Player Watch #25: Paul Curtis

[Groucho]

Always nice to have forwards who actually know how to play the position.

Yes, all indications are that he’s the forward “type” we’ve been missing for many years

 

[Shermanator]

I don't know if it's just the big hair but he reminds me of Paul Medhurst.

Excellent comparison HOF

 

[Shermanator]

Hopefully he keeps up the form and is in the side pretty quickly, because the way I see it he can add a real point of difference to our forward half.

This kids has great goal sense and seems to bob up in the right spots. We really haven’t had a dangerous small forward with genuine pace since Lindsay Thomas, well not a good one that opposition coaches fear.

If Will Phill is out for an extended period then Mahony might get some inside midfield time and allowing a FP possie to be opened.. enter PC..

 

[Shermanator]

Yes, all indications are that he’s the forward “type” we’ve been missing for many years

Since Lindsay..

 

[King Corey]

**** VFL. Play this kid.

Showed more pizzazz up forward over the preseason than we've seen in the previous 5 years combined.

 

[Heaps of fun]

**** VFL. Play this kid.

Showed more pizzazz up forward over the preseason than we've seen in the previous 5 years combined.

Yep. Get him in.

 

[Shinboner1]

North seem really cautious with their youngsters vs other clubs with players at a similar age.

 

[Passmore]

North seem really cautious with their youngsters vs other clubs with players at a similar age.

Understandable. It must be tough to find a spot for a kid in a team that has won 7 games over 2 seasons.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk

 

[Swallow_Wood]

North seem really cautious with their youngsters vs other clubs with players at a similar age.

It's not as if there are mid-career journeymen keeping him out of the side though. We have Zurhaar, Mahony, JHF, Stevenson, Thomas, Taylor, Ford and even Lazzaro as those non-KPP forward rotations with Zurhaar being the oldest and he's not yet 24. Curtis will get a gig at some point this year, no doubt but I think the above have earned the right at a crack first.

 

[AnEmptyChair]

Understandable. It must be tough to find a spot for a kid in a team that has won 7 games over 2 seasons.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk

hahahaha * ive never thought about this. like i actually enjoyed 2021, especially the second half, quite a bit but geez we've been s**t

 

[leighlee13]

Since Lindsay..

And Boomer.

 

[Reginald0]

If theSwsns game was regular season I would hope and expect Stephenson to be dropped and Curtis in the Ones

 

[Duck the GOAT]

Understandable. It must be tough to find a spot for a kid in a team that has won 7 games over 2 seasons.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk

"Hidden truths are unspoken lies"

We won 7 but we also drew 1.

In other words we lost fewer than you so brutally first implied.

 

[King Corey]

 

[HBFlanker]

I could see Stephenson getting dropped at some point this year. He doesn't have his 'good games' frequent enough and Nobes might consider someone more consistent

His good games are Elite AFL standard.

vs West Coast 38D 10M
vs Port 33D 7T
vs Carl 24D 8M 3G

I get his issues with consistency, but hes still very young playing an outside role in the worst team in the comp.

He is a serious talent. He needs to work hard 12 months of the year, but it would be frustrating to see him dropped.

 

[King Corey]

His good games are Elite AFL standard.

vs West Coast 38D 10M
vs Port 33D 7T
vs Carl 24D 8M 3G

I get his issues with consistency, but hes still very young playing an outside role in the worst team in the comp.

He is a serious talent. He needs to work hard 12 months of the year, but it would be frustrating to see him dropped.

Agree. You have to wear the downside with real talent because on their day they can produce.

Reminds me of LT who Scott correctly defended on his down days pointing out there's not many small forwards who can generate 7+ scoring shots every week for themselves. Regardless of accuracy.

 

[Frank Thring]

Plenty of time for my boy Paul Curtis. Will be in the seniors soon enough don't y'all worry about that.

 

[shinboner magic]

**** VFL. Play this kid.

Showed more pizzazz up forward over the preseason than we've seen in the previous 5 years combined.

North are still trying to work out what he did

 

[AnEmptyChair]

LOl at Stepho getting dropped. He's the same age as LDU yet bizarrely has ridiculously high expectations and standards demanded of him in comparison

 

[the flying ham]

I never proposed that he should I'm just saying that there could be a case for him to be dropped for Paul Curtis

There is absolutely no case whatsoever to drop Stephenson for Curtis. If Curtis becomes half the footballer is now then we have unearthed a gem. Stepho still a relative pup and literally broken games open and won them off his own boot. Curtis yet to play a senior AFL game. Ridiculous.

 

[king of the road]

**** VFL. Play this kid.

Showed more pizzazz up forward over the preseason than we've seen in the previous 5 years combined.

I agree.
In the 3 predictions thread at the beginning of the year, one of mine was that this guy would be the small forward we’ve been crying out for and would kick multiple goals in multiple weeks by years end.
But Curtis might need to learn a bit more about what to do without the ball first in the twos. Like Eddie last year.
We saw how quickly we fall apart when there’s too many new players who don’t know their roles as per the Dess debacle. Particularly if we allow teams to stream off half back - critical to get that pressure up from our small forwards.
But once he’s ready to go - he’ll be ready to f’n go!

 

[the flying ham]

I agree.
In the 3 predictions thread at the beginning of the year, one of mine was that this guy would be the small forward we’ve been crying out for and would kick multiple goals in multiple weeks by years end.
But Curtis might need to learn a bit more about what to do without the ball first in the twos. Like Eddie last year.
We saw how quickly we fall apart when there’s too many new players who don’t know their roles as per the Dess debacle. Particularly if we allow teams to stream off half back - critical to get that pressure up from our small forwards.
But once he’s ready to go - he’ll be ready to f’n go!

Great post

 

[The Warlord]

Really keen for Paul to get a run in the seniors asap.

Reckon we have one here.

 

[Roosurgence]

Really keen for Paul to get a run in the seniors asap.

Reckon we have one here.

I’m hoping the same too, but also have tempered expectations as far as his production, especially early on.

We need to get games into him, because he is a genuine goal kicking small forward, a role we don’t have.

 

[shintemaster]

LOl at Stepho getting dropped. He's the same age as LDU yet bizarrely has ridiculously high expectations and standards demanded of him in comparison

Probably not the comparison I'd go with. LDU was close to if not definitively our most influential and clean midfielder for the whole day and in spite of injuries and significant off field challenges has improved year on year over 2020 & 2021. They're young players, but they're not football babies now - Stephenson was very, very average (with plenty of mates).

Really keen for Paul to get a run in the seniors asap.

Reckon we have one here.

Forward line surely is along with our backs an area where we have to start valuing proper structure of players over names. We rightly mock the AA each year for parking inside mids no the flanks - the same should apply. We have too many players that are in positions because they're too good for VFL and we don't have the right types available for roles.