Pies Youngsters

[Hadders]

how good have the youngsters been tonight.

shaw has been sensational, pendlebury played his best game so far for the pies, o'brien has been serviceable as has egan, thomas and cloke.

also rhyce shaw (not really a youngster but just wanted to mention him) is back, played a ripper of a game.

if this progress keeps up the future might be looking pretty bright for the mighty pies!

[johnson_26]

Althoguh i believe we still lacka bit of experience as a result of our youth, they have come along beautifully.

The recruiting of the ast 2 years especially must be commended. The kids are comming on leaps and bounds and exceeding everyones expectations.

If you have a look tonight, most of the side was kids-

The shaw's, harry o, thommo, pendles, trav etc...

With guys like tarks, daks, leon, taz, etc only 23-26 range. The outlook looks good i reckon.

If we could perhaps pick up a quality kpp foward/ back and a classy midfielder this draft, i reckon our list will be complete come 3 years time.

[Jabso]

I think Pendlebury was better against Melbourne. Did some very good things but didn't get as much as the ball as last week (9 disposals vs. 18).

[Lonie_from_50]

Pendlebury, Egan, Thomas...all had a great highlight tonight.
Trav did nothing wrong and showed his versatility.
Heater played one of his best games of the season, despite down on averages :p

Have something to look forward to in the same team.

[Coin_Toss]

How good was Pendlebury's "steel" - His basketball background came into benefit.

Thomas was alright. I don't care if he plays shocking games now, he will only benefit from the experience of playing in front of big crowds.

I thought O'Brien stood tall in defence. He looks very sharp and calm when he got his artillery around the football.

Egan looked very smart and composed without fail.

Heath Shaw keeps on keeping on. A shoe in for Rising star.

[Jabso]

Thomas was very handy, and T.Cloke performed his many roles well.

[goalseeker]

My prediction is that Harry O will become an elite player in the next 3 seasons. He is strong, gutsy (never itimidated) and he can take off from standing like a rocket. Watch him side step and move over fallen bodies. He has something of a Gridiron quaterback about him.

Big call I know, but when the general hangs up his boots I reckon Harry is the most obvious replacement. Would like to think we can still get some glamour out of The Cloke Trio but jee, I sometimes wonder if we haven't saddled ourselves with mediocrity there.

[HotPies!]

My prediction is that Harry O will become an elite player in the next 3 seasons. He is strong, gutsy (never itimidated) and he can take off from standing like a rocket. Watch him side step and move over fallen bodies. He has something of a Gridiron quaterback about him.

Big call I know, but when the general hangs up his boots I reckon Harry is the most obvious replacement. Would like to think we can still get some glamour out of The Cloke Trio but jee, I sometimes wonder if we haven't saddled ourselves with mediocrity there.

A good prediction I think. I've loved Harry's game since the first time I saw him play, he's always very composed under pressure, is able to find space to create run out of the back line and barely ever does anything wrong. For a youngster, he is fantastic in my opinion. I was rapt to hear he was back on the list.

[Cassius_Clay]

Pendlebury, gonna be a great player. Better than Thomas IMO

Egan, please get rid of the clanger king. Soft as butter. I spose he did OK compared to last year but still isnt anywhere near in our best 22.

[jonesy86]

heath shaw did a great job on o'keefe i thought

[Jabso]

Egan, please get rid of the clanger king. Soft as butter. I spose he did OK compared to last year but still isnt anywhere near in our best 22.
Give credit where credits due. You seriously come off as a ****a with an agenda.

[inside_player]

ever wondered what an african american would b like at afl, look at harry lol (african background)... raw talent there, work still required, doing very well atm so good on him. really does look like a basketball crossed with a soccer player, agility, leap, explosiveness all in one.

as for rhyce, does anyone think that some times (particularly 1st half) against the swans his decision making and execution were a little off... of course im not drawing conclusions after his first real match (in terms of time on ground etc) back. having said this, regardless of his skills is deservent of his spot in the team, and deservent of all praise that comes his way.

Heath... say no more will figure strongly come rising star awards

Dale...just has that x factor, will be extremely interesting to watch him develop. psychologically he is sposed to have all the atributes to make him a top 5 afl player in years to come.

Pendlebury... the steal, the awareness the skills...the pace?? does anyone know if he is very explosive and quick ala. judd. great get by the pies.

Egan... im just going to sit back and watch this kid, will b interesting.

Cloke...that left hoof alone will b handy, let alone his versatility and awareness. will b a match winner in a few yrs.

can anyone report on the progress of rusling???
also your thoughts on stretch, so much promised for the young fella, where is he at???

[MagpieWayne]

Does any else reckon like me that egan will be an o'loughlin type player for us.

He certainly showed a bit last night and i could see him being that type of player.

[PieLebo87]

ever wondered what an african american would b like at afl, look at harry lol (african background)... raw talent there, work still required, doing very well atm so good on him. really does look like a basketball crossed with a soccer player, agility, leap, explosiveness all in one.

O'Brien is Brazilian

[inside_player]

O'Brien is Brazilian
brazilian-african... has african in his blood mothers side or fathers side cant remember.

[PieLebo87]

brazilian-african... has african in his blood mothers side or fathers side cant remember.
In a Herald Sun article of him a while back when he landed his first promotion to the list, said that he is full Brazilian

[magman29]

Born in Brazil...father African...mother Brazilian

[PieLebo87]

Born in Brazil...father African...mother Brazilian
If you say so, its not like I know him personally

[Murray]

I thought I read somewhere his father was of Irish decent

[Lockyer24]

The article def said African

[goalpie]

Who cares as long as he can play.

Pendles is all class.

[Jabso]

O'Brien's biological father is African and he only recently found him living in Fitzroy.
I got no idea where the O'Brien name comes from. Perhaps his mother married into it?

[Mossi]

Thomas was alright. I don't care if he plays shocking games now, he will only benefit from the experience of playing in front of big crowds.

.

You probably missed the tap assist to didak for his right foot goal but was just class! He had no time to grab the ball so he just tapped it over two defenders to Dids and it was a 6 pointer. Daisy did a lot of other good things around the ground that usually go un-noticed like shepherding and tackling etc.

The young guys all pitched in on saturday a good team effort and it's great to see :) :)

[PieLebo87]

The article def said African
The article didnt say he was African, stop pulling sh*t outta your ass. Get the article before speaking cr*p.. I still remember it. BRAZILIAN. And the boy can definitely play. Next Jimmy Clement.

[PieLebo87]

just quietly, obrien is a retard, u wonder how some players get drafted
Lets see the retard tear up the Richmond backline this week. Be sure to drop in next week with a similiar message :)

[Jabso]

The article didnt say he was African, stop pulling sh*t outta your ass. Get the article before speaking cr*p.. I still remember it. BRAZILIAN. And the boy can definitely play. Next Jimmy Clement.
His bioligical father is definately African though. He said it in an interview with Mark Robinson. Although he never said what African nation.

[Lockyer24]

The article didnt say he was African, stop pulling sh*t outta your ass. Get the article before speaking cr*p.. I still remember it. BRAZILIAN. And the boy can definitely play. Next Jimmy Clement.

His Dad is African. Here is the article, with the relevent question in bold.

Please do not accuse me of 'pulling sht out my arse" again ya little hot headed tird.

Harry O'Brien a student of the game
05 May 2006 Herald Sun

Pie teen Harry O'Brien on Brazil, his short movie career and

MARK ROBINSON: Born in Brazil, lived in Western Australia, now playing for Collingwood and you're 4-1. A dream?

HARRY O'BRIEN: I don't look at the Brazilian side of it. People like to play that up. I'm just another kid who had dreams of playing AFL football and at the moment it's come through.

Is the Brazilian link distant?

I'm very proud of my heritage, but I don't look at it as, like, as big a fairytale as everyone else does. It doesn't matter what your nationality is, I'm just another Australian kid who wants to play AFL.

But do you concede it is rare for a person born in another country to play AFL footy? Your mum might be a lot more prouder than you are.

It's funny you say that because I moved to Australia when I was three and I'm so thankful for my mum. She's my biggest inspiration. I just realise now I've seen so many people move to this country who don't go the best way about accepting the culture. People move to this country and continue speaking their language other than English. I spoke Portuguese for the first three years of my life in Brazil -- that's what I learnt -- and Mum could've easily kept that as our No. 1 language, but she forced it upon us that we never spoke Portuguese. That was one of the biggest things about us accepting the culture. As much as I'd love to be able to speak Portuguese now, I'm so thankful Mum gave us the best opportunity we could have in this country.

That's pretty deep thinking for a kid of . . . ?

Nineteen.

To be so culturally aware.

I study sociology at Vic Uni. There's heaps of things I'm interested in all over the world but particularly what I've encountered back home in Perth with the indigenous culture, and also with people moving to Australia. There's a lot of friction, sorry, conflict that goes on racially.

There is friction.

And it's all swept under the rug.

How did your mum and stepfather meet?

When we moved to Australia.

That was courageous from your mum. How old was she?

She would've been 26. I've got an older brother. He's 21. He moved here when he was five. Mum is actually back in Brazil now visiting her sick grandmother. I think it's been pretty emotional for her because she's gone back over there and realised what type of life we would've had. In Brazil, I think the minimum wage is $115 a month.

Ever think about how life would've turned out?

Not really, but I know exactly what it would've been like. It would've been the way my aunties and uncles and my cousins live back there. My mum is there, and my grandmother lives in a house with her two sons, one of whom is 50, and they've got kids, and unfortunately that's all they can afford.

Do the cousins ask you about Australia?

I try to talk to them a fair bit on the internet but because I left at three. My mum tells me I still speak Portuguese like a three-year-old.

Do they comprehend what their cousin has accomplished over here?

I don't think they understand. And that's the best thing about AFL. As much as we'd all love it go international, it's something unique to Australia and you have to be here to understand the passion. Take Anzac Day. You don't like to compare, or can't compare, war to playing footy but the mateship and stuff that goes on in a footy club, you can kind of correlate it to the Anzacs. And Anzacs are unique to Australia.

Were you in a movie?

Was I in a movie? Why is that?

There's a website called Wikipedia

OK (laughing).

On that website and on your autobiography it says you starred in a movie.

(Laughing) You won't believe it. Apparently you can edit it and one of my older brother's mates, we made a D-grade movie back in 1999 and I was the star. I was Horatio Herman III and our movie was called Magnum PI: The Case of the Mystery Man. My brother was here all last week and he showed it to me. His mate changed it.

And who made up Horatio Herman III?

I don't know. Because my real name is Heritier I guess it was close.

Do you mind Harry?

I don't mind it. It's pretty easy. It's stuck now. Mum still calls me Heritier.

Can I ask you a more personal question?

Yeah.

Do you know your biological father?

Yeah I do. He's actually here.

Is your biological father Brazilian?

No, he's African. Like I said, I've grown a lot as a person post-Arizona (two-week training camp late last year). I'll tell you, there's a lot of African-Americans in Arizona and we were training at Northern Arizona University and right near the cafeteria there was a little store where this guy sold beads. He kind of challenged me in a way. He asked me where I was from. I said, 'Australia'. And he said, 'Where are you really from?' And I said I was born in Brazil, my mum's Brazilian and I kind of paused when I was about to say dad because I didn't know. From that day on, I thought, 'I've got to try to find out'. I went through the whole process of finding my biological father.

And he's in Australia?

Yeah, he is.

Melbourne?

Yeah.

That would've blown your mind.

It did.

Are you comfortable talking about it?

I'm comfortable, but it's been enormous. I've found out something that's always been hidden (and) pretended it didn't exist.

You now speak often?

I do. I've got two brothers and two sisters I didn't even know about.

Good feeling?

It's good, but at the same time it's massive. It doesn't affect me. It's not a negative.

How did your mum handle it?

I obviously told her out of respect, but, you know, it's separate. I've got a family in Perth I respect and love dearly and -- I'm trying to find the right word -- but it's not their business, its not . . .

It's not really between your mum and dad?

Yeah. So I don't go into details about my mum. I just told her and she was happy for me.

I don't know what the process was, Harry, but where did you expect this man to be? Brazil? America?

He could've been in Africa, anywhere, I didn't know. I went through the process with Simon Lloyd (Collingwood high performance manager) to get in contact with him and meet him.

Where did you meet?

We met in Fitzroy at his house. I was extremely nervous and it will be a day I'll never forget.

Do you think you can become closer over the journey?

We can certainly come closer but the fact is he wasn't there for the 18 years, well, 19 years of my life. It's not a grudge I hold against him, it's a pure fact. The relationship is not going to be the same as my dad, who I call Dad (Ralph). In my eyes he's my dad and he always will be.

What about life at the club? Who do you hang with?

I try to speak to everyone. You learn so much. Last year I was a bit like a shadow to Bucks (Nathan Buckley) and I must have been pretty annoying. I used to hang around him. He was my mentor as well.

You've been playing in defence and on Anzac Day you played on James Hird. How was that?

It was massive. I used to barrack for Essendon as a kid. We've got a pet dog back home and his name is Sheedy. The whole family is Essendon supporters. I used to be obsessed with Essendon. When they flew in for a rare game at Subiaco, I can remember going to watch them train and going to the airport just to be among the players. I remember saying to Sheeds one day our dog's named Sheeds and he asked us, 'Does it bite?'.

So describe standing next to Hird as your opponent.

He's achieved pretty much everything in football, but the moment I start thinking I don't belong out there is the moment my football goes downhill.

I've never spoken to you, never heard you speak before, but you seem to be an assured, level-headed person. Accept that?

I've gone through a lot of things in my life, so when a hurdle comes my way I'm able to overcome it.

How do you deal with all the adulation and recognition that goes with AFL? The word cult figure is being bandied around.

I haven't seen it as being an issue and if it did become an issue I suppose my housemates, Sean Rusling and Nick Maxwell, would put me straight back into line. We live in Spotswood. Nick bought a nice house, actually built it, and he needed someone to pay off his mortgage so Sean and I moved in.

The women, I'd imagine, would love a boy from Brazil playing AFL.

It doesn't matter. I always say I'm a sociology student anyway. I'd like to think there's a whole lot more to me than just AFL football.

Tell us something we don't know about playing AFL.

It certainly isn't as glamorous as my perception of it was. Time management is pretty important. You still kick and handball but you get the bigger stages and the intensity goes up.

Sociology. How do you want to use that?

I'm 19, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, let alone what's going to happen down the track. I don't know, maybe some type of journalism, just something that lets people know what's going on in society. There's so many things, as I said, that get swept under the rug and I want to bring that to the surface so people know and people can understand each other. Heaps of things can be prevented; there's just a lack of understanding between cultures. I want to be the person who can perhaps be the bridge.

Have you tried already?

I finished school 2003, 2004, I was working but I did some volunteer work for Barry Cable's Community Development Foundation up at Northam, Western Australia, where Leon Davis is from. You've got primary school kids there who are taking drugs. For example, I had a Grade 3 who was stealing his parents' marijuana and sniffing petrol. Heaps of people don't know that happens, or they do know and they don't care and they don't understand why it happens. I probably can't change their lives, but if you can steer one person in the right direction it's better than not doing anything at all.

That's a horror story about the Grade 3 boy.

Smoking marijuana, stealing. It's just a vicious cycle with so many issues.

Should try to put you in contact with Michael Long and join forces.

I've met him a couple of times. I don't know if he would remember me, but I went to the Long Walk. It's important to know about our history, know that there were people who suffered and they were the indigenous people -- and they're still suffering today. Many of the things can be prevented if people understood more. Too many people are ignorant.

Will you try to be a strong voice for the indigenous people?

Before I became part of Collingwood, I realised there were people who were suffering, like the homeless people. And I just thought if I was able to get some sort of profile, then I could make so much difference.

[Lids2Hughes]

Your kids are a punch of DUDS!

Seriously the Clokes, Shaws, Rowe, Egan, Iaconotborninthiscountry? lol bunch of duds!

[Hadders]

Your kids are a punch of DUDS!

Seriously the Clokes, Shaws, Rowe, Egan, Iaconotborninthiscountry? lol bunch of duds!

listen mate. you must be really bored trolling through a collingwood board at 1am. go and watch the soccer, go play with your obviously tiny **** or even better, go and take to your skull with some sort of blunt instrument.

whatever you decide is up to you, in the meantime **** off.:thumbsd:

[The Majestic]

listen mate. you must be really bored trolling through a collingwood board at 1am. go and watch the soccer, go play with your obviously tiny **** or even better, go and take to your skull with some sort of blunt instrument.

whatever you decide is up to you, in the meantime **** off.:thumbsd:
He and his lonely braincell will be removed from this board as soon as a mod is on-line to make that move. So no need to worry.

[dalethomasno1]

dale thomas is a STAR goin to be a champion...and how do u put a picture thingy under ur name????

[Jabso]

dale thomas is a STAR goin to be a champion...and how do u put a picture thingy under ur name????
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