Couldn't make it to the ground on Saturday, so have watched the game on Kayo a few times now. One thing that stood out for me was Gerard Healy bagging out Harvey Langford's kicking, not once, but multiple times throughout the game.

Like has he actually really watched the guy play more than once? To say it once was maybe a first impression or off the cuff comment, but he was so persistent, that I really feel as if he had formed a strong oppinion and holds this against Harvey. Personally, while I don't think Langford has really fully hit his straps this season and/or has progressed massively in his 2nd year as we might have ideally have loved, I think the kid is doing OK and his kicking is one of the last things I'd hold against him.

On the flip side, both Gerard and Brad Johnson, seemed to be onto the fact that Kade Chandler is fast becoming one of the quality players in the competition for what he does and I do wholeheartedly agree with that assessment.

Anyways, back to the point, I know Gerard was a player that Mark Jackson couldn't stand and I've got to say, I think I understand why. Smug and arrogant. At least his brother blead red and blue.

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Harvey's kicking is interesting, one thing he does very well is often makes the right decision in traffic to handball or get it on the boot. When he's running at full pace he can be prone to helicopter them.

He also made one of the poorer decisions for him when he bombed a kick long in the 3rd when he had Trelly wide open in the pocket.

I'd like to see him balance up a bit more generally but he's a guy without a lot of burst pace (but a nice enough top speed) being asked to play on the wing to learn AFL footy until he physically develops and gets a bit sharper with his inside ball winning and defensive pressure. There's times he'll be getting chased down by speedy wingers and won't be able to balance up. I'll worry more about his kicking if it hasn't improved by the time he's 23 and hopefully is an inside mid who can own the corrdor.

I've always been a Chandler fan but he's munged both his goals through late, in his own words. He had the footy gods on his side. He also get a bit slingy with his kicking and can sometimes miss targets he could get. But because he has that left footer slingy action and they can out low and fast he's managed to convince Healy he's some kind of perfect kick.

I personally don’t think it matters what he thinks. Healy isn’t known as being someone people listen to tremendously.

Langford might be a bit up and down right now, probably finding himself a bit in a new role, new team, new coach and new game plan.

I guess it doesn’t matter really anyways what we think. Long as Harv keeps getting better and doesn’t listen then good riddance to Healy.

On the replay I heard Healy say at the final siren that Langford had a few things to iron out but had the potential to be a serious player

GH was a serious player. Gutted when he left.

I didn’t exist when he left us for Sydney so I have no emotional feeling towards him either way, so in saying that, Healy sounds like he’s been phoning it in for about a decade. I find him hard to listen to as he sounds uninterested and like he’s just doing a job. I don’t really take notice of him because of that.

Just a commentator who focuses on the negative and is well past it - we were relieved of Dermie last yeat - hopefully Fox make the next obvious move next year.....my heart sinks when I hear his voice, even if it is only when the replay commences after a fantastic win.....

18 minutes ago, BDA said:

On the replay I heard Healy say at the final siren that Langford had a few things to iron out but had the potential to be a serious player

His kicking was the thing he needed to iron out apparently.

Might be time to replace him. Healy off, Ellingworth on!

33 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

I've always been a Chandler fan but he's munged both his goals through late, in his own words. He had the footy gods on his side

Honestly, think he's being modest and not wanting to big note himself here. Chandler is pretty much the most reliable set shot for goal we have. Also nailed a clutch goal in the Carlton win.

3 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Honestly, think he's being modest and not wanting to big note himself here. Chandler is pretty much the most reliable set shot for goal we have. Also nailed a clutch goal in the Carlton win.

He's a good kick and a pretty reliable set shot, but neither of those goals came off the boot perfectly. Not that I'm complaining!

Healy has been full of it since whatever year he left us.

Gerard Healey needs a tap on the shoulder.

I was listening to SEN on Friday evening pregame (I think it was), and his negative, cantankerous pontificating ended up with Tom Morris (of all people) having to apologise to listeners on the network’s behalf. A serious faux pas. Getting into Trump areas.

Further, the DeeBrief poddy recently mentioned an interview with Healy where he came across as a self-entitled [censored].

Off to the glue factory.

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by Deemented Are Go!

It is often said that there is a point in which the game has gone passed players.

The same phrase can be applied to expert comment personnel too IMO. And I think Gerard now falls into that category.

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by wheaters31

Langford does need to fix up his kicking.

I don’t know why people are so butthurt. He was constantly talking about the kid because he was playing so well off the wing for an inside mid.

But he needs to work on his craft lest he turn into a mid that can’t be damaging with their disposal - and doesn’t that sound familiar??

Can’t stand Healy.

IMO has to be one of the worst turncoats in the AFL.

Happy to jump on the bandwagon when we’re up and about but jumps off even quicker!

He’s a senile old fool who tries to use the latest champion data trends to sound like he knows what he’s talking about. Has no idea!

One thread crying about the media wasn't enough?

9 hours ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

Just a commentator who focuses on the negative and is well past it - we were relieved of Dermie last yeat - hopefully Fox make the next obvious move next year.....my heart sinks when I hear his voice, even if it is only when the replay commences after a fantastic win.....

Dermie was in a league of his own when it came to inane commentary. Didn’t realise he’d been given the heave ho. He won’t be missed

9 hours ago, demosaw said:

GH was a serious player. Gutted when he left.

Agree. When having a players number on the back of your duffel coat was a thing, his was on my back.

I was surprised by Healy's comments too. It was a pretty weird take. Maybe Langford duffed a couple over the weekend, but not sure that's enough to create a narrative around his kicking being poor.

Leigh Montagna was commentating on radio and was also critical of Langford’s kicking on the day. He kicks with magnificent depth and speed but they often don’t spin perfectly.

I think the comments were valid. Harvey has some skill and definitely has the ability to find targets that most wouldn’t. However, he needs to get the ball spinning consistently though. On the weekend, they were finger breaking mongrel punts! Good luck marking them!

8 hours ago, rpfc said:

Langford does need to fix up his kicking.

I don’t know why people are so butthurt. He was constantly talking about the kid because he was playing so well off the wing for an inside mid.

But he needs to work on his craft lest he turn into a mid that can’t be damaging with their disposal - and doesn’t that sound familiar??

Playing so well as a wing - and that's his role for the foreseeable future. And by foreseeable future i mean at least this season and next.

As i've noted before, King is using Langford in the exact same role he used Dempsey at the Cats - a winger who is key to transition, kicks goals, and on offence pushes deep forward, often all the way to the goal square (where like Dempsey, Langford is scoring goals from) creating a match up problem inside 50.

With 70% of scoring now coming from turnover, having gun inside mids to win clearances is simply not as important as it was 4-5 season ago when scores from stoppages generated the majority of scoring.

Consequently, teams usually only use one inside mid at centre square clearances and atm that's Steele and Sparrow waxing, with Viney in the mix when back in the side.

There's simply no spot for Langford as an inside mid atm, and as i say not for the foreseeable future. Which is not to say he won't get involved in stoppages around the ground - he is already - just that he won't be a starting centre bounce mid.

Mids now need breakaway acceleration and speed, which is why Koz has become one of the very best mids in the AFL and why Windsor is one of our starting mids and is running at aprox 80% CBAs.

Langford has an ok cruising speed, but acceleration will never be his go - and it's not like he has elite hands and kicking skills that very best mids have.

Clearly the tall winger that supports transition and pushes deep forward role is a critical part of King's game plan and as such he needs a player who can execute it to a high level - which is precisely what Langford is doing (with his game on the weekend being the exemplar - the 9th highest rated player for the whole round).

Here's my tip - at some point in the next few weeks it's going to dawn on the media how effective Langford is in the wing role. It would be robbing Peter to pay Paul to move him from that spot and into the middle where we have a surfeit of players who can play an inside mid role.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by binman

Dare I say, we have all had a gut full of Gerard?!

His kicking needs improvement. That's a fact and was obvious from very early in his career and in this game. He wins the ball really well, and more often than not makes good decisions. He is a good shot for goal which is super but his field kicking is sometimes not what it should be. And like a lot of lefties he is one sided to his and the team's detriment at times (cue inside out handball back over his head!) However, he played a very good game which Healy acknowledged, despite the obvious shortcomings. He can be one of the best players in the league if he works on his deficiencies now and doesn't just accept that what he's giving now is his ceiling. He's a second year player with loads of improvement in him.