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James Leake

FrothiesLiam
FrothiesLiam
in Melbourne Demons

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12 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

i wonder whether this says more about the quality of tasmanian kids emerging or the lack of quality coming out of victoria, in particular

It was probably easier for aspiring footballers who lived outside of the most locked down city in the world in the years leading up to the draft

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    12 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

    i wonder whether this says more about the quality of tasmanian kids emerging or the lack of quality coming out of victoria, in particular

    It's interesting, I'd say maybe both.  The allies were very strong in the national championships, so they beat not just the vic players but WA and SA pretty handily too.  The Tassie Devils in the Coates league were very well placed there too, so that possibly goes to suggest that the quality in Vic could be a little lighter this year.

    It also sounds like this year has a fairly shallow draft overall, and that they don't expect a lot of players to be selected overall.

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    On 26/10/2023 at 17:49, dazzledavey36 said:

    Leake is class and skill above Sanders.

    Sanders is a ball winning machine and is one dimensional in terms of hes pigeon-holed to play one position only.

    Leake is athletically far more gifted then Sander and has genuine versatility and X factor.


    I’m on Leake for 6.

    Finally figured out who Sanders reminds me of. Sorry Colonel, probably a bit unfair but it’s another chicken-related moniker - Brock McLean.

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    I know this is the Leake thread, but I’ll add - my fear with Sanders is that he’s like McLean, or Dom Tyson, or Darcy Parish, or any number of others... players that if they’re not in the midfield, they don’t have the tools to fit anywhere else.

    And if he’s with us, he ain’t unseating Viney, Oliver or Petracca.

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    24 minutes ago, Mach5 said:

    I know this is the Leake thread, but I’ll add - my fear with Sanders is that he’s like McLean, or Dom Tyson, or Darcy Parish, or any number of others... players that if they’re not in the midfield, they don’t have the tools to fit anywhere else.

    And if he’s with us, he ain’t unseating Viney, Oliver or Petracca.

    Very good post. I remember those sort of guys in junior footy too. Always got to play on the ball but could not mark or kick properly. Often get set in midfield on personality and get enough kicks to stay there and get noticed. Prime example. Bailey Smith

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    I will place my trust in JT. He has the skill to see past who will become an AFL player, particularly with pick 6 and 11. If it’s Sanders I’ll trust he is the man. As long as he is given the free rein to pick best available. 
     

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    1 hour ago, Mach5 said:

    I know this is the Leake thread, but I’ll add - my fear with Sanders is that he’s like McLean, or Dom Tyson, or Darcy Parish, or any number of others... players that if they’re not in the midfield, they don’t have the tools to fit anywhere else.

    And if he’s with us, he ain’t unseating Viney, Oliver or Petracca.

    Viney will be 30 next season, Petracca will be a forward sooner than later IMO and Oliver I’m not allowed to post about.

    And even with all that I don’t see why Sanders would be a very handy half forward or wing rotation early in his career with the way he accumulates and moves the ball on quickly.

    Im just not sure how good he is or more importantly if he’ll be there at our pick, but I’m not worried about positional overlap. 

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    33 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

    Viney will be 30 next season, Petracca will be a forward sooner than later IMO and Oliver I’m not allowed to post about.

    And even with all that I don’t see why Sanders would be a very handy half forward or wing rotation early in his career with the way he accumulates and moves the ball on quickly.

    Im just not sure how good he is or more importantly if he’ll be there at our pick, but I’m not worried about positional overlap. 


    I am. I’m very wary of any player that can’t have an impact unless placed in a primary midfielder role. This is exactly why I’d choose Leake over Sanders - Leake has demonstrated an ability to have a critical impact wherever he has been positioned on the field. Just pure footy ability.

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    I'm very sold on Leake at 6 and Windsor at 11. i think that's a great outcome

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    1 hour ago, Mach5 said:


    I am. I’m very wary of any player that can’t have an impact unless placed in a primary midfielder role. This is exactly why I’d choose Leake over Sanders - Leake has demonstrated an ability to have a critical impact wherever he has been positioned on the field. Just pure footy ability.

    Clayton Oliver no good then? How about two time brownlow medalist Lachie Neale? Or brownlow medalist Cripps? Versatility is nice to have, but if you're a gun midfielder then why would you ever play any other position.

    Talk about impact, Sanders is the best performed midfielder in this 2023 draft class. He won the Larke medal for best player in the national championships. He's a ball winner, he's got burst of pace, classy agile mover, good kicking skills, strong overhead, hits the scoreboard, leadership qualities. There's no reason why he won't make it as a good AFL midfielder. He's probably the safest bet in this whole draft class and looks to me like hell carve out a Joel Selwood type career.

    If JT and the recruiters decide Leake is our guy, then we'll all support him and hope he's a star. At this point in time, he's a lesser player than Sanders and hasn't shown much as a midfielder yet. Pick 6 is a lot to spend on a flanker sized intercept defender when there's potentially a superb midfielder on offer.

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    1 hour ago, Lord Travis said:

    Pick 6 is a lot to spend on a flanker sized intercept defender when there's potentially a superb midfielder on offer.

    Well, I guess we'll either look like geniuses or just plain stupid...

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    I think JT has done a great job so far, as we haven’t a clue who we are taking, or even what picks we might end up with.

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    I think the MFC has Leake-d the information as a distraction from the player they want. 

    Edited by durango

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    • Author

    Giants rumored to be into Leake and Windsor with their first pick so if we want leake then we'd have to take him with 6 

    Edited by FrothiesLiam

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    2 hours ago, FrothiesLiam said:

    Giants rumored to be into Leake and Windsor with their first pick so if we want leake then we'd have to take him with 6 

    Source?

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    5 hours ago, FrothiesLiam said:

    Giants rumored to be into Leake and Windsor with their first pick so if we want leake then we'd have to take him with 6 


    Makes sense. Caruso at GWS appears to be a shrewd operator in the Lamb/Taylor vein.

    On the Gettable podcast it was proposed to him that GWS would be keen on a few of these, pretty sure it included Leake & Windsor, maybe Caddy. The interviewers pointed out that some of the names elicited a visible response from Caruso, without any specifics.

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    10 minutes ago, Mach5 said:


    Makes sense. Caruso at GWS appears to be a shrewd operator in the Lamb/Taylor vein.

    On the Gettable podcast it was proposed to him that GWS would be keen on a few of these, pretty sure it included Leake & Windsor, maybe Caddy. The interviewers pointed out that some of the names elicited a visible response from Caruso, without any specifics.

    Caruso seems a very astute operator

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    They maybe playing ducks and drakes to get Curtin et al, JT will know who is fair dinkum. Lol.!!

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    On 31/10/2023 at 05:23, The Jackson FIX said:

    We’d have to be looking at him as a mid/frwd option - no way Lexer and May would welcome a Leake in the backline 

    Why is that ? Pray tell. 

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    On 30/10/2023 at 20:40, durango said:

    I have watched some highlights and I don't think he is worthy of a pick 6.

    He uses his strength to win the ball but that will not work in the AFL against bigger and stronger bodies.

    Players develop with weight programs. Don’t be so naive most 18yo recruits start out needing physical development.

    They are not all freaks like Clarry.

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    This was the game in which James Leake transformed himself from a solid defender into contender for the top 10 as a dynamic forward. He was swung forward at half time with his Devils team trailing and he went on a tear in the third quarter, clunking every mark in his area with clean hands and slotting three goals for the term.

     

     

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