Endurance the Key for Baker

[Demonland 74,465]

 

[Bring-Back-Powell 15,562]

Not sure if he has a future but his game against GWS in round 17 was pretty damn good. Kicked 2 important goals in the first half to keep our score board ticking over.

[dino rover 714]

I thought his disposal was generally good and his speed is great. Endurance would make him a valuable wing option.

[3183 Dee 2,917]

1 minute ago, dino rover said:

I thought his disposal was generally good and his speed is great. Endurance would make him a valuable wing option.

Yes - he’s also not a bad tackler.

[Caligula's cohort 1,014]

I had a chat with him at training during pre season. He's a nice guy, but hasn't been able to get his body right. I feel he needs to instil a bit of self belief within him and he'll improve dramatically. If he has a ripper pre season, I reckon he will be one of our most improved younger players. Good luck Oskar! 

[YesitwasaWin4theAges 6,840]

25 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Not sure if he has a future but his game against GWS in round 17 was pretty damn good. Kicked 2 important goals in the first half to keep our score board ticking over.

He has to be the future BBP, he's 20 years old and positions like the wing role should be selected in national drafts and developed this is what i see in Bakes case and point.

I can acknowledge this was not by design though like most things Melbourne.

Before last year we had no designated wingers so we went out and recruited two on a long term deals, one has becoming an important midfield cog the other a suprise defensive inclusion at CHB alongside May and Lever.

We need to recruit to strengthen our biggest weaknesses which are in our forward line. eg Power Forward and another quick pressure forward like Kosi.

[chook fowler 19,783]

well worth persevering with is Sauce/Ginger. He has a lot of good attributes and now seems to understand what is required.

[nosoupforme 3,085]

Oskar Baker showed some brilliance kicking 2 goals against  GWS  his best game for the club one left foot snap was a cracker so has got potential as he showed in the 3 games he played. 

Has speed that was one of the reasons  he eventually came into the side.  Held his own in  the last 3 games and maybe is ready to produce by having a strong preseason free of injury.  Has the potential to do so.

[maximum bob 462]

I'm a fan. (Sometimes you just get a hunch, hopefully right this time). If he gets over the injury niggles and, as Soup said, has an uninterrupted pre-season, he could own a wing and fast become a supporter favourite. He's young with a lot of upside. Good luck to him. 

[Half forward flank 1,022]

Langdon with Smith and Baker. as wingman. Something old, something new and something in between equals balance.

[DeeSpencer 26,692]

His game sense/craft certainly needs work, he gets a little lost and isn't the best at the contest, but you'd take those flaws for someone with natural ability to run the ball and a penetrating kick.

The biggest flaw in his game is he's an outside runner without a good tank. It's a fundamental problem. It seems he was working hard at it last summer but ended up with groin issues. So a step backwards rather than a step forward. 

This is the summer to show he can take a big step forward. If he's not running at least with the experienced midfield types by the end of summer he won't make it.

[dl4e 5,851]

Well some people think we need to recruit a 32 year old for the other wing but we have a youngin in Baker. Now wether he will be the answer we don't really know but I would be banking my future with Baker over a 32 year old, as good a player that Smith is.

[Pates 9,697]

I feel I’m in the minority here but I like what little we have seen of him once he gets into games. Early I think he’s got a little lost with the speed of everything and like many others he’s probably suffered with lack of proper 2nd tier competition. 

But 2021 could be the year he takes his game up a level and starts to feature regularly. 

[Ted Lasso 19,586]

I like him, i'd like to see him given a good run of 6-7 games in a row to really pick up the speed of AFL and settle in. 

He offers something a little bit different to the team, and seems to have some reasonable scope for improvement. 

I really like that he has demonstrated the capacity to get back and help the backline, but also push hard forward to impact the scoreboard. 

as he says, if he can improve his endurance, he can do it for longer and become a really valuable member of both our offensive and defensive transitions. 

[58er 6,872]

1 minute ago, Patches O’houlihan said:

I like him, i'd like to see him given a good run of 6-7 games in a row to really pick up the speed of AFL and settle in. 

He offers something a little bit different to the team, and seems to have some reasonable scope for improvement. 

I really like that he has demonstrated the capacity to get back and help the backline, but also push hard forward to impact the scoreboard. 

as he says, if he can improve his endurance, he can do it for longer and become a really valuable member of both our offensive and defensive transitions. 

Good summary and realistic potential can be realised by a Trac approach to his footy.

[Lord Travis 10,819]

Seems I'm in the minority, but I see him as a depth option and then delist in 1-2 years.

He has decent speed, which we are are crying out for, but I'm not convinced he's smart enough or fit enough to become a good long term AFL player. You need to be fit and smart to play on the wing, and while he can build fitness, I don't think he's shown the smarts. 

I'd like to be proven wrong, as we need another good wingman and he could be it, but I wouldn't persist much longer. The Baker/Wagner/Spargo types are the ones we always hold onto for too long IMO. Depth players are important, but you don't hold onto them for more than say 4 years unless they're a great role player and happy to have a career in and out of a team. Perhaps getting Isaac Smith across to teach him and drive him would be beneficial for his development.