Player Watch Sam Berry - Contract Extension to End of 2026

[FR0GGY]

Pretty sure he could do everything Murphy does up forward which is SFA.

 

[FR0GGY]

Nah ....once a fumbler, always a fumbler ....and it potentially happens in a pressure cooked Final

He'll be a depth player .....would have preferred he be traded

I don’t remember him fumbling as much as he did in the last few games though?

 

[Mutineer]

Thompson was rock solid and a good average player who rarely got injured?

Thompson a good average player?

Surely you jest?

He carried the Crows midfield for almost a decade.

155 Brownlow votes the most by any Crow I'm pretty sure?

 

[Pugsley]

Jeez, I don't know what some people watch sometimes. I'm stoked we've retained him after dicking him around the last two years. I think people might get a surprise next year after another preseason. He's a bull who can work through traffic and can kick goals. Works great both ways. Can take a mark. I guess we will have to wait and see but I like him.

Get the fumbling out of his game and we have a player.

 

[dogs105]

Thompson was rock solid and a good average player who rarely got injured?

He was an All-Australian, and twice B&F winner, and also top 3 B&F on several other occasions. I think that's better than "good average player".

 

[dogs105]

#	Player​	Teams	Votes	Adj. Votes*	3	2	1	EG*	Ave.*	Wins
1​	Scott Thompson	AD​	152​	152​	29​	27​	11​	253​	0.60​
2​	Mark Ricciuto	AD​	146​	146​	26​	28​	12​	296​	0.49​	1​
3​	Andrew McLeod	AD​	144​	144​	31​	19​	13​	318​	0.45​
4​	Rory Sloane	AD​	108​	108​	21​	13​	19​	246​	0.44​
5​	Patrick Dangerfield	AD​	97​	97​	23​	11​	6​	147​	0.66​
6​	Rory Laird	AD​	93​	93​	12​	22​	13​	217​	0.43​
7​	Taylor Walker	AD​	84​	84​	19​	8​	11​	250​	0.34​
8​	Tyson Edwards	AD​	75​	75​	12​	13​	13​	299​	0.25​
9​	Simon Goodwin	AD​	74​	74​	14​	13​	6​	252​	0.29​
10​	Shaun Rehn

Our top ten players by number of Brownlow votes.

 

[Bovo]

Just think of a headless chook running.

Not this therapy again!

 

[Firewalker]

Jeez Nicks just loves his honest triers. I like Berry, I think he’s got some great tools when his head’s on straight in a game, he’s tough, does have some burst and can kick an important goal, it’s just his ball handling, want to run directly into contact and inability to hit the side of a barn door with his disposal at times that are still glaring issues and pretty important ones if you want to be a decent AFL player.

That Crouch, Laird & Berry midfield used at times this year was vomit inducing because their obvious weaknesses were all exposed. Even if Laird is somehow a halfback again in the eyes of Nicks when that fails and/or the midfield fails yet again Nicks is just going to put his teacher’s pet Laird straight back in the middle again.

Having Berry’s signing on they really can’t say they they’re going to diversify/make that that part of the ground more dynamic… unless they screw over Berry again and just played him in the 2nd half of the season so he’d sign on and then they’ll prefer others over him again and shove him back in the 2s next year, the coach would never do that to accommodate senior veteran players… right?

 

[skam85]

On the list of stupid things we've done as a football club in the past few years this barely cracks the top 100.

 

[Bovo]

Jeez Nicks just loves his honest triers. I like Berry, I think he’s got some great tools when his head’s on straight in a game, he’s tough, does have some burst and can kick an important goal, it’s just his ball handling, want to run directly into contact and inability to hit the side of a barn door with his disposal at times that are still glaring issues and pretty important ones if you want to be a decent AFL player.

That Crouch, Laird & Berry midfield used at times this year was vomit inducing because their obvious weaknesses were all exposed. Even if Laird is somehow a halfback again in the eyes of Nicks when that fails and/or the midfield fails yet again Nicks is just going to put his teacher’s pet Laird straight back in the middle again.

Having Berry’s signing on they really can’t say they they’re going to diversify/make that that part of the ground more dynamic… unless they screw over Berry again and just played him in the 2nd half of the season so he’d sign on and then they’ll prefer others over him again and shove him back in the 2s next year, the coach would never do that to accommodate senior veteran players… right?

My only slight with this is the Likes of Laird and Crouch aren’t going to grow as players much more you’d think. That doesn’t mean they won’t still have good games, but what you see is what you get. Berry is still a 22 year old kid. People here are assuming that that’s it. We’ve seen all he has to offer. Let’s have this conversation again in 4 years time. It’s too early to write the kid off!

 

[Interloperer]

I mentioned in the season review thread. It's probably a good signing. But probably not a great sign for the club that it is a good signing.

Despite his development being a disappointment. Berry is unambiguously in the best 22 currently. There's no obvious like-for-like replacement, nobody that's just about to take the next step, and no obvious trade target that's a clear improvement. Plus the risk of Matt Crouch

5

Matt Crouch

Age

29

Ht

183cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

28.4

5star

K

12.0

4star

HB

16.4

5star

M

3.3

3star

T

3.9

5star

CL

4.8

5star

D

24.9

5star

K

9.7

4star

HB

15.1

5star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.4

3star

CL

4.4

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

10.8

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

3.4

5star

CL

2.0

4star

ageing out is a plausible one.

The club would be worse of if he left. The decision is pretty obvious to me.

It's just science!

 

[Golumless]

Seems a reasonable extension. He's not an amazing center mid, but it does seem like the game is pushing towards having one guy who is a defensive beast in your midfield rotation, even if you're not getting a lot out of them offensively - think Rowbottom at Sydney, Drew at Port Adelaide, Atkins at Geelong who have all found niches in strong units as guys who are primarily there to provide pressure.

 

[cmndstab]

It's not the most inspiring contract extension, but I don't hate this. There is a player in there somewhere if we are good enough to draw it out of him. His accumulation is fine if he can get rid of the fumbles, and with the likes of Taylor, Soligo, etc coming through who are all fairly small, we will need someone with his grunt in the stoppages as well.

If worse comes to worse, he's decent depth and it's one list spot for two years. Lord knows we've got plenty of other plodders we can get rid of instead.

 

[Coopers]

Well then. This means a couple things:

• He needs to get better. More of the ball, less fumbles.
• He needs to squeeze Laird or Crouch out of the team. Don't want all 3 of them in.

 

[Drummond]

I’m done. What a pathetic excuse for a football club. Zero elite standards.

 

[skam85]

I’m done. What a pathetic excuse for a football club. Zero elite standards.

Narrator: he was not yet done being done

 

[Barneythecrab]

Excellent news, now **** off laird and make sure crouch and Berry are not
In a rotation together.

 

[jimvic]

I would like to see us explore him forward more.

He is deceptively good overhead even though we haven’t seen it much yet and has some power with his leap and speed. Has a decent fend too. Obviously is an elite tackler.

Maybe not as a permanent fixture but until he sorts out this fumbling (this may be more mental than anything, it clearly became an escalating problem late season) his effectiveness in the guts is limited and we’d be better off getting more class in there.

agree that he is deceptively good overhead, but not sure about playing him forward

 

[jimvic]

Mixed feelings.

If he can get his production up and fumbles down there’s a good player in him. Could he be a Durham type?

nope he could never be as good as that

 

[feenix67]

I’m done. What a pathetic excuse for a football club. Zero elite standards.

Out of everything the club has done, this is the hill you're dying on??

 

[Mutineer]

I’m done. What a pathetic excuse for a football club. Zero elite standards.

How many times is that you've said "Ï'm done"?

You keep saying it but here we are...Again.

 

[Mutineer]

Out of everything the club has done, this is the hill you're dying on??

He's been dying on that fabled hill for years...

But here we are...Again.

 

[Drummond]

He's been dying on that fabled hill for years...

But here we are...Again.

Seriously, the club is total joke.

No actual care about getting better.

We got x amount of memberships, we make money, we are so good!!

 

[cmndstab]

Drummond is just reminding us that he remains done. He has not yet become undone since last time

 

[TARANTULA]

Placeholder until pick 4 comes good.