Past #23: Kieran Harper - delisted by the club (29/10) - will miss '16 VAFA season, surgery on ankle

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Even if he is long odds of coming good, I still hope we give it a crack and don't just banish him to the boonies like Kennedy and just write him off.

I am sure being up to trade and being delisted and rookied will do wonders for his confidence, is this the same club that refused to drop Bastinac and Adams because it will mentally scar them to have to play in the VFL to get some form?
 
The need for season-ending surgery on both ankles didn't seem like a reasonable excuse for poor form?
I'd say he is finished for that very reason. His ankle(s). He has had multiple surgeries in the past and it clearly hasn't healed properly. The chances of him being 100% seem remote. And even when he was 100% and was showing plenty of promise, he was far from a complete footballer. So now the ankles are a big question mark on top of his ball finding issues.

I'd love him to prove everyone wrong and make it.
 
Jun 9, 2001
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I'd say he is finished for that very reason. His ankle(s). He has had multiple surgeries in the past and it clearly hasn't healed properly. The chances of him being 100% seem remote. And even when he was 100% and was showing plenty of promise, he was far from a complete footballer. So now the ankles are a big question mark on top of his ball finding issues.

You're probably right. We obviously shopped him around for no result so I'd say it's likely he'll get to the rookie draft if your assessment is accurate.

What will be interesting is what pick we use if he gets that far.

If he slides to our last pick then rest assured he's headed for the knackery after 2015.
 

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I'd say he is finished for that very reason. His ankle(s). He has had multiple surgeries in the past and it clearly hasn't healed properly. The chances of him being 100% seem remote. And even when he was 100% and was showing plenty of promise, he was far from a complete footballer. So now the ankles are a big question mark on top of his ball finding issues.

I'd love him to prove everyone wrong and make it.

I thought he passed his medical test.
 
I thought he passed his medical test.
Passing a medical is one thing - he is no JWS that's for sure. But if he can't change direction as well as he used to, if it's hampering him in any way, it's an issue.
 

Kimbo

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If he's not going to get back to being the sort of player he was (acceleration, speed, side-step etc.) and assuming he made it back, then what kind of player could or should he model himself on going forwards? Who's a useful benchmark/model?
 
Passing a medical is one thing - he is no JWS that's for sure. But if he can't change direction as well as he used to, if it's hampering him in any way, it's an issue.

I thought passing the medical/fitness test was more than just making sure it was attached. How bad is Trengove if he failed his?
 
I thought passing the medical/fitness test was more than just making sure it was attached. How bad is Trengove if he failed his?
Trengove won't play for 12 months. Major difference.
 

GarnerSmash

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If he's not going to get back to being the sort of player he was (acceleration, speed, side-step etc.) and assuming he made it back, then what kind of player could or should he model himself on going forwards? Who's a useful benchmark/model?
Defensive stopper.

That'd be about it.
 

nelroo

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I read somewhere where he said he develops scar tissue more so than the average player..surely this is something that can be managed as a professional athlete! Unless the stability of the ankle is not good.
 

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The funny thing about Harps was i remember in the 2013 pre season it was all about midfield midfield midfield for him.

He looked out of it early in the nab cup, but then we played the cats down there, and i seem to remember him having over 20 touches and a goal.

All went downhill from there.
 
Trengove won't play for 12 months. Major difference.

If he was that bad, why did he go for a test?

Back to my point, if we are not even going to bother trying, we might as well de-list him now and free up a spot for a rookie. Do it properly, or don't do it at all. No players should just be kept around going through the motions, Anthony has been clogging the list for the last two years because the club refused to admit it made a mistake to give him another contract, one that I got a lot of heat for saying was a dumb decision.
 

GarnerSmash

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I read somewhere where he said he develops scar tissue more so than the average player..surely this is something that can be managed as a professional athlete! Unless the stability of the ankle is not good.
I wouldn't think so unfortunately.

The more scar tissue a person develops, the more likely the joint then gets restricted in its movement, the more prone it is to causing further difficulties. The only way to restrict the scar tissue regrowth is to cut it out after it has already grown I believe, hence the clean ups the kid has had.
 
If he was that bad, why did he go for a test?

Back to my point, if we are not even going to bother trying, we might as well de-list him now and free up a spot for a rookie. Do it properly, or don't do it at all. No players should just be kept around going through the motions, Anthony has been clogging the list for the last two years because the club refused to admit it made a mistake to give him another contract, one that I got a lot of heat for saying was a dumb decision.
I didn't say we shouldn't bother trying. I hope we give Harper a full go, and he takes his chances. But I am fairly sure he played most of the season under some duress, and his ankle hasn't been 100% since the original injury.
 
If he was that bad, why did he go for a test?

Back to my point, if we are not even going to bother trying, we might as well de-list him now and free up a spot for a rookie. Do it properly, or don't do it at all. No players should just be kept around going through the motions, Anthony has been clogging the list for the last two years because the club refused to admit it made a mistake to give him another contract, one that I got a lot of heat for saying was a dumb decision.

I think the point is that if a player is contracted, you have to pay out his contract if you de-list him. You might as well keep him on the list, because freeing up a spot for a late 4th round pick (whether or not "thown in" as part of another deal) means the player chosen with that 4th round pick is effectively costing you the amount of Harper's 2015 salary plus his salary (the late 4th rounder). Just not worth the gamble.

It's also why McMahon won't be de-listed.
 

nelroo

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I wouldn't think so unfortunately.

The more scar tissue a person develops, the more likely the joint then gets restricted in its movement, the more prone it is to causing further difficulties. The only way to restrict the scar tissue regrowth is to cut it out after it has already grown I believe, hence the clean ups the kid has had.
Plenty of physio, tape it and the get on with it harps! :)
 

jclei

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Well one things for sure, if Harps goes down with any sort of ankle injury at all in the early part of next year he is gone. It all has to go absolutely perfectly for him to have an afl career and he will have to play like his life depends on it. I wish him 150% luck.
 

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