2017 Player Reviews: # 45 Declan Keilty

[Demonland 73,474]

SPARE PARTS MAN

Rookie Declan Keilty was used by the Casey Demons as a spare parts man, playing in both key forward and key defence roles as well as having an occasional stint in the ruck and is making some progress. Players of his ilk are handy and the Demons are likely to give him an opportunity at AFL level in 2018.

Date of Birth: 8 May, 1995

Height: 194cm

Weight: 93kg

Games MFC 2017: 0

Career Total: 0

Goals MFC 2017: 0

Career Total: 0

CDFC Games 2017: 20

CDFC Goals 2017: 6

[poita 3,908]

The reports from Casey were promising this year, but the arrival of Lever makes it harder to see where Keilty fits into the picture. Hopefully he can continue to improve and put pressure on the likes of Frost & the McDonalds.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,960]

5 hours ago, poita said:

The reports from Casey were promising this year, but the arrival of Lever makes it harder to see where Keilty fits into the picture. Hopefully he can continue to improve and put pressure on the likes of Frost & the McDonalds.

Can Keilty play ruck?  Perhaps there is a longer term prospect for him to play the sort of key position support/backup ruckman role like Pedersen?

As much as I'm not looking to replace Pedo in the short term, Cam is getting pretty close to retirement age.  Particulaly with Watts leaving, we have less forward line depth as well, until Weiderman matures a bit more and is capable of playing a key role down there.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

[Drunkn167 5,093]

35 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Can Keilty play ruck?  Perhaps there is a longer term prospect for him to play the sort of key position support/backup ruckman role like Pedersen?

As much as I'm not looking to replace Pedo in the short term, Cam is getting pretty close to retirement age.  Particulaly with Watts leaving, we have less forward line depth as well, until Weiderman matures a bit more and is capable of playing a key role down there.

Yes he can play ruck, probably better than Peserson at ruck too

[hells bells 2,023]

I saw Dec with who I assumed were his parents at the international departure lounge last week. 

Contemplated saying hello but thought I’d leave him in peace.  He seemed taller than I remembered from watching Casey play.

[Wrecker45 3,378]

Keilty looked promising in the games I watched at Casey both this year and last.

Hope he has a breakout season next year. Not sure what role he will play if he does with Lever in the side.

Thanks for your contribution this year on demonland as well @Drunkn167 it must be tough sometime with all the emotional and irrational junk that gets spewed out by some posters.

[old55 23,833]

big ceiling with Dec - looking forward to seeing him next year

[Adzman 2,154]

 Watts going puts pressure on Pedo for the forward ruck role. If Pedo falls out of form or gets hurt Declan could make a case for that role in the squad. I think Tmac will play that role a bit but he is not an ideal ruckman.

Dec could be in for a good 2018.

[The Third Eye 283]

It will be interesting to see him after another full pre season under his belt.

[monoccular 17,642]

On 18/10/2017 at 3:33 AM, Drunkn167 said:

Yes he can play ruck, probably better than Peserson at ruck too

Drunkn - just wondering where you observed him doing this......I don’t remember (maybe a senior moment) his ruck work being mentioned much in Casey reports.  

[Drunkn167 5,093]

7 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Drunkn - just wondering where you observed him doing this......I don’t remember (maybe a senior moment) his ruck work being mentioned much in Casey reports.  

Probably didn't get a mention but he did a fair bit of the ruck work in the first half or so of the season, and last year as a VFL player too.

I remember one game he had to solo ruck against Mason Cox all day (last year) and he did really well, managed to win a few hitouts but destroyed him around the ground, pretty sure Dec got best on ground that day too

[DeeSpencer 26,270]

Seemed to struggle in the first half of the year when moved around a bit to fill needs then found some very good form when settled down back before trailing off towards the end of the year.

Still only young so hopefully he's got a lot of improvement left with his body and that translates to being stronger and more dynamic on field.

[Nasher 33,617]

On 19/10/2017 at 8:34 AM, Wrecker45 said:

Keilty looked promising in the games I watched at Casey both this year and last.

Hope he has a breakout season next year. Not sure what role he will play if he does with Lever in the side.

Thanks for your contribution this year on demonland as well @Drunkn167 it must be tough sometime with all the emotional and irrational junk that gets spewed out by some posters.

You wait til he gets picked in the ones and kicks his first shank or drops a mark. The thickness of @Drunkn167's skin will really be put to the test!

[Drunkn167 5,093]

7 hours ago, Nasher said:

You wait til he gets picked in the ones and kicks his first shank or drops a mark. The thickness of @Drunkn167's skin will really be put to the test!

I'll be staying far away from this place when that happens mate 

[Its Time for Another 4,301]

10 hours ago, Drunkn167 said:

I'll be staying far away from this place when that happens mate 

Hey Drunkn interested to hear what you see his role being over the next couple of seasons. Lever coming in has further filled in the big man structure and if Weideman starts to play in the firsts by the end of next season where does Dec see his opportunity and what role? I'm interested what players in his position generally and him specifically are thinking when they've just been at a Club for a year and a gun player comes into a role they might have played in which pushes them a bit further back down the pecking order. Is it a matter of working really hard to improve so that he is better than some of the incumbents like O Mac or Frosty or even eventually T Mac or is it something else. Even replacing Pedersen might be a challenge in 2019 if Weideman is in the team with Hogan and T Mac up front. 

[Drunkn167 5,093]

1 hour ago, It's Time said:

Hey Drunkn interested to hear what you see his role being over the next couple of seasons.

You are spot on with your observations.

Being a late rookie pick and having to fight for a spot is the predicament he finds himself in.

At the start of this season, he was told his best chance at a senior debut was to be on a Ruck/Forward role. So that's what he did for the first half in the VFL. After training as a key defender all preseason this threw him in a bit of a loop and wasn't able to find any great form.

But after a few position changes due to injuries etc. he found himself down back as a Key Defender where he proceeded to play the best footy of his career.

I therefore think his best chance is to continue to work on his KPD role and hopefully find a spot in the backline somewhere, but he could fill in a forward or ruck role if required.

Edited October 25, 2017 by Drunkn167

[Its Time for Another 4,301]

4 hours ago, Drunkn167 said:

You are spot on with your observations.

Being a late rookie pick and having to fight for a spot is the predicament he finds himself in.

At the start of this season, he was told his best chance at a senior debut was to be on a Ruck/Forward role. So that's what he did for the first half in the VFL. After training as a key defender all preseason this threw him in a bit of a loop and wasn't able to find any great form.

But after a few position changes due to injuries etc. he found himself down back as a Key Defender where he proceeded to play the best footy of his career.

I therefore think his best chance is to continue to work on his KPD role and hopefully find a spot in the backline somewhere, but he could fill in a forward or ruck role if required.

Thanks Drunkn. 

I guess you never know where that break will come from. No one I know has any idea why Sammy Frost fell so spectacularly out of favour but I guess if that continues next season and Dec continues his outstanding second half form an opening is there. Was very surprised after the way Frosty was treated that he even got a year extension.  Do you have any idea what happened there.

[monoccular 17,642]

4 hours ago, Drunkn167 said:

You are spot on with your observations.

Being a late rookie pick and having to fight for a spot is the predicament he finds himself in.

At the start of this season, he was told his best chance at a senior debut was to be on a Ruck/Forward role. So that's what he did for the first half in the VFL. After training as a key defender all preseason this threw him in a bit of a loop and wasn't able to find any great form.

But after a few position changes due to injuries etc. he found himself down back as a Key Defender where he proceeded to play the best footy of his career.

I therefore think his best chance is to continue to work on his KPD role and hopefully find a spot in the backline somewhere, but he could fill in a forward or ruck role if required.

Drunkn - I guess someone who is at this stage very much a fringe player benefits from versatility: if he plays several rôles well it gives him more opportunity to fit in when opportunity knocks. Also the ability to carry several rôles seems a part of the Goodwin mantra. 

Looking forward to seeing how Dec comes on.  I have never seen him play but by all accounts he is no shrinking violet and is hard at it, an attribute required in the modern game. 

[Drunkn167 5,093]

7 hours ago, It's Time said:

Thanks Drunkn. 

I guess you never know where that break will come from. No one I know has any idea why Sammy Frost fell so spectacularly out of favour but I guess if that continues next season and Dec continues his outstanding second half form an opening is there. Was very surprised after the way Frosty was treated that he even got a year extension.  Do you have any idea what happened there.

Yeah I actually sat next to Frosty and had a good chat with him for half a VFL game when he was sitting out as an emergency.

He just lost form, pure and simple. No other way to really explain it. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a good preseason to refind his form again.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

^ Frost has too many fundamental flaws to his game imo. 

Ball handling, decision making, kicking. General football smarts. He is an athlete and I’m not a fan of them unless they have sound footy specific attributes.

They’re always experiment players and more often than not, they don’t work out. 

I’d like to see Dec get a run around on the NAB games next year to see what he’s got.

[dazzledavey36 55,855]

5 hours ago, Drunkn167 said:

Yeah I actually sat next to Frosty and had a good chat with him for half a VFL game when he was sitting out as an emergency.

He just lost form, pure and simple. No other way to really explain it. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a good preseason to refind his form again.

I've always said Dec was a much better defender then forward drunk. In some of the games I saw him play in 2016 it reminded me a lot of McGovern from West coast with his intercept marking! I was sold and have been a fan since. 

Really looking for him to make big strides next year.

[Drunkn167 5,093]

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I've always said Dec was a much better defender then forward drunk. In some of the games I saw him play in 2016 it reminded me a lot of McGovern from West coast with his intercept marking! I was sold and have been a fan since. 

Really looking for him to make big strides next year.

You shouldve seen his game vs Carlton this year mate. Took 13 marks, 11 of them intercepts. 

It was incredible.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Drunkn167

[Satyriconhome 10,880]

7 hours ago, Drunkn167 said:

Yeah I actually sat next to Frosty and had a good chat with him for half a VFL game when he was sitting out as an emergency.

He just lost form, pure and simple. No other way to really explain it. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a good preseason to refind his form again.

I spoke to him as well at a VFL game, was not at all surprised when dropped, own admission form dropped away and couldn't put finger on why

Knows he has facets of his game that need work

As for Dec, still think he is a bit surprised to be on an AFL list, if that makes sense, Club has seen enough to retain him, another one of the young guys who could be anything

 

[Its Time for Another 4,301]

3 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I've always said Dec was a much better defender then forward drunk. In some of the games I saw him play in 2016 it reminded me a lot of McGovern from West coast with his intercept marking! I was sold and have been a fan since. 

Really looking for him to make big strides next year.

I haven't seen him play drunk as a forward or defender yet. But I know where you are coming from. I've played both drunk and I was definitely safer as a defender than forward when drunk too. I have to admit though playing drunk wasn't performance enhancing in my case. Managed to break each little finger in each of the two games I played like that. Retired from being a drunk player after that. Unfortunately not too many people seemed to notice a difference which could mean I was a good drunk player or a sober player who played like a bad drunk player. Alas in my case it was the later.  

[bjDee 1,249]

I like Dec as a defender too.

And the forward options get more crowded when you think about the possible return of Tim Smith, who hasn't had as a chance to show his wares in seniors yet.