2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Interesting comparison, although Tapscott looked a lot more comfortable at AFL level in his first 2 years.

Tapscott was more than serviceable in his first season when he played as a back pocket with his booming kick and physicality.

Neeld thought he was more suited to a defensive half forward role which ended up killing his career.

I think Kolt will be a serviceable player for us. Hopefully he (along with Windsor, Jefferson and co), put in the work during the off season. We're going to be asking a lot from them next year if moving back up the ladder is going to be on the cards.

Edited June 30Jun 30 by Demon Jack

Come to think of it it’s probably Kolt and/or Charlie Spargo and/or Harry Petty that’s responsible for the Monday soccer at training.

Kolt will be fine. Just stop bringing him in and taking him out. I don’t even know what position he plays, our younger players can look a bit lost. Maybe it’s the game plan. I reckon whenever we ditch the complicated game plan, we go on goal kicking streaks; like when we kicked five against the Gold Coast. What was the question again?

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

Yeah super clean...... just like that shocking turnover and resulting goal, as you said Howler!

PF I do have to say you are very bipolar with our young players... you have defended Jefferson and call for him to play relentlessly, even when he was showing f' all at the VFlL.

Then you decide to pot the Kolt who has actually shown more than Jeffo did in his first year and a half.

I just think he's nowhere near physically ready, and may never be. Some people just can't build the strength and fast twitch muscle to play AFL at the top level. He still looks like he has the puppy fat of a high-schooler. Can he even grow whiskers? If he doesn't have any stand out attributes (he doesn't that I can see - other than perhaps a good footy brain), and can't build the AFL-ready body, he's going to have a bad time.

I'm happy to wait, but he'll need another couple of ripper pre-seasons at least.

1 hour ago, The Cult of Disco Turner said:

Come to think of it it’s probably Kolt and/or Charlie Spargo and/or Harry Petty that’s responsible for the Monday soccer at training.

I’ve also heard whispers that they were the second gunman on the grassy knoll.

Kevin Sheahan’s pre draft spiel on Kolt;

"A talented player with an elite work rate who often plays as a high half forward and sometimes goes through the midfield.

"He is a fearless competitor with excellent game sense and a penetrating kick.

"He played the final three games for Western Australia at the National Championships after missing the first with injury but didn’t miss a beat to average 18.7 disposals.

"Has a sharp competitive edge which has seen him already play 10 senior matches for Subiaco in the WAFL.

"Tested impressively at the national Draft Combine to record the second quickest time on the agility test (8.19) and a top ten finish in the 2km time trial (6:17)."

All those things sound exactly like what we are looking for, so with a full preseason or two, he should be showing a lot more.

Edited June 30Jun 30 by BW511

1 hour ago, BW511 said:

Kevin Sheahan’s pre draft spiel on Kolt;

"A talented player with an elite work rate who often plays as a high half forward and sometimes goes through the midfield.

"He is a fearless competitor with excellent game sense and a penetrating kick.

"He played the final three games for Western Australia at the National Championships after missing the first with injury but didn’t miss a beat to average 18.7 disposals.

"Has a sharp competitive edge which has seen him already play 10 senior matches for Subiaco in the WAFL.

"Tested impressively at the national Draft Combine to record the second quickest time on the agility test (8.19) and a top ten finish in the 2km time trial (6:17)."

All those things sound exactly like what we are looking for, so with a full preseason or two, he should be showing a lot more.

Except that Kevin Sheehan has every player from 1 to 100 in every draft as a budding champion

11 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

A concerning high end pick considering we went to a lot of trouble to trade up for the pick. That bit of play where he took a nice contested mark and then centred it straight to the oppo was infuriating.

However, you can't really fully judge a player until they reach 50-60 games AFL games so we'll reserve judgment until then, assuming he makes it to 50 games.

With all fairness I think 99% of us were able to judge accurately many of our players in the Neeld years after 2 games...

11 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

A concerning high end pick considering we went to a lot of trouble to trade up for the pick. That bit of play where he took a nice contested mark and then centred it straight to the oppo was infuriating.

However, you can't really fully judge a player until they reach 50-60 games AFL games so we'll reserve judgment until then, assuming he makes it to 50 games.

I disagree. You expect one or two moments of sheer brilliance that shows raw talent. Think Langford kicking three snags a few months ago (against Freo?). XL and his handful of stellar performances in the 1st half.

With 50-60 games, you tend to see more consistent high performances from game to game and more involvement in game.

For Kolt, he played a few games last year and didn't really have any impact. The one game he did ok was when he took two contested marks and in the f50 against Sydney.

I think Kolt will eventually settle into one of the High Half forward roles. I just hope he works on his delivery i50. We cannot afford to have another generation of hack kicks into the forwardline.

2 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

I’ve also heard whispers that they were the second gunman on the grassy knoll.

No, that was Jack Watts, or maybe Tim Lamb

Well for one thing he is a decent kick, which places him above many on our list. He is strong over the ball and his basic skills set is sound. Where he struggles is 1) decision making (truly horrendous) 2) being too energetic where it is not required, and 3) not getting to where the ball is/will be often enough.

If he can place and time his skill and energy he could be very good. No way do we trade or delist yet.

Unathletic and not much chop, was a baffling decision to select him ahead of Wilson - then and now.

I can't believe posters are hanging him out for the kick he did last week that resulted in turnover and goal. The kick was good the gold Coast player came from nowhere. He'll learn from that.

My concern is his GPS numbers demonstrate he has elite pace but when he gets near it he seems to have slow reaction time. He also can't kick very far for someone with pace which is puzzling. I can't think of any other player with fast twich fibres that struggles to kick 45 metres. Any comparison to Taps cotton is ridiculous that bloke could kick from 60m out and it would go through post height.

Kolt has the right attitude and a presence. He reminds me more of disco not specifically as a player but has an aura about him like Disco. The best players have that.

I think his reaction time will improve and then we have a real player

7 hours ago, Norm Smith's Curse said:

With all fairness I think 99% of us were able to judge accurately many of our players in the Neeld years after 2 games...

For me I judged that SA very high draft pick as a bust in his first game warm up. And then after the failure of his first game he said he let the Greek Community down.

There’s plenty of evidence about big injury breaks negatively impacting a player’s performance. Bowser last year is a case in point. Lever another one this year, but it is a recurring phenomenon with lots of other examples.

For that reason I’m not writing down the Kolt on the basis of form this year. Ditto Luker Kentfield for the same reason, and the FD obviously agrees, given the contract extension for him.

And agree with @rjay that this principle adds merit to Lindsay’s performance this season.

On 01/07/2025 at 04:03, 48 Year Now said:

For me I judged that SA very high draft pick as a bust in his first game warm up. And then after the failure of his first game he said he let the Greek Community down.

Yeah you read my mind

I'm amazed he was our fifth highest rated player V GC with 10 possessions, 4 score involvements and 1 mark.

2 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I'm amazed he was our fifth highest rated player V GC with 10 possessions, 4 score involvements and 1 mark.

That was very surprising. I think pressure acts (1%ers) count a lot in the player ratings.

Kolt's got the key attributes but agree the stats and output don't paint a pretty picture, yet. Interestingly he's only averaging 62% game time. Could be fitness related, could also be swayed by games he's been sub/subbed.

I reckon it's between the ears with Kolt, the penny will drop at some stage, once it does and he feels like he belongs he'll become a valuable contributor.

Question is, how long might that take... ?

27 minutes ago, D Rev said:

That was very surprising. I think pressure acts (1%ers) count a lot in the player ratings.

As do over celebrating others marks. It all adds up.

Honestly, I want him to do well. Like anyone in the Red and Blue. But I just don't see it at all. I don't see any advantages that he has physically, mentally, footy brain or hand eye quick coordination.

*And I think it's a perm. (Not that it should matter)

Kolt was looking like a kid early on, the Perth game he was too excited for sure, but I have seen something worth persisting with. He is brave and has a heart, I am perfectly happy for him to settle. All these critiques could have been about ANB 10 years ago.

I'll be ropeable if he is dropped this week. Kid needs continuity and experience.

We are out of finals, so get as much game time as possible into Kolt, Jefferson, JVR, Windsor etc and just plan for next year.

On 02/07/2025 at 10:55, Dr Don Duffy said:

There’s plenty of evidence about big injury breaks negatively impacting a player’s performance. Bowser last year is a case in point. Lever another one this year, but it is a recurring phenomenon with lots of other examples.

For that reason I’m not writing down the Kolt on the basis of form this year. Ditto Luker Kentfield for the same reason, and the FD obviously agrees, given the contract extension for him.

And agree with @rjay that this principle adds merit to Lindsay’s performance this season.

I don't like writing negatively about younger players. I think it's really harsh and not very sensible given most players take time to come on. Liable for egg on the face.

That said, the highlighted bit above is why I think inevitably in another down season for the club as a whole, we are seeing Kolt scrutinised.

Last year, the natural comparison to Kolt was Windsor, who had a terrific break out season. You could immediately tell Windsor would be a ten year wingman. We trusted his blue chipness so much that we moved him after one season into a really important half back role. Whether we should persist with that is for another post.

This year, Kolt is compared with Lindsay and Langford, two guys that pretty much from their first full games have shown elite traits. Their impact at times has been significant too.

This is why, fairly or unfairly, the spotlight is on Kolt.

I don't see any elite traits, but this has to be tempered by the injury interruptions and other factors.

Very ordinary today. And footage of body language did not look great after being subbed, and seemed to mouthing something about Harry. May be wrong, but of all names Harry is actually quite easily to lip read. He just seems totally lost in the big league. Hope he finds it quick.

Edited July 6Jul 6 by Wizard of Koz