VFL Northern Bullants v Essendon - Saturday 3 August, 2:05pm, Genis Steel Oval

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Hobbs, Setterfield and Hind for Kelly, Shiel and Menzies feels like the easiest, low-hanging fruit way to instantly improve (and harden up) our team.
Not fashionable to say here but Kelly is at least fast and competitive.
Does not get beaten one on one too often.
Walter’s will kick 10 today now!
 
He looked terrible yesterday.
White shorts do him no favours.
He is not fit in my opinion.
I have to say I have watched little vfl football but if he was running around the Coates league with that rig and impact he would not be looked at.
Isaac kako plays with much more speed and intent.
He is 99% likely to be on our list which places jayden further down the depth chart.
It is not inconceivable that essendon select hotton or berry which would mean he slips further down.
Agree he looked like he was cooked after quarter time . All I was saying is he was 1000% better last week . This week he was okay in the first quarter but after that he was nowhere. I agree Kako plays with more speed and intent consistently .
You know full well you do not make a judgment on one game. I am not sold on Jayden but his previous 4 weeks have been a mile in front of what he did yesterday. He has had a poor start to the season. Played pretty well recently but was crap yesterday and he would not be guaranteed anything next year. I would say he is maybe 20/80 as far as making it. Has the skills and speed but he has not had the effort or competitiveness in a lot of games.
 
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Not sure how much we can take away from this game. Lot of easy footy at times.

Tsatas - was good . He is very good in close . Kicking was okay. He has eliminated the real horrible stuff by going by hand in close when he can and is getting better contact on his longer kicking . Does not look like he is trying to kick the cover off the footy. Still kicks just as many floating punts as he does drop punts but it is better.

Hobbs - inside game as good as ever. Just does not have much on the outside other than finding a little space. Reason he is not in the side is Caldwell and Durham have better outside games.

Wiedeman - did not really have to do a lot. Couple of mistakes but he did what he had to.

Setterfield - lots of the footy and lots of tackles. Good game . Like Hobbs just lacks the outside game and how many inside midfielders can we play ?

Perkins - had some good moments but also times where he was just floating around . Thought he could have done more over the whole game.

Goldstein - dominated the hit outs as you would expect. Okay around the ground.

Hayes - played well but it was not a day that he would be challenged by a big KPF .

Hind - was not as good as last week. Did what he had to .

Wright - numbers looked okay but he should have dominated that defense . Dropped a few easy ones early .

Lual - he just makes too many mistakes . Does a few really good things but poor skill errors or simply ball watching hurts.

J Davey - first quarter was okay but was horrible after that . No impact after quarter time. Looked cooked.

Visentini - took a few very good marks. Unlike Wright he looks like he has sticky hands. Plenty of work to do on building up the physical strength but he looks to have a decent footy brain and his skills are okay.

Wanganeen - looks really good when he takes the game on and uses it by foot . Has to tidy up the handball as it was average . Also has to transition into defense a bit quicker once his part of the play is done.
 

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Not sure how much we can take away from this game. Lot of easy footy at times.

Tsatas - was good . He is very good in close . Kicking was okay. He has eliminated the real horrible stuff by going by hand in close when he can and is getting better contact on his longer kicking . Does not look like he is trying to kick the cover off the footy. Still kicks just as many floating punts as he does drop punts but it is better.

Hobbs - inside game as good as ever. Just does not have much on the outside other than finding a little space. Reason he is not in the side is Caldwell and Durham have better outside games.

Wiedeman - did not really have to do a lot. Couple of mistakes but he did what he had to.

Setterfield - lots of the footy and lots of tackles. Good game . Like Hobbs just lacks the outside game and how many inside midfielders can we play ?

Perkins - had some good moments but also times where he was just floating around . Thought he could have done more over the whole game.

Goldstein - dominated the hit outs as you would expect. Okay around the ground.

Hayes - played well but it was not a day that he would be challenged by a big KPF .

Hind - was not as good as last week. Did what he had to .

Wright - numbers looked okay but he should have dominated that defense . Dropped a few easy ones early .

Lual - he just makes too many mistakes . Does a few really good things but poor skill errors or simply ball watching hurts.

J Davey - first quarter was okay but was horrible after that . No impact after quarter time. Looked cooked.

Visentini - took a few very good marks. Unlike Wright he looks like he has sticky hands. Plenty of work to do on building up the physical strength but he looks to have a decent footy brain and his skills are okay.

Wanganeen - looks really good when he takes the game on and uses it by foot . Has to tidy up the handball as it was average . Also has to transition into defense a bit quicker once his part of the play is done.
Who stays on the list out of those you’ve mentioned here? A few here are questioning Wanganeen, Lual, Hayes and Davey. I think they all have legit qualities to persevere with. Hind will probably go somewhere else. Time’s up for Weid, Goldy, and ?? Setterfield?
 
Who stays on the list out of those you’ve mentioned here? A few here are questioning Wanganeen, Lual, Hayes and Davey. I think they all have legit qualities to persevere with. Hind will probably go somewhere else. Time’s up for Weid, Goldy, and ?? Setterfield?
Weideman and Goldstein are done with us .
Weideman could offer someone decent back up as a defender .
Hind is probably done given he has been in and out of the side .
Setterfield is borderline . He was part of the 22 early but his average skills and outside game limit him to be only really effective inside .
I think Wanganeen may be done. He has simply missed too much footy and we can not put him on the rookie list again.
J Davey has the skills and ability but his desire and competitiveness has been questionable at times and yesterday he did not look fit.
Lual makes too many skill errors at the moment but he will get next year.
Hayes should be pressing for selection next year . I was one who said early this year that he may only play 2 or 3 games if any.
 
With Setterfield I wonder what he would look like in that Stringer/Cripps/Bont Mid/6th Forward role.

He’s got good size and a decent mark when the least defended forward.

Seems like the thinking with him is Defensive mid = rotate to wing/Defence which is the traditional rotation. But given his skillset is more holding space then spreading I would be interested to see how he goes closer to goal
 
Of the mature fringe players Setterfield absolutely has the most merit in terms of a list spot next year.

Effort will never be questioned, he’s still the only defensively minded mid on the list, he takes a bit of the physical heat off the younger midfielders in the twos and a combination of him and a decent ruck means the VFL is eternally competitive, so you can actually get enough ball into the forward line to develop your forwards rather than getting pumped with no ball going inside 50.

If it was up to me he’d be seniors every week but being the best player in the VFL is also a positive outcome.
 
Weideman and Goldstein are done with us .
Weideman could offer someone decent back up as a defender .
Hind is probably done given he has been in and out of the side .
Setterfield is borderline . He was part of the 22 early but his average skills and outside game limit him to be only really effective inside .
I think Wanganeen may be done. He has simply missed too much footy and we can not put him on the rookie list again.
J Davey has the skills and ability but his desire and competitiveness has been questionable at times and yesterday he did not look fit.
Lual makes too many skill errors at the moment but he will get next year.
Hayes should be pressing for selection next year . I was one who said early this year that he may only play 2 or 3 games if any.
Hypothetically, could we put Jayden/lual onto the rookie list and move Tex to the senior list?

It seems like Tex has a lot of what we
miss/need off the HB line(some speed,class,can make something happen)and has had 2-3 good months under his belt.
Seems a shame to have put a couple of years into him just to delist as he MIGHT start getting somewhere.
 
They did just change the rookie rules so that players no longer have to be promoted or delisted after three years; it's now up to five. Can't stay on the rookie list though if they've played more than 10 games by the end of their fourth season.

So Tex can be kept on the rookie list next year if the club likes.
 
They did just change the rookie rules so that players no longer have to be promoted or delisted after three years; it's now up to five. Can't stay on the rookie list though if they've played more than 10 games by the end of their fourth season.

So Tex can be kept on the rookie list next year if the club likes.
I thought that might be the case. He is the perfect example of the type of player who can benefit from such a sensible yet simple ruling.
 
Need to play hayes, with reads body issues.

Laverde should be depth and nothing else instead he plays 15 plus games a year.
 
Had a look today.
Against ordinary opposition we were okay.
I do think there are some players who are going to struggle moving forward.
Jayden Davey is a one effort small forward who does not look like it for mine.
Sam Weideman is an honest plodder who is not good enough to be an afl listed player moving forward.’
Tex wanganeen shows some run but is fumbly and cannot stay in the game.
Luomon Lula looks a 1000 miles off it. Smart is a way better small forward and foley a way better small defender.
Hind was okay but if he cannot get a game in a slow senior team than he has probably had papers stamped.
Goody can ruck well but cannot be picked in front of Bryan moving forward. Was terrific with young players today.
Perkins lacks physicality and desperation but decision making better than most.
Tsatsas is a midfielder who can win inside but can spread with speed unlike other mids today. Kicking was okay.
Hobbs is an honest hard nut who lacks the zip of Caldwell and Durham. Parish is probably in his spot.
Setterfield is a bit bigger and honest but has he got the athleticism for afl footy.
Wright is very low on confidence and looked like he was trying too hard. Has some demons at the moment.
Visentini is improving. Ok if he can get a jump at it. Body work is poor.
Hayes is just an average tall. I do not see a lot in him and if hoard was a bit taller he would be a better option.

If ther are fair dinkum- Goldstein, weideman, j Davey, wanganeen, hind and luol could all be moved on quite comfortably for mine.

Shanahan showed that he can hit up at kicker and is a beautiful kick. Has a nice frame to build on but lacks explosiveness.
Oscar smart has as much talent as anyone out there.
Mid season recruit saad el-hawli was sitting with family rather than teammates. This was not a great look for mine.

The only ones who really put there hand up for senior selection was Setterfield. The rest were simply padding on an easy opposition. Would not begrudge Scott for going with very few changes at the selection table

May be underselling Hobbs' impact but Setterfield in a similar role was much more influential on the match.

(in terms of disposals for mine)

Setterfield - A clear best on. Easily. Won it both inside and out. As has been mentioned just gets the job done. Would be terrific depth for another year if he were offered another year not the list

Ben Hobbs - A so-so game. Showed flashes of brilliance but often a really workmanlike game from the young man. Not sure he did enough or had enough influence on the match to demand selection in a midfield that has been going ok

Elijah Tsatas - Similar to Hobbs, did well to win lots of footy but the impact was low. Skills were passable when keeping it simple. Wouldn't mind him continuing this development path for the rest of the year if Scott believes it.

Nick Hind - Gees' hes frustrating. You really want to like him for how much he takes the game on but often he leaves team mates in a poorer position. Several times he sold team mates into trouble with poor decisions. Still, I like what the energiser bunny does but geez he is frustrating.

Archie Perkins - Another with a so-so game. Should have had 3 + but kicking let him down. Did enough to influence the game but didn't dominate playing a more fwd than mid role.

Tex Wanganeen - Im not sold on this experiment. Maybe ive seen enough. Fumbly, decision making can be sub par but what he does do well is magical. Someone who could be a difference maker on a wet preliminary final night.

Lewis Hayes - Was really solid without being dominant. Just did what was needed.

Peter Wright 3 goals 2 behinds for a bloke who could have had 6+ if he didn't have concrete hands. I wouldn't be opposed to him having another week in the VFL

Sam Weidemann - Passable but nothing special.

Todd Goldstein - see above

Vigo Visentini - Showed some good signs before fading late

Luamon Lual - I don't see it. Gets lost in defence, little defence when in attack. Has some qualities (big, can take a mark etc) but is inconsistent as hell

Jayden Davey - Echo the sentiments from Ant. Had a really quiet time of it Not a great day
 
Of the VFL guys,

Matt Foley - was exceptionally good at winning the ball. Kicking is a little below the level but I like him.

Bailey Scott - Such a weird player. Looks laconic but then you check the stats and he's had high teens.

Cam Nyko - Had it a few times but looked fatigued due to the long season.

Jackson Hately - playing almost exclusively as a forward has been a good coaching move. 4 goals in last 2 weeks. Not sure he gets a go at the next level ala a Ben Keays type but a solid foot soldier at this level.

Oskar Smartt - A nice return to form for the one time mid season aspirant. 3 goals all from different types showed he does have tricks. I like him but would like to see him do this for more than one game.

Jobe Shanahan - The Coates Talent League overages showed some tricks. Took a nice contested mark and kicked truly. Showed forward craft with his leading lanes and was rewarded wit h4 on the day
 

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Of the VFL guys,

Matt Foley - was exceptionally good at winning the ball. Kicking is a little below the level but I like him.

Bailey Scott - Such a weird player. Looks laconic but then you check the stats and he's had high teens.

Cam Nyko - Had it a few times but looked fatigued due to the long season.

Jackson Hately - playing almost exclusively as a forward has been a good coaching move. 4 goals in last 2 weeks. Not sure he gets a go at the next level ala a Ben Keays type but a solid foot soldier at this level.

Oskar Smartt - A nice return to form for the one time mid season aspirant. 3 goals all from different types showed he does have tricks. I like him but would like to see him do this for more than one game.

Jobe Shanahan - The Coates Talent League overages showed some tricks. Took a nice contested mark and kicked truly. Showed forward craft with his leading lanes and was rewarded wit h4 on the day
Great summary.
Shanahan is only top age I believe.
Smart has much more ability than Jye Menzies.
He reminds me of Jamie Elliot with some of his speed and power.
 
Jobe Shanahan - The Coates Talent League overages showed some tricks. Took a nice contested mark and kicked truly. Showed forward craft with his leading lanes and was rewarded wit h4 on the day
Reckon he has a bit of Mihocek about him? Not an athlete but a competitor and smart footballer.
 
Respect your opinion but luol was not better than smart or foley so I think I am factually correct.
Show me a passage where he showed genuine speed.
Wanganeen did have some nice flashes but is that really enough at this stage of his career.
Nyko was ordinary below his knees and his kicking was not great today. Showed no speed in his movements but works hard.
Hately is too slow to make it as an afl forward and can’t run well enough to play afl midfield. Tried and failed at 2 clubs. I reckon vfl is his level.
A fault the bombers have made is overestimating their talent. They also need some fast footballers.
I don’t mind saad sitting with his family but he did not go to the players once.
That is poor.

Foley and Smart do not have physical growth left in them, they are mostly the products they will be in 5 years. I'm not interested in them even if they are slightly more productive now than a few of our rawer prospects.

I don't think Lual was playing a small forward role, so wasn't judging him on his ability to look like a live wire. He was a medium lead up, found himself a lot of space, not unlike Langford when he was first moved forward. His skills were poor but he had 5-6 possessions with time inside 50 which is promising. Didn't say he was better than anyone, just that he was promising, which he was for one of his first games ever playing forward.

Tex had more than flashes, 6 score involvements off half back, Martin is close to the most attacking half back in the comp and he averages 5.1, our next highest is Redman with 3.11. He's not afraid to hit angles, he's not kicking it into the man on the mark like half our senior defenders, he's taking it forward with every possession. His tank needs work still but he is producing enough clean ball to be more deserving than some of our turnover merchants are AFL level.

Nyko is raw still but he reminds me of VFL Durham. His side step is elite, his natural physicality is better than a stack of our senior players, a Maynard lite. The type of player that could be anything given a few preseasons.

I'm not advocating for us to pick up Hately, but he has clearly taken a large step forward over what he produced at Crows and GWS, if he improves 5% over what he is currently, he will be very draftable again.

I'm not looking for these guys like Lual, Nyko, Tex to be complete players now, but that they show enough AFL attributes that by the time they are 22 they can have exponential growth like Durham.
 
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Foley and Smart do not have physical growth left in them, they are mostly the products they will be in 5 years. I'm not interested in them even if they are slightly more productive now than a few of our rawer prospects.

I don't think Lual was playing a small forward role, so wasn't judging him on his ability to look like a live wire. He was a medium lead up, found himself a lot of space, not unlike Langford when he was first moved forward. His skills were poor but he had 5-6 possessions with time inside 50 which is promising. Didn't say he was better than anyone, just that he was promising, which he was for one of his first games ever playing forward.

Tex had more than flashes, 6 score involvements off half back, Martin is close to the most attacking half back in the comp and he averages 5.1, our next highest is Redman with 3.11. He's not afraid to hit angles, he's not kicking it into the man on the mark like half our senior defenders, he's taking it forward with every possession. His tank needs work still but he is producing enough clean ball to be more deserving than some of our turnover merchants are AFL level.

Nyko is raw still but he reminds me of VFL Durham. His side step is elite, his natural physicality is better than a stack of our senior players, a Maynard lite. The type of player that could be anything given a few preseasons.

I'm not advocating for us to pick up Hately, but he has clearly taken a large step forward over what he produced at Crows and GWS, if he improves 5% over what he is currently, he will be very draftable again.

I'm not looking for these guys like Lual, Nyko, Tex to be complete players now, but that they show enough AFL attributes that by the time they are 22 they can have exponential growth like Durham.
Great response.
I think you are reaching in your evaluation but acknowledge the thought and analysis.
Tex couldn’t out run Goodman from kicking a goal how does that translate to the AFL?
Mykonos showed no explosiveness in his running which Durham has always displayed.
Smart is the same age as lual and I do not know how you could say he has less physical growth.
The biggest reason he is not on a list is his lack of dedication and willingness to prepare off the field.
 
Great response.
I think you are reaching in your evaluation but acknowledge the thought and analysis.
Tex couldn’t out run Goodman from kicking a goal how does that translate to the AFL?
Mykonos showed no explosiveness in his running which Durham has always displayed.
Smart is the same age as lual and I do not know how you could say he has less physical growth.
The biggest reason he is not on a list is his lack of dedication and willingness to prepare off the field.
Foley and Smart do not have physical growth left in them, they are mostly the products they will be in 5 years. I'm not interested in them even if they are slightly more productive now than a few of our rawer prospects.

I don't think Lual was playing a small forward role, so wasn't judging him on his ability to look like a live wire. He was a medium lead up, found himself a lot of space, not unlike Langford when he was first moved forward. His skills were poor but he had 5-6 possessions with time inside 50 which is promising. Didn't say he was better than anyone, just that he was promising, which he was for one of his first games ever playing forward.

Tex had more than flashes, 6 score involvements off half back, Martin is close to the most attacking half back in the comp and he averages 5.1, our next highest is Redman with 3.11. He's not afraid to hit angles, he's not kicking it into the man on the mark like half our senior defenders, he's taking it forward with every possession. His tank needs work still but he is producing enough clean ball to be more deserving than some of our turnover merchants are AFL level.

Nyko is raw still but he reminds me of VFL Durham. His side step is elite, his natural physicality is better than a stack of our senior players, a Maynard lite. The type of player that could be anything given a few preseasons.

I'm not advocating for us to pick up Hately, but he has clearly taken a large step forward over what he produced at Crows and GWS, if he improves 5% over what he is currently, he will be very draftable again.

I'm not looking for these guys like Lual, Nyko, Tex to be complete players now, but that they show enough AFL attributes that by the time they are 22 they can have exponential growth like Durham.

The worry, re Tex, is how dumbly he is when under pressure. For a half back he does all the fun attacking things well but the other stuff is my worry. Fumble, loses position easily and often struggles to work back.

Lual is the other when behind the ball gets sucked up ball watching. He has a lot of strong physical attributes but putting it all together is the concern. Moving him forward seems like a desperate attempt to get him involved in the play.

fwiw, of the (constant) VFL guys I would have them as draft ales in this order;

1. Cam Nyko
2. Matt Foley
3. Will Hoare
4. Jarrod Eckersley
5. Jackson Hatley
 
The worry, re Tex, is how dumbly he is when under pressure. For a half back he does all the fun attacking things well but the other stuff is my worry. Fumble, loses position easily and often struggles to work back.

Lual is the other when behind the ball gets sucked up ball watching. He has a lot of strong physical attributes but putting it all together is the concern. Moving him forward seems like a desperate attempt to get him involved in the play.

fwiw, of the (constant) VFL guys I would have them as draft ales in this order;

1. Cam Nyko
2. Matt Foley
3. Will Hoare
4. Jarrod Eckersley
5. Jackson Hatley

For mine I didn't find Tex fumbly. The times he did I thought 99% of players would have in the same position. Bobbling ball in the mud pit at finger tip range and still kept it in front of himself and gathered cleanly on the second attempt. Didn't consider any of them unforced errors.

Lual is definitely a longer stretch to make it, but I doubt they would have expected him to be much more advanced that he is. Always likely to be 2 year project to see what happens.
 
For mine I didn't find Tex fumbly. The times he did I thought 99% of players would have in the same position. Bobbling ball in the mud pit at finger tip range and still kept it in front of himself and gathered cleanly on the second attempt. Didn't consider any of them unforced errors.

Lual is definitely a longer stretch to make it, but I doubt they would have expected him to be much more advanced that he is. Always likely to be 2 year project to see what happens.
The dumbly bit is just an observation of his year. When he is up and going full of confidence he can be a 1-touch player. Saturday’s conditions certainly didn’t help his cause.

Im not sold on Lual and see him in the bottom 10 on the list at the moment. Will watch him come on over the next 15 months crosses fingers
 
Great response.
I think you are reaching in your evaluation but acknowledge the thought and analysis.
Tex couldn’t out run Goodman from kicking a goal how does that translate to the AFL?
Mykonos showed no explosiveness in his running which Durham has always displayed.
Smart is the same age as lual and I do not know how you could say he has less physical growth.
The biggest reason he is not on a list is his lack of dedication and willingness to prepare off the field.

Reaching for sure but for a reason, we've drafted far too many limited players over the year off production and then act shocked when they can't produce against more mobile and competitive athletes.

Smartt was already 84kgs at draft age, I don't see where the growth comes from, while his footy brain is good, his pace and dynamism just isnt there. He's a Charlie Spargo type prospect, that I just don't see the value investing in. From what I'm seeing AFL level upside as a small forward just isn't there. If he's going to make it, I'd like to see him in the guts, but even still unnecessary to what we already have, unless he becomes a Neale esque bull.
 
Had a look today.
Against ordinary opposition we were okay.
I do think there are some players who are going to struggle moving forward.
Jayden Davey is a one effort small forward who does not look like it for mine.
Sam Weideman is an honest plodder who is not good enough to be an afl listed player moving forward.’
Tex wanganeen shows some run but is fumbly and cannot stay in the game.
Luomon Lula looks a 1000 miles off it. Smart is a way better small forward and foley a way better small defender.
Hind was okay but if he cannot get a game in a slow senior team than he has probably had papers stamped.
Goody can ruck well but cannot be picked in front of Bryan moving forward. Was terrific with young players today.
Perkins lacks physicality and desperation but decision making better than most.
Tsatsas is a midfielder who can win inside but can spread with speed unlike other mids today. Kicking was okay.
Hobbs is an honest hard nut who lacks the zip of Caldwell and Durham. Parish is probably in his spot.
Setterfield is a bit bigger and honest but has he got the athleticism for afl footy.
Wright is very low on confidence and looked like he was trying too hard. Has some demons at the moment.
Visentini is improving. Ok if he can get a jump at it. Body work is poor.
Hayes is just an average tall. I do not see a lot in him and if hoard was a bit taller he would be a better option.

If ther are fair dinkum- Goldstein, weideman, j Davey, wanganeen, hind and luol could all be moved on quite comfortably for mine.

Shanahan showed that he can hit up at kicker and is a beautiful kick. Has a nice frame to build on but lacks explosiveness.
Oscar smart has as much talent as anyone out there.
Mid season recruit saad el-hawli was sitting with family rather than teammates. This was not a great look for mine.
Interesting read when you consider our preseason.
Goldstein is depth and teaching.
Luol on a 2 year deal.
 

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VFL Northern Bullants v Essendon - Saturday 3 August, 2:05pm, Genis Steel Oval

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