Past #18: Shaun Atley - delisted end '21 - 237 NM games / 44 NM goals - thanks Ats

Remove this Banner Ad

7577969919 said:
What about those moments in transition out of defense when he takes a mark on the half-back flank, has no one in front of him and thinks of using his pace to streak down the wing but thinks better of it and waits for an opponent to man the mark, before proceeding to kick it up and under down the line.
Click to expand...

Equally good. What about the ones where he doesn't wait for an opponent to man the mark, but instead runs 10 metres when he has 30 metres of space and delivers it to an opposition defender?
 
If there was ever a perfect example of a player going '1 step forward and 3 steps back', it's Shaun Atley.

Unless there is manic movement in front of him so he can hit someone, he doesn't want to put the afterburners on. Why?

Late in the game when the opposition is tired, he can be a real weapon. He has the tank. He can motivate leads instead of waiting for them...

But what will it take to extract it out of him? I want to see him take the game on and constantly. Not in patches.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

amaz199 said:
If there was ever a perfect example of a player going '1 step forward and 3 steps back', it's Shaun Atley.

Unless there is manic movement in front of him so he can hit someone, he doesn't want to put the afterburners on. Why?

Late in the game when the opposition is tired, he can be a real weapon. He has the tank. He can motivate leads instead of waiting for them...

But what will it take to extract it out of him? I want to see him take the game on and constantly. Not in patches.
Click to expand...

Well you have to put him in positions where he is forced to do what you just said. Him on the half back flank automatically means he can sit back and relax. Put him on ball, right in the middle. Him with Hall and Simpkin, force him to be the senior player. Greatness sometimes have to be forced out of a person by putting him through life and death situation. He is 28 now, so probably 2 more good years. We can let him meander along for another 4 and comfortably retire him after 300 games or truly shake the sauce bottle and get the most out of him. Worst case scenario, he gets some severe injury career over or have a mental break down or perhaps actually take it to the next level.

To get the best out of people, sometimes you need to take away the safe room, the escape route, the life raft. When you cut off all means of escape then the army shall march towards the only possible outcome, that is of course towards victory. I say this right here, i predicted the Majak Daw move back in 2014 and the forward pressure back in 1999 (Wrote an essay called 'forward defensive attack', a tactic inspired from FIFA game by shift all players to the forward half). I say this, if north melbourne is to move up a rung and have moving back up the ladder. Atley has to go in the middle and on-ball. This move will be pulled off at the latest 2021. Of course if this doesn't happen then Atley won't be at the club after 2021 simple as that. He is done far unless he gets into the midfield.
 
Snake_Baker said:
He's so far back in the "issues" file that I reckon he must have cut your lunch.
Click to expand...

He is what he is.

Reality is that we have around 6-8 players in a similar boat to Atley. All going well in a few years there will be 2-3 of them still around and surrounded by more class - those lucky 2-3 will look a hell of a lot better than they do now. All great teams have average players.
 
shintemaster said:
He is what he is.

Reality is that we have around 6-8 players in a similar boat to Atley. All going well in a few years there will be 2-3 of them still around and surrounded by more class - those lucky 2-3 will look a hell of a lot better than they do now. All great teams have average players.
Click to expand...

He's a role player that usually does his role well.

Blokes like Atley & MacMillan are not a big issue.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Snake_Baker said:
He's a role player that usually does his role well.

Blokes like Atley & MacMillan are not a big issue.
Click to expand...

Agree completely. They're not a huge issue - our issue is we have a few too many of them. You keep the most reliable with the most good footy ahead of them and move on the rest.
 
shintemaster said:
Agree completely. They're not a huge issue - our issue is we have a few too many of them. You keep the most reliable with the most good footy ahead of them and move on the rest.
Click to expand...
The issue with them being role players and not stepping up is were reliant on the juniors coming through to be the play makers. It’s a big jump for the kids, it’s a fair expectation to level on a kid who’s played less then 50 games.

Some of the senior players need to step up and let the juniors be the role players or put their body on the line, in between any contact and the kids.
 
Last edited:
DesertRoo said:
The issue with them being role players and not stepping up is were reliant on the juniors coming through to be the play makers. It’s a big jump for the kids, it’s a fair expectation to level on a kid who’s played less then 50 games.

Some of the senior players need to step up and let the juniors be the role players or put their body on the line, in between any contact and the kids.
Click to expand...

I agree, but you can only expect what players are capable of achieving. It's unfortunate that we've ended up in a similar situation to when Brad started - an absolute dearth of quality in the prime 23-28 age group. This is what kills you IMO, and it's also what exposes the role players - at all age groups.
 
shintemaster said:
I agree, but you can only expect what players are capable of achieving. It's unfortunate that we've ended up in a similar situation to when Brad started - an absolute dearth of quality in the prime 23-28 age group. This is what kills you IMO, and it's also what exposes the role players - at all age groups.
Click to expand...
The worse thing is you’re 100% on the money here.
Brads first couple of years was all about building midfield depth.. wtf happened, a decade on and were still don’t have midfield depth.
 
Snake_Baker said:
He's so far back in the "issues" file that I reckon he must have cut your lunch.
Click to expand...

I would rather retain Dumont than Atley.

Set the scene for another quintessential Atley game by doing exactly what Devil Fish said early in the first quarter.
 
DesertRoo said:
The worse thing is you’re 100% on the money here.
Brads first couple of years was all about building midfield depth.. wtf happened, a decade on and were still don’t have midfield depth.
Click to expand...

I'm on record that Brad ran his game and I think probably a year or two longer than ideal. That said there is a 3+ year hole in recruiting due to the GC & GWS coming in that really torched the ability to continue building. We arguably faced a situation around 2010 where we had to make do with what we had and squeezing that list as much as possible. History says that it didn't work the way we hoped but there's nothing to say it might not have been worse had we gone harder at the draft around those years. The eyes were picked out of several successive drafts, in fact the impacts are still being seen IMO.

I think we misjudged but I'm sympathetic to the situation and we were also still dealing with an AFL administration that had tried to literally kill us 2-3 years earlier. It was arguably in our interests to get strong, get financial and stay competitive.

LuvtheKangas said:
I would rather retain Dumont than Atley.

Set the scene for another quintessential Atley game by doing exactly what Devil Fish said early in the first quarter.
Click to expand...

I think the point is it largely doesn't matter. The issue isn't whether we cut one or the other - the reality is that if we had an extra 4 quality mids to put that team it likely wouldn't matter which of several players we chose. A good team can paper over a lot of things and allow certain skills to shine. When we were playing good footy in the last 12 months Pittard looked a revelation as did Polec and nobody noticed Atley or Dumont much either way.
 
Snake_Baker said:
He's a role player that usually does his role well.

Blokes like Atley & MacMillan are not a big issue.
Click to expand...
What are the issues then? I see other half back flankers run and carry and set up attacks. These 2 don’t.
Sure, Atley and J Mac aren’t the only issue, but they are an issue.
 
Devil Fish said:
What are the issues then? I see other half back flankers run and carry and set up attacks. These 2 don’t.
Sure, Atley and J Mac aren’t the only issue, but they are an issue.
Click to expand...

Injuries, the midfield and transitioning with the new game plan.

You just want to sacrifice someone because you can't accept reality.
 
Devil Fish said:
When is this guy ever gonna step up?
My favourite Atley moments are when he marks the ball in defence. Stops. Looks sideways. Looks forward. Looks sideways. Looks forward. Spots an opponent 40m down the line. And hits him lace-out.
Click to expand...

You missed the, get it in transition, take step towards a tackler, wait for teammates to get manned then handball slightly backwards to a recipient who is immediately caught in a Heimlich.
 
People are imagining Atley 'stepping up' based off of the midfield potential they saw in him in his first few years.

The bloke has been moved to a defensive pocket or flank for the entirety of his career. For whatever reason he had to forgo the opportunity to play the only position he ever showed something 'special' in. You still see glimpses of it when he finds himself at a stoppage or a contest with lots of bodies.

But, the guy plays his role now and beats his man more often than not. He also rarely sets the game alight. That can happen when you make a guy a role playing defender and they never get the opportunity to make the jump. They get used their playing their roles.
 
The whole ‘role player’ designation is a complete farce.

It’s everyone’s role to hit targets.

To defend when not in possession and to provide an option when we are, to tackle, to contest, to go when it’s your turn.

‘Role player’ is another way of saying ‘not really good at anything, but gets a game anyway’.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

giantroo
Past #15: Daniel Howe - #31 in '14 ND to HFC - delisted end '22 - #33 in '23 RD to NM -retires from AFL & NM end '23 - 107 AFL games / 11 NM games
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
399
Views
28K
r00boy96
r00boy96

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top