WEEVZ
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Nathan Lovett-Murray
Traded #42: Adam Saad - Traded to Carlton for pick 8 (with some junk picks)
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I don't know what it is about Saad but I'm super excited about seeing him in Essendon colours next year, even more so than our other recruits. I think he just has a great attitude and I think we will all forget that he ever used to play for another club in time.
Plus I can't wait to see him and McKenna together in a real match.
Plus I can't wait to see him and McKenna together in a real match.
eth-dog
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Nat Rat then Gwilty
Don’t forget Glenn Kilpatrick! Lol
Yep, I think maybe because in Victoria we don't see a heap of the Suns, a lot of people may not realise just how good he is.
Reckon he'll be a fan favourite in no time.
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Watching him and McKenna in full flight is going to be amazeballs.
Etisaad Stadium
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Im not completely sold on him being a certain starter.
Yes his highlights look good, but how defensively sound is he? Will he compliment our already offensively minded defensive group?
The talk of Andrew McGrath sees Adam Saad in with a big chance of starting but the second year kid would be a rotation rather than a starter.
Yes his highlights look good, but how defensively sound is he? Will he compliment our already offensively minded defensive group?
The talk of Andrew McGrath sees Adam Saad in with a big chance of starting but the second year kid would be a rotation rather than a starter.
Aren't your questions answered by the fact that our recruitment team, targeted and brought in a mature age player with a decent pick?
Its obvious we see him in our best 22 and that they believe his defensive work is good enough. I don't think there are huge problems with our back 6 except for the fact that our midfield doesn't do enough defensively.
Harvey has already flagged that McGrath probably won't spend much time down back in 2018. McGrath's a gifted athlete and I think he'll handle the load just fine. He may rotate a bit down back (or perhaps even a bit of time up forward) but I think he'll play the majority of the year on the wing/midfield.
Bomberbuzz1
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There were times last year that Kelly and McGrath got us out of trouble that most small defenders would of panicked and made an error.
The combo of Saad and McKenna will get a lot of love for their offensive plays but will need to go to another level defensively, could be a liability if the lack of defensive output and mistakes outweigh what they can create offensively.
Saad has played on the oppositions best small forward more often than not. In the last couple of years he's had a good record playing on Betts.
Most definitely can defend and preform a lock down roll, as well as having a very good offensive game.
Champion Data rated him an elite defender for 2017.
Yeah, Yoda_ I don't think there is any likelihood that Saad isn't a best 22 player. He's competent enough defensively and his run will be crucial to our set up.
McKenna will have at least another 12 months of huge gains so I don't think we should look at him as the same player in 2018. He'll go to another level defensively.
Gleeson is also likely to make significant physical improvements which would enable him to be more effective on small forwards.
McKenna will have at least another 12 months of huge gains so I don't think we should look at him as the same player in 2018. He'll go to another level defensively.
Gleeson is also likely to make significant physical improvements which would enable him to be more effective on small forwards.
eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Everyone says that he has a good record on Betts, but Eddie averages 3 goals a game against the Suns. Now I'm not saying that Saad played on Eddie every time but to suggest he has a "good record" against him is clearly false.
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In fairness to Saad, Adelaide has beaten Gold Coast by an average margin of 60+ since Betts joined the crows.
3 goals on a player as good as Betts is a decent effort when your getting routinely pumped. Especially by a player who is really there to be dangerous on the rebound.
Add to that how insipid GC has been as a whole and I doubt their midfield did much to help out their defenders by a way of allowing Opposition disposal and i50s.
eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Averaging 3 goals a game against a side is genuine bunny territory for a small forward. And this including the Carlton games, not just the Adelaide ones.
Saad is a decent defender who's shown improvement over the stretch of his short career, but to suggest he's got "a good record" against Betts is clearly false. He doesn't.
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Not sure how many offensive players we can take into our back 6.
If Saad can show me he is defensively sound then I have no qualms about it.
Realistically, would he be any less effective than Baguley? He wouldn't and he also gives us the run.
If he was competing with Neville Jetta for that spot then I'd think twice and would probably go with Jetta.
As far as I'm concerned there are a handful of decent small stoppers in the league.
Yeh, nah
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Roaming through his inside football ratings for 2017 and it appears he may have had lots to do but was largely ineffective. As a team who likes to hold the ball, not completely sold on him being a walk up starter, especially when we have a player who already does what he does, but better (McKenna).
With our overall defensive set up, my question is how many offensively minded players can one team carry? With Hurley, Gleeson, McKenna all playing a similar role, a player who is as aggressive as the aforementioned will need to round out his game to be a walk up start.
Don't get me wrong, think he could be a real hit in our side, and a player who could provide us with a very real point of difference but just a gut feel that he may not be a lock for the 22.
yaco55
Hall of Famer
Much ado about nothing - In effect Saad will be replacing Baguley, especially from 2019 - I've seen nothing to indicate Saad is a defensive liability - I'm actually more worried about him in an offensive sense, in that he can struggle to make the right decision with ball in hand.
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Champion Data rated Saad as elite for general defenders, which should speak for his ability in a one-on-one situation, to some degree.
Courtesy of TheSunGod and the GCS board:
http://m.goldcoastfc.com.au/news/2016-03-13/betts-meets-his-match-in-saad
"“So the coaches wanted me to shut him down and just take him out of the game so that’s what I tried doing.
“Just implement what I’ve learnt over the pre-season and I just went into this game didn’t want him to get a kick I guess so I thought I did okay.”
Betts registered just eight disposals, in the bottom five across the 48 players who took the field and well below his 2015 average of 13.6 per game.
Three clangers and just one behind to his name made it a night to forget for the Crow, but one where Saad proved he has the talent and discipline to lock down the best in the business."
http://m.goldcoastfc.com.au/news/2016-03-13/betts-meets-his-match-in-saad
"“So the coaches wanted me to shut him down and just take him out of the game so that’s what I tried doing.
“Just implement what I’ve learnt over the pre-season and I just went into this game didn’t want him to get a kick I guess so I thought I did okay.”
Betts registered just eight disposals, in the bottom five across the 48 players who took the field and well below his 2015 average of 13.6 per game.
Three clangers and just one behind to his name made it a night to forget for the Crow, but one where Saad proved he has the talent and discipline to lock down the best in the business."
boncer34
Formerly "Dos23"
The Suns didn't really use Adam to lock down, they used him as an attacking option off the HBF. He's definitely shown in the past he can do the role, the question is though is that the best role for him? The Suns obviously didn't think so and I'm not sure it is either. We might be a bit different with Connor essentially playing the role he played for the Suns but personally I'd like the both of them running hard off the HBF.
owen87
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As a hypothetical; Round 1 comes and Betts starts looking dangerous - who do we send to him? McGrath out of the Midfield, or tell Saad to shut him down instead of playing the rebound role?
Are we better to leave McGrath running around through the Midfield and able to rebound freely off the HBF, or let Saad rebound off the HBF and run McGrath head to head on Betts?
/shrug
bjisgod9
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Saad would be a best 22 player in pretty much every team in the comp. You take the good with the bad with a player of his skillset. He may not be the most defensively minded small defender but what he can give to you the other way more than makes up for any deficiency as a lockdown defender (if there is a deficiency). There really aren't that many reliable lockdown smalls that never get beaten. Defenders will get beaten, if they can provide the drive off half back at the consistency that Saad does, they play, not too many players break lines like he can.
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