Welcome to the Bulldogs Caleb Poulter

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Honestly he's probably not too far away from a possible gig in our AFL side given our lack of half back options and JJ's injury. He would know our structure and game style so there's no need for any acclimation time.

The balance of back 7 has been out since his injury so we clearly need to replace one of the 4 talls with a running type. The options are to either move Daniel back or give one of Cleary, Poulter or Crozier a go in defence. The match committee could really go either way.
 
Pleasedontfail11 said:
Positives:
can find the ball
Grest endurance
Good hands in close
Good height
Smart positioning and running patterns

Negatives
Very one sided
Sky high kicks
Not very accurate by foot (some disagree)
Doesnt use his height well both overhead or in contests (could improve with size added)
Appears one paced (although some disagree)

Good luck to him, with the right attitude he could be a solid player.
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So a tall Lachie Hunter then?
 
Snarls Barkley said:
Cool!

He showed a bit at Collingwood, I was surprised he didn’t immediately get a second chance after his delisting.

He had a couple of big weaknesses that the delisting wasn’t too much of a surprise but he is still young and time is on his side. His running speed/power and kicking penetration were the things that held him back from being a really good outside player. He’s a good size though and is clearly a smart player who knows how to find the ball and where to run. If he can improve those two main weaknesses then there is definitely a spot in an AFL 22 for him. At worst he’ll be decent backup until better players come through.
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Has any player ever “fixed” his lack of speed? Serious question. I didn’t think it was possible in the way you might fix a learned skill like marking, kicking or tackling.

He is what he is. Seems like he has a great tank despite not being quick. In that sense he could be a tall version of Hunter if he’s prepared to run the wing all day. Not being a great kick fits in with the Hunter analogy too.

Hunter won a B&F and a premiership medallion so if he turns out anything like that I’ll be happy.
 

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dogwatch said:
Has any player ever “fixed” his lack of speed? Serious question. I didn’t think it was possible in the way you might fix a learned skill like marking, kicking or tackling.

He is what he is. Seems like he has a great tank despite not being quick. In that sense he could be a tall version of Hunter if he’s prepared to run the wing all day. Not being a great kick fits in with the Hunter analogy too.

Hunter won a B&F and a premiership medallion so if he turns out anything like that I’ll be happy.
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He doesn't accumulate the football on the outside that hunter did probably 15 to 20 touches rather then 30 although id expect him to kick a goal a game under the roof.
 
dogwatch said:
Has any player ever “fixed” his lack of speed? Serious question. I didn’t think it was possible in the way you might fix a learned skill like marking, kicking or tackling.

He is what he is. Seems like he has a great tank despite not being quick. In that sense he could be a tall version of Hunter if he’s prepared to run the wing all day. Not being a great kick fits in with the Hunter analogy too.

Hunter won a B&F and a premiership medallion so if he turns out anything like that I’ll be happy.
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I thought he was reasonably quick in the little bits of VFL I've seen but maybe he was just surrounded by slower players.
Also sometimes he looks like he's running with splayed feet which wouldn't help his speed.
He's pretty skinny so as he puts some muscle on he should improve his burst speed a bit.
 
dogwatch said:
Has any player ever “fixed” his lack of speed? Serious question. I didn’t think it was possible in the way you might fix a learned skill like marking, kicking or tackling.

He is what he is. Seems like he has a great tank despite not being quick. In that sense he could be a tall version of Hunter if he’s prepared to run the wing all day. Not being a great kick fits in with the Hunter analogy too.

Hunter won a B&F and a premiership medallion so if he turns out anything like that I’ll be happy.
Click to expand...
I've known people to find an extra a yard of pace by changing their running gait or gaining some leg muscle when starting from a low base, but I'd have to say that it is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to footballers.
 
Mojorisin said:
He doesn't accumulate the football on the outside that hunter did probably 15 to 20 touches rather then 30 although id expect him to kick a goal a game under the roof.
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So that’s Poulter, Baker and my boy McNeil who don’t accumulate lots of possessions. Great. Quality beats quantity doesn’t it?
 
dogwatch said:
Has any player ever “fixed” his lack of speed? Serious question. I didn’t think it was possible in the way you might fix a learned skill like marking, kicking or tackling.
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Ben Cousins, Campbell Brown.
A lot of sprint work in their late teens and early 20s. They never turned it into weapons but they did improve.

Arguably, the Bont too. Was in the bottom 10% for acceleration at draft camp, it has improved a bit but he is so good with anticipating the fall of the ball he's rarely receiving the ball while stationary anyway.
 
Some Idiot said:
I've known people to find an extra a yard of pace by changing their running gait or gaining some leg muscle when starting from a low base, but I'd have to say that it is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to footballers.
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I remember reading an article about 20-30 years ago regarding a Sydney mid who moved into elite class and put it all down to changing his gait and gaining a yard of pace. Just can’t recall his name.
 
Mr. Walker said:
So that’s Poulter, Baker and my boy McNeil who don’t accumulate lots of possessions. Great. Quality beats quantity doesn’t it?
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We have players who can find the ball.
Baker's metres-gained stats suggest he doesn't need to be peak-Macrae every week anyway. I'm not sure how he'd go at HB but the posters who suggest putting him at half back might be onto something as a like for like replacement for JJ who moves the ball forward.

We cant go as tall as we have gone the past two rounds.
 
Mofra said:
Ben Cousins, Campbell Brown.
A lot of sprint work in their late teens and early 20s. They never turned it into weapons but they did improve.

Arguably, the Bont too. Was in the bottom 10% for acceleration at draft camp, it has improved a bit but he is so good with anticipating the fall of the ball he's rarely receiving the ball while stationary anyway.
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I’ll take your word for it with Brown and Cousins (I wouldn’t know). It just seems that if there was a standard fix for it there are probably about 50-100 senior footballers in the AFL who should be adopting that fix to make them A-graders and another 100 who could move from fringe to regulars. It seldom seems to happen for whatever reason. I presumed it was the “fast twitch” vs “slow twitch” muscle distinction which is largely or entirely genetic.

I’m not sure Bont has improved. He’s just one of those players who read the game and move so well that others seem slow or ineffectual alongside him. Scott West and Diesel Williams were similar but not so much in running - that was more to do with their hands and ball movement.
 
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Good luck to him. From what I have seen of him at Footscray I cannot see him making the grade he would need to improve a lot. I was hoping Robert Hansen would slip but that was very unlikely he looks the pick of the crop to me.
 

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You don't have to be quick to be a great AFL footballer, eg- Dane Swan.
 
I haven't been overly impressed with what I've seen, but he does have upside and I think he could be better then some of the other VFL players we've recruited over the years like McComb and Hayes.
 
goodcop badcop said:
I haven't been overly impressed with what I've seen, but he does have upside and I think he could be better then some of the other VFL players we've recruited over the years like McComb and Hayes.
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I paid particularly close attention to him in the first month or so of the season, and can’t say I’m understanding those who have suggested he is one paced. He looked to have a bit of burst speed, and was capable of run and carry down the wings at a reasonable top speed. On the other hand, I was surprised that his foot skills were considered a particular strength.

Felt he had a bit of Bailey Smith about him (seemed to have the habit of trying to kick while at full pace, giving massive penetration on his kick in exchange for unreliable accuracy).
 
Article on the AFL website

CALEB Poulter was in Bali last October when the call he knew was coming finally arrived. His time at Collingwood was over after just two years at the AIA Centre. The Trade Period came and went. So did the delisted free agency window and the drafts. He was back to square one.

Rather than returning to South Australia and searching for a pulse in the SANFL, the 20-year-old chose to remain in Melbourne and signed with Footscray, hoping the club's track record of promoting players from its VFL program to the Western Bulldogs would provide a lifeline.

After eight months out of the system, Poulter is back inside an AFL club after being one of only two recycled players – Quinton Narkle was the other – to land a second chance in Wednesday night's Mid-Season Rookie Draft.
"I was obviously pretty devastated when I got delisted. I found out when I was in Bali over the phone. I went through all my exit meetings and didn't get told for sure, so I found out over there and was pretty devastated," Poulter told AFL.com.au after being picked.

"It probably took me a couple of weeks to get over it. Actually, it probably took me a couple of months. I got back into pre-season and put in the work. I was definitely shattered but I wanted to use that as a driving motivator to get drafted again."
After being selected at No.30 in the 2020 AFL Draft, Poulter played 11 games in his debut season and looked destined for another contract and a more regular spot in the Magpies' best team.

But the transition from Nathan Buckley to Craig McRae and the emergence of Josh Daicos on one wing and the return to form of Steele Sidebottom on the other, restricted him to just one appearance in 2022 and led to his departure at the end of last season.

The Mid-Season Rookie Draft was the aim when he signed with Footscray. Ryan Gardner resurrected his AFL career there and Billy Gowers landed a second chance out of the Whitten Oval. Will Hayes, Anthony Scott, Jordan Boyd, Robbie McComb, Cody Raak, Mitch Hannan and Kyle Dunkley were all recruited from the Dogs' VFL program. It made sense.
But it was far from a forgone conclusion. Poulter produced a handful of strong displays across eight games under Stewart Edge, moments on the outside that fill a need at the Western Bulldogs. But it wasn't until national recruiting manager Dom Milesi subtly reminded Poulter to nominate ahead of the deadline last week that the prospect of returning to the AFL felt possible.

"I was never too sure, to be honest," he said. "I thought if I put in the work in the first half of the year with the Mid-Season Draft coming, I would be a sniff. I went to Footscray because I knew the Western Bulldogs had a list spot open. Luckily it has worked out for me. I knew it would pay off if I did the work. I spoke to Sam a couple of weeks ago, but they didn't let on much. It was a nervous wait that's for sure."
Wednesday couldn't have taken any longer if it tried. By the time Poulter and his partner sat down to watch the coverage on AFL.com.au, the Woodville-West Torrens product was exhausted. But the wait was worth it for someone who has now lived the draft experience twice.

"It has been one of the longest days of my life," he said. "Dom rang me about 15 minutes before the pick and told me they were going to take me. I was still trying to get my head around that. it was an unreal feeling. It was probably better than the first time I was drafted I reckon. All the emotions came out. It was an amazing feeling."
The Bulldogs have won seven of their past nine games heading into the mid-season bye rounds after recovering from a winless first fortnight of 2023.

Luke Beveridge hasn't made too many selection changes of late, but with Norm Smith medallist Jason Johannisen sidelined for another couple of months with a serious hamstring strain, there is a spot available at half-back. The selection of James O'Donnell in the past month is the latest example of a coach who is prepared to think outside the box.

Poulter has signed a six-month contract at the Bulldogs and is ready to fight for a spot in a side on track for September action, but with spots available on the outside.

"I fully back myself in," he said. "I've put in the work and want to reap the rewards. I think if I can get to the club as soon as possible, get to work and earn the respect of my teammates, I know I can go a long way."

Poulter will start with the AFL program full-time on Friday morning. Not much has changed since he was last at the Whitten Oval, but so much has changed at the same time. His decision to stay in Melbourne and join an aligned VFL club has paid dividends.




https://www.afl.com.au/news/940685/who-did-your-club-just-draft-age-height-bio-more
 
hatescaptcha said:
The delisting lit a fire it seems, very determined to make an impact.
He could become a very dangerous player for us, if he can put it all together at AFL level.
Hopefully we give him time to develop, still so young.



Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
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Let’s hope so.
Getting back onto a senior list is a huge step but if he hopes to resuscitate his AFL career it’s still only the first step. A lot more hard work ahead.

I hope he has a well grounded accomplished mentor like Macrae or Bont or Duryea to work with him. JJ might be a good option because he’s sidelined for a while and has a (roughly) similar role.
 
flipper83 said:
We really should have players banging down the door to get on the list at Footscray.
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Well this is one instance of a player who could easily have gone elsewhere doing just that. Whether he succeeds or not is now secondary as far as other hopefuls are concerned. If they see it as their best shot to rescue their AFL dream we can expect a few more to come Footscray’s way.

Jury is still out as to whether it’s the best use of a list spot. At this stage Scott looks like one successful graduate but most of the others have either left or are fringe players: Gowers, Hayes, Hannan, McComb.

In most cases it’s a very late draft pick so we wouldn’t expect a high hit rate if we’d used that spot on the 80th ranked U18 prospect anyway.
 
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