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Welcome With Pick 24 Geelong Football Club Selects Harley Barker
- Thread starter dazbroncos
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The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
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He was never going to be able to dislodge one of our seasoned mids anyway.
On top of that, we have regained Bruhn and added Worpel.
He may play some VFL late in the season and hopefully will be ready and raring to go in '27.
Hopefully the knee comes good. Otherwise, has the skills and attributes for a classy and high impact player.
CatRiot: I don't think for a nanosecond that Wellsy and co would be relying on the word 'hopefully' when it comes to Harley's knee coming good, but rather 'when it comes good' and what impact he'll eventually have when he finally reaches AFL maturity because 'to be sure' Harley is one highly skilled, classy and talented footballer as you stated. And it must also be remembered if Harley hadn't done his ACL he would in all likelihood have gone top 10 as that was the direction he was heading prior to doing his ACL. Yet here we are incredibly getting him at 24, so what an unbelievable get by the Cats (Wellsy strikes again) and I'm sure that hindsight will prove that to be so..... and GO CATS !!!
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Trying not to get too carried away but he looks like a very , very good prospect.
He's going to be a powerful unit in a few years , if the knee is ok he will make a big impact.
This!
A fantastic summary of Bailey.
There is such depth to his character. He made a huge effort to befriend players, I think he contributed to team cohesion, spent time with younger players + Scott commented that Bailey showed leadership qualities.
Just imagine Harley Barker reading Bailey’s post. Gazza, he’d be so stoked to receive Bailey’s recognition
Cheers + beers to ACL Gang!
Kitty and very astute, wise lady..... I fully agree on all comments in regards to Bailey Smith with regards to his depth of character, etc and I reckon if ever anyone had the good fortune to meet and befriend Bailey, they'd soon find out what a genuine and sincere guy he really is and to be sure a guy who'll 'have your back' when in need, far more than most that either pretend or impersonate to be so. And Kitty, it's only because of Bailey's 'huge popularity' we have the likes of 'do-gooder and self-righteous b***h Caroline Wilson' that will pick up on any of Bailey's minor or otherwise indiscretions to earn do-gooder points with her gossiping football public who they themselves through public media forums and outlets have become their own 'soap opera'.
Yeah Kitty, I'm not a big fan of do-gooders and self-righteous people as normally 'deep down' they're FOS with Caroline Wilson being an perfect example of this fact, who apparently 'knows all and what's best for us, especially morally.' What a effen joke of a woman, give me a 'no BS Kitty' any day of the week...... as you 'rock girl' and GO CATS !!!
PS - Kitty, was watching this music video the other day 'wise & fun lady' and 'songs end' had me thinking of 'you'..... here Kitty, Kitty! And btw Kitty, I'm no 'Paper Tiger', I no, no Kitty, I'm a 'fearless cat'...... and go pussy-cats!
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No reason why it won’t. Baring some genetic problem (aka the menzels) most are fine when they rehab.
The research actually points towards the longer the athlete rehabs, the better the chances are of a successful return to elite level sport.
So yes 12 months is still the standard for return to play, but success rates actually increase with longer rehab research has shown.
The issue is athletes often can’t realistically do this as their careers are short lived and their incomes rely on returning sooner.
For Harley, I would actually advise just to spend all next year rehabbing, give it that extra six months of strength and conditioning then hit 2027 for his first game.
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Don't those two sentences contradict each other?
How so?
In saying that there is no reason why the knee won’t come good, then giving one reason why the knee might not come good.
In majority of cases baring some genetic predisposition like the menzels ACL’s rehab successfully with proper focus. Bit of an odd thing to focus on from my post as well and a bit of a smart ass reply.
It just hit me as a contradiction.
Anyway, I disagree somewhat with the tenet of your post regardless. ACL recoveries and injury prone young players can be such a lottery - whether worth the risk, we’ll see.
I wasn’t givibg an opinion I was sharing the industry research on it. re injury rates are aprox between 6-12% which is not high, and this figure decreases if return to play is delayed by greater than 12 months. Hence my original post. If you need this elaborated on I can share why
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Even doctors - after many many years of learning on their exact specialisation - refer to their conclusions as an "opinion"... and their standards of expertise dwarf the vast, vast majority of ours.
The research still shows that we are taking an 88-94% punt on his ACL not being a recurring issue, with even better odds if playing games isn't his focus next season. And that isn't an opinion.
rocker_oz33
Make me an Admin!
Always a risk with Injuries.
There is Menzel znd Lewis Johnston of the world sadly .
And the flip side of the Selwoood ,SJ and max Gawns of the world .
Good luck to the kid I hope he is a jet .
I think we're probably getting off-topic here on what's opinion and what's not. To return to firmer ground, I guess, there is a chequered history with recruiting players with draft injury discounts - from brilliant (Selwood), to ongoing issues (Varcoe).
Err no.. research is not clinical opinions, they are based off facts. In this case it would have been based off data from evidence of athletes returning to elite level sport after ACL’s and the rate of re injury to the ACL.
And it is relevant to this chat as he is coming off an ACL, and it’s my own area of expertise as well.
More my initial point was the research indicates that providing longer than 12 months for recovery improves the chances of successfully returning to elite level sporting performance is even higher, and there are several reasons for this with some prominent ones being
- enhanced maturing of the graft donor site
- better quad strength compared to uninjured side ( closer to 100% equivalent)
- enhanced neurological control
I would give him all of 2026 to rehab and send him out for 2027, as opposed to a handful of VFL games the back end of 2026.
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Exactly this. It was a pretty straight forward discussion and very relevant. Not sure how this became disputed
Good point Mr Meow: but my query is what length of time has this research been, over extended time or in more recent times. It stated by some that in recent times there's been a less recurring of the ACL, but then again that should make no difference with 'other knee' but same recurring ACL I really have no clue other than what some have stated.
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It's likely a fools errand trying to get that cute with the data. There's not enough ACLs worldwide, let alone in AFL to get any surity from the data set.
I will say though either way he's worth the punt
Absolutely worth the punt CTTF: Harley Barker seems like a 'class act' and not a footballer that falls out of trees or no. 24 draft selection and the fact that Joel Selwood ended up one of the true greats of the game brings back awesome memories of what a good punt can be. CTTF: there are times in life that are worth taking a punt and other times not, however I'm with you all the with way with Stevie J, Wellsy and the rest of the boys when it comes to backing Harley in...... and GO CATS !!!
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jim boy
Umpires Association Head
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I kind of disagree, 'opinion' is a bit subjective - they operate more in the 'probability' space of objectivism. Nothing is certain, but there is high likelihoods. Its easy for us to say that the chances of recovery are 90%, the expertise comes in through understanding the nuances of the particular case.
Anyway, I agree with others that he is a steal. There may be a 10% risk of him being a bust because of the knee, but he was taken at 24. For a healthy player that is probably a 50/50 chance of being a bust. If he was fit and and taken at ten, then chances of him being a bust might be only 30% (although we have a curious habit of flipping those stats). Anyway if we take him at the 30% risk of being a bust for a pick 10, and then take out another 10% of the 70% due to knee risk, then he is only 37% chance of being a bust, much better than the 50/50 probs normally at that pick. Even at 25% risk of reinjuring his knee, we still come out ahead.
Matthew Jelley
Club Legend
Will be a lot of hype but dont rush him
