Nick Naitanui's debut!

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good debut game in general, but came across as being very lazy as he tended to stand still when the ball was out of reach. whether this is due to him being underdone or not i noticed at no stage did he chase or look to apply defensive pressure.

in the last quater there was a case where he and another Eagle were in the goal square, the other player lead about 4-5m from him and was spoiled. 3 tigers cleaned it up but he was nowhere to be seen.

i think he will make a good ruck for you as he knows he has a great leap and can get a tap easily, when it comes to around the ground and up forrward i dont think he will go as well as he doesnt have natural ball winning abilities
 

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Very underdone, missed all of preseason with the knee injury so hasn't had the chance to do the running required.

His defensive pressure is pretty much the key to his game, by far one of the most dangerous tacklers I have ever seen - averages around 7 tackles per game in the WAFL this year - just needs time.
 
I guess you didn't hear about how he tackled a guy, and the guy came out second best while coughing blood :p

Also about how the point post will never be the same again after Naitanui was done with it..

He has aggression, I just think he wasted most of his energy today because of nerves, just wait till he gets settled, you will see more of the Leon Davis in him

No have not heard alot about it but Good stuff, look forward to seeing it. :D
 
Naita is going to dominate once he gets his fitness up.

Actually glad that he went to you guys and not Melb so he can learn from Cox. There is no better person at positioning around the ground than Cox. If Naita picks up that knowledge he will be unstoppable.

Really impressed with his hands also, particularly his overhead marking.

Oh, and he has to keep the hair. Love it!
 
Not discrediting Naitanui's debut (he's still adjusting to the pace and workrate required, but I thought he did pretty well for his first game), but what was with Robert Walls comparing his debut to Carl Ditterich after his big mark in the last quarter? I never saw it (because I wasn't born until nearly 25 years later), but wasn't Big Carl BOG in his first game? Hardly a similar performance from NicNat last night. He showed some flashes of brilliance, but definitely wasn't BOG. I know Wallsy can make some stupid statements, but that was ridiculous IMO.
 
Not discrediting Naitanui's debut (he's still adjusting to the pace and workrate required, but I thought he did pretty well for his first game), but what was with Robert Walls comparing his debut to Carl Ditterich after his big mark in the last quarter? I never saw it (because I wasn't born until nearly 25 years later), but wasn't Big Carl BOG in his first game? Hardly a similar performance from NicNat last night. He showed some flashes of brilliance, but definitely wasn't BOG. I know Wallsy can make some stupid statements, but that was ridiculous IMO.
Did you just copy and paste that directly from your post in the AFL board??
 
Whilst everyone here will focus on the flashy things, I'd like to highlight a few 1 percenters that he always does that seem to be overlooked.

The first was his wrestle and block on his opponent which allowed Kennedy to take a pressure free mark early in the game. The other was a shepherd/block on his opponent with Selwood running into the goal after his mark.

The bloke is one of the most team-orientated players you will ever see with his defensive game and 1 percenters.
 

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The kid didn't really seem to display much emotion out there last night, don't know whether this is a good or a bad thing.

That said, I like the kid, plenty of talent.
 
Whilst everyone here will focus on the flashy things, I'd like to highlight a few 1 percenters that he always does that seem to be overlooked.

The first was his wrestle and block on his opponent which allowed Kennedy to take a pressure free mark early in the game. The other was a shepherd/block on his opponent with Selwood running into the goal after his mark.

The bloke is one of the most team-orientated players you will ever see with his defensive game and 1 percenters.


Seems his first instinct when he got the ball around goals was to dish off to a player in a better position.

Set up at least two goals with handballs:thumbsu:
 
Not discrediting Naitanui's debut (he's still adjusting to the pace and workrate required, but I thought he did pretty well for his first game), but what was with Robert Walls comparing his debut to Carl Ditterich after his big mark in the last quarter? I never saw it (because I wasn't born until nearly 25 years later), but wasn't Big Carl BOG in his first game? Hardly a similar performance from NicNat last night. He showed some flashes of brilliance, but definitely wasn't BOG. I know Wallsy can make some stupid statements, but that was ridiculous IMO.

You're right, it was a ridiculous statement, because Dietrich wouldn't have been able to go up for the ruck knock, come back to earth and beat the rovers to it, to feed to a running McNamara with no one in pursuit. :D

On your thread, he was merely saying that he reminded him of a raw and exciting blonde kid that debuted 30 years ago or whenever.

Those that are worried about his defensive pressure, don't, it'll be there next game, once he's settled. :thumbsu:
 
Was really happy with his output and you could here the excitement in the crowd when he went near the ball. Did some great blocking work and looked good when rucking. I'd never been so excited in a debut before the game in all my life. Looking forward to the Hawks clash to see him again. The way the Hawks are travelling this will be a very winnable game for us. :thumbsu:
 
Stayed up till 11:30 last night just so I could see him. Looks the goods, can't imagine how dangerous he'll be with a few seasons of weights and conditioning. He'll be too fast for anyone strong enough to play on him and too strong for anyone fast enough.

Awesome pick.:thumbsu:

If you've seen a picture of him with his shirt off, you'd realize that he doesn't really need any more bulking up. He's already a monster at a 100kg. He's a tank. His height and his jumper hides his muscle. Another 10kg over a few more preseasons won't affect his athleticism but will make him unstoppable physically.
Of more concern to me is getting him to peak fitness. Then his chasing and tackling will be brought to the fore.

Naitanui won't just be too fast for the slow ruckmen he'll play on, but also too quick for half the midfielders going around the league. Again it's a fitness issue that needs to be sorted before we'll see this on display.
 
Yeah agreed that he doesn't need to add a great deal more bulk. In the upcoming preseason, get him doing what Cox did in his first couple of seasons to get his fitness up.
 
Not The Buddy Show
It's the Nick Nat Show!!!!!!!!!!!
Next Week against Hawthorn.
Woooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Woooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Woooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
 

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Nick Naitanui's debut!

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