Player Watch #9: Luke Davies-Uniacke [Part II] - '24 SBM - re-signed until the end of 2032 [7 year deal]

[FootySmartSimpson]

I'd love to see ANY type of urgency from this bloke

I think I can remember 2-3 passages in the middle where if he hadn’t won it he said to himself “someone else can get it”, as he jogged along and looked like he didn’t give two f*cks. It has been the case for 95% of his career.

I’m going to start calling him Cameo for his odd bit of brilliance.

 

[Nylex]

wanganeen-Melieara had a great first 5 minutes of the game when LDU was directly opposed to him.
Was almost the difference in the game

 

[Flawed Genius]

He has absolutely everything in spades except for killer instinct. He might end up being the most frustrating footballer that we've ever had. If he had Serong's or Petracca's mindset, if he was more violent, he'd be un-****ing-believable. Instead, he's just a bit vanilla, besides the four or five minutes a game where he tries. It is what it is.

 

[franjon]

He has absolutely everything in spades except for killer instinct. He might end up being the most frustrating footballer that we've ever had. If he had Serong's or Petracca's mindset, if he was more violent, he'd be un-****ing-believable. Instead, he's just a bit vanilla, besides the four or five minutes a game where he tries. It is what it is.

But he's never going to have it because they're elements that you can't teach. Either have it or you don't and he doesn't. It's a shame because he can play but he just doesn't have the drive or the will to lead. And unfortunately at the moment we're not good enough in other areas to carry guys like him as being considered leader type players. As I've mentioned before he'd be a great addition to a good midfield but not one where he is expected to be a leader or decision maker.

 

[Ichiro #51]

He has absolutely everything in spades except for killer instinct. He might end up being the most frustrating footballer that we've ever had. If he had Serong's or Petracca's mindset, if he was more violent, he'd be un-****ing-believable. Instead, he's just a bit vanilla, besides the four or five minutes a game where he tries. It is what it is.

Make it someone else’s problem.

 

[Shack18]

He has absolutely everything in spades except for killer instinct. He might end up being the most frustrating footballer that we've ever had. If he had Serong's or Petracca's mindset, if he was more violent, he'd be un-****ing-believable. Instead, he's just a bit vanilla, besides the four or five minutes a game where he tries. It is what it is.

He doesn’t though, slow between the ears, questionable decision maker, handball below average, and an average kick. Mentally soft.

 

[archereleven]

Thread gets funnier with every loss...

 

[kanga kanga kanga]

Thread gets funnier with every loss...

can’t believe it, he was our second best midfielder only behind sheezel the statistically proven best teenager ever and this thread erupts.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Thread gets funnier with every loss...

It does.

FG makes a great point though, his lack of killer instinct stands out. Doesn’t have a desire to be absolutely elite. He has all the traits however. And the skills.

Whether that is a result of the six straight years of being a doormat is the million dollar question.

 

[archereleven]

It does.

FG makes a great point though, his lack of killer instinct stands out. Doesn’t have a desire to be absolutely elite. He has all the traits however. And the skills.

Whether that is a result of the six straight years of being a doormat is the million dollar question.

100%

I just laugh at the 'trade him' nuffies.

I would like to see him playing with a bit of confidence though before making a final judgement about killer instinct.

Something tells me, we'd have to trade him to see this though, as we are as bigger basket case under Clarko as any other coach Luke has had here...

When Clarko has seen out his contract and we are on 11 wins for his final 2 seasons, it will be then I might call for a trade, as his prime will be useless to us in our 8 year of the rebuild lol

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

100%

I just laugh at the 'trade him' nuffies.

I would like to see him playing with a bit of confidence though before making a final judgement about killer instinct.

Something tells me, we'd have to trade him to see this though, as we are as bigger basket case under Clarko as any other coach Luke has had here...

When Clarko has seen out his contract and we are on 11 wins for his final 2 seasons, it will be then I might call for a trade, as his prime will be useless to us in our 8 year of the rebuild lol

Rf08 posted that he’s in the bottom 25 for defensive running which is poor when you consider the number of players that would be ranked.

To problem comes when he’s in there with Powell who’s bottom five, Wardlaw who’s woefully ineffectual, Parker who’s too slow and Sheezel who’s as agile as a slab of granite.

His offensive game is excellent (kick today to Darling case in point), ball winning ability excellent and he’d be in any sides midfield.

The mix is disastrous and exacerbates his deficiency.

Here’s hoping Urquhart has a massive preseason and morphs into Josh Dunkley.

 

[Jindrrk]

Liked his game just frustrating he aint a 4 quarter player. My issue is that he goes missing a lot. But tbh that is most of our team lmao

 

[BrownPaperBag]

can’t believe it, he was our second best midfielder only behind sheezel the statistically proven best teenager ever and this thread erupts.

If you think his wage vs output ratio is fine then this club will be rooted to the bottom for a long time

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

If you think his wage vs output ratio is fine then this club will be rooted to the bottom for a long time

His wage doesn’t kick in until next season.

 

[BrownPaperBag]

We are paying for an elite player not a good to very good one

 

[BrownPaperBag]

His wage doesn’t kick in until next season.

So that absolves him of the responsibility that comes with that? It does not

 

[TruRoo]

can’t believe it, he was our second best midfielder only behind sheezel the statistically proven best teenager ever and this thread erupts.

Jesus you post some tripe

 

[tales129]

Can I get a gif of when he and Wardlaw didn’t know who wanted the footy and neither went and then they got swamped

 

[archereleven]

Rf08 posted that he’s in the bottom 25 for defensive running which is poor when you consider the number of players that would be ranked.

To problem comes when he’s in there with Powell who’s bottom five, Wardlaw who’s woefully ineffectual and Parker who’s too slow.

His offensive game is excellent (kick today to Darling case in point), ball winning ability excellent and he’d be in any sides midfield.

The mix is disastrous and exacerbates

I agree, but id like to know where he sat last season compared to this season as he was light years better defensively in '24.

Our midfield is a disaster and LDU cops the brunt of criticism as people expect him to put the team on his back week in, week out. It simply doesn't work like that.

He's realistically the only mid oppo coaches need to sit on and it has affected his game massively. This combined with low confidence and we are where we are...

Midfield out rebuild. Farkin LOL!

 

[franjon]

If you think his wage vs output ratio is fine then this club will be rooted to the bottom for a long time

And posters rating his game on rankings and percentages. **** me.

 

[Onihr]

But he's never going to have it because they're elements that you can't teach. Either have it or you don't and he doesn't. It's a shame because he can play but he just doesn't have the drive or the will to lead. And unfortunately at the moment we're not good enough in other areas to carry guys like him as being considered leader type players. As I've mentioned before he'd be a great addition to a good midfield but not one where he is expected to be a leader or decision maker.

Agree with both you and FG, and you've also called out another subtle weakness when mentioning 'decision maker'. As noted on the prior page, I think he is below average in the footy smarts area. Too often when we have an extra at the contest the he gets sucked in and the ball flicks past him, and the opposition are off. Likewise, not often enough is he standing defensively to stop a player coming out of a contest.

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

Can I get a gif of when he and Wardlaw didn’t know who wanted the footy and neither went and then they got swamped

It wasn’t just LDU, that happened at least three times in the game. Very worrying that even in our shitness, our boys don’t have the basic understanding/connection on who goes and who stays.

 

[Onihr]

I agree, but id like to know where he sat last season compared to this season as he was light years better defensively in '24.

Our midfield is a disaster and LDU cops the brunt of criticism as people expect him to put the team on his back week in, week out. It simply doesn't work like that.

He's realistically the only mid oppo coaches need to sit on and it has affected his game massively. This combined with low confidence and we are where we are...

Midfield out rebuild. Farkin LOL!

(With all due respect) I would disagree - I don't expect him to carry the team every week, and I don't think most posters have that expectation. However, he doesn't often have a 4-quarter game. He will tend to have a good quarter then go missing for a half. Perhaps I'm being too harsh given his Brownlow votes in the back half of last season (you generally don't get votes for a good quarter or two).

I'd even be happy if he had say a really good half + of a game, three weeks in a row, but I can't recall it happening very often, particularly this season.

 

[zoomba23]

It's worse that he has the traits he does, because he'll pull them out every now and again and we'll all jizz ourselves and forget about his shortcomings for a while. Which makes for a jarring return to reality when he inevitably short steps a contest or doesn't chase his man.

I genuinely thought he'd take the next step after discovering what he could do in certain games last year. He just doesn't seem to want it enough. Surfer dude laconic nature is well embedded there. And at 26 turning 27 halfway through next year, it's fair to say this is who he is.

I will say though that the first step should be dangling Powell in front of any potential suitors. LDU's shortcomings without the positives. Just can't have them both in there. Cannot

 

[archereleven]

(With all due respect) I would disagree - I don't expect him to carry the team every week, and I don't think most posters have that expectation. However, he doesn't often have a 4-quarter game. He will tend to have a good quarter then go missing for a half. Perhaps I'm being too harsh given his Brownlow votes in the back half of last season (you generally don't get votes for a good quarter or two).

I'd even be happy if he had say a really good half + of a game, three weeks in a row, but I can't recall it happening very often, particularly this season.

List the players that had 4 quarter games today.
Sheezel?
Kerch?

LDU was equal 3rd for tackles, equal 4th for PAs, equal 3rd for clearance, equal 2nd for i50s, 4th for metres gained, 5th for score involvements and 1st for goal assists...


He was down on his usual numbers possession wise but was one of our best users today.

Do i want Dusty on offense and Sloane on defence? Of course, but until the team gets better, we just have to put up with a mix of good, very good and excellent games from Luke. He hardly ever puts in a shocker.

Trade him for a couole of picks for Snoz to waste by all means, but it wont solve our defensive issues and will make us far, far worse offensively.