According to the AFL tracker Alex Neal-Bullen today ran 17.2 km to make him equal 10th in the AFL for distances covered in a game since this started in 2017. Nine of the top ten records belong to Tom Scully and Andrew Gaff.

He also had an equal game high 32 pressure acts.

No doubt there are some areas of his game that he can still improve on but this kind of unheralded effort in a losing team deserves some recognition I reckon.

 

Great. He can run. But he has very little impact.

30 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Great. He can run. But he has very little impact.

Unfortunately that is the problem with him. 

I can't recall seeing him grab the ball in the middle, or anywhere else for that matter and take off towards our end, beating an opponent  and deliver the ball accurately to a team mate. 

His possessions are generally little dinky kicks across the ground or backwards or hit and miss kicks and handballs. 

Another erroneous stat. Has little correlation to our game. Just another useless Americanism for the numbers people.

ANB had little to no impact yesterday for his possessions.

Thats the real stat ( sts )

Put a blindfold on me and throw me in the middle of the ‘G during a game. I’d cover the same amount of ground.

Let's give the kid some credit. He was selected in the mid draft and has worked really hard to get here. He has the ability to get around the ground, provide options and is prepared to lower his eyes when he kicks.

Plus he was our only goal kicker we had after 1/4 time.  Reward for putting in all day.

With confidence he is improving.

I’m not surprised by people’s frustration with his form so far this year, but I am surprised that people dont see his value to the team when he’s up and running.  

The fact that he’s covering the ground suggests the effort is certainly there and 22 disposals, 6 tackles and a goal is not terrible in a 10 goal loss.

When he’s at his best he’s a very clever, creative, goal kicking half-forward.  Last season he and Melksham were a great combination with their complementary skill sets.  

Either they’re both out of form, or there’s been a change to the gameplan that’s cutting them out.

I'm surprised at the hate for Nibbler. I think he will become a solid weekly contributer. I see him playing more the Bugg/melksham role when Tyson and viney are back.

11 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

I'm surprised at the hate for Nibbler. I think he will become a solid weekly contributer. I see him playing more the Bugg/melksham role when Tyson and viney are back.

Unfortunately I think it's a timing thing with this board. When you've had 2 wins in a row, even bad news gets looked at positively and now after a very disappointing loss - even the good gets treated with disdain. 

ANB in the salary cap, free-agency era is a player you definitely need. He's a middle round draft pick who tries his arse off every week. He has flaws and does make errors but too many times yesterday he was given a handball with a player already tackling him, or he was free in space before the kick didn't hit the target then putting him under pressure after he'd run to free himself of that pressure. In this day and age you simply cannot have nor afford 22 Petraccas, Olivers & Hogans you need serviceable foot soldiers that won't break the bank but will work hard. Watching this board and reaction to this article stuns me. He had 22 touches and 6 tackles (equal second behind Clarry). He far outperformed Petracca, Lewis, Melksham, Vince & Harmes who are either more highly touted, highly rated or more highly paid.
 

Keep doing you ANB! 

13 hours ago, Romey said:

According to the AFL tracker Alex Neal-Bullen today ran 17.2 km to make him equal 10th in the AFL for distances covered in a game since this started in 2017. Nine of the top ten records belong to Tom Scully and Andrew Gaff.

He also had an equal game high 32 pressure acts.

No doubt there are some areas of his game that he can still improve on but this kind of unheralded effort in a losing team deserves some recognition I reckon.

 

This deserves more recognition, means he's not just running around headless, his impacting the play without needed possessions (the opposite of what many of our players looked like yesterday). 

2 hours ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Either they’re both out of form, or there’s been a change to the gameplan that’s cutting them out.

There is merit and evidence to this effect TPF39.

54 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

I'm surprised at the hate for Nibbler. I think he will become a solid weekly contributer. I see him playing more the Bugg/melksham role when Tyson and viney are back.

Not sure so much is hate...

Im more in the ambivalent dept.

For all he seemingly does...what effect ??

So I'm not overt to gushing over a false value. That is all.

Kicks the ball out on the full 40m out directly in front... not AFL standard 

ANB has lifted his game through hard work. 

I used to rank him a depth player only but now believe he fits in between 18 - 24 on the list. 

I don't like stats that being used to grade players, especially distance covered (chasing tails).

ANB had absolutely no impact on the game or in his space. That says a lot more to me. 

We must choose between 2 of ANB, Harmes and Melksham and leave one out to make room for someone else. These players are all similar and when in the same side reduce our flexibility. 

I like Alex but he has not had a good year so far and may well lose his spot this week. 

18 hours ago, beelzebub said:

Not sure so much is hate...

Im more in the ambivalent dept.

For all he seemingly does...what effect ??

So I'm not overt to gushing over a false value. That is all.

Could not have put it better bb

Just another average player on his good weeks, we still have too many of these players.

We can't have 22 stars in our side week in, week out.  You need foot soldiers, and ANB is one of those.  He knows his role, he plays his role and does it well (most weeks).

His form has fluctuated a little this season but he's exactly the type you need in the side.  Granted, we may have a few too many of those at the minute, but he is in our best 22 going forward.

ANB...over rated

Half our list is Over Rated

Here in lays some of the cause of much angst.

Yes you need foot soldiers. Hard drilled reliable foot soldiers. Saw a few on the weekend. They were wearing Brown and Gold.

39 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

We can't have 22 stars in our side week in, week out.  You need foot soldiers, and ANB is one of those.  He knows his role, he plays his role and does it well (most weeks).

His form has fluctuated a little this season but he's exactly the type you need in the side.  Granted, we may have a few too many of those at the minute, but he is in our best 22 going forward.

There lies our problem Wiseblood we do have too many and while we have the likes of ANB as a regular in our best 22 we are not going above eighth. He is a depth player and should not be a regular in the team.

Edited April 16, 20186 yr by old dee

56 minutes ago, old dee said:

There lies our problem Wiseblood we do have too many and while we have the likes of ANB as a regular in our best 22 we are not going above eighth. He is a depth player and should not be a regular in the team.

I disagree OD on the basis that each team needs a few players like him.  Out of our depth players he is one of the better ones and you need foot soldiers in your side.  ANB fits the bill perfectly.

He is the least of our issues at the moment and there are others ahead of him in the non-performance stakes. ANB's effort can't be questioned.

Harmes, Lewis, Bugg are having nightmare starts to the year (Bugg was OK the previous week). Even Garlett who turns it on occasionally but with a sniff of mositure in the air goes missing should be under the pump. And a fave of mine, Jetta, has had a very poor start to the year - he does look to be playing in pain but if that's the case get him out to rest.

 

26 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

I disagree OD on the basis that each team needs a few players like him.  Out of our depth players he is one of the better ones and you need foot soldiers in your side.  ANB fits the bill perfectly.

I don't disagree on that statement but we have too many who are just not up doing a good job as foot soldiers and IMO he is one of them. I am not saying he does not give his best but  I guess we are just going to disagree Wiseblood.

Edited April 17, 20186 yr by old dee

2 hours ago, beelzebub said:

ANB...over rated

Half our list is Over Rated

Here in lays some of the cause of much angst.

Yes you need foot soldiers. Hard drilled reliable foot soldiers. Saw a few on the weekend. They were wearing Brown and Gold.

He’d be getting games every week at Hawthorn IMHO.  It’s all about how you use this sort of player.  Clarkson is able to take limited players and place them in a system that covers up theirs shortcomings.  We’re a long way off that level.

19 minutes ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

He’d be getting games every week at Hawthorn IMHO.  It’s all about how you use this sort of player.  Clarkson is able to take limited players and place them in a system that covers up theirs shortcomings.  We’re a long way off that level.

You have a lot more faith than me I seriously doubt he would be on any other list let alone Hawthorn.

Would much rather a player who would run half that amount but actually have an impact both with the ball in hand and when it’s in their area.

Posters believe he is playing his ‘role’ because he’s in the team. He might be playing, but he’s not performing at all. It’s no use winning the ball and then doing nothing with it.

He, like Harmes and Melksham (and some others), has started the season in a very underwhelming way.