Go well young fella back yourself and stick to your task.

Good to see some pace injected into the line up and especially in the backline.

Few comments raised that King mentioned he had to work on things, and some suggested something on the lines of his attitude or similar wording.

I didn’t really get the sense he was arrogant, definitely confident but he should be at his age, skill level etc.

Hope he has a blinder, he got picked from us for a reason and I can’t wait to see what he brings. Very exciting!

Really great reaction from his mum and sister as well, clearly a family oriented person which is awesome to hear.

Very excited for this debut! XT has potential to be a Tom Stewart type of developed well. He can block down on talls and small, but importantly he can intercept and take the game on with great agility and speed offensively. In theory he will fit in beautifully to Kings new system.

Good luck XT!

1 hour ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Few comments raised that King mentioned he had to work on things, and some suggested something on the lines of his attitude or similar wording.

I didn’t really get the sense he was arrogant, definitely confident but he should be at his age, skill level etc.

Hope he has a blinder, he got picked from us for a reason and I can’t wait to see what he brings. Very exciting!

Really great reaction from his mum and sister as well, clearly a family oriented person which is awesome to hear.

Not arrogance, more an air of I’m ready-made, I’m good to go, I don’t need to learn much because I’m already there.

7 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

Not arrogance, more an air of I’m ready-made, I’m good to go, I don’t need to learn much because I’m already there.

That’s tough.

I guess because he is there. I think it’s a tough line for a young lad to know what he looks like to others.

I hope he aces his debut and shows that he’s got it. Hopefully he’s the next Toby Greene - without the dirtiness.

A skilled and powerful player who everyone on the field knows has that fight in him to win.

I also think it’s good, we don’t really have anyone who stands out as having that air of confidence that I can think of.

51 minutes ago, Petal said:

I assume (hope) he's been working on these things too and deserves the call up but I cant help but feel he's come in out of necessity.

No Salem, Bowey, Rivers, CJ and possibly XL now too. We're looking a bit bare for medium backs who can use the ball.

Would love to see XT go out and really play to his strengths. Take the game on, generate that speed off the backline. I'm sure Kingy will be backing him in.

Good call.

You're spot on, we could use the burst of energy XT will bring - straight swap for Salo you'd think; high half back kicking inside 50.

I fear we'll struggle big time defensively against the Lions - hardly a big call their talent and skill level.

Much will depend on our intensity and capacity to press up on their kickers and receivers and pur them under pressur. Any hint of last weeks 'fatigue' and they'll cut us up.

Edited yesterday at 11:371 day by binman

1 minute ago, binman said:

Good call.

You're spot on, we could use the burst of energy XT will bring - straight swap for Salo you'd think; high half back kicking inside 50.

I fear we'll struggle big time defensively against the Lions - hardly a big call their talent and skill level.

Agreed,

Very tough first game, against arguably the best offensive line up.

Hope he gets a few games to settle in and we get a good look at his skill set.

4 minutes ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

That’s tough.

I guess because he is there. I think it’s a tough line for a young lad to know what he looks like to others.

I hope he aces his debut and shows that he’s got it. Hopefully he’s the next Toby Greene - without the dirtiness.

A skilled and powerful player who everyone on the field knows has that fight in him to win.

I also think it’s good, we don’t really have anyone who stands out as having that air of confidence that I can think of.

Kolt was similar when he first started. It wasn’t long before his attitude changed.

Really looking forward to Xavier Taylor debuting, he’s a very confident young man in a hurry to get where he thinks he belongs. Go well young fella it’s going to be a tough first gig, we are really looking forward to seeing you run out onto the G on Sunday with your team mates.

Good luck XT, show us what you got.

Earlier than expected debut, but the young lad has to make the most of his chance.

I just hope he holds his spot and runs out on ANZAC eve.

A baptism of fire against the reigning premiers, and a weaker opponent that night, should present XT with the opportunity to display his wares (for want of a better term).

The club needs to get better at hiding the cameras or not making it obvious you're about to tell them they're going to debut.

Although no one likes a know it all. He could have pretended to act dumb. When he said how he slipped over & dropped a few, that's when kingy should have said well don't do t on Sunday. But his mum & sister seem to think a lot of the club.

But good luck to him. He's going to learn a lot playing against the team that's won the flag the last 2 years

Can't wait.

His demeanor reminds me a little of Josh Gibcus where he has the belief early on. I like the idea of having him as a mid size BP or HBF.

16 hours ago, binman said:

That's awesome- on two levels.

One, who doesn't love it when a new draftee debuts?

Two, it's clear from comments made by King that XT had some things to work on, and I suspect attitude was one such thing.

If King is picking him I assume XT has worked on those things to King's satisfaction.

XT's leg speed won't hurt either.

This was my reading from afar when he was drafted and comments he made in pre-season.

There's a fine line between confidence, arrogance and respect. My feel is that holding him back a few weeks to 'work on things' will hold him in really good stead.

Go well young man

Pumped to watch him play but how's the conversation this week.

Soooo, congrats on your first game, we want you to play on Charlie Cameron. Oh, the 2 time all Australian with 450 goals. Will do my best!

Hmmm, good point. Actually go play on that number 33. Ah ok, got it. That other all Australian who had 9 shots in last years GF. On it!

Actually, no. Try you on the one who had the best hair in the afl once, he's lost his mojo now. Yup yup, you mean their leading goal kicker this year. Okayyyy!!!

Hmmm you know what. Forget it just play on Cam Raynor.

Good luck, kid. May the force be with you.

14 minutes ago, Jjrogan said:

Pumped to watch him play but how's the conversation this week.

Soooo, congrats on your first game, we want you to play on Charlie Cameron. Oh, the 2 time all Australian with 450 goals. Will do my best!

Hmmm, good point. Actually go play on that number 33. Ah ok, got it. That other all Australian who had 9 shots in last years GF. On it!

Actually, no. Try you on the one who had the best hair in the afl once, he's lost his mojo now. Yup yup, you mean their leading goal kicker this year. Okayyyy!!!

Hmmm you know what. Forget it just play on Cam Raynor.

Good luck, kid. May the force be with you.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, IMO it's better that Xavier is starting his senior career against a top side and, hopefully,playing against a less talented team the following week, than a about.

The FD would have thought this through. They'd be drilling him (I suspect) on the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent. He may even have been told he'll hold his spot regardless of how well he does.

With all that the club has invested in XT (ie a prize first round pick) I just can't see us throwing him to the wolves unprepared.

It's a pity he has got his debut when the whole defence went pretty badly against a bottom side last week. He had a tough time of it against footscray for Casey when we didn't have many demons listed players available. Hope he goes well.

15 hours ago, Ghostwriter said:

Not arrogance, more an air of I’m ready-made, I’m good to go, I don’t need to learn much because I’m already there.

Need more a couple more like him.

If he flattens the punces McCarthy and Berry I’ll be happy

2 hours ago, jnrmac said:

This was my reading from afar when he was drafted and comments he made in pre-season.

There's a fine line between confidence, arrogance and respect. My feel is that holding him back a few weeks to 'work on things' will hold him in really good stead.

Go well young man

Spot on.

My use of the word attitude was probably ill advised in this context as it might be read as a perjorative - ie XL has a 'bad attitude'.

How you've described it above jnr reflects perfectly what I meant - a young, super competitive fella, used to being one of the best players in every team he lines up with itching to live his dream and get selected in the senoirs and like any uber competitive person frustrated not to have got the call up.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by binman

For some reason I got the impression that he’s had to work on knowing when to respect his opponent and stay tight and defensive when he should, despite his natural inclination and talent for zoning off and rebounding.

I suspect Sunday will be a very helpful way of showing him this lesson again vs the Lions, as they’ll punish any defensive disrespect in a way the Tigers the following week may not.

He seems the type who learns quickly when exposed to humiliation (like most of us).

Fascinated to see how he goes.

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by PaulR

1 hour ago, #11-TonyAnderson said:

If he flattens the punces McCarthy and Berry I’ll be happy

Zorko was top of my list but since he is out, Answerth would be a fitting candidate (assuming he is back this week).

Who cares if he’s confident and arrogant, he’ll find balance in time. Try to knock it out of him too early, you’ll lose him.

4 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Who cares if he’s confident and arrogant, he’ll find balance in time. Try to knock it out of him too early, you’ll lose him.

Noone cares about confidence and arrogance. Good on him.

What worried me when I went and watched him against the Dogs at Whitten Oval was his body language was poor, as was his intensity amd second efforts.

It looked much better against the Box Hill Hawk, and no coincidence he was one of the best thst day.

18 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Few comments raised that King mentioned he had to work on things, and some suggested something on the lines of his attitude or similar wording.

I didn’t really get the sense he was arrogant, definitely confident but he should be at his age, skill level etc.

Hope he has a blinder, he got picked from us for a reason and I can’t wait to see what he brings. Very exciting!

Really great reaction from his mum and sister as well, clearly a family oriented person which is awesome to hear.

I went to an event where King was a guest speaker. I spoke to him a bit about XT beforehand. He said XT was really keen to play senior footy. Matty Scarlett apparently sat down with him and mapped out his (i.e. Scarlett's) career on a whiteboard to show him that it took a bit of time for Scarlett to rise to the level he played at for so long. It didn't sound like an 'attitude' issue. More just a kid keen to play, and the coaching team making sure he was ready before he got named.

The injuries to Rivers and Salem probably opened the door a bit so he's playing a bit earlier than expected. Long term, sounds like he will be a jet, but I am tempering my expectations this week. Hope he plays well, but if he doesn't set the world on fire, I suspect he just needs a bit more time to hit his stride.