Player Watch #29: Shai Bolton - What an absolute jet!
- Thread starter Grockadoc
- Start date
- Tagged users None
- Oct 14, 2011
- 66,554
- 111,944
- AFL Club
- Richmond
With meatball out he’s now a clear 3rd behind Dusty and Cotch in the mid rotations with daylight to the next.
That’s outstanding and we’d be well advised to reach for the cheque book sooner rather than later.
That’s outstanding and we’d be well advised to reach for the cheque book sooner rather than later.
Great first half 12 possessions + clearance's
Second half only 4 possessions needs too build on his fitness but a huge talent.
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Second half only 4 possessions needs too build on his fitness but a huge talent.
On SM-A520F using BigFooty.com mobile app
Has been a trend since he got back in the team. Best on ground 1st half, completely missing after half time.
- Nov 26, 2013
- 12,601
- 22,402
- AFL Club
- Richmond
- Other Teams
- Man U, Chicago Bulls, Anaheim Ducks
He’s got the tank, it’s other reasons why he goes missing
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Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
Whatever they are, it is extremely annoying because we have an elite clearance machine for 2 quarters and then a passenger for the other 2. If he puts 4 quarters together alongside Dusty, Meatball, Sheds and Cotch then we are unstoppable. Unfortunately can't see it happening. He would have had no more than 5 touches in the 2nd half of each of his last 4 games.
Bolton will thrive once Prestia and Edwards are back in the middle.
With Dusty as well we have 5 gun centre square mids. 1 more and we have 2 full rotations. Hopefully RCD becomes that guy.
There was no chance of that happening. The club knew what they had. You only had to go to VFL games, even in his first season, to see his quality.
I reckon. With 5 in for centre bounces we should win a few.
Ralph's thinking will be he'll be even better next year, and with his contract expiring he'll have offers and leverage, so why rush?
Also a massive off-season for shai building his tank would take him to the next level as an absolutely elite mid, whilst I don't want to pay through the nose for him if we can avoid it, that motivation could be mutually beneficial
Dr Tigris
Brownlow Medallist
bump
Our recruiting has been so bad for so long. Development poor. Oh well we'll see if we can be competitive at some point.
Sir_Loin
🏆🏆🏆
smasha
It's Time!
Every drover’s dog wants him at their club,just did a search lol.
* off campaigners.
* off campaigners.
21 years old, 37 games. Sure he might not play 4 quarters every week but that consistency will come, his potential is enormous once he starts putting in 4 quarter games, another preseason, some added strength and conditioning and further maturity, can't wait to see what he does next year. You'd imagine a team like Freo will come after him out when he is OOC.
Not worried about him re-signing. Carr will get him to sign on for another two years which in that time he will continue to get massive exposure at the biggest club in the league and be in line for a bumper next contract in 2023 which is when Dustys deal will be close to ending and Bolton could be by that stage be one of the faces of the team and also get the extra dollars from sponsorship deals outside of the club.
Tiger_Of_Old
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Inside Shai Bolton’s sliding doors moment that has taken the Tiger to the next level
Shai Bolton was dropped for Round 5 after Richmond went winless in three games. More than a month on the talented Tiger cub has become a star for the reigning premiers. Go inside his rise from cub to Tiger.
Simeon Thomas-Wilson, The Advertiser
Subscriber only
|
August 16, 2020 1:00pm
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Richmond assistant coach Andrew McQualter had two bits of good news for the Tigers livewire forward Shai Bolton ahead of Round 6.
The first was that the 21-year-old would be returning to the Tigers senior side, after being dropped for the previous match against Melbourne following three winless games for Richmond.
The second, and perhaps more importantly a month on, was because of reigning club best and fairest Dion Prestia’s syndesmosis injury, Trent Cotchin’s hamstring niggle and Shane Edwards staying in Melbourne the Tigers cub would be shifted to Richmond’s midfield.
Bolton had been a vital cog in the Tigers “mosquito fleet” of small quick forward that have helped the claim two flags in three years – although he did not play in the 2017 Grand Final.
But ever since the Western Australian came to Richmond with the 29th pick of the 2016 Draft he has wanted to get a go in the Tigers’ engine room.
Damien Hardwick and the Richmond coaching staff had suspected the 175cm, 76kg Bolton could make a mark in the AFL as a midfielder – after showing some promising signs when deployed there in 2019 before returning to his small forward line for the finals.
Now it was time to see how Bolton would fare.
“It was pretty much injuries (behind the move to the midfield),” Bolton said.
“We had a few out and a few were out for a while like Dion and it gave not just me but a couple of other boys an opportunity to play in the midfield.
“It was Andrew McQualter (who told him) … he pretty much tells me if I’m playing or not, so he ended up telling me (before Round 6) I was going to play in the midfield,” Bolton said.
“I played a little bit there in 2019, I’ve always wanted to get the opportunity to play in the midfield so I wasn’t shocked when he told me, just happy I would get a go.”
In the five games since Bolton got the nod he has made the move from the mosquito fleet to midfield as smooth as the way he plays the game.
Since Round 6 Bolton is ranked No. 3 for clearances at the Tigers (3.3 per game), second for metres gained (380), first for score involvements (5.8), third in contested possessions (6.3) and fifth in disposals (15.4) making the most of his chance.
In a real sliding doors moment Bolton has gone from out of the team to arguably one of Richmond’s most important players as the Tigers began to again bare their teeth.
“It’s opportunity, someone goes down injured and Shai grabs it (with both hands),” Hardwick said.
“He’s an exciting talent, he’s starting to really understand what’s required to be an AFL midfielder, and he’s only going to get better as he plays more.”
Hardwick said the transition from forward to midfielder was reminiscence of Fremantle superstar Michael Walters, who Bolton bases large parts of his game on.
“The coaches have put in a lot of work into him but Shai to his credit has discovered how to work at AFL level,” Hardwick said.
Bolton said this could be traced back to the summer of 2019, when back in Perth he embarked on a gruelling fitness regimen with personal trainer Saia Wood-Halafihi.
Bolton has always had the talent and ability to do things on the footy field that other players wouldn’t dream of – in his draft year he attempted a handball behind his back to a teammate.
But after the 2018 season Hardwick and other Tigers coaches told Bolton he needed to work on his fitness and defence to break into the Richmond senior side.
“I think that is the most important one, just going back home and getting fit and getting ready for pre-season and coming into the season feeling good about myself,” he said.
Ever since the AFL announced the Tigers annual Dreamtime at the G match would now be played in Darwin, Bolton could be forgiven for counting down the days until that match.
Born in Katanning, 277km southeast of Perth, Bolton has football well and truly in his blood.
His dad Darren played a couple of games for the Dockers, his mum is a Pickett and his mum’s mum was a Krakouer.
A Noongar man, Bolton enlisted all of this for when he designed the Tigers Indigenous guernsey for Saturday night’s match against Essendon.
“To play the Dreamtime game there will be special,” Bolton said.
“My mum and both my nans helped me with the design of the jumper.
“We pretty much wanted to represent not me and just my culture but everyone else that plays for Richmond so we put some elements in there that represented their names or their tribes in there.
“I didn’t really want to make it about myself, we are playing as one together in the Dreamtime match.”
Originally published as Dropped to star in five weeks: Bolton’s sliding doors moment
Dr Tigris
Brownlow Medallist
HE's got all the tools to be a genuine AFL star. Sounds like he's worked out what he has to do to make it as well. Him and his mate Marbs both seem to have flicked the switch on this year. Good stuff.
- Banned
- #3,348
Extend to 24/25 - tie up bolts v long term ala Lynch. Dusty.
Someone needs to threaten raf care
For the greater good
- Banned
- #3,350
No egg if we want to win
