Toast Connor Blakely Rd 11 Rising Star Nom

[WAnchor]

It's his time on ground percentage which has me excited:64% this week for 25 possessions, and 56% for 25 last week. If his TOG is increased during the rest of this season, his numbers could improve further. He could accordingly poll well in the RS award.

 

[scon]

Correct weight IF.
I've mentioned it a few times over the journey that since Lyon's arrival we've blooded kids very intelligently.
I think it's Suma who's in charge of development currently;but whoever it is they've got a very good model to follow.
I think it's a credit to them that they've worked on things like his core strength and tailor made his programme to complement and amplify his natural strengths.
The improvement each week is that large that when you're watching it,it's like you've swallowed something the wrong way.

 

[theridge]

I see a lot of David mundy in this guy. The future looks bright.

 

[Sweetback]

Blakely grew up a “full-blooded” West Coast fan and travelled to Melbourne with family for the 2006 premiership triumph.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...400aafaa60ae69e0df2952518?from=herald sun_rss

 

[scon]

I see a lot of David mundy in this guy. The future looks bright.

Bit like Mundy's Mum shagged Hase's Dad.

 

[Purple Jesus]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/fremantle/afl-rising-star-fremantles-connor-blakely-is-the-round-11-nomination/news-story/1ee549d400aafaa60ae69e0df2952518?from=herald sun_rss

nobody's perfect

 

[Righteo]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/fremantle/afl-rising-star-fremantles-connor-blakely-is-the-round-11-nomination/news-story/1ee549d400aafaa60ae69e0df2952518?from=herald sun_rss

Family must have been shattered when we picked him almost directly after West Coast who went for a Vic in Tom Lamb. And probably everyone else involved with their organisation at the moment, I might add.

 

[scon]

Lamb's a shank.

 

[Sweetback]

Family must have been shattered when we picked him almost directly after West Coast who went for a Vic in Tom Lamb. And probably everyone else involved with their organisation at the moment, I might add.

I posted it to balance out all the McGovern hand-wringers.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

Taberner was nominated for the rising star in 2014 then dropped 10 times in 2015. Then brought back for the prelim when the match committee finally realised they needed a 2nd key forward. That's terrible development, and he's not the only one.

You're right it's not a coincidence that our kids have improved now that they've been given opportunities. Just maybe they should have been given opportunities earlier instead of certified spuds that showed little over 100 games.

Your quote is just fluff. No player is going to come out and say "the club should have played me earlier", are they?

I do tend to agree Re Taberner. But he is really the only decent example where Ross and the MC have probably made a blue, in hindsight. Ross has even admitted as much this year. I'm not saying the club nor football department are infallible, they are going to get some things wrong.

Blakely was emphatic if you had watched the interview. He was also a little bit loose in regards to what he did actually say during the interview, which led to him being quoted about the playing group being offended about tanking talk and resulting in that very point being raised in the post game presser, so he was clearly shooting from the hip. If he was simply trying to toe the line he could have quite comfortably declined to answer the question at all or state that he was "just happy to get a game" when selected.

Whilst you may feel that the quote is just fluff, it is fact and Blakely is on record, in fact multiple times, stating his feelings about the need to earn his place and do his WAFL apprenticeship. I can at least attribute a player's quote to support my opinion, what are you basing your premise on exactly? Your personal opinion carries far less weight than even the fluffiest of "fluff" player statements.

 

[Reveler]

One of my favourite players. Glad to see his efficiency too.

Sent from mTalk

 

[Pee Tear Griffin]

Sorry guys I'm one of those campaigners who's come in at the behest of my dream team agenda. Is Blakely likely to be best 22 for a considerable length of the season?

 

[scon]

Sorry guys I'm one of those campaigners who's come in at the behest of my dream team agenda. Is Blakely likely to be best 22 for a considerable length of the season?

They made an entire thread so you weirdos wouldn't interrupt but you still interrupt??

 

[freo_leo29]

Sorry guys I'm one of those campaigners who's come in at the behest of my dream team agenda. Is Blakely likely to be best 22 for a considerable length of the season?

the whole season barring injury or him being rested for a game

For reference there is a stickied DT/SC thread on our board please use it in the future

 

[Pee Tear Griffin]

They made an entire thread so you weirdos wouldn't interrupt but you still interrupt??

Woah dude, settle down. I even apologised in my post and was pretty cordial I thought. "Weirdos"... bit harsh. You could just answer the question and I'll be on my way.

 

[Pee Tear Griffin]

the whole season barring injury or him being rested for a game

For reference there is a stickied DT/SC thread on our board please use it in the future

Righto, no worries. Sorry guys. And cheers.

 

[DudleyDocker]

Taberner was nominated for the rising star in 2014 then dropped 10 times in 2015. Then brought back for the prelim when the match committee finally realised they needed a 2nd key forward. That's terrible development, and he's not the only one.

You're right it's not a coincidence that our kids have improved now that they've been given opportunities. Just maybe they should have been given opportunities earlier instead of certified spuds that showed little over 100 games.

Your quote is just fluff. No player is going to come out and say "the club should have played me earlier", are they?

Nobody's biting anymore - ever get the feeling you're becoming irrelevant?

This is a thread to celebrate Connor's nomination, not to push the usual barrow full of crap about da yoof.

I'm sure there's a melt thread somewhere...

 

[scon]

Nobody's biting anymore

Never bit nor nibbled.
The Sylvia WAR AND PEACE saga did it for me.

 

[mightymouse75]

Sorry guys I'm one of those campaigners who's come in at the behest of my dream team agenda. Is Blakely likely to be best 22 for a considerable length of the season?

Yes

 

[ydraw]

I do tend to agree Re Taberner. But he is really the only decent example where Ross and the MC have probably made a blue, in hindsight. Ross has even admitted as much this year. I'm not saying the club nor football department are infallible, they are going to get some things wrong.

Maybe you aren't, but a lot of people on this board have said exactly that, and been very aggressive about it to those who disagreed. As you can see above with the usual suspects attempting to pile on.

 

[ydraw]

Whilst you may feel that the quote is just fluff, it is fact and Blakely is on record, in fact multiple times, stating his feelings about the need to earn his place and do his WAFL apprenticeship. I can at least attribute a player's quote to support my opinion, what are you basing your premise on exactly? Your personal opinion carries far less weight than even the fluffiest of "fluff" player statements.

My premise that players aren't going to come out and bag the club they play for in press conferences? Just common sense.

Obviously every player that is interviewed is going to say that everything is amazing and the club has done everything right. They would get disciplined and/or sacked if they said anything else.

 

[ydraw]

Nobody's biting anymore - ever get the feeling you're becoming irrelevant?

This is a thread to celebrate Connor's nomination, not to push the usual barrow full of crap about da yoof.

You should tell that to the person I quoted then, who decided that this thread was the place to push his barrow about Ross Lyon playing youth.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

My premise that players aren't going to come out and bag the club they play for in press conferences? Just common sense.

Obviously every player that is interviewed is going to say that everything is amazing and the club has done everything right. They would get disciplined and/or sacked if they said anything else.

Of course a player isn't going to come out and be derogatory towards the club or his coach (besides maybe Trav Cloke). I feel like I already addressed the fact that rather than offering up a fluffy handful of quotes, Blakely was bluntly honest during his interview. To the extent that he spoke out of school regarding the whole tanking debate and it gave the media a nibble which they tried to dine out on during the post match presser. Connor was emphatic in his response to a direct question regarding his development. Give it a look.

That's not your prevailing argument though.

Your argument is that they should have been given opportunity sooner. To be fair, we will never really know. Hindsight is always 20/20. I know which camp you are in, and whilst I am probably leaning towards the other, I do rate a lot of your other observations so I guess in the end I would probably prefer to simply agree to disagree as I guess both camps are pretty strongly entrenched and there is little common ground to be found there. Particularly in Connor's case, it is probably the one youngster who has been really clear about his feelings on the matter and is on the record disagreeing with your premise on multiple occasions. Sure a lot of the footy lexicon is contrived, managed and full of throwaway cliches, but I think when somebody is as expansive as Connor has been on the matter we can probably take them at their word.

From where I sit, I observe us bringing boys into the club and growing them into men before we put them out into battle. The development we are now seeing in these guys is being directly attributed, by the actual players in question, to their having to earn their stripes and having that extra time in the WAFL under AFL tutelage to find their feet before being thrown into the fray. Connor himself believes he is now reaping the benefits of having to earn his spot and as a result is grabbing it with both hands, believing in his ability to play at the level and stay there, and is clearly not taking any of it for granted. This sees the young bloke earn a rising star nom, so the development team have clearly done a solid job of developing a young, raw WAFL player with promise into a breakout AFL player within his first half a dozen games in the senior team.

TL;DR

Players rarely speak out of school true, but Connor has been strong on his position, we should take him at his word. Agree to disagree re 2015. Connor has done his apprenticeship and he has the confidence in his development to believe he belongs at the level, and will likely hold his spot as a result. Others have said the same. Connor is a beauty.

 

[ydraw]

Of course a player isn't going to come out and be derogatory towards the club or his coach (besides maybe Trav Cloke). I feel like I already addressed the fact that rather than offering up a fluffy handful of quotes, Blakely was bluntly honest during his interview. To the extent that he spoke out of school regarding the whole tanking debate and it gave the media a nibble which they tried to dine out on during the post match presser. Connor was emphatic in his response to a direct question regarding his development. Give it a look.

That's not your prevailing argument though.

Your argument is that they should have been given opportunity sooner. To be fair, we will never really know. Hindsight is always 20/20. I know which camp you are in, and whilst I am probably leaning towards the other, I do rate a lot of your other observations so I guess in the end I would probably prefer to simply agree to disagree as I guess both camps are pretty strongly entrenched and there is little common ground to be found there. Particularly in Connor's case, it is probably the one youngster who has been really clear about his feelings on the matter and is on the record disagreeing with your premise on multiple occasions. Sure a lot of the footy lexicon is contrived, managed and full of throwaway cliches, but I think when somebody is as expansive as Connor has been on the matter we can probably take them at their word.

From where I sit, I observe us bringing boys into the club and growing them into men before we put them out into battle. The development we are now seeing in these guys is being directly attributed, by the actual players in question, to their having to earn their stripes and having that extra time in the WAFL under AFL tutelage to find their feet before being thrown into the fray. Connor himself believes he is now reaping the benefits of having to earn his spot and as a result is grabbing it with both hands, believing in his ability to play at the level and stay there, and is clearly not taking any of it for granted. This sees the young bloke earn a rising star nom, so the development team have clearly done a solid job of developing a young, raw WAFL player with promise into a breakout AFL player within his first half a dozen games in the senior team.

It's great that Connor feels that way. But choosing to go with footsoldiers over talented kids (and most pointedly choosing footsoldier midfielders instead of a young key forward, when anyone and everyone could see that we needed a 2nd key forward) could well have cost us a premiership last year. In a derby grand final.

So forgive me if I'm not drinking the Koolaid that says we have done a great job of developing our kids. We are playing them now because we were 0-10 and have about 6 senior players injured. If that wasn't the case, we probably wouldn't have even played Blakely this year.

He didn't even get a game until round 6, when our season was already over.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

It's great that Connor feels that way. But choosing to go with footsoldiers over talented kids (and most pointedly choosing footsoldier midfielders instead of a young key forward, when anyone and everyone could see that we needed a 2nd key forward) could well have cost us a premiership last year. In a derby grand final.

So forgive me if I'm not drinking the Koolaid that says we have done a great job of developing our kids. We are playing them now because we were 0-10 and have about 6 senior players injured. If that wasn't the case, we probably wouldn't have even played Blakely this year.

He didn't even get a game until round 6, when our season was already over.

Mate I agree with you on Tabs. This is a thread acknowledging Connor, the rest is irrelevant here. He has stated his opinion about having to bide his time and now his opportunity has come when he has felt ready for it. His confidence in his competence at senior level has resulted in this nomination. From memory he was injured on the eve of the season and was rushed into the senior side after a return game at Peel and has played every game since. I appreciate you feel this is 12 months too late.

No koolaid in my cup.