Travis Boak - The Next Step

[shewho]

I think this as good as good it gets for him...

The odd standout game sprinkled with good games and very average games indeed...he is what 24 now and I don't see how he is going to get better he should be at the peak of his powers and well if this it...it is what it is...

Crud. Boak has some very rare skills that could make him an elite player. Two things concern me about him though- (1) since NAB r1 he has tried to break tackles when the Incredible Hulk would've looked to handball. (2) He seems to have the odd game where you'd swear he's smeared butter on his hands. This only happens twice a year but Saturday was one.

Solution to both problems might be to stop trying to do too much and just concentrate on doing your bit when the ball comes near you.

Those blaming other midfielders for not creating paths for him should take a reality check and note that Moses doesn't play on ball for us and his medium was water not Essendon midfielders.

Those writing him off as anything less than an elite player will, however, be eating their words like they were loaves and fishes when Travis works out what he can and can't do in the clinches.

 

[pstew2dstew]

as good as it gets? dumb comment

Boak has played some magnificent football in the past. It's clear that he has tried to take his game to another level and has bitten off a bit more than he can chew. i say he is just a bit rusty. no doubt he is learning from his mistakes and im going to back him in to turn it around.

Do you know how many players play magnificent football in the past for our team and still get ripped to shreds eg pearce....boak is no different..

Look dude I know the man love that goes on from around here ....but I am just tired of the excuses that people put up for him...

I wish he would be elite I wish he was everything and more ...but he hasn't earnt it in my eyes...

I don't think it was a stupid comment either... So far it is good as it gets then read what I wrote after that....just in case you missed it

few standout games sprinkled with a few good and average games...how is that stupid?

 

[pstew2dstew]

Crud. Boak has some very rare skills that could make him an elite player. Two things concern me about him though- (1) since NAB r1 he has tried to break tackles when the Incredible Hulk would've looked to handball. (2) He seems to have the odd game where you'd swear he's smeared butter on his hands. This only happens twice a year but Saturday was one.

Solution to both problems might be to stop trying to do too much and just concentrate on doing your bit when the ball comes near you.

Those blaming other midfielders for not creating paths for him should take a reality check and note that Moses doesn't play on ball for us and his medium was water not Essendon midfielders.

Those writing him off as anything less than an elite player will, however, be eating their words like they were loaves and fishes when Travis works out what he can and can't do in the clinches.

Pearce has rare skills

So does rodan

So does kane kornes

So does justin westhoff

They all get harsh criticism ...what makes boak immune?

I am not saying he is a bad player or rubbish I just want him to stand up and take the next step...but at 24 i can't see it as he is as good as he was 2 years ago

I hope boak becomes elite I will eat my words and take my medicine with a smile...

 

[Jonts]

Puts extra muscle on and loses speed, thought it was a no brainer

As the year goes on he'll get better using his heavier body to his advantage

Giving him some holes and winning more hitouts would also help, also would help if the teams skills lifted as a whole

 

[PatientMental]

Puts extra muscle on and loses speed, thought it was a no brainer

Plenty of players have put on weight and gotten faster, stronger and more explosive.

 

[Shaxx Attaxx]

You act like he's put on 20kgs. On average the joys put on 2kgs in the off season, that won't slow them down. More muscle should mean he's more powerful and that includes running.

 

[kaysee]

A few comments here are starting to give me this image:

Boak is tracking ok (career/development wise) and he does need to improve his efficiency levels.

Yep, he has had a rather poor/inconsistent start to the season, but so has the entire team. Last time I check PAFC was about being a champion team and not a team a champions! Screw the idea of Boak taking the next step, becoming "elite", or taking a game by the neck... I want our whole team to be elite and to take the game by the neck. Not just a few selected players.

Geelong has been awesome in recent years not because Ablett or Bartell were elite and won games, but because most of their team was and did... be it Ablett, Scarlett, Bartel, Chapman, Johnson, Ling, Selwood and so on. Ditto for Brisbane and Port in the early 2000s.

Boak isn't an Ablett, but Gray could be. Boak isn't a Rioli, but Pearce could be. Boak isn't a Cousins, but Brad Ebert could be. Boak isn't a Wanganeen, but Wingard could be. Boak is more like a Lenny Hayes or Dane Swan type... and IMO he is tracking on course to be one of the leagues best midfielders in that mold. Dane Swan has about 4 years on Boak (debuted in 2003 v 2007), has really taken off in the last 4 years, and has had the benefit of the Collingwood resources.

Yes, it shits me to see his poor start to the year, but no more than others in the team.

As I said I want our team to be elite... not just Boak, Pearce, Gray or Hartlett. As long as we win IDC how individuals are rated by us or outsiders... just win.

 

[Shaxx Attaxx]

If our team is to be elite we need an elite player. We don't have one and unfortunately for boak he is in the same draft class as Joel selwood so comparisons will be made.

 

[klem22]

Boak obviously gets the ball otherwise he would not get the attention!
His biggest weakness imo is that he is not team aware.
The really "great" players like Ablett, Judd and Co often dish the ball off quickly to someone in a better position and set themselves up to receive back when the heat is off they provide opportunitys and provide run. Correct me if im wrong but Boak is not noted for such work. Teamwork will always elevate players to the next level, it is still fresh in my guts the unmittigated selfishness of this club under williams and the need to eradicate it at all costs M Primus must take the axe to such crap.

 

[Hartletts Heroes]

Re: R2: Port v Essendon review

Kinda agree here. He has suffered from this from early on in his AFL career. I distinctly remember him in open space weighing up options only to be caught HTB by someone Boaky was completely unaware was there. He seemed to get over that and I reckon he will get better at this.

Boak still has plenty of upside. He along with most of our players still need to learn that they need to work just as hard when they dont have the ball as when they do. (shepherds, blocks, running through the line, dragging players away from the opposition zone etc)

The hesitation that most of our players suffer from is so obvious. But more often than not its because the guys around them/ further up the ground arent working hard enough to get into the right places.

I am sick of watching a player get the ball to a teammate and then stand alongside or a little way behind them pointing to where the guy that has the ball should be disposing of the ball. FFS get on your bike and create an option by running HARD past the player or to a position that will open the play up a bit.

Fair point but what if he does as you say and hops on his bike by running hard into space only to see his team mate kick it straight to the opposition/be caught holding the ball etc. I see a few people on here making comments about our fitness levels or lack of fitness, but it must be really taxing on the body running hard forward only to then have to run hard back to defense because a team mate has made a poor decision/skill error/tried to do too much and turned the balll over... every game it happens with our players, some more than others. Maybe we should look at having a player or 2 back just in case we turn the ball over.. also liked Mick Malthouse comments when kicking in from defense sour players houldnt run forward until the ball is cleared past the center line or something along those lines.

also just watching the Geelong/Hawthorn game the other day shows us how far we are off the pace in regards to skill level by foot especially under pressure.

 

[Power Raid]

I look at our guys and they are bigger, but have concerns that it is all arms and shoulders. Maybe a little extra leg work is required!

Mind you, it's arms and shoulders that gets the girls. Ah the dilemmas footy players face!

 

[PJ Power]

I'm as disappointed as the next guy in Travis's start to 2012, but I'd point out the following:

1. He is always a slow starter to each AFL season, and usually doesn't hit his straps to between rd 4-6. (Equally, he's a bloody slow starter in individual matches and for some reason rarely runs hot in the first quarter).

2. Looking through some of the more prominent AFL midfielders in the comp, many of them really hit their straps in their 6th season (Boak is now in his sixth year). In his third, fourth and fifth seasons, Boak probably did better than many of the current day stars, with the obvious exceptions of Murphy, Selwood, Judd and Pendlebury.

 

[Jonts]

Plenty of players have put on weight and gotten faster, stronger and more explosive.

Once they learn how to use there "new" bodies more effectively

Also he went into round one with general soreness, there were plenty of posters here that noticed that he wasn't 100% fit

Now i didn't get to see the Essendon game but i can guarantee he was closely watched at every stoppage as last time we played Essendon he was in our best 3

 

[PJ Power]

3 weeks in, three average performances. Compare his start to the year to Trengove's. Thought he was on early today, but he faded significantly after quarter time.

 

[PatientMental]

Trav, one step back to take a couple of steps forward, see how you go in the SANFL, get your confidence back and your awareness will come.

 

[Puddy]

He has got to the stage where he should be dropped

 

[Forzaport]

^ Absolutely not.

Was tagged yet still managed 20 disposals and 5 tackles. That should be the bare minimum output for someone of his calibre. It was a better effort than last week, but still not what he's capable of.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Boak has been below his best but suggestions that he should be dropped are ridiculous.

 

[PJ Power]

No, but it is clear that someone else needs to step up.

I don't understand why for the entirety of our AFL existence our better midfielders have been so fickle against tagging. The great mids still get 30+ possessions with monotony despite being paid attention to. Boak has good support in the midfield now. Our second tier mids (Broadbent, McCarthy, Brad Ebert, Kane Cornes, even Cassisi) are outshining him so far this season. It hasn't helped that he's been missing the quality of Hartlett and Gray in the midfield, but let's face it, those two are just as likely to spend time on the flanks than in the centre square.

If Boak can't lift to the next level, someone else is going to have to, to make sure we win some of these competitive matches. Question is who is going to be our Josh Kennedy or Luke Parker this year.

 

[Portia]

No, but it is clear that someone else needs to step up.

I don't understand why for the entirety of our AFL existence our better midfielders have been so fickle against tagging. The great mids still get 30+ possessions with monotony despite being paid attention to. Boak has good support in the midfield now. Our second tier mids (Broadbent, McCarthy, Brad Ebert, Kane Cornes, even Cassisi) are outshining him so far this season.

Secondary midfielders at other clubs work to create space for the guy with the ball to dispose.

 

[Portmanteau]

Secondary midfielders at other clubs work to create space for the guy with the ball to dispose.

This. A million times this.

Our second-tier midfielders are too busy trying to establish themselves in the AFL - or retain their spots - rather than sacrifice themselves to let our class players shine.

If I could change one thing about how our team operates, it would be this.

 

[PJ Power]

I don't think Boak got his hands to the ball as much yesterday. The previous week he was getting first touch, but then being closed down or pressured into fumbling. Yesterday we just didn't seem to have any mids at the drop of the ball to get the first possession.

Big question mark over a guy like Thomas - not getting the football, not winning clearances, not stopping opponents from having an influence, not clearing a path for the likes of Boak. What's he doing out there?

 

[Portia]

I don't know.

Our second-tier midfielders are too busy trying to establish themselves in the AFL - or retain their spots

Wait, yes I do.

This is why I want Logan back, btw. He doesn't think of himself as a future AFL superstar and IMO was one of our best players in preseason for team play. Thats the `humble' that Primus keeps talking about.

 

[PJ Power]

Looks like Scott Selwood and Chris Masten are taking the next step for WCE this year. Wonder how much is the quality around them and the instruction and coaching they receive.

 

[DonDraper]

Not to mention Shuey.