Cam Rayner

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Jul 14, 2005
18,723
29,560
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Chelsea FC
Thoughts on this bloke 5 years in?

Granted he’s coming off a long term injury I’m still yet to see much of a footballer emerging.

Not a midfielder, not a particularly smart or instinctive forward.

Every pre-draft report sold him as a Dusty clone, but also conceded he’d spent very little time playing on ball - and he had a s**t tank so the natural assumption was he’d dominate once he was properly conditioned.

His draft was definitely a bit of a crapshoot at the top end. Short of making the safe decision and taking Andy Brayshaw by the end of year he was clearly the consensus choice and was never slipping out of the Top 3, but I can’t help feeling him dominating underage footy (especially the championships) set him up a bit. Another case of not being able to use that extra strength once he was up against nuggety back pockets at AFL level. Not to mention having to scrap extra hard to find space inside 50 through an 18-man zone.

His footy IQ and game sense in general leaves a bit to be desired, especially for a guy taken with Pick 1. Routinely seems to overrun the ball or have the opportunity to win a lopsided contest and he can’t do it.

Is this guy a really slow burn or just not much chop?
 
If he was taken at pick 30, no one would care.

For a pick 1, he's a real let down. One of the poorer number 1 picks in recent memory.

In hindsight though, that draft was s**t. Check out the top 20, there's a few in there but overall a lot of disappointments and you'd expect a bit more to look like more.
 
Thoughts on this bloke 5 years in?

Granted he’s coming off a long term injury I’m still yet to see much of a footballer emerging.

Not a midfielder, not a particularly smart or instinctive forward.

Every pre-draft report sold him as a Dusty clone, but also conceded he’d spent very little time playing on ball - and he had a s**t tank so the natural assumption was he’d dominate once he was properly conditioned.

His draft was definitely a bit of a crapshoot at the top end. Short of making the safe decision and taking Andy Brayshaw by the end of year he was clearly the consensus choice and was never slipping out of the Top 3, but I can’t help feeling him dominating underage footy (especially the championships) set him up a bit. Another case of not being able to use that extra strength once he was up against nuggety back pockets at AFL level. Not to mention having to scrap extra hard to find space inside 50 through an 18-man zone.

His footy IQ and game sense in general leaves a bit to be desired, especially for a guy taken with Pick 1. Routinely seems to overrun the ball or have the opportunity to win a lopsided contest and he can’t do it.

Is this guy a really slow burn or just not much chop?

I think he deserves time to work into the season coming off an ACL before being too harshly judged. Previously he was still quite young.
 

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From all reports was ready to explode into a midfield role just prior to his ACL injury, now needs to refind himself.

I think he hasn't quite lived up to being a Pick 1 but it's not his fault where he was chosen. He can still be a serviceable player. Hopefully he stays healthy and gets some more minutes in the midfield to see if he can throw his frame around and get some contested ball. That's the next step for him.
 
Time will tell. Petracca was a bit of a slow burn compared to where he is now. Good for his goal per game and bumping up to 20 disposals per game for a few seasons. Admittedly Rayner doesn't get anywhere that much ball, but be could still explode and become an A grader. Will be around 80 games at the end of the year so the time to arrive is getting close if he's ever going to do it.
 
Still finding a terribly disappointing amount of the ball, especially for someone who’s getting to spend a very decent amount of time in the midfield.

Disposals per round, number of centre bounces attended:

R1- 13 disposals, 8 CBA’s.
R2- 12 disposals, 10 CBA’s.
R3- 16 disposals, 13 CBA’s. (108 point win)
R4- 13 disposals, 6 CBA’s.

So the only time he managed to get more than 13 disposals was when he spent a very decent chunk of the game in the midfield (13 CBA’s), in a 108 point demolition. Against a North midfield that was missing Cunnington, LDU, Anderson and Thomas.
 

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Time will tell. Petracca was a bit of a slow burn compared to where he is now. Good for his goal per game and bumping up to 20 disposals per game for a few seasons. Admittedly Rayner doesn't get anywhere that much ball, but be could still explode and become an A grader. Will be around 80 games at the end of the year so the time to arrive is getting close if he's ever going to do it.
One of the biggest myths in footy is Petracca being a slow burn, he was a forward before he was a midfielder but his worst seasons were 18 touches and as good as a goal a game.
 
I don't think there's really much denying that he's output so far hasn't matched his draft position, even though as mentioned above, in not the strongest draft.

I do think he has plenty of time to improve though. He only turns 23 after the end of season, and it's only been 13 months since he tore his ACL. His disposal numbers this season are closer to what they were in his first year as opposed to the sub 10 numbers he was getting the last few years, and he's playing around 75% TOG. I think next year will be the key, and at point there will be no excuses.

From the outside looking in (and from what I've heard), I do think he's had a big influence on the culture of the club and I think he's had a big role in our younger players buying in. Given not that long ago we were losing all our younger players, I do think the cultural impact he's had on the club cannot be understated.
 
Will make you eat your words. I said this about Petracca when he was getting smashed in the media. He has too many attributes to not be successful, quick, clean, powerful and BIG.

If he gets a good run at it, he will be exposed to midfield time by round 10 or so.
 
Petracca was a decent footballer from the get go.

It was all about his capacity to build a tank and work his way into the midfield that’d determine how good he’d become.

It’s Rayner’s forward craft that is a bit disappointing. For a guy taken as a mid-sized forward he doesn’t have the same class in the forward 50, and is more a marking option than a guy who will create scoring opportunities at ground level.

Actually had a couple of good moments at the stoppages yesterday. He’s clearly quite strong and well built, if he can work on using that to his advantage he could have a quick uptick in his form. Neale was really working to get him involved.
 
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Still has time but I'm losing faith.

I do remember few on BigFooty writing off Petracca after a quiet game. Saints fans were fast to call him a dud.

The bloke I find more disappointing is Jarrod Berry.
Gets a heap of hype for his "big body" but footy isn't a body building contest
He's terrible. Can't find the footy. Poor skills. Slow. Lots of clangers. Fumbles.

Commentators love talking him up because he's "big".

Dermie is a classic example. Judges players on their physique more than whether they can actually play the game .
 

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