marcuz
Norm Smith Medallist
Player #11
Damien Peverill 186cms 83kgs
Strengths:
Damien has a terrific work rate. He constantly throws him self into packs in an effort to win the hard ball. Tackles hard and does all the hard things that usually go unnoticed. Has tremendous endurance can run all day, which is exactly what he needs and a prime reason why he can be all over his opponent like a cheap suit all day long. Is very good overhead. Took a couple of very good overhead marks one on one in the finals.
Weaknesses:
Pev has average pace off the mark. He can be burnt by the really quick mid-fielders. His disposal at times can be ordinary but he does use it fairly well most of the time. Very left sided and does not use his right foot at all. If he is in traffic prefers to handball rather than try to get on his left side. Has some injury concerns in that stress fractures seem to happen quite regularly for him. This is being monitored at the minute as he is on a modified training schedule. It certainly hampered him last year early where he really struggled. Once he was rid of them his form picked up very quickly.
Prediction for 2004:
Pev has the defensive midfield role to himself in 2004. It’s what he does best and every team needs somebody like him to shut down the opposition’s gun midfielder. You know you’re always going to get 100% from Pev no matter what the circumstances and that’s a great quality to have in a player. Hard working, unspectacular yet effective is the kind of football to expect from him this year.
Player #12
Andrew Welsh 187cms 80kgs
Strengths:
Plays with that Sheedy aggression at the man and the ball. Hates to give up a goal, which for a back man is a wonderful trait to have. Runs the lines well, as the season went on he was more prepared to back him self in and make his opponent accountable to him. Welsh has tremendous courage. From the very first game where he backed back into oncoming traffic and took a gutsy mark he has shown absolute disregard for his own safety. Can play tall or small depending on what job Sheeds has planned for him. Played on Molloy on Anzac day and on Farmer against Freo just showing his versatility. Andrew has some very good kicking skills and has the rare talent of spotting up a man while at full tilt.
Weaknesses:
Needs to get stronger physically to compliment the type of game he plays. Plays like a Dean Solomon but with a body nearly 20kgs lighter. Although very quick over the first 20 he hasn’t got the gears to stay with an opponent he can motor over say 50 metres. The final against port where the Burgoyne’s left him in their wake much like Pickett did to him during the regular season.
Prediction for 2004:
Andrew with a few more kgs on his frame and two years of senior footy under his belt will look to take the next step this year. Defence is where he plays his best footy and will be where he plays the majority of it this year. His run off half back is vital and his ability to shut a danger forward down even more so. With McVeigh and Welsh playing well we have two very good young small defenders to rely who could quite possibly be All-Australian by seasons end.
Player #13
Damian Cupido 184cms 89kgs
Strengths:
Where do you start? Damian is super fast. Placed second in the grand final sprint even with tendonitis in his knee and after slipping at the start. Cupes burns off most of his defenders and usually finishes off with a goal or a spearing pass with that lovely left foot kick. Damian is beautifully balanced and can turn on a dime at the flick of a switch. A long and prodigious kick on both sides of his body. Cupes can also do the miraculous and kick a goal out of nothing. Damian also terrific body strength. Is often too strong for the opponents put on him to match his speed and too quick for bigger opponents to match him strength wise.
Weaknesses:
Damian has a very quick temper which causes him to give away unnecessary free kicks. Can mouth off a little too much to the maggots in white. Tries to bite off more than he can chew when going for goal. In instances where he should find a team mate in a better position sometimes he can put the blinkers on and try and kick the miracles goal. Has not gotten over the mental scarring of his shoulder injuries. While I don’t think he is a naturally hard player I do believe that he still hasn’t got full faith in his shoulder just yet. Damian at the minute is just a forward pocket / half forward. He needs to add more strings to his bow. And to do that he needs to increase his endurance. Unfortunately he had a knee op which has brought a halt to any running right now.
Prediction for 2004:
Cupes will spend most of the year parked along side Lloydy in what is one of the leagues most damaging goal scoring duos. Now with the tendonitis hopefully removed from his knee we can see what he can do fully fit. Eventually with a couple of uninterrupted pre seasons I see cupes moving to a wing. But I think sheeds and the coaching staff will be happy to just see him improve on last year and turn it on like only he can. 50 goals should be his target and he has the talent to sh*t that figure in.
Player #14
Jason Johnson 181cms 85kgs
Strengths:
JJ is very powerful individual; he can break tackles or just run through opponents. Wins the hard ball and excels in clearances. Reads the play very well and racks up plenty of touches. Has terrific leadership qualities. Leads from the front and never gives in. JJ has had to carry that midfield group on his own for far too long and needs some help and quick. JJ as shown by his pre-season fitness trials has very good endurance and it has gotten even better. He took 37 seconds off his best time
.
Weaknesses:
His kicking lets him down a lot. Seems to rush his kicks and go for distance rather than look where he is kicking and spotting up a team mate. Kicking for goal he is ok as a set shot but on the run he always seems off balance when he kicks and often sprays them all over the place.
Prediction for 2004:
More of the same from a bloke whose heart is bigger than Windy Hill. If we can get some runners with decent disposal rotating through the middle to compliment JJ then our midfield will be in good shape. He will be one guy who will be a permanent fixture in the midfield. His kicking skill means he won’t make much of a forward and you would be wasting the bloke’s ball winning abilities down back. So 99% of the time you will see JJ doing what he does best. That is working his arse off winning the hard ball and carrying our midfield time and time again.
Player #15
Mark Alvey 176cms 77kgs
Strengths:
Has very good pace does Alvey. Has a very quick 20m burst to help him get in and out of traffic. Terrific skills by foot which will be a welcome addition to our midfield. Reads the play quite well and is able to find plenty of space where his foot skills can become very damaging. Loves a goal and is a very good kick for goal. May well become a caracella type goal kicking midfielder that we lacked last year.
Weaknesses:
Has just come off a knee reco so he wont be anywhere near his best this year. Physically is very small at 176cms he is the shortest guy on our list and at 77 kgs very light also.
Prediction for 2004
I wouldn’t expect too much from Mark this year. As he is coming off a knee reco this year will be all about making sure he gets himself right and back to 100%. 2005 will be the year we will look for an impact from Alvey and see what he can do when fully fit. But then again Solly was able to play every game coming off a knee so who knows.
Damien Peverill 186cms 83kgs
Strengths:
Damien has a terrific work rate. He constantly throws him self into packs in an effort to win the hard ball. Tackles hard and does all the hard things that usually go unnoticed. Has tremendous endurance can run all day, which is exactly what he needs and a prime reason why he can be all over his opponent like a cheap suit all day long. Is very good overhead. Took a couple of very good overhead marks one on one in the finals.
Weaknesses:
Pev has average pace off the mark. He can be burnt by the really quick mid-fielders. His disposal at times can be ordinary but he does use it fairly well most of the time. Very left sided and does not use his right foot at all. If he is in traffic prefers to handball rather than try to get on his left side. Has some injury concerns in that stress fractures seem to happen quite regularly for him. This is being monitored at the minute as he is on a modified training schedule. It certainly hampered him last year early where he really struggled. Once he was rid of them his form picked up very quickly.
Prediction for 2004:
Pev has the defensive midfield role to himself in 2004. It’s what he does best and every team needs somebody like him to shut down the opposition’s gun midfielder. You know you’re always going to get 100% from Pev no matter what the circumstances and that’s a great quality to have in a player. Hard working, unspectacular yet effective is the kind of football to expect from him this year.
Player #12
Andrew Welsh 187cms 80kgs
Strengths:
Plays with that Sheedy aggression at the man and the ball. Hates to give up a goal, which for a back man is a wonderful trait to have. Runs the lines well, as the season went on he was more prepared to back him self in and make his opponent accountable to him. Welsh has tremendous courage. From the very first game where he backed back into oncoming traffic and took a gutsy mark he has shown absolute disregard for his own safety. Can play tall or small depending on what job Sheeds has planned for him. Played on Molloy on Anzac day and on Farmer against Freo just showing his versatility. Andrew has some very good kicking skills and has the rare talent of spotting up a man while at full tilt.
Weaknesses:
Needs to get stronger physically to compliment the type of game he plays. Plays like a Dean Solomon but with a body nearly 20kgs lighter. Although very quick over the first 20 he hasn’t got the gears to stay with an opponent he can motor over say 50 metres. The final against port where the Burgoyne’s left him in their wake much like Pickett did to him during the regular season.
Prediction for 2004:
Andrew with a few more kgs on his frame and two years of senior footy under his belt will look to take the next step this year. Defence is where he plays his best footy and will be where he plays the majority of it this year. His run off half back is vital and his ability to shut a danger forward down even more so. With McVeigh and Welsh playing well we have two very good young small defenders to rely who could quite possibly be All-Australian by seasons end.
Player #13
Damian Cupido 184cms 89kgs
Strengths:
Where do you start? Damian is super fast. Placed second in the grand final sprint even with tendonitis in his knee and after slipping at the start. Cupes burns off most of his defenders and usually finishes off with a goal or a spearing pass with that lovely left foot kick. Damian is beautifully balanced and can turn on a dime at the flick of a switch. A long and prodigious kick on both sides of his body. Cupes can also do the miraculous and kick a goal out of nothing. Damian also terrific body strength. Is often too strong for the opponents put on him to match his speed and too quick for bigger opponents to match him strength wise.
Weaknesses:
Damian has a very quick temper which causes him to give away unnecessary free kicks. Can mouth off a little too much to the maggots in white. Tries to bite off more than he can chew when going for goal. In instances where he should find a team mate in a better position sometimes he can put the blinkers on and try and kick the miracles goal. Has not gotten over the mental scarring of his shoulder injuries. While I don’t think he is a naturally hard player I do believe that he still hasn’t got full faith in his shoulder just yet. Damian at the minute is just a forward pocket / half forward. He needs to add more strings to his bow. And to do that he needs to increase his endurance. Unfortunately he had a knee op which has brought a halt to any running right now.
Prediction for 2004:
Cupes will spend most of the year parked along side Lloydy in what is one of the leagues most damaging goal scoring duos. Now with the tendonitis hopefully removed from his knee we can see what he can do fully fit. Eventually with a couple of uninterrupted pre seasons I see cupes moving to a wing. But I think sheeds and the coaching staff will be happy to just see him improve on last year and turn it on like only he can. 50 goals should be his target and he has the talent to sh*t that figure in.
Player #14
Jason Johnson 181cms 85kgs
Strengths:
JJ is very powerful individual; he can break tackles or just run through opponents. Wins the hard ball and excels in clearances. Reads the play very well and racks up plenty of touches. Has terrific leadership qualities. Leads from the front and never gives in. JJ has had to carry that midfield group on his own for far too long and needs some help and quick. JJ as shown by his pre-season fitness trials has very good endurance and it has gotten even better. He took 37 seconds off his best time
.
Weaknesses:
His kicking lets him down a lot. Seems to rush his kicks and go for distance rather than look where he is kicking and spotting up a team mate. Kicking for goal he is ok as a set shot but on the run he always seems off balance when he kicks and often sprays them all over the place.
Prediction for 2004:
More of the same from a bloke whose heart is bigger than Windy Hill. If we can get some runners with decent disposal rotating through the middle to compliment JJ then our midfield will be in good shape. He will be one guy who will be a permanent fixture in the midfield. His kicking skill means he won’t make much of a forward and you would be wasting the bloke’s ball winning abilities down back. So 99% of the time you will see JJ doing what he does best. That is working his arse off winning the hard ball and carrying our midfield time and time again.
Player #15
Mark Alvey 176cms 77kgs
Strengths:
Has very good pace does Alvey. Has a very quick 20m burst to help him get in and out of traffic. Terrific skills by foot which will be a welcome addition to our midfield. Reads the play quite well and is able to find plenty of space where his foot skills can become very damaging. Loves a goal and is a very good kick for goal. May well become a caracella type goal kicking midfielder that we lacked last year.
Weaknesses:
Has just come off a knee reco so he wont be anywhere near his best this year. Physically is very small at 176cms he is the shortest guy on our list and at 77 kgs very light also.
Prediction for 2004
I wouldn’t expect too much from Mark this year. As he is coming off a knee reco this year will be all about making sure he gets himself right and back to 100%. 2005 will be the year we will look for an impact from Alvey and see what he can do when fully fit. But then again Solly was able to play every game coming off a knee so who knows.
