Past #39: Eric Wallace - released by the Carolina Panthers

[the smith show]

Would give the Melb. Tigers a big athletic guy to practice against.

For Nick Riewoldt sake, I hope he's retire before (if ever) Wallace plays. Would be torn in two by this guy.

 

[Bigeasy]

Imagine Majak and Eric hitting the town together. Severe damage.

 

[Husk]

So he is basically Majak Daw with less football experience?

 

[Bowski]

It's worth it purely for the extra coverage it will get us.

 

[Cmarsh]

We need to devise a program that can fastrack skill development, a program especially designed for someone who didn't grow up playing AFL. The basics from learning to kick the ball properly, to handballing properly, be able to teach someone a smooth efficient technique in a short time.

Auskick would be perfect.

 

[muttley45]

we have found a replacement for tiny woo hoo

 

[Vansheen19]

Sounds like a cheap Israel Folau experiment to me. Why not have a crack, seriously nothing to lose.

 

[Rod Stroker]

They don't call him THE BEAST for nothing.
He won the award for the best international contender at The Combine.
I'm a bit surprised that no one else had signed him up until now, or at least invited them to train with him.
Perhaps we should have invited him to the club before they went to Utah. Would have been a good environment for him to get to know the players and vice versa. Plus a bit less stress for the lad being in his homeland.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Sign him up. Thats what the rookie list is all about. Freak athlete, if he picks up the game quick enough would have an impact simply because of his size.

 

[boneofshin]

Screw kicking, North needs more dunkers.

 

[TinyK]

we have found a replacement for tiny woo hoo

Tiny ken hair you brew

 

[BigRightFoot]

This is awesome. Kicking will be a challenge for him for sure. But hand eye coordination and reading the play...I bet that will come faster. From what I can tell, AFL is evolving like a lot of other sports...the skilled players are all getting bigger and stronger. I guess everyone in AFL has to be skilled, whereas in the NFL some players are not asked to be skilled. They just push each other around with maximum violence. But it's amazing to see how good the hand eye coordination is with some of this big men.

In the NFL, you saw it all change in the late 1980s early 1990s when Randall Cunningham became the first really successful black quarterback. He could run like the wind, throw the ball a mile, and he was strong. It changed the mold for the type of player at that position. And it changed the game.

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson did it in the NBA. In an earlier era, their height would have had them playing centre. But they were so agile, coordinated, could move laterally, handle the ball, and jump that you had huge guys playing point guard. And now you have freaks like Garnett and Durant who play like seven foot guards. Crazy.

Anyway, already seeing it with Nic Nat. It's coming. The AFL is so damn demanding. But I reckon it's a great fit for basketball players, if they can learn to kick. They have big engines. They know how to move in traffic. And they are used to reading the ball in the air for contests (although of course marking is a whole other matter).

It could totally fail. But great move anyway. Give it a shot. He'll make Mike Pyke look like a maple tree.

 

[sTeeL]

Never understood why a team with the $$$ of West Coast never even remotely looked at taking some international rookies. Hope he goes well for you guys.

 

[FedEXFalls]

One Twitter convo he did say he would be happy to play vfl to prove his worth if need be. Very happy with this

He's obviously going to spend a fair bit of time in the VFL if he does get the nod so he needs to be %100 committed to it because it sure as hell isn't as flashy as some of the Basketball leagues he could be playing in in other countries, if he is that good at it. If this is true and he has said that he's already happy to do that then he's off to a good start. I'd be tempted to go and show him some support if he ends up on a list and starts playing in the 2nds.

 

[year of the roo]

So this is why we let Hamish go so cheaply. All part of the plan. Cool.

 

[DarwinRoo]

We've never had enough money for an international rookie... We must be flying!

Why not? Chuck him in the nursery with Maj, Blacky and Curran.

Conor Meredith says top of the morning to you.

 

[Hopper10]

So this is why we let Hamish go so cheaply. All part of the plan. Cool.

Poor Hank would get a nose bleed jumping that high!!

 

[year of the roo]

Conor Meredith says top of the morning to you.

To be sure, to be sure.

 

[ArjenTheGreat]

To be sure, to be sure.

ok so not a good one.

 

[QueenslandRoo]

Brad Scott says: "The primary thing we are looking for is we really just want to see Eric as a person.
"We saw Eric at the Combine and we're right across his athletic testing, but really we just want to get to know him personally so we can make an assessment as to whether he's going to fit the mould of our group and the culture of our club.
"He can have all the athletic potential in the world but we've got to make sure he's a rock solid person. From all our background checks, and the way he's conducted himself so far, he appears first class in that area."


I'm so impressed with the way North are recruiting. We don't just want good players, we want good men. I love it. We are going to be a powerhouse for years to come!

 

[AbbaRoos]

Party tricks - check
Scary size factor - check
Athletic attributes - check
Raw basic skills - check
Media exposure, USA interest maybe sponsorship, novelty value - check
Investment is only international rookie spot and time.
Worth the punt - check

 

[DarwinRoo]

Party tricks - check
Scary size factor - check
Athletic attributes - check
Raw basic skills - check
Media exposure, USA interest maybe sponsorship, novelty value - check
Investment is only international rookie spot and time.
Worth the punt - check

Realistically that's an uncheck.

 

[Watsclarkosmob]

Pretty jealous guys good get, you should get any money spent on him back through exposer of your club. They'll love plugging the "Kangaroo" angle through any stories on sepo tv.

 

[marklovesbeer]

Would be a hit with the ladies i'd imagine.

So you obviously think he's a bit of alright...

 

[Kimbo]

Conor Meredith says top of the morning to you.

...and the rest of the day to Conor.