Remove this Banner Ad

AFL Player 5: Elijah Tsatas

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Look I tend to agree - my thoughts on Tsatas are well documented.

I like to err on the side of generosity with young blokes.

Look im not saying he aint playing 100+ games ect

And i think his coachability, hard working, dedication and team first sortve attitude i see can atleast serve him as a defensive tagging midfielder on the big body mids
 
Look im not saying he aint playing 100+ games ect

And i think his coachability, hard working, dedication and team first sortve attitude i see can atleast serve him as a defensive tagging midfielder on the big body mids
Big call. Defensive side of things are not what he does well. They backed out of doing it in the VFL after 4 or so weeks.
 
Look im not saying he aint playing 100+ games ect

And i think his coachability, hard working, dedication and team first sortve attitude i see can atleast serve him as a defensive tagging midfielder on the big body mids
Horrible call
Just let the kid play his ceiling is way too high for a top 5 pick who has barely played 10 games
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

Look im not saying he aint playing 100+ games ect

And i think his coachability, hard working, dedication and team first sortve attitude i see can atleast serve him as a defensive tagging midfielder on the big body mids
He’s a ball magnet. He will live or die on his ability to win it and distribute it. He’s also quite strong overhead. It’s big time or bust for ET.
 
Im saying the defensive big body mid at stoppage is plan B for him
I'm saying he is not that guy, in my opinion. He's a naturally gifted ball winner.

If he is not getting a game in that role it will be because he has deficiencies which will mean he won't get a game in any role.

As a parallel.. imagine Parish getting picked to play a defensive tagger role. Not going to happen. Tstatas is taller & stronger but it's the same idea.
 
I'm saying he is not that guy, in my opinion. He's a naturally gifted ball winner.

If he is not getting a game in that role it will be because he has deficiencies which will mean he won't get a game in any role.

As a parallel.. imagine Parish getting picked to play a defensive tagger role. Not going to happen. Tstatas is taller & stronger but it's the same idea.
Depends on their mentality

Parish doesnt have to 'defend' because hes made it

Tsatas im sure as hell will go that way if his career is looking bare after 4 years. As i said i see a different mentality with Tsatas than Parish and clearly the club does aswell, but im looking from afar

Not many if any of these kids drafted are playing a tagging role...in fact its not allowed. So players have to develop into that role as every side has them

Setterfield is a perfect example of pick 7 and fighting for his career doing those roles at times

Will Phillips another, at pick 3
 
Last edited:
Parish is a great contested ball winner. He just won’t run both ways and isn’t a good kick to team mates advantage. Who knows with Tsatsis?

They've just got to play him in the middle in the seniors for a block of games to find out. Some really good signs in the VFL but I think there's a risk that if he stays there too long he picks up too many habits that work at that level and finds it harder to step up to the seniors.
 
Depends on their mentality

Parish doesnt have to 'defend' because hes made it

Tsatas im sure as hell will go that way if his career is looking bare after 4 years. As i said i see a different mentality with Tsatas than Parish and clearly the club does aswell, but im looking from afar

Not many if any of these kids drafted are playing a tagging role...in fact its not allowed. So players have to develop into that role as every side has them

Setterfield is a perfect example of pick 7 and fighting for his career doing those roles at times

Will Phillips another, at pick 3
Parish has troubles defending because he is a ball hunter. It is extremely hard to get that default out of his game. Tsatas is the same . He hunts the footy. That is what he has done all the way through.
Neither really blocked a lot in juniors.
Setterfield is not a good comparison as he was a hard at it inside guy who did block in juniors along with extracting the football.
Attitude will play a part but natural ball hunters will always revert back to what they know in the heat of battle.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

They've just got to play him in the middle in the seniors for a block of games to find out. Some really good signs in the VFL but I think there's a risk that if he stays there too long he picks up too many habits that work at that level and finds it harder to step up to the seniors.

Depends where he's at physically for me, if he's at AFL standard strength for an inside mid and he can play in that position at AFL level (at least for a period) then let him loose. If he's not, then I'd rather see him dominating the VFL than playing off a HFF or Wing at AFL level where it's really not using his skillset.
 
Depends where he's at physically for me, if he's at AFL standard strength for an inside mid and he can play in that position at AFL level (at least for a period) then let him loose. If he's not, then I'd rather see him dominating the VFL than playing off a HFF or Wing at AFL level where it's really not using his skillset.

Oh yeah I definitely don't want him playing out of position in the seniors.

This is the season to really find out about the likes of Tsatas, Reid, Cox, Perkins, Cox and Jones, if they can stay fit. I'd hate to go into the next off season with a lot of question marks over them because they weren't given a proper opportunity to show whether they are up to it.
 
So to sum up: Tsatas should be a tagger?

Jerry Seinfeld Reaction GIF
 
He is 100% not a tagger.
He doesn’t have a big run all day tank.
He’s not a contested body on body beast at the stoppage.

Instead, he’s the quickest to respond at the stoppage and is great at getting our team first possession-meters gained out of a stoppage.

Just put him in the guts, and we are well on our way to winning the clearance numbers. That’s his memo. He’s a different player next year, he’s significantly fitter and bigger. It’s really exciting.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

This is his third year. As pick 5 he needs to get a lot better, quickly, or is he just another high draft pick to Essendon who is no good?

He's an inside mid who missed a lot of his U18 year and his first year at the club.

Think of him as a second year player; if he gets through the season unscathed and plays a few AFL games in his preferred spot that's a win.

Plenty of inside mids take a bit of time to build their bodies; Cripps and Oliver doing it in their 2nd year is a bit unusual. Players with a strong outside game like Daicos or Sheezel can play off a flank instead of waiting for the body to develop to play on the inside.

He's 3 year younger than Durham for comparison, Durham only really stepped it up last year at 22, Tsatas will be 20.
 
Be best 22 by year 1 is outrageous, not every player is Sam Walsh or nick daicos walking through the door. Some of the best needed years in the system to develop
2018
Walsh✅
Lukosius✅
Rankine✅
King✅
Rozee✅

2019
Rowell✅
Anderson✅
Jackson✅
Ash ✅
Dylan Stephens ❌️ wasnt best 22 and looks a failure at a 2nd club already

2020 - Covid

2021
JHF ✅
Naicos ✅
F.Callaghan - Injury
Other 2 x 205cm

2022
Ashcroft ✅
Wardlaw✅
Sheezel✅
Tsatas ❌
200cm

2023
H.Reid✅
Mckercher✅
Duursma ❌
200cm
Watson ✅


3/20 havnt (Tsatas, Dyl Stephens being 2)

Facts dont lie
 
As resident moderator here -

This is pretty compelling -
2018
Walsh✅
Lukosius✅
Rankine✅
King✅
Rozee✅

2019
Rowell✅
Anderson✅
Jackson✅
Ash ✅
Dylan Stephens ❌️ wasnt best 22 and looks a failure at a 2nd club already

2020 - Covid

2021
JHF ✅
Naicos ✅
F.Callaghan - Injury
Other 2 x 205cm

2022
Ashcroft ✅
Wardlaw✅
Sheezel✅
Tsatas ❌
200cm

2023
H.Reid✅
Mckercher✅
Duursma ❌
200cm
Watson ✅


3/20 havnt (Tsatas, Dyl Stephens being 2)

Facts dont lie

Based upon the literal (best 22 in year 1)… injury means that was never possible…

Pretty tough to be best 22 when you're injured before the season starts.

But hey.

But less literal… he wasn’t beat 22 in year 2 either (no injury).

If he’s not best by season end I think it’s pretty fair to call it disappointing drafting / development.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

AFL Player 5: Elijah Tsatas

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top