Reilly

[just maybe]

Where is this gun we have been promised for so long?

Sure, he ain't getting much gametime lately, but for good reason. He's been crap and doesn't really deserve the gametime. He's been getting some possession, but...

Great footskills? I've seen so many clangers or nothing kicks coming off his boot I question this claim, still.

Pace? Looks medium pace, nothing more, nothing less.

Awareness? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Decision-making? Poor. I groan whenever he gets the ball. Like muffing that goal shot against Freo...where was the coolness under pressure we've been promised? Where were the footskills?

Hardness? Nothing out of the ordinary, a tad soft even.

This boy has done NOTHING to justify the free ride given to him by many on this board. Doughty gets a harder time by everyone here, yet at the same stage of his career Doughty was doing far better. How long does Reilly have to actually bloody produce? Doughty is always the first choice for dropping by many on this board, yet his season outshines Reilly's by light years. Reilly has been in the system for nearly four years and has played a handful of good games.

Why is he given such a hypocritical free ride by so many supporters on here? We really need to face the fact that he is beginning to turn into a waste of a high draft pick - he is not a bad player, but he looks nothing better than second-tier, and nothing he has done has swayed my mind.

 

[pjcrows]

respect your views. youve taken a very negative anle though.

i think if you look at reilly - overall - from the promise he showed in 2003 and his reputation then, he has not achieved what we would have hoped. rucci hurt him a bit in 2004 when he said he would be the next ricciuto - thats a stupid f*cking call, he has nowhere near the capability to be a hard nut like roo, he is a loose wingman/half back. but hey, rucci said salopek would win a brownlow

having said that, i think reilly will be a solid 100-150 game player for us until he decides to go home (aka kane johnson, although johnson is better player).

i think if we expect as much as that then we will be satisified. if we expect the next touch captain, we are joking i think.

 

[Mad Dog]

I agree that Reilly has dissappointed so far this year.....and should be scrutinised just like any other midfielder on the periphery. AS we all know - he only played 46 mins this week......which actually becomes even more alarming when there was another small who only played 8 !!!! - You would think with such a small number....more time might have been available to Reilly - but that didn't eventuate.

I've never been in the "Reilly is the next big thing" camp.....but I do think he has better than average talent and skills. His stocks may have been over-valued late last year when he started to show some promise as we headed towards a rebuilding year....and may have suffered a bit from being the pin up boy for the "New AFC"......

As I've said before here - I've spoken to Brett on a few occasions since he has been at the club....and I've found it worrying that his disposition has become more and more aloof each time. I seriously think he is suffering from overhyped expectation from fans , media, and himself........and is struggling with form.....and maybe NC is trying to bring him down a peg or 2...?

Hopefully any issues can be solved because he does have the talent if he works hard at it.

 

[tribey]

Re: Reilly,

I've been asking the same thing since I got flayed by the entire board back in 2003 for suggesting Johncock was the superior player with superior potential.

Not only am I bemused as to why Reilly is seemingly beyond criticism on this board - and you're regularly shot down if you do criticise him: thanks WW, macca23, et al. - but I'm also confused as to why the coaching staff regularly pull the pin on the likes of Begley, Massie and Hentschel at a moment's notice, yet have allowed Reilly to play 100% of games despite his poor form and lack of gametime in the past month.

Reilly arguably cost us one game this season (his poster from pointblank range early in the final quarter that would've iced the game against WCE) and could've cost us another one (his OOF against Freo when running into goal under no pressure from 35 out on a 45 degree angle) yet these critical clangers are generally glossed over.

If it was Burton, Perrie or Doughty (guilty as charged) who made these errors we'd never hear the end of it.

Reilly has his golden ticket from this board and the coaching staff though, and I guess that's all that matters.

 

[ignoranus]

Burton played a blinder against Hawthorn BTW - should keep the dogs at Bay for another week or two.
His goal crashing through CHF in the third quarter was spectacular.
Yeah drop Reilly and let him find form and humility in SANFL. He's only had one good game this year.

EDIT: I reckon Reilly's golden ticket comes purely from him being a high draft pick. The coaching staff don't want to admit they effed up and tend to give such players more opportunities than low draft picks/rookies etc.

 

[outback jack]

Reilly has been played out of form, by NC five mins a quarter for the first half of the season policy. He wont be able to show what hes got in that time. Like other players that have blossomed this yr, they need consistent game time to show if they are up to the level.

and DT Reilly does have more potential than johncock, but it is exactly that only potential. Johncock will only ever be a hbf or hff. Reilly will be a midfielder for us, but atm its clear he has obvious flaws. The likes of doughty etc are old and have no improvement in them and should be bagged cause they are not up to afl standard. If reilly is at that standard at their age then he can go to. The big hope is that hes 21 and should have major improvement in him, especially if he actually gets a game, like someone like mattner who has blossomed when he was backed. Players like doughty, Perrie, Begley, skippy are great tryers but have their limits and are really only good for depth. In the position we are in, we need quality youth coming through, they at times should make way for the future.

 

[AJ_No.4]

Where is this gun we have been promised for so long?

Sure, he ain't getting much gametime lately, but for good reason. He's been crap and doesn't really deserve the gametime. He's been getting some possession, but...

Great footskills? I've seen so many clangers or nothing kicks coming off his boot I question this claim, still.

Pace? Looks medium pace, nothing more, nothing less.

Awareness? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Decision-making? Poor. I groan whenever he gets the ball. Like muffing that goal shot against Freo...where was the coolness under pressure we've been promised? Where were the footskills?

Hardness? Nothing out of the ordinary, a tad soft even.

This boy has done NOTHING to justify the free ride given to him by many on this board. Doughty gets a harder time by everyone here, yet at the same stage of his career Doughty was doing far better. How long does Reilly have to actually bloody produce? Doughty is always the first choice for dropping by many on this board, yet his season outshines Reilly's by light years. Reilly has been in the system for nearly four years and has played a handful of good games.

Why is he given such a hypocritical free ride by so many supporters on here? We really need to face the fact that he is beginning to turn into a waste of a high draft pick - he is not a bad player, but he looks nothing better than second-tier, and nothing he has done has swayed my mind.

Even though I agree with some of your points. I think a little too much is expected of Reilly. He's been hyped up byt the media, coaching staff and senior players.He was killing it in the preseason and I think it has gone to his head. He is still 21 yrs of age and doesn't turn 22 until November.

He has played 35 AFL games. Give it time, I think next year you will see a different Reilly. One that is a lot fitter, more hungry for it and someone that isn't believing his own hype.
By then he will have had a year and half of senior footy and will have had realise what he needs to do to be a 250 - 300 AFL game player and a regular midfielder. if he gets to the age of 23 or 24 and is still playing the same way, then it would be time to move him on or delist him.

Craigy must like him, as he did just sign a new 3 year contract at the start of the year.

BTW I would have liked the Crows to draft the kid that got picked up by St. Kilda straight after Reilly. His name is Dal Santo. Anyone heard of him??

 

[noddy]

To me he looks as though he expects the world without having to work for it.

But there's still time to make readjustments to the size of his head.

 

[just maybe]

The likes of doughty etc are old and have no improvement in them and should be bagged cause they are not up to afl standard.

Excuse me? Doughty has undoubtedly improved this year and was one of our best against Hawthorn. He's been in our best numerous times this year.

Reilly has not. Once at most.

Played out of form? Protective coming from you, the master of negativity. A soft spot for Reilly have you? Fact is, a good player will find form. Reilly has got varying amounts of minutes and done sweet FA with them.

 

[tribey]

and DT Reilly does have more potential than johncock, but it is exactly that only potential. Johncock will only ever be a hbf or hff. Reilly will be a midfielder for us, but atm its clear he has obvious flaws.

At present Reilly may have more potential as a 'midfielder', but I still believe Johncock has more potential as a player.

 

[afc9798]

Re: Reilly,

I've been asking the same thing since I got flayed by the entire board back in 2003 for suggesting Johncock was the superior player with superior potential.

Not only am I bemused as to why Reilly is seemingly beyond criticism on this board - and you're regularly shot down if you do criticise him: thanks WW, macca23, et al. - but I'm also confused as to why the coaching staff regularly pull the pin on the likes of Begley, Massie and Hentschel at a moment's notice, yet have allowed Reilly to play 100% of games despite his poor form and lack of gametime in the past month.

Reilly arguably cost us one game this season (his poster from pointblank range early in the final quarter that would've iced the game against WCE) and could've cost us another one (his OOF against Freo when running into goal under no pressure from 35 out on a 45 degree angle) yet these critical clangers are generally glossed over.

If it was Burton, Perrie or Doughty (guilty as charged) who made these errors we'd never hear the end of it.

Reilly has his golden ticket from this board and the coaching staff though, and I guess that's all that matters.

Agree entirely. I think he's being played on credit that he's built up by training hard and saying the right things about being a one club player etc. This is fair enough and all good stuff, but you would also expect to see some significant improvement in his game, whereas it just seems to have stalled at an unacceptable level.

Reilly panics under pressure, regularly chooses the wrong option, misses targets by hand or foot and passes to players under more pressure than he is. The two 'gimmes' he missed (WCE and Freo) were unforgivable for a player being touted as a future leader. I'm off the bandwagon and firmly on the sceptics list as of this year. Still think he's got the goods, but just doesn't have the confidence to execute correctly under pressure.

 

[StickerMan]

If we look back to last year when he started playing some great footy, albeit in the last few rounds after NC took over, we will see that he was playing off the half-back line (almost in a quarterback-type role). He earned himself a rising star nomination and was looking the goods.

Fast forward to this year and you look at our half back line and Torney, Hart and now Bassett has been freed up, there doesn's seem to be a spot for him there.

In the midfield there isn't really a spot for him. With the emergence of Mattner, the full fitness of Goodwin and the recruiting of Thompson, he can't get a look in and I feel that Reilly has had to find his feet again.

I would like to see him take a similar role to a Aussie Jones, Joel Smith of which I believe he is more than capable of.

 

[outback jack]

Excuse me? Doughty has undoubtedly improved this year and was one of our best against Hawthorn. He's been in our best numerous times this year.

Reilly has not. Once at most.

Played out of form? Protective coming from you, the master of negativity. A soft spot for Reilly have you? Fact is, a good player will find form. Reilly has got varying amounts of minutes and done sweet FA with them.

Its you rather that has the soft spot for doughty. Doughty has only reached his 2002 levels again after doing nothing in 2003 and 2004, theres no improvement there. And nor should we expect it. And thats not to say he doesnt have a role in the team, cause his attack on the ball in terms of effort has been first rate since his collingwood effort. Its his ability that has let him down. Hes a good fringe player, problem is we need to find some stars to replace our existing ones, so far we've got thompson and who, maybe matter, thats it.

And on reilly he has most definitely improved a little bit, remember a yr ago he was in the sanfl and later in the yr a unaccountable hbf. You try playing something and playing 10% of the game, it doesnt exactly further your development. The simple truth is players that have improved us this yr, ie mattner, bock and rutten only improved when they were given proper gametime, bock playing all over the place was slammed by most on here, matter playing under ayres did nothing and rutten has gone to become one of the comps best FB's. Its all a result of the coach backing them and asking them to step up. NC has made it tougher for Reilly, which aint necessarily bad, as we dont want to just give it to him, but half a season is too long to do it and we cant expect major improvement in this time. Oh and theres no doubt that Reilly has major flaws, like softness, pace and general attack on the ball, but for him to improve, he has to be played.

 

[outback jack]

At present Reilly may have more potential as a 'midfielder', but I still believe Johncock has more potential as a player.

yes johncok is a gun i agree, but i was simple saying from a potential point of view, in terms of hopefully the position reilly can fill sometime in the future. Dont reckon stiffy will ever get into the middle even though hes said he wants to.

 

[just maybe]

Its you rather that has the soft spot for doughty. Doughty has only reached his 2002 levels again after doing nothing in 2003 and 2004, theres no improvement there.

Wrong. Dougty's hardness this year is a significant and important improvement in his game over 2002, as is his accountability.

I do have a sort of soft spot for Doughty, but only in the sense that he unfairly cops crap while performing better than some others who get a free ride. I think if we are to be a good team he is back-up material at best, but at this stage he is performing better than a number of players yet gets more criticism than them.

His ability has let him down? Are you talking about the same player? Doughty's footskills are excellent, and he has arguably the best handball in the club. He also has pace and now, hardness. He is performing pretty consistently well in the 'backbone' group this season, and is displaying all the attributes Reilly is lacking...yet Reilly gets a free ride.

 

[Rave Slave]

Would have to be our most valuable trade bait at this stage with so many other youngsters coming along.

I say work a deal involving Reilly and a first rounder or two for Griffen in the year we draft Gibbs. Effectively 2 first rounders there and Griffen is going to be a superstar. Reilly still hasn't got me sold yet.

 

[Bockchoy67]

Where is this gun we have been promised for so long?

Sure, he ain't getting much gametime lately, but for good reason. He's been crap and doesn't really deserve the gametime. He's been getting some possession, but...

Great footskills? I've seen so many clangers or nothing kicks coming off his boot I question this claim, still.

Pace? Looks medium pace, nothing more, nothing less.

Awareness? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Decision-making? Poor. I groan whenever he gets the ball. Like muffing that goal shot against Freo...where was the coolness under pressure we've been promised? Where were the footskills?

Hardness? Nothing out of the ordinary, a tad soft even.

This boy has done NOTHING to justify the free ride given to him by many on this board. Doughty gets a harder time by everyone here, yet at the same stage of his career Doughty was doing far better. How long does Reilly have to actually bloody produce? Doughty is always the first choice for dropping by many on this board, yet his season outshines Reilly's by light years. Reilly has been in the system for nearly four years and has played a handful of good games.

Why is he given such a hypocritical free ride by so many supporters on here? We really need to face the fact that he is beginning to turn into a waste of a high draft pick - he is not a bad player, but he looks nothing better than second-tier, and nothing he has done has swayed my mind.

Agree with all these points. Great post mate.

I too am becoming concerned with Reilly, especially regarding his pace. Two years ago he was as quick as a whistle and moved like a genuine runner. Now he seems to have "heavy legs and chest" syndrome. Its not that he's overweight, but rather the result of too much muscle being developed too soon. Now he's as quick as a two-legged sloth.

He's got plenty of good things but he struggling to show them ATM.

 

[pjcrows]

a quick one on doughty - i dont think you can say he has *improved* since 2002. his defensive game is still verrrry iffy.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Everyone has made some valid points regarding Reilly's form this year.

I to have been disappointed with his progression but still am of the belief that at 21 he still has a huge upside that I understanding people are demanding be seen now not later.

Sorry it doesn't always work like that!

Mattner was soundly criticized and a fair majority wanted to de-list him - where are you now??

Rutten, I can remember the consensus that although footy smart he was too slow to make it in the AFL - where are you now??

You do not sign a kid to a 3 year contract unless you have a lot of confidence in his ability!

Obviously not strong believers on this board because you have to see to believe - well believe me Reill'y game and body will evolve to be a integral cog in our midfield (some-one said he was only a wigman) and then like Mattner and Rutten there will be silence again as we all praise him and laud his virtues

 

[macca23]

Re: Reilly,

I've been asking the same thing since I got flayed by the entire board back in 2003 for suggesting Johncock was the superior player with superior potential.

Not only am I bemused as to why Reilly is seemingly beyond criticism on this board - and you're regularly shot down if you do criticise him: thanks WW, macca23, et al. - but I'm also confused as to why the coaching staff regularly pull the pin on the likes of Begley, Massie and Hentschel at a moment's notice, yet have allowed Reilly to play 100% of games despite his poor form and lack of gametime in the past month.

Reilly arguably cost us one game this season (his poster from pointblank range early in the final quarter that would've iced the game against WCE) and could've cost us another one (his OOF against Freo when running into goal under no pressure from 35 out on a 45 degree angle) yet these critical clangers are generally glossed over.

If it was Burton, Perrie or Doughty (guilty as charged) who made these errors we'd never hear the end of it.

Reilly has his golden ticket from this board and the coaching staff though, and I guess that's all that matters.

Oh my poor unloved DT. WW and I are such vicious bastards.

Seriously though, while I rarely disgree with your football judgement, I do think that you're overly harsh on Reilly (Here I go again!!)

IMO you and many others judge Reilly on a harsher basis than most other players, based mostly on his #12 draft pick status in a very strong draft.

I agree that he may not have lived up to those expectations, but once they're drafted, does it matter whether he was #12 draft pick or #100 draft pick?

If we had picked Reilly up at #100 in that draft, would we be raving about the same guy and saying what a bargain he was at that spot? We probably would be.

He hasn't been a star - accepted. But I do think he has played well enough to justify his spot.

He's being used in a back-up mid-field role to give the big guns a breather in the rotations, and for the time he spends on the ground his disposals are at a reasonable level.

As for gold passes, I really can't see Craig giving any individual player an undeserved ride.

We're just going to have to differ on this one.

 

[outback jack]

Wrong. Dougty's hardness this year is a significant and important improvement in his game over 2002, as is his accountability.

I do have a sort of soft spot for Doughty, but only in the sense that he unfairly cops crap while performing better than some others who get a free ride. I think if we are to be a good team he is back-up material at best, but at this stage he is performing better than a number of players yet gets more criticism than them.

His ability has let him down? Are you talking about the same player? Doughty's footskills are excellent, and he has arguably the best handball in the club. He also has pace and now, hardness. He is performing pretty consistently well in the 'backbone' group this season, and is displaying all the attributes Reilly is lacking...yet Reilly gets a free ride.

yes he has added hardness, so that is an improvement, apart from that from now there would be very little. And i pretty much agree with all the rest, in that he is performing marginally better than reilly for instance, but until recently he has been given the game time to do so. There is ofcourse that upside with reilly that we hope he will become a very good player at doughty's age. And as you said if we are going to be a quality side going for premierships then he would just be a depth player, much like skippy, begley and a few others imo.

In terms of footskills and handballs, he is no better than any other player on average. They dont have any hurt factor. The part about his game that has been good is the attack on the ball, if he loses or relaxes that i would drop him. His hand skills, ie fumbling the pill are particularly poor, esp the geelong game by memory where he cost us in a couple of crucial plays.

I dont think reilly has been given a free ride atm, and really with the game time hes been given you cant say that at all. Doughty and skippy are ones who get a very nice gig for their overall value to the team. Thats it, hopefully reilly can get more aggression into him, like he did when jars bagged him and improve to a quality player for us. Everyone knows we need to find some guns and we know doughty isn’t that but it may be that neither is Reilly. With knights and VB coming through at such a young age they will have to pick their games up asap anyhow.

 

[tribey]

Oh my poor unloved DT. WW and I are such vicious bastards.

Thought you'd like it.

For now yes, we'll have to agree to disagree, but feel free to call me out when Radar is no longer jammed.

 

[J.Gallagher #1]

I dont agree with the people that are saying Reilly is out of form, to my thinking for the amount of time he is spending on the ground each game(max. would be about 60) I think he has been playing very well, racking up touches and 90% of the time using them well.

In regards to this statement

Reilly arguably cost us one game this season (his poster from pointblank range early in the final quarter that would've iced the game against WCE)

i believe in the same last quarter that one Graham Johncock managed to miss 2 gimme's that would have sealed the game as well. Anyways thats my opinion take it for what its worth(Which is probably nothing.)

 

[Drummond]

Brent Reilly needs a full game, then we can make an accurate judgement to where he currently is in his footy carrer. Every game he comes on when Ricciuto comes off, therefore giving him the last 10 minutes to make an impact. This is not enough. I remember last year against Melbourne he shut down Aaron Davey and also racked up 25 possessions. He just needs to have the full 120 minutes, without constantly interchanging with our more experienced players.

 

[Markthirtytwo]

I too am a Radar fan. He will be a very good player in the future and NC is using him at the minute to show him what is involved in becoming a top notch mid-fielder. Him coming on the relieve Roo probably has him in two minds where he is at, but the coaching staff should be in his ear about his role in the team.

Whilst there are one or two players with this so called golden ticket, I dont believe he is one of them. Not for a minute.

A solid one or two weeks back at Sturt would give him the hunger to get back and prove all the doubting jacks wrong.