Am I the only one who believes in Marley Williams?

[Number 10]

Every time he comes up in conversations about him being brought into the team, His perceived downfalls are immediately pointed out and I really think it is just a huge over reaction. Last year he came in and was only out of favour when he got injured. I genuinely think we misse him for the rest of the year on the likes of Cyril and jetta who tore us new ones in the finals.

These are some of the excuses I have been hearing as to why he can't fill in as a small back...

"He's too slow" - I'm sorry but that is bullshit.

"He is too small" - once again bullshit. A small defender plays on small forwards. Marley is 181cm and has a very mature and strong body. L Thomas is 180cm. Yarran and Garlett 180cm. Puopolo 173cm, Cyril 177cm. King 178cm. I can go all day, I think you get the point.

"He can't kick" - so what? Neither can toovey, maxwell and russell under pressure. Just frikkin handball the thing.

"He can't mark" - all I have to say is this board has short memories and will pick on one thing per and over again and forget the good things that a player does. (referring to his nab cup over head drop which people fondly remember and use as judgement of his marking).

Marley is also an accumulator of the ball, wins 1v1 contests more than his fair share especially when the ball hits the ground. He hits hard, he is a mongrel an besides the odd turnover like the rest of the team, he keeps the ball moving and keeps it on our terms.

I am just perplexed as to why he is never considered as best depth or replacements for non performers... And now he isn't really even considered as a replacement for toovey. So now that I have busted some myths, can anyone shed some light on why he shouldnt play/(as some people suggest) be delisted at years end.

 

[Number 10]

Sorry about the spelling/grammar. On my phone.

 

[PepperFace]

^^^ YES ^^^

 

[mattys123]

I think it's a big week for Marley, we have a spot free in our defense with Toovey going down and the best option is Marley Williams, it's just a matter of whether he has his mind right and is ready to come in.

Before he broke down last year Marley was on his way to cementing a place as our best small defender, hopefully he's ready to do that again.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Well we're going to be forced to play him in all likelihood, but his kicking *is* in the bottom five at the club, which is a worry coming out of defence. Time will tell.

 

[Number 10]

I think it's a big week for Marley, we have a spot free in our defense with Toovey going down and the best option is Marley Williams, it's just a matter of whether he has his mind right and is ready to come in.

Before he broke down last year Marley was on his way to cementing a place as our best small defender, hopefully he's ready to do that again.

I think it's a big week for Marley, we have a spot free in our defense with Toovey going down and the best option is Marley Williams, it's just a matter of whether he has his mind right and is ready to come in.

Before he broke down last year Marley was on his way to cementing a place as our best small defender, hopefully he's ready to do that again.

You are right, he does need to earn his spot this week like all players, I just want to see some competitive players out there who will do anything to stop the ball going through for a goal. (this includes our midfield)

 

[DaVe86]

He was not top 22 with Toovey in there.

But without Toovey he may be the next best option. Obvious problem is his kicking. But at least he has a dip and can play on a man.

 

[Thommo 42]

not many defenders left, only rebounders.

he has to play I think

 

[lethalburns]

His game against Adelaide was one of the best I have seen by a new player and I think his toughness is needed in our side.

He needs to get his head right, avoid jail time and get his fitness/form right in the VFL and he will be a player for us.

 

[Number 10]

Had a great game according to the chat so should be playing next week.

 

[biggiemediums]

Every time he comes up in conversations about him being brought into the team, His perceived downfalls are immediately pointed out and I really think it is just a huge over reaction. Last year he came in and was only out of favour when he got injured. I genuinely think we misse him for the rest of the year on the likes of Cyril and jetta who tore us new ones in the finals.

These are some of the excuses I have been hearing as to why he can't fill in as a small back...

"He's too slow" - I'm sorry but that is bullshit.

"He is too small" - once again bullshit. A small defender plays on small forwards. Marley is 181cm and has a very mature and strong body. L Thomas is 180cm. Yarran and Garlett 180cm. Puopolo 173cm, Cyril 177cm. King 178cm. I can go all day, I think you get the point.

"He can't kick" - so what? Neither can toovey, maxwell and russell under pressure. Just frikkin handball the thing.

"He can't mark" - all I have to say is this board has short memories and will pick on one thing per and over again and forget the good things that a player does. (referring to his nab cup over head drop which people fondly remember and use as judgement of his marking).

Marley is also an accumulator of the ball, wins 1v1 contests more than his fair share especially when the ball hits the ground. He hits hard, he is a mongrel an besides the odd turnover like the rest of the team, he keeps the ball moving and keeps it on our terms.

I am just perplexed as to why he is never considered as best depth or replacements for non performers... And now he isn't really even considered as a replacement for toovey. So now that I have busted some myths, can anyone shed some light on why he shouldnt play/(as some people suggest) be delisted at years end.

I agree with your whole post but jesus AFL.com is full of s**t. If King is 178cm then that makes me 6'4. I'm about 6'0, maybe 6'1 in the morning. I've towered over him every time I've seen him. I don't tower over 5'10 guys.

 

[76woodenspooners]

To answer the tread title: No you're not, I'm with you.

Given he was our last live rookie selection last year he adapted to AfL very quickly and impressed. If he doesn't feature much in our 2013 campaign it'll be because of his off-field issues.

 

[JOELY]

I've never heard the too slow, can't mark or the too small calls against marley, but i have heard the can't kick and it is a legitimate one. his decision making can also be confusing at best and that doesn't help his disposal. i think even toovey has him covered in the kicking area. not a lost cause because he has good attributes so if he works at is weaknesses like toovey he'll make a decent career.

 

[Number 10]

I agree with your whole post but jesus AFL.com is full of s**t. If King is 178cm then that makes me 6'4. I'm about 6'0, maybe 6'1 in the morning. I've towered over him every time I've seen him. I don't tower over 5'10 guys.

Haha yeh it's always a bit hit or miss...but so is the afl in general

 

[Number 10]

I've never heard the too slow, can't mark or the too small calls against marley, but i have heard the can't kick and it is a legitimate one. his decision making can also be confusing at best and that doesn't help his disposal. i think even toovey has him covered in the kicking area. not a lost cause because he has good attributes so if he works at is weaknesses like toovey he'll make a decent career.

I'll get some quotes up tomorrow when I can be ****ed. But I have seen plenty

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

I'm a fan. Is he first in line? who knows.

 

[jmac70]

He looked pretty good at times last year. I am sure he will get his chance soon.

 

[jimmy35]

Im a fan as well. He's tough and aggressive that's a good start.

 

[carnthepies19]

I reckon he's first in line (and deserves to be) this week with johnno not playing VFL. Only way he could be not selected would be if we upgraded Oxley. Although I'd really like to see the Ox in the team alongside Marley

 

[iado]

I was at the Bendigo game last night and Marley was brilliant. Probably the most physical attack on the ball accross the park. Field kicking was mostly excellent but sprayed on a couple of occasions when he bombed forward for shots on goal. Seems like a smart choice for the ones to me. Also, without Maxwell, we're missing a bit of aggression back there.

 

[Scodog10]

I hate to be a party pooper, but I'm certainly not with you.

The difference between Maxwell, Russell and Toovey (who I agree are relatively poor kicks under pressure) is that under no pressure they can still hit a target or take a decent option whereas Williams struggles with even that. As a lock down small you will need to get the ball roughly 10 times a match and I personally wouldn't be confident that if he had 10 kicks that he'd hit the target with three of them. Hitting targets against a team that would struggle in B grade amateurs means nothing when the step is needed to be made up to AFL.

ATM our defence is leaking like a sieve the absolute last thing we need is to bring in another player that gifts opportunities to the opposition and in all honesty if you have to tell an AFL footballer to "fricken handball the thing" surely you have to realise something's wrong. Then compare it to a bloke like Oxley who's come in and made a strong impression straight up who has sublime skills, is good overhead and finds a lot of the pill plus has the motivation of being a rookie so needing to earn a senior spot and Tooveys replacement becomes obvious to me.... Johnson (but I'd still bring in Oxley to replace Russell)

Don't get me wrong I hope Marley succeeds and proves me wrong, but I just don't see it with him....

 

[Number 10]

I hate to be a party pooper, but I'm certainly not with you.

The difference between Maxwell, Russell and Toovey (who I agree are relatively poor kicks under pressure) is that under no pressure they can still hit a target or take a decent option whereas Williams struggles with even that. As a lock down small you will need to get the ball roughly 10 times a match and I personally wouldn't be confident that if he had 10 kicks that he'd hit the target with three of them. Hitting targets against a team that would struggle in B grade amateurs means nothing when the step is needed to be made up to AFL.

ATM our defence is leaking like a sieve the absolute last thing we need is to bring in another player that gifts opportunities to the opposition and in all honesty if you have to tell an AFL footballer to "fricken handball the thing" surely you have to realise something's wrong. Then compare it to a bloke like Oxley who's come in and made a strong impression straight up who has sublime skills, is good overhead and finds a lot of the pill plus has the motivation of being a rookie so needing to earn a senior spot and Tooveys replacement becomes obvious to me.... Johnson (but I'd still bring in Oxley to replace Russell)

Don't get me wrong I hope Marley succeeds and proves me wrong, but I just don't see it with him....

Fair enough.

I too like Oxleys game even though I have only seen him play 2 NABs and one VFL game, but his skills are sublime. I'm unsure whether he has the speed and attack that Marley does to shut down a small, if anyone can shed some light on this? In the NAB I did notice his defense wasn't a highlight.

 

[Number 10]

I've never heard the too slow, can't mark or the too small calls against marley, but i have heard the can't kick and it is a legitimate one. his decision making can also be confusing at best and that doesn't help his disposal. i think even toovey has him covered in the kicking area. not a lost cause because he has good attributes so if he works at is weaknesses like toovey he'll make a decent career.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/our-best-22.1001490/#post-27942410

I agree with this. I was thinking the exact same thing during the game last week, as we watched the small forwards tear it up again.

I can see that they are trying to mould Marley Williams to perhaps take this role, but is he quick enough? I'm not convinced.

Well s**t I can't find the quotes about him not being able to mark but they were there after that NAB game when people were saying that he crumbles and can't mark under pressure. Maybe I am imagining things...

 

[Giant Sphinx]

Watching him against the crows over here I thought we have a player here. He was tough fast kicking was good. If he can recapture that sort of form he will play the rest of the year.

 

[Vicky Park]

I agree with the OP. Many of us were really excited about Marley last year, but he seems to have dropped off the radar of the many Pies fans. I'd be happy to see him back in the seniors, and I like his aggression too - although he has to learn to control and channel it. Obviously the off-field issue needs to be resolved.