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

He does have goal sense but he's a butcher with the ball. Honestly nothing has ever stuck out to me regarding him and Laverde. At least Langford does have those moments where he looks like a jet. Which matters because they're all eyeing that same 3rd tall/hybrid position in the forward line.

To each his own though.

It’s funny, he’s probably one of about half a dozen on the list that can genuinely boof the footy and kick it with velocity.

We desperately need him to get back to what he was doing when he first made his debut which is kicking and setting them up early and often because he can be a bit of a point of difference given his combination of skill, size and aerobic capacity.
 

fairbump_playon

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as a chubby under-ager he played full forward, right?

i wonder how he sees himself now. a forward at heart? a midfielder dying for opportunity?
surely no players actually see themselves as a utility. except maybe matt guelfi.
 
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I was pretty happy with how he was tracking before his ACL

It's hard to know his exact position. He seems a forward flanker but I agree I can't see Langford, Laverde, Begley all in the same fwd line especially having a guy like Stringer there

Probably time for Langford to lose some kegs and try at his most natural position as a wingman

People might try and compare them to say a similar trio in Degoey, Stephenson and WHE but they're still all different.

Langford and Begley are a bit too slow to play together in a fwd line

Agree with this; Langford, Begley and Laverde are all that similar medium forward - flanker type that Stringer is a better version of.

If Langford had made it in the midfield (which he hasn't) then that would have balanced our list better. I think Laverde has the natural aggression to make him suitable as a more inside player but has thus far lacked the durability to build a tank to do so. Langford is the most reliable of the three as a forward in my opinion though; leads at the ball, generally marks well, and kicks straight. If he could play a similar role as Mitch Brown for example (working up the ground and back in the HFF role) then that probably suits his strengths. He's 'ok' enough in the midfield that he isn't a complete liability as a flanker if it's on the deck, but doesn't offer any level of reliability playing as a proper on-baller.

Where Begley fits so far is an unknown, he has the least exposed form due to his ACL but pre-injury looked better than Laverde. Laverde does well to create a contest in the forward-line but his kicking for goal has been deplorable.
 
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as a chubby under-ager he played full forward, right?

i wonder how he sees himself now. a forward at heart? a midfielder dying for opportunity?
surely no players actually see themselves as a utility. except maybe matt guelfi.

Guelfi, Ridley, Redman are the three that spring to mind as potentials. Guelfi has pseudo filled Goddard's role as that defensive utility player, though I think Redman can do so to a higher standard.

Ridley is the one with a better size to give us a marking target if we need it but probably looks stronger in defence than up-field so far.
 

fairbump_playon

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Guelfi, Ridley, Redman are the three that spring to mind as potentials. Guelfi has pseudo filled Goddard's role as that defensive utility player, though I think Redman can do so to a higher standard.

Ridley is the one with a better size to give us a marking target if we need it but probably looks stronger in defence than up-field so far.

Would be good to see Ridley just a little heavier and stronger next year hey.
 
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Would be good to see Ridley just a little heavier and stronger next year hey.

Looking at his return it looked like the same Ridley

But Grimes isn't a huge specimen just a strong one

I have no doubt when they drafted all of Laverde, Langford, Begley they thought one would be a midfielder ie Langford but that hasn't worked so now it's forward or drop 5kgs and play wing

Maybe time for Begley to spend a summer onball and hone his craft in the VFL as an onballer and if potential is seen there then 12 month contract
 
16 - Josh Begley.jpg

Contract Status: Out of contract 2020
Last Game Played: Round 12, 2020 (omitted)
Injury Status: n/a
 
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BrunoV

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Hard to get a handle on Begley because he faded so badly in his third year, which was almost certainly part of his recovery from the knee reco.

One thing that seems clear enough to me is that he needs to make that transition to inside midfield and to do it quite quickly. I'm not sure he has enough tricks to play AFL footy as aa permanent forward even if he has a big engine.

Doesn't have the speed for the wing and defence is not even on the cards.
 
Well he apparently had an impact in both areas: “Josh played inside mid and forward, kicking the first goal of the game. He showed good signs and was impacting in both areas, however didn’t take any further part after half-time due to a corked quad."link

He'd be competing with a lot of blokes for a spot in there though. Is he better than enough of them to get selected as an inside mid at AFL level?
 

CBombers17

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Well he apparently had an impact in both areas: “Josh played inside mid and forward, kicking the first goal of the game. He showed good signs and was impacting in both areas, however didn’t take any further part after half-time due to a corked quad."link

He'd be competing with a lot of blokes for a spot in there though. Is he better than enough of them to get selected as an inside mid at AFL level?
Probably not on exposed form but he shows elements that make sense in there (aggressive, solid skills, endurance, can goal).

If he could be that honest Jason Johnson type mid he would add a lot to this team imo.
 
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Where does he fit in? I think he's shown more as a forward than Laverde has but is he good enough to replace Townsend as that third small? If Snelling also misses (missed match sim apparently?) does he get the chance?
 

ghostdog

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Where does he fit in? I think he's shown more as a forward than Laverde has but is he good enough to replace Townsend as that third small? If Snelling also misses (missed match sim apparently?) does he get the chance?
No VFL hurts. That's where I think Begley needs to work on his game. Even at this early stage, it's Towner. If Snelling misses, I'd back McKenna if we're confident in his match fitness. If not, Smith to HF and Maybe Clarke or Hibberd. No-one's talking about giving Clarke a role on Parker or Kennedy, which surprises me.
 

CBombers17

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I had high hopes for Fridge. I thought his determination to get his body right showed a lot of drive to succeed. Sadly another who may have peaked in his first few games for the club.
 

fairbump_playon

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No VFL hurts. That's where I think Begley needs to work on his game. Even at this early stage, it's Towner. If Snelling misses, I'd back McKenna if we're confident in his match fitness. If not, Smith to HF and Maybe Clarke or Hibberd. No-one's talking about giving Clarke a role on Parker or Kennedy, which surprises me.
agreed - clarke did such a job at times last year. if you can do cripps over, you can do kennedy.
but on the other hand i do see why selectors might prefer to pick the "best" midfielders ..until that doesn't work.
i feel like that's plan A, so i don't mind them going that way.
 
His biggest issue is the fact his default mode is to fend of rather than choosing the first option. Unless you have Dusty level ability then the fend off can not be
your first choice .
 

ghostdog

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agreed - clarke did such a job at times last year. if you can do cripps over, you can do kennedy.
but on the other hand i do see why selectors might prefer to pick the "best" midfielders ..until that doesn't work.
i feel like that's plan A, so i don't mind them going that way.
Yet we keep choosing Zaharakis. I just have issues with his continued selection and continued half-arsed performances. He only performs well in the week following a lambasting, then it's more of the same.
 
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