Opinion THORP: The Good, The Bad and all the Unknowns in-between

[Chalky Blues]

Sydney's "no dickheads" policy did go out the window when they recruited Tippett and Franklin - 2 players who would whore themselves to the highest bidder.

Also remember they did the same thing when they got Lockett, and took a punt on Barry Hall both turned out well for them

 

[First Poster]

Here is a team somebody did a couple of years ago of players from Tasmania still going around in 2010
B: A. Joseph, N. Grima, M. Davies
HB: J. Webberley, C. Garland, G. Birchall
C: M. Robinson, J. Sherman, T. Collier
HF: B. Green, S. Wiggins, B. Moles
F: A. Cornelius, J. Riewoldt, T. Hislop
R: A. Graham, B. Rawlings, S. Lonergan
I: S. Taylor, T. Bellchambers, R. Harwood, J. Crichton
Others not included (hopefully I have them all covered): B. McCulloch, T. Allwright, J. Laycock, L. Jones, L. Russel (GC), M.Weller (GC)

And from above I noticed it must have been done before Jeremy Howe was drafted so add him to the list.

Most of the players you mentioned got picked on Tassie mariners form or form during the carnival. not from playing in the State leaque

N.Grima left Tassie and played in the SANFL so he would have a chance of being drafted.

The state league only started in 2009 after not having a state league for over 10 years. So you are extremly wrong on most cases

 

[dropdead1]

You did your best to make a reasonable post dropdead1 but it's not correct.....

I am confident that I am right. I have faith that our culture is strong enough to keep Thorp in line. I don't think the leadership will have any issues keeping his ego in check. I also genuinely believe that Thorp has matured and has realized the errors of his ways. He was made a laughing stock by the hawks.

 

[Wickzki]

Put me firmly in the do not want Thorp camp.

Will be bitterly disappointed if we draft him.

 

[Sin City]

Most of the players you mentioned got picked on Tassie mariners form or form during the carnival. not from playing in the State leaque

N.Grima left Tassie and played in the SANFL so he would have a chance of being drafted.

The state league only started in 2009 after not having a state league for over 10 years. So you are extremly wrong on most cases

As well as that most of them played for the Devils in the VFL.

I am confident that I am right. I have faith that our culture is strong enough to keep Thorp in line. I don't think the leadership will have any issues keeping his ego in check. I also genuinely believe that Thorp has matured and has realized the errors of his ways. He was made a laughing stock by the hawks.

I can't point it out any more than I already have.....

I don't hear anyone saying that off field behaviour is not relevant. Similarly, I don't hear anyone saying that Thorpe has serious ongoing behavioural issues. Some people have cautioned against some historical (and some more recent) claims of off field demeanour but clearly the club would be putting a lot more work into him than that if there is any interest at all. I think apart from very few people (who I suspect are children) most do not have a strong opinion on if we should get Thorpe or not since most just do not have the information required to make an assessment. I think this sounds about right because I feel pretty certain that getting Thorpe to Carlton is not going to lead to an Angwin or a Kernahan but something in between. He may provide some depth, he may even play some handy games. He probably wont't get to AA and he probably won't burn the joint down.

Not sure what you've been reading then but it's stated plenty of times, usually followed by people burying their heads in the sand.

 

[First Poster]

As well as that most of them played for the Devils in the VFL.

Very true, Ian Callinan was one that got drafted trough the devils. There has been no mature age players been drafted from TSL.

 

[Chalky Blues]

There's a bloke been kicking a stack of goals for Yarrawonga, perhaps we should have a look at him. His off-field behaviour is a bit of a concern, but apparently this is not relevant.

Sad thing is if Fev was still playing for us we would've definitely been higher on the ladder this year. Waite been out for more games than he is in has killed us the past two years

 

[Murphkreuzmitch]

Is this still going?

Apart from being arrogant can someone PM me what other things make him such a risk?

We have a few figjam's on our list already. There is not anything wrong with that.

 

[Chalky Blues]

Very true, Ian Callinan was one that got drafted trough the devils. There has been no mature age players been drafted from TSL.

Jeremy Howe??

 

[First Poster]

Jeremy Howe??

Yeah may have me there. But he was only 19.

 

[Chalky Blues]

In the end of the day we need another big bloke on our list who can take a decent mark plus kick straight for goal.
We've delisted Mitchell & McCarthy and we could all dwell over the wasted years on these guys, But what's the point the club took a punt on both of them and unfortunately they don't all workout and so we move on.
If the draft is as weak as they are saying and drops away quickily after the first 30 or so players why not have a crack on him??

 

[Go_Blues!]

Not sure what you've been reading then but it's stated plenty of times, usually followed by people burying their heads in the sand.

Right, but I think all of what I have read has been obscure or wrong. I remember discussing this with you (Sin) on here after he got cut from Hawthorn. You seemed to know some of what happened but not all of it. I think it was a bit worse than what you knew but you may have been holding back. My view is that he was a liability and Hawthorn did the right thing by cutting him. However, I think that what a 18 year old kid does is pretty irrelevant when compared to what a 25 year old premiership winning captain/coach and father has done.

I know nothing of what he has done for the past few years other than what I have read here and other places. However, in the absence of any real information, I am probably slightly leaning towards taking him with a low pick or rookie given all that he has achieved and where he has come from. If people are saying he was cut from Hawthorn because he is a FIGJAM, they are dead wrong (he may be a FIGJAM but that is not why he was cut). If people say we should not draft him for the same reason, they are crazy. Footy clubs are made up of all sorts of people and they are diverse and rich environments that thrive on the different personalities within them.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

I might start typing up a

#51: Welcome To Carlton Mitch Thorpe OP so i can post it as soon as his number is read out

 

[mediumsizered]

Well there's quite an age difference between Fev and Thorp for one..........

Maybe if we had Fev during the 2011 season we actually would have made the top 4 for the only time since 2000. Or made the finals in 2012.
Instead we have been one of the most poorly performed clubs since 2002, despite being given all the possible concessions to succeed (draft picks ect.).
But hey, at least we don't have to wake up to reports that one of our players got into an argument with a taxi driver at 3am. Go Blues!



Clubs steering clear of him? Haha, I'm sorry, I didn't know that state league players have an avenue to an AFL list before the Draft.
Could he have been picked up as a restricted or unrestricted free-agent? Possibly as a delisted free-agent? Or maybe via a trade from South Launceston to an AFL club? - please let me know.
Yeah, I really do wonder why the AFL clubs have steered clear of him and haven't picked him up so far. It's a mystery.........

We'll sure see how clubs steer clear of him come the Draft this Thursday....

Something makes we wonder if you are Mitch Thorp or very close to him. Clubs have not been beating down your/his door to interview you/him before this week's draft. Some clubs who you/he has been linked with by the media have already said they are not interested. In my language this translates to clubs steering clear of you/him.

My memory of the 2011 season is of a forward line that functioned better than any other time in the previous decade, hence our 5th place finish, our best performance since 2000, when Whitnall was AA & Hamill was our second best forward.

We didn't miss the finals in 2012 because we didn't have Fev, it was a combination of injuries to key players, Ratts losing the players & the reality that there was a significant gap between our best players & those in the 15-30 region on our list, a gap which was again highlighted on many occasions this season & has seen a number of players moved on since the end of the season.

BTW, how many premierships did the Lions win whilst Fev was up there?

FWIW, Fev had to be shown the door after his efforts at the Brownlow Medal in 2009 (not the on camera stuff either) & his behaviour has continued to be immature & way below that of what should be expected of an elite footballer.

 

[mediumsizered]

Seems to me that almost no one in this discussion wants to hear good arguments coming from those with the opposite opinion. Which is a shame because there has been some god arguments

Actually it is quite the opposite. A number of people in this thread have acknowledged the arguments on the affirmative side of the debate whilst the handful of posters who have argued against recruiting Thorp have been attacked for disagreeing, including the poster who offered up evidence of aspects of Thorp's behaviour which perhaps indicate he may not be suitable to be drafted onto an AFL list.

What we are seeing from the pro-Thorp camp is an argument based on stats & a you-tube package of his highlights. Any suggestion that the stats need to be weighed against the standard of the competition Thorp has been playing in are angrily shot down, yet as I have posted previously the likes of Aaron Edwards, Fev & you could also add Dean Galea, have put up some good performances in lesser competitions but this does not automatically translate to success at AFL level (Edwards is at his 3rd AFL club & has not cemented a best 22 position at any of the 3 clubs). In addition, you-tube highlights packages are a very minor picture of a player's suitability for AFL selection. Club recruiters would have been monitoring Thorp this season & would have spoken to personnel at Thorp's club, at opposition clubs & most likely those who worked with him at Hawthorn & Werribee & would be looking well beyond his stats & you-tube highlights.

 

[CrippsonBlue]

whilst the handful of posters who have argued against recruiting Thorp have been attacked for disagreeing

Quote an example of this so called 'attacking' - you're stretching.

including the poster who offered up evidence of aspects of Thorp's behaviour which perhaps indicate he may not be suitable to be drafted onto an AFL list

Evidence? Someone's opinion of another isn't evidence nor fact, it's just that, an opinion. Not one example of his so called unruly character has been given. If you're going to rubbish a blokes character, the onus is on you to back that up with reasoning otherwise you've added nothing.

 

[mediumsizered]

Quote an example of this so called 'attacking' - you're stretching.


Evidence? Someone's opinion of another isn't evidence nor fact, it's just that, an opinion. Not one example of his so called unruly character has been given. If you're going to rubbish a blokes character, the onus is on you to back that up with reasoning otherwise you've added nothing.

It wasn't the poster's opinion, but I think you already know that.

FWIW, I haven't rubbished the bloke's character because I am entirely meh about whether our club is drafting him or not, all I have done is refer to what was offered up by one poster who actually provided something more than stuff he had read somewhere else & who subsequently got attacked for disagreeing with a poster who is extremely pro-Thorp & not open to anyone other than those who are on the bandwagon.

 

[berisha]

If Aaron Edwards could kick we wouldn't have beat Richmond. He pantsed whoever he was on.

 

[berisha]

As said before. Thorp has an ego. Big deal. The bloke can play footy. Everyone saying he is wrong for the club is deluded. Most footballers have egos. How can we be critical of Thorp when we have a bloke on our list who has a criminal record, who also happens to be my favourite player. Mitch has no problem with booze, drugs, gambling. As a kid he thought he was better than what he was. He's matured and moved on. Why can't everyone else?

 

[CrippsonBlue]

It wasn't the poster's opinion, but I think you already know that

Yeah I was referring to the teammate of Thorp where this opinion was derived and my point stands, it's still just an opinion and far from fact. Winning the premiership is a pretty strong counter argument that it is not an opinion that was shared by the playing group as a whole.

FWIW, I haven't rubbished the bloke's character because I am entirely meh about whether our club is drafting him or not

I was not referring to you specifically, and while I lean towards drafting him, I am equally meh. But this is a real bloke, having his character rubbished on an open forum, yet not even one specific example to back any claims exists.

 

[Juddys_navy_blues]

AS long as he isn't a Lawrence Angwin id be happy for us to take him with our 3rd pick..

 

[Beer n Skittles]

If Aaron Edwards could kick we wouldn't have beat Richmond. He pantsed whoever he was on.

He was on Tuohy at the start when he was dominating. Was a strange matchup since Tuohy played so well on Martin a few weeks earlier

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

AS long as he isn't a Lawrence Angwin id be happy for us to take him with our 3rd pick..

I think its apples and oranges.

Angwin was mentally unstable - anybody who steals from team mates (not just Karl Norman), turns up to training an hour late under the influence, and gets kicked off public transport for being under the influence and doing bizarre things just cannot exist or be relied upon in a team environment.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

A complete lack of communication surrounding Thorp in yet another thread.

I'm a bit bemused by calls that those providing information are being attacked by those with their head in the sand and so forth. It's a little like 'we gave you the info we heard and you chose to ignore it ... how dare you doubt us.'

As I have said numerous times, just because somebody reveals inside information, it doesn't mean everybody has to believe them. It doesn't mean everybody goes 'oh look, a long time poster said it, stop the discussion'. It shouldn't be about wounded egos here, it should be 'take it or leave it'. There is zero personal affront associated with a discussion continuing long after someone had declared it over by telling what they heard. I myself haven't heard it. I suspect it is back in this thread, or the draft thread or the trade thread or the rumour thread, but I'm not going to look for it and I suspect most aren't going to look for it.

Feel free to PM this inside information so I can add context but bear in mind that even if Mick, Sticks or Macca told me themselves, I'm not going to stop people from declaring they want Thorp or speculating on the personal growth they think he must have undergone. Unless they have heard it straight from the club, they are not duty bound to believe anything.

I put a warning in the early posts and people on both sides have resorted to having shots or posting generalisations about a group of supporters. Disappointing.

3 days to go before the inevitable pointscoring posts and subsequent moderation begins.

 

[Blue Flame]

3 days to go before the inevitable pointscoring posts and subsequent moderation begins.

In before you say I told you so