Not sure if this has been posted

23 hours ago, Demon_JB said:

Absolutely love him. He's already my new favourite player for the Dees.

I'm wondering if he has the confidence to kick straight running into goal? All his highlights at SANFL, preseason and over the weekend shows that he prefers to run around in a circle and snap. This will see him run into a lot of trouble later, hoping he has the confidence to just back himself in and kick straight. He hesitated a few times when he had that opportunity and either wanted to pass it off or nearly got chased down.

Regardless, love what he brings.

I'm guessing that what he is actually doing is dodging in towards the corridor to be more directly in front of goals and reduce the angle to create a higher percentage shot on goal.

2 hours ago, Mickey said:

Not sure if this has been posted

That’s already 6 more than Gawn.

1 hour ago, Dee Zephyr said:

That’s already 6 more than Gawn.

i was fearful he was gonna break his duck egg at one stage when he got the ball out wide in one piece of play

good to see he did NOT take the opportunity

Love Latrelle's energy, and when he starts to get some composure to finish his work that is going to be seriously scary for defenders. I was so worried he'd ran himself into trouble with his goal, and on the telly I thought it had hit the post, but when everyone got around him a had a huge grin on my face!

On 16/03/2026 at 12:05, beelzebub said:

I do wonder how long before opponents catch on that he does this thing.... runs straight.. then zags to the right ( his ) to skirt round a defender. ( bouncing when required )

Hopefully a lot lot more in bag of tricks 👍

I believe he’s working on a new trick, zagging left.

When Trelly was dancing through the Saints defence in the 3rd quarter, one of the commentators on Fox said he reminded him of Flash Davey. And I reckon he’s right if you watch it again, just the way he weaved around oppo players. It was a really good call

17 hours ago, In Harmes Way said:

When Trelly was dancing through the Saints defence in the 3rd quarter, one of the commentators on Fox said he reminded him of Flash Davey. And I reckon he’s right if you watch it again, just the way he weaved around oppo players. It was a really good call

Speaking of Aaron Davey, it was nice to see him tossing the coin before the match.

Lots of positivity around Latrelle's debut, and deservedly so.

I did see that he was only one of three Melbourne players not to make a tackle on Sunday.

That really needs to be a non-negotiable for a player in that role. There are going to be days where he doesn't get opportunities to kick goals, so he simply has to find other ways to contribute.

5 minutes ago, poita said:

Lots of positivity around Latrelle's debut, and deservedly so.

I did see that he was only one of three Melbourne players not to make a tackle on Sunday.

That really needs to be a non-negotiable for a player in that role. There are going to be days where he doesn't get opportunities to kick goals, so he simply has to find other ways to contribute.

Not everyone kicked a goal either. I don't think it was lack of effort to tackle and more there wasn't a genuine opportunity to.

7 minutes ago, inanunda said:

Not everyone kicked a goal either. I don't think it was lack of effort to tackle and more there wasn't a genuine opportunity to.

Laid a great one in the practice match against Richmond that lead to a goal. He knows how to do the defensive stuff.

Edited March 18Mar 18 by KozzyCan

I've begun to keep an eye on the progress of the 2025 draft class, just because I got a whiff of a hint of an impression that very few players from that group are making an immediate impression.

Duursma and Duff-Tytler are off to a nice start for West Coast, both being important in their win over North. (Oh Clarko, you blew it)

Dean has been a solid defensive presence for the Blues already, which is impressive and will be interesting to assess this weekend. Uwland has not shown too much.

Other high picks to make an early debut include Grlj (fine), Dovaston (okay) and Dyson Sharp (not great, but playing for Essendon so why bother - and now dropped by Essendon).

Other than that there is just Josh Lindsay, who has played one game at half-back for West Coast, for respectable effect, and El Achkar and Kondogiannis at Essendon who have also both been dropped presumably for morale reasons. Oh, and mature age rookie Jack Watkins at Port really enjoyed beating Essendon, so good on him.

The 2024 draft had about ten players play close to a full debut season, and many more play 10-17 games. Just a few games in and the herd of potential full-season debutants is already below that.

Incredibly, three rounds into the season there are only half a dozen new players getting regular games, and three of those are at West Coast, which included picks 1 and 4.

I suspect, much like when Melbourne appeared to pay overs for Lever all those years ago, Jason Taylor assessed the overall chances of this draft and said 'Yes, now is the right moment to go hard using a high pick to get a high-potential unknown quantity.'

Just to clarify Dyson Sharp is injured - didn't get dropped.

7 minutes ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

Just to clarify Dyson Sharp is injured - didn't get dropped.

True… but he’s been very average so far

1 hour ago, Little Goffy said:

I've begun to keep an eye on the progress of the 2025 draft class, just because I got a whiff of a hint of an impression that very few players from that group are making an immediate impression.

Duursma and Duff-Tytler are off to a nice start for West Coast, both being important in their win over North. (Oh Clarko, you blew it)

Dean has been a solid defensive presence for the Blues already, which is impressive and will be interesting to assess this weekend. Uwland has not shown too much.

Other high picks to make an early debut include Grlj (fine), Dovaston (okay) and Dyson Sharp (not great, but playing for Essendon so why bother - and now dropped by Essendon).

Other than that there is just Josh Lindsay, who has played one game at half-back for West Coast, for respectable effect, and El Achkar and Kondogiannis at Essendon who have also both been dropped presumably for morale reasons. Oh, and mature age rookie Jack Watkins at Port really enjoyed beating Essendon, so good on him.

The 2024 draft had about ten players play close to a full debut season, and many more play 10-17 games. Just a few games in and the herd of potential full-season debutants is already below that.

Incredibly, three rounds into the season there are only half a dozen new players getting regular games, and three of those are at West Coast, which included picks 1 and 4.

I suspect, much like when Melbourne appeared to pay overs for Lever all those years ago, Jason Taylor assessed the overall chances of this draft and said 'Yes, now is the right moment to go hard using a high pick to get a high-potential unknown quantity.'

Its just far too early to make any assessment. Dyson Sharp appears to be one of very few - if not - Essendons only two way runner. The game is heading in that direction whereby running both ways is a necessity. Thankfully for us, Pickett has a tremendous engine - he is suited to the modern game more than any other draftee in 2025 draft class. Right now, early in the season, the pace is absolutely frenetic. Will it remain that way? Not sure. A lot of hammys pinging.

I think Xavier Taylor will also relish the modern game. It will be interesting with this draft crop, as I suspect both Richmond and Melbourne pulled the trigger early on Pickett and Grlj due to traits forecasted to excel in the modern game. So far, they both look exceptional picks.

2 hours ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

True… but he’s been very average so far

He's played 1 and 1/2 games.....gee whiz.

34 minutes ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

He's played 1 and 1/2 games.....gee whiz.

34 minutes ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

He's played 1 and 1/2 games.....gee whiz.

I’m just pointing out you said he was injured but he was close to being dropped anyway. It’s just a fact. Why is that a big deal? I think he will be a solid player, probably not great for modern footy, but the fact is he’s been very average.

Edited March 27Mar 27 by DistrACTION Jackson

Back to topic - Latrelle hasn’t had his own posting for a while.

IMVHO he has performed well above expectations in his 6 games … great awareness and footy smarts, and great disposal going forward.

His low bullet pass to JVR across his body at a vital moment was just exceptional, as were several other passes in goal chains in several games.

2 hours ago, monoccular said:

Back to topic - Latrelle hasn’t had his own posting for a while.

IMVHO he has performed well above expectations in his 6 games … great awareness and footy smarts, and great disposal going forward.

His low bullet pass to JVR across his body at a vital moment was just exceptional, as were several other passes in goal chains in several games.

He's getting up to the speed bit by bit, I still think he's miles off his peak. I can't wait to see that!

He's going to be something this kid. Not to mention the absolute joy he appears to get from playing the game.

9 hours ago, monoccular said:

Back to topic - Latrelle hasn’t had his own posting for a while.

IMVHO he has performed well above expectations in his 6 games … great awareness and footy smarts, and great disposal going forward.

His low bullet pass to JVR across his body at a vital moment was just exceptional, as were several other passes in goal chains in several games.

This is just it: his football IQ is next level. Doesn't blaze away, knows when to chase and contest, puts himself in good position... he knows what to do and when to do it. His vision is elite and he plays like at least a 50-gamer. Almost every touch he has, seems to have a positive outcome.

1 minute ago, praha said:

This is just it: his football IQ is next level. Doesn't blaze away, knows when to chase and contest, puts himself in good position... he knows what to do and when to do it. His vision is elite and he plays like at least a 50-gamer. Almost every touch he has, seems to have a positive outcome.

Whilst I think this has a bit of mayo on it, I generally agree that he looks to have a really good understanding of what is happening and where he needs to be. He is so frequently in the right position at the right time.

I reckon he’s been slowly adjusting to the speed of AFL level footy, and his willingness to get back into defence and then push forward is impressive.

Reminds me a lot of Lewis Jetta early in his career. Flashes of brilliance, always an almost opportunity to get an amazing goal, takes the game on. When he finds consistency and more of it, he's going to be amazing.

He'd be an elite half back flanker

It has been great to see Latrelle looking more composed and comfortable with ball in hand over the past few weeks. That extra time to make a good decision is making a world of difference to his effectiveness.

His defensive work, or lack thereof, is a massive concern for me. I watched him very closely at the ground on Sunday and he is completely disinterested in being accountable for an opponent, even when he pushes up the ground.

When Latrelle does have an opportunity to apply pressure, he is happy to hang a couple of metres back, rather than making a tackle. Four of six games to date with zero tackles is not good enough for his role. I know they are not the same player, but Kozzie had 16 tackles in his first 6 games, Latrelle has 4.

I suspect he would be refining his game at Casey by now if we had better depth in that position.