Liam Jurrah

[Striker475 696]

Link to the article at all? Be interested to have a read of that.

Found it.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/the-tyranny-of-distance/story-e6frepf6-1226059270400

[dee-luded 2,959]

Liam has always been this way. He is more interested in the highlight reel than playing the team game (any Robbo bashers out there reading this?). He has never been overly inclined to work off the ball or chase and tackle unless there is a good chance of the ball winding up in his hands.

Some of this will be cured as his fitness improves. He is still not as fit or as big as he needs to be. However, there is an attitude issue that he has had from day one that needs addressing. He needs to get down to the basics and start doing the little things right rather than always trying for the huge speckie or the freak goal. Workrate and application are both lacking at this stage.

He's not one to instigate physical contact. He'll have to learn to do it because he'll be a liability in finals when we get there. He was one of the softest on the weekend, along with Petterd & Davey.

[Jordie_tackles 354]

He's not one to instigate physical contact. He'll have to learn to do it because he'll be a liability in finals when we get there. He was one of the softest on the weekend, along with Petterd & Davey.

I think the whole reaction to Jurrah is a bit over the top, yeah he isnt very physical but i dont expect it of him... he adds what he adds and that is that oppositions fear him and that the only thing that stops him scoring goals is a bad day not any defender

Yes i want every other player to be physical but its not in Jurrahs build and i think he plays a different game which adds what it adds, and we all know how good it is in general

[sylvinator 96]

But I wonder about the indigenous boys. Is it because many of them have come up through different ranks where they play for "fun", try to do the freaky things where the big mark, the great goal and the other wonderful things they do are why they play and winning is secondary?? I just don't know but that is the way many of them seem to play. It's like we all used to play in the school yard before it was coached out of us.

The indigenous boys invented forward tackling pressure and 1%ers (shepards, smothers, blocks) that keep pressure on the opposition and continue to lead the competition in this aspect of our game.

Don't let facts get in the way of your story.

Jurrah is kicking goals, pressuring where he can and is playing well considering we get very few inside 50s compared to the rest of the comp. I feel sorry for all our forwards actually, would be the hardest forward line to play in in the afl considering low inside 50s and poor delivery inside 50. In fact, we probably have one of the best inside50-goal ratios in the league

[Radar Detector 1,347]

Why separate rules for Morton and Jurrah, or even better Davey and Jurrah?

Was going to ask precisely that question. We can't be expecting the club to maintain universal standards with Jurrah as an exception. Seems we're very happy to hang certain players for their "softness" but not him.

I agree he is showing signs of being new to the game being played in such an intense physical manner. Like with Morton and Bennell, I expect this trait will improve over time.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Deemolition

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

So you've seen the indigenous boys play in the Tiwi islands, inland Australia and Darwin on a regular basis and can say they "invented" forward pressure. I don't think so. Because of their great speed and agility they apply it at AFL level, they didn't invent it.

From the limited time I've spent watching the indigenous boys play at lower levels there is little if any sign of pressure and 1%ers. They just seem to be having a great deal of fun and playing unregulated footy. Personally I love it as it highlights the great features of our game.

On the money Snoop.

The indigenous boys invented forward tackling pressure and 1%ers (shepards, smothers, blocks) that keep pressure on the opposition and continue to lead the competition in this aspect of our game.

Which indigenous community did Jason Dunstall hail from again??

[dee-luded 2,959]

I think the whole reaction to Jurrah is a bit over the top, yeah he isnt very physical but i dont expect it of him... he adds what he adds and that is that oppositions fear him and that the only thing that stops him scoring goals is a bad day not any defender

Yes i want every other player to be physical but its not in Jurrahs build and i think he plays a different game which adds what it adds, and we all know how good it is in general

Wel you don't understand Finals football then. The same thing is starting to happen to Jurrah this year as has been happening to Davey in recenrt yaers. Jurrah has to HTFU. He has to start to chase hard, & Tackle with power to bring down the opponent off their feet, and he had to start to run harder to present options to his midfielders, even if the ball doesn't come to him.

At the moment Jetta is the most exciting of the Indigenous boys. go Nev!

[dee-luded 2,959]

Why separate rules for Morton and Jurrah, or even better Davey and Jurrah?

It's easy to forget that this bloke is still only a kid and has played just a handful of games. I get torn with Liam. On the one hand he consistently kicks goals and seems capable of pressure acts but on the other he seems to go missing for long periods and has no influence on the game. Like many of his team mates he doesn't have an intensity about his footy but I'd be the first to admit I just don't know. He's actually just showing many of the traits of a younger player.

But I wonder about the indigenous boys. Is it because many of them have come up through different ranks where they play for "fun", try to do the freaky things where the big mark, the great goal and the other wonderful things they do are why they play and winning is secondary?? I just don't know but that is the way many of them seem to play. It's like we all used to play in the school yard before it was coached out of us.

I think it could be a cultural thing, that if they look up to their role model,,, (Davey currently) and he does not lead well by example, then they will drop back to that level as well.

I wonder if when we lost Matty Whelan, we lost a lot more than just his play!

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

When you watch him at the game the first thing you notice is his laziness off the ball. The defensive side of his game needs an enormous amount of work.

Yep

Although, it's a fine balance. Don't want him to lose the instinctive stuff either because he's worried so much about what his opponent is doing on the turnover. Keep in mind that some players (eg., Martin Pike) started off this way and ended up turning their game around. Although i'm judging this on limited number of live games i saw him in. Was pretty loose early from what i can recall, damaging when he had it (Liam?), but tightened up a fair bit in his latter career to be a solid defensive player too (under Mathews anyway).

Certainly not comparing Liam to Pike as they are so diff (build/style/role/position wise etc) but just saying he started out pretty darn loose from memory.

[The Chazz 4,077]

I think it could be a cultural thing, that if they look up to their role model,,, (Davey currently) and he does not lead well by example, then they will drop back to that level as well.

I wonder if when we lost Matty Whelan, we lost a lot more than just his play!

Where's Byron when we need him most?

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

I think it could be a cultural thing, that if they look up to their role model,,, (Davey currently) and he does not lead well by example, then they will drop back to that level as well.

I wonder if when we lost Matty Whelan, we lost a lot more than just his play!

If you read Martin Flanagan's article in the Age on Saturday, Davey has been a good leader to the aboriginal boys off the field and sometimes on it. Its speculating drawing a nexus between Davey's attitude and example and the indigenous boys output. Its not the case clearly with Jetta and Wonna.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Where's Byron when we need him most?

I said that after the round of football in 2007 where he didn't front to an AFL match after heavy night on the fizz. I trust your comment was sarcastic, as I could not think of a worse role model for other indigenous players.

[Jordie_tackles 354]

Wel you don't understand Finals football then. The same thing is starting to happen to Jurrah this year as has been happening to Davey in recenrt yaers. Jurrah has to HTFU. He has to start to chase hard, & Tackle with power to bring down the opponent off their feet, and he had to start to run harder to present options to his midfielders, even if the ball doesn't come to him.

At the moment Jetta is the most exciting of the Indigenous boys. go Nev!

I actually think that Jurrah's pressure isnt that lacking....dont talk this you dont understand bulls..t like your opinion rules, all i said is that i think Jurrah plays a different role, not that he doesnt apply any pressure etc, but he adds something else, everyone on the team needs to tackle, chase and pressure

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

We should just have a thread for every player on the list so we can talk about what they're doing wrong. Surely, there's more pressing matter than Jurrah. Like someone has already mentioned, if the ball came in a little better he'd be kicking bags most weeks and would probably be leading the race for the coleman.

[The Chazz 4,077]

I said that after the round of football in 2007 where he didn't front to an AFL match after heavy night on the fizz. I trust your comment was sarcastic, as I could not think of a worse role model for other indigenous players.

As opposed to our current indigenous leader who leads with such pride?

It was a sarcastic comment though.

I actually think that Jurrah's pressure isnt that lacking....dont talk this you dont understand bulls..t like your opinion rules, all i said is that i think Jurrah plays a different role, not that he doesnt apply any pressure etc, but he adds something else, everyone on the team needs to tackle, chase and pressure

Jurrah seemed more than happy to throw his weight around when Ash McGrath and Aussie were at each other all game against the Lions. And come to think of it, he was very chatty to a St Kilda player on Saturday.

We don't need him to be a thug, we don't need him to be a tough player, but what we do need is for him, and he's not on his own, to obey team rules (ie chase/forward pressure, tackle hard, etc). If he's not willing to do that, he can spend a week at Casey to have a good think about it. I don't think it will need to come to this though.

[H_T 3,043]

We should just have a thread for every player on the list so we can talk about what they're doing wrong. Surely, there's more pressing matter than Jurrah. Like someone has already mentioned, if the ball came in a little better he'd be kicking bags most weeks and would probably be leading the race for the coleman.

Well the opportunity exists to create your own thread if need be. This thread is on Jurrah. I agree with the ball coming in better, he'd be getting a few more. But all the same, I agree with others that the perceived pressure he puts on by chasing at times is good, but it needs to improve with intent and application of tackling. If there is one criticism I do have of him to date, in particular this year (and again last Saturday), it is not tackling or putting a player to ground. Too many times he just touched them, almost gentle like. I'm a big supporter of him don't get me wrong, but he needs to be stronger in this area. The opposition needs to be made aware of his intent.

RudeBoy mentioned a few niggles, and I have wondered if anything is shoulder related. But even during the observation of warm-up, when the players takle the bag to the ground. He doesn't apply much force and from what I've seen lately not even to the ground like the others.

He needs to follow suit. And the coaches should be right on him.

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

Well the opportunity exists to create your own thread if need be. This thread is on Jurrah. I agree with the ball coming in better, he'd be getting a few more. But all the same, I agree with others that the perceived pressure he puts on by chasing at times is good, but it needs to improve with intent and application of tackling. If there is one criticism I do have of him to date, in particular this year (and again last Saturday), it is not tackling or putting a player to ground. Too many times he just touched them, almost gentle like. I'm a big supporter of him don't get me wrong, but he needs to be stronger in this area. The opposition needs to be made aware of his intent.

RudeBoy mentioned a few niggles, and I have wondered if anything is shoulder related. But even during the observation of warm-up, when the players takle the bag to the ground. He doesn't apply much force and from what I've seen lately not even to the ground like the others.

He needs to follow suit. And the coaches should be right on him.

Yeah fair point. He's going alright though. I reckon if we can get some good ball in there and get Juice out of the way he'll break a game open very soon.

[Crompton's the man 659]

Going back to the cultural thing:

Bearing in mind that when he first came to MFC he couldn't even speak the Queen's English and that his superb ball skills were recognised and he got a ticket to the big time (must have seemed like a dream come true - hope it still does) could it be considerd that the sort of naked agression that all ( ALL ) our football-playing young men grow up with and regard as normal perhaps is something he is yet to grow into.

This desired attitude will probably happen by osmosis but isn't a mentality that will come naturally when his previous 90% of his life thus far has probably been immersed in attitudes of respect and cooperation.

If this is a factor ( ok - I might be wrong) the key to an improved defensive game is for him to see how this aspect helps the team if he chases and is more aggressive.

[rpfc 28,407]

Jurrah is icing, he isn't the cake.

Get the cake right, and we will getting diabetes...if you follow me.

[Dees13 36]

I vote play him in the bloody goal square so he doesn't get exploited like this

one on one in the goal square should be his home

[Striker475 696]

Jurrah is icing, he isn't the cake.

Get the cake right, and we will getting diabetes...if you follow me.

Diabetes, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure...

[Longsufferingnomore 1,631]

We should just have a thread for every player on the list so we can talk about what they're doing wrong. Surely, there's more pressing matter than Jurrah. Like someone has already mentioned, if the ball came in a little better he'd be kicking bags most weeks and would probably be leading the race for the coleman.

WAC I see you joined last year so you should know that most of us at Demonland have a special interest in Liam. He and his community's journey is a part of Demonlands recent history and if we are discussing Liam's current form it is because we are genuinely concerned because we know how hard it has been for him to have even got this far. There would be very few here who would "bag" Liam for his performance but rather most of us are showing their concern that something maybe amiss be it injury or some other personal issue. Rudeboy has enlightened us that he has a few niggling injuries. The last thing we would want was to lose Liam but I also believe that if he made the decision to go back to his community we would also be thankful to have been able to observe his magic even if it was for just a short time.

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

WAC I see you joined last year so you should know that most of us at Demonland have a special interest in Liam. He and his community's journey is a part of Demonlands recent history and if we are discussing Liam's current form it is because we are genuinely concerned because we know how hard it has been for him to have even got this far. There would be very few here who would "bag" Liam for his performance but rather most of us are showing their concern that something maybe amiss be it injury or some other personal issue. Rudeboy has enlightened us that he has a few niggling injuries. The last thing we would want was to lose Liam but I also believe that if he made the decision to go back to his community we would also be thankful to have been able to observe his magic even if it was for just a short time.

Thanks mate, appreciate the info.

[dee-luded 2,959]

If you read Martin Flanagan's article in the Age on Saturday, Davey has been a good leader to the aboriginal boys off the field and sometimes on it. Its speculating drawing a nexus between Davey's attitude and example and the indigenous boys output. Its not the case clearly with Jetta and Wonna.

He's a nice Clean living fella, so is a good example there. The trouble is he's too nice and clean on-field as well.

We want a gentleman around the streets, and a weapon on the park.

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

I vote play him in the bloody goal square so he doesn't get exploited like this

one on one in the goal square should be his home

Totally agree, he'd have to be one of the most dangerous players going around in this situation. We need to get Juice out of his way. He's just too slow and can't do anything below his knees.