2. Jordan Russell

[Jeremias]

This thread is to discuss Jordan Russell.

It will be used throughout the season for everyone, and will be the home for his buddy poster.

[ClayBlue87]

Good Work for getting this board up!!!

Not much to say about Jordan Russell from last night's game. He was fairly quiet. However Pagan continues to play him on-ball and in the center of the park as a large boddied in-and-under player. Despite not having much possesion, he continues to show good intensity and aggression when near the ball. Maybe testing him out as an 'enforcer' type player. Intersting that he hasn't played at HBF or BP where we expected he would play his career. I thought he had a good game last week and shows enough promise to play well again in the semi-final.

K:1 H:1 P:4 M:0 T:4 FA:2

[Jeremias]

Unfortunately he couldn't carry his good form from the game against Essendon into this game.

I don't know how much game time he had, but he was very quiet. Still pleased with his progress though.

One major positive is that he looks as though he has bulked up, doesn't look so out of place in the middle of the park any more.

:thumbsu:

[gandaal]

Unfortunately he couldn't carry his good form from the game against Essendon into this game.

I don't know how much game time he had, but he was very quiet. Still pleased with his progress though.

One major positive is that he looks as though he has bulked up, doesn't look so out of place in the middle of the park any more.

:thumbsu:

He tagged Bateman for the entire game and kept the guy to 14 possessions. He had a great game, just didn't get much of the ball.

[Blue_4_Life]

He tagged Bateman for the entire game and kept the guy to 14 possessions. He had a great game, just didn't get much of the ball.

Spot on.

Bateman was one of the Hawks more damaging players last week, and JR did a great job in keeping him quiet.

If he can play the taggers role and release Carazzo, Tex to play elsewhere (also keeping Bannister out...sorry C4 & Cisse!) he will prove to be invaluable to us this year.

[bluegal1983]

Couldn't agree more guys! JR has been fantastic the past two weeks and I am glad Denis has finally given him a chance!

Who cares if he doesn't get many possessions....He is doing a fine job keeping dangerous midfielders out of the game and as far as I am concerned, that counts for more than him gaining possessions.

Hopefully Denis gives him the job on Wells this week... will be a great test for the young kid!

[Blue_4_Life]

Couldn't agree more guys! JR has been fantastic the past two weeks and I am glad Denis has finally given him a chance!

Who cares if he doesn't get many possessions....He is doing a fine job keeping dangerous midfielders out of the game and as far as I am concerned, that counts for more than him gaining possessions.

Hopefully Denis gives him the job on Wells this week... will be a great test for the young kid!

Good call...that would be great to see.

[ClayBlue87]

Semi-Final NAB Cup

Had the tagging job on Brent HArvey today. Kept him to 13 disposals and 1 goal, which was pretty special anyhow... goog tagging performance to keep one of there most dangerous players quiet.

[AndSmithMustScore]

He always looks quite big(tall) out on the field.

Not sure if that's because he's always standing next to short players.

[ClayBlue87]

He always looks quite big(tall) out on the field.

Not sure if that's because he's always standing next to short players.

well he is 188cm and Harvey is under 180cm IIRC he is aobut 174cm

[gandaal]

Russell resists lure of home to stay true to Blues

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2007/03/10/1173478728618.html

[The Grover]

Semi-Final NAB Cup

Had the tagging job on Brent HArvey today. Kept him to 13 disposals and 1 goal, which was pretty special anyhow... goog tagging performance to keep one of there most dangerous players quiet.

Very happy with how he's going, seems more at home with the physical side of things & is taking good options with disposal

[ClayBlue87]

NAB Cup Grand Final vs Brisbane

Would it be so bold to say that this is the best game we have seen J.R. play thus far in his career with us? He was allocated to tag Luke Power all night. I thought it would be either Power or Black but IMHO Power is more dangerous up the field in assisting with goals. He was able to keep him to 15 disposals, none of which really did a lot of damage. J.R. had 7 disposals to his name aswell, along with a terrific goal of the day (according to sen) snap shot.

On a slightly more negative note, would like to see him increase his leg speed a little. He has the body to handle a tagging job in close confines but this is the second week ive seen players able to pull away from him.

[gandaal]

We should be happy with his tagging the oppositions best player out of the game each week this year but he still has to eventually learn how to get the ball himself.

[Jeremias]

Was very good last night, continuing on a very impressive preseason thus far.

Kept Power pretty quiet and still managed to have some impact going the other way.

That goal he kicked capped off a very good night for him.

[blues4flag]

Well done to him and a very good effort to keep Power to only 15 possessions. Growing as a player, and looks set to play the majority of games this year.

[Bluebear]

He was brilliant last night. Power has hurt us plenty of times before, and for mine was the big danger in terms of clearances and goal kicking ability.

Russell smashed him and has booked his senior spot for the year IMO.

That goal was a ripper, all class, and the first time I can recall being excited by something that he has done......brilliant work by a guy just starting to look like he belongs. Go JR :thumbsu: :thumbsu:

[AndyWalkersGirl]

He was brilliant last night. Power has hurt us plenty of times before, and for mine was the big danger in terms of clearances and goal kicking ability.

Russell smashed him and has booked his senior spot for the year IMO.

That goal was a ripper, all class, and the first time I can recall being excited by something that he has done......brilliant work by a guy just starting to look like he belongs. Go JR :thumbsu: :thumbsu:

yep he was great last night. That goal came at a very important time.

Amazing what confidence can do to a player's game. He ran all night, kept Power very quiet, and scored a beautiful goal.

:thumbsu: Looking forward to watching his development this year in the seniors.
Our midfield rotation is the best it has been for a very long time, and we now have two very very good taggers in Walker and Russell - two kids with big futures.

[Bluebear]

yep he was great last night. That goal came at a very important time.

Amazing what confidence can do to a player's game. He ran all night, kept Power very quiet, and scored a beautiful goal.

:thumbsu: Looking forward to watching his development this year in the seniors.
Our midfield rotation is the best it has been for a very long time, and we now have two very very good taggers in Walker and Russell - two kids with big futures.

Not to mention another in Bentick - did well to curb Black for large parts of the game.:thumbsu:
He was awesome around the stopages vs the Roos as well. I can see why he was 'annointed' the new no. 7

[one_twelve112]

Stills looks like he lacks that little bit of self-belief that is stopping him from having a bigger impact in games and taking the next step to becoming a really good AFL player.

Denis needs to tell him that he is pencilled in for the next 5 games, no matter how well/badly he plays, and he needs to back himself and run with the ball (as he did with Simmo last year).

Russell has all the attributes to be in the Top 10 players at Carlton in the future.

[Johnny_3]

8 mins – Carlton push forward and Jordan Russell goals against the tide. Brisbane has controlled the ball all quarter until now


definently turned the game around.

[Johnny_3]

Stills looks like he lacks that little bit of self-belief that is stopping him from having a bigger impact in games and taking the next step to becoming a really good AFL player.

Denis needs to tell him that he is pencilled in for the next 5 games, no matter how well/badly he plays, and he needs to back himself and run with the ball (as he did with Simmo last year).

Russell has all the attributes to be in the Top 10 players at Carlton in the future.
great idea with the 5 game thing

[gandaal]

great idea with the 5 game thing

Terrible idea. Would make him feel like he's only in the team because he's young, not because he deserves his spot in the team.

[Kooley]

quickly becoming one of may favourite players. it's been a long time since we had a decent tagger. hopefully in time he can start to win more of the pill himself.

[one_twelve112]

Terrible idea. Would make him feel like he's only in the team because he's young, not because he deserves his spot in the team.
Would also give him confidence knowing he will not be dropped for 1 bad game or for making an error....The kid obviously knows he has been in and out of the side all of last year and was not played for 5 successive games once. At the moment, on form (apart from one good game) he would be struggling to make our best 22, and if he was 27 or 28 years old, he would not be named, so I guess in a way he is in the side because he is young. The club play him because they want Russell to kick on and become an important player, I only believe this will happen when he gains some confidence and self-belief, hence the 5 games....

[gandaal]

Would also give him confidence knowing he will not be dropped for 1 bad game or for making an error....The kid obviously knows he has been in and out of the side all of last year and was not played for 5 successive games once. At the moment, on form (apart from one good game) he would be struggling to make our best 22, and if he was 27 or 28 years old, he would not be named, so I guess in a way he is in the side because he is young. The club play him because they want Russell to kick on and become an important player, I only believe this will happen when he gains some confidence and self-belief, hence the 5 games....

1. Pressure is a good thing. It makes you work harder
2. Your stating to the kid that your willing to accept mediocrity in the short term
3. Instead of judging him on each performance your just expanding it out over five games. It would sound like the coach isn't happy with his current efforts (which he is) and that he's giving him five games to improve, with ominous consequenses if he doesn't dramatically improve during that period.

It's a bad idea. Besides if Russell continues with his current form he'll play the next five games anyway.

[didaka]

I like him. He has a lot to offer. He should play a lot of senior footy in 07.

[The Grover]

Who is his next scalp? Deledio maybe.

[TheGeneral]

Well......

[james Dean]

Why do you guys rate him I don't rate him at all waste of a top 10 pick

[Bluebear]

Why do you guys rate him I don't rate him at all waste of a top 10 pick
Would you listen if we told you? Sounds like you've already made up your mind.:cool:

[james Dean]

Would you listen if we told you? Sounds like you've already made up your mind.:cool:
I asked you to tell me

[Bluebear]

I asked you to tell me

Russ, as with Walker has been slow to develop.
Played one game in his first year (2005), and 10 last year as a half back flanker.
He lacked confidence in the limited game time he got last year, and hence was pushed from the seniors to the two's with regularity.

Not really convincing to this point, and many would have let him go to PA last year had a suitable trade been on the table.

The club fought for him, and this pre-season, and now regular season he is showing us why.
He is currently doing fantastic tagging roles on some of the games elite.
NAB cup round 1 - shut down Winderlich, possibly BOG vs Freo today
NAB cup round 2 - Hodge, minimal impact
round 3 - Simspon for the Roos, well held, minimal impact
Final vs Lions - Power, has killed us in the past - rendered ineffective by Russ, plus Russ getting and using the ball well, kicking a superb goal.
Tiges - Second half tag on Delidio helped turn the match our way, and his goal was fantastic.
Cats - sufferred a head clash early and missed much of the game.

He is now showing the poise and foot skills we always knew he had, and he will go on to become a very good attacking defender, once he serves his tagging apprenticeship. :thumbsu:
We don't rate him as having made it yet, but the steps he has taken from last year to this one so far are very, very promising.
Hope this helps.:)

[james Dean]

Russ, as with Walker has been slow to develop.
Played one game in his first year (2005), and 10 last year as a half back flanker.
He lacked confidence in the limited game time he got last year, and hence was pushed from the seniors to the two's with regularity.

Not really convincing to this point, and many would have let him go to PA last year had a suitable trade been on the table.

The club fought for him, and this pre-season, and now regular season he is showing us why.
He is currently doing fantastic tagging roles on some of the games elite.
NAB cup round 1 - shut down Winderlich, possibly BOG vs Freo today
NAB cup round 2 - Hodge, minimal impact
round 3 - Simspon for the Roos, well held, minimal impact
Final vs Lions - Power, has killed us in the past - rendered ineffective by Russ, plus Russ getting and using the ball well, kicking a superb goal.
Tiges - Second half tag on Delidio helped turn the match our way, and his goal was fantastic.
Cats - sufferred a head clash early and missed much of the game.

He is now showing the poise and foot skills we always knew he had, and he will go on to become a very good attacking defender, once he serves his tagging apprenticeship. :thumbsu:
We don't rate him as having made it yet, but the steps he has taken from last year to this one so far are very, very promising.
Hope this helps.:)
I just don't really rate taggers, hated when Tex was used as one so I probably won't pay any attention to Russ until he becomes his own player not someone elses shadow

[bluegal1983]

I just don't really rate taggers, hated when Tex was used as one so I probably won't pay any attention to Russ until he becomes his own player not someone elses shadow

Every team needs at least one tagger and fortunately for us Russell has done it well when given the opportunity.

[Bluebear]

I just don't really rate taggers, hated when Tex was used as one so I probably won't pay any attention to Russ until he becomes his own player not someone elses shadow

Hence why I said:


Would you listen if we told you? Sounds like you've already made up your mind.:cool:


Could have saved me the time. :cool:

[ClayBlue87]

Cats - sufferred a head clash early and missed much of the game.
Hope this helps.:)

Still h eplayed on Corey Enright, who had no effect on the game hwile J.R. was playing on him. J.R. is also proving to be a nifty snap shot on goal from long range.

It will be intersting to see who he tags against essendon.

[Bluebear]

Still h eplayed on Corey Enright, who had no effect on the game hwile J.R. was playing on him. J.R. is also proving to be a nifty snap shot on goal from long range.

It will be intersting to see who he tags against essendon.

Winderlich or Watson IMO.

[ClayBlue87]

Awseome win over the Essenscum guys!!! Not sure who J.R. was tagging this week, i thought it was Jobe Watson, who had 19 disposals, but still didn't have much impact on the game. Just like to point out that J.R. was great running the ball out of a couple of tight situations like the Scotland stuff up towards the end of the last quarter. And also he was the one who denied hirds mark in the dieing stages. Showed a lot of courage and plenty of the Carlton spirit we talk about.

[Bluebear]

Awseome win over the Essenscum guys!!! Not sure who J.R. was tagging this week, i thought it was Jobe Watson, who had 19 disposals, but still didn't have much impact on the game. Just like to point out that J.R. was great running the ball out of a couple of tight situations like the Scotland stuff up towards the end of the last quarter. And also he was the one who denied hirds mark in the dieing stages. Showed a lot of courage and plenty of the Carlton spirit we talk about.

Moved around a bit. Started on Winderlich, who in fairness probably got away from him a bit, went with Watson at times......whoever was on ball with their rotations.

Disposal let him down a little at times, but courage was first rate, and that spoil on Hird was a match winner.:thumbsu:

[KnockOut]

He is one of the more promising and underrated players on our list. Quick, skillful, tallish and quickly growing some balls.
Does anybody have or are able to get test results.
beep test, sprint test ..

[bluegal1983]

Looking forward to see JR tag Judd or Kerr this weekend.

Will definately be a good test for the young fella! :thumbsu:

[ClayBlue87]

He is one of the more promising and underrated players on our list. Quick, skillful, tallish and quickly growing some balls.
Does anybody have or are able to get test results.
beep test, sprint test ..

Rd 1 9 110247 Carlton Jordan Russell WEST ADELAIDE 6/11/1986 188 78 Medium midfielder / defender with very good disposal skills. SA U18s representative in 2004 and had senior experience with West Adelaide. His speed testing over 5/10/20m at the Draft Camp placed him in top 3% overall (2.89sec for 20m) From Edwardstown FC.

And IIRC Deledio was 4th fastest at 2.90 seconds for the 20m sprint.

edit: just found the results
20-metre sprint
Danyle Pearce (Sturt) - 2.79sec
Richard Tambling (Southern Districts) - 2.87sec
Jordan Russell (West Adelaide) - 2.89sec
Brett Deledio (Murray Bushrangers) - 2.90sec

Agility run
Danyle Pearce (Sturt) - 7.79sec
Nathan Van Berlo (West Perth) - 7.80sec
Andrew McQualter (Gippsland Power) - 8.00sec
Andrew Lee (Burnie) - 8.04sec
Mark Le Cras (West Perth) - 8.18sec
Dean Polo (Gippsland Power) - 8.19sec
Richard Tambling (Southern Districts) - 8.20sec
Jesse Wells (Burnie) - 8.22sec
Adam Thomson (Sturt) - 8.25sec
Jordan Russell (West Adelaide) - 8.29sec

I think many people have highly under-rated J.R. based on inexperienced peformances in a role across HBF which as it seems now does not seem to suit him. Has now a nice niche as a tagging midfielder, with good pace, endurance and tackling prowess. Has additionaly proved to be a tough in & under ball winner and a handy snap for goal at aorund 40m.

Needs to be played rotating through midfield as many games as posible this year to build the confidence and experience. My family has had the great number 2 from teh back of our gurnsey since the days of Big Nick, for me Diesel :D . I don't intend to remove it.

[Bluebear]

Unlike a lot of other Taggers, he is skilled as well, and doesn't need to insult players to beat them...........:p

[ClayBlue87]

Easily J.R.'s toughest job of his career so far. I fhe tags EITHER of Judd or Kerr. Im super bored, so loooking at it litteraly. Judd has 2xD's and Kerr has 2x R's

Wee Russell has 2x S's and 2xL's therefore
Russell = Kerr + Judd

[TheGeneral]

Keep the faith. :thumbsu:

Any kid would have looked bad last week if they had to play on arguably the best two players in the game today.

Masterclass for Russell (http://carltonfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4311/Default.aspx?newsId=41785)
The 20-year-old said it was a thrill just to be opposed to players such as Andrew Embley – also a Norm Smith Medallist - and Judd.

"It is for me, personally, because I've just started out in the tagging, and I've never really played on those high-profile blokes," he said. "It's enjoyable and it's a good experience for me – obviously, it didn't go quite as I would have liked today, and I'm going to learn from that.

"It's daunting but exciting at the same time."

Judd gives opponents a masterclass most times he plays, and he's clearly no less impressive from close-range than he is from the lounge room.

"You see the way he gets the ball, and you know you can't give him half-a-metre otherwise he's going to towel you up, so you do learn a lot, and I'm going to take a lot from that and hopefully put it into practice next week against the Lions," Russell said.

"You sort of look back, you're going for the ball yourself, and you turn it over, and then he's just there out of nowhere.

"It's unbelievable."

[The Grover]

I was at the game last night & thought he did well, I reckon this kid is going to be a good player.

[blues4flag]

Best game I recall him playing, held Power well early, but Power did get on top in the end. Still, managed to get a lot of the ball himself and looked comfortable out there.

[Jeremias]

Played very well and is becoming a very important player for us.

Didn't have the same impact on Power as he did in the NAB Cup GF, and Power managed to get away from him last night. But, JR managed to get quite a bit of the ball for himself and was very good. One of the best games he has played.

[TheGeneral]

15 disposals - only 5 kicks, 5 marks which shows he might be running more or his teammates are actually kicking the ball to him ;) :p , 2 inside 50, 12 tackles, 1 bounce, 1 critical error, 1 FF, 3 FA, 5 first disposals, 3 clearances.

[blues4flag]

15 disposals - only 5 kicks, 5 marks which shows he might be running more or his teammates are actually kicking the ball to him ;) :p , 2 inside 50, 12 tackles, 1 bounce, 1 critical error, 1 FF, 3 FA, 5 first disposals, 3 clearances.

Where do you get the stats from?

[TheGeneral]

Paper. :cool:

[ClayBlue87]

I didn't get to see this game unfortunately, first i have missed in a long time. I guesed he would play on Power because he can be so much more dangerous going forward than black. It seems J.R. has come into some serious good form, had 9 tackles as well! Go buddy

[Blues_Man]

Soft as butter ...the mark he dropped on the half backline because he heard footsteps shows he is not prepared to put his body on the line .
Time for him to go back to the VFL until he sorts himself out .

[Jeremias]

Soft as butter ...the mark he dropped on the half backline because he heard footsteps shows he is not prepared to put his body on the line .
Time for him to go back to the VFL until he sorts himself out .

He put his body on the line numerous times and was in and under the packs a few times today.

Most definitely won't be dropped.

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Made a couple of crucial errors. Dropped that mark and overran the ball in a poor position another time. Will give him the benefit of the doubt with the mark however as it just looked like a skill error due to his hands being in the wrong position rather than hearing footsteps.

He did put his head over the ball, showed some dash coming out of defence on one occasion and the goal he kicked was a beautiful thing to watch. Showed a bit of heart and the good things are starting to mount up. By now though he should be throwing in the odd 20 possession game now and then.

[TheGeneral]

That pass to Fev was sublime! :thumbsu:

He's a work in progress and we just need a decent coach to round out his decision making and overhead marking. Russell cleanly scooped the ball in congestion and handballed off so he isn't a squib in my book. After all, he did back back to spoil Hird in the dying seconds of the game against Essendon when he didn't know what was coming.

He isn't very good overhead rather than a squib.

[NWTYRX]

he also did a reasonable job on Thomas

[blues4flag]

He's made a lot of progress this season, looks comfortable at AFL level now. Still, he has a long ways to go, he can make it, hopefully he's following a similar route to Simpson and will be a late bloomer.

[Mentallo]

To JR's "buddy" (you know who you are!)
Cue the Benny Hill music, Jordan Russell is tagging again. :eek:

[james Dean]

Thank god he's out

[TheGeneral]

Thank god he's out
We need another runner in the side and I fear we've selected a side which is too tall for the Telstra Dome.

Any one saying I told you so after just 20 games is a tool.

[Bluebear]

Agree 100% ILF. We have been outrunin the last quarter the last few weeks. Losing 3 runners, and replacing them with two talls seems a bit of a gamble.

Lets hope we are up by 6-7 goals late in the third.........then watch the biggest flood since Noah during the fourth.

[ClayBlue87]

HAHAHA!!! Yeha it's a pity we didnt get to play the music this week. Yeah it is a shame that he is out. Im not sure he has had great form in the seniors.

I think taggers need a couple of good qualities:
-The usuals Strength/ Courage
-Need to be able to stop their opponents
-Need to command respect from their opponents, i.e. if their opponent doesnt watch them, they still have the skill to affect the game.

He has the courage and strength, that i dont doubt. His body does not look out of place amongst the men.
If J.R. is to become a tagger for us in the future, I think he has to develop an attacking game first, if to be played in the magoos needs a good stint on the ball, pushing forward.
However, he needs to learnt how to stop the best players. The only way you can learn this is by playing on them. There is no-one good enough in the VFL to compare the tagging jobs like there is in the AFL.

[Lapp_46]

We need another runner in the side and I fear we've selected a side which is too tall for the Telstra Dome.

Any one saying I told you so after just 20 games is a tool.

Runner... what good is a runner if they dont get the ball?? Or stop the opposition. JR is a passenger in the Carlton team at the moment. I'm glad he's been sent to the 2's and disapointed that we didnt trade him back to SA last year and cut our losses.

He lacks the most crutial skill in Australian Football and thats the natural ability to find the ball and position yourself in the best posible way to get the ball. I wouldnt be so disapointed if he was a 5th round pick... but pick 9... what a waste

[Bluebear]

Runner... what good is a runner if they dont get the ball?? Or stop the opposition. JR is a passenger in the Carlton team at the moment. I'm glad he's been sent to the 2's and disapointed that we didnt trade him back to SA last year and cut our losses.

He lacks the most crutial skill in Australian Football and thats the natural ability to find the ball and position yourself in the best posible way to get the ball. I wouldnt be so disapointed if he was a 5th round pick... but pick 9... what a waste

There was no trade on the table.
He was going to walk for nothing.
He has shut down a number of players this year, but like most young players he is inconsistent.
He has improved in leaps and bounds from last year.

Why do people react so harshly to young players who had a bad week.

MM had no footy last week.........do we bag him for not shutting down his man or finding ways to find the footy?
Yet he has played about as much footy as Russ.............give em a break.

[TheGeneral]

Runner... what good is a runner if they dont get the ball?? Or stop the opposition. JR is a passenger in the Carlton team at the moment. I'm glad he's been sent to the 2's and disapointed that we didnt trade him back to SA last year and cut our losses.

He lacks the most crutial skill in Australian Football and thats the natural ability to find the ball and position yourself in the best posible way to get the ball. I wouldnt be so disapointed if he was a 5th round pick... but pick 9... what a waste
Russell had five centre clearances against the Lions so they must have just fallen into his lap. :rolleyes:

Russell had no problem snatching that ball off the ground in the backline against Essendon and accelerating away before hitting the target. And he backed back to spoil Hird with a brave spoil.

It isn't uncommon for young players who are being used as taggers rather than running free to struggle to get the ball. Maybe we should drop half the side since they can't stop the opposition.

Backman such as Gibbs, Waite, Houlihan and Walker would be the first to be dropped if that was the case. There might be a common thread there that three of those players aren't being played in the right position and struggling.

Camporeale and Lance were dropped in their second years.

[Mentallo]

Russell had no problem snatching that ball off the ground in the backline against Essendon and accelerating away before hitting the target. And he backed back to spoil Hird with a brave spoil.


Should be a given for any AFL player.

Why he is being used as a "shutdown" player is beyond me, he is awful at it.
With "pace to burn" and good skills he should be constantly rotated through the midfield, yet at an average of just over 8 possies a game it seems that is not really much of an option either so where does that leave him????

Camporeale and Lance were dropped in their second years.

Not nit picking but i think you will find Campo was never dropped.
Could be wrong but i don't think i am.
Exceptional player in an exceptional team, any comparisson to JR is unfair on both players (especially Campo)

[anth22]

He is future depth for our future glory years ... every team has them .... solid players that arnt stars, he is one of them. I love JR, hoped he would come on this year, I think he has just not the player everyone expects a top ten draft pick to be ... there are plenty other top tens that will never be stars.

But in saying that there is still time, at the end of 2008 we will no the answer as to whether he has made it or not.

[walkers a legend]

in bes for bullants this week what were his stats

[TheGeneral]

Should be a given for any AFL player.

Why he is being used as a "shutdown" player is beyond me, he is awful at it.
Russell did well tagging in the NAB cup and shut down several good players, including a good runner as Stanton and did OK on B.Harvey.
With "pace to burn" and good skills he should be constantly rotated through the midfield, yet at an average of just over 8 possies a game it seems that is not really much of an option either so where does that leave him????
Is that due to Pagan telling him not to use his pace and skill but to concentrate on stopping his man?

Some players take longer to develop unless they're "freaks" like Murphy, Gibbs, etc. and he isn't being used the right the way by Pagan.

He should be played on the wing.
Not nit picking but i think you will find Campo was never dropped.
Could be wrong but i don't think i am.
Exceptional player in an exceptional team, any comparisson to JR is unfair on both players (especially Campo)
I think Campo was dropped backed to the twos in either his second or third year, but Walker and Whitnall were dropped and their careers didn't go backwards after being dropped.

Travis Cloke was dropped last year.

Great to hear took some brave marks on the weekend and was named in the bests. :thumbsu::)

[BlueWorld]

I think Campo was dropped backed to the twos in either his second or third year, but Walker and Whitnall were dropped and their careers didn't go backwards after being dropped.
Campo was never dropped in his entire career at Carlton. The only time he played in the 2's was when he was returning from a lengthy break from glandular fever in ?1997 but was back a week later. I think he was dropped for the first time in his career by Essendon last week, though he had played some games in their 2's returning from injury.

[Mentallo]

Agree.
He should play on a wing, i have not given up on him yet, but i would like to see more...alot more output from him by the end of 2007.
And trust me if he is tagging i will be the guy in the crowd doing the Benny Hill music while he tries to pursue his opponent around the ground.

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

Was outstanding today against the pies playing across the half forwardline. Probably his best game for the club

[Jeremias]

Was outstanding today against the pies playing across the half forwardline. Probably his best game for the club

He was very good. I'd say that was most definitely his best game for the club. He just needs to find consistency, because it's quite obvious that the talent is there.

[AD03]

Was outstanding today against the pies playing across the half forwardline. Probably his best game for the club

I was stoked with the way he played, very good game! :thumbsu:

[ClayBlue87]

Agree.
He should play on a wing, i have not given up on him yet, but i would like to see more...alot more output from him by the end of 2007.
And trust me if he is tagging i will be the guy in the crowd doing the Benny Hill music while he tries to pursue his opponent around the ground.

Yup, JR is not a tagger. Just has too mcuh an attacking perspective on his game plan. I think a lot of players are playing more natural roles now that Pagan has gone and subsequently, they idea of developing the defensive side of a player, also gone. JR has plenty of courage, a decent body and good skills. He is quite fast on the burst and look more comfotrable around HFF.

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

He was very good. I'd say that was most definitely his best game for the club. He just needs to find consistency, because it's quite obvious that the talent is there.

I also think he needs more confidence in himself. I thought it was real good of Ratts to show faith in him and direct a lot of our play through him. Was so happy when he got his goal, hopefully he'll have more belief in himself after yesterday

[HawkFan15]

Yup, JR is not a tagger. Just has too mcuh an attacking perspective on his game plan. I think a lot of players are playing more natural roles now that Pagan has gone and subsequently, they idea of developing the defensive side of a player, also gone. JR has plenty of courage, a decent body and good skills. He is quite fast on the burst and look more comfotrable around HFF.

We definatley haven't seen the best of Jordan Russell yet. For mine I have seen glimpses at times (although it is often hard to judge players who are given tagging roles as he was under pagan). I raise troy selwood as a good example, is he a good player, can he get better, I don't know because of the role that he plays. Again I have seen glimpses but at the same time I haven't seen him put a whole game together as yet. The good news is that many of his mistakes are what I would call stupid mistakes, eg fumbles or letting tackles slip that can be corrected with experience/coaching. From the little I have seen he is a fairly decent shot at goals and could be worth a role up foward, possibly even as a screen for a waite/fisher. We are seeing some of his best footy over the last couple of weeks, especially against collingwood where I saw a level of desperation and hunger in him for the footy that I haven't seen before.

Its hard to judge players often in teams down the bottom of the ladder, his career story will really be revealed in the next 2 years, will he be a collin silvia type or will he mature into a jordan lewis.

[ClayBlue87]

We definatley haven't seen the best of Jordan Russell yet. For mine I have seen glimpses at times (although it is often hard to judge players who are given tagging roles as he was under pagan). I raise troy selwood as a good example, is he a good player, can he get better, I don't know because of the role that he plays. Again I have seen glimpses but at the same time I haven't seen him put a whole game together as yet. The good news is that many of his mistakes are what I would call stupid mistakes, eg fumbles or letting tackles slip that can be corrected with experience/coaching. From the little I have seen he is a fairly decent shot at goals and could be worth a role up foward, possibly even as a screen for a waite/fisher. We are seeing some of his best footy over the last couple of weeks, especially against collingwood where I saw a level of desperation and hunger in him for the footy that I haven't seen before.

Its hard to judge players often in teams down the bottom of the ladder, his career story will really be revealed in the next 2 years, will he be a collin silvia type or will he mature into a jordan lewis.

You do know he is my "official" big footy buddy? Always nice to hear your thoughts HF15. Your comparison with Troy Selwood, is probably the most accurate ive considered myself as to JR's future role. Neither will be absolute superstars but will play important "hard man" roles in the their respective teams, like good ol Damian Hardwick was :d . Im not quite sure he will be the same sort of link player/ accumulator that Lewis is. Looks more preferable to earn his own ball from clearance and 1v1 conditions. And from what ive seen early of him, his finish skills are much better at his age to that of Selwood. I had hoped for a year or massive improvemnt from Russell at the beggining of this yr, ala Carrazzo, but was neither given the correct role or time on the ground to do so. Played mostly as a tagger without the endurance or smarts to shut down players like Boomer, Harvey, Black etc. Will thrive from playing his own game.

[Dima]

I will be JR's buddy for 2008 :)

I'm hoping for a much bigger year from him this year! I don't want to have to see this thread being used solely to beat him up....

I haven't seen a lot of the preseason stuff but have heard that has been training well to date.

He looks to be a monster unit for his height at the moment, his body really stood out in the last pre season game against the Doggies. Looked a little lost at times that game but took a nice mark around 45m out and kicked truly when the match was in the balance which is promising.

Like other posters on this board I think that his role should really be on a half forward flank with the occasional stint in the middle. Has the size and pace to really hurt teams if he can just the get ball. His disposal looks to be improving somewhat as well.

That is all for now, more comments rd 1.

Good luck JR!

[Blueboys7]

I saw some good signs in the carlton collingwood game. Mayb some confidence is finally coming to him admittively he made some mistakes but he took some good marks and made some correct descisions. Hopefully he can finally get better.

I have started to feel really sorry for him when i watch him. He has been playing with no confidence and probably feels so under pressure that he hasnt previously really wanted the ball. But now mayb with some wins on the board and a little less pressure on himself he can play with a bit more freedom.

I see his spot as a HFF as he does hav strong hands and good speed, but when kicking for goal you can see that his worrying about missing the shot. I really feel if he can just play football and forget about everything else he could be a real asset.

Any thoughts?

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

I actually thought he looked good in close against the pies. got the ball out of the pack to one of our players several times i thought, including 2 leading to goals

[Dima]

Hey guys, sorry haven't posted anything yet, been a bad buddy so far :(

Will try and post weekly updates from this point on.

Russell was left out of the side in the first game, but has played every round from rounds 2-5.

Here are the stats from his first 4 games

Round 2

Kicks 8
Handballs 4
Marks 6
Frees for 0
Frees against 1
Tackles 1
Goals 0
Behinds 1

Round 3

Kicks 7
Handballs 4
Marks 6
Frees for 0
Frees against 1
Tackles 2
Goals 0
Behinds 0

Round 4

Kicks 8
Handballs 7
Marks 4
Frees for 0
Frees against 0
Tackles 0
Goals 0
Behinds 1

Round 5

Kicks 8
Handballs 5
Marks 6
Frees for 1
Frees against 2
Tackles 2
Goals 0
Behinds 1

Statistically, Russell does not look to have improved over the course of the season, however this is far from the truth. From what I saw of Russell (missed one game) in the earlier games he seemed to be his usual lost self, not having any kind of impact. Fortunately he seems to be improving! In the Melbourne game he really did the team thing. Laid several nice shepherds and blocks for his running team mates, as well as working very hard to provide a target when we were kicking out of the half back line. His field kicking has been reasonable without being spectacular but still had at least 1 turnover from memory last game. Had a good chance to kick a goal but just sprayed it wide, if he had kicked it, it would have been a great game from him.

Hopefully Russell can build on this form in the game against the Crows and beyond as Ratten is giving him plenty of opportunities to prove himself. Will update again after the Crows game :)

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

What happened to Russell against the Eagles? He was outstanding in the first quarter, and was then pretty much unseen after the first half. Did he get moved into a defensive role or just ran out of run or what?

[TheGeneral]

http://images.newsphotos.com.au/images5/Lores/91080602.jpg

JR and his dog Wilson. :)

I like him even more now. :D

[Dima]

I've been meaning to do a JR update for a little while now and have finally gotten the chance on the long weekend :)

Firstly the stats for the past 5 rounds

K H M T G B

Rd 6 v adelaide 11 5 9 9 0 1
Rd 7 v eagles 7 8 7 4 0 1
Rd 8 v brisbane 4 7 5 4 1 1
Rd 9 v fremantle 8 6 7 8 0 1
rd 10 v geelong 4 10 3 3 0 0

Russell started this set of games off really well, building on some improved performances in his first few games of the season. His game against adelaide in particular featured hard running, super strong tackling and a more consistent effort than we have previously witnessed.

Through this period he has predominantly played in negating roles either through the centre or along the half back line. Moreso the centre. However occasionally he has moved and taken a grab or 2 in the forward 50. Unfortunately for Jordan his goal kicking has been woeful; netting 1 goal 4 in the last 5 games, including (from memory) 1 that was kicked into the man on the mark and at least 1 that didn't go the journey. He really needs to start converting these opportunities to become a damaging player.
One that really sticks out is against freo where he made a beautiful interception to mark about 45m out on a slight angle; only to go back and miss the goal :/

The only saving grace on the goal kicking front is that he has good penetration on his kicks and if he can improve his accuracy he would make a good target on the hff if we needed to rotate someone through there.

As for the rest of his game, as mentioned before his tackling has been impressive and he has generally been pretty hard at the footy. His field kicking I think has been reasonably good, he has generally been able to spot up and hit a target when he has it and hasn't turned it over as much as he used to. He still has a tendency to go missing a little bit in patches, but more often than not this has been when he has been moved out of the midfield and is minding someone in the backline.

Overall I think that he has made good progress and is starting to look like he belongs out there, not quite the headless chook he once was; the stats certainly suggest that he is finding the ball a lot more and I don't know how to find the effective disposal numbers but from my observation they are definitely on the increase!

Hopefully JR has a huge game today against the much hated Port Adelaide!!! Go Blues.

[Dima]

What happened to Russell against the Eagles? He was outstanding in the first quarter, and was then pretty much unseen after the first half. Did he get moved into a defensive role or just ran out of run or what?

Sorry for late reply WBWDW, at the end of the game he had a run with role through the middle and looked to have a very defensive mindset, it looked like he was manned up on Beau Waters but it was hard to tell. That was for about 10-15 minutes, after that he was mainly seen fairly deep in the backline which is why we didn't see very much of him. Had a few disposals here and there but didn't get a lot of it as you witnessed.

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

^ Thanks mate

How bout Russell today :thumbsu::thumbsu: I could only listen to the game on radio, but it sounded like he really stood up in the final quarter and was a big reason for our surge to victory. The commentators couldn't stop talking him up after the game. Then when Stevens was interviewed and asked about Russell, Stevo said that Russell has come a long way, and that the team really believe he's going to be a great player for the club for many years :thumbsu:

[Dima]

^ Thanks mate

How bout Russell today :thumbsu::thumbsu: I could only listen to the game on radio, but it sounded like he really stood up in the final quarter and was a big reason for our surge to victory. The commentators couldn't stop talking him up after the game. Then when Stevens was interviewed and asked about Russell, Stevo said that Russell has come a long way, and that the team really believe he's going to be a great player for the club for many years :thumbsu:

Did not hear the interview unfortunately, but going by how he has been playing, he will be every chance of being a long term Blue!

Now to the writeup.

Russell had an interesting one yesterday (Rd 11 v Port)

Stats

4K 13H 5M 3T

Of the 17 disposals, 9 were contested.

Russell didn't really feature much in the first 3 quarters and was pretty sloppy with his disposal. At least 2 errant handballs led to Port goals which was very uncharacteristic, considering his play the last few weeks. The main good thing he did was a nice run down in the first quarter which created a turnover.

Fortunately he saved his best for the last quarter where he more than redeemed himself for his average start!!!

In the final quarter he got 8/17 of his disposals, including all 4 of his kicks, and 3/5 of his marks. He was everywhere and seemed to get the ball at will and had virtually a 100% disposal effectiveness.

What the stats won't show you is how tough he was and how hard he went at the ball, not to mention the 3 final quarter interceptions, including one which led directly to a Betts goal. He definitely set the standard for the rest of the team in the last quarter, he really did seem to be giving it everything he had.

All in all it was a solid game for Russell. It took him a while to adjust to the conditions, but once he was up and running he was outstanding. Thank god the tribunal cleared him of his charge leaving him free to play Collingwood :)

[Bluebear]

I truly beleive that whether we are a GF team in the next few years has less to do with Judd, Gibbs, Murph, Fev, Stevo.......and more to do with the next rungs down.........Russ, Bower, Jammo, Betts, Simmo etc.

The great thing about the Cats is their eveness........you don't lose a lot when you swap Bartel for Corey on ball............a bit, but not much.

If these guys can continue to step up and start to produce, we will then see a team that has got some grunt.

The measure of your strength is your weakest link..........our weakest links are getting stronger each game. :thumbsu:

[Gilly1972]

I think it is almost time for the JR baggers to go and stand in the corner with the JK baggers......almost :)

[Dima]

Firstly here are the stats for the last 3 rounds:


Rd 12 v Collingwood

Kicks: 9
Handballs: 9
Marks: 7
Tackles: 3
Goals: 0
Behinds: 0
Clearances: 2
Effective disposal percentage: 88.89%

Rd 13 v Essendon

Kicks: 1
Handballs: 2
Marks: 0
Tackles: 7
Goals: 0
Behinds: 0
Clearances:0
Effective disposal percentage: 100%

Rd 14 v Richmond

Kicks: 6
Handballs: 3
Marks: 7
Tackles: 1
Goals: 0
Behinds: 0
Clearances: 0
Effective disposal percentage: 88.89%


Russell had a very solid game against Collingwood to back up his good work against Port the week before. Spent a fair bit of the first quarter on the bench but started to accumulate a fair bit of the ball once he got on the ground. For a small part of the game Russell was playing on the hbf, but he spent most of his time in the middle and/or on ball. His disposal was generally clean and he mostly made good decisions when he had the footy. His tackling was first rate again and he caused at least 1 turnover with his pressure.

I did not see most of the Essendon game, but having watched his game against Richmond and looked at the stats for the Essendon game it appears to me as though Russell is having a bit of a slow patch. There has been nothing particularly wrong with his game but I’ve noticed that he has been spending less time on the ball and is not having a huge impact on games. On a more positive note his field kicking has been very good when he’s managed to get the ball and he is always doing the team things (blocking, shepherding, tackling, etc). Just the one brain fade on the weekend where he could not decide what to do and eventually kicked it into the man on the mark which was very frustrating and resulted in a Richmond shot on goal (lucky it missed).

I think that with other players either coming back from injury (bannister, judd, walker, houlihan) and players pushing for selection (anderson, Benjamin before he got injured and Pfeiffer) it could possibly be a good time to send him back to the Bullant just for a week or two to freshen him up.



Still happy with his progress this year and hope that we can get some more games into him by year end.

[jrussell4brownlow]

Not only did Jordan pick up some game time, but he is also in reckoning for Carlton's first Brownlow medal since Greg Williams. Good onya JR

[thylacine60]

Not only did Jordan pick up some game time, but he is also in reckoning for Carlton's first Brownlow medal since Greg Williams. Good onya JR

What makes you say that? I doubt he'll poll a vote. :confused:

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

Size, Speed, Strength, Agillity, Skill .... JR has it all. :D


.. my favourite player by far !

[jrussell4brownlow]

Yo`DooR;12390775']Size, Speed, Strength, Agillity, Skill .... JR has it all. :D


.. my favourite player by far !

This is all true. AND he's a great bloke.

[thylacine60]

This is all true. AND he's a great bloke.

Answer the question, idiot.