Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Massimo D'Ambrosio

[Ned Ryerson]

Can't see your sig, but I'm assuming it's the cake guy.

There's a few absolute deadshits there but he is absolutely on the podium for being the biggest one.

 

[flashmanvc]

Mass doesn't fumble the ball. He has very, very clean hands and this, as much as kicking, is why he's been so beneficial to the Hawks fast moving game style.

Not to have a go at Finn, but against the Roos we saw chains of play break down a couple of times when it was his turn to take possession, because he couldn't do it cleanly.

Or the Dockers last night fumbled the ball badly many times and those lost split seconds are killers.

At draft time you hear and read a lot about young players' athletic profiles, skills, running ability etc but, for the Hawks, it looks like clean hands have been a priority for Mitchell - there's no room in this side for blokes who fumble the ball.

 

[Brishawk]

Wouldnt you have to win a final before a premiership?

 

[threesixpio]

""Massimo Dambrosio...was never going to be in our starting premiership side and that was clear then as it is now."

fair though. the players in their premiership side haven't been born yet.

POTY

 

[theiaofseed]

Our Italian stallion made the squad of 44.

 

[Baz_hawk]

Stoked for Massimo, came across with very little fan fare or attention from the media. Seen as a depth player I recall by some media outlets.

He hasn't put a foot wrong this year, his workrate is outstanding, his defensive work is underrated and his kicking is elite. Stoked we grabbed him from the scum and absolutely wrapt for the kid to be in the AA squad.

Deserves a blazer.

 

[MisterBean]

Massimo is exceptional at executing a kick with very little room to operate in.

He is often squeezed up against the boundary line, but still hits a target further up the field with his left foot.

The degree of difficulty on this particular skill is high, but he pulls it off time after time.

It is a unique aspect of his game that very few others do as successfully.

 

[parsons nose]

His disposal and kicking action remind me a lot of Stuart Dew

Stuart Dew

Age

45

Ht

183cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.1

3star

K

9.1

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.9

3star

T

1.7

4star

No current season stats available

D

12.2

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

1.8

4star

.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

His disposal and kicking action remind me a lot of Stuart Dew.

Has a nice little sidestep just like Dew had as well.

Minus a couple of kilos though

 

[2008wasoverDEW!]

Supposedly:

*Depth player.
*Soft.
*We overpaid by handing Essendon two late picks.


Reality:

*Deadset gun All-Australian calibre wingman.
*10+ exciting years ahead in the Brown and Gold.

 

[toomanysquibs]

Massimo is exceptional at executing a kick with very little room to operate in.

He is often squeezed up against the boundary line, but still hits a target further up the field with his left foot.

The degree of difficulty on this particular skill is high, but he pulls it off time after time.

It is a unique aspect of his game that very few others do as successfully.

Some of these kicks he's executed with players literally hanging off him or making contact.

I don't recall anyone we've had at the club being able to do this while biting off as much with the kicks either.

Massimo is #17 among all mids in the AFL for disposal efficiency.

That is nuts for a guy who runs as hard as he does, and is effectively in his first full season.

 

[Mercy Seat]

I'd say it does not matter: the AA team is just a Bigfooty chat on steroids, but I believe (happy to be told that I am wrong) that some clubs give bonuses to players who get an AA selection. I truely hope that does not happen at the Hawks. Watching Chol give the "Joe the Goose" handball to Gunston was awesome. Chol had every right to kick the goal himself, but the team thing was to give the handball. And if you watch his eyes, he never thought about anything else than doing the team thing (for me that was one of the highlights of the day). That is the stuff that matters.

AA selection is about appeasement for the supporters of every team. They try to get a player from every team in there and the so-called, "Super Stars" in as well. Massi will not be in the team even though he is rated by every metric and commentator, with Gulden, as one of the two best wingers in the comp. And that does not matter. Why?

Because the AA team is just a bit of fun.

It means way more to the players than “just a bit of fun”.

Most have clauses in their contract regarding AA selection, bonuses etc. There are events and media opportunities that wouldn’t happen otherwise. It can impact the way they are perceived in the wider football public having implications in their post career opportunities and all sorts of things.

Whilst it’s a far from a perfect mechanism for rewarding players, it’s means the world to them when they get selected and Mass deserves all the prestige that will come his way accordingly.

 

[suedehead]

It means way more to the players than “just a bit of fun”.

Most have clauses in their contract regarding AA selection, bonuses etc. There are events and media opportunities that wouldn’t happen otherwise. It can impact the way they are perceived in the wider football public having implications in their post career opportunities and all sorts of things.

Whilst it’s a far from a perfect mechanism for rewarding players, it’s means the world to them when they get selected and Mass deserves all the prestige that will come his way accordingly.

Mass is on a two-year contract, probably on fairly close to minimum. An AA selection would have a pretty positive impact on the next deal he signs.

Sent from my SM-F741B using Tapatalk

 

[threesixpio]

Oh boy can you believe Essendum gifted us Massimo and a year later they miss the 8 and we leapfrog them and he makes the AA squad?

I’m crying tears of joy as I type this.

 

[Hawkers Hero]

Get him re-signed now.....5yr extension before he rips finals up!

 

[Billyc]

His disposal and kicking action remind me a lot of Stuart Dew.

Reminding me more of Nick Dal Santo. Just so slick with ball in hand.

 

[Alex_au]

So much more upside to this guy! Always feel confident when the ball is in his hands. It took awhile, but he is just starting to hit the scoreboard. He also gets points from me for drifting back to help out in defence, he's taken a few brilliant contested marks back there.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

One thing I learned from the * thread - when we traded nothing picks for Mass it ensured he wasn't a free agent every time he came out of contract. Some folk were hand-wringing when we handed two useless picks to the scum - but McKenzie was playing 4D chess the whole time.

 

[threesixpio]

One thing I learned from the * thread - when we traded nothing picks for Mass it ensured he wasn't a free agent every time he came out of contract. Some folk were hand-wringing when we handed two useless picks to the scum - but McKenzie was playing 4D chess the whole time.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Get him re-signed now.....5yr extension before he rips finals up!

Surely this is in the works as we speak right now?

Mind you if I was Mass I would be holding out for a decent contract, every week he plays he adds $10k+ to his next contract.

 

[Hawker55]

It means way more to the players than “just a bit of fun”.

Most have clauses in their contract regarding AA selection, bonuses etc. There are events and media opportunities that wouldn’t happen otherwise. It can impact the way they are perceived in the wider football public having implications in their post career opportunities and all sorts of things.

Whilst it’s a far from a perfect mechanism for rewarding players, it’s means the world to them when they get selected and Mass deserves all the prestige that will come his way accordingly.

Especially in a sport without international recognition, AA and teams of the year etc take on greater significance.

 

[Hawks1994]

The side step and finish is becoming a trait

A wonderful, joy-inducing, devastating trait

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Oh boy can you believe Essendum gifted us Massimo and a year later they miss the 8 and we leapfrog them and he makes the AA squad?

I’m crying tears of joy as I type this.

If it wasn't already good enough then consider this:

Jake Kelly on a wing.

 

[Buckemenico]

Mass is a pretty comparable to Errol gulden, who is already top 5 player in league.

 

[cryptor]

If it wasn't already good enough then consider this:

Jake Kelly on a wing.

Yeah but they REALLY want to have tall wingers so Massimo was never getting a game.