Did anyone see sylvia give him a big roost?

For the last season I've heard people talk about this fella.

Can someone please explain why there's so much love. I know he's only a young bloke making his way but I just can't see it. Nice enough field kick but terrible mark & poor decision maker (fits in perfectly at the moment).

I agree...Stick Mckenzie in there also.

Both complete spuds.

Dean Kent & Terlich will take Mckenzies gig soon enough.Or one Jack Viney.

Kent looks surprisingly good....does the 1%ers in my book...threw his weight around a bit and Terlich keeps running from my perspective watching.

Athletic, competes well in the ruck, and almost always do inmates the vfl, he will get a go, and he has a bit of promise. His set shot in the first quarter that hit the post shows how far his skills have come on!

Definitely needs more afl games, but put Clark in the fwd line with Dawes and the fitzy wold be more dangerous! Still has to work on his decision making but so does the whole team

Surely he will get a good run with the indefinite absence of Clark, the uncertainty about Dawes at best in the short term, and the unavailability of Hogan.

The season is long gone, (geez I am a genius to make that observation), but I don't think that our playing him for an extended period regardless of some mistakes could be construed as tanking. He needs development, and AFL is the place unless he develops a major loss of confidence.

His field kicking and decision making in the 2nd half today were excellent, So was his pace.

He had seven tapouts - 2 to advantage. Jamar had 20 more with 1 more to advantage.

He will improve with game time,

edits for typos

He certainly seems to offer more versatility and value around the ground than does Jamar at the moment. Stick with him, as a forward / back up ruckman, as well as Big Max.

Nothing against Fitzy, but why isn't Gawny playing?

Is it another one of Neeldy's who f/@kin knows...

Yesterday I saw that Fitzpatrick can play a bit. He's a long way off and with his decision making reminded me of an early Mark Jamar. But he didn't play well yesterday - just better than his other games and most importantly, showed enough to suggest he might make it one day. Clearly a work in progress.

There isn't a Forward line player on the planet who would shine given our delivery today. Fitzy is quick and I mean seriously quick, on a lead with good delivery he would have us salivating. Given all that he has had to contend with over the past two years I think his development has been a credit to him and the club. His contested overhead mark in the 4th is testimony to that. A year ago that would have not been achievable. As others have said he consistently performs well at VFL level and with time he may well do the same at AFL level.

My concern with Fitzy is he's Stef Martin 2.0 - will he ever get it all together or always be an awkward athlete come footballer.

He took one strong grab in traffic yesterday that impressed me but then another footy literally hit him on the chest when he was trying to mark it.

Terrible Mark and turns it over a bit, but i do see potential.

Did anyone see sylvia give him a big roost?

yes absolutely...

fitzy made a huge blunder with his skill error.

& Sylv' cares.

did anyone see Fitzy burn off a pie player already on the chase, with Fitzy off one pace ball in hand? he's got a lot to work with,,, to be developed.

Nothing against Fitzy, but why isn't Gawny playing?

Is it another one of Neeldy's who f/@kin knows...

didn't you watch Gawns last couple of games? he looked tired, & in need of a rest... it happens.

Agree re Big Maxie. He looked tired in the last couple of AFL games. He's gone back to VFL and done very well. He's missed a lot of footy over the last couple of years so will probably take time to get some run in the legs on a consistent basis.

Agree re Big Maxie. He looked tired in the last couple of AFL games. He's gone back to VFL and done very well. He's missed a lot of footy over the last couple of years so will probably take time to get some run in the legs on a consistent basis.

also mentally I think... you have to recharge your personal batteries, when pushing up into the afl... its a big step up, especially for a young Ruckman/Forward, trying to hold the responsibility for kicking the teams goals with our most Key players on the sidelines.

Spilled marks, that's when the ball didn't just go straight through his hands, fumbled, got pushed out the way by a smallish midfielder, had no idea what to do when he got the ball, hey what's not to like, he fits in.

Seemed so uncoordinated in the first half that i was cringing every time he ventured near the ball, and then in the second half he suddenly was taking contested marks and looked reasonable.

Spilled marks, that's when the ball didn't just go straight through his hands, fumbled, got pushed out the way by a smallish midfielder, had no idea what to do when he got the ball, hey what's not to like, he fits in.

,,he's learning then,,, thats what he's got to do... learn & develop himself.

maybe you would like ferguson back.

you know what,,, afl players aren't bought off the shelf in a bunnings store.

I think Fitzpatrick showed enough to continue playing him after the break.

He had a few clanger moments, but his delivery on at least two occasions into the forward 50 was fantastic as he collected the ball in the middle of the ground then kicked a low penetrating kick onto the chest of a teammate. Better than some of our midfielders. Yes he didn't convert all of his marking opportunities, but the guy has had a rough run. Remember he came to the club suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, and then was diagnosed as having diabetes, and for a pick 50 something, he's done bloody well to work through those health conditions, dominate in the VFL and get a handful of AFL games so far.

If he can clunk a few more marks, and we can get better entries into our forward 50, I reckon he could do very well.

With guys like Fitzpatrick and Watts, a lot of people are harsh on their marking abilities, but we have to remember that our midfielders are not kicking to their advantage. Multiple times, rather than our mids kicking into space for Watts and Fitzpatrick to run onto, using their pace, we kicked it too high and allowed Collingwood defenders to out position them. We can't expect them to be Travis Cloak and bully their defenders out of the way. Even Clarke and Dawes struggle to mark in those situations.

I saw enough of him yesterday to suggest he can play. He is definitely NOT Stef Martin 2.0.

For those who say his marking was terrible, take a second look Yes, some of it was horrible, but he also took 2 contested marks with a single clunk.

His pace speaks for itself and he has done some serious work on his kicking over the past 2 preseasons.

As for his positioning. 50/50 for mine.

He will never be a gun but we have to give him another run after the break, especially if Dawes and Clark are missing long term again.

Thanks RM.

Can we carry Gawn, Fitz, Hogan, Dawes and Clark in one side? I would think that's one too many unless someone plays back. No problem with Fitz being the back up, because you do need depth players, and it seems unlikely we'll ever get all in the team together!

I hope he is retained for the next two matches, an extended run will help settle the nerves. If he had held 3 or 4 more marks this week he would have been a useful contributor.

The point about Fitz is he is 201 cm tall but has the speed of a mid-fielder. I have seen him regularly burn off apponents half his size at Casey, while moments later taking spectacular pack marks.

He is a classic big bloke who needs time and senior experience. I am certain it will pay off in time. Because he is so quick, I think he would fit in well with a forward line of Clark, Watts, hogan, Howe and Dawes, with maybe a rejuvenated Davey (or Bleese) as crumber, but with Watts playing centre and Howe ruck-rover.

Looks great on paper, and that may be the trouble!

Edited June 11, 201312 yr by Dees2014

There's so much love because we've seen what he can do at Casey. The dropped marks are basically nerves, and the more games he plays the less we will see of it. He's hellishly fast for a guy his size, as we saw when he ran away from a couple of mids today and slotted the pass down the throat of a leading forward. He's a good overhead mark (despite what he's done the last couple of weeks) and he's 2m tall. He's been regularly getting 4 and 5 goal hauls at Casey, dominating both forward and in the ruck. What we want to see is an extended run in the seniors to work the nerves out and show some of that ability. Right now is the ideal time for this since we're short on tall forwards.

Agree. He just needs to play a number of consecutive games and get his confidence up.

It is tough when you are playing and thinking, " oh sh-t if I drop this mark I will be back at Casey".

Give our younger players a run of games to get their confidence up and some valuable experience. That is probably all we can offer to therm for the rest of this season.

BTW, I think he will make it.

The point about Fitz is he is 201 cm tall but has the speed of a mid-fielder. I have seen him regularly burn off apponents half his size at Casey, while moments later taking spectacular pack marks.

He is a classic big bloke who needs time and senior experience. I am certain it will pay off in time. Because he is so quick, I think he would fit in well with a forward line of Clark, Watts, hogan, Howe and Dawes, with maybe a rejuvenated Davey (or Bleese) as crumber, but with Watts playing centre and Howe ruck-rover.

Looks great on paper, and that may be the trouble!

Is this not the antithesis to the complaints about Jamar? I think someone posted the other day that the way the game is played now, you need your ruck to play as another midfielder or high forward. Jamar doesn't seem to have that ability and we end up one player down.

If Fitzy has that potential, we'd be silly to ignore it.

I saw enough of him yesterday to suggest he can play. He is definitely NOT Stef Martin 2.0.

For those who say his marking was terrible, take a second look Yes, some of it was horrible, but he also took 2 contested marks with a single clunk.

His pace speaks for itself and he has done some serious work on his kicking over the past 2 preseasons.

As for his positioning. 50/50 for mine.

He will never be a gun but we have to give him another run after the break, especially if Dawes and Clark are missing long term again.

AND he is only 21 years old isn't he ?? Big men do not reach full potential (on average) until they are around 24 to 25. He is progressing well at this stage.. Worth holding on to..

Has the speed to play as a midfielder doesn't equal have the talent to link up in play like a Cox or Kreuzer.

But Fitzy couldn't kick a reliable drop punt from the top of the goal square when he started. He now hit the post half way up from 50.

What I'd say about any big man is its your job to play as a big man first then use your attributes. That's something Stef Martin could never do.

When back at Casey I'd aim to play him at CHF for a while and let Hogan play FF (or even change with Spencer in the ruck). I'd just like to see Fitzy working on leading up and presenting a contest because that's a vital job of a ruckman these days.

Also just because I'm old fashioned if I was him I'd get a hair cut before his next AFL game!

2009 Draft

20 METRE SPRINT (Seconds)

1. Ayden Kennedy 2.88

2. Dustin Martin 2.89

3. Andrew Hooper 2.90

4. Sam Reid 2.92

=5. Sam Shaw 2.93

=5. Kane Lucas

=5. Gary Rohan

=8. Lewis Jetta 2.95

=8. Dylan Grimes

=10. Robbie Hicks 2.96

=10. Jack Fitzpatrick

=10. Bradley Sheppard

=10. Travis Colyer

REPEAT SPRINTS (Seconds)

1. Jack Fitzpatrick 23.91

2. Robbie Hicks 24.04

3. Jordan Williams 24.17

4. Travis Colyer 24.36

5. Gary Rohan 24.33

6. Jason Tutt 24.39

7. Dustin Martin 24.56

8. Lewis Jetta 24.61

9. Dylan Grimes 24.69

10. Bradley Sheppard 24.74

IMO this player is a KEEPER

Must be those big legs....

One thing is clear in my mind - he is a much better option than Spencer. People also seem to take no notice that that was his 6th AFL game and for a young ruckman there was a lot of upside.