Has Hamling improved?
- Thread starter Doggy Dan
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Mahlepi
Cancelled
Given our list, they wanted to move him to the rookie list, and if he improved back to the main list
He didn't want this
The blitz situation where he stayed on the rookie list is why he has been brilliant
Mahlepi
Cancelled
But it could be they didn't rate him highly
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Sorry, my question was about Delaney to our rookie list.
Mahlepi
Cancelled
He was simply cheap backup with huge upside, much like Menzel
Huge reward huge risk
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Debatable. Hamling has great closing speed and has gained some muscle. Kolo Q is awesome. I'm hoping our Kolo makes it, but you could not with any certainty say he will be FAR BETTER than Hamling, at this stage.
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- Aug 17, 2006
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Not, strictly speaking, quite true. Hamling was drafted with Kersten (didn't debut until midway through last year, after performing so well in the VFL for som many years that he was touted as a potential 2013 PF debutant and it didn't seem outlandish), Bews (wasn't even on the radar of the seniors until last year and was then starved of opportunities after showing a bit), Stephenson (long gone after a year as a stopgap), McCarthy (5 games in 3 years), Eardley (never played a senior game) and Sheringham (never more than a depth player). The only players from Hamling's class that could have been considered anything close to regulars in the AFL side at the time Hamling departed were Murdoch and Blicavs.
He's right on the second point though. And everything would suggest that he'd be on 0-1 games if he'd stayed with us this year as well. Our older defenders should have definitely been rotated more aggressively over that entire period. And the refusal to do that could absolutely end up biting us on the arse eventually. A lot of eggs in the Kolodjashnij basket, as it stands. Hamling's gone to the Bulldogs and he seems to be doing quite well. Can't keep them all.
- Aug 17, 2006
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And whenever a reserve player was required to cover Lonergan, Taylor, Rivers or Mackie, Brown was preferred.
catempire
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I think the Hamling decision also reflects the free agency era. Clubs are now more critical of draftees and their potential because there is less reliance on growing your own and more opportunities to bring in a 25-26 year old to fill a gap. Geelong would even confident of getting Frawley last year and would this year be similar with Henderson. Those guys are, in a sense, Hamling's competition.
- Apr 9, 2015
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I don't think it's surprising at all that he didn't play considering the backline he had to get into. I wish we had of held onto him as Kolo is a lone wolf coming through the vfl. But maybe it was a discusion that was more mutual than we know of. He felt if he could get opportunity elsewhere he'd be better off at least in the short term.
Glad he's turned out better than some of the other ex cats the dogs have recruited over the years hope he keeps improving.
Glad he's turned out better than some of the other ex cats the dogs have recruited over the years hope he keeps improving.
- Oct 5, 2013
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Kolo seems to have been born a natural defender. He's just very natural and reads the defender's every move in mind perfectly. He's very subtle with his arm movements in terms of nudging his opponent out of the contest at right times as not to avoid giving away free kicks and such. I also rate Kolodjashnij's athleticism highly. His brother is an absolute freak (albeit a lot smaller in stature) but Jake certainly has impressive physical attributes. Couple that with his high footy IQ, we do have future champion in the making.
Hamling took some time to finally crack it as a defender. He is actually a very good forward, I saw him kick 6 goals one time and he was marking everything in the air and then slotting bouncing goals on his opposite foot. His leaping and foot speed is simply brilliant. Due to his height, he's going to spoil most marking contests against stronger/bigger forwards as that vertical leap will often be better than his direct opponent.
I'm just pissed off a player like Mackie, who was well below his usual-self all season long in 2014, was not given a rest for Hamling in at least 3 or 4 matches. Simply not good enough and it gets back to the coach who doesn't appear to be strong enough to drop the veterans if form permits. Even Kelly could have been dropped for Hamling in the back half of the year as his form had dropped significantly.
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Excellent post Bobby.
Can't argue with any of that.
Why can we not aim for Kolo Q? As you say, freak talent, so cool, 2 Kolos are the basis for our future.
Imagine 2 Kolos and 2 Selwoods.
Only slight issue with JH getting games last year was Brown was possibly ahead of him in the pecking order, rightly or wrongly.
- Sep 15, 2005
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Not surprised to see Hamling going ok with the Dogs; I liked him as a Geelong VFL player and could see the potential there right away.
Unfortunate that he couldn't find opportunities at Geelong, but to be honest I probably rate Kolodjashnij close to being Hamling's equal - sometimes timing is everything; all things being even Kolo should step in to replace a retiring Jared Rivers full time next year after a solid but not unreasonable apprenticeship in the VFL.
Unfortunate that he couldn't find opportunities at Geelong, but to be honest I probably rate Kolodjashnij close to being Hamling's equal - sometimes timing is everything; all things being even Kolo should step in to replace a retiring Jared Rivers full time next year after a solid but not unreasonable apprenticeship in the VFL.
- Sep 15, 2005
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Am I wrong in believing Mrs Kolodjashnij actually floated the possibility of Brisbane chasing our Kolo recently, Vdubs? Reckoned they'd benefit from playing in the same side?
I like your idea better
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Means Brisbane would have to get the GC Kolo as well!Am I wrong in believing Mrs Kolodjashnij actually floated the possibility of Brisbane chasing our Kolo recently, Vdubs? Reckoned they'd benefit from playing in the same side?
I like your idea better
Know what you mean.
We can hope.
- Sep 15, 2005
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whoops
they're originally Tassie boys aren't they; can't expect the ol' home-town-pull to play a part here unfortunately - the GC are currently a rabble though; and long may that be the case.
- Apr 9, 2015
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Brad Hill would have been nice at the cats along with Isaac Smith (instead of Smedts) our midfield would be looking pretty different with those two.
Spot on Bob.
Could have alternatively replaced Kersten with him least towards the end of 2014. Really missed a chance to have an insight to value he may have had.
I'm sure the MC had this view, but very short term and inflexible thinking. What happens when one of the talks retires or gets injured? What if Kolo leaves or struggles?
Could have tried this guy on a HFF and if matched kersten, kept him another year.
The rabbi
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- May 13, 2007
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But only one tall defender coming through that ranks to replace the aging talls like Lonergan, Mackie, Rivers.
But our key defenders are old and will need to be replaced soon.
- Mar 6, 2014
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Interesting that Hamling said those two things above- one that he was really really raw (and Wells said, when Hamling was recruited, that the GFC saw him as a 'project player'- though why you'd recruit a project player with your first pick, albeit 30-something, I really don't know)- and the second being that 'every good game I played, there was always good key defenders which didn't miss'. I think that maybe he needed to have more continuity with his 'good games', not just a BOG one game then unremarkable for the next 4 or so games- not that I know how well he played in between his good games but I am sure that, if they had been solid, he'd have been given a chance at senior level.
Just looking at the VFL stats page- in his first season (2012), Hamling played 13 games (averaging 3.6 possessions between rounds 4-8) and was named as the BOG in the second last of those games. In 2013, he played 11 games and was named BOG in his 2nd and 4th games (averaging 8 possessions in his last 8 games, that average being inflated from 6 possessions, by one 16-possession game). And, in 2014, he played 18 matches and was named as BOG in 2 of those, with single votes in another 2 games. From those stats, you can also see that he averaged less than 1 tackle and 2.1 marks per game in his first year but improved to 1.6T, 3.3M the following year and 2.2 T, 4.5M in his final year at the GFC. To me, it just looked like he was still learning to get more involved in the game and the GFC were looking for more consistency from him before even considering him for a senior game- which is exactly what they should be doing with him. If he was comparing himself to other players who were drafted the same year, someone should've told him that he was dreamin'. (“Personally, it was because the blokes I got drafted with were all playing and I was playing reserves,” he said.) Players from the same draft are obviously of differing abilities and have different talents and whether they get their chance to play early can often depend on the needs of the club they signed up with, rather than them being 'game ready'- e.g. the desperation of some of the bottom teams to find a star player that will lead them out of darkness- they will be willing to try all of their new recruits, as opposed to a stronger team which will give a young player more time to find his feet before being thrown in at the deep end. It's a shame that Hamling didn't seem to recognise that.
I haven't seen him play for the Bulldogs yet- I hope that he does well at that club but I don't think the GFC were at fault for letting him go when it appears that he was the one getting a bit ahead of himself, thinking he was ready to play seniors when perhaps he was still a bit behind others at the club but not willing to recognise that or to wait for his opportunity. I was one of those who was disappointed to see him go, as I was quite impressed by his raw talent in the early games that I saw and hoped that he would have made it as a Cat at some stage. Who knows? I reckon by mid-year 2015, he could've taken his pick of positions on the field if he'd stayed, we were in such dire straits!
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The thing that's impressed me with Hamling is that he's cool under pressure. That's something I haven't seen much of in a player in his first few senior games.
One of those players who takes one grab marks and who always seems to have time.
At this stage, he's more promising than many others we've had from the Cats over the years.
Except for Kenny Newlands*, of course!
*Hope there's a few "older" Catters who remember him!
One of those players who takes one grab marks and who always seems to have time.
At this stage, he's more promising than many others we've had from the Cats over the years.
Except for Kenny Newlands*, of course!
*Hope there's a few "older" Catters who remember him!
