Aaron vandenBerg

[samcantstandya 1,045]

30 minutes ago, demoniac said:

We're a better team when he is on the park but he ain't on the park often enough.

Offering him a 3 year deal to ward off the Swans was always going to come with risk that his foot/ankle problems would continue to prevent him being consistently available.  Has to be risk that he will be unable to complete workload required to get to level of fitness required to play AFL.

AFL clubs do consistently re contract chronically injured players who go on to be chronically injured over term of that contract.

 

Giving him a 3 year deal was really poor list management. I hope the club and him come to an agreement if he can't get it together over summer.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,710]

38 minutes ago, demoniac said:

We're a better team when he is on the park but he ain't on the park often enough.

Offering him a 3 year deal to ward off the Swans was always going to come with risk that his foot/ankle problems would continue to prevent him being consistently available.  Has to be risk that he will be unable to complete workload required to get to level of fitness required to play AFL.

AFL clubs do consistently re contract chronically injured players who go on to be chronically injured over term of that contract.

 

 

5 minutes ago, samcantstandya said:

Giving him a 3 year deal was really poor list management. I hope the club and him come to an agreement if he can't get it together over summer.

Not every chronically injured player stays that way for the whole of their career. Wasn't Max Gawn late to start because of knee reconstructions? James Hird played his best football after the best part of two years out with foot problems and David Shwartz played excellent football after returning from three (is that the right number?) ACLs.

I agree that club's can't keep too many "injury-prone" players on their list, but it's a classic risk versus reward conundrum with every player. VandenBurg's upside was clearly enough for the club to agree to take that risk.

Edited August 8, 2019 by La Dee-vina Comedia
Second para added

[Demon3 2,541]

20 hours ago, Smokey said:

Reflecting on AVB as an "important player" and on how much of a better place we'd be in this season with him is probably the most damning assessment of our year to date. He's 28 and has played less games than the average 21 year old on our list. Add the fact he is horribly injury prone - in what way does this fit the profile of an important player? The bloke can't stay on the park to save himself, he's as unreliable as anyone on our list. 

I like him as a player, and he's in my best 22 right now if he were fit - but christ how the mighty have fallen if this is the bloke we reckon could've been the difference in any substantial way this year ...  

This is the post of the week. We cant hang our hat on AVB, but the club is in such a state that a bloke who has played 7 games out of a possible 82 i think i read is almost being putin the messiah category, that he has been the difference or at least will be the difference. 

Its such a shame that he has had such problems, because he is a complimentary player and a protective player, bashed and crashed and made space, haven't really seen many others do that for us.

 And i imagine in R1 when a kid playing his first game got into our most important and best player at half time and there was such little and feeble attempts to stand up for Max, AVB may have been the one to really stand up. If any one is looking for something to indicate when it might be a long year ahead or something wasn't quite right it was the moment, R1 after 1 hour of footy, our season was cooked. 

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,792]

20 minutes ago, Demon3 said:

 And i imagine in R1 when a kid playing his first game got into our most important and best player at half time and there was such little and feeble attempts to stand up for Max, AVB may have been the one to really stand up. If any one is looking for something to indicate when it might be a long year ahead or something wasn't quite right it was the moment, R1 after 1 hour of footy, our season was cooked. 

Just out of interest what was Viney and Jones's reaction after those 18 year old rat bags targeted Gawn?

[Demon3 2,541]

1 minute ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Just out of interest what was Viney and Jones's reaction after those 18 year old rat bags targeted Gawn?

From memory BBP, it was a forerunner to how they have led all year, meek and mildly and with little fight. I think if i remember right Nev Jetta was the only one that went to the Port Players and it wasnt even to remonstrate it was to just push them away.

It was the first really  low moment in a really low year in my opinion.

[grazman 7,411]

8 hours ago, Laughing Goat said:

one again, ANB signed for 2 years

Has he?  I know there was a twitter link earlier in the year saying he was close, but since then I haven't heard whether he's actually signed.