View Full Version : how long do you see Fido playing for?
materamagic
12 Nov 2003, 13:51
He is 28 or thereabouts, how long do you see him wreaking havoc in the forward line?
IMO I can see him playing until his mid thirties, He doesn't have to worry about carrying weight or getting run around by opponents so I still think that as long as he can find the goals he will be a required player. He is by far the best forward pocket in the comp over the last few years.
I see 5 more seasons at the least for Phil, extraordinary circumstances or injury permitting maybe 6
The Goods
12 Nov 2003, 14:02
He has played as a permanent forward most of his career so his body should be in reasonably good nick.
His biggest problem will be if he losses a yard of pace - being his biggest asset any loss of pace would shorten his career.
I would say he should easily play till the age of 33 barring any serious injury.
If that is the case he will finish his career as the clubs overall leading goal kicker. Not bad for one of the smallest blokes in the league.
Voice of Reason
12 Nov 2003, 14:57
Last year he kicked 62 goals in 19 games (average 3.26 per game), which is remarkable. I wouldn't know where to look for career stats, but for a forward pocket to average 2 a game over the career used to be thought of as excellent.
Of course, he's been advantaged by our structure and game plan last year in one sense, but I would have thought that a strong midfield with plenty of the ball and a more successful tall forward would still be pretty helpful next year.
Don't know how long he can keep it up for. Peter's calf and some other injuries started to catch up with him by 31 or so, but he had a more physically demanding role as THE winger of the early Nineties and later as in a number of other roles, so the family lineage looks OK.
I get the feeling that Fido is reaching his peak about now, and should have a couple of quality- maybe even better than this year- seasons in the bag before any decline.
Physically, he's fit and still has as much spring in his step as ever, but the improvement this year probably had a lot to do with him just getting smarter as a player. Right now he's at the stage where he knows all the small forward tricks of the trade and still has the athleticism to capitalise on them. Probably in 2-3 years time, though, he'll get to the stage where he won't have that extra half metre of pace on the lead, and when that happens, we'll see how smart a player he really is. Overall, you'd think his body is in good nick, so if his footy nous can keep him competitive when his pace starts to go, I'd probably guess about 5-6 years more from him would be a reasonable expectation. I reckon we'll get 250 games out of him, or thereabouts.
Black JuJu
12 Nov 2003, 19:34
1 more year of quality, 2 more on the list.
Just got a feeling about this.
Forward Pockets and quick declines go hand in hand.
That said, he's held up longer than most.
no1bankteller
12 Nov 2003, 21:52
Originally posted by Black JuJu
1 more year of quality, 2 more on the list.
Just got a feeling about this.
Forward Pockets and quick declines go hand in hand.
I think quality forward pockets hang on longer then most people give them credit for, see Bartlett, and Daicos for one.
Now whilst Phil is not in their league he is still probably the best forward pocket year on year over last 5-10 years.
I think that based on his body type and reading of the play he probably has four to five years more. Now if we can only get him to chase down defenders like he used to I would be rapt.
Should be good for another 5 or so season, I cant see injury striking him down because he has a pretty good record at staying on the park and being a small forward, his body should be better than most.
He'll still be kicking goals into his early thirties.
Goldenblue
13 Nov 2003, 10:23
I see him with us for another 5 years if injuries do not take their toll on him. If he is lucky, he may also get to play in a GF and premiership glory may come to another Matera.
Go fido!
Originally posted by Goldenblue
I see him with us for another 5 years if injuries do not take their toll on him. If he is lucky, he may also get to play in a GF and premiership glory may come to another Matera.
Go fido!
If we do make the big one in the next few years, I hope that the coaching staff do the decent thing and start Fido on the wing, just so we can all get stiffies from hearing 'Matera run to 50... Sets sail for home...' one more time.
(probably followed by 'and the ball lands at the top of the goal square', but you can't have everything)
Still expect a few good years from him, but I would be surprised if he was still on our list in 5 years time.
Black Thunder
13 Nov 2003, 13:15
interesting question this one - anywhere between 3 and 7 years wouldn't suprise me one bit at all........Probably in the higher range of those however.
But Forward Pockets tend to decline quite quickly, and the nature of the role is that it is very hard to stay consistent over long periods - something which probalby sets him apart from other forward pockets of the last 10 years........
GoEagles
13 Nov 2003, 14:24
I can see Fido having at least 3 very good years ahead of him, but as a few others have said, I can't really see him having an impact in 5 years time. I would hope by that stage, Ashley Sampi or some other young kid would have made the forward pocket position their own.
Black Thunder
13 Nov 2003, 14:40
Originally posted by GoEagles
I can see Fido having at least 3 very good years ahead of him, but as a few others have said, I can't really see him having an impact in 5 years time. I would hope by that stage, Ashley Sampi or some other young kid would have made the forward pocket position their own.
Be interesting to see how long Sampi is willing or how long we are going to keep him in the forward line.
He's the type of guy who'd be excellent in the midfield, but with our midfield, he's not really needed, and is definetaly at his most dangerous - in terms of the West Coast - when he's in the forward line.
I can't really see him every being required to play more than 20 minutes a match in the centre for us.....
And if that's the case, being a midfielder all his life, it will be interesting if he is willing to become a forward or whether he gets frustrated at lack of chances in the midfield....
no1bankteller
13 Nov 2003, 14:50
Originally posted by Black Thunder
Be interesting to see how long Sampi is willing or how long we are going to keep him in the forward line.
He's the type of guy who'd be excellent in the midfield, but with our midfield, he's not really needed, and is definetaly at his most dangerous - in terms of the West Coast - when he's in the forward line.
I can't really see him every being required to play more than 20 minutes a match in the centre for us.....
And if that's the case, being a midfielder all his life, it will be interesting if he is willing to become a forward or whether he gets frustrated at lack of chances in the midfield....
Interesting point...
I would hope that he would be given a go at either half back line or preferably half forward line, that way he could push through midfield where his disposal skill would give us another weapon.
From what I have seen, and I know that this is a big call, but I think that aside from Wirra Sampi has the best foot passing ability in our team.