stevethemanjordan

Tumbleweed.........

Yes Nahas was playing for Port Melbourne for a few years before he moved to train with Richmond and was taken as a rookie by them. I remember playing at Okleigh Chargers back in the day with him. He is a gun. Won't win the rising star as he is 22 this year, but nonetheless he is a great player.

No, you are right Hannabal I wasn't at the game. I am in London and haven't seen a game all year !! I was basing my views on his disposal from last year mostly. I have seen clips of him this year but yes I have no doubt it has improved already. Hopefully it will keep improving hey...

Unfortunately due to the AFL's system of drafting and who gets the priority picks, we are all bound to start wanting to lose games if we are around that bottom four area, (which we are). It's completely the AFL's fault for introducing the stupid rule. I hate the idea of wanting to lose to gain draft picks but what else can a supporter do if their club is struggling and need some young talent for the future? It's a tough one. The AFL definitely need to change this one.

It's not looking and saying. Dappa. There are plenty of skinny/thin kids yes. Some find it hard to put muscle on and others put muscle on quickly. Cale is easily the thinnest guy on our list. You would be surprised how much skinnier Cale is than Dunn was in his first season. Cale is skin and bone all over. Dunn at least had a bit of muscle in the lower waist region. I'm not only taking into account this classification system, but I studied exercise science and did P.E. at School and it helps a bit with this type of stuff. I'm not trying to sound like a smart arse for the sake of it !! Every body can be categorized into one of, (or a make-up of) these somatotypes. And Cale's body fits the Ectomorphic description. Ectomorph - characterized by long and thin muscles/limbs and low fat storage; receding chin, usually referred to as slim. I'm not saying that this is what solely determines whether or not a kid can put muscle on. I'm sure there are some exceptions. However, stats prove that these classically ectomorphic body types do struggle to gain muscle. Dustin Fletcher was a perfect example that you used before. He is in his early 30's and still looks like a bean stalk compared to your average AFL "build". Once again his body type is classically ectomorphic. Having said all of this, I don't for one second doubt Cale's ability or think that this lack of putting on muscle means that he is no good. I do however believe that when he does put on a few more kilos and his body hardens, it will benefit him greatly.... For the last comment about too much weight hampering his aerobic fitness or "tank". As long as Cale keeps running, (which is a required movement for playing AFL... ) then he will never lose his running ability. That's a bit of a wives tale the whole putting on weight slows you down. The only way in which Cale would lose it is if we put him in a Gym to train and never got him running. In conclusion, Cale has shown he is very capable of playing the game. I for one have been proven wrong this season about his ability however I do hope his disposal will improve over time which I'm sure it will. And I believe that when Cale's body matures, he will be a much more damaging prospect.

No no I understand that they had different programs at the start of the season because of School but surely Watts is closer than 8 weeks away considering he is playing Casey one's.

8 weeks?? Surely not that much. He wouldn't be playing Casey seniors if he was 8 weeks off.

If Watts has a solid game for Casey tomorrow I would love to see him being called up for next week against the Hawks. I understand many people want to protect the young fella but to me it doesn't make sense. Cale Morton has played pretty much all of last year and has played every game this year I think and look at the size of him !! Justin Westhoff for the Power is another example. He was a stick creature in his first year at AFL level. It can't be because of his build. If he is training as much as the main group then we should play him !!! If not, then I understand why we are waiting...

Would you be kind enough to post the clip.... ? Anyone else willing to help a supporter out!?

Jarred and Mitch have always had a naturally bigger build compared to Cale. The poster who stated that Cale will have a similar body type/shape to Bruce is absolutely correct. Cale will struggle to bulk up due to his somatotype which is classically ectomorphic. I'm not saying I want him to be extremely solid, but I would like him to put on some kilos which will help his balance and strength in contested situations. Cale will always be relatively thin for an AFL player, much like Bruce. Hope he continues his fine form throughout this season. Go Dees !

G'day fellow dees faithful, Due to me being in London until August and not being able to see much of the dees, (if any at all), I would love to see some highlights of our games. Especially to see how the kids are coming along. I have been in London for well over 7 months now and I have never been away from the footy for this long. It's killing me !! I saw that someone posted the Melbourne vs Adelaide match on youtube. Wasn't the best game to watch but I watched the whole thing and was pretty excited to see the guys in action again. If anyone has time and is a bit of a computer wizard, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could upload some footage. I'm sure there are many more die hard dees supporters in my position that would also be very grateful !!! Cheers guys. Getting very excited about the coming years !!!

That's a top idea Freak. I wonder why the AFL haven't taken that approach ? I guess "tanking" is relatively new to the game. I am afraid that we will win 5 or more. That's my gut feeling anyway. Our skills are the only thing letting us down at the moment. I hate the idea of tanking like everyone else but I would love to get the top two picks this year. Especially with the Gold Coast team coming in. Seems like tanking is the logical option for sustained success in the coming years.

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Mate comments like that are just rubbish. It's his second year playing in the senior side regularly. Give it a rest.

Ahhh I nearly jizzed in my pants Steamin Demon. Thought it was gonna be for the red and blue. Brighton Grammar game is not much good for someone who is in the UK !!

mmm true. I would be happy with a 30's or 40's pick. But then again this draft hasn't got great depth so I have heard.

I think that if given the opportunity to string a few games together this year, he will give everyone a bit of a shock. Hopefully he can get himself back.

Best posi would be in the forward line for Casey and then at the end of the year we trade him.

My god. The amount of people on this site that jump on and off player bandwagons are ridiculous. I'm not just pointing at you freak. To be frank, I don't even know if you were on the Bate wagon from the beginning, but I do know that most people on this site were and they had a go at me when I said he has way too many weaknesses to his game. Bate - Cannot play the game. You have to be able to do more than mark if you want to play AFL. Newton - Keeper?! Got to be kidding me. Miller - Has been serviceable but would prefer to trade him to GC for an earlyish draft pick. Dunn - Absolute joke that he is played in the midfield. He is a serviceable forward also. Bell is the only player with natural ability. He is a "natural footballer". I don't give a rats a*#^se that he lacks a little awareness. Half our freakin team does. Bell with confidence is 50 times better than Bate, Dunn and Newton. Ability wise that is as I understand they play in different positions. Then there is our ruck devision. They will never be great but I guess a premiership side don't need an amazing ruckman if they have a great midfield. The backline is exciting. I will agree with that. I have already stated my opinion on Morton. I hope he becomes what people say he will become... I have heard it all before though. Agree that we still have a lot of dead wood floating around..

Watch the players ?? Did you? My last memory was Palmer winning the Rising star award that year... Yes Palmer butchers his fair share of ball but you have got to be kidding if you are saying it's worse than Cales. I don't care about the POTENTIAL upside right now? No one knows if he will be an amazing or a great player? Who knows how good a player he will turn out to be? You can just hope. I would much rather have a ready made footballer in the draft then one who needs time to develop their body as much as Cale will need too. I understand they are very different players. But personally I think Palmer has shown much more than Cale and that is surely a better indicator of how you want a player to grow and progress? Cale may take until the end of his career to get where you all think he will get too. If he gets there at all.. Palmer has just as much upside to him as Cale. Just because Cale is yet to show this POTENTIAL consistently at an AFL level doesn't mean Palmer has run out of gas because we have seen how good he is early on. That's ridiculous. Anyway. I know I'm flogging a dead horse because we drafted Morton. I just think some supporters are blinded by their bias and narrow minded opinions. I am as passionate as all of you. Just think with your heads not hearts. Go Dees

I agree that this is an interesting topic. I believe Cale is in our best 22 at the present time only because I can't think of anyone who I would replace him with. We don't have the greatest depth on our list. I think the problem is that we picked the wrong guy at number 4 in the draft. I am so sick of everyone on here saying he will be a superstar player, an ELITE midfielder. It honestly makes me laugh. Why do people say this?! What has he proven for people to make these idiotic statements? Y_M. I can't understand at all the logic behind you thinking Bruce is terrible and that Cale is going to be an elite midfielder. If you weren't so narrow minded you would see that not only are their attributes the same, but their body shape/frames and style of playing is also very similar. I see Cale as a younger Bruce. The only upside is that he is 19 and will HOPEFULLY improve. Nothing he has done so far has made me excited and that goes for a lot of players on our list. Anybody on this forum that says that Morton was a better pick than Palmer at number 4 has obviously got very little footy knowledge. We made a mistake. Simple as that. I only hope he can prove me otherwise in the near future.

I have never rated Bate. The amount of people on this site that stated he was going to be a SUPERSTAR astounded me once upon a time. Now it's all falling down. He needs to be either up for trade bait or delisted by seasons end unless he turns it around. He has WAY too many limitations to his game. Not an AFL footballer.

While agree with you YM about your view on Bruce as a footballer these days, the truth is we need him in the side for experience/mentorship to the young guys. That stuff is invaluable to teams, especially ours as we are full of spring chickens. Unfortunately for everyone here, we will never know how valuable the guy is to our club. We can only really see or judge how valuable he is through the way he plays. For me, I agree with the last poster that stated since that Guerra tackle, he has never been the same player. Bruce was never an in and under type player (ie Jones/Maloney). He was all class. Our roles royce. I remember playing Essendon in round one a few years back. Could have been that Broady tribute match. Anyway, Bruce played on Hird that day and gave him an absolute trouncing. Smashed him on every stat sheet. Was amazing to watch. He had an air of confidence about him up until the collarbone injury. Since then. He has been ordinary and I believe it all comes down to confidence. Such a small thing but it can completely destroy a person. If you watch Bruce now. Whether it's his kicking, handballing, decision making, taking a tackle etc. It's all down to confidence. I for one hope that he can make a bit of a turn around before his time ends. He has a number of years left in him. If he is still with us when we slowly make our rise back up and if he finds that little air of arrogance and confidence he once had.... Holy S*@#T is all I can say.

Sorry I'm not on here 24/7 mate. I have a life outside of this forum. I will have a look. Maybe some people have changed their views since then.

I wholeheartedly agree. So most opinions are that Valenti is of little or no value, some have said that we won't win a grand final with players like him and most have just said "no, he is not in my best 22" and left it at that. While we haven't seen much of him play it will be interesting to see how much of a go he gets with a full pre season. It's such a naive thing to see that we won't win a premiership with players like him. What an uneducated statement that is. Are people saying premiership sides are full of Judd's, Browns, Riewoldts, Hirds, etc etc. Hawthorn: Ladson, Osborne? Port Adelaide: Carr? Brisbane: Heart? Geelong: stokes? Essendon: Mark Johnson? I could name so many, and not just small players but I have named these few because they are valenti type players. They are the same height and some play/played in a similar position. Think about how many other players there are that don't have the greatest 'natural ability', but are so good for what they do. I don't need to name names as it's fairly easy to see who the Roles Royce's are and who the old Volvo's are (that just never give up). As the saying goes, a superstar team wins premierships, not a team of superstars. Some of you are saying that we should already get rid of him?? He has barely had an opportunity and when he has, its ALWAYS a strong contest. Everyone in the team needs a disposal clean up, not just Valenti. This is when I question why we still persist with players like Newton over Valenti. Yes I know we didn't have a key position player in the forward line after Neitz retired but he is not our answer. We have Johnson or Miller, maybe Garland and Watts is coming along. Personally I would go for a smaller full forward or forward line if I had to chose whether to play Newton or not. Valenti will never be a superstar and neither will most of our list. But his attitude and the way he plays is something we MUST have at this footy club. We don't have many players that make you think twice about going for the ball. If he improves the other aspects of his game, (skills, fitness, awareness) then I think he will be more than just a hole plugger for our side.