19 hours ago, Axis of Bob said:

...... you have a terrible, terrible memory.

1. First of all, Cam Hunter was 6 foot 1, while Spargo is 5'8.
2. Hunter was very light for his height, unlike Spargo, who is a nuggety player.
3. Hunter was a high flying aerialist with psychotic courage, while Spargo is a fall of the ball player.
4. Hunter was a bad kick, while Spargo is an excellent kick.
5. Hunter was a flanker who played above his height (but lacked 'little man skills'), while Spargo is a midfielder or small forward.
6. Hunter was drafted based on size and athleticism without form, while Spargo is a footballer who has been dominant at junior levels.
7. Hunter was a massive smokey who only played APS, while Spargo has been well known for many years playing at TAC and carnival level.

But you played footy in the same team as him ..... like my brother. You may have been in the same team 15 years ago, but you are either terribly forgetful or a terrible judge of players. Spargo and Hunter are completely different types of footballer, both in playing style and how they were drafted. As I said before, I would struggle to find a worse comparison.

BANG!!!

These highlights might have been posted earlier.

Also Happy Birthday Charlie.

I have nicked name Charlie 'Sparky' and he will play 400 games... haha

 

16 minutes ago, Dee tention said:

I have nicked name Charlie 'Sparky' and he will play 400 games... haha

 

He already has one.

"Chugga".

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/5073408/rising-star-charlie-spargo-excited-ahead-of-afl-draft/

On 11/24/2017 at 8:52 PM, demonstone said:

I hereby dub him "Wee Charlie Spargo".   There hasn't been one since the days of Georgie Bisset.

Paul Calary.....great player.

Albury star Charlie Spargo drafted by Melbourne at No.29

Reminds if a Brent Harvey , Sam Mitchell type. Something we lack.

That busy little player always working hard around the packs.

1 hour ago, DeeZee said:

Reminds if a Brent Harvey , Sam Mitchell type. Something we lack.

That busy little player always working hard around the packs.

Ummm, aside from their height - those are two very different players...

11 minutes ago, rpfc said:

Ummm, aside from their height - those are two very different players...

Yes I know that but he seems to have attributes both have. Harvey was quick and great around goal and Mitchell had clever ball use in the middle. 

Both small yes, but busy small zippy player is what I meant.

I spoke to someone who is quite involved with talent scouting particularly up in the north east vic area and he said to me Charlie has every attribute of a top 5-10 pick but his height drops him down. 

I think he'll be a great addition to our forward ranks. 

 

Spar go -> Hit run...

Probably 30 years ago a player who was less than 178 cm (5 foot 10 inches) and less than 78 kg would not get a look in at AFL clubs because they were considered to be too small but last 2 years the mindset has changed by coaches and smaller players who put on tackle pressure and dispose of the ball well have become the norm not the exception.  Both Richmond and Western Bulldogs have created the current trend with smaller quick players playing a roll in the forward line where tackling pressure has allow the ball to remain in the forward half putting pressure on the defenders to make mistakes which result in scoring opportunities.

I am not saying Spargo will make it or not but the Football Department has selected him and we should back their judgement for the time being before criticizing them.

If you were told that Charlie Spargo was a top 5 - 10 selection before you knew how tall he was you would compliment the Football Department on their astute selection.

On 11/25/2017 at 12:52 PM, juzzk1d said:

This guy will be a hard match up and will be a valuable asset in our forward line. Not only is he quick off the mark, he can also take a very good grab overhead meaning if he was 1:1 against another small defender you could back him in. Also someone who is touted to be very competitive and can lay a good tackle will help us to ensure we apply more forward pressure which we desperately need.

This is the key ingredient to the last two flag winners' success.

Hogan and TMac are the talls, with Hannan, Petracca and a Spargo providing forward pressure. I'd consider moving Hunt forward at times again too. His pace and marking overhead are handy and as Richmond's smalls showed, if you work hard, tackle and tackle, and work to keep the ball in a dangerous area, you will eventually get just reward for your toils. 

One of the major deficiencies of Hogan's game I'd be looking to rectify over the off season is his inability to lay tackles or chase. He needs to build his tank and improve like that pill Riewoldt did. TMac has enough aerobic capacity to put enough pressure on too. Another pre season with Petracca will also hopefully see him improve in this pressure area. 

If our forwards can lock the ball in better and our backs can repel consistently (Lever helps in this regard enormously), we will finish top 4. Our midfield (with a fit Gawn) is dominant enough to beat any opposition. And if our forward pressure improves and Lever continues intercepting everything in sight, we really don't have many weaknesses.

3 minutes ago, A F said:

This is the key ingredient to the last two flag winners' success.

Hogan and TMac are the talls, with Hannan, Petracca and a Spargo providing forward pressure. I'd consider moving Hunt forward at times again too. His pace and marking overhead are handy and as Richmond's smalls showed, if you work hard, tackle and tackle, and work to keep the ball in a dangerous area, you will eventually get just reward for your toils. 

One of the major deficiencies of Hogan's game I'd be looking to rectify over the off season is his inability to lay tackles or chase. He needs to build his tank and improve like that pill Riewoldt did. TMac has enough aerobic capacity to put enough pressure on too. Another pre season with Petracca will also hopefully see him improve in this pressure area. 

If our forwards can lock the ball in better and our backs can repel consistently (Lever helps in this regard enormously), we will finish top 4. Our midfield (with a fit Gawn) is dominant enough to beat any opposition. And if our forward pressure improves and Lever continues intercepting everything in sight, we really don't have many weaknesses.

Hogans forward pressure is non existant, and easily the weakest part of his game. He is Russell Robertson like in his ability to give up on a contest once he has lost the ball.

I remember someone saying that Tom McDonald was a major underachiever in this area last year also. With these two guys forming our starting key forwards, we have a lot of ground to make up to catch the leading sides.

If only our blokes could get it through their heads that we have some amazing ground ball players in the forward line, who can carve sides up if given repeated opportunities to get their hands on the ball. 

Hannan, Garlett Petracca and Neal_Bullen have great goal sense, both in scoring, and score assists. Just a handful of extra opportunities per game could change our ladder position dramatically.

I think this might be one of the attractions with Weideman, as he shows a willingness to throw his body into defensive situations.

22 minutes ago, faultydet said:

Hogans forward pressure is non existant, and easily the weakest part of his game. He is Russell Robertson like in his ability to give up on a contest once he has lost the ball.

I remember someone saying that Tom McDonald was a major underachiever in this area last year also. With these two guys forming our starting key forwards, we have a lot of ground to make up to catch the leading sides.

If only our blokes could get it through their heads that we have some amazing ground ball players in the forward line, who can carve sides up if given repeated opportunities to get their hands on the ball. 

Hannan, Garlett Petracca and Neal_Bullen have great goal sense, both in scoring, and score assists. Just a handful of extra opportunities per game could change our ladder position dramatically.

I think this might be one of the attractions with Weideman, as he shows a willingness to throw his body into defensive situations.

How the heck did I forget Jeffy? Anyway, add Jeffy to Hannan, Spargo and Petracca.

And I'd agree about Weideman, but his leg speed is an issue in this sense IMO.

Agree in general with these summations, Faultydet, except with the Weideman tackle, bodywork or defensive pressure. He has always been a 'skirter', running around as if to pounce but never doing much about it. He does need to build his upper body, considerably and to be able to deliver body contact interferences in order to acquire the ball, a tap-on to advantage or to shield/screen a more agile teammate's pathway forward. Time with Casey will be invaluable to him. 

1 minute ago, Deemania since 56 said:

Agree in general with these summations, Faultydet, except with the Weideman tackle, bodywork or defensive pressure. He has always been a 'skirter', running around as if to pounce but never doing much about it. He does need to build his upper body, considerably and to be able to deliver body contact interferences in order to acquire the ball, a tap-on to advantage or to shield/screen a more agile teammate's pathway forward. Time with Casey will be invaluable to him. 

He certainly does need a bigger body, and the footy department would no doubt be working on that, but I see him differently in that once he decides to tackle, he commits his body to it, and that is a definite step up on another tall forward we had until recently.

Also agree with @A F in that his leg speed, or more to the point, his agility is limited. But throwing yourself in when you have the chance is a whole lot better for the team than waiting for someone else to do it.

Our guys have seen what full ground pressure can achieve with lists that are far from star studded, and are recruiting accordingly. Young Spargo is another step in that direction.

Thing is we have a list that I believe could be described as star studded by the end of next season. If the whole team can commit defensively, we can become feared by the whole comp. 

Yeah, good, FDet

20 hours ago, billyblanks29 said:

Clearly a negative sentiment on Demonland for this kid because of his size.

Anyone got the thread when we drafted Watts in 08? Would love to know the sentiment then out of curiosity.

I reckon it is because 99% of posters have no idea about the draft crop, so they just look at the things they can easily digest, like someone's height. I wouldn't read anything into what most posters say about the draft.

3 hours ago, Dr evil said:

I spoke to someone who is quite involved with talent scouting particularly up in the north east vic area and he said to me Charlie has every attribute of a top 5-10 pick but his height drops him down. 

I think he'll be a great addition to our forward ranks. 

 

One of the journos said he was top 10 at the start of 2017 and only an injury dropped him back.

Some BF profiles of Chugga...

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/snoop-dog-2018-phantom-draft-incl-rookie.1182255/

 

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/knightmares-2017-draft-almanac.1161261/

 

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2017-official-big-footy-phantom-draft.1181789/

 

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/young-talent-time-2017.1161935/

 

On 11/25/2017 at 6:24 PM, rpfc said:

Looks calm and ready.

"His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready "

Think you missed a couple of lines in the lyrics.

Ah, the poet arises! What a refreshing spin on the evocation of a love for a game, a team and a discussion point.

On 11/25/2017 at 11:18 AM, poita said:

Wow, 12 months of work by the recruiters results in us reading out the name of a midget with bad shoulders with our first pick. This ought to end well. 

Wow, someone believes our recruiters have only been watching these players for just one year. Three to four years is more likely.