3 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

While I don't think he'll get much opportunity this year due to our improved depth, I feel as though Spargo is going to be a very shrewd selection by our recruiting team.  What he lacks in height he makes up for in skills and intent and that can take him a long way.

Spargo was 17years Old when drafted I believe. He may well grow a few cm at least. Also in his favour is his football heritage- it must count for something.

He apparently has genuine football smarts. He’ll make it!

 

Just FYI for the track watchers, in a bid to try and beat the heat tomorrow, all training has been pushed forward an hour.

So the main training session should start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.

25 minutes ago, Drunkn167 said:

Just FYI for the track watchers, in a bid to try and beat the heat tomorrow, all training has been pushed forward an hour.

So the main training session should start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.

Reckon if it gets super hot they will cut session short, they can make it up

Working tomorrow in air conditioning thankfully so no pics or 'gossip'

On Spargo

Kennedy was a very good VFL player who couldn't quite bridge the gap on a consistent basis, like Mitch White and many others

Spargo comes into our system at a completely different time and there is no rush to blood him, he may make you eat your  words @old dee, yesterday Bernie Vince gave him a torrid time, deliberately I think, handled it all with aplomb, looks a step up in speed and skill from Kennedy, but time will tell

13 minutes ago, Drunkn167 said:

Just FYI for the track watchers, in a bid to try and beat the heat tomorrow, all training has been pushed forward an hour.

So the main training session should start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.

Outrageous after R23. They should toughen up like at a boot camp. (Is there an emoji for being ironic?)

16 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Reckon if it gets super hot they will cut session short, they can make it up

Working tomorrow in air conditioning thankfully so no pics or 'gossip'

On Spargo

Kennedy was a very good VFL player who couldn't quite bridge the gap on a consistent basis, like Mitch White and many others

Spargo comes into our system at a completely different time and there is no rush to blood him, he may make you eat your  words @old dee, yesterday Bernie Vince gave him a torrid time, deliberately I think, handled it all with aplomb, looks a step up in speed and skill from Kennedy, but time will tell

Saty I have not canned him.

All I am saying is when you are short you have to be very good to make it.

Kennedy was not very good and he did not make it.

Simple I thought but people seem to have the idea that I think  he is not good enough

I have no idea who good he is as I said.

I have every hope he is terrific.

6 minutes ago, old dee said:

Kennedy was not very good and he did not make it.

If Kennedy was a foot taller he still wouldn't have made it.

24 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Reckon if it gets super hot they will cut session short, they can make it up

Working tomorrow in air conditioning thankfully so no pics or 'gossip'

On Spargo

Kennedy was a very good VFL player who couldn't quite bridge the gap on a consistent basis, like Mitch White and many others

Spargo comes into our system at a completely different time and there is no rush to blood him, he may make you eat your  words @old dee, yesterday Bernie Vince gave him a torrid time, deliberately I think, handled it all with aplomb, looks a step up in speed and skill from Kennedy, but time will tell

Thanks for the info Saty.

 

As an aside, wanted to say thanks for always posting pics, but I wonder what you are taking them with, as they are often not very clear.

If you start a gofundme, I would be happy to throw some cash in so you can buy something better. You are always there, so it would benefit everyone if you had something a little better quality.

7 hours ago, old dee said:

Leopards and spots IMO  jr.

You were right about Ben Ken, od - someone I had high hopes for

 

14 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

It's not might, he has to turn it around

Showed a lot of intent today when out of rehab group

Hope so - I like him.....

4 hours ago, old dee said:

I know nine tenths of nothing about Spargo and as you say he is short.

In AFL you have to be at worst good and probably very good to make it when you are short.

Just look at Kennedy he was a short player of  average ability.

That wont cut it.

I hope he is very good and as always time will tell.

 

I agree but I also think the game is changing and moving away from stoppages and tempo and back to fast paced and open footy. 

The Tigers were tall and strong in the air down back - Rance, Astbury, Grimes, Vlaustin, Broad all 187cm+ and capable in the air - but very quick and exceptional with the ball on the ground from the midfield to the forward line. They shared the ball by hand and kicked in to space, with long kicks only coming when Riewoldt or the ruckman was in position.

Kennedy didn't have the foot skills or endurance for AFL midfield/high half forward. I would've played him more as a forward but others were preferred. Jay Kennedy-Harris actually has the endurance and kicking to make it, but lacks the physicality, the pressure of AFL footy gets to him, he just isn't quick enough to get out of trouble or to be a defensive presence. 

Anyway, I agree Spargo will have to be better than a guy who's 185cm to make it but the game plan will play a role as well. Keep the ball moving quickly and skillfully and set ups correct and you won't be having a small involved in contested marking contests.

3 hours ago, DemonAndrew said:

next two years for him are vital in terms of his development

Sure but aren't you saying he is unlikely to make it given the amount of time he has missed as a junior?

5 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Sure but aren't you saying he is unlikely to make it given the amount of time he has missed as a junior?

given that he's all of 20 now, no, that's not what i said at all

they need that base of afl-level development

he's already missed the majority of junior development due to injury, but clearly has talent to burn

51 minutes ago, DemonAndrew said:

given that he's all of 20 now, no, that's not what i said at all

they need that base of afl-level development

he's already missed the majority of junior development due to injury, but clearly has talent to burn

I thought he just missed not all but most of his final junior year with a stress fracture in his ankle. What else did he miss that was the majority of junior development. I didn't know about this. He hasn't missed much since he's been at MFC. He's still trained most of this pre season just not with main group yet but is around it for learning purposes. 

By the way Maynard says hello. 

2 hours ago, old dee said:

All I am saying is when you are short you have to be very good to make it.

 

absolutely agree.

Footballers with certain physical attributes are given time to develop. Ruckman and Key position players who look to have limited ability are given time for the skills to surface. Even skinny footballers who may show some talent are given time to hopefully fill out. But if you are the size of Spargo you either have to possess electric speed and/or be a ball magnet as certain other skills are off the table specifically due to size.

 

OD - I, like you, have no idea whether he will make it or not but there is a reason why there are so few footballers running around in the AFL at his height.

 

7 hours ago, old dee said:

Sorry DA but I don't agree if you are short you start off behind others taller than you in AFL 21st Century.

To counter that you have to have more ability than someone taller than you.

Being good simply is not enough if you have to be very good to have a long term career at senior level.

Now a lot of this hinges on how small you are of course by being short is a definite disadvantage when playing AFL in this era.

 

6 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

You're stating the bleeding obvious, OD.  If he is a player of average ability then he'll struggle, even more so if he's short.  That's not news to anyone.

However, from all reports (not just training, reports on him coming up to the draft) he is the complete opposite to a Ben Kennedy which is why I think he may end up being a shrewd choice.  We want competitors and players with ability and he seems to have it in spades, even if that's going on limited exposure.

Agree Wise. Caleb Daniel 168cm and Lewis Taylor 175cm & Rising Star Winner say hello. So does Viney 178cm.

You can rest assured the FD know that someone of Spargo's height 173cm wouldn't get selected without firstly speed, secondly high level of skill, thirdly great game sense, fourthly or firstly "the most competitive player in this draft" as he was described by the commentators at the draft when he was selected. So far he is displaying all of the above. As someone else mentioned, you never know at his bottom end age, he might still have some growth left. Macrae at the Bulldogs was drafted at 181cm and a year later had had a growth spurt and is now 191cm. Not saying that will happen to Spargo but a bit of it might. Hunt grew 30cm in his last years at school. 

1 minute ago, It's Time said:

 

Agree Wise. Caleb Daniel 168cm and Lewis Taylor 175cm & Rising Star Winner say hello. So does Viney 178cm.

You can rest assured the FD know that someone of Spargo's height 173cm wouldn't get selected without firstly speed, secondly high level of skill, thirdly great game sense, fourthly or firstly "the most competitive player in this draft" as he was described by the commentators at the draft when he was selected. So far he is displaying all of the above. As someone else mentioned, you never know at his bottom end age, he might still have some growth left. Macrae at the Bulldogs was drafted at 181cm and a year later had had a growth spurt and is now 191cm. Not saying that will happen to Spargo but a bit of it might. Hunt grew a foot in his last years at school. 

Sounds like he had nothing at the bottom of his leg until his last year at school.

12 minutes ago, nutbean said:

absolutely agree.

Footballers with certain physical attributes are given time to develop. Ruckman and Key position players who look to have limited ability are given time for the skills to surface. Even skinny footballers who may show some talent are given time to hopefully fill out. But if you are the size of Spargo you either have to possess electric speed and/or be a ball magnet as certain other skills are off the table specifically due to size.

 

OD - I, like you, have no idea whether he will make it or not but there is a reason why there are so few footballers running around in the AFL at his height.

 

I wonder if that's because players of his height are discouraged at an early age from continuing to chase the dream of playing AFL football, how many are told by their coaches that they are simply too small and it is a waste of their time.

Only the strong survive and any player who is vertically challenged has to have a big heart to disregard the naysayers and push on, I think this kid might be one of them.

 

4 minutes ago, Dante said:

I wonder if that's because players of his height are discouraged at an early age from continuing to chase the dream of playing AFL football, how many are told by their coaches that they are simply too small and it is a waste of their time.

Only the strong survive and any player who is vertically challenged has to have a big heart to disregard the naysayers and push on, I think this kid might be one of them.

 

There's plenty of examples of some of the best players to play the game who went late in the draft or weren't picked at all for a few years. Greg Williams had this problem. Had to ask to train with the Cats for free over the pre season and then at the end Haffey gave him a go but had to go to Bendigo for a few years before he got that chance. Sam Mitchell and Dane Swan were quite late picks. Nat Fyfe and Rory Sloane were regarded as too skinny and were both reasonably late picks. Both Caleb Daniels and Taylor Lewis were very highly regarded talents as juniors who didn't get drafted till later picks. 

2 hours ago, faultydet said:

Thanks for the info Saty.

 

As an aside, wanted to say thanks for always posting pics, but I wonder what you are taking them with, as they are often not very clear.

If you start a gofundme, I would be happy to throw some cash in so you can buy something better. You are always there, so it would benefit everyone if you had something a little better quality.

I just use an old cheap camera   more for the shot than the clarity    meant as a bit of entertainment rather than a lesson in sports photography 

@old dee  I know you weren't digging at Spargo, I always support the 'little' guy, being 5ft 4in  in the old money myself and surviving till the age of 50 in amateur footy, mainly because I was Liverpudlian and a nasty little [censored].

I  know the little guys have to have something special to survive at the top level

3 hours ago, Drunkn167 said:

Just FYI for the track watchers, in a bid to try and beat the heat tomorrow, all training has been pushed forward an hour.

So the main training session should start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.

Did the players go to the PA and get it moved behind Goody's back???

36 minutes ago, It's Time said:

There's plenty of examples of some of the best players to play the game who went late in the draft or weren't picked at all for a few years. Greg Williams had this problem. Had to ask to train with the Cats for free over the pre season and then at the end Haffey gave him a go but had to go to Bendigo for a few years before he got that chance. Sam Mitchell and Dane Swan were quite late picks. Nat Fyfe and Rory Sloane were regarded as too skinny and were both reasonably late picks. Both Caleb Daniels and Taylor Lewis were very highly regarded talents as juniors who didn't get drafted till later picks. 

no one is claiming that there are no short footballers playing afl. there are, but their numbers are declining as are the available positions they can play. the odds against them are just increasing

the romantic notion of anyone of any size or shape has a reasonable opportunity to play football at the top level belongs in the past. it certainly used to be true and was one of the more endearing aspects of aussie rules.

24 minutes ago, Grimes Times said:

Did the players go to the PA and get it moved behind Goody's back???

No. According to Gawn they asked the PA what to do and the PA gave them some advice. They took that advice and then approached the Leadership Group who then went to Goody. 

3 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

no one is claiming that there are no short footballers playing afl. there are, but their numbers are declining as are the available positions they can play. the odds against them are just increasing

the romantic notion of anyone of any size or shape has a reasonable opportunity to play football at the top level belongs in the past. it certainly used to be true and was one of the more endearing aspects of aussie rules.

Spot on dc.

6 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

no one is claiming that there are no short footballers playing afl. there are, but their numbers are declining as are the available positions they can play. the odds against them are just increasing

the romantic notion of anyone of any size or shape has a reasonable opportunity to play football at the top level belongs in the past. it certainly used to be true and was one of the more endearing aspects of aussie rules.

In absolute terms, I'm sure this is correct, but I wonder whether the distribution curve of player heights has actually changed at all other than to shift along the axis as the average height of all people has increased. 

1 minute ago, daisycutter said:

no one is claiming that there are no short footballers playing afl. there are, but their numbers are declining as are the available positions they can play. the odds against them are just increasing

the romantic notion of anyone of any size or shape has a reasonable opportunity to play football at the top level belongs in the past. it certainly used to be true and was one of the more endearing aspects of aussie rules.

Five teams in the 2017 Draft disagree with you and picked 5 players in the top 29 179cm or less. That's over 17% of the first 29.  I think the worm has turned a bit on this attitude.

Pick 17 Jack Higgins       178cm

Pick 22 Lachlan Fogarty 179cm

Pick 26 Liam Ryan           179cm

Pick 27 Brent Daniels      171cm

Pick 29 Spargo                 172 cm