Traded #10: Aaron Francis - Traded to Sydney w. Pick 42 + Future fourth rounder for Pick 37. Thanks Frang!

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2022
Injury Status: n/a

My Boy Draft 2022: Pick 29, Mr Bultitude

 

[mayhem20202]

Big question will be where does he play and who does he replace?
Ambrose? Hartley?

If he was fit enough, he could replace either of those, neither have really locked in their spot.


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[fishardansin]

Isn't it a sedative? That'd be the opposite of performance enhancing in most circumstances..

Ritalin is amphetamines. It is weird that it helps reduce hyper activity in some people.

 

[WEEVZ]

Francis for Stringer would be an absolute steal for our club.
Stringer despite his off field problems is only 23 yrs old. He is a Premiership player and all Australian. The kid can play.
Francis on the other hand has given us zero and after 2 years still can't run out a game.
Just do it Dorodo.

Francis isn't going anywhere.

Really annoys me that people are so keen to throw the kid under the bus, after two seasons where he's been held back by injury.

Does he need to work harder? Yes, but for mine people seem to have completely unrealistic expectations that he should already be an established star in the best 22, and seem to be either forgetting or wilfully ignoring the fact that talls take longer to develop than mids, etc.

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

Francis isn't going anywhere.

Really annoys me that people are so keen to throw the kid under the bus, after two seasons where he's been held back by injury.

Does he need to work harder? Yes, but for mine people seem to have completely unrealistic expectations that he should already be an established star in the best 22, and seem to be either forgetting or wilfully ignoring the fact that talls take longer to develop than mids, etc.

Pffffttttt no need to throw anyone under the bus. The truth is laid bare for all to see.

Sorry for annoying you bud but if we could swap Francis for Stringer then we should take it every day of the week.
If you don't see how this trade would benefit the bombers go celebrate your fandom mediocrity.
I want to win flags not celebrate high draft picks...

 

[WEEVZ]

Pffffttttt no need to throw anyone under the bus. The truth is laid bare for all to see.

Sorry for annoying you bud but if we could swap Francis for Stringer then we should take it every day of the week.
If you don't see how this trade would benefit the bombers go celebrate your fandom mediocrity.
I want to win flags not celebrate high draft picks...

So I take it you would've traded Jobe back in the day as well then?

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

So I take it you would've traded Jobe back in the day as well then?

Wrong. Totally different. You do know that when Watson was told his fitness wasn't to standard he addressed it right ???
Watson became famous for doing extra summer long training sessions with a boxing coach & then with Greg Williams.

 

[vast]

Wrong. Totally different. You do know that when Watson was told his fitness wasn't to standard he addressed it right ???
Watson became famous for doing extra summer long training sessions with a boxing coach & then with Greg Williams.

Well its not totally different Jobe didnt start producing until his 4th season.

 

[WEEVZ]

Wrong. Totally different. You do know that when Watson was told his fitness wasn't to standard he addressed it right ???
Watson became famous for doing extra summer long training sessions with a boxing coach & then with Greg Williams.

In what way is it different exactly? Both at similar stages in their careers have/had been told that their fitness levels aren't/weren't up to standard, so I don't understand why yourself and others aren't willing to give Francis the time to address this like Watson was?

I fully expect Francis will put in the hard yards over the summer to improve on his fitness so that he's ready to go for a big preseason and hopefully be playing consistent AFL footy by the end of the year.

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

In what way is it different exactly? Both at similar stages in their careers have/had been told that their fitness levels aren't/weren't up to standard, so I don't understand why yourself and others aren't willing to give Francis the time to address this like Watson was?

I fully expect Francis will put in the hard yards over the summer to improve on his fitness so that he's ready to go for a big preseason and hopefully be playing consistent AFL footy by the end of the year.

Well its not totally different Jobe didnt start producing until his 4th season.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...r/news-story/994d287314c6acc1b734e7a975dc699c

Its common knowledge that Francis is not the worlds fittest player and also hasn't done his cause any good by failing to push himself.
Francis was recently warned by the club that he needs to improve his fitness. Whilst it has approved a little, his GPS results are still below average and he still have significant trouble running out games. Logically he is probably years away from being a best 22 player.

Given that he wont be a regular 1st player for some time if at all and we can suck the Dogs in to take a direct trade Francis for Stringer we should take it every day of the week.

I want to win premierships not stock pile unfit high draft picks in the reserves.

 

[WEEVZ]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...r/news-story/994d287314c6acc1b734e7a975dc699c

Its common knowledge that Francis is not the worlds fittest player and also hasn't done his cause any good by failing to push himself.
Francis was recently warned by the club that he needs to improve his fitness. Whilst it has approved a little, his GPS results are still below average and he still have significant trouble running out games. Logically he is probably years away from being a best 22 player.

Given that he wont be a regular 1st player for some time if at all and we can suck the Dogs in to take a direct trade Francis for Stringer we should take it every day of the week.

I want to win premierships not stock pile unfit high draft picks in the reserves.

Exactly the same as Jobe was. All you've done there is prove my point lol.

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

Exactly the same as Jobe was. All you've done there is prove my point lol.

Hardly bud. You completely missed my argument. It's pretty simple.
One Francis for one Stringer. Yes please....an upgrade 200%.

If this can transpire we should do it. Simple.

 

[BrunoV]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...r/news-story/994d287314c6acc1b734e7a975dc699c

Its common knowledge that Francis is not the worlds fittest player and also hasn't done his cause any good by failing to push himself.
Francis was recently warned by the club that he needs to improve his fitness. Whilst it has approved a little, his GPS results are still below average and he still have significant trouble running out games. Logically he is probably years away from being a best 22 player.

Given that he wont be a regular 1st player for some time if at all and we can suck the Dogs in to take a direct trade Francis for Stringer we should take it every day of the week.

I want to win premierships not stock pile unfit high draft picks in the reserves.

Far too much is being made about his fitness. He came back from his first end of season break underdone. He's not the most gifted endurance athlete in the world. He's also just turned 20 and he's also a very powerful and very strong athlete (which are quality attributes of themselves).

The problem is that personalities like Watson keep feed the paranoia by mentioning him at every turn. It creates the perception that there is something wrong when there isn't. The club signed him up for three years last year because it was clear that it development was going to take a bit longer.

 

[adsla69k]

Far too much is being made about his fitness. He came back from his first end of season break underdone. He's not the most gifted endurance athlete in the world. He's also just turned 20 and he's also a very powerful and very strong athlete (which are quality attributes of themselves).

The problem is that personalities like Watson keep feed the paranoia by mentioning him at every turn. It creates the perception that there is something wrong when there isn't. The club signed him up for three years last year because it was clear that it development was going to take a bit longer.

Because we have been blessed with Parish and McGrath playing just about every game since drafted we just expect Francis to be playing already. We are only now seeing Joe Daniher come to fruition. Big guys take time, it frustrating I know but eventually he will play and play well and other teams fans will be wondering where he came from. It reminds me of NBA teams doing the draft and stash with speculative european players.

 

[Rack Watts]

Ritalin is amphetamines. It is weird that it helps reduce hyper activity in some people.

If you took it before you hit puberty it has a reverse effect.

 

[citizen-erased]

If he was fit enough, he could replace either of those, neither have really locked in their spot.


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That question was more around his ability to play one on one with a forward.
He'd have both players covered from a skill perspective.

backline would probably look like;
Bags Hartley/Ambrose Gleeson
McKenna Hurley Francis

Only other thing i can think of is we play him as the 7th defender/mid like we do Goddard
so it's;
Bags Hartley Gleeson
McKenna Hurley Ambrose
Francis

Possibly slides into Goddard's spot

 

[Bomberbuzz1]

That question was more around his ability to play one on one with a forward.
He'd have both players covered from a skill perspective.

backline would probably look like;
Bags Hartley/Ambrose Gleeson
McKenna Hurley Francis

Only other thing i can think of is we play him as the 7th defender/mid like we do Goddard
so it's;
Bags Hartley Gleeson
McKenna Hurley Ambrose
Francis

Possibly slides into Goddard's spot

Very interesting to see what our team would look like with him in it.
He seems like he's suited to play hurleys intercept role, im hoping due to fitness/ injury Hurley was playing the loose and can hold the number 1 or 2 key fwd all game next yr.
If Hurley plays the same role and Francis comes in to play half back/ 7th defender he will need to have a great preseason to drastically improve his fitness. This may be too much of an ask.

I'd love to see him in a position where he starts in stoppages and then drops back, sits a kick behind the ball as the quarterback/ 7th defender. I think playing this role would influence us retaining the ball inside 50 and getting a lot of his interceptions closer to goal.

 

[BrunoV]

Because we have been blessed with Parish and McGrath playing just about every game since drafted we just expect Francis to be playing already. We are only now seeing Joe Daniher come to fruition. Big guys take time, it frustrating I know but eventually he will play and play well and other teams fans will be wondering where he came from. It reminds me of NBA teams doing the draft and stash with speculative european players.

Yep, Daniher was having all number of criticisms thrown at him as a second year player.

 

[Lore]

Yep, Daniher was having all number of criticisms thrown at him as a second year player.

The benefit Daniher had is there was no one ahead of him for the Best 22 as a KPF, so he has played basically every game since near the end of his first year. He'd mistime his jump for marks, he'd kick all over the shop, but you knew that when he sorted that s**t out he'd be a once in a generation player... and we got to watch those things develop every week. He's still developing now, but we've watched him improve and the problems he was having then are not at a very good level. If he keeps improving as he has been he'll be even better - and that's not saying he isn't great now (AA nom and 3rd? in the Coleman are testament to that, joint-runner up in the Crichton last year as well).

Unfortunately for Francis, there are plenty of players that can play in the position he is suited to already in the 22, mostly because there has been a concerted effort to recruit depth in the key positions over the last couple of years. He needs to be good enough to force his way in ahead of them, because there is rarely an opportunity to gift games to him (prior to Stewart cementing his spot there was less certainty about who was best 22 in the third tall forward role, so he tried that twice, then asked to be played in defence). The only people that appreciate his talents are the ones that have seen it watching the VFL, and many of us who don't watch VFL forget the excitement about the raw talent that was sold to us the day he was drafted (two years ago now), and instead all we see and hear now about him is 'fitness, fitness!'

It seems now his fitness is okay now though. Listening to Worsfold's SEN interview from last Monday, Tim Watson asked specifically about Francis (it's on the bomber radio podcast thing on iTunes and audioboom). From Worsfold's reply, it sounds like it's not that he can't run, he just doesn't, or at least his GPS numbers after games are not reflective of the work rate required for AFL level (though perhaps it's fine in TAC or VFL). If he's not running, he's probably out of position, which would mean that he's not getting to contests he should be getting to, and he's not providing that support for his team mates when they need a man there to shepherd or provide options.

The good thing there is that he has been learning more about the required work rate at AFL level this year, and it's something that is easy to fix. What we really need is a few highlights reels a la the ones that get posted in the lead up to the draft every year. I think we (those of us who don't watch VFL) are forgetting how much upside there is. Certainly I forget exactly what he can do.

 

[DERO]

The big Leo Barry style pack mark that he took in defence to ice one of VFL games (against the bulldogs I think) would probably suffice. His talent is undeniable.

 

[DERO]

Or this:

 

[Lore]

Or this:

(you're lucky, I nearly gave you the ten hour version)

 

[Stopher]

The big Leo Barry style pack mark that he took in defence to ice one of VFL games (against the bulldogs I think) would probably suffice. His talent is undeniable.

It was Box Hill, I think. Super mark.

 

[Gumby2Hurley]

Get him to go vegan like Jobe and Begley.

 

[yodellinhank]

The benefit Daniher had is there was no one ahead of him for the Best 22 as a KPF, so he has played basically every game since near the end of his first year. He'd mistime his jump for marks, he'd kick all over the shop, but you knew that when he sorted that s**t out he'd be a once in a generation player... and we got to watch those things develop every week. He's still developing now, but we've watched him improve and the problems he was having then are not at a very good level. If he keeps improving as he has been he'll be even better - and that's not saying he isn't great now (AA nom and 3rd? in the Coleman are testament to that, joint-runner up in the Crichton last year as well).

Unfortunately for Francis, there are plenty of players that can play in the position he is suited to already in the 22, mostly because there has been a concerted effort to recruit depth in the key positions over the last couple of years. He needs to be good enough to force his way in ahead of them, because there is rarely an opportunity to gift games to him (prior to Stewart cementing his spot there was less certainty about who was best 22 in the third tall forward role, so he tried that twice, then asked to be played in defence). The only people that appreciate his talents are the ones that have seen it watching the VFL, and many of us who don't watch VFL forget the excitement about the raw talent that was sold to us the day he was drafted (two years ago now), and instead all we see and hear now about him is 'fitness, fitness!'

It seems now his fitness is okay now though. Listening to Worsfold's SEN interview from last Monday, Tim Watson asked specifically about Francis (it's on the bomber radio podcast thing on iTunes and audioboom). From Worsfold's reply, it sounds like it's not that he can't run, he just doesn't, or at least his GPS numbers after games are not reflective of the work rate required for AFL level (though perhaps it's fine in TAC or VFL). If he's not running, he's probably out of position, which would mean that he's not getting to contests he should be getting to, and he's not providing that support for his team mates when they need a man there to shepherd or provide options.

The good thing there is that he has been learning more about the required work rate at AFL level this year, and it's something that is easy to fix. What we really need is a few highlights reels a la the ones that get posted in the lead up to the draft every year. I think we (those of us who don't watch VFL) are forgetting how much upside there is. Certainly I forget exactly what he can do.

We need less highlight reels. He pulls out a highlight or two per game and everyone thinks he's an absolute superstar. He goes missing for the rest of the match. Show us the video of that - what's he doing? Is he working hard at getting to the wrong spots or is he not working hard at getting to the right spots?

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Swans Josh Kennedy played 13 games in his first 3 seasons with the Hawks. He was then traded.