News Workhorse (Priddis) Improves Efficiency

[Keys]

Adam Selwood says Priddis is as good Judd and Cousins! There ya go. Definitive E87

On that basis I sincerely hope Adam isn't looking at a carreer in recruiting

 

[amazingjoshy]

Kerrs role in the team has been different to what it was because Priddis can't play inside/out like Judd. Priddis is solely inside and Kerr had to adopt a more outside component to his game.

Kerr would be better playing the main inside mid role alongside a player with more line breaking pace and ability than Priddis. There is no doubt, at all, that Kerrs form has been related to playing alongside an inferior player.

I mean does anyone doubt that?

lol so Kerr's form has nothing to do with long term injuries but is Matt Priddis's fault? Really? wow

Using your logic couldn't Kerr's improved form this year be a result of playing alongside an improved Priddis? Improvement that some believed he was not capable of at his ripe old age.

 

[The Dodger]

I don't have an opinion one way or another on the Priddis debate (well, I do, but I don't want to get into it) but there are 2 reasons why Shuey and Kerr would get tagged before Priddis.

1. Guys who play "inside" and win contested possessions are harder to tag out of it. It's a lot easier to tag the guys who receive the ball from the clearance. Obvious stuff.

Yep, but they still get tagged. Watson from Essendon is purely inside still gets a tag. Just because they are harder does not mean you don't. I use the Essendon game because I think it is a prime example of a team that before the game decided that Priddis neded to be tagged. Kerr who was killing them at clearances moved Hocking on to him. Also Kerr is mostly an inside at the moment because his ability to be outside is limited by fitness. No fear of the damage that might be done by letting Priddis off the hook.

2. Coaches take into account how much a tag affects a player. I would suggest Kerr has been quite bad at dealing with a tag, while Priddis tends to do the same regardless of being tagged or not. As a result, teams get more value by tagging Kerr.

I agree about Kerr not handling a tag. But he returned the week before and could barely run out the game and had minimal impact against Port. However Sydney saw him and not Priddis as the guy who could impact the game, says a lot about how Priddis is viewed by the opposition in my books.

 

[The Dodger]

What about Robert Campbell (2002-2009), Peter Everitt (2003-2006) and Shaun Rehn (2002)? They've all been on Hawthorn's list at the same time as Mitchell, and were all better ruckman than Taylor or Renouf.

Was Rehn ever the same at Hawthorn?
You're right about Everitt.
But he has spent the last 5-6 years (half his career in his prime when he has been influential) under Taylor, Campbell & Renouf. Campbell played back up ruck mostly to Taylor but you're right because I believe he started in the '08 GF as ruck. He maybe better than the other 2 but he is still hardly a great tap ruckman, which is what benefits mids the most ie what Cox does.

 

[The Dodger]

and Priddis right along side him.....

and how did that game go for him?
Kerr was playing his role and he looked lost. Priddis can only be the main inside mid or else his ability to imapct is limited through average disposal and no footspeed.

 

[Eagle87]

lol so Kerr's form has nothing to do with long term injuries but is Matt Priddis's fault? Really? wow

Using your logic couldn't Kerr's improved form this year be a result of playing alongside an improved Priddis? Improvement that some believed he was not capable of at his ripe old age.

I'm not sure you realise how silly your position is.

You genuinely believe that playing alongside Priddis, as opposed to Judd, has not impacted Kerrs form?

By the way, Kerr has had some good games in each of the last few seasons but he has been more susceptible to poor games and long periods in games with minimal impact.

You honestly can't see a connection caused by playing alongside a slow, non damaging accumulator whose primary skill is your primary skill? But unlike you, he has minimal other skills, so you get a changed role....

Kerrs "improved form" amounts to one great game and a couple of other ok games. He has had similar games in earlier seasons. But his great game was playing his game with Priddis relegated to a very very poor contributor ..


Seriously ...

 

[amazingjoshy]

I'm not sure you realise how silly your position is.

You genuinely believe that playing alongside Priddis, as opposed to Judd, has not impacted Kerrs form?

By the way, Kerr has had some good games in each of the last few seasons but he has been more susceptible to poor games and long periods in games with minimal impact.

You honestly can't see a connection caused by playing alongside a slow, non damaging accumulator whose primary skill is your primary skill? But unlike you, he has minimal other skills, so you get a changed role....

Kerrs "improved form" amounts to one great game and a couple of other ok games. He has had similar games in earlier seasons. But his great game was playing his game with Priddis relegated to a very very poor contributor ..


Seriously ...

Does Kerr's inability to adapt to a new role make him a one trick pony too?

Or its Priddis's fault when Kerr plays badly because Priddis isnt Chris Judd? Thats your position? Priddis isnt Judd therefore he's useless and a liabilty?

His work at clearances is amazing. He may be a one trick pony, but that one trick has been integral to our gameplan this year. Surely you can see the how important his clearance work and contesed ball winning has been to us this year........surely????.

IMO he is a very very good midfielder who is improving all the time. I dont get why people think there is no ability for someone over the age of 25 to improve their game. Especially someone that works as hard as Priddis.

In regards to Kerr, theres is no eviedence that Priddis and Kerr can't both play well alongside each, which you seem to be arguing. Just maybe Kerr has had a rather bad run of injuries since Judd left that may have affected his form. Playing alongside Priddis didnt seem to affect him too badly the 2nd half of 2007 when Judd was injured and playing alot up forward.

 

[Eagle87]

Does Kerr's inability to adapt to a new role make him a one trick pony too?

Maybe they should play Judd at full back. Kerr was top 3 in three consecutive Brownlows as our main inside extractor ...

Or its Priddis's fault when Kerr plays badly because Priddis isnt Chris Judd? Thats your position? Priddis isnt Judd therefore he's useless and a liabilty?

Priddis is a player who doesnt make those around him better. Check that at every level he has played. He doesn't block, he doesn't sheppard, he doesn't defend.

His work at clearances is amazing. He may be a one trick pony, but that one trick has been integral to our gameplan this year. Surely you can see the how important his clearance work and contesed ball winning has been to us this year........surely????.

He isn't amazing at clearances, he is very good at first hands on the ball - thats always been his one marketable skill. He is a poor user, he lacks creativity and he is average in space. He IS integral to our game plan and has been for 4 years - hence my protestations that we needed to find better mids - we have been shit throughout that period.

He has had 2 relatively effective games this year. His clearances have been ok, but he is an inside mid who is ranked 21st in the league at clearances despite playing massive minutes around the contest to the best ruck combo in the league. He isn't Top 100 for inside 50's and he isn't close to Top 100 in rebound 50's...

He has the second lowest clearance number of the Top 10 possession winners. So for a high possession guy he is ordinary at clearances. He does get a lot of contested possessions - almost all of which are handballs in a team that has focused on more kicking this year (he is still almost 2 to 1 handballs to kicks)...

So he gets a lot of contested handballs, relatively few clearances and doesn't rebound the footy or get it inside 50 ...

I understand the importance of contested footy but I'm not sure that a bloke who gets heaps of 2m contested handballs and doesnt rebound the footy, or attack the opposition or run very fast or defend in space (when its turned over) won't be exposed as the contests get harder and the opposition better prepared to focus on our weaknesses. Would I prefer a better footballer who got 3, 4 or 5 less contested possessions but could hurt the other team, could run, could break a line and so on .. absolutely. Do I reckon that better footballer would also improve the output from other players by making their jobs easier ... absolutely.

Does all that mean I reckon Pridda can't play? No. But I just reckon he is overrated massively by some on here. He is a good honest hard working player with average talent. He is a slightly better version of Tuck from Richmond ...

IMO he is a very very good midfielder who is improving all the time. I dont get why people think there is no ability for someone over the age of 25 to improve their game. Especially someone that works as hard as Priddis.

He is 26. He is marginally better than he was in 2006. He is the same player he was last year but in a better side. Less tackles, less clearances but more possessions.

In regards to Kerr, theres is no eviedence that Priddis and Kerr can't both play well alongside each, which you seem to be arguing. Just maybe Kerr has had a rather bad run of injuries since Judd left that may have affected his form. Playing alongside Priddis didnt seem to affect him too badly the 2nd half of 2007 when Judd was injured and playing alot up forward.

In 2007 our midfield set ups were built around Kerr and Judd. Kerr was the guy around who we built the midfield when Judd went down and he had role players around him who freed him up, blocked etc ...

Just for clarity, when we set up at a centre contest, who should be the main in and under guy, Priddis or Kerr? Kerr being the bloke who was Top 2 in 3 consecutive Brownlows in that role ...

Or are you proposing they both set up to attack the ball and basically compete with each other for that first possession?*

*NB: I am well aware that you can have multiple guys winning the ball - but teams set up in a particular way with players having specific roles - we set up with Pridda as our main inside guy ..

 

[Kernel Sanders]

I know the commentators had an orgy fest over his clearances today, but he was very poor. Got a ton of it and did nothing (bar 1 play) with t constructively. Great Trier, rubbish, one dimensional footballer. Our very own McManus.

 

[September_Glory]

I know the commentators had an orgy fest over his clearances today, but he was very poor. Got a ton of it and did nothing (bar 1 play) with t constructively. Great Trier, rubbish, one dimensional footballer. Our very own McManus.

"Very Poor" is over stating it. He played his usual Priddis game.

He got gold service all day long but failed to make the same impact as his opponents and it showed. His lack of pace was also exposed against a quick team on a bigger ground.

 

[Jimmy_the_Gent]

I can't believe Priddis is being baked. At least he won some of the ball.

It's the typical looking at what he can't do and ignoring what he can do thing.

 

[Alexwce]

Are we expecting him too be carving it up on the outside? He is an inside player and he plays to his strengths, he was very good today.

 

[Rids]

Our only midfielder that looked like he belonged today (although I was pretty impressed with Scooter at times as well).

 

[larrikin]

Haven't watched it back yet, but thought he was just ok today. Far from our worst, don't get me wrong, but when you are neck and neck on I50's and get pumped you have to look at your entries. There was an example where he kicked from just outside 50 and should've put it to the top of the goal sqaure. It ended up out of bounds 30 from goal....

Need to learn to use him in his role, or he needs to improve that element

 

[wce4premiership]

If you expect him to win the ball where he wins it and get a nice kick away you're expecting too much and should just stfu

You think against collingwood he would be running through packs and hitting up leads?

 

[Kernel Sanders]

The only player in out team that is judged on a different set of critieria than anyone else. If he's having a shocker, where do you shift him to? Nowhere, cannot play any other position.

 

[Eagle87]

I can't believe Priddis is being baked. At least he won some of the ball.

It's the typical looking at what he can't do and ignoring what he can do thing.

He was, again, our primary mid, with almost every ruck contest set up to get the ball to him, the number of times he then kicked the ball 30m to Thomas standing on his own or kicked it to zero advantage was unfortunate. Then when we get the ball, and he gets it, he either slows the play or does nothing with it.

It was a standard Priddis game, got it a lot, no hurt factor and lots of questionable decision making and skill execution.

He also got killed by their mids running the other way.

Sure, he wasn't alone and he got it a lot more than most but he has to become a peripheral player, he can't be the main mid...

Thought it was odd today that Lecca played minimal midfield in the first half and that Kerr played a lot forward ... and we reverted to NN & Cox in the middle and around contests together a lot... our midfield is still a weak area against better sides .. Priddis was a decent enough performer in there, given his limitations but thats what remains a key issue - his limitations are large and he really is no more than a good hardworking trier who was shown up today against class ....

No doubt though that lots of blokes will give him top votes - i mean he was at every contest, throwing himself in and he got it a lot ... must be worth votes ...

We were awful today in the middle, our skill execution was poor and our delivery inside 50 was really poor ... Priddis got it a lot ... 2+2=

 

[Kernel Sanders]

There's more to it than that Eagle87. When we are playing great, it hides / masks Pridis's definencies. When we are not, it exposes his massive failings. And of course Ploddus gets the Royal Treatment and cannot be played on a HFF.

 

[Kernel Sanders]

Wondering if he gets roasted fairly like the rest of the players come Monday Review? Woosh: "For God's sake Priddo, what part of don't kick it more than 10m don't you understand? That was a Shizzen effort mate, you put our forwards under immense pressure and every Collingwood Player waltzed pass you on the way out. Stick to the game plan son, do not kick the F***** Ball".

 

[Jimmy_the_Gent]

To me it just seems strange that we hang shit off Priddis when basically none of our mids had any influence on the game and basically none of them got much in terms of clean disposal.

 

[WCErevival]

Look at it this way. If Collingwood lost today and Swan, Pendlebury and Thomas were all quiet and Ball got 30 possessions do you think Pies supporters would be bagging Ball and saying he is what was wrong with their midfield? No they would be saying their 3 superstars went missing.

Kerr, Shuey and Embley went missing. Why is this Priddis' fault?

 

[Kernel Sanders]

To me it just seems strange that we hang shit off Priddis when basically none of our mids had any influence on the game and basically none of them got much in terms of clean disposal.

With the Exception of Kerr (because he's older) the rest of the mids can get better, more switched on with experience. Ploddus can't. And while he's in the team, he's taking development time away from a youngster. Development time that will ultimately give us a better midfield than we have currently. Ploddus got a stack of clearances and a stack of posessions, yet he had no influence (bar 1 goal) on the whole game. His posessions were all rubbish. Heard of goals in junk time? Well his posessions are junk.

 

[sTeeL]

He was, again, our primary mid, with almost every ruck contest set up to get the ball to him, the number of times he then kicked the ball 30m to Thomas standing on his own or kicked it to zero advantage was unfortunate. Then when we get the ball, and he gets it, he either slows the play or does nothing with it.

Almost can't be bothered but Shuey was in their a lot today. How much "hurt factor" did he have? Priddis was the only mid who can walk away saying he did his part today.

 

[Eagle87]

To me it just seems strange that we hang shit off Priddis when basically none of our mids had any influence on the game and basically none of them got much in terms of clean disposal.

Well it is a thread about Priddis.

That said its also because his role on our side is a "dominant" one in terms of his position in our set up and his total game time in the middle. Gun midfielders win you flags. Hard working plodders, perhaps don't.

Today was a day to "see where we are at" and where we are at is that we have some real weaknesses and a very good side slaughtered our midfield. So "where we are at" is that our midfield, as set up today, is a fair way off the mark. Some kids will, hopefully, continue to develop but all aspects of the midfield need to be reviewed and certainly being able to critically assess the role of the guy who plays more mnutes inside the starting midfield than anyone else would seem a reasonable ask.

 

[swannies]

OK people, let's stop the Priddis is crap debate that has run in circles for years now. Accept poster A thinks he's a demi-god and poster B thinks he's akin to **** on a bull.

If you really want to waste time writing about it can I suggest you implore the Eagles, via email to the coach, to reconsider their stance on his position in the team. You'll get more result from that than arguing in circles on here for eternity.