Player Watch #10: Shane Edwards - Retiring at Seasons end

[Wallaby]

Actually, Sheds was drafted the year before - 2006 - with Jack. Jack was 13, Sheds 26. (Interestingly, Grigg was also drafted 2006 at 19, and Andy Collins went at 73 - those two are forever linked).

Looking at that draft, it's hard to spot 2 better players taken earlier than 26. Certainly Selwood, and maybe Boak and Frawley are in the conversation. Goldstein was at 37 and Robbie Gray was at 55. (There were a couple of father/sons - Kennedy and Hawkins - that we couldn't look at).

With a highest pick at 13, I reckon we got 2 of the best 5 or 6 available players - that's a good draft. (Port Adelaide also did well - Gray, Boak, Westhoff and re-drafted Rodan after we cut him).

(For extra laughs - Carlton and Essendon had Priority picks that year, and managed to stuff them up. Carlton's best choice was Gibbs(!), while Essendon picked up one good player - except they decided to cut him later. Bachar Houli).

 

[Wacky Tiger]

Actually, Sheds was drafted the year before - 2006 - with Jack. Jack was 13, Sheds 26. (Interestingly, Grigg was also drafted 2006 at 19, and Andy Collins went at 73 - those two are forever linked).

Looking at that draft, it's hard to spot 2 better players taken earlier than 26. Certainly Selwood, and maybe Boak and Frawley are in the conversation. Goldstein was at 37 and Robbie Gray was at 55. (There were a couple of father/sons - Kennedy and Hawkins - that we couldn't look at).

With a highest pick at 13, I reckon we got 2 of the best 5 or 6 available players - that's a good draft. (Port Adelaide also did well - Gray, Boak, Westhoff and re-drafted Rodan after we cut him).

(For extra laughs - Carlton and Essendon had Priority picks that year, and managed to stuff them up. Carlton's best choice was Gibbs(!), while Essendon picked up one good player - except they decided to cut him later. Bachar Houli).

tbf to the Bombers they wanted to keep Bachar he was just set on leaving. It was their pigheadedness of not dealing him that allowed us to pick him up in the draft.

 

[amc11]

Nick Vlastuin & Shane Edwards did a Q & A on Instagram last night. On the live feed you could see the questions (if you could read them quickly) & who had made the comments/questions. It's completely beyond my technology skills to save and re-post instastories but luckily the club are on the ball and have posted it on the website minus the question feed. For those in any doubt, Shedda & Tigger both confirm Shane does not like to be called Titch but he is missing footy and can't wait to get back to play for another 10 years.

Tiger face time

Nick Vlastuin and Shane Edwards participate in a live Q&A on Richmond's Instagram @Richmond_FC

www.richmondfc.com.au

 

[Liamski]

Just quietly became a tiger great over the years. I remember him taking people on with his tongue out in the early years. Was one of our only sparks.

Has annoyed me how little respect he has gotten over the years. Best handball in the league and it’s not even close. Teaches him for being too fast for the commentators to see.

 

[Roachy8]

LOVE Shane Edwards - absolute GUN!
Last year was totally his best and is tracking to keep improving over the next few year - don't care about his age.

After Jack will be next Tiger to post 300 games...

 

[Dr Tigris]

Guys a wizard. Does things that the commentators, and maybe some other fans, are only now starting to notice. Players do it sometimes. Sheds does is every game.

 

[Muddiemoose]

When he broke his leg it seemed to set him back when he was really starting to hit his prime
Almost a blessing because it enabled him to go under the radar for a little longer but I often wonder the player he could of been if he didn’t break it

I’m pretty sure it was around 2015

 

[mopsy]

I clearly have a differing view on Edwards.

Just my opinion but i think he was ordinary from 07 - 16 apart from three very good but short periods those being the start first half of 2010 the second half of 2012 and the start of 2015 until injury.

Granted the last three yrs in particular 18 and 19 have been very good seasons where he finally showed some real long term consistency.

I suppose when you get two premierships the early times are forgotten and they all suddenly become invincible champs.

His pros have always been his hands and his evasiveness his hands have ALWAYS BEEN ELITE.But imo that is where his elite traits stop.
Just my opinion but the gap from his best to his worst remained for too long too wide a gap.

If i was asked to rate him over the entirety of his career then all can say is mostly ordinary from 07 to 16 a period where the ordinary games far outweighed the good ones.

Its interesting to go over Edwards threads on different sites what i have said above really is backed up by the commentary on those threads.

For a lot of people he is now a premiership hero and a champion and that is all that is looked at.I dont mind the former description but the latter i have a few problems with.

Just to finish i will say the back end of his career he has become a very good player but by crikey it took a long time.

In reading this thread i am loath to make these comments as i saw the crap that a very good and honest poster like Goldust had to put up with
and have no wish to go thru the same sort of vitriol and antagonistic posting that he had to put up with, just for taking an opposing view.

So my last comments is you are all entitled to your opinion and you may be right, but i am happy to disagree and will leave it at that as no amount of debate will change my opinion on the entirety of his career.

He is a player who it seems has polarised supporters over his input and where he sits for the majority of his career. While i dont rate a large part of that career i am very grateful that he was a part of a team that stopped 34 yrs of misery not just for myself but all tiger supporters and actually played a significant role in ending that misery thru what has been now three very good finals campaigns.

 

[Liamski]

I agree his was a slow build, but he tended to improve every year. Won more than one most improved awards I think. But he has been elite for the last 4-5 years.
One of the corner stones of our game plan is built around his skill set of forward handball. He has been the coaches secret clearance weapon for a long time now.

 

[Wallaby]

Yes, he broke his leg in 2015 a couple of weeks after getrting concussed by Franklin (Buddy got weeks for it). At that time Edwards was definitely starting to be recognised as a key member of the side. That put him back a bit, and he didn't really hit his straps again until mid 2017.

He's been great since then.

 

[Grrr]

I clearly have a differing view on Edwards.

Just my opinion but i think he was ordinary from 07 - 16 apart from three very good but short periods those being the start first half of 2010 the second half of 2012 and the start of 2015 until injury.

Granted the last three yrs in particular 18 and 19 have been very good seasons where he finally showed some real long term consistency.

I suppose when you get two premierships the early times are forgotten and they all suddenly become invincible champs.

His pros have always been his hands and his evasiveness his hands have ALWAYS BEEN ELITE.But imo that is where his elite traits stop.
Just my opinion but the gap from his best to his worst remained for too long too wide a gap.

If i was asked to rate him over the entirety of his career then all can say is mostly ordinary from 07 to 16 a period where the ordinary games far outweighed the good ones.

Its interesting to go over Edwards threads on different sites what i have said above really is backed up by the commentary on those threads.

For a lot of people he is now a premiership hero and a champion and that is all that is looked at.I dont mind the former description but the latter i have a few problems with.

Just to finish i will say the back end of his career he has become a very good player but by crikey it took a long time.

In reading this thread i am loath to make these comments as i saw the crap that a very good and honest poster like Goldust had to put up with
and have no wish to go thru the same sort of vitriol and antagonistic posting that he had to put up with, just for taking an opposing view.

So my last comments is you are all entitled to your opinion and you may be right, but i am happy to disagree and will leave it at that as no amount of debate will change my opinion on the entirety of his career.

He is a player who it seems has polarised supporters over his input and where he sits for the majority of his career. While i dont rate a large part of that career i am very grateful that he was a part of a team that stopped 34 yrs of misery not just for myself but all tiger supporters and actually played a significant role in ending that misery thru what has been now three very good finals campaigns.

You have to take into account that skinny kids who stay skinny will never be solid players until they fill out and mature. Robbie Flower the exception. Also flanker types are rarely consistent players in poor sides. Edwards was early in his career icing on the cake, but for about 4 years now has been exceptional due to getting a good side around him and having the strength to stand up in the heat and do what he does.

And besides his hands I think he is one of the best kicks in the side. He hits kicks just like his handballs that others would not see.

 

[peternorth]

He has a unique and effective ball drop. I cant explain it, but have a look if you can.

 

[Ceehook]

tbf to the Bombers they wanted to keep Bachar he was just set on leaving. It was their pigheadedness of not dealing him that allowed us to pick him up in the draft.

there was plenty of quality at the bombers at the time and Bachar was at the back of a queue and would have had to be prepared for a couple of seasons in the VFL and an odd opportunity when injury presented

it was a good get by our football dept. he had potential and was gettable

 

[Dr Tigris]

Early on he was hit and miss. Often took too much on and did things that he could see but no one else could. He's learnt how to play to both his strengths and others abilities. Sheds is also on record saying that when Dimma came in he said be yourself, whilst other coaches tried to change him. I reckon that made a huge difference. I remember going to game about 10 years ago and watching Sheds playing the chase and fill holes role player type of game. Dusty and Cotch stayed inside where they were dangerous and let Sheds and others do the chasing and unglamorous stuff. He was basically being used as a role player. Somewhere his obvious brilliance turned from flashes to consistency. Also many forget that about 6 or 7 years ago Champion data ranked Sheds as 'elite' for his role. Non-Richmond supporters didn't see it at all, and many/most Tiger fans didn't either. But some did, and his ability to get his hands on the ball and use it well in tight, including crumbed goals, was outstanding. His stats were amazing for what he did. But he was not playing the main man role. Now he is the main man quite often and people recognize his ability.

A really telling thing is that we are, to some extent, trying to replicate Sheds in our draftees. Super quick smart players with the ability to see/do things others can't. They are often downgraded in juniors because the other players can't keep up, and they're immature physically. (If they are mature physically then they go top 10). There is a Richmond style of player, and the Sheds type is one that we pick more than other clubs.

 

[Marcel Proust]

Actually, Sheds was drafted the year before - 2006 - with Jack. Jack was 13, Sheds 26. (Interestingly, Grigg was also drafted 2006 at 19, and Andy Collins went at 73 - those two are forever linked).

Looking at that draft, it's hard to spot 2 better players taken earlier than 26. Certainly Selwood, and maybe Boak and Frawley are in the conversation. Goldstein was at 37 and Robbie Gray was at 55. (There were a couple of father/sons - Kennedy and Hawkins - that we couldn't look at).

With a highest pick at 13, I reckon we got 2 of the best 5 or 6 available players - that's a good draft. (Port Adelaide also did well - Gray, Boak, Westhoff and re-drafted Rodan after we cut him).

(For extra laughs - Carlton and Essendon had Priority picks that year, and managed to stuff them up. Carlton's best choice was Gibbs(!), while Essendon picked up one good player - except they decided to cut him later. Bachar Houli).

iirc titch was pretty highly touted prior to the draft

"2nd best SA player" (outside of Gibbs lol)

i think i remember being pretty happy with the Edwards selection. upset about Jack Riewoldt over Sellar.

 

[HTT]

Actually, Sheds was drafted the year before - 2006 - with Jack. Jack was 13, Sheds 26. (Interestingly, Grigg was also drafted 2006 at 19, and Andy Collins went at 73 - those two are forever linked).

Looking at that draft, it's hard to spot 2 better players taken earlier than 26. Certainly Selwood, and maybe Boak and Frawley are in the conversation. Goldstein was at 37 and Robbie Gray was at 55. (There were a couple of father/sons - Kennedy and Hawkins - that we couldn't look at).

With a highest pick at 13, I reckon we got 2 of the best 5 or 6 available players - that's a good draft. (Port Adelaide also did well - Gray, Boak, Westhoff and re-drafted Rodan after we cut him).

(For extra laughs - Carlton and Essendon had Priority picks that year, and managed to stuff them up. Carlton's best choice was Gibbs(!), while Essendon picked up one good player - except they decided to cut him later. Bachar Houli).

Almost as good as our 2016/17 off season.
Blues and Bombers pick 3 decent players between them and two of them end up at Richmond

 

[Roachy8]

iirc titch was pretty highly touted prior to the draft
"2nd best SA player" (outside of Gibbs lol)

 

[Ceehook]

iirc titch was pretty highly touted prior to the draft

"2nd best SA player" (outside of Gibbs lol)

i think i remember being pretty happy with the Edwards selection. upset about Jack Riewoldt over Sellar.

yeah I recall something along those lines
not sure if im confusing two games but went to a practice game at Manuka V Swans
and came away impressed by two new guys in our colours
one being Jake "The Mus" King , who was happy to take on Goodes and was a mature aged rookie
and this kid with a mop of hair , Edwards , the way he moved was eye catching
and they threw him straight in the midfield and my first thoughts were they rate this kid

both had their supporters and detractors but did plenty for us

 

[richoatthedisco]

tbf to the Bombers they wanted to keep Bachar he was just set on leaving. It was their pigheadedness of not dealing him that allowed us to pick him up in the draft.

We out-Dudoroed them. They wanted pick 30 but we would only offer pick 47 because we needed 30 to take Batchelor over Parker. Dudoro was on the phone in tears.

there was plenty of quality at the bombers at the time and Bachar was at the back of a queue and would have had to be prepared for a couple of seasons in the VFL and an odd opportunity when injury presented

it was a good get by our football dept. he had potential and was gettable

Blair's first off-season with us, netted Bach and Grigg. It was his doing, the precise reason we brought him in.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Sheds always had the talent.
Just needed the right players around him.

 

[Dr Tigris]

yeah I recall something along those lines
not sure if im confusing two games but went to a practice game at Manuka V Swans
and came away impressed by two new guys in our colours
one being Jake "The Mus" King , who was happy to take on Goodes and was a mature aged rookie
and this kid with a mop of hair , Edwards , the way he moved was eye catching
and they threw him straight in the midfield and my first thoughts were they rate this kid

both had their supporters and detractors but did plenty for us

Sheds was thought of in a mixed way at the draft. Super talented, and very smart footballer, but skinny and often ineffective.

I remember Knightmare's review of him. He said that he was like most and thought the kid was good, but not that good. Then after the season, but before the draft, he reviewed people's tapes. For Shed's he actually slowed some tape down and saw that Sheds was actually thinking too fast. He'd do things so quickly and cleverly that the junior players weren't ready for him. That meant that Sheds would do amazing stuff and it looked crap. So people thought Shane was flaky because he'd put the ball where no one was, and would use his weird kicking to hit the grass. But when you really looked closely there was method to his madness. And for a junior that was very unusual. Only a few have that vision and speed of thought. So KM was much more bullish on Sheds than most because he saw the potential for him to develop into what he is. That's what I always looked for early in his career, the smarts and reaction speed. It took along time for Sheds to turn that brilliance in prospect into brilliance in reality. If you outsmart everyone else, that includes outsmarting the rest of your team. Nowadays Sheds makes it easy for his team mates. I reckon early on he was trying to hit up someone as smart as himself. So often he'd do stuff that looked stupid, but in reality was too smart.

 

[Grrr]

Sheds was thought of in a mixed way at the draft. Super talented, and very smart footballer, but skinny and often ineffective.

I remember Knightmare's review of him. He said that he was like most and thought the kid was good, but not that good. Then after the season, but before the draft, he reviewed people's tapes. For Shed's he actually slowed some tape down and saw that Sheds was actually thinking too fast. He'd do things so quickly and cleverly that the junior players weren't ready for him. That meant that Sheds would do amazing stuff and it looked crap. So people thought Shane was flaky because he'd put the ball where no one was, and would use his weird kicking to hit the grass. But when you really looked closely there was method to his madness. And for a junior that was very unusual. Only a few have that vision and speed of thought. So KM was much more bullish on Sheds than most because he saw the potential for him to develop into what he is. That's what I always looked for early in his career, the smarts and reaction speed. It took along time for Sheds to turn that brilliance in prospect into brilliance in reality. If you outsmart everyone else, that includes outsmarting the rest of your team. Nowadays Sheds makes it easy for his team mates. I reckon early on he was trying to hit up someone as smart as himself. So often he'd do stuff that looked stupid, but in reality was too smart.

Helps when your team mates are smart and know what to expect. You can see them spread and rush forward when he gets the ball. He would be the first bloke I'd tag at Richmond if I was the opposition, especially when he/we get on a roll.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Nick Vlastuin & Shane Edwards did a Q & A on Instagram last night. On the live feed you could see the questions (if you could read them quickly) & who had made the comments/questions. It's completely beyond my technology skills to save and re-post instastories but luckily the club are on the ball and have posted it on the website minus the question feed. For those in any doubt, Shedda & Tigger both confirm Shane does not like to be called Titch but he is missing footy and can't wait to get back to play for another 10 years.

Tiger face time

Nick Vlastuin and Shane Edwards participate in a live Q&A on Richmond's Instagram @Richmond_FC

www.richmondfc.com.au

Don't call Shed's baby a little cutie...or such a titchie!

 

[tora tora tora]

Just quietly became a tiger great over the years. I remember him taking people on with his tongue out in the early years. Was one of our only sparks.

Has annoyed me how little respect he has gotten over the years. Best handball in the league and it’s not even close. Teaches him for being too fast for the commentators to see.

Just watching the Final vs Brisbane. 3/4 of the way through it. Sheds had a great first half. Then got thrown in the middle and got better clearance after clearance. Commentators noticed. Great games by Grimes, Sheds and Dusty. Cameos from Dan, Shai, Lynch.

 

[jc12]

I clearly have a differing view on Edwards.

Just my opinion but i think he was ordinary from 07 - 16 apart from three very good but short periods those being the start first half of 2010 the second half of 2012 and the start of 2015 until injury.

Granted the last three yrs in particular 18 and 19 have been very good seasons where he finally showed some real long term consistency.

I suppose when you get two premierships the early times are forgotten and they all suddenly become invincible champs.

His pros have always been his hands and his evasiveness his hands have ALWAYS BEEN ELITE.But imo that is where his elite traits stop.
Just my opinion but the gap from his best to his worst remained for too long too wide a gap.

If i was asked to rate him over the entirety of his career then all can say is mostly ordinary from 07 to 16 a period where the ordinary games far outweighed the good ones.

Its interesting to go over Edwards threads on different sites what i have said above really is backed up by the commentary on those threads.

For a lot of people he is now a premiership hero and a champion and that is all that is looked at.I dont mind the former description but the latter i have a few problems with.

Just to finish i will say the back end of his career he has become a very good player but by crikey it took a long time.

In reading this thread i am loath to make these comments as i saw the crap that a very good and honest poster like Goldust had to put up with
and have no wish to go thru the same sort of vitriol and antagonistic posting that he had to put up with, just for taking an opposing view.

So my last comments is you are all entitled to your opinion and you may be right, but i am happy to disagree and will leave it at that as no amount of debate will change my opinion on the entirety of his career.

He is a player who it seems has polarised supporters over his input and where he sits for the majority of his career. While i dont rate a large part of that career i am very grateful that he was a part of a team that stopped 34 yrs of misery not just for myself but all tiger supporters and actually played a significant role in ending that misery thru what has been now three very good finals campaigns.

Lol you are not loath to make these comments, you make them all the time . You go through almost every player on the list and talk negative on them, that's why people have a go at you lol
Legit have not seen you make a genuine positive post in my life