7 hours ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Agree.  I personally think our midfield has been lacking one or two players that can really pack a punch moving the ball forward.  I always thought Salem was slated as a future midfielder when we recruited him.  I like his toughness, compeditiveness and his class with his disposal.  Reminds me a bit of Jimmy Bartell in his prime.

As much as I understand the need for players with quality foot skills down back, I've often thought Salem was wasted down there and he looked like he didn't really enjoy or was fully suited to the fully defense mindset down back.  Besides, we have medium sized backline players to burn these days. We really do need players that can deliver well and find targets inside 50 as so often we have dominated time in forward half, only to miss targets and waste opportunities for quality shots on goal.

I also think the club has taken a conservative approach, holding back some younger players from having big midfield time/roles too early in their career when they were physically and psychologically less developed.  I think it's now time to throw guys like Salem, Brayshaw and Harmes in there and have them bust it up a bit and hopefully take some opposition midfields to pieces.

Add Hunt and Hibberd in to the mix at times too. Very nervous opposition. The Lever inclusion looks more and more like a masterstroke now with flow on effects all over the field. We're only one non-game in though heh

Edited March 1, 20187 yr by Doodle Dee

Salem has foot skills, courage and game sense. Lewis is the same. All we appear to be doing is swapping the two to make use of the younger player's capability to run around more (or, conversely, to extend Lewis's career). I'm not trying to be flippant - I support the plan and see it as a logical move which harnesses the strengths of both players.

On 28/02/2018 at 8:46 PM, The Chief said:

Not convinced that Salem is as good as everyone else here rates him. Understand the illness and injuries history/excuse, though the latter is just part of being a footballer. 

This view about his elite disposal skills seems a bit over the top based on his performance to date, sure he hits targets every now and then, but he’s no where near the elite like Sam Mitchell, certainly haven’t seen anything to indicate he’s top class in being in & under and he’s never been a major possession accumulator.  

He’s a solid B class player for me based on evidence to date, but hope he proves me wrong and has a great year.  

He may only ever be a solid B class player, but no team has ever been stocked from top to bottom with A graders. Having a core of solid B class players is a requirement for a successful team.

On 28 February 2018 at 11:25 AM, Petraccattack said:

Nobody would have seen an inside mid role coming for Salem.

Its really interesting, as we are loaded with inside mids and need outside polish.  

100% wrong, but it demonstrates an underappreciation for Salem's skillset.

You must just see him as nice kick then, and little more?

Salem's attack on the footy and commitment to the contest has been exemplary in his short career. As a junior he modelled his game on Hodge.

Edited March 3, 20187 yr by Mach5

If he did he’s done a [censored] poor job at it, because Salem’s not even within the same postcode of Hodge for hardness at the ball. 

16 hours ago, The Chief said:

If he did he’s done a [censored] poor job at it, because Salem’s not even within the same postcode of Hodge for hardness at the ball. 

What would you expect? One's in Victoria and the other is in Queensland.

More seriously, Hodge, while not standing alone, has very few peers. Between us all we could argue exactly where, but I suspect most would have him in the top 10 players or thereabouts for the 21st Century. Very few players will be within the same postcode and of those that are not, we would be very happy to have the best of the rest play for us. Hopefully Salem can become one of those.

On 2/28/2018 at 1:09 PM, DSP said:

If Salem can get his body and fitness right, then his disposal is far too good to waste. He could be devestating delivering the ball up fwd.

 

I really hope he can take that next step.

 

Next step status -  TAKEN

Hard as a cats head. Great game. 

On 5 March 2018 at 6:46 PM, The Chief said:

If he did he’s done a [censored] poor job at it, because Salem’s not even within the same postcode of Hodge for hardness at the ball. 

Watch closer.

Has no fear!

Salem has arrived, and his best footy is still to come.

Great game tonight by Salem

I still remember his early games and being surprised at how hard he hit contests, he seems much more like an outside player but he really hits in hard.

14 hours ago, Mach5 said:

Watch closer.

If you can come back and ping me on this in ten years time, I might think about you’ve got some type of argument. Meanwhile don’t bother

1 hour ago, The Chief said:

If you can come back and ping me on this in ten years time, I might think about you’ve got some type of argument. Meanwhile don’t bother

 

Yeah, nah.

You just need to watch closer. He's been hard at it, putting his body on the line, since his first match.

Maybe you haven't noticed; you need to watch closer.

3 minutes ago, Mach5 said:

 

Yeah, nah.

You just need to watch closer. He's been hard at it, putting his body on the line, since his first match.

Maybe you haven't noticed; you need to watch closer.

I agree Salem has always tackled hard. It's a pity the rest of the team don't copy him. I also would like him 2 play high half forward as he is the best kick 4 goal in the side.

Gone way past Tyson

3 hours ago, The Chief said:

If you can come back and ping me on this in ten years time, I might think about you’ve got some type of argument. Meanwhile don’t bother

Goes back with the flight, gets unfairly crunched in the back by Sam Day. 50 metre penalty. Kicks the goal. This is after multiple concussions in previous seasons. Tough and Classy. Not saying you but I feel seem watchers don't believe he's tough because he is a beautiful left foot kick. Remember Jase Taylor saying on draft night that we got him due to his excellent skills and tough as nails attitude. In Clarry, Viney and Hibbo's league in regards toughness. 

On 3/5/2018 at 6:46 PM, The Chief said:

If he did he’s done a [censored] poor job at it, because Salem’s not even within the same postcode of Hodge for hardness at the ball. 

He's everybit as hard as Hodge just 20% smaller

 

58 minutes ago, Perago Validus said:

Goes back with the flight, gets unfairly crunched in the back by Sam Day. 50 metre penalty. Kicks the goal. This is after multiple concussions in previous seasons. Tough and Classy. Not saying you but I feel seem watchers don't believe he's tough because he is a beautiful left foot kick. Remember Jase Taylor saying on draft night that we got him due to his excellent skills and tough as nails attitude. In Clarry, Viney and Hibbo's league in regards toughness. 

Correct weight sir.

3 hours ago, Roost It said:

He's everybit as hard as Hodge just 20% smaller

 

And less 'dirty'. 

Underrated season IMO.

Goes about his business quietly, quite hard at it and courageous, beautiful left foot and to my relief, taking more kick ins in recent weeks.

Doesn't get the credit like Oliver and Gawn etc but has become a very important playmaker for us.

This season he's averaging 20.1 disposals per game at 73% efficiency along with 4 tackles and 3.4 rebound 50's to go with his 346m gained. Has had games of 29 disposals, 28 and two 27's. The good thing is he's a "kicker" of the footy and sets up a lot of play.

This year he has had career highs in marks, goals, tackles, clearances, goal assists, i50's, rebound 50's, stoppage clearances, centre clearances, contested and uncontested possessions.

I quite like him when he plays in the midfield as it provides something different along with Brayshaw and Oliver. From memory the NM game he dominated the midfield and turned the game himself. I like the idea of him playing wing or HF for his delivery, but thank god he's been playing down back while we have been undermanned.

Has played 17 games and only missed 1, so is finally getting a decent crack at some continuity and has been developing nicely.

Underrated player.

Nice stats Febes.  You are spot on about him being a quiet achiever.  Without looking at his numbers, I certainly wouldn't have been  aware that he was going quite so well.  Rapt with his contribution, and the fact that he is (at last) getting a decent run at it (touch wood).

33 minutes ago, MSFebey said:

Underrated season IMO.

Goes about his business quietly, quite hard at it and courageous, beautiful left foot and to my relief, taking more kick ins in recent weeks.

Doesn't get the credit like Oliver and Gawn etc but has become a very important playmaker for us.

This season he's averaging 20.1 disposals per game at 73% efficiency along with 4 tackles and 3.4 rebound 50's to go with his 346m gained. Has had games of 29 disposals, 28 and two 27's. The good thing is he's a "kicker" of the footy and sets up a lot of play.

This year he has had career highs in marks, goals, tackles, clearances, goal assists, i50's, rebound 50's, stoppage clearances, centre clearances, contested and uncontested possessions.

I quite like him when he plays in the midfield as it provides something different along with Brayshaw and Oliver. From memory the NM game he dominated the midfield and turned the game himself. I like the idea of him playing wing or HF for his delivery, but thank god he's been playing down back while we have been undermanned.

Has played 17 games and only missed 1, so is finally getting a decent crack at some continuity and has been developing nicely.

Underrated player.

Nailed it mate 

He has quietly gone about it and put together easily his most consistent season. I still think there is room for improvement in his decision making but he's absolutely on the right trajectory.  

53 minutes ago, MSFebey said:

Underrated season IMO.

Goes about his business quietly, quite hard at it and courageous, beautiful left foot and to my relief, taking more kick ins in recent weeks.

Doesn't get the credit like Oliver and Gawn etc but has become a very important playmaker for us.

This season he's averaging 20.1 disposals per game at 73% efficiency along with 4 tackles and 3.4 rebound 50's to go with his 346m gained. Has had games of 29 disposals, 28 and two 27's. The good thing is he's a "kicker" of the footy and sets up a lot of play.

This year he has had career highs in marks, goals, tackles, clearances, goal assists, i50's, rebound 50's, stoppage clearances, centre clearances, contested and uncontested possessions.

I quite like him when he plays in the midfield as it provides something different along with Brayshaw and Oliver. From memory the NM game he dominated the midfield and turned the game himself. I like the idea of him playing wing or HF for his delivery, but thank god he's been playing down back while we have been undermanned.

Has played 17 games and only missed 1, so is finally getting a decent crack at some continuity and has been developing nicely.

Underrated player.

Good post. He’s definitely gone under the radar IMO.