Past James Polkinghorne (2007-2014)

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What clubs were interested/linked to him? I heard nothing linking him to any Vic club...surely the convincing wasn't too difficult.

Agree with Grim, not good enough to name terms and should be fighting for his career.
 
blynd_freddie said:
I beg to differ - are you a member of TLR? ;)
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Whats a TLR? And I wouldnt see Polkinghorne as our Primary concern, so to get him to stay out of a possible 6 leavers hardly sets my world on fire. Cheering that hes staying after being "convinced" by a new coach is laughable considering he was going the way of Shelden and Stiller.
 
Polks showed so much promise as a leading forward. Hopefully Leppa gives him a few games in that position next year.
 
Mr Ripper said:
Required player considers move.
Required player reassured by new coach he remains a required player.
Required player decides to stay put.

Where's the issue?
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Losing high draft picks left, right and centre, but managing to keep the list clogger. Probably not fair on Polks, but it feels like a front handed insult.
'Hey, look on the bright side, you get to keep Polkinghorne:p '. Hardy har...
 
Mr Ripper said:
One year contract extension according to his manager speaking on Trade Radio.
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You mean we might have to contend with him leaving as a free agent at the end of the season since we could only get a one-year deal out of him?
 
Caiphus said:
You mean we might have to contend with him leaving as a free agent at the end of the season since we could only get a one-year deal out of him?
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If the AFLs weird compensation system stands, we should pay him 600k this year and get a #5 draft pick for him.
 

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Bengwatkins said:
Weird, Hawks should hold Pick 1 and Collingwood Pick 30.
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the compensation system also revolves around giving picks to teams after their selection in the national draft, so it works like getting a 1st round pick,2nd round pic, 3rd round pick, so n hawks case they finished first so their firstpick was 18 so their compensation was at 19, collingwood, thomas got a pretty big offer from calrton thats why he left since they performed worse than hawthorn this season, scored big time
 
Polkinghorne re-signs

Polkinghorne has decided to extend his stay in Brisbane by re-signing for another year.

“It’s probably no secret that James spent some time over the off-season weighing up his AFL future, but after speaking with new Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch, he decided to remain in Brisbane,” Warren said.

“The Club sees him as being a valuable player who is about to enter the prime of his career.
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I hope polks has a breakout year in 2014. He has lots of nockers on here.. but i still think he could be a handy player for us. Fingers crossed.. maybe a new coach may help
 
harvester said:
I hope polks has a breakout year in 2014. He has lots of nockers on here.. but i still think he could be a handy player for us. Fingers crossed.. maybe a new coach may help
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Watched him closely in the 2's when he was [very deservedly] dropped and, far from shining which you would expect from a nominal first-grader playing in lesser company, to my mind showed zip.

Apart from his lack of progress over a very extended period, and, it could easily be argued, rather generous treatment, I would not be surprised if his retention at senior level may well have been a cause of dissension in the ranks.
 
2013 Review - by knaf

What can be said about James Polkinghorne that wasn’t said by blynd freddie in his excellent 2012 review?

To paraphrased points from that 2012 review

“……. a pass mark for 2011 but … the 2012 review to be assessed more stringently on the realisation of results rather than on signs of potential development.”
“…in 2012, in just about every KPI ‘media’ stat available to the public, an ‘in red’ comparison to his 2011 season statistics.” My emphasis
“…..His first game for the year (2012) was a pearler – equal top goal scorer, second highest for clearances, top 5 contested possessions, top 3 for tackles, all of which earned James 3 B&F votes.” Noted that this was against Melbourne

blynd fredie also referenced a comment by Old Den “I think that Polk’s toughness, skills and ability to kick goals from outside the 50 with either foot is well worth having and he has every chance of a break out period soon. And most importantly, a solid citizen.”

blynd freddie stated that he also believes Polkinghorne is a solid citizen, but concludes with this assessment “…but I also believe that in 2012 he was given the nod over some of the younger kids at the selection table due to his size & experience but I am now of the opinion that by the end of 2013 there will be several young-uns with close to, or at least equal ability to James Polkinghorne and unless he does have a 'break-out season' he may well find himself in a similar position to the Sheldon’s, Stiller’s and Hawksley’s of 2012 come the end of the next season.“

I couldn’t have said it better myself. At the start of 2013 Polkinghorne needed to establish himself as critical member of the starting 22, not a role player with potential.

And so on to 2013……….
Round one - 30 March versus the Bulldogs. Not a good start to the season for the Lions or Polks. Someone commented “James Polkinghorne managed just six disposals at a horrible 17 per cent efficiency against the Bulldogs and could be in strife. 17%...so only one effective possession? “
Round two April 6 - Adelaide Crows - Somehow he kept his place after the Bullies effort. He contributed 13 disposals and one goal. Here I have to confess I cant recall his game. I will guess he played on the half forward flank and give him a pass for his effort.
Round three – April 13 versus the Gold Coast Suns- Polkinghorne started as the sub and replaced Stefan Martin in the third quarter. Statistically a reasonable contribution, with Polks gathering 8 disposals and kicking one goal, but Voss applied the informal “drop them to the reserves after a game as sub” rule. So Polks was back kicking the dew off the grass in the 2s. (not sure if they have dew on the grass in Queensland in April but couldn’t help using an old footy term).
April 23, 2013 dropped to the reserves but responded well According to the Reserve wrap “After being dropped from the senior side last week, James Polkinghorne responded with a best-on-ground performance in the midfield, highlighted by a game-high 38 disposals .
“He came back (to the Reserves) with a really good attitude,” Harding said. “We played him on the ball and he was a bit of a link player for us. He won the contested ball, but was also able to find space and get some outside ball as well.”

Polkinghorne recalled for the round five clash with Melbourne on 28 April. “James Polkinghorne impressed on his promotion with 30 disposals but blotted his copybook by being reported for an off-the-ball trip which also resulted in a 50m free and goal to Shannon Byrnes. His best ever Disposal and Dream team ranking game.” The Feral Hun Newspaper

The Flying Belgium commented “If anyone couldn't see what, at his best, he can provide to the team that others can't, it was on display on the weekend. He's one of the more creative players on our list, especially by handball. Still had a few clangers, but was a great performance. Consistency in the challenge. I wouldn't be looking for the same from him each week (although it would be great if he did), but he should be looking to average somewhere in the low 20s and use that creativity.” Well-deserved praise, but it should be noted that again his best game for the year was against one of the weaker teams in the league.

Solid performances followed during rounds 6 Swans, round 7 West Coast and the surprise win over Essendon in round 8. Grim commented 11 May “Three 20 or more disposal games in a row. He still makes some bad disposal errors, but maybe the penny has dropped in terms of getting a kick. Or maybe he’s been released from defensive roles, to be a bit more attacking.” And 3KZ “Once again … FULL CREDIT TO JAMES POLKINHORNE ON HIS PERFORMANCE TODAY AGAINST ESSENDON! James was hard at the ball, creative and importantly, showed sensational composure at key moments in the game. Perhaps we are starting to see Polkinghorne mature and develop into the sort of footballer many of us suspected he would be, but most of us (me included) were frustrated to see hadn’t arrived yet. Well done James Polkinghorne!”

Perhaps I have gone a bit over the top with these long quotes about Polkinghorne at his best, but they are included for balance against what is to come.

Round 10 - In the debacle against Collingwood when senior players needed to step up, Polks went missing with an ordinary 11 processions, no goals, one tackle. Grim tells the other side of the Polkinghorne story. Grim 31 May “One step forward, two steps back? Barely got a disposal in the first half. Then when the game was decided he got a few disposals in the 2nd, but his kicking was atrocious. Most notable was what should have been a simple 25 metre kick to Hanley who had gotten plenty of separation from his opponent 30 metres out from goal. But I was also frustrated by some sky scraper bombs inside 50 that set up our inexperienced key forwards as cannon fodder. With the loss of experience we had, it was a chance for Polkinghorne to take on some added responsibility but instead he wilted.”

Not included in the seniors rounds 12 and 13. Wasn’t injured and could not find anything specific in the Reserve watch thread, but he was recalled for the trip to Tassie.

Again confession time, I wasn’t at home to watch this game live and when I saw the result didn’t have the mental strength to sit through a full reply. Polkinghorne’s 9 possessions tells part of the story and the fact he didn’t play in the round 15 game tells the rest

North Melbourne Round 16 Polkinghorne is recalled and “plays” his last senior game for 2013. I recall that I tried to focus on Polkinghorne during this game to try and get some sort of an idea about what was going on with him. Rereading the game review thread confirms my impression at the time that it was really hard to pick up what role Polkinghorne had during the game and explain how an experienced player can go through a whole game gathering 3 possessions. Morgs, blynd freddie and Bertman all question what role he was playing but no-one provided an answer.

So to the rest of the year in the reserves, in total Polkinghorne played 8 matches in the reserves, averaging 25.9 disposals; 2.5 tackles,, 5.4 clearances. This includes his excellent 38 disposals earlier in the year.

Experienced reserve watcher Tassie4ever provided a comment on his performance post North Melbourne “Watched him closely in the 2's when he was [very deservedly] dropped and, far from shining which you would expect from a nominal first-grader playing in lesser company, to my mind showed zip.”

As Polkinghorne was at the end of his contract, I expected him to be delisted but, perhaps because of the loss of the “homesick five”, he was offered a further contract. (It could also be because no other clubs showed any interest in trading for him)

“BRISBANE forward James Polkinghorne has done a backflip and decided to stay at the Gabba.
The 24-year-old requested a trade to a club in his native Victoria towards the end of the 2013 home-and-away season, but has been convinced to remain at the Lions by new senior coach Justin Leppitsch.” Courier Mail 19 October

Lions’ Website 30 October “Polkinghorne has decided to extend his stay in Brisbane by re-signing for another year”

Conclusions
The facts tell a fairly obvious story - Polkinghorne’s hold on a spot in the top 22 appears to have gone, in my opinion he was lucky to hold his place on the list and at an age and experience level where potential is no longer a factor - it looks like the end for James.

But in 2013 he played statistically his best game. And at his best he looks a very capable AFL player. What’s happening here? Is it that his better games over the last couple of years have been against weaker clubs or is there some other factor at play?

I am speculating here. James appears to be a very well-motivated and driven individual. Perhaps he uses so much mental energy to get to the AFL standard that after a couple of games unconsciously his concentration falls off. And rather than helping him concentrate, his determination works to reduce to his confidence? Perhaps he just tries to hard!

I don’t see a position for Polkinghorne in the best 22 going forward. I was going to go through all the possible positions Polkinghorne could play and list the players in front of him but I have already gone on too long.

Anyway I am happy enough to have James on the list as I believe he could be a great resource as a leader in the reserves and back-up if we get a terrible run of injuries. However overall I think it is the end of his senior career and probably a D minus for the year only because he stayed on the list.

(As always I would be happy for James to put egg on my face by having a great 2014)

(Hope all the other posters quoted don’t mind me pinching their work. Generally you said it better than I could)
 
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