2018 general discussions

[Mini GF]

He does look bigger. Not really string bean. Last year he was already according to Suns 193cm/84kg. I bet he is now 87-88kg. We will see on Fri.

I’m not saying he has shrunk. I’m saying again I’m a bit concerned he hasn’t bulked up as much as I would have liked.

 

[Jirik13]

I’m not saying he has shrunk. I’m saying again I’m a bit concerned he hasn’t bulked up as much as I would have liked.

Slowly but surely What would be his ideal weight? 90-91kg? Even Powell gained some weight. He's the real string bean

 

[Mini GF]

Slowly but surely What would be his ideal weight? 90-91kg? Even Powell gained some weight. He's the real string bean

Powell has put on a decent amount I believe. Not enough I reckon to be a chance to play AFL this year barring another injury train wreck season.

I’m going to avoid answering your Scrimshaw playing weight question only because I’m not 100% sure where they want him to play once he fully matures.

 

[kreglze]

Be interesting, you don't want him to bulk too much and lose any pace, but obviously needs enough so he isn't pushed around. I see him as a tall flanker who can run and carry, like we planned Trent Mckenzie to be. Take Harbrows role when he finishes up. Interesting to see where Dew wants to play him.

 

[eppo67]

Are you guys talking about Powell?

 

[Mini GF]

Are you guys talking about Powell?

Scrimshaw mainly with Powell getting a bit of a mention on the edges

 

[Mini GF]

Be interesting, you don't want him to bulk too much and lose any pace, but obviously needs enough so he isn't pushed around. I see him as a tall flanker who can run and carry, like we planned Trent Mckenzie to be. Take Harbrows role when he finishes up. Interesting to see where Dew wants to play him.

Yeah I said I’m a little concerned about Scrimshaw and when I said “a little” I meant it because for all I know the Club Brains Trust might not have wanted him to bulk up much. What I do know though is he’s only put on a couple of kg.

 

[Matchu]

Weller is killing it they are trying to keep it quiet.
They are very excited about Powell also

I believe it. One of the advantages of being based in Queensland is that the lack of coverage (both locally and nationally) means the media is bound to underrate you. It really gives the Suns an opportunity to shock people in round 1. The general public think the Suns lost big time in the trade with Freo but if Weller continues his upward trajectory then there's every chance the Suns will end up having the last laugh.

 

[Sunraysia]

I believe it. One of the advantages of being based in Queensland is that the lack of coverage, both locally and nationally, means the media is bound to underrate you. It really gives the Suns an opportunity to shock people in round 1. The general public think the Suns lost big time in the trade with Freo but if Weller continues his upward trajectory then there's every chance the Suns will end up having the last laugh.

Under the Radar for sure - on AFLX commentators couldn't even correctly pronounce names of some of our players ....

 

[17er]

Slighty off topic but gee we have a lot of players starting with the letter J.
4 Jacks, 2 Jacobs, 3 Jarrod/Jarryds, 2 Jesses and 2 Joshs.

2 Toms, 2 Braydens, 2 Wills, and 2 Micks
If you count past players, we've had 2 Abletts, 2 Ah Chees, 2 Wellers (all brothers) might have had 2 Swallows too plus a total 6 Joshs, 8 Jacks, 6 Jarrod/Jarryd/Jarred/Jarrads, 4 Michaels

Round 13 at Metricon Vs St Kilda could feature 10 players called Jack

 

[OB11]

Anyone going on Friday night that will be able to report back to us?

 

[SunsBhoy]

Anyone going on Friday night that will be able to report back to us?

I’m gonna try make the intra club , it’s on pretty early on Friday arvo I believe , will be good to see live footy again,


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[SunsBhoy]

Yeah I said I’m a little concerned about Scrimshaw and when I said “a little” I meant it because for all I know the Club Brains Trust might not have wanted him to bulk up much. What I do know though is he’s only put on a couple of kg.

Saw him a few weeks ago and his legs are freaken huge , but needs to bulk up upper body , think he will turn into a beast eventually .


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Sunraysia]

Anyone going on Friday night that will be able to report back to us?

Will make it to game by 4pm after work - will give my thoughts later in evening after I get home. (Not a mobile phone fan..)

 

[17er]

Very interesting. The way Bowes was playing actually reminded me a little of Jack Martin when he's up and about. If Bowes, Martin and Weller all have a big year then the Suns could really jump up the ladder because all three are capable of playing through the midfield and are classy with the ball in hand.

It must be super exciting for the club to have academy graduates showing noticeable improvement because it should be far easier to hang on to them in the future. Back in the day, Brisbane had a surge of talented locals come through their developmental systems in the 80s/90s and the end result was Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis, Mal Michael, Clark Keating and Marcus Ashcroft. Clearly those guys were very influential during their premiership years and it would be immensely exciting to see the Suns do the same thing with guys like Bowes, Joyce, Weller, Crossley, Scott etc. I feel a team made up of local superstars would translate well with the public when it comes to taking ownership of the club.

Can't like this post more than once, but would if I could. That's precisely what Brisbane did, except they also had the mystique of the Fitzroy connection, with Lions originals Lynch, Johnson and Pike (tenuous with Pikey), Luke Power grew up a Lions fan, Jono Brown was a father son and the wantaway Fitzroy players brought back draft picks that secured future players like Simon Black and Jamie Charman. All up, the Lions in the Premiership years had half their squad made up of Queenslanders and players with a attachment to Fitzroy. In fact, the Lions had done so well at recruitment by 1999 that all their decent recruits after that demanded to be traded because they couldn't get games - Shane O'Bree, Jude Bolton, Brett Voss etc

The Suns currently have 13 Queensland connections:
Ah Chee (family moved here for older bro)
Weller (ditto)
Bowes
Crossley
Dawson
Heron
Harbrow
Joyce
Nutting
Scheer
Sexton
Spencer
Thompson

A third of our list and if any rookies wash out they will be replaced by two more the following year. Most other clubs in the comp haven't got many 22/23 year olds because we've got them all!

 

[17er]

Under the Radar for sure - on AFLX commentators couldn't even correctly pronounce names of some of our players ....

They didn't know our guys flat out. KK they could recognise because of his headgear, which Heater Shaw said was for his Mum's benefit (Heath Shaw is a terrible commentator). They mixed up Bowes and Lemmens, which is pretty impressive given that Sean is a Blakfella and Jack's got British pedigree - his great uncle bowled for England in the Bodyline series. When BT and James Brayshaw realised they had seriously underestimated how very very little they knew about the match, they proved how ignorant they were of any Suns players besides Day by mispronouncing "Bowers" and "Took". Then they tried to save face by talking about the woeful Bulldogs players, whose names they knew, for a wonder. Amazing how intrigued they were with a team down by 57 points at halftime.

 

[SUNS]

Weller is killing it they are trying to keep it quiet.

I don't understand why they would do this. With the publicly known high price we paid I thought they would be trying to up-sell him to the fans as much as possible

 

[eppo67]

They didn't know our guys flat out. KK they could recognise because of his headgear, which Heater Shaw said was for his Mum's benefit (Heath Shaw is a terrible commentator). They mixed up Bowes and Lemmens, which is pretty impressive given that Sean is a Blakfella and Jack's got British pedigree - his great uncle bowled for England in the Bodyline series. When BT and James Brayshaw realised they had seriously underestimated how very very little they knew about the match, they proved how ignorant they were of any Suns players besides Day by mispronouncing "Bowers" and "Took". Then they tried to save face by talking about the woeful Bulldogs players, whose names they knew, for a wonder. Amazing how intrigued they were with a team down by 57 points at halftime.

I can't believe Shaw is commentating he is a goose.
A friend of my was one of the massage people at Collingwood and said without doubt he's the most annoying person he has ever met.

 

[eppo67]

I don't understand why they would do this. With the publicly known high price we paid I thought they would be trying to up-sell him to the fans as much as possible

They are trying not to put too much pressure on him and fly under the radar.

 

[17er]

I can't believe Shaw is commentating he is a goose.
A friend of my was one of the massage people at Collingwood and said without doubt he's the most annoying person he has ever met.

The way he gets agro with his own players when they are losing is a big reason why I don't think GWS has been or will be able to pull it all together. The GWS players he was interviewing right through the Lions-Giants game were disinterested and the decision to just mute commentary to let him do his thing was just weird. Perhaps it was so that the actual commentators could spend 5 minutes learning the names of the players just in case they had to call the same team later.

 

[17er]

I don't understand why they would do this. With the publicly known high price we paid I thought they would be trying to up-sell him to the fans as much as possible

Maybe it has to do with the delayed debut at Metricon. Potentially, Suns membership renewals this year could have a lag time until the first game at Metricon. When the time comes, the marketing people are going to want to promote the bejesus out of the Suns. If they go off half-cocked in February with Tom Lynch and Lachie Weller all over the billboards and bus stops, then Lynch goes Judas and Weller is a dud the campaign will fall flat. But if the hype comes at the right time and Weller is indeed the fresh face of the franchise with some form to back it up then we can really cash in. Lynch and May are the current faces, but both could be gone altogether within 20 months, whereas Weller is signed longer than any other Sun.

 

[Jirik13]

Powell has put on a decent amount I believe. Not enough I reckon to be a chance to play AFL this year barring another injury train wreck season.

I’m going to avoid answering your Scrimshaw playing weight question only because I’m not 100% sure where they want him to play once he fully matures.

Interestingly, Scrimshaw's ambition is to eventually play in midfield. He will be our Bontempelli.

 

[Matchu]

Can't like this post more than once, but would if I could. That's precisely what Brisbane did, except they also had the mystique of the Fitzroy connection, with Lions originals Lynch, Johnson and Pike (tenuous with Pikey), Luke Power grew up a Lions fan, Jono Brown was a father son and the wantaway Fitzroy players brought back draft picks that secured future players like Simon Black and Jamie Charman. All up, the Lions in the Premiership years had half their squad made up of Queenslanders and players with a attachment to Fitzroy. In fact, the Lions had done so well at recruitment by 1999 that all their decent recruits after that demanded to be traded because they couldn't get games - Shane O'Bree, Jude Bolton, Brett Voss etc

The Suns currently have 13 Queensland connections:
Ah Chee (family moved here for older bro)
Weller (ditto)
Bowes
Crossley
Dawson
Heron
Harbrow
Joyce
Nutting
Scheer
Sexton
Spencer
Thompson

A third of our list and if any rookies wash out they will be replaced by two more the following year. Most other clubs in the comp haven't got many 22/23 year olds because we've got them all!

The Suns don't have the benefit of father-son exceptions or Fitzroy connections to build their list with loyal guys but what they do have is an area that traditionally shows more interest in Aussie rules than any other part of Queensland. Per capita, the Gold Coast has proven it is far more Aussie rules inclined than any other city in QLD. Cairns also has a decent footy following but the smaller population and large distances between major cities means far less players make it to the AFL. Getting things right at the grassroots level is crucial for the future of the Gold Coast Football Club and they have only recently started getting it right after burning some bridges early on. Check this out:

Footy flying on Gold Coast but Suns are burning themselves

Anger still exists at the stunt a couple of years ago when the Suns sent a jumper to a club function to be drawn as a business card raffle and then used the cards to attempt to poach sponsors.

You can't blame the local club for holding resentment but the Suns really can't afford to burn a bridge like that at the grassroots level. Everything has to be done correctly for the club to take full advantage of the academy access they have. Fortunately, they seem to be on the right track now.

 

[17er]

Interestingly, Scrimshaw's ambition is to eventually play in midfield. He will be our Bontempelli.

You guys are talking about a 2nd year player and a rookie. Give them time and see how they go. Bowes and Scheer were better prepared because they came through the system. Same goes for Joyce and Spencer. Brodie and Ainsworth were given a go, but I expect them to take time to develop too. Even Fiorini and Ah Chee are in and out of the side, despite their obvious abilities.

To tie in with the convo I'm having with Matchu, the Lions took years to build their list (with some help from you know who) and once the pieces were in place, the results still didn't come consistently. In 2001, which still gives me goose bumps even though I'm well and truly converted to the Suns, the Lions were 4 and 5 facing a Bombers side that hadn't lost 5 matches in two years. The famous game where Leigh Matthews told the boys "if it bleeds, we can kill it" and the Lions came out and bashed the Bombers around the park for 4 quarters. They didn't lose another game until Round 5 the next season.

When it comes together for the Suns, and it will, the shift is likely to happen all of a sudden. I don't know if it will be this year, but I do think this will be the season that is looked back on as the turning point. Last year, the Suns beat two Finalists and the wins against the Hawks kept them out of the Finals. This year there will be more scalps, bigger bodies and much more adversity to face. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints faced a whole season on the road and threats of relocation permanently to another city. They won only 3 games. The following year, they made to the Championship game, like e preliminary final. In 2009, they won the Super Bowl. I'll take 15 games on the road if it means finals in 2019!

 

[TheSunGod]

Under the Radar for sure - on AFLX commentators couldn't even correctly pronounce names of some of our players ....

Or our club - BT referred to us as Brisbane not once but twice!