Delisted #19: Shaun Edwards - Rookied by Sydney, now retired from AFL - 22/9

[Sir Clive]

Essendon will regret this, Shauny is going to become an absolute star!!

 

[Doss]

Cheers, Shaun.

 

[Cold Sober]

Good move from Sydney; he's a goodn

 

[eth-dog]

So his AFL Fantasy PP he has our jumper on haha:

 

[blitzer]

Nothing against Shaun - I thought he was a good guy that just wasn't suited to a structured professional footy environment but has a delisted Essendon player ever gone on to do anything meaningful? I'd put very long odds on him succeeding at AFL level.

 

[Aeglos]

Nothing against Shaun - I thought he was a good guy that just wasn't suited to a structured professional footy environment but has a delisted Essendon player ever gone on to do anything meaningful? I'd put very long odds on him succeeding at AFL level.

He also wasn't/isn't anywhere near as talented as some make out

 

[eth-dog]

He also wasn't/isn't anywhere near as talented as some make out

You're kidding, right? Literally had every physical and skill based attribute at his disposal.

 

[Aeglos]

You're kidding, right? Literally had every physical and skill based attribute at his disposal.

Every?
No endurance, horrible decision making, average at best disposal, zero nefensive nous
Classic example of a guy looking flashy with little substance behind it
There's a reason he's been on 3 different AFL lists and isn't even averaging 5 games a year over 5 years despite few injuries

 

[efcboy]

His kicking skills were very good - I'd agree with the rest though

 

[eth-dog]

Every?
No endurance, horrible decision making, average at best disposal, zero nefensive nous
Classic example of a guy looking flashy with little substance behind it
There's a reason he's been on 3 different AFL lists and isn't even averaging 5 games a year over 5 years despite few injuries

Endurance was okay, not brilliant but okay. Disposal was fantastic, not sure how you can say that.

Decision making and defensive nous are mental attributes, not physical or skill based attributes. So yeah, my statement is still correct.

 

[Aeglos]

Had some of of the worst clangers I've ever seen in the latter part of the year in the VFL of any level of football I've watched. His kicking could be good, but was horribly inconsistent (which could be related to poor decision making - would be interested to hear what training observers have to say about his disposal)
Your statement may be (sorta) correct, but also had little to do with my original post which was essentially that he was overrated by a lot of supporters.
Given that the mental aspects of AFL make up a huge % of success rat, and this is where he appeared to be lacking most it's fair to say he wasn't much chop

I'd also put ball skills under cognitive/mental ability as well, but that's probably an argument for another day

 

[eth-dog]

Had some of of the worst clangers I've ever seen in the latter part of the year in the VFL of any level of football I've watched. His kicking could be good, but was horribly inconsistent (which could be related to poor decision making - would be interested to hear what training observers have to say about his disposal)
Your statement may be (sorta) correct, but also had little to do with my original post which was essentially that he was overrated by a lot of supporters.
Given that the mental aspects of AFL make up a huge % of success rat, and this is where he appeared to be lacking most it's fair to say he wasn't much chop

I'd also put ball skills under cognitive/mental ability as well, but that's probably an argument for another day

You said that he wasn't nearly as talented as some make out. Whether he produced on that talent is a different discussion altogether.

His talent is unquestionable. Has every tool at his disposal.

 

[Aeglos]

You said that he wasn't nearly as talented as some make out. Whether he produced on that talent is a different discussion altogether.

His talent is unquestionable. Has every tool at his disposal.

What are you defining as talented though?
And you keep saying he has every tool at his disposal, yet still can't find an answer as to why he's at his third AFL and has only played 24 games in 5 years.
Facts are, so far he has yet to prove he has the capability of being a long term AFL footballer
Compare his career to Cupido - at least the Cupidoll had games/moments where you thought he'd do the Brownlow/Coleman double. Edwards hasn't shown anything near that level of potential
Might as well argue Majak Daw is an unfulfilled talent because he is tall, dark and handsome

 

[Beerfish]

The GOAT.

 

[eth-dog]

What are you defining as talented though?
And you keep saying he has every tool at his disposal, yet still can't find an answer as to why he's at his third AFL and has only played 24 games in 5 years.
Facts are, so far he has yet to prove he has the capability of being a long term AFL footballer
Compare his career to Cupido - at least the Cupidoll had games/moments where you thought he'd do the Brownlow/Coleman double. Edwards hasn't shown anything near that level of potential
Might as well argue Majak Daw is an unfulfilled talent because he is tall, dark and handsome

Talent is the ability to do something. Whether or not it gets fulfilled is another matter. He's shown that he can jump, dodge and run as well as anyone with good hands and excellent skills. He didn't produce it consistently, and reportedly had attitude problems, hence his delisting.

 

[Beerfish]

Talent is the ability to do something. Whether or not it gets fulfilled is another matter. He's shown that he can jump, dodge and run as well as anyone with good hands and excellent skills. He didn't produce it consistently, and reportedly had attitude problems, hence his delisting.

So I guess he doesn't have every tool at his disposal after all.

 

[eth-dog]

So I guess he doesn't have every tool at his disposal after all.

Oh come on, don't be one of those guys. You're better than that.

 

[doug85]

Oh come on, don't be one of those guys. You're better than that.

Hahahahaha - WHACK!!!

 

[Beerfish]

Oh come on, don't be one of those guys. You're better than that.

What someone that disagrees with you?

 

[doug85]

What someone that disagrees with you?

Stop answering back beer. This is the stuff Eths talking about.

 

[BrunoV]

What are you defining as talented though?
And you keep saying he has every tool at his disposal, yet still can't find an answer as to why he's at his third AFL and has only played 24 games in 5 years.
Facts are, so far he has yet to prove he has the capability of being a long term AFL footballer
Compare his career to Cupido - at least the Cupidoll had games/moments where you thought he'd do the Brownlow/Coleman double. Edwards hasn't shown anything near that level of potential
Might as well argue Majak Daw is an unfulfilled talent because he is tall, dark and handsome

Put it this way, Sydney has not given him a spot on the rookie list to add grunt to their inside midfield stocks or because they see him as a tagger or other unfashionable role player.

Clearly he has enough ability to continue to entice AFL clubs to be interested in him. However you want to classify that talent, it's what Essendon fans saw in him and what was on display in some of the matches he played in 2015 (bombing goals from 60 out, taking hangers, etc).

I really don't see the point in arguing about the definition of the ability he has when his being given a shot by a third club as a 23 year old rookie is about as much objective confirmation of that ability as you could get. Having said that, I don't see why we have to take such an illogical approach to the definitions. Players are not born with the natural gift for playing an AFL system they wont play in before they are 18. s**t, how is there any doubt that such a thing is not learned?

Another point I would make is that the way "decision making" is generally used it is meaningless jargon. The problem with Edwards' kicking is that it's lazy - just as easily as he can hit 10c piece 50m away with whatever trajectory he chooses (an ability reserved for maybe 15% of AFL players) he can also not kick through a short pass and stuff it up.

When coaches are using "decision making" not as corporate speak for "he can't kick or his kicking is too lazy" what it actually means is knowing which option to take based on the situation confronting you at a certain point in a game. Stuff like:

- kicking 50m to a contest with a few second left on the clock while you're protecting a lead rather than kicking it to someone who is free is space;
- going into the corridor, where your teammate although free is out numbered, with a low percentage kick under extreme pressure at half back;
- failing to go into the corridor with a long kick, despite the higher degree of difficulty, when you are at half back under low to moderate pressure.

There is no amount of decisions making training that a player can go through to make sure he does not stuff up a kick a professional player should be expect to make.

 

[Beerfish]

Stop answering back beer. This is the stuff Eths talking about.

Sadly I think you may be right.

 

[eth-dog]

What someone that disagrees with you?

One of the guys who takes what someone says and takes it out of context.

 

[Beerfish]

One of the guys who takes what someone says and takes it out of context.

Discipline, attitude, consistency. Three tools that are crucial to a successful AFL career. He clearly doesn't have them at his disposal and it's probably why he will never amount to anything in the AFL world. The end.

 

[yaco55]

Every?
No endurance, horrible decision making, average at best disposal, zero nefensive nous
Classic example of a guy looking flashy with little substance behind it
There's a reason he's been on 3 different AFL lists and isn't even averaging 5 games a year over 5 years despite few injuries

Spot on - Been arguing the same for years.