Player Watch #35: Charlie Lazzaro - contract extension until end of 2024

[TennisPlayerAndy]

You heard me.

There is no such thing as gut running. It’s a made up phrase made up by some commentator to make themselves sound intelligent.

It’s a term used to try and differentiate the fitness of players.

It’s a wanky buzz term.

 

[zoomba23]

The usual measured, balanced assessment that this board shows after a bloke has a s**t game has once again come to the fore, I see. I'd love to get my hands on the crystal ball that so many of you seem to have obtained. Give him a chance. The deer-in-the-headlights thing is something that can be worked on. He's got the footy brain, he just panics a bit. There are swathes of players who've started their careers off like that and developed more composure over time. Persist

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

You heard me.

There is no such thing as gut running. It’s a made up phrase made up by some commentator to make themselves sound intelligent.

He’s a really good runner who can run at high speed to cover a lot of kms. We good?


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[The acurate one]

And I thought I was a tough judge.
The opposition wasn't much chop yesterday that is the truth. Yeah bumbled and fumbled his way across the field. But at least he got it to fumble it. That will improve as he becomes acclimatised to the pressures of AFL footy.

My frustration I suppose is that I can see why we have him on our list but was he really worthy of a second round pick? I'd suggest no and of course that isn't his fault.

Oh well

 

[Dodecahedron]

I see potential. If he hadn’t double-grabbed the ball a few times, his game would have been a B-
It’s a concentration thing.

 

[king of the road]

And I thought I was a tough judge.
The opposition wasn't much chop yesterday that is the truth. Yeah bumbled and fumbled his way across the field. But at least he got it to fumble it. That will improve as he becomes acclimatised to the pressures of AFL footy.

My frustration I suppose is that I can see why we have him on our list but was he really worthy of a second round pick? I'd suggest no and of course that isn't his fault.

Oh well

Wondering if there were any good key defenders to come after him in the draft?

I know we were trying build from the middle out - but this seems the pick to me where we could have got more cover in the key defense position having already taken Phillips and Powell early.

Nothing against him. He puts in, gets to the right positions and more composure will come with time. All the best to him.

But the selection could be questionable given the composition of the list.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

I see potential. If he hadn’t double-grabbed the ball a few times, his game would have been a B-
It’s a concentration thing.

The dribble kick running into an open goal from 15 out sent me over the edge.

He should stay in the 2’s until his ball handling is at an acceptable standard.

Too many of our lightly framed players double grab and fumble the footy.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Wondering if there were any good key defenders to come after him in the draft?

I know we were trying build from the middle out - but this seems the pick to me where we could have got more cover in the key defense position having already taken Phillips and Powell early.

Nothing against him. He puts in, gets to the right positions and more composure will come with time. All the best to him.

But the selection could be questionable given the composition of the list.

The only players picked after him in the 2020 draft to have played any decent AFL footy are: Corey Durdin, James Rowe, Beau McCreery, Tom Highmore, Brandon Walker & Jacob Wehr.

It really doesn’t like look we’ve missed out on all that much with that particular pick.

 

[Mr Lloyd Christmas]

The only players picked after him in the 2020 draft to have played any decent AFL footy are: Corey Durdin, James Rowe, Beau McCreery, Tom Highmore, Brandon Walker & Jacob Wehr.

It really doesn’t like look we’ve missed out on all that much with that particular pick.

That is a good analysis RF but why is contracted to 2024? What was the rush?

That length of contract is absurd compared to other players we haven't even contracted yet.

 

[kool kangas]

l like Lazarro but at the moment l think he's problem is lack of self confidence. With a new coach " hopefully" Clarkson l believe he will get it back. l'm not ready to jump ship on him yet as l have seen enough early on to see what we have to work with..

 

[Roosurgence]

The usual measured, balanced assessment that this board shows after a bloke has a s**t game has once again come to the fore, I see. I'd love to get my hands on the crystal ball that so many of you seem to have obtained. Give him a chance. The deer-in-the-headlights thing is something that can be worked on. He's got the footy brain, he just panics a bit. There are swathes of players who've started their careers off like that and developed more composure over time. Persist

Really?

Once you get to AFL level you shouldn’t be shitting your pants everytime the ball gets near you. I’m not talking about scared of physical contact but actually shitting yourself one what to do when you do get it.

We are paying this guy to play footy as a professional, not someone that we need work on massive deficiencies.

This has been the problem for this club for so long. Drafting players that are not equipped to play at the highest level, hoping by some miracle that something changes and then after many wasted years realising the inevitable and dumping them.

If Charlie had some elite traits that could translate at AFL level then I get the argument to persist. But let’s be honest here, if and it’s a big if, he can get over the constant fumbles, poor decision making etc. then he is only ever going to be a an average foot soldier.

Better off taking risks with players that have a huge upside. I don’t see that upside with Charlie. For him to make it, due to his limitations he really needed to hit the ground running and become a solid citizen very quickly. At the moment he is a liability with not much potential upside.

 

[Roosurgence]

A mate and I had this discussion yesterday and both agreed, that Charlie could play for the next 10 years and still not reach the talent levels of someone like Paul Curtis is reaching in his first year.

We took a shot on someone we thought was a good citizen with great character, hoping he could adjust to the level required to make it, but so far he just doesn’t look like he can get there or ever will.

This club needs to start getting ruthless, otherwise we will keep repeating the same mistakes.

 

[RossHenshaw]

A mate and I had this discussion yesterday and both agreed, that Charlie could play for the next 10 years and still not reach the talent levels of someone like Paul Curtis is reaching in his first year.

We took a shot on someone we thought was a good citizen with great character, hoping he could adjust to the level required to make it, but so far he just doesn’t look like he can get there or ever will.

This club needs to start getting ruthless, otherwise we will keep repeating the same mistakes.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

That is a good analysis RF but why is contracted to 2024? What was the rush?

That length of contract is absurd compared to other players we haven't even contracted yet.

I don’t particularly agree with what he was offered but we do have a tendency to lock up our draftees pretty quickly. We did the same for Powell & Phillips in the same year

 

[Mr Lloyd Christmas]

I don’t particularly agree with what he was offered but we do have a tendency to lock up our draftees pretty quickly. We did the same for Powell & Phillips in the same year

OK that is fine, but we had a reason to re-sign 1st rounders, not a guy who is not dominant at VFL level or shown much at all.

I hope Lazz improves but frankly like Mahony I don't think he will make it to be a quality player at the highest level.

(snipers quote me in future, no worries)

 

[BlueandWhiteinmyBlood]

Let’s give him one full pre season with Clarko and team, see how he and many others we are concerned with re development and see how they are going. Happy to reassess at the end of 2023 season for the lizard. Curtis Taylor

5

Curtis Taylor

Age

24

Ht

188cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

No current season stats available

D

6.0

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

just hit the 50 game mark and is starting to hit his straps, Ldu the 70/80 game mark, same thing. Quality hff flanks would struggle to play hff in our team atm, let alone a second year player who was drafted as a midfielder.

 

[astrovic]

If Lazz puts on a bunch of muscle - which I reckon he will - he could well become that Paul Puopolo

28

Paul Puopolo

Age

36

Ht

173cm

Wt

78kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.9

4star

K

6.9

3star

HB

6.9

4star

M

2.2

2star

T

4.3

5star

G

0.9

4star

D

8.5

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

4.3

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.5

3star

G

0.3

3star

D

17.0

5star

K

8.8

4star

HB

8.2

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

4.8

5star

G

0.0

1star

style manic pressure small forward that we desperately need. He's got the mindset for it, so for me it's all about size from here.

Right now he's too small to impact that much, and his lack of strength results in him getting panicky as he can't absorb contact, but I will be interested to see what happens when he grows into his body.

Not sure he's got the tricks needed to grow into a successful small forward, but I like the idea and would like to see us persist with him in that role over the pre-season and into next season.

 

[Roosurgence]

Let’s give him one full pre season with Clarko and team, see how he and many others we are concerned with re development and see how they are going. Happy to reassess at the end of 2023 season for the lizard. Curtis Taylor just hit the 50 game mark and is starting to hit his straps, Ldu the 70/80 game mark, same thing. Quality hff flanks would struggle to play hff in our team atm, let alone a second year player who was drafted as a midfielder.

All the players you mentioned at least showed something in patches. Charlie hasn’t showed anything.

I’m not sure even Clarko can work a miracle to get Charlie to AFL standard.

As for the comment of HFF’s struggling, Paul Curtis says hi.

We can waste another year on Charlie, but it’s going to take a massive change from here for him to even get to the minimum standard, let alone something to work with going forward.

 

[Devil Fish]

23rd-26th player.

Back up for injury or form but not best 22 when everyone is healthy.

Terrific. With the other 17 “back-ups” we have

 

[Arthur Cloke]

You heard me.

There is no such thing as gut running. It’s a made up phrase made up by some commentator to make themselves sound intelligent.

You're right Joe. I ran from McDonalds on Victoria Pde to the Docklands precinct in my brand new Hugo Boss suit when we beat Richmond in the 2015 finals series. I was PUMPED. I absolutely slugged a gut. Did that make me a better runner? No. My mate Sandro actually follows me on Strava Live. He gave me Kudos but then made the derogatory comment that I looked like a ship without a rubber. Fair clip by Sandro I must say.

But I didn't let it bother me. I just drove past his house with Fluffy and threw 2 bricks through his front window - Bang. Bang.

 

[ferball]

If Charlie had some elite traits that could translate at AFL level then I get the argument to persist. But let’s be honest here, if and it’s a big if, he can get over the constant fumbles, poor decision making etc. then he is only ever going to be a an average foot soldier.

Better off taking risks with players that have a huge upside. I don’t see that upside with Charlie. For him to make it, due to his limitations he really needed to hit the ground running and become a solid citizen very quickly. At the moment he is a liability with not much potential upside.

He's got elite lateral movement. You could see it at times yesterday. He was able to evade tackles and find space but didn't have the confidence to back himself in and take the opposition on. He still has something worth persisting with I reckon. With confidence he could have done some useful things yesterday. Dunno if he should have been signed till the end of 2024 but should have next year.

 

[Devil Fish]

He's got elite lateral movement. You could see it at times yesterday. He was able to evade tackles and find space but didn't have the confidence to back himself in and take the opposition on. He still has something worth persisting with I reckon. With confidence he could have done some useful things yesterday. Dunno if he should have been signed till the end of 2024 but should have next year.

“Elite lateral movement”???? For the love of God.

 

[ferball]

Don't you watch footy?

He can step like Jy.

 

[Jasemon]

The only players picked after him in the 2020 draft to have played any decent AFL footy are: Corey Durdin, James Rowe, Beau McCreery, Tom Highmore, Brandon Walker & Jacob Wehr.

It really doesn’t like look we’ve missed out on all that much with that particular pick.

I still have hopes for Charlie. Saturday's game was unfortunate with a bunch of fumbles and selling his team mates into pain with some hospital handpasses however I reckon in time with his work ethic, which IS elite he'll better develop his strengths which are his speed, endurance, lateral movement and something I noticed from very early on in his first pre-season which is his ability to hit targets by foot with precision off both feet. Especially over around 30 metres or so.

With continuity and increased confidence he won't be making those fumbles and he'll take better options with ball in hand.

I would say however in regards to the players you listed above I wouldn't mind McCreery on our list.
He's going to be a ripper.

 

[The Nostradamus]

He's got elite lateral movement. You could see it at times yesterday. He was able to evade tackles and find space but didn't have the confidence to back himself in and take the opposition on. He still has something worth persisting with I reckon. With confidence he could have done some useful things yesterday. Dunno if he should have been signed till the end of 2024 but should have next year.

He does, good agility and pace

Also for those that complain about standards and commitment well this bloke has it in spades

One of the hardest trainers and he’s one that won’t die wondering