Player Watch #5 Jack Ross

[Dreamend]

Jack is only 21. Has shown ability to play inside and outside and get decent possession stats.

He may not be terribly exciting at this stage but he has lots of moments where he catches my eye. Clever moments of underground handballs, nice side steps, good strength and his positioning to be an outlet has improved.

Just wish his mullet and moustache combo would come back

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Which is why RCD, MRJ, Gibcus, Sonsie, Brown, Clarke, Banks, Biggy, Ryan etc are so important. If they become B/A grade players then a player like Ross will be valuable as he just needs to be solid… player number 24.

If we put him into his potential role in the team, Gibcus, Ryan, Biggie etc are irrelevant. I get your point though as being depth. If he doesn't improve throughout the year though, those other names you mentioned will need to be fast tracked (and we'll cross out fingers on RCD getting to B grade!!)

 

[Marcel Proust]

BOG by the sounds of things for the reserves

 

[TigerImposter]

Jack is only 21. Has shown ability to play inside and outside and get decent possession stats.

He may not be terribly exciting at this stage but he has lots of moments where he catches my eye. Clever moments of underground handballs, nice side steps, good strength and his positioning to be an outlet has improved.

Just wish his mullet and moustache combo would come back

YES! WELL SAID. I thought he was just a run of the mill ball butcher and plodder, but watching him closely recently I can actually see him developing into very good midfielder.

 

[juss]

So they took a guy who impressed early as a natural inside mid and tried to make him a running winger, lo and behold he goes back to the VFL, gets a run as an inside mid and has 31 disposals, 9 clearances and 7 tackles.

Maybe we can actually try him in his natural position that's been most suited since he was drafted and see how he goes?

 

[Blinger]

So they took a guy who impressed early as a natural inside mid and tried to make him a running winger, lo and behold he goes back to the VFL, gets a run as an inside mid and has 31 disposals, 9 clearances and 7 tackles.

Maybe we can actually try him in his natural position that's been most suited since he was drafted and see how he goes?

Totally agree with this, when Ross played in his first season I couldn't believe how big & well he played in the midfield. Then someone within the coaching ranks decided to make him into a flanker/winger & it didn't work. Play Jack where he is best suited & give him a burst of 4-5 games in & under & if he doesn't cut it, then so be it. Until they give him an opportunity to show his strength, we will never know if indeed he is good enough.
Caddy for me is the player we ruined from his strengths of being a very good 3rd forward (great kick at goal & very good mark overhead for his size) to being just a very average player, played out of position. Some players are lucky enough to be versatile to play different positions & others just have the one position.

 

[energyquant]

Caddy for me is the player we ruined from his strengths of being a very good 3rd forward (great kick at goal & very good mark overhead for his size) to being just a very average player, played out of position. Some players are lucky enough to be versatile to play different positions & others just have the one position.

No, we didn't ruin Caddy. He was really our 2nd tall forward in 2017/2018. Vickery left at the end of 2016 and Griffiths played only a couple of games in 2017 as he struggled with concussion problems. His career best season was 2018 when he played that role consistently.

When Lynch came in, there wasn't room for Caddy in the forward line any longer. As you suggest, Caddy simply wasn't fit enough or quick enough to play serious midfield minutes and he was shoved onto a wing. He was ok, but we had better options and he got pushed out of the side.

That's just the way it goes.

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Totally agree with this, when Ross played in his first season I couldn't believe how big & well he played in the midfield. Then someone within the coaching ranks decided to make him into a flanker/winger & it didn't work. Play Jack where he is best suited & give him a burst of 4-5 games in & under & if he doesn't cut it, then so be it. Until they give him an opportunity to show his strength, we will never know if indeed he is good enough.
Caddy for me is the player we ruined from his strengths of being a very good 3rd forward (great kick at goal & very good mark overhead for his size) to being just a very average player, played out of position. Some players are lucky enough to be versatile to play different positions & others just have the one position.

I'm sure Ross is going to get his chances again later this season as our senior mids miss games. If he continues to play 100% onball in the VFL, then we can assume they've moved him back there.
He needs to repeat what he did last week, week in week out and he'll get more senior games.
Whether he is long-term going to be a senior player, jury is out. With the new recruits needing a more senior body around them, he could get an new contract as depth and development of the young fellas.

 

[Marcel Proust]

Good to see Ross get Abit of it when the game was alive

 

[tiger_tough]

He was clean and showed good skills. More of that please Jack. It's pretty clear that he's more suited in the guts than on a wing.

 

[energyquant]

I thought he looked good on Saturday night. A bit more assured with the football than in other recent games.

When we rest Cotchin, Ross is the natural replacement for that role. I had hoped it would be RCD, but he just isn't getting a fair shake at it (Ruck in the VFL, FFS).

 

[Coach_Required]

Stood up in tackles, looked to out muscle a few blokes on the weekend, looked composed.

He isnt going anywhere and he is still only young.

 

[wegetpumped]

Best game for ages got a few nice clearances and didn't look like fumbling at all.

 

[Cotchy9]

He’s starting to show some nice signs. Keep getting games into him I say

 

[TigerImposter]

He' showed something in the game before he was dropped and I was hoping he would get another opportunity. He's now looking more confident in his approach and efforts in playing his midfield role. He's now stronger around the arms and torso and starting to break tackles. A bit more power in his legs and he will become a good solid footballer. He's basically leaped passed RCD who will probably now be delisted.

 

[Infamy]

People just have ridiculous expectations after his strong first couple of games
At the end of the day, he's still only 21

 

[Rioli2Rioli]

He' showed something in the game before he was dropped and I was hoping he would get another opportunity. He's now looking more confident in his approach and efforts in playing his midfield role. He's now stronger around the arms and torso and starting to break tackles. A bit more power in his legs and he will become a good solid footballer. He's basically leaped passed RCD who will probably now be delisted.

Back in my day they used to say kids get played 2 years in the reserves and then you get them to 50 games thats when you know if they can play at a high level (unless they are gun kids)

Jack ross is that type of player , He will never be Dusty or Cotchin but no reason he cant become a solid AFL player that gets 20-25 touches a game and 4-5 tackles. Dan Jackson & Shane Tuck were never considered great players until they were 25 and people started to appreciate their value

 

[wegetpumped]

People just have ridiculous expectations after his strong first couple of games
At the end of the day, he's still only 21

That's the thing though because of his impressive introduction he set a benchmark and that's what people are judging him on. He is just one of many that an injury is holding him back. Look at Rioli's brilliant first season does his foot has never been the same and only just the last few weeks are the showing signs of his speed being back to normal.

 

[Muddiemoose]

That's the thing though because of his impressive introduction he set a benchmark and that's what people are judging him on. He is just one of many that an injury is holding him back. Look at Rioli's brilliant first season does his foot has never been the same and only just the last few weeks are the showing signs of his speed being back to normal.

That’s a good point mate, especially that type of injury he had (syndesmosis if my memory serves me right) definitely seems like I can take a long time to get right

My main criticism of Ross is his decision making sometimes it seems he just rushes and takes the first option that quite often leads to turnover but that could most definitely be an experience issue as well

 

[Grrr]

That’s a good point mate, especially that type of injury he had (syndesmosis if my memory serves me right) definitely seems like I can take a long time to get right

My main criticism of Ross is his decision making sometimes it seems he just rushes and takes the first option that quite often leads to turnover but that could most definitely be an experience issue as well

I have the opposite impression of his decision making. I think he usually puts players into space when he is playing well, like last week. The yoyo of up and down selection has messed with his confidence a bit so your impression maybe right, but I thought his last match he put his head over the contested ball, stood up in tackles and dished it off pretty well. It's a mute point anyway, will probably get dropped again to make way for somebody.

 

[Muddiemoose]

I have the opposite impression of his decision making. I think he usually puts players into space when he is playing well, like last week. The yoyo of up and down selection has messed with his confidence a bit so your impression maybe right, but I thought his last match he put his head over the contested ball, stood up in tackles and dished it off pretty well. It's a mute point anyway, will probably get dropped again to make way for somebody.

Think he will keep his spot, especially with Lambert and Lynch out

 

[Grrr]

Think he will keep his spot, especially with Lambert and Lynch out

Pickett and Graham in. Reckon they will include another tall forward weather dependant. So maybe Cumberland who likes to go for his marks, or even maybe Miller. Find out Thursday.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

He was really good, particularly in the first half, against Essendon.

 

[Morro]

YES! WELL SAID. I thought he was just a run of the mill ball butcher and plodder, but watching him closely recently I can actually see him developing into very good midfielder.

I said this at the start of the year, all the hate towards him made me take much more interest in his game, and he is far from as bad as many spurt on here.

 

[guruisatiger]

Devon Robertson should be seriously looked at