Delisted # 8: Martin Gleeson - Not offered a contract, finishes his Essendon career on 97 AFL games

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Not offered another contract in 2022
Last Game Played: Elimination Final, 2021
Injury Status: n/a

 

[Phone]

Took some crucial intercept marks tonight, smart player.

He only took one mark tonight...? And although it was a handy little intercept mark, I'm pretty sure it was gonna get to the Lions player on the half volley anyway, so hardly crucial. (maybe there was a second mark that drew a free kick and hence didn't get the mark recorded, nevertheless that's still less marks than any other essendon player tonight)

Anyway I thought he was better tonight, less noticeable which was a positive for me.

just quietly, I've flipped through this thread and the Langford thread tonight and I'm just wondering, is defensively crying "whipping boy" in a bid to deride any criticism made of a player gonna be our new thing or something? It is effective, I suppose.

 

[bombreys]

Took some crucial intercept marks tonight, smart player.

He took one grab, so that's quite simply not true. He was poor again tonight.

 

[eDPS]

Hasn't come on like I'd hoped, I mean he is still very young but he will want to get his butt into gear or guys like Dea and McKenna will quickly take his spot

 

[Towno78]

He only took one mark tonight...? And although it was a handy little intercept mark, I'm pretty sure it was gonna get to the Lions player on the half volley anyway, so hardly crucial. (maybe there was a second mark that drew a free kick and hence didn't get the mark recorded, nevertheless that's still less marks than any other essendon player tonight)

Anyway I thought he was better tonight, less noticeable which was a positive for me.

just quietly, I've flipped through this thread and the Langford thread tonight and I'm just wondering, is defensively crying "whipping boy" in a bid to deride any criticism made of a player gonna be our new thing or something? It is effective, I suppose.

Haha, tell me about it. Gleeson and Langford are not whipping boys, not even close. Neither have had a huge start to the year. People pulling out the "whipping boy" lines seems to be an attempt to avoid any reasonable and logical discussion about their games.

Gleeson did a couple of very important things, also had some oh no moment, though not as many as last week. Needs to clean them out of his game.

 

[Killer_Mike]

Does some nice things when given space and has good ability to read the play which is why he can occasionally bob up to take an intercepting mark.

My question is what sort of player is he?

I look at somebody like Kelly who loves the physical stuff and can also hold his own when setting up attacking plays! Gleeson for me doesn't have the body nor the inclination to ever be this sort of player.

Then you look at somebody like Goddard. One of the best attacking half backs of the last ten years and somebody that can contribute in all areas of the ground. Martin for me doesn't have the presence of BJ nor does he have the skills or an ability to rack up possessions!

I know what you are thinking, its easy to look bad when comparing him against two of the best small/medium defenders in the AFL but then you have to realise he will be replacing these guys very soon and will be considered one of the main men down back.

By the completion of this season he will have turned 23 and if played most weeks will have over 70 games experience and yet I still don't know what type of player he is. For me I would like to see exactly what type of player we have on our hands by then.

Woosha and the assistant coaches clearly see something in him or otherwise he wouldn't be playing but I also hope they have a plan B. Its a critical area of the ground and it appears to me they are putting all the eggs in one basket.

 

[Blind Turn]

Does some nice things when given space and has good ability to read the play which is why he can occasionally bob up to take an intercepting mark.

My question is what sort of player is he?

I look at somebody like Kelly who loves the physical stuff and can also hold his own when setting up attacking plays! Gleeson for me doesn't have the body nor the inclination to ever be this sort of player.

Then you look at somebody like Goddard. One of the best attacking half backs of the last ten years and somebody that can contribute in all areas of the ground. Martin for me doesn't have the presence of BJ nor does he have the skills or an ability to rack up possessions!

I know what you are thinking, its easy to look bad when comparing him against two of the best small/medium defenders in the AFL but then you have to realise he will be replacing these guys very soon and will be considered one of the main men down back.

By the completion of this season he will have turned 23 and if played most weeks will have over 70 games experience and yet I still don't know what type of player he is. For me I would like to see exactly what type of player we have on our hands by then.

Woosha and the assistant coaches clearly see something in him or otherwise he wouldn't be playing but I also hope they have a plan B. Its a critical area of the ground and it appears to me they are putting all the eggs in one basket.

If keeping in line with your comparisons with out-and-out champions, the player he could become is Corey Enright. He needs heaps more composure with ball in hand though and probably needs to be better at peeling off his man to make defense become attack. But I think Enright should be his aim.

 

[Old Campaigner]

have you considered that maybe he's a modern prototype?

You're right though, he has a funny mix of attributes. I think he's still got a few kgs to put on and it will become a bit clearer. A few were saying a couple of years ago he'd eventually find his way into the midfield

 

[Killer79]

Does some nice things when given space and has good ability to read the play which is why he can occasionally bob up to take an intercepting mark.

My question is what sort of player is he?

I look at somebody like Kelly who loves the physical stuff and can also hold his own when setting up attacking plays! Gleeson for me doesn't have the body nor the inclination to ever be this sort of player.

Then you look at somebody like Goddard. One of the best attacking half backs of the last ten years and somebody that can contribute in all areas of the ground. Martin for me doesn't have the presence of BJ nor does he have the skills or an ability to rack up possessions!

I know what you are thinking, its easy to look bad when comparing him against two of the best small/medium defenders in the AFL but then you have to realise he will be replacing these guys very soon and will be considered one of the main men down back.

By the completion of this season he will have turned 23 and if played most weeks will have over 70 games experience and yet I still don't know what type of player he is. For me I would like to see exactly what type of player we have on our hands by then.

Woosha and the assistant coaches clearly see something in him or otherwise he wouldn't be playing but I also hope they have a plan B. Its a critical area of the ground and it appears to me they are putting all the eggs in one basket.

As Bomber Thompson said, he is the Corey Enright type defender. Can play taller than he is and cut off opposition attacks. He does need to improve his kicking but his positioning and decision making is very sound. Once he starts hitting his targets you will see his value when several times a game he takes an intercept mark then quickly hits a target in space and creates a goal, like Enright he will be a 12 point play type of guy.

Like I said in another thread lets get another 20 games into Gleeson, Langford, Parish, McGrath, Laverde, Francis. These guys will make a huge difference to us with another 20 games under their belt. If we can keep winning while they are developing then that is even sweeter!

 

[Old Campaigner]

Once he starts hitting his targets you will see his value

He's already a pretty reliable kick. He was quiet last night but against Hawthorn he set up several goals with long, accurate passes through the middle of the ground

 

[Killer79]

He's already a pretty reliable kick. He was quiet last night but against Hawthorn he set up several goals with long, accurate passes through the middle of the ground

Agree, he still duffs the odd kick though and I think that's what the doubters see.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Someone post the Gleeson contemplating pic.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Agree, he still duffs the odd kick though and I think that's what the doubters see.

That, and the fact that when you are kicking out of defense down the middle of the ground any *up is going to be magnified because it's likely to result in 6 points for the opposition

 

[Killer79]

That, and the fact that when you are kicking out of defense down the middle of the ground any ****up is going to be magnified because it's likely to result in 6 points for the opposition

Yep, he just has to keep taking that kick. once he starts hitting 19 out of 20 of them he will be extremely valuable.

 

[katana]

less noticeable which was a positive for me.

pretty entry-level analysis there brah.

 

[Phone]

I thought I should s**t out something vaguely complimentary towards the player in a bid to fight off the whipping boy people. it worked, tbf

 

[DERO]

Someone post the Gleeson contemplating pic.

"Gleeson in doubt"

 

[Bomberbuzz1]

He plays a very crucial role. He enables Kelly and Goddard to take the game on and then cops a whack for being in a position where he stays on his direct opponent or has to man up on somebody else's direct man. He's selfless and once a few of these older players retire he'll move up the pecking order. He's skills will need to improve but he'll also have a bit more time and space to become more damaging.

 

[Vander18]

I look at the way every part of Daniher's athleticism has improved in the last few years and hold hope that it will be the same for Gleeson (they are a similar shape even though Daniher is a lot taller).

There is sometimes a misconception that just because you've put weight on that you'll slow down but for a lot of guys it's about developing the muscle mass to catch up to their frame (which is why ruck-sized players usually take so long to develop). Daniher is not just filling out and getting stronger, he's much quicker than he was initially, kicking the ball longer and is developing the fitness to work both ways at a level that is rivaled by only a few key forwards in the game (and he's probably still got 5 kgs to go before he gets to the ideal size).

Accept that they both started together but Daniher has not noticeably grown whereas Gleeson has had a fairly dramatic growth spurt and grown two to three inches (as a 20-21 year old). It's a slow build but he's still got that few yards of good acceleration and agility he has always had and he's a lot heavier and stronger than he has been. I'm confident that he will get there it's just going to take a really long time because he started as a rake and then grew a lot.

I get it but Daniher always had a frame that would fill out - big, wide shoulders, clear muscle definition and you could see he'd grow into into his body over time (which is still a work in progress). I remember posting early days that his physique reminded me of young Buddy Franklin and I still think he'll end up following a similar path of physical development. My guess is the 28-35 year old JD will be a very big boy playing predominantly out of the square.

Gleeson doesn't have a frame to naturally fill out, not even wiry strong like a Bob Murphy. And he's only just quickish...if he had some power he'd be plenty fast but with his body he needs to be close to lightening. I can see teams eventually starting to look at engineering match ups and isolating him one out....surprised we haven't already seen it.

I don't have a definitive view on Gleeson yet, hence in my post I said he deserves more time - I see his attributes and he seems like a ripper bloke so I hope he succeeds.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Felt like Carlton was on top most of tonight and we needed to do something different because what we were doing was not working. Gleeson backed himself and broke the lines a couple of times in the last quarter and looked quite good. Sadly nothing came of his runs but it was good to see.

 

[Darealrath]

Felt like Carlton was on top most of tonight and we needed to do something different because what we were doing was not working. Gleeson backed himself and broke the lines a couple of times in the last quarter and looked quite good. Sadly nothing came of his runs but it was good to see.

Agree. Perhaps a sign that he's gaining confidence in himself. Also did pretty well defensively and I had him in our best.

 

[yaco55]

Today was the best game of the year.

 

[Old Campaigner]

thought he did well. it was the sort of crash and bash game a scrawny fetus might be expected to shy away from but when it was his turn to go he went without hesitation

 

[dnbassador]

Gleeson and Bellchambers BOG today kid is so underrated by our supporters has so much composure down back

 

[bombreys]

Gleeson and Bellchambers BOG today kid is so underrated by our supporters has so much composure down back

It goes both ways with Gleeson (regarding supporter appreciation). Some underrate him, others overrate him.

I think you've just done the latter - Bellchambers and Myers were clear BOG yesterday.

 

[Doss]

Gleeson was very good yesterday, but yes Myers and Belly were considerably better.