Player Watch #29: Will Phillips

[The Nostradamus]

As bad as it might sound... Will needs to step out of Harry's, George's and now Colby's and Zane's shadow and put his own stamp on the game.

You are worthy Will, you will get there... when you get your chance i hope you grab it and run with it!!

He doesn’t need to be flashy and outshine those

He’s clean with the footy and accumulates. Lachie Neale is what he will be for us or aiming to be

No fuss just get the job done in the coalface and dish it out to others

 

[RossHenshaw]

The person who told me, who is pretty spot on with this stuff, was absolutely flabbergasted he wasn't in the 25.

No one knows why at this stage, but she and I both reckon he must have tweaked something at training today.

I’m of the opinion that he is still a year or so off, top age year destroyed by covid, then glandular fever last year and another bad bout of covid mid year.

He needs a couple of years of continuity to show what he can do.

I’m so confident that there is mat minimum a solid B grade AFL level player there.

Paddy Dow MKII
Bust

 

[RossHenshaw]

Paddy Dow MKII
Bust

 

[DuckYeah]

It's unfortunate Will got glandular fever, but it's doing a lot of heavy lifting in the explanations as to why in year 4 he's not being selected in one of the worst sides the club has ever put out onto a football field, historically.

That side is NO WHERE NEAR the worst side we have put on paper. Lay off the turps

 

[Footywizard]

He’s a bust

 

[DuckYeah]

They said the same s**t said in here about Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

30

Ht

178cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

. The same potatoes in here were saying Rowell was no good last year.

What a load of horse s**t this has been.

 

[RossHenshaw]

Unfortunately, we don't have a couple of years to wait for Will. The spots will be taken.

Problem for Will is the amount & caliber of inside & overall mids we now have and are improving way ahead of him every year. Will simply does not possess the ability to play anywhere else. Therefore drastically limiting his ability to break into the team. Let’s face it .. the only time he was picked last season was at the expense of injury or suspension to fellow teammates . Sadly I see the same fate for him or worse this season. If the list stays healthy, he will have very limited opportunities.

 

[DuckYeah]

Problem for Will is the amount & caliber of inside & overall mids we now have and are improving way ahead of him every year. Will simply does not possess the ability to play anywhere else. Therefore drastically limiting his ability to break into the team. Let’s face it .. the only time he was picked last season was at the expense of injury or suspension to fellow teammates . Sadly I see the same fate for him or worse this season. If the list stays healthy, he will have very limited opportunities.

Is that a bad thing? Midfield depth?

 

[SammyRoo]

I’m still a believer, but not being able to make the mid’s squad with Simpkin out suggests he’s a career crossroads

Hopefully find s by players like Jobe Watson, Sam Mitchell etc ?

ie never blessed with speed or size but became Brownlow medalist through sheer smarts

 

[Epictetus]

That side is NO WHERE NEAR the worst side we have put on paper. Lay off the turps

I should have said list. I didn't mean the team this week, necessarily (although I don't think it's a strong team).

 

[Epictetus]

I’m still a believer, but not being able to make the mid’s squad with Simpkin out suggests he’s a career crossroads

Hopefully find s by players like Jobe Watson, Sam Mitchell etc ?

ie never blessed with speed or size but became Brownlow medalist through sheer smarts

Watson was 190 and 95, Mitchell was one of the most naturally gifted players of the last 20 years.

These comparisons to Neale, Mitchell, Cunnington, LDU, Watson etc are simply unfair on Phillips.

 

[DuckYeah]

Watson was 190 and 95, Mitchell was one of the most naturally gifted players of the last 20 years.

These comparisons to Neale, Mitchell, Cunnington, LDU, Watson etc are simply unfair on Phillips.

Line up phillips and neale stats side by side at the same age (last year) the comparison is fair. Chill out, have a kit kat. Relax. Round 1 hasn’t started yet. No one knows whats going on in the inner sanctum.

 

[r_boy]

I agree with people saying his style is of a Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

30

Ht

178cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

. His best game is buzzing around the contest giving it energy in offense and applying pressure in defence and it definitely stacks up as AFL worthy.

My concern is that he doesn't have the endurance to play that style because you do need to have that Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

30

Ht

178cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

level of fitness to play it. We have put it down to glandular etc. thus far but it remains to be seen whether he can reach that standard of fitness.

I would still offer another decent contract irrespective of games played this year.

 

[RossHenshaw]

Is that a bad thing? Midfield depth?

Not at all .
But people here need to take their blindfold off & accept that Will is not good enough

 

[Arthur Cloke]

I’m so confident that there is mat minimum a solid B grade AFL level player there.

Perfect. That’s exactly what premiership midfields need - solid B Graders. Please. Give me a spell.

 

[DuckYeah]

Not at all .
But people here need to take their blindfold off & accept that Will is not good enough

Sure thing bud.

 

[ferball]

I’m still a believer, but not being able to make the mid’s squad with Simpkin out suggests he’s a career crossroads

Hopefully find s by players like Jobe Watson, Sam Mitchell etc ?

ie never blessed with speed or size but became Brownlow medalist through sheer smarts and PEDs

efa

 

[Arthur Cloke]

I would still offer another decent contract irrespective of games played this year.

why?

 

[ChairmanZia]

Improvement? Its his 5th year in the system, I'm not writing him off but I would like see him start to reverse his statistical decline.

Check up on david hale, he didn't get into top form until he got to hawthorn, i.e. 10+ years. Jone's job is to provide a chop out for Xerri, that's it.

 

[Waynesworld]

Logan McDonald looking good

 

[Sillygit]

and there it is...

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

I'm sick of seeing comments like "If there's anyone this will motivate its Will" and "Theres no player on our list as driven as Will"

Frankly they are just words. Hes needs to stand up and show us something, or he needs to go.

You do realise that this is a text based format and all we have to argue with is words, right?

 

[Waynesworld]

Check up on david hale, he didn't get into top form until he got to hawthorn, i.e. 10+ years. Jone's job is to provide a chop out for Xerri, that's it.

Who the hell is Jones?

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

The reality is we've invested the exact same amount of time, energy and resources to all players from the 2020 Draft.

Phillips (32 games), Powell (45), Lazzaro (30), Spicer, & Ford (22). None of these players are close to reaching their full potential, they are all more than capable at AFL level and all look promising to varying degrees.

So if you're going to single out Phillips and say "He needs to show results, and he needs to do it now" then apply that same statement to all of them. Because as of right now none of them have achieved or shown so much more than Will that they deserve to escape the same level of scrutiny and criticism that is applied to Will.

You're clearly overlooking the AFL rule that a top 5 draftee is given less time to establish himself in the team or else he is deregistered.

 

[RossHenshaw]

LMac (the better variety) says
And we gave #29 away just like that