MVP Tommy Boyd - The Grand Final Enigma

[jacob17]

Half of you blokes must be on crack i swear!

 

[lachy]

I don't think we should be thinking about trading Tom Boyd. We simply need to work on improving the performance of our enormous investment in him.

That I don't think he is worth the deal he is on is not necessarily a criticism of Boyd, because I don't think that any player in the game would be worth it.

However rather than worry about rationalising the deal, I think it is important that the club recognises that at 1/7th of the way through it, that the return has been a bit on the meagre side and things aren't looking as bright as was clearly hoped when we signed up.

Recognising that things aren't all rosy and starting to address his deficiencies in earnest should be a positive step, because clearly work needs to be done and it would be best if it was done sooner rather than later.

Taking a big risk is not necessarily bad, but such a risk needs to be very closely managed.

Agree with how you have articulated your position here Proff.

All players at Boyds stage of his career have deficiencies. He is a large investment so yes we do need to put more work into him to assist him in overcoming those deficiencies.

However, in saying that whilst I expect significant improvement next season we will still be 2 seasons away from anywhere like the finished product.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

JMac on Boyd:

• Significant ankle injury limited his first pre-season at GWS
• Appendix limited the start of his pre-season with us
• Quite happy to have gotten 14 mostly quality games out of him this year given the lack of pre-seasons
• Thinks with the opportunity to complete a full preseason he'll be in a much better place to contribute

Fair bit of spin in the interview to be fair, but the lack of pre-seasons is worth considering.

Personally, he exceeded my expectations in the first half of the year but failed to meet them in the second half. Next year I want to see him continue to improve and get through much of the year. Around 20 games for 30-35 goals would be a fair approximation I think.

 

[Werewolf]

A disrupted pre-season can be bad for more experienced players, let alone 2nd year key forwards. E.g. Crameri didn't play good footy until late in the year - 10 goals in 10 games up to r16, then 22 goals in the last 8 games!

 

[Zgope1]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-06-21/player-focus-luck-favours-big-bulldog-tom-boyd

some good highlights in this video of the big dog. We'll be a decent team next year with him taking marks.

 

[The real truth]

Tom Boyd will take time 200cm only 20 years old he is a few years from showning his best

 

[Proffessor]

Tom Boyd will take time 200cm only 20 years old he is a few years from showning his best

No one would dispute this simple statement of the obvious. Which begs the question, why post it? Are you suggesting that people are overlooking the obvious basic facts of the situation?

I have some questions about your obvious statement. How good will his best be? How long will he be able to stay at his best? How good will he be during the period while he is building up to it?

Will the gap between his performance and his salary be large enough to create resentment and attract media scrutiny?

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that people who are being critical are simply being negative.
If you want to map out a path to reach your goal, you need to know where you are to start with and consider all the factors that you need to deal with on your journey. If you are not critical in your planing then you are asking for trouble on the way.

 

[miggs]

lol you guys. Boyd will be a gun. Relax

 

[Pannalstaroz]

I agree

lol you guys. Boyd will be a gun. Relax

 

[paul scholes]

Just wondering why Freo aren't copping the wrath of the press with their potential acquisition of McCarthy ? Chucking a s**t load of coin and giving up two first round picks for an unproven key forward? Sound familiar ?
Looking forward to Nial and Wilson's stinging rebukes

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Suckling bombing it long to this man.

Mmmm.

 

[the bee sharps]

You people have got to be taking the piss wanting to trade Boyd

 

[darthbards]

This thread has been going all season and should probably be stopped now.It should have probably ended when the talk of his small hands started but amazingly it still had significant improvement left in its descending.

 

[Aldo]

This thread has been going all season and should probably be stopped now.It should have probably ended when the talk of his small hands started but amazingly it still had significant improvement left in its descending.

I don't want to start the whole argument about small hands again because last time it led to a lot of people people turning it into a joke, but I'm still perplexed by how so many people still think that hand size doesn't matter. Not necessarily in relation to Boyd but just in general.

 

[darthbards]

I don't want to start the whole argument about small hands again because last time it led to a lot of people people turning it into a joke, but I'm still perplexed by how so many people still think that hand size doesn't matter. Not necessarily in relation to Boyd but just in general.

But don't you think that oversized hands would have a detrimental effect on Tom's goal kicking.

 

[Aldo]

But don't you think that oversized hands would have a detrimental effect on Tom's goal kicking.

Logically, hand size wouldn't be nearly as closely linked with goal kicking as it is with marking. Not sure having large hands would even be detrimental to kicking skills. Though guys like Fyfe, Casboult and Hogan aren't particularly known for being elite set shot kicks, so I guess it's possible. Could probably do a statistical analysis on it actually if I had access to all that data.

 

[Aldo]

Just rewatched the 2013 draft and there was an interview with Tom after he was drafted and one of the things that really shocked me was when Brad Johnson said that Tom has run a sub 3 second 20m sprint. Whilst he didn't test at the combine in his year, if he ran that time, it would have made him at the very least in the top 20% fastest players that year. A pretty crazy time for a 200cm 105kg player. He hasn't looked particularly fast so far, but that's probably down to the fact he put on a whole lot of weight when he was at GWS.

 

[Pannalstaroz]

Just rewatched the 2013 draft and there was an interview with Tom after he was drafted and one of the things that really shocked me was when Brad Johnson said that Tom has run a sub 3 second 20m sprint. Whilst he didn't test at the combine in his year, if he ran that time, it would have made him at the very least in the top 20% fastest players that year. A pretty crazy time for a 200cm 105kg player. He hasn't looked particularly fast so far, but that's probably down to the fact he put on a whole lot of weight when he was at GWS.

It's not straight line speed he needs to work on, it's agility. I've been amazed at times how quickly he can move, but he needs to work on turning, stopping and bending. But he'll get there.

 

[Martyn_30_]

Just rewatched the 2013 draft and there was an interview with Tom after he was drafted and one of the things that really shocked me was when Brad Johnson said that Tom has run a sub 3 second 20m sprint. Whilst he didn't test at the combine in his year, if he ran that time, it would have made him at the very least in the top 20% fastest players that year. A pretty crazy time for a 200cm 105kg player. He hasn't looked particularly fast so far, but that's probably down to the fact he put on a whole lot of weight when he was at GWS.

It doesn't matter how fast you are if you have poor fitness. Boyd has huge upside in his fitness and when this improves so will his speed and agility during games.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[VitalDread]

I agree
View attachment 181746

 

[VitalDread]

It's not straight line speed he needs to work on, it's agility. I've been amazed at times how quickly he can move, but he needs to work on turning, stopping and bending. But he'll get there.

fact he hasn't had a full pre season yet means this one is massive in terms of fixing those problems
can't wait to see 2016 toyd

 

[bresker]

I was listening to Jonathan Brown talk about his early career on the radio the other night, there is a lot to take from it re:Boyd. He was saying that the speed and hardness required at AFL level really surprised him even though he'd been playing with grown men in the Hampden league for years. He went away from his first season determined to get fitter and faster.

Looking at Brown's stats, he didn't start kicking heaps of goals until he was eight years into the system. He didn't even kick over 40 during his first seven years. Yet he won three premierships and made a massive contribution to each.

 

[Proffessor]

I was listening to Jonathan Brown talk about his early career on the radio the other night, there is a lot to take from it re:Boyd. He was saying that the speed and hardness required at AFL level really surprised him even though he'd been playing with grown men in the Hampden league for years. He went away from his first season determined to get fitter and faster.

Looking at Brown's stats, he didn't start kicking heaps of goals until he was eight years into the system. He didn't even kick over 40 during his first seven years. Yet he won three premierships and made a massive contribution to each.

Brown played a role in the Brisbane flags, but wasn't a dominant force in them. He got better afterwards, but unfortunately for him the team didn't.

I wish people would stop making out that it is common for great power forwards to be slow starters. Most of the great forwards had pretty strong starts. If Boyd wants to join them, he has work to do to catch up.

In his second season Brown played 25 games and kicked 38 goals from centre half forward in a premiership side. Hardly a slow start.

 

[darthbards]

Logically, hand size wouldn't be nearly as closely linked with goal kicking as it is with marking. Not sure having large hands would even be detrimental to kicking skills. Though guys like Fyfe, Casboult and Hogan aren't particularly known for being elite set shot kicks, so I guess it's possible. Could probably do a statistical analysis on it actually if I had access to all that data.

Stuey Leowe,Richo,Rex Hunt all had big hands and were shocking kicks,I'm guessing Cloke has big hand.I also read somewhere that Mark Jackson for such a big bloke seemed to have incredibly small hands.

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

Stuey Leowe,Richo,Rex Hunt all had big hands and were shocking kicks,I'm guessing Cloke has big hand.I also read somewhere that Mark Jackson for such a big bloke seemed to have incredibly small hands.

Slightly related. Basketball players with (abnormally) big hands tend to be terrible shooters