Player Watch #20: Nick 'Souva' Larkey - re-signed until 2021

[Merlin007]

Imagine if we left him in the twos and he walked.

I still shudder at the memory of big Tommy getting a run before Larkey after he'd won the VFL goal kicking

 

[shintemaster]

He's just a good reliable footballer. If you give him an inch, he will take it and cash in.

Just turned 22, 198 cms & 93kgs. He'll get another 5kgs on that frame. He'll get quicker too.

Just wait until he's 24-25 plus. We'll have a 60+ goal player on our hands.

Given his body type and number there is an obvious comparison with Petrie. Wonder if he has that level in him because with his clean goal kicking action that will be a potent player...

 

[Snake_Baker]

Given his body type and number there is an obvious comparison with Petrie. Wonder if he has that level in him because with his clean goal kicking action that will be a potent player...

He can't jump like Drew but he's a better kick for goal, and that's a trade off I am happy to accept.

People go with BBB, but it's Larkey who is our actual best FF player type. Browny is more suited to CHF.

 

[7577969919]

He can't jump like Drew but he's a better kick for goal, and that's a trade off I am happy to accept.

People go with BBB, but it's Larkey who is our actual best FF player type. Browny is more suited to CHF.

I think that probably depends on how our midfield is going. If we are getting a decent quantity of forward fifty entries by our best ball users then I would back Brown on the lead. If it's coming in a bit high and dirty then Larkey. In an era where 60 is the new 80 Brown has reached that benchmark for three seasons on the trot. Kicked more goals than every one of the 1,000 or so players that have been on an AFL list in that time.

 

[King Corey]

He's just a good reliable footballer. If you give him an inch, he will take it and cash in.

Just turned 22, 198 cms & 93kgs. He'll get another 5kgs on that frame. He'll get quicker too.

Just wait until he's 24-25 plus. We'll have a 60+ goal player on our hands.

Once more-

North Melbourne Strength, Conditioning and Injury Management team: Hold my beer

 

[King Corey]

People go with BBB, but it's Larkey who is our actual best FF player type. Browny is more suited to CHF.

Very interesting comment. With his reach, smarts and tank he could play like a non-contact version of N.Riewoldt.

 

[BowWow1978]

I think that probably depends on how our midfield is going. If we are getting a decent quantity of forward fifty entries by our best ball users then I would back Brown on the lead. If it's coming in a bit high and dirty then Larkey. In an era where 60 is the new 80 Brown has reached that benchmark for three seasons on the trot. Kicked more goals than every one of the 1,000 or so players that have been on an AFL list in that time.

Absolutely. Larkey is definitely our CHF and BBB should be our FF - end of story. Larkey is better at competing against multiple defenders in a pack situation. He can halve the contest and at least bring the ball to ground. BBB is something of a one trick pony (and it's a bloody good trick!) He needs to be leading up at the ball inside FWD 50 so he can mark with arms extended in front of his defender. He will then kick goals. I hate seeing him up on the wing competing. If I was an opposition coach/player/supporter, that's where I'd be happy with BBB getting the ball.

 

[Black2Blue]

In a normal season BBB plays a mix of FF and CHF and most tall forwards these days play a hybrid role. It's his ability to wear out his opponent through roaming from FF to the wing and then doubling back that gives him an edge and this has been nullified by the short quarters as much as the delivery into the forward line has hurt him. The beauty of Larkey is that he has good hands and compliments Benny by offering the contested marking option that Brown isn't. I have noticed that they often work close together and Larkey often benefits from the attention the defenders give to Brown to find space in the pack. It felt to me that even though Larkey was underdone, he straightened up our forward line and BBB looked much better for it too. And the importance of Larkey's kicking technique shouldn't be underestimated. An accurate goal kicker brings others with him.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Very interesting comment. With his reach, smarts and tank he could play like a non-contact version of N.Riewoldt.

Your use of non-contact is redundant.

 

[shintemaster]

In a normal season BBB plays a mix of FF and CHF and most tall forwards these days play a hybrid role. It's his ability to wear out his opponent through roaming from FF to the wing and then doubling back that gives him an edge and this has been nullified by the short quarters as much as the delivery into the forward line has hurt him.

Spot on re: shorter quarters. Have to say though, I saw Brown's attempted pass into the forward line against Carlton and felt like saying he should never, ever complain about delivery again...

 

[Heaps of fun]

Your use of non-contact is redundant.

lol, c'mon

 

[Snake_Baker]

Yeah............but still.............bad diver

 

[DesertRoo]

Absolutely. Larkey is definitely our CHF and BBB should be our FF - end of story. Larkey is better at competing against multiple defenders in a pack situation. He can halve the contest and at least bring the ball to ground. BBB is something of a one trick pony (and it's a bloody good trick!) He needs to be leading up at the ball inside FWD 50 so he can mark with arms extended in front of his defender. He will then kick goals. I hate seeing him up on the wing competing. If I was an opposition coach/player/supporter, that's where I'd be happy with BBB getting the ball.

End of story??
BBB covers more ground then the midfielders, his game is to run up on the wing, get ball, run back, take mark and kick goal. He wears down his opponent by workfare not strength..

He is not suited to a FF role.. even thou he kicks multiple goals, he can’t wrestle hes opponents, why put him in a position to do so at FF?
Opposition teams have worked him out at FF, all they have to do is get body on him.
But it’s very hard to get body when you’re chasing tail all day at chf and you have another forward to worry about, closer to goal.

 

[Passmore]

End of story??
BBB covers more ground then the midfielders, his game is to run up on the wing, get ball, run back, take mark and kick goal. He wears down his opponent by workfare not strength..

He is not suited to a FF role.. even thou he kicks multiple goals, he can’t wrestle hes opponents, why put him in a position to do so at FF?
Opposition teams have worked him out at FF, all they have to do is get body on him.
But it’s very hard to get body when you’re chasing tail all day at chf and you have another forward to worry about, closer to goal.

Maybe opposition are wising up. Let him run up and down the ground. His opponent will stay at home and help double team whoever is left up front.

 

[DesertRoo]

Maybe opposition are wising up. Let him run up and down the ground. His opponent will stay at home and help double team whoever is left up front.

Having someone who’s 200cm jumping freely, we should retain the ball on the wing. If we manage to move the ball on from there we’re getting it 70m from goal, it opens up the whole forward line, not just the Hail Mary to FF.

My favourite play I’ve seen from BBB this year, happened this weekend when he put the knee in.

If hes given the opportunity to run and jump into opposition players regularly, they’ll change they structure accordingly, or they won’t run back to defend.

 

[shinboner magic]

we bag our recruiting, Larkey was a master stroke. Credit where it is due .

We do find some gems after pick 30 - probably better strike rate than we have with the first 30 picks.
Larkey just straighten us up and opened our forward line up.

 

[7577969919]

Having someone who’s 200cm jumping freely, we should retain the ball on the wing. If we manage to move the ball on from there we’re getting it 70m from goal, it opens up the whole forward line, not just the Hail Mary to FF.

My favourite play I’ve seen from BBB this year, happened this weekend when he put the knee in.

If hes given the opportunity to run and jump into opposition players regularly, they’ll change they structure accordingly, or they won’t run back to defend.

Bailey Scott seemed to benefit from that yesterday and was able to lead into a bit of space.

 

[Passmore]

Having someone who’s 200cm jumping freely, we should retain the ball on the wing. If we manage to move the ball on from there we’re getting it 70m from goal, it opens up the whole forward line, not just the Hail Mary to FF.

My favourite play I’ve seen from BBB this year, happened this weekend when he put the knee in.

If hes given the opportunity to run and jump into opposition players regularly, they’ll change they structure accordingly, or they won’t run back to defend.

No doubt when Brown has the game on his terms he's a weapon.

My point was the opposition may not be all that bothered about following up the ground anymore and playing into his strength. His opponent will let him go when he's no longer a scoring threat and move to cover however else if left up forward. We'll be out numbered and the ball will be swept away.

 

[DesertRoo]

No doubt when Brown has the game on his terms he's a weapon.

My point was the opposition may not be all that bothered about following up the ground anymore and playing into his strength. His opponent will let him go when he's no longer a scoring threat and move to cover however else if left up forward. We'll be out numbered and the ball will be swept away.

It’s a pretty big gamble, letting a key forward run and jump at the ball, on the wing, if he does get it, it opens up play, we also have a chance to lock it in our forward line.
Which we seemed to excel at last year and the first two rounds of this year.
I think we’ve all seen BBB struggles without having another key forward in the team.
I’m not sure we’ll see that from Larkey. When he puts on a few more it’s of course.

 

[Passmore]

It’s a pretty big gamble, letting a key forward run and jump at the ball, on the wing, if he does get it, it opens up play, we also have a chance to lock it in our forward line.
Which we seemed to excel at last year and the first two rounds of this year.

It is. I'm just throwing up possibilities.

 

[DesertRoo]

It is. I'm just throwing up possibilities.

Absolutely, and if I were a team like the * I’d bank on players like Saad and co to walk out of there.

One thing that BBB does wrong when he does mark it on the wing, he is often slow to release the ball. He does the same run back 15m, when you’ve got players like Polly running past, he should offload a handball quick smart.

 

[DuckYeah]

lol, c'mon

Hate the campaigner, but top 5 marks of all time..

 

[BowWow1978]

End of story??
BBB covers more ground then the midfielders, his game is to run up on the wing, get ball, run back, take mark and kick goal. He wears down his opponent by workfare not strength..

He is not suited to a FF role.. even thou he kicks multiple goals, he can’t wrestle hes opponents, why put him in a position to do so at FF?
Opposition teams have worked him out at FF, all they have to do is get body on him.
But it’s very hard to get body when you’re chasing tail all day at chf and you have another forward to worry about, closer to goal.

I could not disagree with you more strongly. He's kicked more goals than anyone in the competition over the last 3 years, playing as a lead up FF! It's bonkers to take his main strength away (marking and kicking goals) and transplant that 50 meters further up the ground where it has zero chance to inflict any damage on the opposition. If I was an opposition supporter, I'd be extremely happy to see BBB marking the ball 80 meters away from goal.

We can talk about delivery to him, which has been absolutely abysmal this year. We can talk about moving the ball quickly so he has a chance to get off his opponent, instead of allowing the opposition defensive unit to double and triple team him and YES he does need to get better at halving the contest when he receives poor delivery etc, but to say he's a better CHF than a FF is just simply not backed up by any evidence. You know things like - good performances in the role, output, possessions, marks, goals, pressure acts, score involvements etc. But mainly goals - because that's actually how you win and we have a guy who's really good at kicking them.

 

[Horizons_00]

Injured his foot again?

 

[Themanbun]

This bloke makes us look 100x better.