Delisted #16: Josh Begley - Not offered a contract for 2021

Oct 1, 2006
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First quarter he was rusty as, not hitting packs with confidence, fumbling, skills off. Didn’t take long to shake the cobwebs though as he was probably our best player in the second quarter, smashing through tackles, kicking goals and just being a genuine presence up forward and in the middle.
 
Bit of a write up on his VFL return from the club website. Mentions he'll be playing 75% game time against North in the VFL in two weeks time (VFL bye next weekend), and then a full game in VFL round 4. I guess after that he'll be "full fitness", and depending on touch could play seniors.

Also, get a load of that hairdo and moustache. What the? Jim Stewart not much better either.

BegleyApr8Article.png


Young forward Josh Begley has taken one step further in his rehabilitation process, emerging unscathed from Essendon VFL’s season opener on Sunday afternoon.

The 20-year-old, who tore his ACL during the first quarter of last year’s Anzac Day clash, managed 11 disposals, three tackles and two goals despite playing just the first half of the round one win against Frankston.

“I was pretty cooked early on, but it was good to get a couple of touches, a couple of goals, and to tick that box off and take the next step,” Begley said.

“It felt really good to be back out there with the boys, and good to see the game out and get through the first stage of being back.”

Senior coach Dan Jordan was happy with Begley’s return and praised his impact.

“It was a nice introduction for him - there was plenty of ball in that forward half and I thought he competed hard early,” Jordan said.

“He looked a little bit off with his touch which is understandable, but I thought he brought the ball to ground well, competed hard at ground level and got a bit of reward in that second quarter when he kicked a couple of goals.

“He certainly played his role in that forward line, but I think he’d just be happy to get through, get some confidence and have an impact on the game which I thought he did.”

Essendon VFL will have a bye this weekend, before facing North Melbourne at Avalon Airport Oval in round three.

Begley said he’d increase his playing minutes against the Kangaroos.

“I’m looking to play about 75 percent of the game time in round three and then just build from there,” he said.

“My first full game back should be round four of the VFL, so I’ve just got two more boxes to tick and will then hopefully be fully back.”

https://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2019-04-08/begley-impresses-in-return
 
Sep 29, 2016
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Still reckon this kid is the missing piece to our midfield if we can get him fit.

188cm with decent burst and was a top 3 field kick in our side in the back falf of 2017 when he proved himself. If we can build his tank back up slowly to avoid re rinjury he could make a big difference in the back half of this year
 

NAB777

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Jul 21, 2010
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Agreed... I have called him out a few times, i reckon he will be key piece in taking us closer to a premiership. Big bodied midfielders are worth their weight in gold these days.
 
Apr 30, 2006
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Has zero apprenticeship playing midfield at VFL level. Not sure how we can expect him to be an AFL ready midfielder within 3-4 years.

Problem we have is trying to turn another guy into a bonafide midfielder if thats our plan though I haven't seen anything from the coaches that suggest they are trying to turn him into a mid.

Maybe that was the plan once he got a decent level of fitness but we wait and see.
 

the PILL

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Good to hear that he is tracking well.

The Fridge is easily my most exciting new blood player and I don't think we've seen close to near his potential yet. I can't quite put my finger on why i get this feeling but i just think it will all click for him at some point and he'll be a genuine star of the game.
 
Progressing nicely, "impressing", will play a full match this week.

Dynamic forward Josh Begley was also off the scene for nearly a year after suffering an ACL injury in last year’s ANZAC Day clash, but he has impressed in his two VFL games on restricted game time so far this year.

Crow said the club has been “really pleased” with Begley’s progress and the 20-year-old has been cleared for a full match this week.
https://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2019-04-23/zacka-ticking-the-boxes
 

BrunoV

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May 5, 2009
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How are people not more excited about Begley's game yesterday?

Strong marks, playing in the middle smashing bodies, tearing up and down the ground finding the ball as a mid, beautiful kicking and kicking goals as a mid and forward.

That's "break out" as far as I'm concerned. He's always been a strong kid but I thought he was basically our dominant player on the ground - it seemed like he destroyed every contest he was a part of.

It's now simply a matter of getting miles into his legs which might take another month. Hopefully he gets the mid/forward balance to 50/50.
 
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Oct 12, 2012
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How are people not more excited about Begley's game yesterday?

Strong marks, playing in the middle smashing bodies, tearing up and down the ground finding the ball as a mid, beautiful kicking and kicking goals as a mid and forward.

That's "break out" as far as I'm concerned. He's always been a strong kid but I thought he was basically the dominant player on the ground - it seemed like he destroyed every contest he was a part of.

It's now simply a matter of getting miles into his legs which might take another month. Hopefully he gets the mid/forward balance to 50/50.
I've been excited about this kid for a while. I've always considered Begleys role in the senior team, to be the one Baguley is currently fulfilling.

Given that he's putting more time into the midfield though, perhaps that's not the case? I'd be interested to gauge your thoughts there.
 

BrunoV

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I've been excited about this kid for a while. I've always considered Begleys role in the senior team, to be the one Baguley is currently fulfilling.

Given that he's putting more time into the midfield though, perhaps that's not the case? I'd be interested to gauge your thoughts there.


Baguley's "role" is born of necessity because we keep running out of options.

There is no reason I can think of that we couldn't add another type of forward whose not a slow key forward to the mix even if he spends time on ball.

The main thing is that at any given time one of the smalls is deep.
 

carloss

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Sep 4, 2007
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How are people not more excited about Begley's game yesterday?

Strong marks, playing in the middle smashing bodies, tearing up and down the ground finding the ball as a mid, beautiful kicking and kicking goals as a mid and forward.

Could he eventually replace Myers?
 
Apr 30, 2006
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How are people not more excited about Begley's game yesterday?

Strong marks, playing in the middle smashing bodies, tearing up and down the ground finding the ball as a mid, beautiful kicking and kicking goals as a mid and forward.

That's "break out" as far as I'm concerned. He's always been a strong kid but I thought he was basically our dominant player on the ground - it seemed like he destroyed every contest he was a part of.

It's now simply a matter of getting miles into his legs which might take another month. Hopefully he gets the mid/forward balance to 50/50.

16 touches is a game is not enough. At VFL level anyone with any sort of physical ability should be consistently getting 20+ if they want to translate to AFL.

His baseline in the VFL should be 20+ touches.

Now that he has a few games under his belt I suspect he should start producing those numbers if we expect him to become what we think he can.
 

BrunoV

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16 touches is a game is not enough. At VFL level anyone with any sort of physical ability should be consistently getting 20+ if they want to translate to AFL.

His baseline in the VFL should be 20+ touches.

Now that he has a few games under his belt I suspect he should start producing those numbers if we expect him to become what we think he can.


We should and he will
 

blitzer

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I wouldn't be shocked if the coaches did promote him. I reckon they absolutely love Begley. He got played at every opportunity until he did his ACL once he got into the side. Even before he debuted, Worsfold was raving about him. Its not hard to see why with that genuine strong mid sized body, strong endurance and nice kicking. Plus he actually is pretty good at leading up at the ball which is kind of a weakness for our forward line outside of Fantasia.

It may not be this week or next but If he stays fit he'll be in the senior side before the byes.
 
How are people not more excited about Begley's game yesterday?

Strong marks, playing in the middle smashing bodies, tearing up and down the ground finding the ball as a mid, beautiful kicking and kicking goals as a mid and forward.

That's "break out" as far as I'm concerned. He's always been a strong kid but I thought he was basically our dominant player on the ground - it seemed like he destroyed every contest he was a part of.

It's now simply a matter of getting miles into his legs which might take another month. Hopefully he gets the mid/forward balance to 50/50.

I don’t think we learned anything we didn’t already know. I’m already hugely excited by him, as far as I’m concerned it’s only a matter of time
 

Fridge16

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Movement in my shorts.

Give him a few more weeks of VFL to really start dominating then bring him in when he’s red hot.

He has the potential to be a great utility who could replace any of Baguley, Myers, Stringer, Smith, Fantasia, Zaharakis if they are omitted / injured. Very versatile.
 

BrunoV

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I don’t think we learned anything we didn’t already know. I’m already hugely excited by him, as far as I’m concerned it’s only a matter of time


Maybe it's just been a long time since I've watched him.

Despite what some numbers may indicate he never really dominated VFL in 2017.

I suspect he'll have well and truly "clocked" it in the next month. It's primarily the physical side of the game. It's the point that he's a man among boys - like it has been for Redman, Laverde, Francis and Ridley.

That means that he's not just a kid we play to feel better about the team but a player who is going to make us better because he's basically playing adult footy.
 
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eDPS

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My thoughts echo BrunoV for his game on Saturday, I thought he looked really good playing more of a high half forward role, wasn’t in the midfield but did play as an extra at stoppages in general play. Still atleast another week away in terms of run in the legs but I expect him to solidify his spot in the AFL side before the bye
 
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