The X Factor!

[Salems Lot 2,634]

Over the past 3 years we have seen a large number of young kids joining the club who all in one way or another appear to have certain strengths to bring to the game. Who do you think of these guys that we have seen or haven't seen much of can bring a touch of the X factor. For mine, Grimes seems to have leadership skills but more in a steady style a' la Junior, Maric looks like he will need a solid structure around him to really make an impact and Watts has been spoken of in enough length to fill several libraries.

From what I have seen of him on youtube and indeed from what I have read about him, Sam Blease looks like the sort of mid-fielder that we are crying out for; skillful, fast and seemingly with a huge heart. It has been widely reported what he had to deal with through the loss of his Dad and it seems to have spurred him on with enormous determination. With some solid bodies around him, I hope that he will become a major part of our engine room.

[Freak 100]

Tom Scully

Will be the number 1 draft pick. Had 34 classy touches in the first round of the TAC cup. He'll be with us next year

[jabberwocky 2,301]

For X Factor I am looking to the aboriginal boys, particularly Jurrah and Bennell. I see something in Bennell and I wouldn't be surprised if he plays out most of the season in the ones.

[rpfc 28,779]

Maric should become a goal-scoring midfielder in the mould of Ablett.

Not saying he will be as good, but he can be bloody important to our tilt.

Because nothing is as valuable as goal-scoring mids.

[e25 5]

Bennell is the epitome of X factor for mine.

The way Benny moves past opposition players sometimes when he has the ball.

Look back at last week's game and watch the passages of play when he gets the sherrin... with a bit more time & experience he will be mesmerising, a la McLeod, but a different type of player.

He moves like a cat. Like Michael Jordan used to.

Jetta is good too, but more gritty, byron pickett-like, i.e. not flashy, just goes in hard & fast.

Benny & the Jet will be around for a while to come.

[e25 5]

Maric should become a goal-scoring midfielder in the mould of Ablett.

Not saying he will be as good, but he can be bloody important to our tilt.

Because nothing is as valuable as goal-scoring mids.

a la Chapman for the cats. Him being underdone hurt them the most in the GF imho.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Tom Scully

Will be the number 1 draft pick. Had 34 classy touches in the first round of the TAC cup. He'll be with us next year

I hope so... I think he'd be the one Id be hoping for even more than I hoped for Watts. And that's saying something.

As for the thread... I like Enforcer's Chappy comparison with Maric. Though that could be because of last round.

I know it's boring, but of course Watts will be a creator. I don't think he'll even play forward as much as everyone says. Or at least he'll play up the ground with his speed, engine and footskills. Think Hird.

With some help, Aaron will be an X-factor for another 5 years or so.

[Yze_Magic 3]

Maric.

Absolute gem this kid, already has the best skills sat the club.

Will be back in the seniors next week, and I guarantee he will never play another game at Casey or any other affiliate for the rest of his career.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Maric should become a goal-scoring midfielder in the mould of Ablett.

Not saying he will be as good, but he can be bloody important to our tilt.

Because nothing is as valuable as goal-scoring mids.

I like this description of Maric. Obviously won't be as good, but anything close will be a bonus. Great skills, good vision, knows how to find the footy and loves a goal. Given time he could become one of the most important players at the club - still needs to work on his stamina and defensive skills but time is definitely on his side.

[Jarka 767]

Of our current crop I'm hoping that Watts, Blease, Maric and Jurrah will add a touch of class about the team.

A couple of plays that Blease di in the u/18's were simply breath taking, I have high hopes for this kid.

[Mousey 47]

Strauss to Watts

You will hear that a lot in the next decade

[H_T 3,049]

xxx factor will be the likes of watts blease and maric cant wait......

[Guest JACKtheRIPPER]

Maric.

Absolute gem this kid, already has the best skills sat the club.

Will be back in the seniors next week, and I guarantee he will never play another game at Casey or any other affiliate for the rest of his career.

if you guarantee it he will will playing at casey in 3 weeks time, you are without doubt the worst judge i have ever come across.

[Sydney Pennski 299]

Tom Scully

Will be the number 1 draft pick. Had 34 classy touches in the first round of the TAC cup. He'll be with us next year

Now you're assuming that we're probably going to finish last and Scully will be picked first but things don't always turn out that way.

This time last year everybody was saying that pick 1 was going to be either Nik Nat or the Rich kid. Someone else could slip under the radar and grab the #1 berth.

And who says we'll necessarily finish last?

I'm watching the Eagles getting a pumping from St. Kilda. Freo don't look all that hot and I'm not impressed with Essendon or Richmond. Let's give it another month or two before you write us off completely.

[jacey 333]

Maric should become a goal-scoring midfielder in the mould of Ablett.

Not saying he will be as good, but he can be bloody important to our tilt.

Because nothing is as valuable as goal-scoring mids.

You know, that's crossed my mind too with Maric.

Gablett started as a very clever goal sneak who had a very strong core.

Good/Clever little player early on but he really knuckled down and has gone to another level.

One of my favourite quotes from Gablett. "Early on, I thought I was working as hard as I could at training but the boys called me out on it. You think you're working hard but in reality, you can always go to another level. So I made an effort to keep pushing and when I think I've got nothing left, I kept pushing."

Hopefully Maric has that drive. He might not be a Gablett but he'll be one hell of a player.

[Je Roos Salem 661]

I think Maric still needs to develop. He played a couple of great games (against North Melbourne and Essendon) but then he was out of the team for a couple of weeks. Hopefully he can make his way as a consistent player in the team.

[MelbournePassion 7]

I think Jack Grimes and Jack Watts can be potential x-factors. Watts a key forward (Something that we are crying out for at the moment) will be a very important key to our team in the future , and Grimes has versatility, and apparantly has leadership Qualities.

CARN DEES

[dazzledavey36 55,347]

i am very surprised no one has mention the great austin wonaeamirri!?

[brey9186 102]

re: wona = out of sight, out of mind...

get him back in the red and blue on a HFF, rotating thru the guts with mr davey, could cause some havoc

couple in benny and the jet doing their thing on the other side of the ground, maybe jurrah coming out of the square too, and wheels doing what he does in the backline, would be an awesome sight on the mcg

im excited about ricky petterd though, type of player who skillful and quick, but doesnt care if he gets hurt at all, throw him into the guts in the last quarter, and he'll turn matches. with him and maric, plus our bruddas, running around the feet of miller/newton/bate/robbo (cant wait for him) our forward line can be a 20 goal a game line up

the future is VERY bright, we just need a few mids, and a ruckman/forward eg ottens/kozi to give us a few more options, life shall be good

[H_T 3,049]

Aussie is a missing x factor its amazing when theyre not on the field how quickly they can be forgotten hopefully he gets back to 100% asap

[gOLLy 401]

A few blokes I know locally know Maric personally and watched him go through the system. They think he's an absolute freak.

[H_T 3,049]

I am surprised Bruce has not been mentioned he is referred to often as the x factor by the likes of G Healy

[Al`s DEMONS 0]

Tom Scully

Will be the number 1 draft pick. Had 34 classy touches in the first round of the TAC cup. He'll be with us next year

if we get picks 1 @ 2 then take Scully first, if we we get picks 1 @ 3 we must take the best tall forward. we need 2 195cm plus marking/goal kicking forwards. every year has class mids , but class talls are hard to come by. two tall options plus Aussie , Maric and co is the way forward. plus our emerging backline. Eagles had very classy mids and no forwards and just scraped home. WE NEED TO BUILD A PREMIERSHIP SPINE.

[The Backyard Charizard 1,202]

I am hoping that we have a few X Factors on our list in a couple of years.....

I would love to see Jurrah put on a few kgs and cement himself in our starting 22 by 2010..... If this happens, there is our X Factor No. 1

Having seen this kid in action, once Addam Maric is a regular member of the team he will be X Factor No. 2

Throw in Neville Jetta and Jamie Bennell at No. 3 and 4 respectively and we have FOUR X Factors in our side....

But Jurrah will be the big one if all goes to plan..... Not just our X Factor, but possibly the AFL's X Factor!!!

No pressure Liam

[Al`s DEMONS 0]

how could i forget Jurrah. come on son.