VFL 2023 Sandringham Zebras
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CaptainRisky
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Yeah , he sure does love telling people where to go considering he has no idea
Hubnester
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How frustrating, Allison was starting to look good last year when they finally put him in a key position, wasn't he? Everything was sounding positive into the preseason before his injury, and now that he's back they've got him on the wing again?
botts
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Absolute strange drafting.
CaptainRisky
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I have followed him pretty closely as his dad is very good mates with a friend of mine and i cant recall him ever playing well as a key forward , when i say well he may have kicked a goal here and there but i don't recall a bag of 4 or more .
Not a chance in hell he makes it , TBH i don't think he wants to be out there , maybe more family pressure why he is playing
CaptainRisky
Premium Gold
Matty also had a bit of a quiet game, he showed glimpses but we need to improve his consistency in the contest. He gets to contests but it is that next step to continue to compete. As a coach, we need to keep using his strengths, which is elite running. He can run, so we want to put him in positions where he can do so. It isn’t something that happens overnight, but the pleasing thing is that there are guys like Matt, like Leo and the other young boys who are putting in the work to get better. It will come.
That's from June last year , The high lighted is what you see every week
That's from June last year , The high lighted is what you see every week
I think he started to look good in some pre-season practice games.
Hubnester
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Yeah, I remember reading a few track watchers getting excited by what they were seeing. It sounded like he'd flicked the switch as a forward - in terms of fitness and competitiveness.
Look at the position column in that link haha - forward, back, forward, back, wing, back, forward...
He's got another year at least anyway, right? I suppose after such a long layoff it's about conditioning, hopefully he can start firing again in the preseason and have a bit of luck next season.
Geez I hope we look at the Sandy alignment and either sort it out or split away. How are we developing if the VFL team are getting spanked every week?
The kids playing good AFL footy for us this year have all avoided playing at Sandy.
If we're serious about "no stone unturned" in winning an AFL flag, the pathway is a huge part of it and needs to be reviewed.
The kids playing good AFL footy for us this year have all avoided playing at Sandy.
If we're serious about "no stone unturned" in winning an AFL flag, the pathway is a huge part of it and needs to be reviewed.
Gold Coast and the Hawks finished on top of the VFL ladder and they're not exactly killing it in the AFL. Not sure there's a huge correlation between how the VFL side goes and development for the AFL.
CaptainRisky
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He took a couple of marks and kicked two goals in some mickey mouse hitout and that Gosh Gabelich who wets his pants over the saints wrote an article , it was far from saying he was going to play , news is pretty slow that time of the year
SteeleSaints
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Training watchers were reporting seeing a different player in Allison at the start of the year. I dont know if that equates to he becoming a footballer or not but he does have huge athletic capacities. He is definitely not a natural or smart footballer, in most games I have seen him play he runs around like a headless chook and doesnt know how to win the footy. I guess if he has a contract for 2024 he will get another year to prove himself, otherwise I think he will be cut.
Hubnester
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Nah I wasn't thinking of a journo, just what people had seen and commented on over preseason. If I recall right he had some really strong finishes in time trails before his injury, and being a lot more involved as a forward which is what I was refering to.
Sounds like athleticism isn't his issue anyway, hopefully he can stay fit and be allowed to develop in a more suitable role up forward now.
CaptainRisky
Premium Gold
Yeah , running has never been an issue , getting the ball has and competing
Not sure about that. Excluding 2021 and 2020 where the pandemic stopped the comp:
2022: Casey VFL premiers – Melbourne prelim
2019: Richmond VFL premiers – Richmond premiers
2018: Casey VFL runners up – Melbourne prelim
2017: Richmond VFL runners up – Richmond premiers
2016: Footscray VFL premiers – Bulldogs premiers
2015: Box Hill runners up – Hawthorn premiers
2014: Box Hill runners up – Hawthorn premiers
2013 – Box Hill premiers - Hawthorn premiers
We also havent made the VFL finals in about a decade. Not saying its everything (and I haven't looked at interstate comps like SANFL and WAFL), but a good VFL side seems to loosely align with AFL success (read good player development).
Expansion clubs likely a massive outlier due to expanded list sizes and previous draft concessions.
I agree , we lost because the Saints players weren't available. Combination of injury and Saints playing lots of Sundays.
The last game of the season told a very different story.
To me , there are similarities with the game style of the Zeb's and the Saints, the kind of co-ordination we haven't always had in the past.
During his reviews Batch even explains what some of the players need to do to further their development or get an AFL callup, or explains why they are playing a different role.
hayes
Brownlow Medallist
He took a nice mark at training and everyone got excited. They keep moving him around because wherever he plays he ends up being basically invisible. I’d be giving up on him in any offensive role and try to use his athletic gifts to become a stopper in defence because he is definitely a great athlete.
CaptainRisky
Premium Gold
He just seems very shy at the contest , not sure i would want to be relying on him in a one on one
You might be right. Other explanation could be that clubs who have a good run with injuries often win more games in the AFL, and clubs who have a good run with injuries have more players available for the VFL side so win more games in the VFL too.
Conversely this year we had a bad run with injuries so our VFL side was short handed, but when we finally got everyone back they beat the second placed side comfortably.
gringo2011
Premium Platinum
We were competitive with our depth restored against a very good VFL finals bound side. It's not as dire when we have AFL aligned players back.
gringo2011
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Hawks are soft tanking so not playing guys that should be in their best 22 in the VFL. GC has amassed so much talent that they are splitting the seams. When they push a guy like Flanders up he pushes a guy like Fiorini out to the VFL. Fiorini was a regular 30 possession mid for ages. Now he's depth.
Hollands, Sharp, Flanders would be in most best 22s. Their big goal kicker Burgess is a multiple leading VFL goal kicker and doesn't get a look in at senior level, Moyle is a gun at VFL level ruck who will probably move to the senior role once Witts retires, even Tsitas was a gun VFL player that they listed free. Constable would probably be getting a game in a lot fo midfields off his 2023 form.
Going by RTB's recent presser he's not too impressed by the VFL either. I wonder if he'd guffaw if a reporter asked him about Allison.
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Also meant that some very ordinary VFL-list players were pushed out of the side
