Universal Love Willem "big willy style" Drew

[elbarton]

Good player

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

7. Willem Drew (Port Adelaide)

“This is probably going to come as the biggest surprise… I reckon Connor Rozee and Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis, and rightly so, they get the recognition because they’re easy on the eye, their powerful with ball in hand and they’re all going really well.

“But Drew is probably, at the moment, the most rounded player in the competition. His ball use is 12th in the competition, his ability to impact the game through his ball-winning ability is 33rd and then his defensive actions are top 10 as well.

“There’s no other player in the competition that has that profile at the moment… he’s so significant to what Port Adelaide is going to be abel to do going forward this season. He was 226th last year.”

It's why I think of him as more WD40 than WD28. He can fix a lot of problems and do a lot of things, not just a one trick pony.

 

[Fizzler]

Drew being so good means one of Rozee, JHF and Butters will have to rest in the forward line if they're not on the bench. We all know how dangerous each of them can be around goal, and because of this guy we get to see it more often than we otherwise would have. Locks down the opponents and unlocks a more dangerous forward structure, we could call him lock and key.

 

[ClintEastwood]

I also heard on SEN that Champion Data currently rates Willem in the top 10 players in the league, ahead of Rozee, Butters and JHF.

As Port supporters we have long valued Drew's work, and thought him underrated. Perhaps even we have slipped into underrating him a bit, while being dazzled weekly by more eye-catching performancese from the other three.

It seems clear he's the equally valuable fourth member of our own developing 'Fab Four'.

Let's see where they can take us, with our without Kenneth.

 

[OneGreatClub]

I also heard on SEN that Champion Data currently rates Willem in the top 10 players in the league, ahead of Rozee, Butters and JHF.

As Port supporters we have long valued Drew's work, and thought him underrated. Perhaps even we have slipped into underrating him a bit, while being dazzled weekly by more eye-catching performancese from the other three.

It seems clear he's the equally valuable fourth member of our own developing 'Fab Four'.

Let's see where they can take us, with our without Kenneth.

Houston got a mention too. Wow.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

That's awesome that Drew is getting some press.

The Three Amigos might have to turn into the Four Horseman.

You could include Ken and make it the 4 horsemen and the apocalypse.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[davesnothere]

You could include Ken and make it the 4 horsemen and the apocalypse.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

The 5 Horsemen of the apocalypse.
Conquest, War, Famine, Death and Don Quixote.

 

[Chrizzt]

Drew has developed a real ability to impact games now with his kicking, which was a massive deficiency for him in his earlier years.

Can't quite remember a player developing such a crucial skill to the same extent the way Drew has done.

 

[tribey]

It's why I think of him as more WD40 than WD28. He can fix a lot of problems and do a lot of things, not just a one trick pony.

 

[The_Sheek]

Drew has developed a real ability to impact games now with his kicking, which was a massive deficiency for him in his earlier years.

Can't quite remember a player developing such a crucial skill to the same extent the way Drew has done.

Was it a massive deficiency?

He’s improved for sure but I always thought he had a ‘safe’ kick

 

[Chrizzt]

Was it a massive deficiency?

He’s improved for sure but I always thought he had a ‘safe’ kick

Yeah not so much a clanger king, but never really was able to find any outside ball and his kicking had no hurt factor. Probably more a vision and decision making improvement rather than skill improvement

 

[LittleLika]

He looks like a mixture of a chesty bond model and a hard dick. Long live 'the penetrator'

.... this may have sounded funnier in my head

 

[Grave Danger]

Is he best 23 yet?

 

[StuMan]

Willem Drew

28

Willem Drew

Age

25

Ht

188cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.9

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

8.7

5star

M

2.2

2star

T

5.6

5star

CL

2.3

4star

No current season stats available

D

18.0

5star

K

9.2

4star

HB

8.8

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

4.2

5star

CL

2.8

5star

Supremacy

 

[dirty2]

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

His delivery inside 50 has been epic

I didn’t expect him to excel but honestly he’s gone above and beyond my expectations

That contract extension now looks like a wonderful decision by George costanza

 

[Peninsula Boy]

His kicking into f50 was pretty darn good last year.

I think he's just got more of the pill and does it more than a couple of times a game.

He's that real balanced mid who is a match winner defensively but now can cut you up into the f50 on a regular basis.

He also is a great team player who is always doing the little things.

IIRC, Knightmare was a big fan of Drew in his draft year as he likes balanced mids just as much as spectacular mids.

As I like to say, he's just a footballer.

 

[davo999]

Goes to show , the club generally know if a player is any good before the fans do .

 

[Doctor Feel]

Goes to show , the club generally know if a player is any good before the fans do .

lol

 

[El_Scorcho]

Goes to show , the club generally know if a player is any good before the fans do .

Sometimes the fans know a player isn't up to it for several seasons before the club catch on, so it does go both ways.

I don't think anyone would have had Drew outside our best 22 over the last few seasons, but the step-up this season has been incredible. Just willing us forward, so clean in the contest. Positioning has been outstanding. His confidence is through the roof, and it's almost like he's been emboldened by his more highly fancied teammates and has risen with them.

 

[Peninsula Boy]

In another thread, someone posted in another thread about an interaction against Essendon in the coaches box where Kenny Average seems to give Butters, 2023 Coaches Player of the Year, a bit of a blast in the 1st or 2nd quarter and Drew is there and he touches him on the knee for suport.

It is a great moment and reminds me of Liam Ryan

1

Liam Ryan

Age

27

Ht

181cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.3

5star

D

9.9

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.6

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

's mark of the year on Max Gawn

11

Max Gawn

Age

32

Ht

209cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.7

4star

CL

2.8

4star

HO

35.3

5star

D

18.5

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.0

4star

CL

3.5

4star

HO

29.2

5star

D

8.4

3star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.8

4star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

15.6

5star

back in the day. It is an unbelievable mark. I love it and he uses the tallest human in AFL as a stepladder to greatness. For that play, Max runs pretty much the entire length of the field to get back to be humiliated but he did the right thing.

After the mark, a few West Coast players surround Max on the ground and try to intimidate him and give him a bit of stick but the Melbourne players don't have a bar of it and push them away. That's a team with a real connection. They looked after their ruck. It didn't surprise me that snagged a premiership with that kind of fraternal bond later.

What Drew did was a small and subtle gesture but quite powerful in terms of leadership.

 

[Schulzenfest]

Goes to show , the club generally know if a player is any good before the fans do .

Can't wait for Jake Neade to finally show us how good he is.

 

[OneGreatClub]

Goes to show , the club generally know if a player is any good before the fans do .

Shhhhh

 

[chiwigi]

Goes to show , the club generally know if a player is any good before the fans do .

THAT Prelim against the Bulldogs has called and wants its WTF back.

 

[Powerade 08]

THAT Prelim against the Bulldogs has called and wants its WTF back.

Dont need to go that far back, GWS final last year. Plus he started this year on the wing. hes just good enough to make it work