News Xavier Duursma departs for Essendon

If they ******* stamp out his celebration i'll be pretty ******* pissed. * this competition and it's hanger on's like the media. The whole AFL product is a steaming pile of s**t.
 

Windy Cindy

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After reading an article on lachie whitfield, got me thinking that Xavier could be our version of whitfield.

Has the same qualities, runs all day, great skills, courage, not sure he is as quick.

He could end up the best of the 3 and a out and out star.
 

Windy Cindy

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His skills would need a lot of work. A lot. Athletically though, he could probably get there.

i dont mind his skills, not sure what his efficiency overall is like, but surely he would be in our top 10 for skills. Having said that his kicking for goal has let him down, ever since he missed that goal in an earlier game that could have put us in front? or close
 

Rexie J

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i dont mind his skills, not sure what his efficiency overall is like, but surely he would be in our top 10 for skills. Having said that his kicking for goal has let him down, ever since he missed that goal in an earlier game that could have put us in front? or close


It would be great if many of the more senior players had his attributes.
 
From the Weekend Oz A Week At A Time column


Last week we told you about Australia’s fastest AFL player, with Richmond’s Oleg Markov hitting the top speed of 37.4km/h in round two this year. Speed is important but in AFL, it is distance that can matter even more. So which AFL player has outrun all others this year? Many would correctly guess West Coast’s tireless midfielder, Andrew Gaff.
According to the GPS data collected by Telstra Tracker technology, the 27-year-old ran 17.6km playing against Adelaide in round 10, nudging out Port Adelaide’s Xavier Duursma who travelled 17.37km in round two against Carlton.

It is North Melbourne forward Ben Brown who has a claim to being the AFL’s true distance king. Not only does his 17.28km in round two rank him third but he tops the list for average distance covered. Brown runs an average 15.64km each game, just ahead of West Coast’s Josh Smith on 15.63km.

The competition average is probably closer to 13km a game but the GPS data does confirm AFL players to be winter’s true endurance men. In comparison, most soccer players run about 10km a game, with midfielders capable of running 15km. NRL and rugby union players hover around 7km a game.

But before we award AFL with the ultimate distance trophy, we must consider sport’s summer pursuits. And it is there that athletes cover most ground under a baking hot sun. A Test fast bowler can travel 20km a day with Mitchell Johnsonhitting 23km during day one of the 2013 Boxing Day Test. How much of that was walking back to the top of his bowling mark or casually wandering down to the fine leg boundary? Probably plenty.




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If they ******* stamp out his celebration i'll be pretty ******* pi**ed. fu** this competition and it's hanger on's like the media. The whole AFL product is a steaming pile of s**t.
Such a shame that all the media coverage about Duursma has been the celebration and not what a great season he is having for a rookie.

For what it's worth (not much), they backed him on On The Couch last night. Except for Roo's, but that's not surprising. He's coached 2 of the most boring teams in the last 20 years.
 
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Such a shame that all the media coverage about Duursma has been the celebration and not what a great season he is having for a rookie.

For what it's worth (not much), they backed him on On The Couch last night. Except for Roo's, but that's not surprising. He's coached 2 of the most boring teams in the last 20 years.
Ken said the older generation might not be as keen on it but the younger generation sure love it. Keep it up Duursma.
 

Duckimus Prime

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It is North Melbourne forward Ben Brown who has a claim to being the AFL’s true distance king. Not only does his 17.28km in round two rank him third but he tops the list for average distance covered. Brown runs an average 15.64km each game
Yeah but what percentage of that distance is his ridiculous run up for a set shot.

Its amazing how he manages to get that far back without moving off his mark. Especially with how tight they are on defenders even looking to the side.
 

El_Scorcho

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Hinkley’s comments support him too

Just on this (and I don't mean to single this comment out, it's just a general comment about what Hinkley said)

Hinkley's comments weren't totally negative, but they weren't totally supportive either. He initially said "i'll have a word to him" as if it was something that he was acknowledging needed to be toned down.

He's just not always very supportive of the players, and I note again that the narrative coming from the coaches is that the players are out of form which is causing our poor performances. Anyone who has ever coached any sport from U6s up would know that you don't pot your players publicly. A coach needs to be mentally down in the trenches with the players.

And if it was just a one off, I could deal with it. But we've always been inconsistent under Hinkley, we've always blamed players for performances as a club, and we lost our last blue chip KPF prospect because the club couldn't support him mentally through the yips. For a club that loves to talk about how much we wrap our arms around each other, I think we get the messaging really, really wrong and the result is our current mental fragility.

It's not really Ken's fault entirely though, it's an issue that is really reflective of Koch's poor leadership.
 
Just on this (and I don't mean to single this comment out, it's just a general comment about what Hinkley said)

Hinkley's comments weren't totally negative, but they weren't totally supportive either. He initially said "i'll have a word to him" as if it was something that he was acknowledging needed to be toned down.

He's just not always very supportive of the players, and I note again that the narrative coming from the coaches is that the players are out of form which is causing our poor performances. Anyone who has ever coached any sport from U6s up would know that you don't pot your players publicly. A coach needs to be mentally down in the trenches with the players.

And if it was just a one off, I could deal with it. But we've always been inconsistent under Hinkley, we've always blamed players for performances as a club, and we lost our last blue chip KPF prospect because the club couldn't support him mentally through the yips. For a club that loves to talk about how much we wrap our arms around each other, I think we get the messaging really, really wrong and the result is our current mental fragility.

It's not really Ken's fault entirely though, it's an issue that is really reflective of Koch's poor leadership.

Now contrast this with Bomber Thompson's "Leave him alone" press conference. Sets a completely different tone and one that is far more positive for the players.
 
Feb 4, 2013
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i dont mind his skills, not sure what his efficiency overall is like, but surely he would be in our top 10 for skills. Having said that his kicking for goal has let him down, ever since he missed that goal in an earlier game that could have put us in front? or close
I actually think it is as simple as this....he tends to get too close to the man on the mark when kicking for goal...field kicking is long and accurate
 
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Ken said the older generation might not be as keen on it but the younger generation sure love it. Keep it up Duursma.
As a member of the older generation, I take offence to this. Heaven knows we need some personality in our football. It's a "hell yeah" from me.
 
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As a member of the older generation, I take offence to this. Heaven knows we need some personality in our football. It's a "hell yeah" from me.

Yeah this 'that's what the modern kids do!' POV is so weird, like kids from other generations, or players more than 19 years old, have never had a distinct celebration before. It's retconning history.
 
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