Rookie 44. Matt Owies

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katmanblue said:
Can we put Byrne on a LTI list as he is contracted for 2019? Or can we just replace him?

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Depending on TPP or if it’s best to take him off the list I.e. definitely finished up, we could do either but they cannot return for that year.

Examples last year for replacement were Doc with his ACL, or Tippett/Griffiths and their retirements.

Gives us more time anyway if a decision may take a little longer than the next 6 weeks.
 
Wickzki said:
Holy ******* s**t.

They let Owies sign up as a Cat B player.

I was certain, given his football pedigree, he'd be one that they pushed to the national draft.

Gun. I cannot understate how much I absolutely love this signing. Gun kid. Great human being. I'd be very surprised if he's not playing senior games in 2020.

For those wanting a pressure forward who can win his own ball, that's the position I suspect he has been headhunted as playing.
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Sounds like you know a bit about him, Wick. Any idea about his tank? We've been due a good Cat B signing since Byrne. I've loved seeing guys like Blicavs and Greenwood make it to the big time, and Owies looks like he has more than a few traits (speed, competitiveness, finesse, agility, sidestep, good footwork and great vision in traffic) that could well translate to AFL footy.

Welcome aboard, Matt! (great name by the way)
 
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Matty411 said:
Sounds like you know a bit about him, Wick. Any idea about his tank? We've been due a good Cat B signing since Byrne. I've loved seeing guys like Bliclavs and Greenwood make it to the big time, and Owies looks like he has more than a few traits (speed, competitiveness, finesse, agility, sidestep, good footwork and great vision in traffic) that could well translate to AFL footy.

Welcome aboard, Matt! (great name by the way)
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Hard to compare a football tank to basketball. He needs 12-18 months back in the game to get to optimal football level fitness. Train a lot of different body parts differently for different requirements. That's why I suggested 2020 as a more reasonable time frame for him than 2019. Anything we get from him while he's refining his body for AFL football should be considered a cherry. Endurance wise, Owies can easily run out a 48-minute basketball game. But there's just too much gut running and other physical demands that are just not present in basketball to the same degree for a valid comparison.
 

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Wickzki said:
Hard to compare a football tank to basketball. He needs 12-18 months back in the game to get to optimal football level fitness. Train a lot of different body parts differently for different requirements. That's why I suggested 2020 as a more reasonable time frame for him than 2019. Anything we get from him while he's refining his body for AFL football should be considered a cherry. Endurance wise, Owies can easily run out a 48-minute basketball game. But there's just too much gut running and other physical demands that are just not present in basketball to the same degree for a valid comparison.
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Love the insights, mate. With his energy and character, I have a feeling Matt could be a great little recruitment. Do we have Agresta to thank or is this all SOS?
 
Matty411 said:
Love the insights, mate. With his energy and character, I have a feeling Matt could be a great little recruitment. Do we have Agresta to thank or is this all SOS?
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These things are almost always a team effort. I don't know how our scouting department works or how many we have employed - most probably in part time or contract roles I would imagine. The work usually begins a lot lower on the totem poll than Agresta and SOS. In my experience the contract people do the early leg work, present their information to the whole and then the leads take it from there. There's really far too many prospects to navigate through for Agresta and/or SOS to carry the workload.
 
Wickzki said:
These things are almost always a team effort. I don't know how our scouting department works or how many we have employed - most probably in part time or contract roles I would imagine. The work usually begins a lot lower on the totem poll than Agresta and SOS. In my experience the contract people do the early leg work, present their information to the whole and then the leads take it from there. There's really far too many prospects to navigate through for Agresta and/or SOS to carry the workload.
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Likely in these cases, Owies on a junior radar with their football skills/honours and then tracked for Cat B eligibility and waning opportunities at the next level with their chosen sport. Could also test the water themselves with AFL recruiters with their own interest to return to footy (handy that it’s straight back & into an AFL environment).

Greenwood was a strange one with his NBL representation but really wanted to get back into footy (a lot of juniors get the same bug with the physicality of the game vs b/ball as they get older).
 
The Bighouse said:
Greenwood was a strange one with his NBL representation but really wanted to get back into footy (a lot of juniors get the same bug with the physicality of the game vs b/ball as they get older).
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This is true. As a former pro scout, I had a lot of discussions with these types of athletes including a current Carlton player whose basketball background doesn't get as much coverage as other stars around the league (he didn't pursue it in the end which was a smart decision on his and his family's behalf). The advice that we generally provide to these kids is to take the free education especially if they're being targeted by high level academic colleges. The $80-120,000+ investment will secure their future long after they're retired as a professional basketballer or footballer and generally, like Greenwood, will have time to get back into professional football should they want to sport hop.

Greenwood was an interesting case. Had elite NBL player written all over him and had (has) the right people in basketball here to steer him there. However, his passion for football was the overriding force in him getting back into football. Perfect demeanor to sport hop as he's one of the most self motivated and hard working lads you'll ever hope to see.

As big a fan of the Owies signing as I am, I don't think he has quite the upside that Hugh has (had). However, where he will shine is in being a valuable and key contributing part of the culture. He has courageous leader stamped all over him. I see him being ideally (potentially) in that 19-30 ranked spot on the list where he may not be a starter in our deep finals runs in the future but it wont be for a lack of effort and will be one of those unsung heroes that the coaches and teammates rave about being a huge part of without being in the 22. Every premiership team has those workhorses. I hope he proves me wrong and outperforms those expectations, I'm definitely a fan.
 
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Matty411 said:
Sounds like you know a bit about him, Wick. Any idea about his tank? We've been due a good Cat B signing since Byrne. I've loved seeing guys like Blicavs and Greenwood make it to the big time, and Owies looks like he has more than a few traits (speed, competitiveness, finesse, agility, sidestep, good footwork and great vision in traffic) that could well translate to AFL footy.

Welcome aboard, Matt! (great name by the way)
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Yep, the universe certainly Owies us one! :straining:
 

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He mentioned being a high pressure player in the forward line and maybe push into the midfield.

Hopefully he can be our equivalent of Zac Langdon.

Need more like him on the flanks and pockets.
 
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