5 minutes ago, sue said:

Although starting against the Hawks is scary, I don't think this is comparable to the Watts debut.  There will be nowhere near the hype and unrealistic expectation this time. So if he has a stinker it can just be viewed as getting experience of AFL standard before next year.

It's nothing like the Jack Watts debut. I can guarantee you if they rag doll him like that Viney, Jones, Vandenberg, Vince and a host of others will come in and fly the flag. Hawthorn can't afford a line in the sand game leading up to the finals. We can.

Find it strange they are likely to debut him in a game where Hogan from all reports seems like he will miss. Would have thought they'd like to play the 2 together so Hogan can protect him a bit... Guess we got concrete hands Dawes 

29 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

This isn't meant to negative but let's be realistic:
He's not going to be great at ground level. 
He's not going to be able to out body opponents to take easy marks. 
If he gets the ball in traffic the speed of the game might mean his skills by hand or foot aren't great.
His defensive effort probably isn't going to be fantastic.
Every chance is the pressure of the game means any set shots he gets will be hard to finish

But what I will look forward and am excited about is his reading of the play and leading patters and his ability to contest in the air when given a run and jump at the ball - which might only happen once or twice in the game. If he can get up on the lead and have a jump at a few high balls he could end up with 4 or 5 marks and maybe slot a goal or two. Add in a few more possessions from general play and it will be a nice debut. All the best Sam.

Very precise assessment. You've obviously studied him playing pretty closely. Out of interest how many times have you seen him play.

Single eyebrow raised here.  

Good luck to him.

30 minutes ago, jackaub said:

Gee i hope you are right SP coz as his draft profile suggested in their opinion he is a high risk selection

Brenton Sanderson, who coached the AIS AFL squad which he was a part of last year, said at the draft that he thought he could end up being the best player from last year's draft. I'd rely on him a bit more than whoever wrote that draft profile. If you've seen him live (and I have) his kicking techniques is superb. One of the best I've seen. He's kicked 20G 4B so far at Casey. He aint no Daniher. 

Edited August 4, 20169 yr by It's Time

15 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Nah Daniher is a very good player with a terrible weakness. If the Weid can mark and move like Daniher then he'll be a star. Unfortunately Daniher's kicking takes him from nearly the best young key forward to often a waste of space. 

I thought you were talking about his melon for a while....

Good selection IMO. We cannot make finals, so it is time to give our untried kids a taste. He won't be ready, but he will be better for it next year.

3 minutes ago, It's Time said:

Very precise assessment. You've obviously studied him playing pretty closely. Out of interest how many times have you seen him play.

I'd only watched draft highlights at the one MCG game pre draft, so I'm going off characterises there, but seen a few Casey games, training as well as the match simulation session at the start of the year. I'll back my ability to sum up a player pretty well, where I go wrong is predicting which players can or will improve, which has also been Melbourne's problem!

Any highlights on him please?

I hope Hogan plays. At the end of the day I'd rather Hogan and Weeds have no impact than Hogan and Dawes. 

Just now, praha said:

I hope Hogan plays. At the end of the day I'd rather Hogan and Weeds have no impact than Hogan and Dawes. 

How about a rubbish performance from all three?  

12 minutes ago, It's Time said:

Brenton Sanderson, who coached the AIS AFL squad which he was a part of last year, said at the draft that he thought he could end up being the best player from last year's draft. I'd rely on him a bit more than whoever wrote that draft profile. If you've seen him live (and I have) his kicking techniques is superb. One of the best I've seen. He's kicked 20G 4B so far at Casey. He aint no Daniher. 

Thanks Time as I prefaced I have not seen him play so all good info Hope he plays well and enjoys his debut

5 minutes ago, DemonLad5 said:

Any highlights on him please?

Have a look on the club website, he kicked 3 or 4 on the weekend and it is available to watch as a whole game

I too don't think he's ready, as he's just not strong enough to impact contests.  In fact, there are contests he doesn't even get to because he's bustled out of the way. 

That said, I don't mind him getting a taste.  Plenty of players debut before they're ready.  It's all part of the journey and education.  His teammates will love having him out there. 

Hoping Hogan, Dawes and Weed play, as it would allow us to have Watts spend more time sweeping the backline and setting us up. 

For some reason I suspect the ball may be down back a fair bit this week... 

The timing is right in the sense that it's late in the season with little on the line for us. Finals, while a vague mathematical possibility, are highly unlikely.

The timing is wrong in that we are playing the biggest pack of bullies in the afl who are also aiming for their 4th straight flag.

They will go for him and test him out. Dawes or  Hogan MUST fly the flag if they Jack Watts him.

1 hour ago, TRIGON said:

OOOoooooh, thutch a bitchhhh.

I got in early!

Just now, Colin B. Flaubert said:

The timing is right in the sense that it's late in the season with little on the line for us. Finals, while a vague mathematical possibility, are highly unlikely.

The timing is wrong in that we are playing the biggest pack of bullies in the afl who are also aiming for their 4th straight flag.

They will go for him and test him out. Dawes or  Hogan MUST fly the flag if they Jack Watts him.

Hogan (if he plays), Kent, vB, Dawes, Petracca and maybe even Bugg would all be in and around Weed's vicinity, and I'd back all of them to fly the flag in a boisterous manner.

 

A good marketing ploy by the club.

last home game, so a good time to debut a potential new star.

give him a taste of the big stuff this year, with low expectations of outcome.  A few games, and he can go back and work on things he learns.  

hopefully the forward line protect him and get around him when he kicks his first.

 

2 minutes ago, buck_nekkid said:

A good marketing ploy by the club.

last home game, so a good time to debut a potential new star.

give him a taste of the big stuff this year, with low expectations of outcome.  A few games, and he can go back and work on things he learns.  

hopefully the forward line protect him and get around him when he kicks his first.

 

Not sure the marketing department hold much sway over Roos' decisions TBH...

 

So if Hogan doesnt play, the Weed will come in and be our best tall fwd straight away?   

Good luck to him, dont expect anything from him aside from hard running, leading and competing.

Will kick 8, possibly more.

Edited August 4, 20169 yr by Petraccattack

I was sure Hulett would get a debut before the Weed. His form has been better according to most reports, and he is far more advanced physically.

Actually its probably an easy game as far as Melbourne forwards are concerned, as the ball will not likely be spending much time in our forward 50. At least he gets a taste without getting too roughed up, unless they go the Biff behind the play.

Good luck Weed, i hope you do well.

49 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Weeds deep with Hogan at CHF. 

If we see that week in week out for the better part of a decade I'll be a happy man.

Or this week he may play CHF if Hogans knee is still sore and he is limited.

Edited August 4, 20169 yr by SPC