View Full Version : Henry Playfair
doppleganger
16 Mar 2006, 16:29
Haven't heard much about H o'er the pre-season
has he been injured??
anyway what are ur opinions on H being able to hold down CHF this year
will he be a big improver on last year
similar sort of output
any other blokes putting there name in the ring for CHF etc.
think this is the catters only worrying posi, as i dont hold out much hope for the pies this year im hoping that the catters can go all the way, flogging the aints in the prelim in the process!!
catempire
16 Mar 2006, 16:36
I think if he plays the way he did for the first part of last year (up until he broke his jaw against Adelaide) most of us (and the club) will be very happy with him. If he improves on that form it will be a massive bonus. Basically, we need him to stay fit and hold down the position.
I don't ever see him becoming a dominant CHF in the mould of a Tredrea, Brown or Hall but he could become a very solid player. His kicking is a worry but he can take a nice grab and he moves well across the ground for a 200cm bloke. Can also be thrown back or into the ruck if needed.
Agree with CatEmpire. On most things.
My big concern for H this year, is not so much his continued improvment but more his fitness. He was critical to our structure last year, prior to breaking his jaw. But this time last year he was also up and about. He was super fit, and basically ran the CHB into the ground.
I have high hope for H, and oneday believe he will be a very serviceable CHF. He will never be a dominant gun, but if we got say the output of a Earl Spalding or Scotty Lucas I think we will all be very happy.
The same output as earl Spalding or Scott lucas, r u serious, Big H will never reach those heights and i dare say if we had scott lucas now or the last few years we would of had a flag for sure, lets not kid ourselves with Big H, he will be serviceable and he works hard and all that but he will never be a matchwinner, i still think he makes to many wrong decisions, that final against syd when he marked 20mtrs out, i put my head down to pick up my drink and suddenly the ball is being run out of defence by the Swans, i still don't know what happened as i haven't watched the game yet.
Probs agree with della, he'll be serviceable and will take quite a handy defender to stop him but dont think he's going to be able to hold down CHF by himself. I reckon he needs another mid-tall bvackup CHF with him if thats makes sense and we can work through both of them. I probs havent explained wat i mean properly
Turbocat
16 Mar 2006, 20:13
Although Im not a memeber of Jack's get H out of the hoops group , I will be harder this year on him. He has benifited by our lack of any better option at CHF and I have no doubt he is of current best option. Any one watching the last couple of weeks surley couldn't disagree with this
I expect him to continue to improve. The type of performance he gave against teh Crows pre the jaw is what I hope to see more often , goals as well as presenting and taking marks.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 06:04
I have high hope for H, and oneday believe he will be a very serviceable CHF. He will never be a dominant gun, but if we got say the output of a Earl Spalding or Scotty Lucas I think we will all be very happy.
Have you ever seen Henry the goat dominate a game like Scott Lucas did against the cats last year ???
Scott Lucas is a quality forward who gets bagged because he is a one sided player. He kicked 5 goals in a preliminary final to single handedly get his team to the gf. Henry would struggle to get the ball 5 times in a big game.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 06:05
The same output as earl Spalding or Scott lucas, r u serious, Big H will never reach those heights and i dare say if we had scott lucas now or the last few years we would of had a flag for sure, lets not kid ourselves with Big H, he will be serviceable and he works hard and all that but he will never be a matchwinner, i still think he makes to many wrong decisions, that final against syd when he marked 20mtrs out, i put my head down to pick up my drink and suddenly the ball is being run out of defence by the Swans, i still don't know what happened as i haven't watched the game yet.
Music to my ears !!!!!!
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 06:15
Although Im not a memeber of Jack's get H out of the hoops group , I will be harder this year on him. He has benifited by our lack of any better option at CHF and I have no doubt he is of current best option. Any one watching the last couple of weeks surley couldn't disagree with this
I expect him to continue to improve. The type of performance he gave against teh Crows pre the jaw is what I hope to see more often , goals as well as presenting and taking marks.
He is warming the chair for Tom Hawkins in 2007. Even an inexperienced Hawkins will be a lot better than Henry.
You say he is clearly the best option and the last couple of weeks proved this, I disagree. To me (and all my mates who stand and watch the games) Henry is no better than what Gardiner and co have dished up in the last couple of weeks. Lonergan takes a mark and kicks it on the full. Henry would do that every week. Gardiner drops a chest mark, Henry does that most weeks. Kingsley marks and kicks to the opposition, Henry does that at least twice a game. The difference between Gardiner and Henry is that Charlie will be involved (kicks, marks and handballs) 15-20 times a game while Henry might only get 6 or 7 touches so he doesn't have as many chances too stuff up as Charlie does. Gardiner is more mobile than Henry, just as bad a decision maker, both terrible kicks and both look out of there depth.
The big difference is that Henry gets a dream run becuase he gets to use STRUCTURE as his reason for being in the team. As i Have said before, pick your best 22 players and then fill the positions. If that left us with Milburn, Mooney, S Johnson, Kingsley, G Ablett alternating through the CHF line than so be it. But don't just plonk some hack there and say he is the best we have so put up with it.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 06:17
Can also be thrown back or into the ruck if needed.
When has he ever played well in defence ???
Have you watched the replay of the Port Adelaide final in 2004 ??
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 06:18
If he was doing such a great job up until he broke his jaw, where was he coming in the best and fairest at the time ???
catempire
17 Mar 2006, 08:27
Special effort Jack - 5 posts bagging H in a row in the one thread! :D
This has been done to death. I'm not going to enter into it again. I'll let Henry do the talking on the field and I'll drag these threads back up later in the year and after Henry's sipping out of the premiership cup.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 08:41
Special effort Jack - 5 posts bagging H in a row in the one thread! :D
This has been done to death. I'm not going to enter into it again. I'll let Henry do the talking on the field and I'll drag these threads back up later in the year and after Henry's sipping out of the premiership cup.
Do they get a cup in the VFL ???
It's amazing nobody ever answers the question about the best and fairest votes. Get jubjub on the case, he thinks he knows everything.
catempire
17 Mar 2006, 08:50
Do they get a cup in the VFL ???
It's amazing nobody ever answers the question about the best and fairest votes. Get jubjub on the case, he thinks he knows everything.
I don't have the round by round best and fairest votes at hand Jack. If you do, enlighten us by all means. But put them up for all the players because I bet there'd be plenty of underachievers using this measure as the yardstick.
The same output as earl Spalding or Scott lucas, r u serious, Big H will never reach those heights and i dare say if we had scott lucas now or the last few years we would of had a flag for sure, lets not kid ourselves with Big H, he will be serviceable and he works hard and all that but he will never be a matchwinner, i still think he makes to many wrong decisions, that final against syd when he marked 20mtrs out, i put my head down to pick up my drink and suddenly the ball is being run out of defence by the Swans, i still don't know what happened as i haven't watched the game yet.
Ok maybe Lucas was a bad call, but its hard to think of a middle class CHF. They are generally freaks, Riewoldt,Brown,Hall,Tredea or they aren't that flash. Lucas isn't quite in the class of the first four. He is definetely in the rung below. Possibly on his own.
The thing about H compared to Gardiner and Lonergran is that he doesn't get pushed off the ball and go to ground all the friggin time. The reason why H is good to our structure is because of his size and his ability to compete.
Gardiner is more mobile than Henry, just as bad a decision maker, both terrible kicks and both look out of there depth.
Agreed with most of the points Jack. H does make as many mistakes as Gardiner, and those mistakes are similar.
But H is a bigger body and doesn't get knocked out of the way, and doesn't get completely outmarked. He creates a contest and gives Ablett, Chapman and Johnson a chance to crumb. He creates opportunity for others. Lonergran and gardiner are still boys and get outmarked or pushed out of the contest too easily.
Hawkins might be the answer in the future, but the time is NOW! H's form in the first part of last season, combined with the rest of the forward structure playing and being fit, is enough for us to give it a real shake. Lonergran and Gardiner have never given us that. They are playing out of their weight division I am afraid.
The Hulkster
17 Mar 2006, 09:17
Great stuff Jack, this thread must be music to your ears, a great opputunity to bag Henry and what a fine job you did.
I hope he can prove you wrong, but i am of the opinion also that he is warming CHF till big Tom Hawkins arrives.
As i Have said before, pick your best 22 players and then fill the positions. If that left us with Milburn, Mooney, S Johnson, Kingsley, G Ablett alternating through the CHF line than so be it. But don't just plonk some hack there and say he is the best we have so put up with it.
I am not sure how you can explain this working. The Flag winners over the past decade have all had forward targets. As good as Johnson, Ablett, Chapman and Milburn are, you can't put it on their heads and expect them not to get outmarked.
You need big bodies who provide a contest that bring the ball to ground. Geelong are at their best when they are moving the footy fast and kicking it long into the forward line of one on one's. The forward either marks it, or creates a contest for our small's.
Perhaps Gardiner and lonergran haven't had the quick ball movement required over the last three weeks, but I have never looked at a forward matchup involving those players and thought gee we have the upper hand in that one. H, McCarthy and even Nath have looked dangerous against third defensive options at times.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 10:09
I am not sure how you can explain this working. The Flag winners over the past decade have all had forward targets. As good as Johnson, Ablett, Chapman and Milburn are, you can't put it on their heads and expect them not to get outmarked.
You need big bodies who provide a contest that bring the ball to ground.
The bulldogs have got the right idea. If you haven't got a BIG forward good enough, improvise. The play Robert Murphy and CHF, Matthew Robbins at FF surrounded by guys who crumb and lead quickly i.e Brad Johnson, Daniel Giansiracusa etc. They run to space and the on ballers kick to that space. You only need big tall forwards if you play the kangaroos of the 90's style of kicking long to Carey.
I would love to see the cats set up something like this
HF : S Johnson Milburn G Ablett
F : Chapman Ottens Kingsley/N Ablett
Fast movement of the ball to leading players. If you have to kick long, go deeper and to Ottens. I like N Ablett in this kind of set up because he is smart and can handball to effect to players in better position.
Don't just play a guy that most admit is not that great just because he is 6 foot 6 and that's the size of a CHF. Just think of playing against Brisbane in Rd 1. Leppitch to play on Henry. I think we know who would win that one. Imagine if Milburn started there. Played the right way ( running and leading into space ) Dasher would give Leppa all sorts of trouble. Then the lions would have to move Leppa away from his comfort zone and go to option 2 which might be a smaller mobile guy like Chris Scott or Tim Notting, then you could kick to Milburn in a one on one and he would be a chance.
Yeah Ok, but will the Bulldogs win the flag with that setup? They also rely heavily on speed and precision skills. I think areas that you would admit we don't excel in.
I know you can't dwell on the past but the numbers stack up.
Sydney 05: Hall, O'Loughlin
Port 04: Tredea, Lade
Bris 03,02,01: Brown, Lynch
Ess 00: Lucas, Lyold
Kangas 99: Carey, McKernan, Longmire (not sure if he was still around) Sholl
The best sides have had key posts all the way down there spine.
Maybe your forward structure could work, although for this to be the case I think KK needs to be on the HFF and he and Dasher need to play tandom CHF roles.
I just think the coaching staff look at the years gone by, and realise that teams don't win the flag without a big spine.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 12:20
I know you can't dwell on the past but the numbers stack up.
Sydney 05: Hall, O'Loughlin
Port 04: Tredea, Lade
Bris 03,02,01: Brown, Lynch
Ess 00: Lucas, Lyold
Kangas 99: Carey, McKernan, Longmire (not sure if he was still around) Sholl
The best sides have had key posts all the way down there spine.
Hall and O'Loughlin is very similar to Ottens and S Johnson. The others you can't compare because we just don't have that sort of quality big forwards. If Essendon had Henneman and Laycock or North had McKernan and Petrie or Brisbane had Merrett and Keating we might be able to compare. But we just DONT have the quality that these sides had. So we either try it there way with a lot of difference in ability of we try something thats suits the players we do have. We can't win the flag playing these other sides game plans with far inferior players in these key positions.
Jack-Packenham
17 Mar 2006, 14:09
[QUOTE=ezbian]Ok maybe Lucas was a bad call, but its hard to think of a middle class CHF. They are generally freaks, Riewoldt,Brown,Hall,Tredea or they aren't that flash.
QUOTE]
Sydney - Hall, Goodes
West Coast - Hansen
St Kilda - Reiwoldt, Hamill, Kositchske
Adelaide - Hentschell, Perrie
Melbourne - Miller
Kangaroos - Thompson, Petrie
Port Adelaide - Tredrea
Fremantle - Pavlich
Brisbane - Brown
Essendon - Lucas
Collingwood - A Rocca, T Cloke
Hawthorn - Franklin, Roughead,
Carlton - Whitnall, Fevola, Waite
Richmond - Richardson
Bulldogs - Grant
Geelong - Playfair, McCarthy
I think we would have the worst CHF options going around. I would swap our 2 guys for any other player listed above
catswhiskers
17 Mar 2006, 19:27
H was clearly our best option at CHF last year until injured. No-one else has shown during the pre-season that they have stepped up. H is a kid from NSW. He looked completely lost in his first season and has made big strides forward each year. One more big stride and he will need the best defender and KK and Nathan /Ottens (If he ever gets fit) will breathe a sigh of relief.
Anyway, I think Thompson had to give up a secret last week when he had to win. His no centre half forward structure . Watch the last quarter again. Milburn (champion) and Mooney (strangely business like this year) found their way forward but not in a normal forward structure.
Go Cats
Turbocat
18 Mar 2006, 15:35
He is warming the chair for Tom Hawkins in 2007. Even an inexperienced Hawkins will be a lot better than Henry.
You say he is clearly the best option and the last couple of weeks proved this, I disagree. To me (and all my mates who stand and watch the games) Henry is no better than what Gardiner and co have dished up in the last couple of weeks. Lonergan takes a mark and kicks it on the full. Henry would do that every week. Gardiner drops a chest mark, Henry does that most weeks. Kingsley marks and kicks to the opposition, Henry does that at least twice a game. The difference between Gardiner and Henry is that Charlie will be involved (kicks, marks and handballs) 15-20 times a game while Henry might only get 6 or 7 touches so he doesn't have as many chances too stuff up as Charlie does. Gardiner is more mobile than Henry, just as bad a decision maker, both terrible kicks and both look out of there depth.
The big difference is that Henry gets a dream run becuase he gets to use STRUCTURE as his reason for being in the team. As i Have said before, pick your best 22 players and then fill the positions. If that left us with Milburn, Mooney, S Johnson, Kingsley, G Ablett alternating through the CHF line than so be it. But don't just plonk some hack there and say he is the best we have so put up with it.
Too far jack, really.
Henry is no better than what Gardiner and co have dished up in the last couple of weeks. Lonergan takes a mark and kicks it on the full. Henry would do that every week.
Come on,this is pure fantasy. If you and you cohorts think this then you are watching the game as though you are in some drug addled haze.
What you are asking of a CHF , im not sure. Me , I would like to see strong ball retention, marks overhead under pressure from opponents, contested ball in packs when the ball comes in as a 50/50. Above all , essp. with the talented smalls we have , do not get out marked and let the ball bounce back out of the forwardline. Gardiner and Lonergan have yet to show me any hint of the type of mark the Nathan took against Freo. He did little else but he as green as an English paddock, his time will come. H has many flaws but he is better at what I expect from a CHF than either of the other two. All three have limitations, none give me the indication that they can become All Aust. so if an obvious talented youth emerges H may well lose his as the Key focus at CHF. Is this TH, only time will tell, going by the recent handling of our draftees it may be two years before you see TH playing, so I think frustrations may be around a while longer.
Too far jack, really.
Henry is no better than what Gardiner and co have dished up in the last couple of weeks. Lonergan takes a mark and kicks it on the full. Henry would do that every week.
Come on,this is pure fantasy. If you and you cohorts think this then you are watching the game as though you are in some drug addled haze.
What you are asking of a CHF , im not sure. Me , I would like to see strong ball retention, marks overhead under pressure from opponents, contested ball in packs when the ball comes in as a 50/50. Above all , essp. with the talented smalls we have , do not get out marked and let the ball bounce back out of the forwardline. Gardiner and Lonergan have yet to show me any hint of the type of mark the Nathan took against Freo. He did little else but he as green as an English paddock, his time will come. H has many flaws but he is better at what I expect from a CHF than either of the other two. All three have limitations, none give me the indication that they can become All Aust. so if an obvious talented youth emerges H may well lose his as the Key focus at CHF. Is this TH, only time will tell, going by the recent handling of our draftees it may be two years before you see TH playing, so I think frustrations may be around a while longer.
And that just about sum's it up.
catempire
18 Mar 2006, 17:31
Get a grip people who think Hawkins will walk straight into CHF next season!
catempire
18 Mar 2006, 19:52
Lovely mark and goal by big H. First of many for the year. Hope you liked that one Jack! :D
carn_the_cattas
18 Mar 2006, 21:43
He's huge.
Turbocat
18 Mar 2006, 21:49
Hello Jack , are you out there Jack. Case closed, hammer has come down, the flags has been waved and the siren has been blown. If you dont think he helped turn the game in the second Q then some of your previous good observations must have been ghost written or something.
answerman
18 Mar 2006, 21:49
Shhh - don't tell J-P that Henry made a real difference when he came on tonight :D
Lovely mark and goal by big H. First of many for the year. Hope you liked that one Jack! :D
My thoughts exactly. And the use of his big body in the last quarter to not be outmarked by two defenders, ball spills Mooney goals. Cats win the game.
Also of note Cats started with Rooke and Milburn at the CHF post tonight. It sucked ! It wasn't until we got STRUCTURE and TARGETS with H and Mooney did we look at all dangerous. Big bodied players that don't get outmarked, go to ground, but make a contest gives the midfielders confidence in something to kick at.
Good return H. Bigger year ahead.
Great Game Moon's.
Here is to a proven formula, that has not only worked for the Kangaroo's, but most other side's for the past decade.
Lovely mark and goal by big H. First of many for the year. Hope you liked that one Jack! :D
The game changed in our favour when H came on in the 2nd quarter.
Onya H :thumbsu:
catempire
18 Mar 2006, 22:08
I haven't seen the stats but he probably only touched the ball half a dozen times but it's amazing how much difference it makes having a strong competitor (e.g. Playfair) instead of a weak one (e.g. Lonergan and Gardiner in particular).
Anyone who compares H to these two is looking at a different game.
catswhiskers
18 Mar 2006, 22:59
Yep just need a contest at the 50. When it happens consistently the small forwards will have a birthday.
Moons for the medal and an underdone H stood up.
Well done Cats - now for real footy.
LongBomb
18 Mar 2006, 23:34
H has really bulked up over summer as well.
Was impressed with what I saw tonight.
He's certainly bulked up. And may have improved his kicking. A good first run.
Found this image of Henry on Getty (I think it's H - Getty claims it's Charlie but in another pic of Charlie they claim it's H).
http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/57122937.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193CC300C081D9F470040A36D529EF76663D4DC748C0C A53C68
http://geelong.keldar.net
The Cattery - Unofficial Geelong Cats Site
Unwritten_Law
19 Mar 2006, 00:21
As I said on Cats Claw, H was good.
I thought Mackie was decent, not many posseions, but had a crack.
Not sure if anyone else noticed, but H's kicking (at least, his technique) looks to have improved over the break. Loosened up in his lead-in and guided the ball down just that bit more. The results look telling at this stage.
I was with Anthony Hudson when Walls said to him hows he kicking, Huddo goes "dodgy at best" but then he drills it from 50 easily, if he can add that kicking strength to his game he becomes more dangerous.
I also have been a big critic of "H" and i agree i liked what he did last night when he was on and i hope he continues to improve during the year.
I'm not jumping on his bandwagon or anything but as i said i liked what he offered us last night and i hope he holds down that cHF spot this year.
Still early days yet but all is good so far, it is a long long season remember.
catempire
19 Mar 2006, 20:15
I was with Anthony Hudson when Walls said to him hows he kicking, Huddo goes "dodgy at best" but then he drills it from 50 easily, if he can add that kicking strength to his game he becomes more dangerous.
I also have been a big critic of "H" and i agree i liked what he did last night when he was on and i hope he continues to improve during the year.
I'm not jumping on his bandwagon or anything but as i said i liked what he offered us last night and i hope he holds down that cHF spot this year.
Still early days yet but all is good so far, it is a long long season remember.
Glad to read that post della. I was fully expecting something else. Your mate Jack will be on here soon trying to deny that he did anything good at all.
Jack-Packenham
20 Mar 2006, 06:14
Believe me when I say I am as happy as any cats fan out there about Henry's performance on saturday night. I really enjoyed the mark and goal (even if it was only one of them), and it gives me more hope about him improving than I had before the game. I think a few of you guys are getting a little carried away, and don't worry I will be the first to admit when I am wrong, but it's a little early to be claiming victory on this subject Turbocat.
The Hulkster
20 Mar 2006, 07:43
I am as happy as any cats fan out there about Henry's performance on saturday night.
Well theres a first.
catempire
20 Mar 2006, 08:26
Believe me when I say I am as happy as any cats fan out there about Henry's performance on saturday night. I really enjoyed the mark and goal (even if it was only one of them), and it gives me more hope about him improving than I had before the game. I think a few of you guys are getting a little carried away, and don't worry I will be the first to admit when I am wrong, but it's a little early to be claiming victory on this subject Turbocat.
*applause*
That must have been hard. :D
I don't see anyone getting carried away, just pointing out that it seemed to make such a difference having a strong competitor in there.
If his kicking has improved so that he can slot them from 50m, I'm very confident he'll hold down CHF this season.
Turbocat
20 Mar 2006, 21:57
.. To me (and all my mates who stand and watch the games) Henry is no better than what Gardiner and co have dished up in the last couple of weeks. Lonergan takes a mark and kicks it on the full. Henry would do that every week. Gardiner drops a chest mark, Henry does that most weeks. Kingsley marks and kicks to the opposition, Henry does that at least twice a game...
The big difference is that Henry gets a dream run becuase he gets to use STRUCTURE as his reason for being in the team. As i Have said before, pick your best 22 players and then fill the positions. If that left us with Milburn, Mooney, S Johnson, Kingsley, G Ablett alternating through the CHF line than so be it. But don't just plonk some hack there and say he is the best we have so put up with it.
Jack can you inform me , how many times did H kick it out on the full? How chest marks did he drop? How many kicks to the opposition?
I know you hate the structure argument but the fact is you dont play Gary Ablett in the ruck because he is a better player tha Blake. To pick you best 22 you must take into account you want them to do for you. You have beating the Lonergan drum for a long time but in a GF when we were looking down the barrel it was H who came out, took a over head mark and kicked a long goal. At no time in the previous games can i remember TL doing this.
Structure is not fanciful, its as required as the foundations for a house. The lack of structure pressures our passing and eventually causes a break down. A rotating medium tall forwardline(no matter how talented) works only when the ball carrier can break away from the defender.Good as switch but not as your prefered setup because finals footy rarely allows that type of freedom
If Tom can actually start to mussle out defenders, take pack marks etc I'll start to reconsider untill then you should be glad we have H, I am
Lonergan has a long long way to go to match up to the Hulk. Big Hulk is clearly the CHF for the year to come, with a few others to pinch hit. Speaking of pinch hitting, someone should hit henry a few times before the match to get him angry & turn green.
scottydeewah
21 Mar 2006, 04:11
Big Hulk is clearly the CHF for the year to come
I would say yearS to come. Who else? I mean we have Hawkins but he wont be ready for CHF for at LEAST 3-4 years. I know he is a big boy but he is still just a boy. CHF is the hardest position.
Even the kick H missed the other night was good. It was from distance, travelled far and looked strong. It did miss but he looked confident and gave it a real crack. I made the statement that i was going to put $20 on us for the flag if he kicked it (after the first miracle) and was halfway out of my seat to do it. If he kicks like that during the season, mate we are going to be VERY hard to stop up forward.
Turbocat
21 Mar 2006, 20:35
I would say yearS to come. Who else? I mean we have Hawkins but he wont be ready for CHF for at LEAST 3-4 years. I know he is a big boy but he is still just a boy. CHF is the hardest position.
Even the kick H missed the other night was good. It was from distance, travelled far and looked strong. It did miss but he looked confident and gave it a real crack. I made the statement that i was going to put $20 on us for the flag if he kicked it (after the first miracle) and was halfway out of my seat to do it. If he kicks like that during the season, mate we are going to be VERY hard to stop up forward.
You make a lot of sense Scotty.
H's contact was good.The thing I ask for the most out of set shot's is , not 100% accuracy, but at least know what the shape of your shot will be , miss but not by much. Thats the thing that bugs me so often with KK , when he is off its like he has no idea were its going.
The one thing I'll say in reguard to young Hawkins, I think 3-4 year for CHF might be right but he may well be in side a lot earlier. We as a club have been very have been good at grooming , shall we say, guys who are a tad off outstanding. H at 41, Egan at 62,Spencer at 42. I suppose we had to be because unlike Brisbane this year we have never had a player like Mitch Clarke fall to us when we had a pick inside 10.
This groming thing is an interesting debating point,probably for another thread, about how much is talent and how much is enviroment post drafting(some clubs never seem to maximize their early picks , bad pick or bad enviroment).
Back on track, with Tom H , if all the comments are accurate we may have a recognised , serious top ten tall, a player who has gone thru the system and stood out against his piers, which is something we havent ever had.Have a look at the kids who have come straight into AFL, they are the guns kids - Deludio, Cooney, Griffen,Riewoldt, Kosinski etc. The only players of this ilk we have had id say are Bartlel and Gary Ablett, Nathan doesnt count because he is outside the system.If TH is up to this standard, I wouldnt be supprised if he plays much earlier than most of our other talls have, probably not CHF but id say he will be in their somewhere.
Remember talent , like cream, rises to the top.
scottydeewah
22 Mar 2006, 00:03
Completely agree that he will come into the team earlier rather than later but it will still be H holding down CHF. He might play a sort of flanker/CHF type role TH but it wont be a straight up CHF.
I think aside from his kicking H has been servicable last season. He plays in more of the St Nick roll as the running CHF who takes a lot of uncontested marks. If he can get fitter and stronger and his kicking improves he can definately make the position his own. Hey this preseason he has kicked better than Riewoldt
cats2rise
23 Mar 2006, 13:07
Do they get a cup in the VFL ???
It's amazing nobody ever answers the question about the best and fairest votes. Get jubjub on the case, he thinks he knows everything.
Jack, i have asked you this atleast 10 times, and you have never answered me.. If you do not want Henry at CHF, who would you rather see play there/ Lonergon, McCarthey?? Cmon Jack, he's our best option at the moment.
CHF is one of the hardest positions to play, physically and mentally, and last year was Henrys first full season.. before then he had been swapped forward and back... Last year was also his first year playing at CHF for a long period of time. Last year should have been more of a learning experience for him, and it was and it showed. And i know this year is his make or break year for the GFC, and I think he could easily kick 20 goals, take half a dozen makrs per game this year, without injuries.