Past Tom Collier (2008-2011)

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Re: Tom Collier

2008 Review

2009 End of Season Review

In a word: holding

6 games in his 2nd season doesn't make bad reading, particularly when the player in question is a 192cm defender. Somehow though, there's a tinge of disappointment about Collier's development in 2009, most likely borne out of heightened expectations rather than diminished performance. Still, he played the same amount of games in his first season (albeit in a worse performing side). Stagnant is too strong a word to describe his development but he's not taken any giant leaps forward either.

Collier headed into the 2009 season as one of the "trained the house down" players that get the focus of an idle media and fanbase in January and February. Having stacked on some weight (reportedly 8 kgs), Collier looked a million bucks on the training paddock and again during the NAB Cup. That pre-season work earned him a spot in the 22 for round 1. Collier failed to impress in that outing, spent some time in the reserves and, unfortunately, sidelined with injury, only playing twice between rounds 1 and 15.

Returning to the side in round 15, Collier put together his best performance as a senior footballer against Geelong, amassing 17 mostly good touches in a performance which showed why he is highly regarded by the Lions faithful. That performance earned him selection in the next two games, only for him to suffer a knee strain in round 17 against the Kangaroos. He was unsighted then for the rest of the season. Given Voss's late season preference for giving the young guys a go, there was a reasonable chance that Collier would have retained his spot in the seniors had he not been injured (James Hawksley made his first appearance in the next round effectively as Collier's replacement as a half back flanker and played every game for the rest of the year).

Collier's got a bit of work to do to secure a spot in the best 22 next year. Whilst tall enough to play as a key defender (taller than Patfull, same height as Maguire) he hasn't shown any of the strength in the air required to play on opposition talls. Where he has shown promise is as a running defender, where straight line speed, bulk and attack on the footy are his prime assets. There is a lack of finesse in his play at the moment, something that has to be improved for him to become an AFL standard running defender. There's no place for the indecisive or under-skilled when brining the ball out of defence.

It is somewhat unfair to label a young player's 3rd season as "make or break" but it probably is somewhat "last chance stakes" for Collier. There are spots up for grab in defence with Merrett, Patfull and McGrath probably the only guaranteed selections down back. However, there is a long line of prospective candidates including more experienced players like Adcock and Drummond who may spend time in defence. A Lions defence could well set up with not a single young player, creating a real bottleneck for the youngsters pushing for a spot in the back 6. That means the players caught behind that bottleneck need to either force Voss's hand with performance or find another role. Hence, this is a key season.

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Re: Tom Collier

Have to say disappointing so far,even allowing for talls usually needing more time.

However,the way forward for Tom is the same as it is for all - tear it up regularly in the two's..demand selection and perform when given an opportunity in top grade.
 
Re: Jonathan Brown

Brown backs Brisbane's best bets
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/90321/default.aspx

Who are the second- or third-year players who could really step up in Dream Team?
They’ve all been quite impressive. Daniel Rich is a standout. I think he’ll continue to go from strength to strength. He’ll be pretty expensive, of course. Four others that spring to mind are Jack Redden, James Polkinghorne, Tom Rockliff and Tom Collier. They’ve all had really good pre-seasons. Hopefully those guys will play a lot of senior footy this year.
 
Re: Tom Collier

The mood at the moment is that Collier is a dead man walking as far as his spot on the list goes. The only chance I have had to see him was the highlights from Round 1 in the NAB Cup. Fair to say he looked abysmal, with a number of Bulldogs goals coming directly from his mistakes. Is he any better than Jason Roe? It is hard to imagine someone so uncertain with their disposal ever turning it around.
 
Re: Tom Collier

Problem with Collier is that its not just a matter of telling him to back himself, because quite often he does, and gets caught.

He must have zero confidence right now... will probably take something special to claw his way back from where he is now.
 
Re: Tom Collier

Grimreepah said:
Is he any better than Jason Roe?
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I'm in the same boat as you, having only seen him play vs the doggies, and he clearly struggled...but I think that's a bit of an unfair comparison. How old's Tom? 21?
 
Re: Tom Collier

Tom made a lot of meterage from bull runs that broke tackles in the junior league. Tackles stick in the seniors and I am not sure if he has too many other tricks in his bag. Not to say he can't learn more skills it is just up to how much time the club is going to put into him.
 
Re: Tom Collier

Meh, hasn't come on at all. Expect him to be delisted come the end of the season unless vast improvement in skills and decision making ability.
 

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Re: Tom Collier

Tassie4ever said:
Commenting as one who had almost written him off, got to say he played a lot better on Sunday. May be turning the corner.
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What was the main difference, Tassie? Also, do you think the quality of the opposition had something to do with it?
 
Re: Tom Collier

POBT said:
What was the main difference, Tassie? Also, do you think the quality of the opposition had something to do with it?
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The opposition wasn't good, that's true, but you can only beat what's in front of you. He played with a bit more dash and also his skills were quite good.

In Collier's case, what springs to mind is the observation that the better coaches make- that is, you don't coach a group, you coach a group of individuals.

I don't know the bloke, but I reckon any difficulty Tom is having or has had is maybe down to a confidence thing. From what I've seen, he seems to get really down on himself if things aren't rolling along well, at least that's what his body language says. From this, poor decision-making and inadequate skills follow.

Maybe McCrea, who seems to be a very astute sort of coach, is recognising the need for a bit of one-on-one.
 
Re: Tom Collier

He doesn't appear to have improved from the moment he was drafted. He has talent, but he hasn't developed well enough physically to break tackles. I like his willingness to take on opponents, but he may not ever develop the body to do this effectively at AFL level.
 
Re: Tom Collier

Mr Ripper said:
Tom from Tassie was switched to half forward after the main break and looked GREAT. Kicked well, teamed well with other forwards and played with confidence. Could be his salvation.
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Mr Ripper said:
I'd like to see how he goes with a full game in the forward line. The transformation on Saturday was unbelievable; 'twas like a different player out there. Gone was the all-at-sea backman and in his place was a smart, sharp forward.
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Must have impressed the selectors too. I wonder if we will see him at half forward.
 
Re: Tom Collier

Was mentioned that he was switched to HF for the 2nd half of last weeks game and did really well. Considering Collier seems to suffer from a confidence thing, perhaps it was seen as a chance to get him in while his confidence was up a little after a decent game. The other thing is that perhaps between Staker and Collier we can switch them back or forward if needed.
 
Re: Tom Collier

Grimreepah said:
Must have impressed the selectors too. I wonder if we will see him at half forward.
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Not if the lions website is anything to go by...


Collier - who played six matches in each of his previous two seasons - has also earned his chance for senior selection and is likely to line up in the depleted Lions backline
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Re: Tom Collier

Was good tonight. He is still very rough around the edges with some things but he attacks the ball hard. His kicking was a pleasant surprise too - really efficient and took good options. I also think that it is a good sign that he looked equally at home in defence and attack.
 

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Past Tom Collier (2008-2011)

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