Mitch Thorp

[sylvinator 96]

Thorp training with us is interesting. I wonder if there are 1 or 2 nervous uncontracted players. If we ended up chasing Thorp with PSD1 are we likely to create another spot so we have 1,2,11,18,34 + PSD1 or will we stay as is and forget 34?

Thorp seems a logical pick at PSD1- a classic boom or bust pick. But bc it's in the PSD you're not taking much of a risk.

If Thorp shows the form he did in underage level he could be a superstar CHF.

However, if he's an arrogant [censored], then I wouldn't touch him. Thorp training with us will give us chance to have a really good look at him

[Neita3000 37]

One of my good friends plays at Hawthorn.

Essentially Thorp was not well liked by alot of players however there was never any doubt about his talent. He wishes him all the best and thinks Melbourne would be a good fit.

[IWAP 168]

This is very pleasing news. We now get to see first hand if he still has the talent that made him so highly rated a couple of years back, and to get an idea of his off-field persona.

[Redleg 37,566]

Thorp training with us is interesting. I wonder if there are 1 or 2 nervous uncontracted players. If we ended up chasing Thorp with PSD1 are we likely to create another spot so we have 1,2,11,18,34 + PSD1 or will we stay as is and forget 34?

Whether or not it's Thorp or someone else I would be very, very disappointed if we did not use 34 and PSD 1. If possible I would even look at 50 and if no one was better than who we delisted I would redraft them.

[1858 219]

Whether or not it's Thorp or someone else I would be very, very disappointed if we did not use 34 and PSD 1. If possible I would even look at 50 and if no one was better than who we delisted I would redraft them.

I feel the same way, although 50 I am not so worried about.

[Redleg 37,566]

I feel the same way, although 50 I am not so worried about.

I suppose it could be as simple as would you rather have a "Dylan Grimes" or McNamara or Bartram.

[1858 219]

I suppose it could be as simple as would you rather have a "Dylan Grimes" or McNamara or Bartram.

Well at this point I must admit my ignorance here as I don't know much about Grimes or many of the draftees for that matter apart from what I've read on the net. I wouldn't mind seeing how McNamara turns out given the promising words Emma Quayle gave him a while back. Bartram - not fussed either way. Is Cheney still OOC?

[Redleg 37,566]

Is Cheney still OOC?

I believe he has been offered a new contract. Not sure of the current status of discussions. McNamara and Bartram are OOC I believe.

[H_T 2,941]

I believe he has been offered a new contract. Not sure of the current status of discussions. McNamara and Bartram are OOC I believe.

A poster claimed not long ago that McNamara had signed. Having spoken to a player. Not sure if this helps or bears any weight. Unconfirmed.

[Goodvibes 3,596]

Colin Wiseby's thoughts on Thorp:

THORP, Mitchell: Versatile tall. Main selling points are contested marking, fantastic endurance / ground coverage, clean hands, vision, spoiling. Accountable, footy smart in many respects. Good courage and wins more than his share of hardball/contested gets. '06 form overall was good but not quite as impressive as I'd hoped but he didn't really do a pre-season (due to O.P., which he is now on top of). Huge leap, very strong overhead (although I would like to see him try to protect the ball a bit more often when possible, a la Carey, instead of taking the ball directly above or a bit behind his head). Young for his age but potential Chris Grant if he stops getting ahead of himself. I rate Thorp behind only Hawkins and Sellar as the best KPP "potential package" in this draft. Capable of making CHF a "permanent" role at AFL but might be best suited to CHB. Main query as a defender would be whether a quick leading forward might show him up for pace over the first few metres. His pace is a little hard to judge as he has had O.P. and also, although he covers a lot of ground, he is not noted for hard chasing or ball-carrying and he sometimes, at least at U18 level, seems casual. I'm comfortable with his pace over a distance - for his size. There have been times when he has looked a little tardy and the main concern would be the 1st few metres. Some surprising pace when he wants to pull it out. eg in a 40m run to the loose ball, Thorp gave Petterd a few metres start but got there first and both seemed flat out. In a VFL game, Thorp kept up with Baird (his opponent) in a 25m run to the ball. Baird recorded a 3.00sec 20m and a 0.96sec 5m time a few years ago. On the other hand, Thorp was left in the wake of another VFL player on a number of occasions in one game when playing FB(?) whenever that player was on a lead. I query there though, how much was due to lack of pace on Thorp's part and how much was due to poor anticipation of, and reaction to, the opponent's take-off on the lead. Kicking is currently mixed bag but has the potential to be very good and I'm confident will be. Sometimes he seems a bit too casual under no pressure. Genuinely dual-sided. Nice economical, fluent kicking style, good depth. I noticed at 1/4, 3/4 time huddles that he seemed intelligent and very switched on. When deciding to carry the ball, he has a fairly regular tendency (more often at U18 level than VFL) to ignore the nearby presence of an opponent and approach his kick preparation as if he was in complete space (through arrogance? lack of awareness?) and becomes vulnerable to being bumped from the side as he kicks, to the detriment of his kicking effectiveness. He has some evasive ability and I'd like to see him work harder in those situations to create space before kicking. At the very least, he often takes a bit too long to dispose and his lateral awareness in such situations is not great. Thorp is very committed and I would have drafted him myself and prepared to part with a pick as early as #3 (Hawkins not being available) if I strongly wanted a KP and felt such an early pick was necessary. However, if height didn't need to factor into drafting considerations, I would prefer to take either Jetta or Proud (not that anything like pick #3 was ever going to be needed for them).

[IWAP 168]

Colin Wiseby's thoughts on Thorp:

And to add to that Goodvibes, here are some current comments by Wisbey after he was delisted:

Bottom line though is that Mitch is his own worst enemy. Very immature, has dreadful people skills and I'd be surprised if he doesn't carry multiple photos of himself in his wallet. Shame really. Rural Tassie kid who let under-age success go to his head. Got ahead of himself.

Has been plagued by injuries but, although I don't know the full inside story behind his delisting, I'd bet my last dollar that it had nothing to do with either injury or ability.

Agree he's been plagued by injuries so his overall VFL form in the relatively limited time he's been on the park post-draft is not at all representative of his capability.

My major concern pre draft was if he got drafted by a club with a history of discipline / culture problems. Once he got picked up by Hawks, I thought he was probably at the best club possible for him. I too thought he was a "definite".

When he first came to the "big smoke" within Tasmania, he was not at all arrogant. Just seemed fairly naive and awkward in dealing with people. He then became a big fish in a small pond (Tassie) and morphed into a difficult, insensitive personality who took only his own counsel and couldn't relate to others or seemingly even be bothered trying to.

In the modern era, Tassie kids overall (there have been exceptions of course) have a poor collective record of living up to expectation after being drafted.

For no doubt a variety reasons, similar (albeit to a lesser extent) can be said of the overall collection of kids drafted from the Dandenong area and even from Murray Bushies.

Frankly, regardless of whether I rated them or not, I tend to feel for those kids who are genuinely nice people and team/club orientated but things don't work out for them AFL-wise. e.g. I didn't rate Danny Stanley but felt really sad for him when he got delisted. I am typically happier to have the likes of Danny prove me wrong than to have the likes of Thorp prove me right. Thorp still has the ability to succeed and I wouldn't want that ability to be lost to AFL. On personality / behaviour criteria though, I couldnt care less whether Thorp succeeds or not. He will have only himself to blame if he falls off the AFl perch forever.

[Goodvibes 3,596]

Great stuff IWAP, where did you get your hands on that?

[Redleg 37,566]

Colin Wiseby's thoughts on Thorp:

THORP, Mitchell: Versatile tall. Main selling points are contested marking, fantastic endurance / ground coverage, clean hands, vision, spoiling. Accountable, footy smart in many respects. Good courage and wins more than his share of hardball/contested gets. '06 form overall was good but not quite as impressive as I'd hoped but he didn't really do a pre-season (due to O.P., which he is now on top of). Huge leap, very strong overhead (although I would like to see him try to protect the ball a bit more often when possible, a la Carey, instead of taking the ball directly above or a bit behind his head). Young for his age but potential Chris Grant if he stops getting ahead of himself. I rate Thorp behind only Hawkins and Sellar as the best KPP "potential package" in this draft. Capable of making CHF a "permanent" role at AFL but might be best suited to CHB. Main query as a defender would be whether a quick leading forward might show him up for pace over the first few metres. His pace is a little hard to judge as he has had O.P. and also, although he covers a lot of ground, he is not noted for hard chasing or ball-carrying and he sometimes, at least at U18 level, seems casual. I'm comfortable with his pace over a distance - for his size. There have been times when he has looked a little tardy and the main concern would be the 1st few metres. Some surprising pace when he wants to pull it out. eg in a 40m run to the loose ball, Thorp gave Petterd a few metres start but got there first and both seemed flat out. In a VFL game, Thorp kept up with Baird (his opponent) in a 25m run to the ball. Baird recorded a 3.00sec 20m and a 0.96sec 5m time a few years ago. On the other hand, Thorp was left in the wake of another VFL player on a number of occasions in one game when playing FB(?) whenever that player was on a lead. I query there though, how much was due to lack of pace on Thorp's part and how much was due to poor anticipation of, and reaction to, the opponent's take-off on the lead. Kicking is currently mixed bag but has the potential to be very good and I'm confident will be. Sometimes he seems a bit too casual under no pressure. Genuinely dual-sided. Nice economical, fluent kicking style, good depth. I noticed at 1/4, 3/4 time huddles that he seemed intelligent and very switched on. When deciding to carry the ball, he has a fairly regular tendency (more often at U18 level than VFL) to ignore the nearby presence of an opponent and approach his kick preparation as if he was in complete space (through arrogance? lack of awareness?) and becomes vulnerable to being bumped from the side as he kicks, to the detriment of his kicking effectiveness. He has some evasive ability and I'd like to see him work harder in those situations to create space before kicking. At the very least, he often takes a bit too long to dispose and his lateral awareness in such situations is not great. Thorp is very committed and I would have drafted him myself and prepared to part with a pick as early as #3 (Hawkins not being available) if I strongly wanted a KP and felt such an early pick was necessary. However, if height didn't need to factor into drafting considerations, I would prefer to take either Jetta or Proud (not that anything like pick #3 was ever going to be needed for them).

Good post. Very informative.

[Redleg 37,566]

And to add to that Goodvibes, here are some current comments by Wisbey after he was delisted:

Further informative comment. Thanks.

[IWAP 168]

Great stuff IWAP, where did you get your hands on that?

Colin Wisbey is the moderator on Extreme Black n White

[Dee Fan 3,247]

I would assume that we have given up on Ball and will now look elsewhere.

[Mono 454]

I would assume that we have given up on Ball and will now look elsewhere.

Could be. Thorp will be training with us. Link

[The Fergburger 0]

Very interesting that he is training with us. If we do pick him up then it looks like we might go for "best available" at pick 11 rather than a KPP. IMO if he gets his body right and does a a solid pre-season, he could be a good inclusion into our forward line next year.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/mitc...x-1225795298322

[... 11]

Very interesting that he is training with us. If we do pick him up then it looks like we might go for "best available" at pick 11 rather than a KPP. IMO if he gets his body right and does a a solid pre-season, he could be a good inclusion into our forward line next year.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/mitc...x-1225795298322

That's good news IMO.

Also agree with your point about best available at pick 11. I note that the Hun put Tapscott as pick 16 in the draft prediction yesterday. If we're happy with Thorp, I think Tapscott could be a Dee.

God I miss Jack!

[Dee Fan 3,247]

That's good news IMO.

Also agree with your point about best available at pick 11. I note that the Hun put Tapscott as pick 16 in the draft prediction yesterday. If we're happy with Thorp, I think Tapscott could be a Dee.

God I miss Jack!

Tapscott would be a great selection at 11 but I doubt that Port will let him slip past them at 8 or 9.

[old55 21,288]

Tapscott would be a great selection at 11 but I doubt that Port will let him slip past them at 8 or 9.

You keep saying that - why?

I know he's from SA and has been placed at 8 or 9 almost universally on Big Footy Phantom Drafts.

Do you have more info than that? Have you seen him play? Do you have some inside info from Port?

Neither Emma Quayle or Mark Stevens have him going there.

[Carn dees 108]

Happy to see this, i hope the dees can set him strait and maybe his woken up to him self after being delisted, ive herd he has some talent.

[Dee Fan 3,247]

You keep saying that - why?

I know he's from SA and has been placed at 8 or 9 almost universally on Big Footy Phantom Drafts.

Do you have more info than that? Have you seen him play? Do you have some inside info from Port?

Neither Emma Quayle or Mark Stevens have him going there.

I have no information and don't read big footy. I've seen his clips and he looks a ready made player combined with the fact that South Australian Clubs like to pick from their own State. I couldn't see Port picking Melksham over him.

I reckon he will be a very good player.

[sylvinator 96]

You keep saying that - why?

I know he's from SA and has been placed at 8 or 9 almost universally on Big Footy Phantom Drafts.

Do you have more info than that? Have you seen him play? Do you have some inside info from Port?

Neither Emma Quayle or Mark Stevens have him going there.

I'm not sure where Tapscott will go, but I agree with the sentiment that we should be going for best available at pick 11, particularly if we believe Thorp can get his body right and be another option as a key forward for us.

If I were our recruiter, there would be only 1 key position player who is good enough for pick 11- John Butcher. The other 2 who are borderline worthy of pick 11 are Tahlia and Black (wouldn't be unhappy if we picked either of those 2 guyz)

If Butcher is gone by pick 11, then I would pick whoever I rated highest out of Jetta, Tapscott, Sheppard, Lucas, Rohan, Melksham. All these guyz are worthy of pick 11 and one of them is bound to still be available at our pick.

Then at pick 18 I would pick the best available KPF- essentially one of Black, Griffiths, Troy Taylor, Panos, Carlisle. One of those 4 is bound to be available at pick 18 and all 4 would be worthy late first rounders.

That way we stregthen our midfield (Trengove, Scully and pick11 to add to Grimes, Strauss, Blease, Morton from recent drafts). We also strengthen our forward line, with Thorp and another KPF at 18.

I think the reason Tapscott is so enticing is bc he fits perfectly into our team- he is a dynamo kick of the footy + is a goalkicker as well. Imagine these 3 goals kicking midfielders in our team- Sylvia, Trengove and Tapscott... our midfield would suddenly be very dangerous!

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,148]

Happy with this. I'll happily take the punt on a KPP who was taken at pick 6. Hope he has more success than Sampi had a couple of years ago.

Sounds like they're probably over the Luke Ball fantasy.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Bring-Back-Powell