I think what a couple of posters are suggesting is that he has a couple of weaknesses that need ironing out. They're not personal attacks, just observations. For what it's worth he will get there. All the ingredients are there. I haven't been overwhelmed this year, then again I may be jaded by his poor SuperCoach scores!

  On 25/04/2016 at 10:48, KingDingAling said:

I am not bothered about Salem, he is still a developing young kid. I will reserve judgement until Salem gets a crack at the midfield (where I think he will play his best football), but that is probably another year away. Physically he needs to develop. I think he is only down back atm because of his class, poise, decision making, and execution, we don't utilize Salem enough, that isn't his fault. The only knock on Salem is that he is getting pushed off the ball easily, but that is expected (given he isn't as developed physically). Still a kid, will be A grader in time. I have no doubt.

I like what Salem may give us but I don't necessarily think it's  eventually as a midfielder. For mine, in the broader sense, he's a flanker; the bloke you want as the second last link in the chain going forward or spotting up a target from half back.

Can't agree with Fifty-5 or anyone else who thinks there's a trend in Salem to be weak in the contest. He made mistakes on the weekend but so did McDonald, Dunn, Lumumba and, well, probably every single Melbourne player. The upside Salem brings undoubtedly IMO outweighs the kinks he needs to keep ironing out.

  On 25/04/2016 at 10:36, mo64 said:

I don't understand the criticism. The creative possessions Salem had far outweighed the odd mistake. 

The reason why we are scoring more in the past 3 weeks is because we finally have some backmen who know how to attack. Lumumba, Salem, Jetta, Wagner and Hunt are not afraid to take the game on. We are actually going out there to win the game, rather than just stopping the opposition from scoring. And it's not like we're leaking more goals than we have in the past.

I've been a massive critic of Garland and to a lesser extent Grimes because they offer nothing offensively. Our current backline structure is like a breathe of fresh air, and Salem's contribution is integral.

Agreed. Salem is an integral part to our side.

I'd like him to work on his bodywork and positioning in marking contests but I suspect that will improve as the team continues to gel and he continues to develop confidence in his position. 

Deservedly gets a good wrap for his kicking skills but his hands are just as good. The vision and execution of some of those handballs he pulls off are ridiculously impressive (like Oliver). I hope he gets a good run in the middle at some stage.

  On 25/04/2016 at 14:23, Nascent said:

Deservedly gets a good wrap for his kicking skills but his hands are just as good. The vision and execution of some of those handballs he pulls off are ridiculously impressive (like Oliver). I hope he gets a good run in the middle at some stage.

Like the no-look over-the-shoulder handball to Kent to set up our first goal? He got stopped with a tackle just before that but gave a second effort to get into the overlap. Was a great start for little Christian. 

I still have concerns (short-term). Seems a little lost back there and it's possibly effecting his intensity. He's not sticking tackles as well as he used to and getting outplayed one on one. Of course he's still learning but he may be overthinking it re. positioning and when to commit. My frustrated yelling at the TV suddenly features Christian quite a lot (and Heretier - but that's a different type of emotion).

I reckon he's still smart, running to good spots, spotting up guys with that deft touch with kicks 20-40 metres. But when I see him contest I'm always stunned to see him break even given how small he is. I mean... he'd be among the least AFL looking on the list. So while I'm most of the time pleasantly surprised, I do tend to wonder what it would be like if he was built like Viney. And I wonder if he can possibly get there?

Salem is fine. I'd say the only thing he needs to improve massively is his fitness/running capacity.

He needs to become a running machine.

If he can do what Viney has done over the past couple of pre-seasons then he'll be gold for us.

I reckon a few players are in a similar boat and a couple of them are a little heavier than they need to be. Especially given the interchange cap and loss of the sub.

Salem is carrying a bit and the same goes with Kent. 

Hawthorn instructed Hodge and Lewis to drop weight a few years back and it's done wonders.. They cover the ground a lot easier now and it reduces the risk of injury due to fatigue. Especially important for older bodies. But also for a bloke like Salem who has had hammy issues.

I know Salem did a lot of speed work over the off-season for his hamstrings, but to me he also needs to drop weight and get a much better endurance base.

  On 25/04/2016 at 11:10, Wiseblood said:

He brought up the thread to pot the bloke over one, yes ONE, action within the game.  There was nothing else to back it up, other than a hollow "he's a great kick" to try and mask the fact that he wanted to knock him.

If you want to call a player overrated then at the very least he should be able to back it up.  He can't.

I don't agree.  He brought it up to support his comment from the previous week that it's a problem which many dismissed.  And it's a valid point.  Are you suggesting you don't want Salem to improve this part of his game?

For the record I really rated Salem's game.  I thought his use of the ball was first class and his decision making under pressure was excellent.  I was pleased to see it as his form to this point was underwhelming.

Lets not forget this guy is only 20 years young. He is getting better with each game. IMO he will be a champion.

  On 26/04/2016 at 01:24, Baghdad Bob said:

I don't agree.  He brought it up to support his comment from the previous week that it's a problem which many dismissed.  And it's a valid point.  Are you suggesting you don't want Salem to improve this part of his game?

For the record I really rated Salem's game.  I thought his use of the ball was first class and his decision making under pressure was excellent.  I was pleased to see it as his form to this point was underwhelming.

It's not really.  He didn't keep his feet in one contest on a slippery night where many fumbled and fell over under the pressure of the contest.

It's not a problem.

  On 26/04/2016 at 01:26, leave it to deever said:

Lets not forget this guy is only 20 years young. He is getting better with each game. IMO he will be a champion.

He can do something most Melbourne players of the last 10 years couldn't, he can kick beautifully. IMO he needs a bit more physical development and he will a very good player for us. Sometimes he does appear a bit timid, but that could be because he gets bodied off the contest a bit, because of his slight frame.

He ensured the quarter time brawl really got serious so it's a tick for me.

  On 26/04/2016 at 01:59, Redleg said:

He can do something most Melbourne players of the last 10 years couldn't, he can kick beautifully. IMO he needs a bit more physical development and he will a very good player for us. Sometimes he does appear a bit timid, but that could be because he gets bodied off the contest a bit, because of his slight frame.

Agree, it's quite strange, he can appear timid and then five minute later you see him going back with the flight Luke Hodge style, i don't think he's scared at all, i just think he's got a bit of development to go like you said.

  On 25/04/2016 at 10:11, Fifty-5 said:

Tremendous kick but definite weakness in the contest.  Poor effort against Lloyd and fell over again.  Over rated IMO.

he was out of position against Lloyd winning that contest would have been a miracle, blame the turn over not the last defender tasked with cleaning it up. Falling over was dissapointing but given he barely put another foot wrong that night i think you're finding ways to complain (which is a nice change from us all complaining about everything). Yeah he has room for improvement but give him a break.

  On 26/04/2016 at 02:11, Peter Griffen said:

Agree, it's quite strange, he can appear timid and then five minute later you see him going back with the flight Luke Hodge style, i don't think he's scared at all, i just think he's got a bit of development to go like you said.

I don't think he is timid at all, he is more evasive than he seems though so dodges the contact to keep his feet more often than not. One instance that sticks out to me was watching him beat Buddy convincingly in a one on one on the flank last year. Salem fought him in the air and on ground, got the ball and was off and left Buddy wondering what just happened. He does that sort of thing quite a bit, but he doesn't bash and crash to get it done so he looks timid. He has also laid some bloody tough tackles on big players at big points of games.

I am a big fan but realise that you need to see the deft touch and evasive skill in what he does, if you miss that he may look a bit like a timid spud.  

Most issues will be ironed out with time and under the watch of Misson.

Upper body will need to be worked on but this will take time, they will  want to be confident that the lower part is ready to handle the load.

With greater strength Salem will halve and win many more contests.

  On 26/04/2016 at 01:10, Dappa Dan said:

I reckon he's still smart, running to good spots, spotting up guys with that deft touch with kicks 20-40 metres. But when I see him contest I'm always stunned to see him break even given how small he is. I mean... he'd be among the least AFL looking on the list. So while I'm most of the time pleasantly surprised, I do tend to wonder what it would be like if he was built like Viney. And I wonder if he can possibly get there?

I don't think they'd want him to take on Viney's figure. Jack is a physical specimen but is also naturally quite a thick bloke through the trunk, Christian is leaner naturally who's game probably benefits from being the size he is now. i don't think he'd be able to do what he does with that extra size much like I don't think Jack could do what he does if he were Christian's size.

If you watch the replay of all the goals it's apparent that Salem was crucial to 5 of them. He is a very important part of our side. His disposal is elite and he runs hard forward and is kicking goals from the half backline.

Strange thing, I have complete confidence that Salem will just steadily build over time.

Not even considering dropping him from SC - I still believe he'll be a 'premium' by the end of the year.

Did well against Richmond, just keeps growing. I'm not anxious at all.

Out of all the the things we could be worried about, Salem is not one of them: how about McDonald's kicking, our 2nd tall forward, our 2nd ruck, the coaching transition, who steps aside for Petracca etc...

He will make mistakes and get beaten in one-on-one contests but Salem is reliable. By hand and by foot we can trust him, and he is young. Nothing to see here, move along.

 

Early days I know, but with Hunt and Wagner starting so well, and H having a far better year, I wonder if Salem will move to a wing, where his vision and disposal skills could more complement our developing extractors. 

And there's still Mitch White who is every chance of making a fist of a half back position. 

  On 26/04/2016 at 11:46, Deestroy All said:

And there's still Mitch White who is every chance of making a fist of a half back position. 

I'm disappointed to have not seen White so far this year. Was really impressive in that last game against GWS in 2015. I would expect him and Hunt to be fighting over the same spot though, and I'm loving Hunt already.

I'd thought Salem had been underwhelming up until a couple of weeks ago, but now he's really finding his groove. Is doing some very nice things and I relax when he has the ball in hand. Also, a few players slipped over on Sunday night, so that shouldn't be held against him by any means. Dewy conditions.