Delisted #24: Jordan Houlahan

BrunoV

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You didn't see him whinging persistently when Daniher pipped him for the Mark of the Year award?

But anyway this is the Houlahan thread, lets just talk about him. As far as recent draftees go, I'd say he's fairly comparable to Will Hayward.


Yep, you're right. We should ignore every other part of his career because he was disappointed that Essendon ferals out voted a clearly inferior mark
 
Jan 10, 2015
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A bit like Francis in a lot of ways.
Takes big marks. Made good decisions and executes well.
Plays both ends.
Blows up in the 3rd quarter.
But here's hoping he's got the work ethic to improve his endurance.
Reckon they will hook up the 2 new South Aussies with Francis as mates. Take away that home sickness having the 3 together.
 
BTW, used to play at the same club as Howe (and Hall for that matter), he was in seniors when I was in reserves. He's a really good bloke, very modest, laid back and didn't mind having the piss taken out of him. I've heard rumblings that he'd been told he was ahead by a fair margin in the MOTY award in the closing hours of the poll, this might explain his reaction.
 
BTW, used to play at the same club as Howe (and Hall for that matter), he was in seniors when I was in reserves. He's a really good bloke, very modest, laid back and didn't mind having the piss taken out of him. I've heard rumblings that he'd been told he was ahead by a fair margin in the MOTY award in the closing hours of the poll, this might explain his reaction.

The fact he was about 2 metres higher and he was robbed of $20k may also explain.
 

eDPS

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I've updated the OP with his Reserves and 18s stats. In the reserves he had 3 games with 4,4 and 5 goals in the space of 4 weeks and his standout 18s game came from the midfield getting 28 touches, 7 marks, 8 tackles and kicked 1.2
 
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Watched my boy pretty closely last week. Got a bit of class but didn’t get involved much. He’s about 6-7 kgs off, very thin arms and legs. Positives were he seemed to impact when he did get near it and looked to have a desire to work defensively with a nice run down tackle.

A player comparison would be an Alex Sexton or Jamie Cripps.
 

BrunoV

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He's real issue is that he's a half forward who plays tall and he'll struggle for game time.

He's competing with McKernan (arguably the best key forward in the VFL), Draper and Lavender who are two giants we're trying to develop as forwards, Laverde for another few weeks and Boyse who is as good tall forward/half forward as there is outside the AFL.

Not really sure what to do with him at this stage. Probably need to get him focused on his defensive game (as a forward).
 

eDPS

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How is Houlahan's stamina? I know he takes a decent mark and can play either end, is he also the kind of player who has the potential to do the gut running and play the Stanton role?
I dont think gut running has ever been something he is know for and his low disposal numbers would line up with that. Houlahan is known for his leap more than anything but something he does unexpectedly well is tackle, i think he will be an ideal forward who can sometimes push into the middle which was his best role last year when getting to play reserves, im expecting him to improve as the year goes on and hopefully they start to experiment with him abit in his first year.
 

ghostdog

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So take out a defender, add an extra defence rotation among the midfielders? Would probably go okay while Gleeson is injured, perhaps. Dea will be back soon though, he played limited minutes in the VFL last week, returning from a leg injury.

Best 22 defenders:
Cale Hooker
Michael Hurley
Patrick Ambrose
Martin Gleeson (best 22, long term injury til sometime after the bye)
Conor McKenna
Adam Saad

Others in line for defence spots include:
Matt Dea (took Gleeson's spot, got injured himself, replaced by Baguley)
Mark Baguley (in atm, replacing Gleeson/Dea)

Mitch Brown (injured, probably next in line as KPD after Ambrose.. was best 22 when Hooker was forward)
Michael Hartley (next KPD in line after Brown)

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher
Aaron Francis
Jordan Ridley
Mason Redman
Jordan Houlahan

Also possibly Guelfi/Mutch.
I think Houlahan's more suited to a wing or forward position.
 
I think Houlahan's more suited to a wing or forward position.
He's one of those newbies that since they haven't played a game and I don't attend VFL I'm not 100% sure where they belong :p Must've been billed as a defender somewhere along the way, but at this stage it doesn't mean sfa anyway really.
 
I think Houlahan's more suited to a wing or forward position.
Honestly I don't know what his best position would be. He has a good enough pair of hands, good leap but doesn't really find the pill. Think he could be that medium defender a lot of teams have.
 

ghostdog

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He's one of those newbies that since they haven't played a game and I don't attend VFL I'm not 100% sure where they belong :p Must've been billed as a defender somewhere along the way, but at this stage it doesn't mean sfa anyway really.
I think there's a perception that he could play as an intercepting defender because he takes a decent mark, but he's another half forward who we'll probably try to turn into a mid or half back flanker.
 
May 6, 2007
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He's real issue is that he's a half forward who plays tall and he'll struggle for game time.

He's competing with McKernan (arguably the best key forward in the VFL), Draper and Lavender who are two giants we're trying to develop as forwards, Laverde for another few weeks and Boyse who is as good tall forward/half forward as there is outside the AFL.

Not really sure what to do with him at this stage. Probably need to get him focused on his defensive game (as a forward).

If that's the case, Essendon need to do something different if we don't want another talented kid to fall by the wayside.


P*** off Boyse (despite him being a genuine VFL player), allow Houlahan to play alongside McKernan &/or Draper. Not use him in a role we won't use him in at AFL level.
 
Laverde in the seniors helps him, but I wouldn’t be too concerned because to be honest it looks as if he’s struggling to impact because of the step up in standard rather than anything that’s based on playing role
 
May 6, 2007
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If that's the case, Essendon need to do something different if we don't want another talented kid to fall by the wayside.


P*** off Boyse (despite him being a genuine VFL player), allow Houlahan to play alongside McKernan &/or Draper. Not use him in a role we won't use him in at AFL level.

Having watched the two closely, would happily take Boyse at this stage of his career. Better endurance, better game sense, better hands and a sure fire bet to fight for a best 22 spot in the seniors.

Houlihan is just another kid who has soo many tools that could transition to the big time but is not putting it all together.
Yesterday was wondering what he could bring to us as a forward, not a lot. Saw him at half back and laid a big tackle on a Geelong opponent. Maybe that is his go. Allow the game come to him rather than he chase (and create) the game.

Still early doors for the kid but definitely not convinced with the few outings I have seen of him so far.
 
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