AFL Player # 6: Jye Caldwell

[Lore]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2024
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 2, eth-dog

 

[Don Won]

It’s good to have him fit and ready as a midfield option. But, if we get through this week the intensity only goes up from here. I’d be nervous of the hamies holding up, and expect it might be in the back of his mind too.

 

[andleanback]

I think the process with Caldwell is pretty simple. When players are fit enough to play you give them game time. The high performance team has a job to get as many on the park and available for selection as possible. Caldwell has progressed successfully through rehab so he is playing scratchie minutes.

There doesn’t need to be any intent or commitment to play him in a final for him to be getting these games. They have ticked him off, he’s playing, full stop.

FWIW I would be picking him ahead of a few if we make it past this week. Clarke, Smith and Guelfi for example. He’s a rolls royce.

Yeah but is a rolls Royce (who hasn’t proved much at afl level) going to be able to play that pressure role in the forward line. Look at gws they’ve finally learnt that you don’t just pick talented players and put them in roles they aren’t suited to, you need the grunt role players. Coniglio can’t even get back in the side this week.

 

[ghostdog]

Presumably this week's scratchie is before our game, given we've got Sunday afternoon. Hopefully he doesn't overdo it, seeing the possibility of playing finals next week, and injure himself again.

 

[Keystone agony]

How is Baldw not a big part of 2022... have you seen what jones has done this year. If Baldwin gets through the preseason with no set backs he’ll come into selection frame very quickly. Such a talented player that already has mature body.

Been impressed with Jones if his recent injury doesn't affect him, he will be a player

When was the last time Baldwin played? Baldwin won't play in the first half of the year unless the entire talls fall over

 

[Lore]

Been impressed with Jones if his recent injury doesn't affect him, he will be a player

When was the last time Baldwin played? Baldwin won't play in the first half of the year unless the entire talls fall over

He played a half in the scratch match last week... before that, about 2.5 years

 

[fairbump_playon]

Yeah but is a rolls Royce (who hasn’t proved much at afl level) going to be able to play that pressure role in the forward line. Look at gws they’ve finally learnt that you don’t just pick talented players and put them in roles they aren’t suited to, you need the grunt role players. Coniglio can’t even get back in the side this week.

Your question (team balance) is more relevant than the question of his fitness I reckon

 

[Call Me Cake]

My view is if you are a player who was playing good enough in the game before + the game of injury - then you should be judged as that player who was going into the next week by the time that you have recovered. It is not fair to deny someone the opportunity to continue what they would have continued had it not been for the injury. Otherwise you start feeding into the players' minds that your effort doesn't matter because you're only as good as your next injury. I think that is worse for the culture, cohesion and trust of the group going forward in the long-term. Never compromise your standards, regardless of the occasion, and you will have a solid unit doing the same day-in, day-out.

Had 22 disposals (5th highest V Hawks), 3 clearances in R1. Solid match overall.

Had 10 disposals before injury in R2 V Port, in a match that was a dismal effort by the entire team. To put in perspective - Jye had 3 clearances in that smashing. Despite an injury during game-time, he was able to equal his clearances (3rd highest V Port) from the full game before in R1, and only had 1 clearance less than what Parish (2nd highest V Port) had at full-time. He also had 3 tackles, only 2 less than the highest on our list by McGrath (V Port).

And perhaps the biggest telling factor that blows this perspective into the atmosphere - he was 7th highest on our list for meters gained, ahead of 16 other players on the list, despite going down with injury before the rest had all finished the match.

So when you look at it closely, the talk of him not being on an upward trajectory, win or loss, before the injury, is not of sound value, and to put it simply, he has deserved a better examination than that of the casual ones we've seen since.

Injuries are not fair on anyone, and should not keep players out or have them seen differently, especially if they've played simulated matches to condition themselves for a tilt at what would have been their rightful place to begin with. It is paramount that players are to be trusted to give their all without them believing that an injury could tarnish their overall reputation as a selection candidate.

Nevertheless - if it is not Round 23, or a final - then it must be Round 1.

 

[IHurley]

Yeah but is a rolls Royce (who hasn’t proved much at afl level) going to be able to play that pressure role in the forward line. Look at gws they’ve finally learnt that you don’t just pick talented players and put them in roles they aren’t suited to, you need the grunt role players. Coniglio can’t even get back in the side this week.

you're right that role players are important, but Jye is probably the best two way runner in the team other than a fully fit McGrath. I'd be pretty surprised if he went out seeking all the glory.

As an aside I have a lot of sympathy for Smith. Yes I know he does stupid things and even occasionally selfish things and it may be true that his body is starting to fail him but overall, I doubt anybody in the team sacrifices their natural game more than Smith does.

 

[FlyingV]

Until he strings together a full season I just refuse to get excited about him. Looks amazing out there but just don’t want him to be constantly breaking down Prestia style

 

[Hak94]

Until he strings together a full season I just refuse to get excited about him. Looks amazing out there but just don’t want him to be constantly breaking down Prestia style

Ditto this! Why the heck Richmond keep bringing Prestia back when he's clearly underdone I'll never understand. Same logic here, only play Caldwell when's 100% fit and firing again. Even if that means he needs to spend literally 5-8 weeks in the seconds to get that match fitness back, game touch, and conditioning back into his body + hamstrings. I'd much prefer that then bringing him in when there is a worry that he may break down again after 1-2 matches. Even when he is back, if he does perform well like he did when he managed those early games in 2021, IMO just give him a spell for a week during the early parts of 2022. Slowly build him back up to AFL level that way he's good to go. IMO too he should look at how Stringer has gone with his body. Perfect example of that explosive athlete who we think Caldwell is similar too. It's still something not enough people talk about - conditioning at AFL level. All the hype and talk is around injuries and when a player can get straight back in but god, if we put more of an emphasis on conditioning a player for games rather then rushing them right back in then you'll be a much more successful team.

 

[crackers65]

Until he strings together a full season I just refuse to get excited about him. Looks amazing out there but just don’t want him to be constantly breaking down Prestia style

Exactly Flying V, he plays round 1 and looks good. Next game is injured with a hamstring that has kept him out all year. I will reserve judgement on him until I see
a consistent body of work. He’s 21 next month and already has a history of hammy’s.
Hope he can get over it and become the player we need.

 

[WindyHillWarrior]

We need to be cautious and make sure he's good to go for the prelim in Perth

 

[Lore]

From the video in the performance update, back in the full program now and up for selection.

Yeah so second game back for Calders. Really impressive output

Played a full game, it was a bit of a different one because they were low on numbers so he played 80 minutes which was the full game.

Got what we wanted out of the game, stepped up his intensity in the game so he's back into the normal full program and up for selection.

Injury news: Langford uncertain for final

The latest on Kyle Langford, Harry Jones, Jye Caldwell and more.

www.essendonfc.com.au

"VFL" update, apparently he was swapping with Walla up forward a bit. Did all the good things.

After returning from a long-term hamstring injury in a scratch match against Sydney last week, tough on-baller Caldwell stepped up his game-time against his old side.

"He (Caldwell) went well again. He pretty much played the whole game and was interchanging a bit with 'Walla' (McDonald-Tipungwuti) through midfield and half-forward," Tudor said.

"He was really good below his knees, won his own ball, was hard in the contest and used the ball really well. Like Walla, he laid a couple of big tackles and defended pretty well."

Selection squeeze looms as trio impress

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Jye Caldwell and Cale Hooker performed strongly in a scratch match against the Giants on Sunday.

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[YEMOC NAYR]

I think he's going to be a great player for us if we get him right, but not sure rushing him back is the best thing for us. He's got lightning quick hands but the engine room is working well at the moment and players like Langford/should be selected ahead of him.

Merrett/Parish/McGrath/Shiel w/ langford and Stringer rotating through the middle is fine.

Get Caldwell cherry ripe over the preseason for a big 2022 in the middle.

 

[Lore]

I think he's going to be a great player for us if we get him right, but not sure rushing him back is the best thing for us. He's got lightning quick hands but the engine room is working well at the moment and players like Langford/should be selected ahead of him.

Merrett/Parish/McGrath/Shiel w/ langford and Stringer rotating through the middle is fine.

Get Caldwell cherry ripe over the preseason for a big 2022 in the middle.

I don't think he's been rushed, so as far as injury is concerned I'm not bothered about him coming back in. He should be fine.

But by some bloody miracle we only have four players unavailable this week, and none of them are mids. If we didn't have literally everyone else fit, he'd be in. But because he's having to compete for a spot, and because he's unfortunately only played like 3? games with this midfield group *ever*, the lack of chemistry with the others isn't there yet and that counts against him.

It's a tricky one. You don't flirt with form, right? I really want to see what he can do, but maybe after another pre-season to build up that chemistry first.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Would he be able to play that defensive/small forward role if he's not playing midfield? Kinda like what Libba does for the Dogs.

 

[bennyg12]

Bring him in

 

[fairbump_playon]

Bring him in

Yes. Get him in!

 

[DeezNuts]

Absolutely no reason he should play this weekend

Hasn’t yet had the chance to prove he’s even best 22, so it would be crazy to trial that in a final

 

[Lore]

Absolutely no reason he should play this weekend

Hasn’t yet had the chance to prove he’s even best 22, so it would be crazy to trial that in a final

He was best 22 after training the house down in preseason…

 

[Summer Nights]

Absolutely no reason he should play this weekend

Hasn’t yet had the chance to prove he’s even best 22, so it would be crazy to trial that in a final

I think the calls to bring him in are ridiculous. We have a midfield that’s working well and we want to bring him into a final after a long layoff and risk upsetting our own performance? No thanks.

 

[eDPS]

Absolutely no reason he should play this weekend

Hasn’t yet had the chance to prove he’s even best 22, so it would be crazy to trial that in a final

He did that in round 1, is best 22 when fit without debate

 

[ghostdog]

He's best 22 and a clearance player. WB will put time into Parish, guaranteed. Caldwell steps up and feeds Zach instead. No brainer for me.

 

[DeezNuts]

He did that in round 1, is best 22 when fit without debate

That was also 6 months ago in a side that was not playing anywhere near as well as it is now

This is a kid that has had 20 touches in an AFL game once, I just don’t see why we’d be desperate to rush him back for a final

 

[The Devils Advocate]

Comes in for Clarke probably.