Past Michael "Grassy" Knoll - delisted 2020

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Michael Knoll

Player Profile
Michael Knoll stamped a stunning rise from US college basketball to Australian rules football when the Sydney Swans snapped him up at the 2019 mid-season draft. The 205-centimetre, 103-kilogram ruckman played his first game of footy with the Box Hill Hawks in the VFL in 2017, before playing with Vermont’s reserves in the Eastern Football League in 2019. He then made the switch to the Swans from the South Adelaide Panthers in the SANFL. Knoll made solid progress in the NEAFL under the expert eye of Sydney assistant coach Dean Cox in 2019, and he’s on a mission to make his AFL debut in 2020.

Michael Knoll

DOB: 27 February 1993
DRAFT: 2018
RECRUITED FROM: Box Hill Hawks (VFL)/Vermont (Vic)/South Adelaide (SANFL)

www.sydneyswans.com.au

Michael Knoll | AFL

Follow Michael Knoll's progress through AFL
www.sydneyswans.com.au www.sydneyswans.com.au
 
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S120 said:
Sounds like Sinclair will play, but out of interest, do you think Knoll is any more advanced in ability than Pyke was when he debuted in 2009?
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Just because Sinlair says he’ll be ok, doesn’t mean he will be. That was a pretty significant response to hitting his head that was obviously captured on screen. The medical staff and AFL will be all over this. The most important thing is that he’s feeling good and if he misses, he misses...not a bad thing as his health is damn more important than losing the ruck contest this week!
 

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All we want from our ruckmen is to get their fair share of hitouts to advantage & contest the ball when it comes to ground as Mummy, Pyke & even Naismith were able to do & my only knock on Sinclair has been his inability to even win enough hitouts in some games which have directly cost us the chance of winning the match. So all Knoll has to do is jump, tap, contest & we are already in a better off position to win our share of contests. If he can't do that, NEXT!
 
Watching Knoll live in Canberra... he doesn't look ready from an endurance perspective. Struggled to reach some contests and came off absolutely blowing. I think they'll need some time to get the equivalent of an AFL preseason into him, perhaps via pushing his endurance to breaking point in the NEAFL.
 
S120 said:
Sounds like Sinclair will play, but out of interest, do you think Knoll is any more advanced in ability than Pyke was when he debuted in 2009?
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Really good question. Pyke was quicker, though Knoll apparently has a reasonable history as an endurance athlete for a big bloke. In terms of hand eye and kicking, Knoll should be ahead.
 
What an interesting conundrum the selectors face this week.
Personally I thought Aliir looked great in the ruck and if the docs think Sinkers is only going to miss a week I'd expect that they'd keep him there, particularly with Bellchambers being out. But if, as I expect it will be, Sinkers looks like missing 3+ weeks, then I don't think we have any choice but to throw Knoll in the deep end and the best time to do that is against a second rate ruck like Zac Clarke.
 
Jewelsbon said:
What an interesting conundrum the selectors face this week.
Personally I thought Aliir looked great in the ruck and if the docs think Sinkers is only going to miss a week I'd expect that they'd keep him there, particularly with Bellchambers being out. But if, as I expect it will be, Sinkers looks like missing 3+ weeks, then I don't think we have any choice but to throw Knoll in the deep end and the best time to do that is against a second rate ruck like Zac Clarke.
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Aliirs mobility was an asset, however he was well beaten in the hitouts. It’s a tough selection to make as you want the ruck to be competitive.
 

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Jewelsbon said:
Agreed, but Sinkers gets beaten in the hitouts 9 times out of 10 anyway!
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True, but Sinkers isn't our intercepting/3rd man up in defence either.
 
sataris said:
True, but Sinkers isn't our intercepting/3rd man up in defence either.
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And even when Sinkers is not winning taps , he completes and helps nullify the effectiveness of the other bloke. AA can't do that as well. Expect Knoll will be asked to throw his weight around and compete. If does this then he has done a fair job
 
Huge week selection wise.

I'd be pretty surprised if they are going to give Knoll a crack at seniors. He really looked out of his depth at NEAFL level... huge gamble either way...

Going in with him & getting belted

OR

Going in with Aliir/Reid/McCartin etc & risking them + losing them where they are more useful.
 
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