At the very least Luke is a sensible pick up. Costs us nothing in the way of draft picks and we had 6 available spots. He has proven that he can win the ball as an inside player. We had a lucky run with injuries and now we have a ready made replacement should we cop a few.

Sensible pick up Dees.

 

It wasn't that long ago that many of our boys lacked class by foot and by hand. Well I can say that our disposal as a side has come on in leaps and bounds, including seasoned players and our youn blokes. If LD butchers the footy,  I reckon our coaching team can help him improve, actually I have the utmost confidence. 

11 hours ago, Boots and all said:

It wasn't that long ago that many of our boys lacked class by foot and by hand. Well I can say that our disposal as a side has come on in leaps and bounds, including seasoned players and our youn blokes. If LD butchers the footy,  I reckon our coaching team can help him improve, actually I have the utmost confidence. 

His highlights reel suggest the opposite to the tag Ball Butcher!  His disposal looks pretty good to me!😛

On 10/7/2021 at 6:56 AM, rpfc said:

Young players get more patience. Yes, we all agree. When I have been a coach I was instructed to play kids but I had a 28 year old who always got a game and ahead of more talented kids because he could execute his role better than any of those younger players. And he was pivotal in getting us into a position to win the flag.

Selection integrity is big with Goodwin and co.; there’s no romance and games are earned. This will be the same for all players outside our stars. Some on this thread have a child like perception of how a team gets picked: “better not play ahead of Sparrow et al”…

Yes he should, if his form warrants it - he definitely should play.

 

I just love the motivation this provides for the younger players. Some may have been forgiven for entering 2022 with the attitude of “no more Jones or Vanders, natural progression will see me pushed into the side and getting my chance to win a flag” - Dunstan’s presence ensure they keep pushing and have to earn their place in the side.

Very smart pick up.  Cost us nothing, experienced and tough to replace retirement Jones and want away AVB, 2 years contract, wants to prove something.  At least adds a rotation, at best, covers Clarry if injured.  Great get.

If you watch training the ball butchers are usually good to very good when there in no pressure but when under games pressure and the adrenaline has kicked in the players tend to butcher the ball, kicking it long bomb, not lowering their eyes or up and under, so you find that good teams have intense match practice to improve the disposals in pressure situations.

Listen to some comments from players in other codes like NRL Storm where players come to the club as rejects and become very good players because training is at game intensity.

On 10/9/2021 at 9:08 AM, DEE fence said:

Just imagine if he shines like Powell did or even something close to it. I can see StK supporters opening a vein….. ‘faaaark Petracca, faaaark Dunstan…’ Ratten will definitely cop some heat if he plays more than 10 games for us.

Must say I met Ratten a number of times when I was living in Christmas Hills, around Yarra Glen, always polite and up for a gas while we waited for Pizza or whatever. I think he needs a reboot of his assistants seems to work for some coaches. 

100% coaching dept reboot needed.

One of his now sacked assistants was an old coach of mine, can’t figure out how he even got a job in the AFL coaching ranks. In terms of character alone, wouldn’t get a gig at MFC currently.

Having said that, it surprises me the suspect types that do hold positions in clubs chasing success. Grigg at Geelong, and even still after covid cutbacks, is an eyebrow raiser.

Good players look great with an effective game plan, two way running, selfless play and strong coaching 

Backing in our development team to get the best out of Dunny and totally suspect he will be pushing for best 22 next year 

On 10/8/2021 at 5:07 PM, MrReims said:

For anyone worried he isn’t up to our standard, watch the Rnd 14 replay against the Tigers. Wet and cold Friday night big stage, lined up against Dusty often in the middle Luke had 32 quality touches, 1 goal and 3 Brownlow votes.

If that is your injury cover, that’s sensational

How do I get a copy of the replay of that game? 

2 hours ago, Dante said:

How do I get a copy of the replay of that game? 

I watched it on Kayo sorry buddy, not sure how else to get it

31 minutes ago, MrReims said:

I watched it on Kayo sorry buddy, not sure how else to get it

also on foxtel in the replays section 

15 hours ago, picket fence said:

His highlights reel suggest the opposite to the tag Ball Butcher!  His disposal looks pretty good to me!😛

They’re hardly going to show him slinging it into the hotdog stand in a highlights reel now are they. 

Simple go onto the AFL site go to Match Video, then round and game, watch quarter by quarter match replays like I do when I what to relive the season we have had.

On 10/8/2021 at 5:07 PM, MrReims said:

For anyone worried he isn’t up to our standard, watch the Rnd 14 replay against the Tigers. Wet and cold Friday night big stage, lined up against Dusty often in the middle Luke had 32 quality touches, 1 goal and 3 Brownlow votes.

If that is your injury cover, that’s sensational

I've watched the first half of that game and I'm not sure if I can watch the rest, it was a dreadful game and neither side was very convincing.  It was as bad a game I've seen Richmond play for a few years and the Saints were if front, but not because they were good, but because Richmond were terrible.

Luke was ok but nothing to write home about, the fact that he got the Brownlow votes just shows that there was no one else worthy of them. It may be different in the second half but I'm not sure if I can bear to watch it. 

I guess I will, but I can't all in one day.😧

He wasn't bad and it was a bit wet so there are extenuating services.

Watched the third quarter of the Saints Tigers game and a few thoughts 

He has to do a lot better with his tackling, he's not hard enough at the ball and he won't get away with one arm tackles if he gets a game with us.

He doesn't get involved enough in the clearance work and hangs back from the packs, waiting for the ball to be tied up before he goes in. Maybe he is instructed to do that but he ain't no Viney.

He doesn't seem to have time to dispose of the ball and does kick it indiscriminately.

He did get quite a few possessions but didn't do much damage with them, you wouldn't want to be a forward relying on him to pass it off to you, it's all hurried.

I think he will struggle. Hope we can fix it all up but I can see why Ratten didn't rate him.

On 10/4/2021 at 2:46 PM, TRIGON said:

I see Essendon as his best fit in terms of their needs and his skills.

Purely for game time in 1s agreed.

But if you listen to his conversation about why he chose Melbourne, he mentioned the clubs culture as a big factor. He is ok with playing in 2s if that's where he is asked to play, but I think he also believes he has a lot of growth yet to play out despite being 26... under uze et al.

I personally think its a great addition. Cost us doughnut, and we get a tough inside mid ready to go... and putting red hot pressure on established players to perform and maintain the grade... win win

On 10/8/2021 at 2:07 PM, MrReims said:

For anyone worried he isn’t up to our standard, watch the Rnd 14 replay against the Tigers. Wet and cold Friday night big stage, lined up against Dusty often in the middle Luke had 32 quality touches, 1 goal and 3 Brownlow votes.

If that is your injury cover, that’s sensational

Agreed. Pants'd him.

Luke will have to conform to the selfless style this team has adopted, at the Saints he was always in survival mode which makes you do things which are selfish and stats driven.

He will be given a job to perform and if he suceeds he will be rewarded with more games failure means he will be playing at Casey until he gets the message.

On 10/7/2021 at 1:01 PM, Premiers said:

I wouldn't put to much store on Dunstan's Brownlow and AFLCA votes.  Other than Steel there was no competition.  

At the Demons he may get no votes as they are more likely to our top 6 players but will he be a better and more valuable player than when he plays than at the Saints..

So Saints didn't play against any other sides then?

Which number?  has it been discussed?

Luke had #7 - we have #22 and #27 available.  I'm not sure whether #2 will be immediately available.

18 minutes ago, old55 said:

Which number?  has it been discussed?

Luke had #7 - we have #22 and #27 available.  I'm not sure whether #2 will be immediately available.

Number 2 should be reserved for now. Very special number for this club.

22 would look good on him

On 10/7/2021 at 1:01 PM, Premiers said:

I wouldn't put to much store on Dunstan's Brownlow and AFLCA votes.  Other than Steel there was no competition.  

At the Demons he may get no votes as they are more likely to our top 6 players but will he be a better and more valuable player than when he plays than at the Saints..

For those that didn't get my original reply, umpires and coaches obviously cast votes for both sides so you can't undervalue his votes just because the only competition was Steel. he had competition from the other sides players as well.

An interesting analysis of Dunstan's and Melbourne's motivations.

Amusingly, towards the end, the article states, "By the end of 2022, Dunstan’s at least given himself a chance to earn being mentioned in the same sentence as Jarryd Lyons." This is the seventh time in the article that Dunstan and Lyons are mentioned by name in the same sentence. 

3 hours ago, old55 said:

Which number?  has it been discussed?

Luke had #7 - we have #22 and #27 available.  I'm not sure whether #2 will be immediately available.

3 hours ago, Action Jackson said:

Number 2 should be reserved for now. Very special number for this club.

22 would look good on him

pre finals i saw Sparrow inheriting the 2 - i think a clean move from 32 woulda made sense and similar player to Jones but now he's won a flag he might keep the 32, besides cam bruce isn't the worst player to follow. i can definitely see Dunstan in the 2 and i'm not opposed to it

As long as Mark "Choco" Williams can help improve Luke Dunstan's kicking then I think Luke will be a very handy pickup for the Demons.

In the end, if we want to win more Premierships it is about having a large amount of good quality players in hot competition trying to get a call up to be in the final 22 for the senior AFL side.

Luke Dunstan also adds depth to our midfield after losing Nathan Jones and Aaron vandenBerg.