Ryley “the Colonel” Sanders

[Norm De Guerre]

His first half was good.

His second half where he had 1 kick and 4 handballs.

Not so much.

 

[lachy]

His first half was good.

His second half where he had 1 kick and 4 handballs.

Not so much.

Pretty hard to do much playing forward when the ball lived in the Brisbane forward line. Should have had more mid time, couldn't have done any worse and would have been good experience

 

[Jazny]

His first half was good.

His second half where he had 1 kick and 4 handballs.

Not so much.

He did nothing wrong, the ball wasn't in his area much in the second half. Second highest rated bulldog player for the game.

 

[Pencil case]

I wasn’t sure late last year and after his first few. But as above posts, he is tracking well. Not quick by feet but is quick to move and make a the right decision for his tenure. A lot to like for his age.

Where is the blatant lie that Sanders is slow from?

The kid does have speed and burst, just needs confidence. I’ve never understood the apprehension towards him since day one.

 

[my plums]

It’s interesting in most games he has had a great half and then another not so great half. Not worried though. Building nicely.

 

[dogwatch]

Where is the blatant lie that Sanders is slow from?

The kid does have speed and burst, just needs confidence. I’ve never understood the apprehension towards him since day one.

"Blatant lie" is a bit strong as it implies deliberate disinformation. I think it's more a misapprehension/misinformation.

Where has it come from? I suspect it's because he has not until recently been using his pace in a game, especially with ball in hand. In addition, as an inside player he had been dishing out handballs as a high proportion of his disposals, often sideways or backwards. Understandably this can lead an observer to think of him as a player who holds up the play or stalls momentum. That just adds to any perception that he's not quick. If a few people suggest he's slow (and nobody challenges that claim) the notion starts to catch on. At least with the casual observers.

I recall that in his draft year he tested as being pretty quick. Maybe someone can come up with the actual numbers.

More importantly he now appears to be using his pace to good effect in the game. Probably because he has developed more confidence in his own form. And perhaps with encouragement from the coaches. There's probably more opportunity too if he's having stints as a HF, instead of being in close at the stoppages. So we are seeing a bit more run & kick and a bit less prop & handball.

I wouldn't describe him as lightning fast (top 5%) but I certainly wouldn't say he's slow.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

Pretty hard to do much playing forward when the ball lived in the Brisbane forward line. Should have had more mid time, couldn't have done any worse and would have been good experience

The 4th qtr when the game was not yet lost was nearly evenly splint between our and Brisbane's forward half's

Sanders had a single kick, 2 handballs and a turnover in this qtr.

He did nothing wrong, the ball wasn't in his area much in the second half. Second highest rated bulldog player for the game.

By what metric? AFL Fantasy points has him as our 8th highest rated player on the ground.

And that was built entirely on his good first half.

Here's the thing about putting your head in the sand(ers) when it comes to his ineffectiveness in the 2nd half. West and O'Neil played essentially the same role in the second half and both made a statistically better go of it when the ball did enter our half of the ground. Here's another. His 3 4th qtr stats were deep in our defensive half, which puts paid to the notion that he spent the second half where the ball wasn't. He (like many of his teammates) just couldn't get near it or affect the game when it was in his vicinity or when the pro-level pressure came and we turned up our toes.

It's ok to point out when one of our players goes missing after having a near breakout first half.

Theres no shame in a young player still finding his way in the game doing that.

It's not personal. It's just an observation of the obvious.

 

[Jazny]

By what metric? AFL Fantasy points has him as our 8th highest rated player on the ground.

AFL player ratings system, which is more about impact than collecting stats. Isn't AFL fantasy points just for the fantasy game? It's not the best stat for determing who did well.

 

[TiAn_]

Where is the blatant lie that Sanders is slow from?

The kid does have speed and burst, just needs confidence. I’ve never understood the apprehension towards him since day one.

Speed and burst compared to? Compared to say other AFL midfielders, not really. He’s middle of the road, he’s not super quick or super slow. But he’s certainly not a speedy, burst mid. There’s no point perpetuating that idea when he’s never going to be able to live up to it, no matter how confident he is.

 

[oldfaithfuldog]

Where is the blatant lie that Sanders is slow from?

The kid does have speed and burst, just needs confidence. I’ve never understood the apprehension towards him since day one.

He certainly hasn’t looked quick to my eye, but happy to be corrected. He looks capable of making quick decisions though, so like many good footballers hopefully he’ll hats enough.

 

[DiamondDogs8]

Will never be blistering in terms of straight line speed but looked very evasive on the weekend.

 

[MaxiBont]

One of the best young mids in the league, been so rewarding watching him grow week on week.

 

[JTCWBFC]

I'll raise my hand, was wrong.

His finishing around goals is the most pleasing thing for mine.

 

[lachy]

What a shock, play 20 games and now showing we got full value at pick 6.

 

[MaxiBont]

What a shock, play 20 games and now showing we got full value at pick 6.

It was beyond absurd to me how quickly people gave up on him. Obviously had so much talent. Glad he’s proving the doubters wrong.

 

[JohnnySteel]

**** off Tassie.

 

[ossie_21]

I think a lot of the criticism is because we have higher standards, as we’ve been lucky to bring in so many youngsters that make an immediate impact from the start.

Whilst he could do more, that goes for anyone really. But you can tell that he’s a confidence player, making him yo-yo between AFL/VFL won’t do any good. He’ll go down and rack up 30+, demand selection again but won’t get the exact role at AFL.

I think he is tracking well and not doing “bad”. Development is a marathon, not a sprint. Will get better each game and just has to keep fronting up and go when it’s his turn.

Ahem.

This got no traction, but this is how it is. 14 score involvements is brilliant for a top-line player, let alone someone who has played about 20 games.

LET THE BOY COOK

 

[weltschmerz]

That was a coming-of-age kind of game. Exceptional.

 

[Mutt]

My concerns of last year have been erased. Well done Ryley. Happy to admit I was very wrong about you.

 

[maddog37]

Am I wrong or did Jack Macrae absolutely flatten him at one stage?? Payback from the great man for taking his spot

 

[Turtleman3]

To me watching the game live, Sanders had so many possessions last night in the centre of the ground, as compared to the previous games I had seen him play. Sanders Disposal map. The position he got disposals last night was great for a midfielder to be most damaging.

It reminded me so much of the old centre man from yesteryear.

 

[Shadesof54]

Interesting to see his smarts and poise in the fwd 50 vs others ( vdm looking at U ), what was his position during his junior footy years ?

 

[JohnnySteel]

Real credit to him, he has had to reinvent himself & he is really impacting now. At u18 he was the star inside mid but has had to play more minutes at HF to get a game. If anything it has seemed to help him bring more of his outside flair out of his game which was always there.
He will be a goal kicking inside mid long term but it’s just great to see a kid evolving his game. It’ll only keep building from here!
Well done colonel.

 

[weltschmerz]

Interesting to see his smarts and poise in the fwd 50 vs others ( vdm looking at U ), what was his position during his junior footy years ?

Midfielder. One of those players who just always ended up with the ball in his hands. He spent time in the VFL last year learning a few more strings to his bow.

 

[scratchie]

Very Smart Kid