Not sure how you come to that conclusion. Edwards was the premier ruck early in his draft year. Miles ahead in terms of runs on the board come draft time. Conway is only ahead at present because of age, Edwards will quickly catch up and overtake.
Welcome With pick 44 Geelong Football Club select: Jay Polkinghorne
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Not sure how you come to that conclusion. Edwards was the premier ruck early in his draft year. Miles ahead in terms of runs on the board come draft time. Conway is only ahead at present because of age, Edwards will quickly catch up and overtake.
I just don't see it.
Hope you are right but Conway looked a far better ruck prospect in his first year at the club via the VFL than Mitch. And even in the limited exposure at AFL level he looked the goods (against quality opposition too).
Conway got absolutely slaughtered in each AFL game bar one, and not many were quality rucks:
21 hitouts vs Nankervis 51 hitouts
17 vs Briggs 44
25 vs Moyle 42
41 vs McInernery 18 (injured), Daniher 13
18 vs Meek 42
Anyway, he's only 21 years old and this is not the Conway/Edwards thread.
MacStradbroke
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I agree Edwards looks super promising, but miles ahead at draft time is a stretch. Yes different years but Conway was taken earlier in his draft (24 v 32) so he must have been rated quite highly as well. First line in Conways Rookie Me Central profile is he is the number one pure ruck of the 2021 draft class, and a ready made option (not that the second part of that has worked out so well to date
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Blimey, if you can develop off that level already at 18 he's got to have big potentials. should play him forward, he seems to have the flair and specie talent of a forward, positions himself real well too.
Looks taller than the stats say to me, but yeah looks the goods for sure.
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If Neale fails to fire in the first half of the season and this guy is doing well at VFL level, I’d love to see how he’d go with Cameron and O.Henry in a mobile forward setup. Have 2 guys that can genuinely mark the ball yet have influence when the ball is on the ground too.
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
Unlikely.
Most talented kid I have ever seen was playing at modewarre 4ths at locals if i recall correctly.
Strange one that, but this kid reminds me of Jack Darling, plays way taller than his given height, although he might have put on a few cms since that 191 measurement. Looks taller, but reading the drop and his spring in the contest was why I'm impressed. Mackie is a ripper selector.
Mackie would have a lot of contacts in SA. I know he's still close with a lot of the Sacred Heart crowd and a lot of his former classmates have roles at SANFL clubs and private schools. I know of a few at Prince Alfred College (PAC), where Jay was drafted from. I reckon I know who would've been responsible for us drafting Brad Close, too.
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Yeah that east side clique pays dividends if you went to the right school
I was more think him on our list gives us the ability to go small or slightly tallish. JP puts pressure on OH but he sort of replaces what Rohan offered in the air. It will be fascinating to whether we structure up to mark the ball more at the cost of small who pressure more. Either way … I think Neale is going to have almost really go bad to be removed from the side. He has progressed a bit each year ..if he can build on that first final V Port then it will not be his spot that JP takes.
Neale likely stays but unless we get injuries he seems the most likely to go for Polkinghorne from our current forward set up. Likelihood is that he’ll need to bide his time and develop in the VFL though.
Edwards is the one who might surprise if he gets a clear run with injury next year I reckon.
Out of all the newbies … I think its the guys who has shown they have a tank that might get selected…so Hofmann … but who knows.. maybe JP puts pressure on. Its hard to predict how all will fit
I think it’s probable that all spend the year in the VFL. The movement likely to come from the likes of Clark, Knevitt, O’Sullivan, Edwards of those that weren’t getting regular games last year. Can’t see too many changes. Really need a couple though to go to another level.
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I'd be shocked if our draftees play more than 5 games combined this year.
Humphries and Mannagh were both mature aged last year so that's not a fair comparison.
SDK, Neale and Conway played I think 0 games between them in their first year and 4 in their second. So the chance Polkinghorne or Molier play at all is incredibly slim. Same with Pike even being 1 year older.
The smaller guys have more chance. But even Clark, Dempsey and Knevitt played a few games at most in their first year and they were all pretty highly rated.
Humphries and Mannagh were both mature aged last year so that's not a fair comparison.
SDK, Neale and Conway played I think 0 games between them in their first year and 4 in their second. So the chance Polkinghorne or Molier play at all is incredibly slim. Same with Pike even being 1 year older.
The smaller guys have more chance. But even Clark, Dempsey and Knevitt played a few games at most in their first year and they were all pretty highly rated.
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
I agree the guys we drafted this off-season aren't playing seniors next year unless we have massive injuries. If we change the 22 it will be oconnor returning plus guys like knevitt Clark clohesy and possibly osullivan coming in.
cats_09
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Could SDK & Neale be seen as bit of an unfair comparison due to being drafted in 2019 & 2020 and their respective first years at the club being impacted due to covid restrictions?
Wonder if we may have seen them play a debut game in their first season if they had more of the standard development option?
I just looked it up and I was initially surprised to see 87 debutants during the 2020 season, but I guess that was also due to the compact fixture and teams trying to rotate players through to provide sufficient rest when needed. But looking a bit further into it, there were 3 teams who had only 2 debutants that season and they were 3 of the 4 prelim finalists - Geelong, Port & Richmond, Brisbane as the prelim team actually had 6 debutants
Only 2 each really stands out when you then look at how many debutants we each had in 2019 & 2021:
Geelong: 5 & 4
Port: 6 & 5
Richmond: 7 & 7
Brisbane meanwhile went the opposite way - 2 in 2019 & 3 in 2021
Interesting that the teams which did the best in 2020 were the teams that were seemingly most stable in terms of new talent coming through, instead relying on their known players
The number of AFL debutants in 2021 jumped to 94 which is the equal 3rd most since 2013
Will be interesting to see what we do next season
It's a feint possibility that one of the newbies find their feet quickly, dazzle and scream for selection, a la Humphries.
Then again we know how long it took Mannagh to break through for consistent selection, senior or not, when his football did the talking. We have Smith, Neale and perhaps Cuthrie as the only walk ups, with your nominations in the wings.
There is a Geelong Cats way of progression, a pathway that is averse to premature exposure, a fault that might be found at other Clubs. From my limited contact (as a community program trainer) in that department, I know there is a lot to learn for the young ones in development, and not just honing their game. Patience is required, and from supporters as well.
Even if we reckon we've got some gold.
Premature regular selection, really. We often give players a game or two before they're ready, just as an investment. Shark, SDK, O'Sullivan, even Shaun Mannagh all got an early taste before spending long stretches back in the seconds. And it's worked out well for us.
The rabbi
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Does anyone give this kid any chance of making his debut in 2025?
And I am aware that our forward line is fairly strong.
And I am aware that our forward line is fairly strong.
I can't see him getting a game myself. Not for another year at least.
Henry, Neale, Cameron with Stanley dropping forward when Conway does the bulk of ruck work.
Like O'Sullivan, he will need to put a bit of meat on the bone as he'll be getting brushed aside often in his first couple of seasons at VFL level.
Henry, Neale, Cameron with Stanley dropping forward when Conway does the bulk of ruck work.
Like O'Sullivan, he will need to put a bit of meat on the bone as he'll be getting brushed aside often in his first couple of seasons at VFL level.
