Player Watch #38: Tristan Xerri

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My thoughts on ruckmen are constantly evolving.

I think it’s foolish in many ways to think we’ll be able to replace Goldstein when he goes.

And I’m not convinced we need to.

A ruckman (in my opinion) doesn’t need to be a superstar as long as he can negate his opponent and contribute in a functional way around the ground.

Xerri has a big frame to work with and has already shown he can do the latter of the above. I’d be getting him to watch Stefan Martin tapes.
 

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Only Forwards said:
I don't know he has Todd's ceiling.

Thats not to say he can't be a consistent AFL footballer.
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He'll be a very different player. A ruckman/forward swingman.

The value of a big angry bull with AFL capabilities should not be underestimated, nor should it be solely identified in the stats sheet.
 
SMaturin said:
My thoughts on ruckmen are constantly evolving.

I think it’s foolish in many ways to think we’ll be able to replace Goldstein when he goes.

And I’m not convinced we need to.

A ruckman (in my opinion) doesn’t need to be a superstar as long as he can negate his opponent and contribute in a functional way around the ground.

Xerri has a big frame to work with and has already shown he can do the latter of the above. I’d be getting him to watch Stefan Martin tapes.
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You just need the right guy at the right time.

Alex Ischenko imo was a better ruckman (not player) than Corey or Capuano. But they performed their roles in premiership sides and it worked.

Fate might see Todd miss out on the choccies but a lesser ruckman but equal role player in Tristan take the mantle at just the right time.
 
Passmore said:
If we're looking for a ruckman with Goldy's ceiling we could be waiting 20 + years. When did Dempsey retire? 1984?

The ideal scenario is Xerri develops as a ruck/forward and works on tandem with Comben as a fwd/ruck.

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Personally I doubt Xerri will ever be a good forward, that of course doesn't mean he won't be a very good footballer. More in the Mumford style ruck I think.
Much prefer to see him patrolling further up the field knocking campaigners over. The issue is Todd has a lot of footy left in him.
 
Passmore said:
If we're looking for a ruckman with Goldy's ceiling we could be waiting 20 + years. When did Dempsey retire? 1984?

The ideal scenario is Xerri develops as a ruck/forward and works on tandem with Comben as a fwd/ruck.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk
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Let's put it this way, I reckon Tristan can eventually be a very good 2nd ruckman & forward swing man. He's the successor to Majak's ideal role in the side.

giantroo said:
View attachment 944382
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Someone should ask Varcoe how the GABBA looks...................upside down.

What I love about this is that there's no doubt that Tristan goes at these contests with the complete commitment to rattling the opposition. It's literally old school CHF play. You can never underestimate the impact of this relatively rare type of player in contemporary AFL football. He'll have matches where he catches 2 or 3 flush and it determines the outcomes of results.
 
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The acurate one said:
Personally I doubt Xerri will ever be a good forward, that of course doesn't mean he won't be a very good footballer. More in the Mumford style ruck I think.
Much prefer to see him patrolling further up the field knocking campaigners over. The issue is Todd has a lot of footy left in him.
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Todd could play KPF imo. You don't pull out 2x 5 goal bags in your predominately ruck-centric career without some idea up forward.

Work towards a Xerri-Todd 50-50 ruck split switching out of the forward line. Xerri creates a crash and bash presence up there, Todd provides a match-up nightmare and elite ground skills for a big man.
 
The acurate one said:
Personally I doubt Xerri will ever be a good forward, that of course doesn't mean he won't be a very good footballer. More in the Mumford style ruck I think.
Much prefer to see him patrolling further up the field knocking campaigners over. The issue is Todd has a lot of footy left in him.
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I'm thinking an 80/20 scenario. Todd 's got 2-3 left probably. Gives big X plenty of time to learn his trade.

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King Corey said:
Todd could play KPF imo. You don't pull out 2x 5 goal bags in your predominately ruck-centric career without some idea up forward.

Work towards a Xerri-Todd 50-50 ruck split switching out of the forward line. Xerri creates a crash and bash presence up there, Todd provides a match-up nightmare and elite ground skills for a big man.
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He'll be a great compliment to a quality tap ruckmen, and in my opinion, he's the one we should be putting games in to going forward. Tristan himself is a nice palmer of the ball, but his lack of leap favors him for boundary throw ins rather than centre square work.

Todd could still have another 3 years of footy with the right workload.
 
DesertRoo said:
My other favourite of the night lost the tap, pull the arm to slam. You can’t teach that mongrel, it’s instinctive.
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I believe it's commonly termed, "the suplex"

 

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King Corey said:
Todd could play KPF imo. You don't pull out 2x 5 goal bags in your predominately ruck-centric career without some idea up forward.

Work towards a Xerri-Todd 50-50 ruck split switching out of the forward line. Xerri creates a crash and bash presence up there, Todd provides a match-up nightmare and elite ground skills for a big man.
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Should Comben get fit, Larkey and Brown is still on our list last time I checked. There aint a spot for him, what we need is someone to crash packs on the wing, we have so little influence in the air around the ground currently.

I'd have an aggressive big man crushing campaigners and giving his mids a clear run at it over a part time forward any day of the week. Will be interesting watching what develops.

He's our campaigner and that's the main thing.
 
The acurate one said:
Should Comben get fit, Larkey and Brown is still on our list last time I checked. There aint a spot for him, what we need is someone to crash packs on the wing, we have so little influence in the air around the ground currently.

I'd have an aggressive big man crushing campaigners and giving his mids a clear run at it over a part time forward any day of the week. Will be interesting watching what develops.

He's our campaigner and that's the main thing.
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I'm very cautious on these players.

Even if Comben had hit the AFL with 2 uninterrupted fully fiy years under his belt, as a 200cm lean developing player on average he'd be years away from proving his suitability for senior football let alone dominating it. Let alone showing his durability to date of an EVW and Taylor Garner's more brittle boned 2nd cousin.

Larkey. He's in his 2nd season of meaningful senior football. 198cm and will be dealing with more and more pressure both physical and mental in Brown's short or long term absence. Has shown a lot but the attention will get stronger as will the threat of injury.

Simple put, I don't think we have twin or triple tower attack locked in and confirmed for the next 5-10 years.

If the midfield is cohesive and side is defensively tight I think Todd can absolutely play a pinchitting role forward in tandem with Tristan. Think Hale/McEvoy.
 
King Corey said:
I'm very cautious on these players.

Even if Comben had hit the AFL with 2 uninterrupted fully fiy years under his belt, as a 200cm lean developing player on average he'd be years away from proving his suitability for senior football let alone dominating it. Let alone showing his durability to date of an EVW and Taylor Garner's more brittle boned 2nd cousin.

Larkey. He's in his 2nd season of meaningful senior football. 198cm and will be dealing with more and more pressure both physical and mental in Brown's short or long term absence. Has shown a lot but the attention will get stronger as will the threat of injury.

Simple put, I don't think we have twin or triple tower attack locked in and confirmed for the next 5-10 years.

If the midfield is cohesive and side is defensively tight I think Todd can absolutely play a pinchitting role forward in tandem with Tristan. Think Hale/McEvoy.
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I'm bullish about Nick, just not bullish about him as a stand alone KPF.

If he has a sidekick, he'll make it as a quality long term KPF.

Brown has shown he can be that sidekick. Comben is still an unknown quantity for me. I'd be favoring a KPF over a KPD if we go that way with one of our 1st round picks. If we landed Phillips/Hollands with our 1st pick, then I would be more than happy if we picked up Tilthorpe with our 2nd, but the buzz out of the club is that they're looking at the KPD options, which probably tells us that BBB is a required player (as he should be).
 
Hojuman said:
Desire is the thing. BFNAAK. Want's to pull on the jumper. Likes the physical stuff. Can take a grab. Can kick a goal.

I'll take all those.
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The kid marks all of your boxes then mate.
 
Joshen said:
The contest which led to the Simpkin toe-tap goal has gone under-the-radar.

There are plenty of his team mates who could learn from his never-say-die attitude.

He is super unpolished at the moment but I'm bullish.
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Yep, good pick up, that was a legitimate palm and set play. It highlights his football smarts.

His palm work is very good. He has a nice soft deft touch for a big rampaging bull type.

giantroo, any chance you could get up a clip of this mate?
 
Snake_Baker said:
I'm bullish about Nick, just not bullish about him as a stand alone KPF.

If he has a sidekick, he'll make it as a quality long term KPF.
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Me too mate. But I'm just mindful a very promising first 30-50 games can be forgotten quickly as expectations and risks rise.

Drew came out of the blocks too and then had a very patchy 2-3 seasons as the load and demands increased.

I just can't see how you can possibly factor in Comben either way yet. A speculative pick who was never a dominant junior and is a complete unknown in terms of performance and durability.

I wouldn't avoid drafting a high grade developing KPF based on any of our current options.
 
Snake_Baker said:
Yep, good pick up, that was a legitimate palm and set play. It highlights his football smarts.

His palm work is very good. He has a nice soft deft touch for a big rampaging bull type.

giantroo, any chance you could get up a clip of this mate?
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From inside football newspaper 2017
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