Opinion Which 5 of our young players are you most excited about?

[HARKER]

A bit early and a bit silly maybe, but - Which 5 of our young players are you most excited about?

There's likely to be an obvious top 2 here or maybe three here, but just keen to know which of these players you see to have the most potential.
Vote and even give us the reasons for the ones you've selected. I don't think it's particularly easy.

You can only select 5 and the poll is open to everyone.

 

[Mr_Plow]

I've selected SPS, Fisher, Dow, Setterfield and Walsh.

Why? Because these are the guys we need to emerge as A-grade midfielders in order to achieve sustained success. And it isn't beyond any of them, all have supreme talent.

2019 is the year of the midfield.

 

[Opine]

In no particular order, my 5 are; CC, PD, JW, SW, ZF.

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

Sps, Weitering, Charlie, Fisher and Setterfield.

Those 5 progress and it's game over for most opposition

 

[Jabba73]

Liam Stocker - Looks to have all the necessary skills on both sides, most important being the ability to hit a moving target so the ball arrives at the right position, height and speed so the forward has to work harder to drop the mark than take it. You can't teach that ability, only refine it. Could be another Houlihan with much more inside ability and a thirst for the contest. Seems to want to work hard to improve and his tank is the only known drawback and easily fixed. Should play 250+ games.

Sam Walsh - the footballers footballer. Has everything you want in a player: leadership, skill, pace and stamina, can work inside or outside, leaves nothing in the tank and looks for more improvement. Will pick himself for well over a decade and may well end up one of our greatest ever midfielders. Future captain.

Sam Petrevski-Seton - has skills and vision that sets him apart from the good ordinary players. Will be a match winner once he has the confidence to take the game on. Time stands still when he has the ball, not afraid to tackle or go when it is his turn. Can see him ripping matches apart from either end of the ground. Ready to explode now he finally has a full preseason behind him. Could play another 15 years if he keeps his pace and fitness up.

Zac Fisher - that sidestep. Has a touch of cheekiness about him that endears him to the faithful and puts the fear into opposition players. Was a shining light in a horrible year until some dog kicked his legs out from under him. Has the skills to be our most dangerous mid when going forward. Loves to take the game on and will be even more dangerous when he has the confidence to take shots instead of looking to pass every time. Will kick 200+ goals before he retires as a club legend.

Charlie Curnow - who doesn't like a forward that can take big grabs and also play like a midfielder with pace and athleticism? A forward line can be built around a player with his attributes and is set to become the dangerous match winner we all hoped for in #30. A player with that skill set, physical gifts and a willingness to work hard should end up in our Hall of Fame. Current youngsters will talk about him like older blokes talk about Jezza and Kouta.

 

[Jabba73]

Could genuinely make a case for every player on that list.

 

[CJMB]

Is there an all of the above option?...

Geez this is tough.

Could easily pick 5 talls or focus on the new kids or the perennially injured...

I'm gonna go with the this could be the year they really step up selections.

Weitering - let's see him start to dominate down back. Take it by the scruff of the neck.
Harry - as above. Consistency regarding fitness & selection, hopefully averages 2+ and has a few games where he kicks bags.
Samo - 1st real preseason. I want to see his class.
Fish - Almost put him in the same boat as Charlie (ie already stepped up) but after his early end to the season want to see him resume and continue his rise.
Kennedy - lets see what a fit Kennedy can do. Reckon he'll be a big physical presence for us and shoulder the 2nd most 'heavy lifting' after Cripps.

(Charlie probably goes another level but he's kinda already started that projection and he gets enough hype as it is).

Honourable mentions to Charlie, Dow, O'Brien, Setterfield, Walsh, Marchbank, Willo, Stocker, TDK, Cuningham, Garlett, Polson....

 

[HARKER]

It's a little unfair only having 5 but I thought it may force one to post who they see most potential in.

My five are:

CCurnow - Obvious
Dow - I see so much potential here. Maybe more than is there, but feel he's just going to explode.
Fisher - Loved him before we drafted him. Love him more now.
Walsh - Loved watching him in 2017 and luck (albeit bad luck of sorts) have him landing with us.
McKay - Felt I should have put SPS here, but taking the chance on Harry, because if he develops the way he could, we may be somewhat set.

 

[Masqualero]

For this year:
Weits seems big now, should have the strength to be better 1v1
Curnow, continued improvement
Mckay, hopefully plays a full season
SPS, first preseason
Fisher, was tracking great before the broken leg

 

[HARKER]

Early days but had the feeling Fisher may surprise.

He's leading with 14 votes so far. Go Fish

 

[ShanDog]

Learn to count harks!

 

[bigm386]

My 5 are purely based on the current gap between where they are and what I think they can be, so no Charlie Curnow for example because I have 0 doubt he will be elite.

1. Harry McKay - His size and athleticism is something I haven't seen before in a player at 200cm. He can pick the ball up off the ground easily and has pace for his size.

2.Tom Williamson - Injury aside, when he had the ball in hand in his first year I knew he would pinpoint a target with that left foot. Really showed some signs and could be in our top 10 if injuries were not a factor. Would love to see him get time in the midfield based on year 1.

3. Zac Fished - A line ball based on my theme of the gap between where they are and can be, but out of all our kids he excites me the most, his ability to break out of contests is elite. If he can get more of the ball his best will be amazing for us.

4.Matthew Kennedy - After a flat year 1 due to injury, I am excited by his potential to come good. Big bodied mid we badly need with talent and his off season reports are exciting.

5. Cam Polson - My other and I have some bias here because I really like Polson, he brings something to our team we really lack and that is defensive pressure. At VFL level I have seen him rack up possessions, if he can find the balance between defence and offence he will be a very exciting prospect for us.

 

[Love the Drake]

Setting a really tough task here Harks. My top 5:

Harry - So much up side with big H. If it clicks with Harry, our key position forwards are set for 10 years.

Walsh - I am only basing this on the couple of training sessions I've been to, but wow, he will have an immediate impact and be a superstar of the comp within a couple of years.

Sam Petrevski-Seton - easily the best skills of all our players. Two-sided player who is really hard to defend against. First pre-season means he is primed to take the competition on.

Fisher - Quick of mind and fleet of foot. Brings his teammates in to the game with his quick decision making. Will be a star.

Kennedy - I can't stress how important this kid is to our team. Another big-bodied mid who can take the pressure off Cripps. Came to the club injured, got himself right for round 1 then copped a new injury which curtailed his entire season. Looks super-fit and ready to play the role we recruited him for.

 

[BJuddy]

This is too hard... kept changing my 5... can we make it a top 10 (then i'll probably ask for 15)

 

[HARKER]

Setting a really tough task here Harks. My top 5:

I figured it may be and it means nothing to leave players out.
I guess what we may find is what we're looking for is irreplaceable players or stand-out types.

I have a lot of time for Setterfield but feel Cripps may take away some of his limelight, whereas we only have one CCurnow...only one HMcKay....and for now, only the on Dow-type.
That's not to say that similar types cannot co-exist because they can, but often only one becomes the real stand-out, for taking the premium post or first to go into the centre.

 

[Macca43]

Right now I went with Kennedy (the shape he is in at the moment is just too good to go past) & Setterfield (the kid looks an elite talent and seems to have had a really strong pre-season) both of whom could transform our midfield and make Cripps and Murphy even better, Fisher (who showed so much last year I can't wait to see what he can produce in 2019) & SPS (who has teased a bit in his first two years but with a full pre-season might just be ready to explode) both of which have the footy smarts and foot skills to just light up our midfield and have our forwards licking their lips and then Harry McKay because his speed and height make him a rare gem who if he gets to half his potential in 2019 Charlie and Mitch's jobs become so much easier.

I left Charlie off because I feel we know what we will get from him this year (elite talent) and so the excitement of the unknown has diminished while the complete unknown about Willo makes it hard to get excited.

MArchbank and Weiering didn't amke it becuase while I am confident they will be high quality players it is harder to get excited about defenders when we have such high quality attacking talent.

 

[Probes]

I couldn’t fit Fisher in! No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get him in ahead of Weiters, Charlie, Dow, Walsh and Setters. Fisher will be amazing, but I feel these guys have the potential to become regular AA types.
Good position to be in!

 

[bigdog43]

I couldn't make up my mind. What a brilliant problem to have!

 

[bluemahogany]

Looks like I'm the only one who picked Marchbank, still think he has amazing potential, just get healthy.

 

[JuddgementDay]

This is pretty hard.
My list is based on a list of biggest improvers, from a low base.

My top 5:

Harry - Will have the year that Charlie had last year and announce himself to AFL!

Walsh - Rising star winner

Sam Petrevski-Seton - first pre-season, no ceilings!

Kennedy - I really want to see how much he can help Cripps. The knock on affect to the midfield will be enourmous

Setterfield - Shiel who? If he is fit, he will be hungry to show why he is so highly rated

Others, I would expect to continue to improve at a pretty fast rate too
How can you not be excited?

 

[inyourcool]

I selected "other" out of my five for Jack. I am really looking forward to seeing how his transformation to on-baller continues. I think he could really blossom

Natural talent is definitely there, just hope he can make the necessary athletic improvements

 

[Gethelred]

Weitering, O'Brien, Fish, Stocker, SPS.

If Jacob gets it together, he's a generational full back when they've just changed the rules to make loose players more accountable in the back half of the ground. And what's he been doing for the last two years, but doing the work of a backman in the worst case scenario most of the time? If he's fit, this year will remind everyone of just how good he could be.

Lochie upon entering the AFL last year looked awed and small. He fumbled, he got crunched in a few tackles during JLT, and he simply did not look ready mentally or physically. But as the games went on, that kid - still small, still getting bashed around - eliminated one by one the mistakes he made, and if he made a new one he went in even harder to make it right. He might not have the raw talent of a SPS or Walsh, but Lochie has the heart of a warrior, and he's plenty talented anyway. He was one of the best silver linings last year for me, because of the degree to which he went from looking underdone to an AFL footballer.

Zac is scintillating, pace and agility and that raking left foot. He's built on each season he's played, and opposition will have a single chance to tackle him before he's simply gone and they're not catching him. About the only thing he really needs to improve is some upper body strength and his tackling technique to allow him to bring to ground the stronger bodies that he'll be against in the midfield, but that's well within his grasp.

Liam Stocker isn't someone many have voted for in here, and it's actually a bit hard to say why. Is it the pressure of that trade hanging over our heads, the idea that he might not be worth it? For mine, he has the right attitude to succeed, and his game - in tight, burst pace over 5 metres, agility and strength coupled with lace out kicks to leading targets/marking forwards - absolutely should translate to AFL level. Given that our captain in Cripps had the same slights over his running - and Stocker seems determined to succeed, focused, driven - I have utterly no concern about his ability to go on.

Sammo is a talisman, I think. To this point in his career, he's quietly done the job of a full time midfielder despite never having had a full preseason. He's only ever had the fitness to go a single time in a contest; this, in the sport that rewards repeat efforts beyond almost all else. He's shown glimpses of what he could do; handpasses through gaps in a pack that simply weren't there ten minutes ago, kicks weighted to players unaware of the inch of space they had on their opposition, and the ability to stop and prop and barely move more than a metre within a pack yet be utterly untackleable. The bloke has a nimbus around him, similar to Pendlebury; neither seem to do much, yet the tackler simply doesn't know where they're going. If he's fit going into this year, and is finally undergoing the running he needs to get to AFL fitness, he's going to explode and the opposition will not like it.

 

[Gethelred]

Why are Carlton supporters so midfieldcentric?

Wishful thinking.

 

[Mr_Plow]

Because the sport is predominantly won/lost in the midfield.

 

[Pafloyul]

Too late...