Toast Welcome to Fremantle Neil Erasmus (pick 10 2021 AFL Draft)

[theGav56]

Yes good point. You can improve your speed substantially with a sprint coach. People mistakenly think speed is inherent and you either have it or you don’t. That’s true to an extent but we don’t need Erasmus to become the fastest player in the list. We just need him to become marginally faster. That would be huge for his game

He reeks of the now cliched mantra; "Be the best that you can be".

That's a good thing.

 

[theGav56]

Thoughts and prayers go out to Driz who is caught in the frame and looks like your average bloke in comparison.

Compare the exposed forearms and thighs.

 

[Taylor]

Erasmus doesn't need to be fast if he wins the ball and gets it out, he doesn't need to be anything more than a sideways kicking safe choice making ball user if our team is confident in his ability to win the ball that they can cheat off their man.

 

[freo_leo29]

Erasmus doesn't need to be fast if he wins the ball and gets it out, he doesn't need to be anything more than a sideways kicking safe choice making ball user if our team is confident in his ability to win the ball that they can cheat off their man.

That's all well and good until his man is bursting out of the stoppages away from him


Or their team has a fast break and Ras gets burnt (which we saw a few times last year)


The game is evolving, there isn't much room for slower mids now

 

[mattis117]

That's all well and good until his man is bursting out of the stoppages away from him


Or their team has a fast break and Ras gets burnt (which we saw a few times last year)


The game is evolving, there isn't much room for slower mids now

There is if they win 60% of the one on ones they are involved in at the stoppage.

 

[Taylor]

It will help having a dominant ruckman who can put it to advantage a lot won't it..

If the ball is tapped down to where the contested bull is then it either comes out via his hands or we have a repeat stoppage because he is too strong for his opponent to break out.

Leo is right that the risk is a pacey mid who can be a spare on the other side of the contest because the tap doesn't go where we want it to - that same issue happened for Brodie, it will make everyone look slow to be caught out of position from a stoppage.

 

[freo_leo29]

There is if they win 60% of the one on ones they are involved in at the stoppage.

Not if the other 40% are more damaging as the other player is walking it out


Or the other half of the game where it's not a stoppage and he is being burnt in open field play


We have to try and get his pace up somehow

 

[Paracleet]

Brodie doesn't quite win enough contests, although he's pretty good. For mine the real issue is his running in defensive transition is not up to standard (i.e. not directly chasing your man but just getting into the right position when your side loses possession).

Ras has him covered there by miles.

 

[rgauci]

Ras will play 200-300 games and make AA team a couple of seasons. Grossly underrated around here.

 

[Wizard]

Ras will play 200-300 games and make AA team a couple of seasons. Grossly underrated around here.

The ONLY thing wrong with him to this point has been his decision making and to a lesser degree his foot skills.

I remember the same knocks on AB when he was 2 years in as well. If his workrate is huge like it apparently is, with his physical make up i dont see how he doesnt make it.

 

[Alfonz]

That's all well and good until his man is bursting out of the stoppages away from him


Or their team has a fast break and Ras gets burnt (which we saw a few times last year)


The game is evolving, there isn't much room for slower mids now

He strikes me as a similar player to Josh Dunkley, and he was an integral part of Brisbane almost winning the flag. Perhaps the main reason they went from not quite good enough to right there. Not saying he will get to Dunkley levels, but in terms of athletic profile (which is what you are saying the problem is), they are comparable. Plenty more examples as well. Tom Mitchell almost won the Norm Smith despite the extra liability of being short. These guys have limited kicking skills as well.

Whether Erasmus makes it will be down to his pure footballing abilities (which I think are tracking well for his age), not his perceived lack of pace. Think about how good Brodie looked in our side when he was firing. The main problem with Brodie is his endurance which leads to a lack of defensive running/efforts, and Erasmus doesn't have that problem.

 

[Paracleet]

The ONLY thing wrong with him to this point has been his decision making and to a lesser degree his foot skills.

I remember the same knocks on AB when he was 2 years in as well. If his workrate is huge like it apparently is, with his physical make up i dont see how he doesnt make it.

Some of his composure ball in hand has concerned me a few times and then there is the kicking. I still think he's not a Dow type though. Unlike him and some other prominent inside midfield busts (SPS, Kane Lucas etc.) at least he can defend and run.

 

[more_of_bito]

Kid was one of the youngest in his draft class . December baby. Is 9 months younger than Johnson for context. Looking at the pics he has Johnson covered for size now. Expect good things from Ras this year, great things 2025

 

[freoextra]

Some of his composure ball in hand has concerned me a few times and then there is the kicking. I still think he's not a Dow type though. Unlike him and some other prominent inside midfield busts (SPS, Kane Lucas etc.) at least he can defend and run.

And is a good kick for goal (which makes me think the kicking is very fixable).

 

[Rockmelon]

Just rewatched the derby.. Ras had a great game, just shows that when he gets some proper midfield minutes and some CBA he'll kill it

 

[mr.11]

How's this fella moving this pre-season? big year next year for him

 

[vidwhal]

He's looking ripped in the preseason thread snaps so looks like he's been living in the gym.
Hopefully gets some significant inside mid time or at least up forward.

 

[Superkoops]

My app isn’t showing the gallery properly at the moment but found this picture interesting. The gait pattern position doesn’t favour Ras much but you can see the difference in leg muscle mass for Serong vs Ras. Ras has put on some size but still quite a bit of work to go to get his legs, hips and core muscle mass and strength increased.

Serong does not skip leg day.

 

[Fyfster]

Ras will play 200-300 games and make AA team a couple of seasons. Grossly underrated around here.

Not by me , But I was one of the few saying that Lachie Neale would be an A grader in his early days .
And was duly told I had no idea.

 

[poshman]

Ras will play 200-300 games and make AA team a couple of seasons. Grossly underrated around here.

If he gets to that level we are a top four team for a four year stretch, which would mean at least one GF appearance.

 

[Alfonz]

View attachment 1868963
My app isn’t showing the gallery properly at the moment but found this picture interesting. The gait pattern position doesn’t favour Ras much but you can see the difference in leg muscle mass for Serong vs Ras. Ras has put on some size but still quite a bit of work to go to get his legs, hips and core muscle mass and strength increased.

Serong does not skip leg day.

You say it yourself, but you haven't picked an apples for apples comparison with the gait position (not to mention a player with much shorter muscles). Photo below shows his right thigh in a different flex and lighting. His calf muscles appear very lean, but that might just be his body type. I doubt Ras skips leg day either. Overall he looks like a ball of muscle and will be a beast.

 

[E Shed]

You say it yourself, but you haven't picked an apples for apples comparison with the gait position (not to mention a player with much shorter muscles). Photo below shows his right thigh in a different flex and lighting. His calf muscles appear very lean, but that might just be his body type. I doubt Ras skips leg day either. Overall he looks like a ball of muscle and will be a beast.

View attachment 1869061

We’ve all got different attributes. I remember sitting around with a couple of mates a few years back who were both serious gym junkies and they were losing their minds over my calf muscles. I’ve never deliberately developed muscle in my whole life (I do yoga for strength & flexibility) but my calf’s were bigger & more defined than these guys who had spent hours on them.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[WilloTree]

Not by me , But I was one of the few saying that Lachie Neale would be an A grader in his early days .
And was duly told I had no idea.

What?

Neale played 23 games in his first 2 years of AFL.

Nobody was saying he wouldn't've made it. He was a gun from day 1.

If someone called you on an opinion, that OK. But come on man. Be real.

 

[blue shark]

We’ve all got different attributes. I remember sitting around with a couple of mates a few years back who were both serious gym junkies and they were losing their minds over my calf muscles. I’ve never deliberately developed muscle in my whole life (I do yoga for strength & flexibility) but my calf’s were bigger & more defined than these guys who had spent hours on them.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

I’d be more concerned if we went the Medhurst route to be honest.
Upper body, core is all good but you want a balance between sprints and
middle distances.
Erasmus will be an impact player forward/mid, doubt he plays full time centre.
A dual player is exactly what we need with the players lost.

 

[estibador]

What?

Neale played 23 games in his first 2 years of AFL.

Nobody was saying he wouldn't've made it. He was a gun from day 1.

If someone called you on an opinion, that OK. But come on man. Be real.

There was certainly a section on here who wrote Neale off early.

From memory there was a derby early on where he had a couple of turnovers from poor kicks out of D50 and there was quite the pile on on here afterwards. People were saying they couldn't see any attributes that would make him an AFL quality player even though he'd already shown the ability to rack up possessions.