U21 – analysis and discussion

[Bentleigh]

On the back on another season is mediocrity (9th again on the back of a few ‘junk’ wins in the last month of the season, strongest draft ever and yet we don’t have a top 7 pick nor did we play finals football, whoopee!) leads us to yet another pre-season discussing our list of ‘kids’ who we aspire one distant day from now to take us to glory in September.

We have chosen to rebuild from mid-table instead of bottoming out (i.e. The Alistair Clarkson school of thought) and only now, coming into Wallace’s 3rd season coach are we starting to see a proper attempt to continue to clean out the list with the like of Stafford, Chaffey and Kellaway, each who could still offer some next being asked to hang up the boots – in favor or fast, skilled players Plough has envisioned the lads playing, even if we don’t yet they ability (general kicking skills first and foremost, very poor for AFL standard) to pull it off. Although you can’t get rid of every mature body at the club at once, perhaps the like of Hall, Tivendale and Knobel (mature, C-Grade) will be next in line if they yet again fail to play half-decent football.

That brings us to this discussion. I am interesting my fellow Richmond supporters view of our pups which have in their hands our hopes and eternal metaphoric fingers crossed for well over the next decade. How you rate them at the current and realistically where you hope and can see them turning up.

I will choose to put the lads in three very rough groups:

i. Good, proven prospects.
ii. Middle teir
iii. Not shown alot

Welcome your comments

 

[Bentleigh]

i. Good, proven prospects.

I only rate four of our kids in the A-Grade bracket.

* Deledio will be a good footballer. All the tools to be top of the tree. Most abilty I've seen at Punt Road during my time with only Richo being in his class. Luckly though, Lids seems doesn't seem to have many of Richos flaws. I actully though season #2 was alot more solid than most give him credit for. Alot of people with alot of high expectations on this young man - seems to have the class and proper head on him to live up to it.

* I remember, say 12 months ago we were speaking of Raines and Roach in the same breath - they were about in the same stage of development. Roach seemed to have stagnated, even gone backwards. The son of Geoff exploded upwards. Its hard to not really like Rainesy. Plays with so much dash, flare, abilty - even if he does get caught every now and then most the time he will still fire a handball to a Bowden who will hit someone on the chest. So refreshing to watch. Even then it forgivable because he is following Ploughs orders; taking them on and trying to make things happen. Looks pretty good carrying the pill out of the back half. A rare breed - a bloke running around in the yellow and black who brings a smile to the face.

Doing a good job in the backline and should continue his development there for the next few seasons, perhaps will be giving more of a run up the ground. At the moment good value down back with his abitly to do and job on some very good forwards and get his 20 touches a game. One of the few Tigers I am unashamedly a big fan of.

* Dean Polo is another. I watched Polo play TAC Cup, it was clear to see he is a goer. Very happy to get him at the club. His debut again the scum was a thing of beuty. Sadly he isn't going to get 30 odd touches and kick a bag including the match winner ever week but this kid will be a good football for the club for a long time IMO. Great set of hands, good size for a midfeilder, as honest and hard as you could ask for. Just looks a player. Still raw, alot of upside. If we ever become a semi-decent club and have any success I feel Polo will be amousnt it.

* I thought long and hard to consiter if Tambling should be in the Polo/Raines class. I put him in at last but not so much out of final product which the other lads have seemed to produce, more potential (a d dirty word). When you watch Blinga play you can see he is on the verge of exploding. Pace, skill but above both those he seems to have a good footy brain and vision. Another pre-season and injury free '07 and he could be anything. I don't like talking about Richie too much because queitly I have so much hope for the land and really want him to come good.

Just on a side note - Intersting to note in our last game of the season, where we got flogged by the mighty costers only Raines (30 touches), Deledio (24), Polo (21), Tambling (19), Howat (19) along with along with Tuck and Joel Bowden are the only ones who got any of the pill that day. When the going gets tough its intersting to see who steps up aye?

Do the other catagories in a few days to come.

 

[Wrenny]

Ur a knob bentleigh

Wanna be weaver

 

[jackson_rules]

yeh i agree this is not your strong point bentleigh stop trying

 

[PLSC]

how about you guys keep your mouths shut, everything bents said is spot on

those 4 guys will be our future midfield and when i see ray hall and andrew krakouer running around i look to those kids and say to myself to not give up

our 04 draft kids will all be good except for limbach who i dont know, its our 01-03 guys who need to step up or piss off

moore
jackson
hartigan
schulz

i want to see something next yr of these guys before our kids from 04 and 05

 

[Booms]

Nice work bentleigh! A pretty fair assessment i reckon.... the one thing i thought was a good point was how the youngsters still tried even when we got smashed. This was also evident in the game against the hawks in tassie. I though Adam Pattison was sensational for us. He never gave in - took some big marks...and it was just pleasing to see our youngsters fight it out instead of dropping their heads and that is why players like Tivendale, Hall, Krakouer need to be long gone before we can be serious finalists as they are serial offenders of going missing or dropping their heads when thing get tough. The youngsters - the ones uve mentioned - aswell as Foley, White, Meyer...look a different breed!! GOOD NEWS!

 

[jackson_rules]

how about you guys keep your mouths shut, everything bents said is spot on

those 4 guys will be our future midfield and when i see ray hall and andrew krakouer running around i look to those kids and say to myself to not give up

our 04 draft kids will all be good except for limbach who i dont know, its our 01-03 guys who need to step up or piss off

moore
jackson
hartigan
schulz

i want to see something next yr of these guys before our kids from 04 and 05

so you agree that tambling is a proven youngster?

 

[PLSC]

so you agree that tambling is a proven youngster?

put him in at last but not so much out of final product which the other lads have seemed to produce, more potential (a d dirty word).

boom tish out the park

what a joke jackson_rules OMG! lol he is a dud and done nothing

tamblings left toe has shown more than jackson as a whole

 

[cairo tiger]

listen bentl****ler you are not a football brain. this issue has been done to death. we have some reasonable prospects but come and see me when we win a flag and we have the likes of judd, kerr and cousins who were young rockets that have now matured....we are a long way of the pace mate

 

[tugga]

I reckon this is a good post.

So bentleigh, I will answeer your question while all the other knob jockeys cuss and curse because they know no better. By the way I made my first century in cricket today at the ripe old age of 36 in B grade so I am hammered to the hilt and the missus has refused all my advances which means I am at the computer.

Deledio: Needs to learn a lot. A lot. Played well in tghe 2nd half of last season as a half back flanker. I don;t see the reason why we shouldn't keep him there for two years. He's 19 for effs suck. teach the kid how to play the game first before you teach him into being a game breaker. I have no worries about Deledio. Was one of the youngest players taken in the draft. People expect him to be the magician when he is just learning the craft. Will be a GUN. Give the boy some time.

Polo: man oh man. This boy is going to be the dux of the class. Won't win a brownlow and might not even win a B&f, but will be the most important player this football club has had in the past 20 years. Plays tall. has a magic footy brain. Put him down as skipper in 2010. This boy is a monty. Fuekcen gem.

They are my two A graders. I haven't seen enough of any of our other recruits to suggest I know any better. Tambling hasn't shown enough to suggest he's a potential A grader althoguh I have sneaking feeling he could get there.
Did I mention I made a ton?

 

[jackson_rules]

boom tish out the park

what a joke jackson_rules OMG! lol he is a dud and done nothing

tamblings left toe has shown more than jackson as a whole

****ing immature mate, i never said tambo is a dud and done nothing but the truth is he is not proven yet, but you are eriously deluded if you think he is proven

 

[Calcium Man]

****ing immature mate, i never said tambo is a dud and done nothing but the truth is he is not proven yet, but you are eriously deluded if you think he is proven

Depends what you consider to be proven. I would say that tambling has shown ability and even turned/controlled a game, the first match against brisbane this year when they were coming back. The game against Geelong was probably his best for the year. So i would say he has proven he can make it at this level. Maybe he hasnt proven his consistency yet!

But generally i agree with bents, the four mentioned are our future.

 

[CoggaRules]

Depends what you consider to be proven. I would say that tambling has shown ability and even turned/controlled a game, the first match against brisbane this year when they were coming back. The game against Geelong was probably his best for the year. So i would say he has proven he can make it at this level. Maybe he hasnt proven his consistency yet!

But generally i agree with bents, the four mentioned are our future.

Wow, this is one of those statements that has "thought provoking", dripping all over it.
Lets just say this CM, if they are not, then we better work out what the new team, made up of a merger of us and x, is going to be called, if we want to support it, because i dont know about you, but if these 4 arent the future, or help shape the future, ie. via trades out and into the club, then they can board up Punt Rd.

 

[jackson_rules]

Depends what you consider to be proven. I would say that tambling has shown ability and even turned/controlled a game, the first match against brisbane this year when they were coming back. The game against Geelong was probably his best for the year. So i would say he has proven he can make it at this level. Maybe he hasnt proven his consistency yet!

But generally i agree with bents, the four mentioned are our future.

i agree that he has proven he has the skill but when i say a player is proven it means he is one of the first players picked each week and gets more then 10 possesions a game consistantly, we all know tambo will be a gun but he isnt yet so he isnt a proven AFL footballer YET

 

[Bentleigh]

lol @ 'Weaver want to be' comments.

Ur a knob bentleigh

Wanna be weaver

yeh i agree this is not your strong point bentleigh stop trying

The only sad pricks here is not Weaver at all but the like of jackson_rules & wrennyboy who consiter everything the great man says as bible

Try watching the game and get form your own opinion instead of having go at me or sucking up to him.

For the record jackson_rules (irony in itself ) I actully titled that group 'proven prospects'.

listen bentl****ler you are not a football brain. this issue has been done to death. we have some reasonable prospects but come and see me when we win a flag and we have the likes of judd, kerr and cousins who were young rockets that have now matured....we are a long way of the pace mate

Ground braking commentary there cairo tiger. 'We are not as good as WCE'. Thank you so much for this invaluable input. Perhaps the people of Egypt would prefer this insanely brilliant insite.

 

[tigers07]

I reckon this is a good post.

So bentleigh, I will answeer your question while all the other knob jockeys cuss and curse because they know no better. By the way I made my first century in cricket today at the ripe old age of 36 in B grade so I am hammered to the hilt and the missus has refused all my advances which means I am at the computer.

Deledio: Needs to learn a lot. A lot. Played well in tghe 2nd half of last season as a half back flanker. I don;t see the reason why we shouldn't keep him there for two years. He's 19 for effs suck. teach the kid how to play the game first before you teach him into being a game breaker. I have no worries about Deledio. Was one of the youngest players taken in the draft. People expect him to be the magician when he is just learning the craft. Will be a GUN. Give the boy some time.

Polo: man oh man. This boy is going to be the dux of the class. Won't win a brownlow and might not even win a B&f, but will be the most important player this football club has had in the past 20 years. Plays tall. has a magic footy brain. Put him down as skipper in 2010. This boy is a monty. Fuekcen gem.

They are my two A graders. I haven't seen enough of any of our other recruits to suggest I know any better. Tambling hasn't shown enough to suggest he's a potential A grader althoguh I have sneaking feeling he could get there.
Did I mention I made a ton?

really really great calls there.... wood love to see the boy stay at half back and become the quarterback alond ide the bowden boys, and polo is a genuine star, works very hard and nos where it is.. wood love to see tambling come on in 2007... and patto is onli gonna get betta...will be a gun hell play 200 games...mark my words