Past #6: Shannon Grant - Sydney '95-'97 - traded to NM for W. Schwass - 243 games for NM (301 overall)

Was shagga unlucky to miss out on AAS.

  • Yes

    Votes: 7 77.8%

  • No

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • Total voters
    9

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C

Carey_is_King

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Dec 5, 2000
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Rooboy,
Since you have flagged a difference of opinion on Shannon Grant, let's discuss it. If I may, I will go first.

In my opinion he is a player with a great deal of polish and finishing skill. However, he lets himself down with his shots on goal at times, and that is really unforgivable. ( I happen to think that goal shooting is one of the weakest skill areas of the game in general)

He also has a tendency to go missing in big games ('99 GF notwithstanding), and I think, without checking, you will find that every time we get beaten, he has a low stats count.

Finally, I think he is soft, and it appears that other sides do too, because they frequently target him for a bit of rough-house.

Perhaps I am being too harsh, and I do enjoy some of his good play, but he would not be in my best 12 at North. I am interested in your view.

------------------
Trample the Weak,
Hurdle the Dead.
 
CIK... i agree with your post on several counts...

yes... he is targeted for rough play... now I am not sure if that is due to his softness or importance to our gameplan... as I recall when Wayne was a lad he was targeted to... was that because he was soft??? I DON'T THINK SO...

yes... regularly when we get beat... he has a bad day... or could it be when he has a good day we win... the question you are putting "is he a front runner?" maybe he is but that is the role he is set... by the coach... I don't think he can be blamed for that... and that is why when it all falls into place he has a good game and when it doesn't he has a day... that we can all forget...

no... I think the criticism of his kicking for goal is a trifle unfair... as I remember in the middle of the year Bell could not kick a goal if his life depended on it... but these times go and better times come... by memory only his kicking for goal was sensational in 1998... at a guess something like 46 goals 9 behinds... so we know he can do it... so if you want to get stuck into someone goal kicking... what about Shane Clayton??? gets by himself alot but rarely kicks the goals...

but at the end of the day... once they pull on a North jumper they get my cheer... even Calthorpe... it's in the blood... it's like family... you know... you can pick your friends but family...

As I see it Grant will be our next captain as he matures he will become an even better footballer... Remember he is still a young man...
 
Rooboy,
Good points, but captain ??? For mine, the next captain is Colbert, who, by the way, is headed for a big season I hope. Clayton frustrates me for the reason you have stated. He gets the ball through hard running to make space - and I give him credit for that - but he doesn't hurt the opposition enough when he gets it. A bit like Robert Harvey in that respect.

------------------
Trample the Weak,
Hurdle the Dead.

[This message has been edited by Carey_is_King (edited 19 December 2000).]
 

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Speaking of who may be our next captain, a third candidate may be Brent Harvey. Assuming that the King plays the next two seasons, it leaves these three players with plenty of time to prove themselves. If you look at our previous three captains.....Matthew Larkin, John Law, and Wayne Schimmelbush...they were all hard as nails, and that's what we should be looking for.

Shannon Grant had an awful 2000. In a year where North needed every player to stand up, he didn't, and on that alone, he shouldn't be in the calculations. But he is still young (only 22?) and has time to redeem himself. One thing about Grant's 2000 season though, it didn't help his confidence when Pagan used him as a tagger. As Rooboy pointed out, he had a very good 1998 in front of goal, so keep him forward or in the midfield.

Leigh Colbert did much better than what I expected. What impressed me was how hard he went in for the ball, especially against the Swans late in the season. Normally players who are recovering from knee reconstructions are reluctant to go in hard into the packs, but Colbert did plenty of that. A good 2001 and he'll jump up in the queue, but for the time being, he hasn't done anything in North colours to merit the captaincy.

Brent Harvey is also young and also played plenty of good games in 2001. He's proved himself in our hardest season since 1997, so if he keeps on producing the goods in 2001, then I'd have him as heir apparent to the King.
 
With all due respect to Leigh Colbert, whom I have no doubt will produce the goods over the coming years, I struggle to see why Geelong named him captain in the first place. He was a surprise selection at the time, and I'm not really convinced whether he has the necessary leadership qualities. Only time will prove me wrong or right.. So who is going to be our next captain ?? I'm not sure, maybe if Wayne could stick around for a couple of more years, you never know one of the young blokes we drafted this year might prove to be the goods. After all, two of them were the Captain of the Vic Country and Vic Metro teams, so you would hope that they would have some leadership qualities..
 
CIK,

I would have to agree with you almost entirely.

Grant is not a proven performer against quality opposition, Grand Final excluded.

The "Head Job" (Great polish) is exquisite to watch when he is on song, but his many soft efforts and ability to be where the ball aint, for a man who is rated among the fittest in the club, suggests one of three things.

He is not savvy enough to get to the footy, he is too lazy to get to the footy or he is being played out of position.

Which raises the question where should he play.

I remember one quarter at Colonial v Brisbane when he was hard at it and delivered with pinpoint accuracy while paying in on a number of occasions while playing in the pivot.

If he could do it on that particular occasion, could he do it regularly.

Interested to hear your thoughts as to how he can improve, or should we concede he is another John McCarthy, Corey McKernan who promise the world and don't deliver????

[This message has been edited by kymhodgemansmo (edited 20 December 2000).]
 
On the subject of future captains, I have heard that the club is expecting big things from young Dylan Smith, and that he has been ear marked as a future leader of the club. Apparently comes with big wraps, for both his ability and leadership qualities. Having said that, many young players have been tagged "champion in the making" only to have them become just another run of the mill player, or succumb to injuries. Here's hoping this prediction comes to fruition.
 
Maybe Grant is a player that we can hope to do a deal on in a season or 2 ala Peter Bell. He does have the ability to have a very good season but hasn't been able to put 2 such seasons together - time for him to be really put under the pump.
 
Shannon Grant is probably the most skillful mid sized player we have got. Not very quick, but works hard to get to a contest or foward of the ball. Excellent kick and reader of the play.

Tends to be put out of a game by opposition players who apply pressure. I would like to see him running of the half back line.
 
Many know that he is one of my favorite players... he appears slow... but has the skills to overcome this deficiency...

When Shannon play well so do we as a team... I personally think that Shannon is the second most important player in our team... and that is probably why we as a team mirror Shannon as a player... just look at the results from last year... and the past two Grand Finals we have played in...

The one part of the game that I could see him improve would be on Saturday to break Barry Hall's (payback for Sam) cheek-bone and show the football world his is sick of having sand kicked in his face.

I want to see more of Shannon on a HFF and in the guts... not down the back...
 
Greg Williams, Peter Bell, and Joe Misiti...none of these players are particularly fast, but they get the job done. Shannon Grant can be the same. As Rooboy has said many times, he's lethal on the half forward flank, but I like the idea of getting more options in his game. I like to make jokes about Grant's inability to get the hard ball, BUT, if he were to position himself correctly around the packs and let the likes of Stevens and Simpson get the ball out to him, his delivery forward could give us the pinpoint accuracy needed to maximise Carey and Rocca's chances of getting the ball on the lead. Thus, getting the hard ball will be irrelevant in his role in the team.
 

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He would be close the most accurate kick at goal from around 40 in the league. I was a bit dissapointed with his form last year as he had been very consistent until then. From what I remember he spent more time on the ball last year whereas in 99 he was much more in attack and his form mirrored this. With some new midfielders coming through hopefully he can spend more time on a half forward flank where he can kick 3 or 4 goals.
 
s**t I haven't chimed in on my own topic yet...

Grant seems to be a very hot and cold player, 4 goals one week, 4 kicks the next. Probably the most accurate kick for goal from medium range, good reader of play, good peripheral vision. With these qualities, I see him best used at half-forward, and occasionally thrown into the middle when team balance dictates it.
Despite a question over his pace, he is cool under pressure and manages to dispose of the ball fairly quickly and accurately.
General inconsistency aside, his otehr big flaw is a tendency to give away silly free kicks for minor things.
 
Cannot play in the backline. Got no idea why Dennis plays him there!!!!!! Good HFF.
eek.gif
 
Grant had a superb 1999 and should be poised to have a good year this year so long as he's aware that there's an axe over his head. Has the potential to be the best half forward flanker in the comp but he's got to want to be the best (and should want to silence the knockers again). He and Abraham have to stand up this year - if they do they should contribute 20-30 more goals (combined) than they did last year)
 
Considering the bagging that Shannon sometimes gets, I would like to mention that I think he has had a really good start to the season. He is averaging 20+ possesions and he is one that can hold his head high despite 1-3 record.

P.S. good to see Cochrane and Makepeace finding a niche in the side. I think both of them are here to stay.
Corey Jones did some nice things too.
 
Agree about Grant,and Makepeace. Jones looks good, but I will wait to see him on a dry day. I think Smith was stiff to be omitted, by the way.

------------------
Trample the Weak,
Hurdle the Dead.
 
Grant looks hungry this year....he's really been throwing the body in, not afraid to get into the packs. Great to see that.

Liked Makepeace's game.....Burns was bound to find space sooner or later, but overall, he kept Burns quiet.

Ditto for Cochrane. I had Simpson tagged as the next Blakey, but maybe this could be Cochrane's role in the team.
 
I am a part-time Grant critic...He gets plently of the ball no dispute, but his disposal often lets him down...

Maybe I have been sucked in by the commentators and believe he is one of the best kicks around...

He is going in harder...
 
Yeah good game by Shagger, rpovided a mobile marking option late in the game, and too several chesties. Struggled for distance and accuracy with the heavy ball, but with the way he attacked the ball today, and the way he kept his eyes on it in marking contests, he is showing some very good signs.
Let's just hope he doesn't have to fill in for missing midfielders too often, so we can use him at half-forward where he belongs.
 
I remember when we first got Cochrane as a 17 year old and they said they were thinking of him as a Micky Martin replacement down the track. I was somewhat dubious about that, but I'm glad they found another role for him which obviously suits him better.
 
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