles as the best player in the sanfl and believes Lower deserves another shot at AFL level

looks like put cut them way to early

 

[SimonH]

Was always AFL standard for mine, and has proved it in 2010. I'm not talking about MM votes-- he's just got the build, the speed and the aerobic capacity that screams out 'AFL footballer' to me, where most of the better inside midfielders in the SANFL, don't. Ian Callinan is one of the others that also has that quality about him-- I'm not privy to why he never got even a rookie selection after a few clubs took a look at him in the past.

As a defender, Lower can play on medium-talls and keep up with quick smalls. He's easily AFL quality as an extractor from packs and a tackler; and he finds the footy and can accelerate away from traffic as an outside player, too. Almost the complete package. So why did he struggle to find his feet at an AFL club and get delisted?

Presuming that the Pahhhr's decision wasn't just plain irrational (and no reason to presume that), his kicking got him delisted. After 4 years on the list, one can hardly blame Port for running out of patience.

But from what I've seen, it's a slow but definite positive curve that he's on in terms of phasing out the clangers. He's not a bad kick at all in terms of action and penetration-- the issue is the large gap between his best and worst. That gap has narrowed enough that, regardless of when taken (and RD is most realistic), he could play R1 2011 for his new team. And, I believe, subject to injury, hold his spot for the whole year.

On a different topic: amazing that no-one scoffs at the idea of Nick Duigan being drafted because of his age. He's 26yoa. Just 2 or 3 years ago, try to put up a 26yo never on an AFL list as a draft prospect, and you'd be told, "Yeah right. How about we draft a bright young spark called Russell Ebert as well?" The JPod has changed everything. For the better.

 

[CrowHop]

23 touches, 5 marks, 5 tackles and a goal on the weekend. From the stats, sounds like a pretty handy game.

Did anyone see the game ? If so how did he play ? Are people warming to the idea that Nick is a real possibility to be drafted ?

 

[Pariah]

23 touches, 5 marks, 5 tackles and a goal on the weekend. From the stats, sounds like a pretty handy game.

Did anyone see the game ? If so how did he play ? Are people warming to the idea that Nick is a real possibility to be drafted ?

Yeah but want him on the rookie list.

 

[CrowHop]

Yeah but want him on the rookie list.

I wouldn't have thought he'd last that long, but hey, I'd be happy with that result.

 

[Pariah]

I wouldn't have thought he'd last that long, but hey, I'd be happy with that result.

Tough call coming up for gold coast pick up Nick Lower or Giles as a pre listed player.That is if they are allowed to claim two former AFL players from the same club as their pre listed picks.

If we do take Nick Lower it's going to be tough for him to break into the side assuming we have a good run with injuries and who we pick up in trade week and in the draft. Another thing that might make it harder him is the improvement of our younger players.

 

[Macca19]

Tough call coming up for gold coast pick up Nick Lower or Giles as a pre listed player.That is if they are allowed to claim two former AFL players from the same club as their pre listed picks.

Why wouldnt they?

 

[lunacy]

Tough call coming up for gold coast pick up Nick Lower or Giles as a pre listed player.That is if they are allowed to claim two former AFL players from the same club as their pre listed picks.

If we do take Nick Lower it's going to be tough for him to break into the side assuming we have a good run with injuries and who we pick up in trade week and in the draft. Another thing that might make it harder him is the improvement of our younger players.

If we rookie list him, I'd be happy to have him as a ready made mature back up adding depth. He won't be best 22, but at that price and given a lack of depth will be our main issue next season, it's worth it it imo.

We are a young side. I think we need to use trade week and draft week to address our deficiencies ie Jacobs and Walker in trade and quick outside mids and possible small forward in draft. This leaves rookie list to add some ready made depth imo. A mature age rookie like Lower for example and maybe a couple of 20-21yr olds from state leagues who would be physically ready to provide much needed depth should injuries arise. Depending how many rookie spots we could also get an 18yr old who slipped through the ND ie L.Thompson last year.

 

[CrowHop]

If we rookie list him, I'd be happy to have him as a ready made mature back up adding depth. He won't be best 22, but at that price and given a lack of depth will be our main issue next season, it's worth it it imo.

We are a young side. I think we need to use trade week and draft week to address our deficiencies ie Jacobs and Walker in trade and quick outside mids and possible small forward in draft. This leaves rookie list to add some ready made depth imo. A mature age rookie like Lower for example and maybe a couple of 20-21yr olds from state leagues who would be physically ready to provide much needed depth should injuries arise. Depending how many rookie spots we could also get an 18yr old who slipped through the ND ie L.Thompson last year.

Never say never. He goes ok, a few deficiencies in his game but he goes ok.

He'd be best 22 at a few clubs and bordering best 22 at a few other. Like anyone, if he had a really good tough pre season with an AFL quality side, he could vastly improve his value/output from his days as an AFL footballer with the Power.

Of course, lots of ifs and maybes in the above, but no different to anyone taken late in the draft I suppose.

 

[SimonH]

Tough call coming up for gold coast pick up Nick Lower or Giles as a pre listed player.That is if they are allowed to claim two former AFL players from the same club as their pre listed picks.

No reason why not. They're no longer 'from that club'. Also, as probably noted elsewhere, the 'direct contract' thing isn't limited to former AFL-listed players. It includes anyone who's ever nominated for the draft, i.e. basically anyone with any prospects at all, apart from that small minority recruited in from other sports, overseas rookies etc.

I would have thought that GC, if they're smart, will pick up in their pre-listed 10, a mix of players who they see making their best 22 for R1 2011, with players who have a bit of buzz about them so have some potential trade value for them to 'trade up' to current AFL listed players. Krakouer is just the most obvious example. On that theory, GC to take Lower whether they actually rate him or not, on the belief that there's enough market around for him that they can get something respectable by offloading him in the trade period.

Mind you, as a self-interested Norwood fan, I like that theory mostly because it maximises his chances of winding up on the Crows' list.