All I willl say is this, best two kicks in the club and if you want, throw no 50 Evans in too...GUNS!!!

A little respect ppl.. oh and and Rohan Bail and Jetta also delivered lace out all night!!!!

nah.. watching the reply last night bail really needs to work on his kicking. missed alot of easy hit. evans on the other hand impressed me. his left foot is dead accurate and his right is acceptable. could be a player young 'pickles' Evans. the club rates him very highly as they have said he has real big upside.

All I willl say is this, best two kicks in the club and if you want, throw no 50 Evans in too...GUNS!!!

A little respect ppl.. oh and and Rohan Bail and Jetta also delivered lace out all night!!!!

Strauss? is this based on last night? He had 2 kicks.

Bail I really really like as a player. He needs to polish up his kicks. I know he's been working at it over the summer, but if he hit more targets he'd be a real weapon.

Strauss i'm really concerned about, don't think he has what it takes in the big league. Every time i've seen him play he's seemed rushed, overawed and ordinary.

IMO the club seems not to have put a foot wrong in its recruitment strategy and in the selection of players it has actually recruited. I'll say at the outset, they are the experts. I am not.

However, in the lead up to the draft in which Strauss was selected (I think at pick 19), a lot of the talk was that Zaharakis would've been the player to pick with this selection had he been available. I recall he ultimately went to the Dons for about pick 24.

Strauss, perhaps a bit like Cook and Howe (both of whom look to be inspired picks), was seen to be a little left field at the pick he was taken. Hypothetical question, but do people think the club erred in not selecting Zaharakis with pick 19?

IMO the club seems not to have put a foot wrong in its recruitment strategy and in the selection of players it has actually recruited. I'll say at the outset, they are the experts. I am not.

However, in the lead up to the draft in which Strauss was selected (I think at pick 19), a lot of the talk was that Zaharakis would've been the player to pick with this selection had he been available. I recall he ultimately went to the Dons for about pick 24.

Strauss, perhaps a bit like Cook and Howe (both of whom look to be inspired picks), was seen to be a little left field at the pick he was taken. Hypothetical question, but do people think the club erred in not selecting Zaharakis with pick 19?

The few games of U-18's I watched that year, (@ the MCG I went to see Hurley, didn't notice him that much,,, But I did Notice the Dash of a young Blease on the members wing,,, and a young Zarharakis on the outer wing.

The Match was finished off with a a Mark on the siren & a Winning kick for Goal after the siren. That player was Watts.

Zaharakis?

No.

There is nothing exceptional about his game.

Zaka is just a good average footballer. Likely to spend his career as a flanker.

Strauss needs to work on some aspects of his game, but his kicking is truly elite.

A real weapon.

I think we made the correct decision between the 2.

The few games of U-18's I watched that year, (@ the MCG I went to see Hurley, didn't notice him that much,,, But I did Notice the Dash of a young Blease on the members wing,,, and a young Zarharakis on the outer wing.

The Match was finished off with a a Mark on the siren & a Winning kick for Goal after the siren. That player was Watts.

I was also there that day and by God was I rapt in a young kid called- Blease.. I really hope he can make it..

Zaharakis?

No.

There is nothing exceptional about his game.

Zaka is just a good average footballer. Likely to spend his career as a flanker.

Strauss needs to work on some aspects of his game, but his kicking is truly elite.

A real weapon.

I think we made the correct decision between the 2.

Wrong again.

Zaharakis will be a very good player when he continues to build on his endurance and plays more through the middle.

You are right with Strauss, the correct choice must have been made because of his elite kicking.............Pfftt!!

That in no way means you will become a good AFL player just because you can kick the ball really well. By that rational Matt Suckling is in the exact same boat.

Re Strauss: No point in being an elite kick unless you get it enough to cause damage.. And, as a defender, what are his defensive skills like?

I was also there that day and by God was I rapt in a young kid called- Blease.. I really hope he can make it..

Out of interest, has the broken leg affected Blease's pace - or is he now as quick as he was pre-break?

Bail's kicking is a weakness in what is a very good game.

Strauss needs to get more ball especially in space. At the moment he is struggling to be creative, he is too worried about defending as he is not a natural defender like Bartram/Grimes/Garland. He had a good intraclub, was ok in limited time against the crows and was pretty poor against Port. I hope he gets a full game in our next match. A lot of people judge him on his first 2 games. The first was a shocker against Hawthorn but he wasn't horrible in his second.

I am a real Bail fan, but his kicking is either 100% lace out or misses by 5 metres or more. But at least he gets it. Strauss is a concern for me. When he gets it his kicking is great to watch but he seems to be in the wrong place too often. Fortunatley, these things for both these young men can be fixed.

I remember being adamant about two players I was watching at the start of their careers, and thinking how poor they were - they would be hopeless. They were Adem Yze and Aaron Hamill. Both turned out to be outstanding in their own way and very effective kicks. Let's give the coaching staff some time.

In December I started to put together a 2011 starting 22 and I had Strauss in for Bartram, but Bartram is way ahead of Strauss now.

Edited February 13, 201114 yr by Maldonboy38

Out of interest, has the broken leg affected Blease's pace - or is he now as quick as he was pre-break?

I don't think so. I saw him doing some running @ Casey last year & he was quick off the mark & acceleration,, still had a second gear as well, & could go again.

He looks fine, just got to get over the scar tissue, I'd guess. And the missed game time.

Wrong again.

Zaharakis will be a very good player when he continues to build on his endurance and plays more through the middle.

You are right with Strauss, the correct choice must have been made because of his elite kicking.............Pfftt!!

That in no way means you will become a good AFL player just because you can kick the ball really well. By that rational Matt Suckling is in the exact same boat.

If your a good kick, good with skills, and a great runner, but can't beat your opponent, one on one,,, then maybe you would be better off in the Modern Pentathlon @ the Olympics.

Wrong again.

Zaharakis will be a very good player when he continues to build on his endurance and plays more through the middle.

You are right with Strauss, the correct choice must have been made because of his elite kicking.............Pfftt!!

That in no way means you will become a good AFL player just because you can kick the ball really well. By that rational Matt Suckling is in the exact same boat.

tess, once again, you show you know little about football.

In this case, especially recruiting.

tess, once again, you show you know little about football.

In this case, especially recruiting.

Tess did no more than offer an opinion. And he/she hasn't posted since Nov 27 (and only 600 in 5.5 years of being on the list)."Once again" is a bit strong.

Then again, your 1900 posts in 1.5 years makes you a genius. End of story.

Do you have a point?

Do you have a point?

I think he's saying that the postor should keep to there own point, without belittling the other postor.

I think the players that we took in the 2008 draft will play a big role in our Premiership run. Watts, Blease, Strauss, Bennell, Jetta, Bail add in Jurrah what a draft.

Don't forget after Jurrah in the PSD, we got McKenzie in the rookie draft.

I forgot about McKenzie and I think Spencer is from the same rookie draft. The only players we haven't seen much of are Blease and Strauss.

Strauss has a bit to learn but nothing that can't be taught, he will be ok, it may take a bit of time that's all. Confidence is a wonderful thing and he lacks it at the moment.

Strauss may not have had a broken leg as Blease did however he has been hampered with injuries. I believe this was his first full pre-season after having shoulder and knee problems repeatedly since being drafted. I'd give the guy a bit more time & slack before saying he's not up to it.

Strauss has shown ziltch