Player Watch #25: Paul Curtis

domiroo

It’s a big kick it’s long kick it’s a goal .....
Dec 26, 2007
2,862
3,125
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Catanzaro / Manchester City
A good Nick name for Paul is TONY ..
 

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Souup

Norm Smith Medallist
May 8, 2005
7,788
27,418
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Might of been easier to state his weaknesses lol

Sounds like a jet in more ways than one.
His main 'weakness' is his perceived lack of versatility. He's got everything you could want in a small forward but hasn't been given a go in any other position which is why I write perceived.

I mentioned a few days ago that he's on par with Rachele as a small forward. The only thing Rachele has over Curtis is a better leap and he's shown he can play through the midfield.
 
Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,025
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
This is the type of player a few of us have been banging on about for so long. Whether or not he makes it is a different matter but we just never seem to trial the creative opportunist type.

Hopefully he can make a very good living working around our emerging talls.
 
He has a LETHAL left foot, I can’t stop watching the absolute bullet pass that was 40-50 meters to advantage AS WELL.

I can absolutely see him getting up the field and delivering an absolute bullet straight to the bulls chest
 
Averaged 5+ tackles per game (3.75 inside 50m tackles) in the last 4 games of the season which is where he really turned it on and took his game to another level.

Had a few games where he took 2 contested marks. Averaged a tick under 5 shots on goal a game in the last 4 games and averaged a tick over 8 score involvements.

To put in context why this was so impressive: This is all for a team that was sub-par for the whole season and averaged a score of 56 total points per game.

To answer your question without feeding you stats, his forward pressure only got better as the season wore on and really rounded out his game to leave very few weaknesses. I mentioned it earlier but he's sub 3 second 20m sprint and has an elite first 5-10m.

EDIT: For those that care (I know a lot hate it, but I think they have their place), he averaged 124 champion data/supercoach points over the last 4 games of the season

So is there a fair chance if he'd played somewhere else he'd have been more highly rated?
 

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
9,858
31,782
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Yeh thought the same during the draft.

185cm? Hang on, so does this solve our small forward dilemma or not?

Yes, he kicked 3.5 in the Vic Metro vs Country Trial game.

He's about as far away from the Turner/Mahoney goal threat output as you can get.

As I said, I anticipate he's going play 10+ games next year
 

Souup

Norm Smith Medallist
May 8, 2005
7,788
27,418
AFL Club
North Melbourne
So is there a fair chance if he'd played somewhere else he'd have been more highly rated?

Better team generally = better output so yeah I would agree.

The other thing is he came onto the scene quite late. He didn't play in the U16's Champs in 2019 or in the NAB League in 2019 as an underager. 2020 there was obviously no NAB League so 7 NAB League games this season was all you really have to go on.

What he showed this year was super impressive and with his lack of exposure at a really high level which generally means he'll have a greater scope for improvement
 
Last edited:
Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,025
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
Yes, he kicked 3.5 in the Vic Metro vs Country Trial game.

He's about as far away from the Turner/Mahoney low goal output as you can get.

I meant it rhetorically mate he looks really exciting, more that he's about the same height as Ben Cunnington and designated as a crumbing forward. Kids are getting taller every generation.

Read about that 3.5 sounds insane. Do you know the dynamics of that game? Was there any extenuating circumstances or was he just having a day out?
 

Swallow_Wood

Premiership Player
Jun 11, 2015
3,104
12,273
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Excellent selection and the type of player we generally don't draft who fills a specific need/position. Less your half forward rotation and more your genuine stay deep, scare the s**t out of defenders small forward with sublime skill and goal sense.

Focus for Paul should 100% be getting himself as fit, strong and powerful as possible in 2022/2023. The upside is huge.
 
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