Michael had a second hip operation over the pre-season, so he was very limited in what he could do over last summer. Unfortunately, he then developed stress fractures in his back early in the season, and that really put him on a long term injury list. The majority of his season was made up of rehab, conditioning, strength work - just trying to get his body physically ready to play any level of football again. To his credit, he was extremely diligent with his recovery and his rehab - he’s shown a great deal of resilience to get back with the injuries that he’s had, and he was able to put together a string of four VFL games, where not only did he just play, but he actually contributed really strongly and was able to play three games above benchmark, which was a real credit to him with the work that he put in. Unfortunately for Pickles, just as he was on the verge of getting looked at for the AFL side, his body let him down again, and he’s working through that now to ensure that he can have a good summer and put himself out there early next season. - Aaron Greaves (midfield development coach)

melbournefc.com.au

Games MFC 2012 0 MFC Total 0 Goals MFC 2012 0 MFC Total 0

Games CSFC 2012 4 Goals CSFC 2012 3

I really like this kid. I hope he gets a good run at it next year.

I agree. If he can remain injury free, I reckon there's enormous upside to Evans.

Does anybody know what the latest injury is, the one that let him down just as he was being considered for senior selection? And is it going to prevent him from getting a full preseason in? Thanks.

I don't understand. I really think this kid could be an awesome player but i don't understand why some players constantly have injuries while others barely have any.

It would definitely be more then just luck involved so why can't sports science help determine this during recruiting phases?

Could how they manoeuvre or block or patterns/trends the players have or habits which contribute to constant injuries? Lack of calcium resulting in weak bones? Surely their is more involved then luck....

I agree with the above posters, IMO if he is fit he is a better prospect than Nicholson, Strauss, Jetta and Bail.

Does anybody know what the latest injury is, the one that let him down just as he was being considered for senior selection? And is it going to prevent him from getting a full preseason in? Thanks.

Back injury

I quite like Evans, has a crack and knows how to play. Having said that - shocking kick

Back injury

Having said that - shocking kick

And we have way too many of those. Think he may be on the chopping block due to injuries.

From the televised games of Casey I gained an very positive impression of Evans as someone who broke through the packs and knew where the goals were..on a couple of occasions at least he showed real class and good disposal.

Perhaps his disposal to team mates might be the weak area to which you were referring?. I can't recall picking up on this.

Is that what you were discussing when you said he was a shocking kick? Cheers

Back injury

I quite like Evans, has a crack and knows how to play. Having said that - shocking kick

Edited October 20, 201212 yr by 3031

From the televised games of Casey I gained an very positive impression of Evans as someone who broke through the packs and knew where the goals were..on a couple of occasions at least he showed real class and good disposal.

Perhaps his disposal to team mates might be the weak area to which you were referring?. I can't recall picking up on this.

Is that what you were discussing when you said he was a shocking kick? Cheers

Kicking was his weakness before his injury as well as not being hugely blessed with speed - IMO

When he finally got back to playing with Casey I saw more of the same - but would like to emphasise, he appears to have a good footy brain and puts himself in the right places. I think he would be a bit of a coach's dream in terms of effort, attitude and toughness.

A couple of times at Casey it was obvious he hurt himself (back) laying and receiving a couple of tackles - didn't stop him though and there was no thought of calling the trainer.

It's quite possible the back injury affected his kicking or he's just an ordinary kick. He's put a lot of size on while injured and IMO deserves his spot on the senior list next year. I hope he gets an injury free run at it

Really rate him

Kicking was his weakness before his injury as well as not being hugely blessed with speed - IMO

When he finally got back to playing with Casey I saw more of the same - but would like to emphasise, he appears to have a good footy brain and puts himself in the right places. I think he would be a bit of a coach's dream in terms of effort, attitude and toughness.

A couple of times at Casey it was obvious he hurt himself (back) laying and receiving a couple of tackles - didn't stop him though and there was no thought of calling the trainer.

It's quite possible the back injury affected his kicking or he's just an ordinary kick. He's put a lot of size on while injured and IMO deserves his spot on the senior list next year. I hope he gets an injury free run at it

Thanks Roger. Lets hope he can overcome these injuries and he can really move ahead. Hopefully his kicking can be turned around and made into a strength to add to his attributes. :0

I agree with the above posters, IMO if he is fit he is a better prospect than Nicholson, Strauss, Jetta and Bail.

If he can get through injury free, I would probably rate him second of your group, ie behind Nicholson but ahead of the other three.

We HAVE to play him this year if he's fit. His debut, Round 9 2011 V STK- 27 possessions, 9 marks and 6 tackles. For an 18 year old rookie wearing number 50 that was fantastic. I remember seeing star potential in that opening game

We HAVE to play him this year if he's fit. His debut, Round 9 2011 V STK- 27 possessions, 9 marks and 6 tackles. For an 18 year old rookie wearing number 50 that was fantastic. I remember seeing star potential in that opening game

I agree, though no doubt naysayers will point out the great first few games of Gysberts and the lack of output since. In both cases their development has been marred by injury. We should all hope that in both cases this is behind them and they can show their true worth.

He's different to Gysberts because he can and does run. Furthermore (going by my distant memory of the handful of games he played in 2011) he runs to the right spots to win the ball in space. I also remember him being quick, but a poor user of the ball. There are tools there to work with and it sounds as if his attitude is good, so hopefully his body can hold up enough for him to show us what he's got.

That's pretty much it, Nash.

He runs really well, but is iffy by foot. But he certainly can be an AFL level runner which will help us a lot.