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Review Alex Fasolo

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PremierPie13

PremierPie13

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After reading some comments made on our board I decided to see what others thought of Fasolo and his progress/future as a player in the team.

Fasolo has elite skills both by hand and foot, an amazing overhead mark and incredible agility and lateral movement through traffic which will contribute to a future inside game. He is a one touch player, incredibly clean receiver/user and his finishing is as good as any bar krakouer in the team.

Those of you that dispute he will not be a good player or that his output given his age isn't up to standard are deluded. One of his weaknesses at the moment and the reason he doesn't get high possession numbers is that his tank isn't where it needs to be at this stage for a major midfield role. He was equal second in the goal kicking and top 5 for overall marks, fulfilling any expectations of a small forward.

His finals series was terrible, I have no issue admitting that. But as Beams has proven, judging a player on such a small sample size of games at such a young age is irrational. Another player comparison would be Sidebottom's second year in 2011; a lot less effectual than Fasolo was this year. An ensuing development in his maturity and experience as well as fitness to impact more consistently will see him improve out of sight. In my opinion, a 200+ game player in the same vein as the aforementioned players in Beams and Sidebottom.

Discuss if you'd like! :p
 
I am a fan of fasolo but his season was a bit disappointing if i am honest. However, he was far from alone in that respect. I think second seasons are a lot tougher than first seasons as opposition teams work you out. It is third and fourth seasons when you can make true assessments on players as they also grow into men and develop their tanks. This is also why drafting 18 year olds is such a lottery long term.

I have massive confidence that fasolo will be a very good afl player. He just has that something about him, call it x factor if you will.
 
Good post OP, agree with your thoughts.

The positives are pretty evident - strong hands with marking, very good field kick and above set shot for goal.

The negatives people come up with, I think are a little overstated eg overconfident, selfish in front of goal. That possible aspect was often a result of having not a great deal amount of time to look for options and in general, it was less last year than 2011 anyway.

i don't mind he has a little extra confidence than usual, a bit of a swagger, I think that's not a such bad thing - Chris Dawes could have used a bit of that to his advantage you could say.

Hoping for a pretty big 2013 from him and confident he'll deliver that.
 
I rate him very highly as a prospect. I think that he has another major asset - time and composure with the ball. Even uder pressure you can see that he has time to look around and think about his options. He doesn't always make the right decision yet, but so many players don't even make a decision when they get the ball in congestion - they just simply bomb it forward.
 

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Needs to buil his tank and lay more tackles. He can play and can potentially be a very important player for us.
 
Goes missing when we're losing. Looks ok when we're winning... Show boater with an ego that needs to pull his head in and knuckle down in 2013 or his output will be similar to that of season 2012.
 
I like him, still yet to see just how good he can get, but he's got skills, he's got a very rare confidence in front of goal, one of few youngsters I can remember in recent times that doesnt shit himself when the pressures on, and thats really important.
He fades and goes missing from time to time, that is pretty normal for a kid in the forward line in his first couple of years, but when his body toughens up and he gets a tank he'll find more space, out man his opponents more often and I think he'll do well as a Medhurst type forward.

Doesn't quite have the natural talent of Dids or Davis, but will still do well.
If he wanted he could probably do very well as a midfielder.. but happy with him in the fwd line for now.
 
His biggest issue atm is not finding enough of the ball. He has the body and clean hands to turn himself into a high quality inside midfielder all he needs to do is find more of the ball. I have very high expectations for him next year, if he's still predominantly a forward pocket by the end of hte year I'll be very disappointed.
 
I like how his game has come along in the 2nd half of the season. He has already made the grade and now it's just about continuing to elevate his game and progress into another a-grade midfielder, taking that same step Beams took this year.

Has made the transformation from the strong marking, selfish goal first forward into someone who can push into the midfield more an be a genuine playmaker with his ability by foot to hit targets few can see or deliver to as precisely.

Needs to continue to develop his tank as suggested and inside game also can improve so that he can become a more regular member of the midfield rotation but he is certainly making positive progress and with more work in a couple of years could be another Dayne Beams who can play both through the midfield and off a forward flank to a high level.

I suggest Fasolo mostly for next year plays more that high half forward role previously played by Didak and look for him to push into that midfield rotation more for some minor minutes here and there.

This year was a real breakout year because he learnt how to play some really good team football but expect his true breakout season to be in 2014 or 2015 when greater opportunity through the midfield likely opens up for him with Swan/Ball likely nearing/at the end by then. At around that point I can see a big production spike happening.
 
sr36 said:
I'd like to see him spend the majority of the year on the back flank to develop a more rounded game and to give us some damaging kicking from the back half.
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It would be worth trying out for sure, as that's an area we sorely lack. But he is one of the few damaging finishers we have up forward and that is what will ultimately make it a hard decision.
 
Like a lot of magpies he had a tough year, keeping in mind with Krak and Dids playing very little, Fas would have often drawn the best defender for smalls. Agree with op, if he can build up his endurance, he could become a midfield weapon.
 

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PremierPie13 said:
It would be worth trying out for sure, as that's an area we sorely lack. But he is one of the few damaging finishers we have up forward and that is what will ultimately make it a hard decision.
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I'd see it as Malthouse style devlopment ala Daisy had. I also wouldn't mind seeing Beams spending some time in this role as at the moment I think that he's a very one way footballer (I'm ducking for cover)
 
sr36 said:
I'd see it as Malthouse style devlopment ala Daisy had. I also wouldn't mind seeing Beams spending some time in this role as at the moment I think that he's a very one way footballer (I'm ducking for cover)
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Haha, I suspect there will be some abuse coming your way. Can't agree with that based on his tackle stats and my experience watching him play, however I wouldn't say he has the defensive work rate of Pendlebury just yet.
 
I don't get the ambivalence towards Fasolo. The kid kid had a solid debut season and improved in his second, that's all you can ask. If he improves another 20% in 2013, he will be closing in on the comp's best goal-kicking mids
 
Just a minor correction, Steele's second year was 2010 not 2011 and his finals series that year was fantastic.

Agree with everything else the OP has said, Fasolo is a great talent. Obviously he does need to build up his tank and then I can see him being a gun midfielder. Also wouldn't mind putting him at HBF for clean movement out of the back line.
 
The kid is coming along completely on schedule, with the bonus of great hands and delivery.

Those that bemoan his so called lack of possessions are impatient, once he builds a decent tank I expect him to blossom.
 
Fasolo has a silkiness that belies his age and experience. He will be a major contributor to any success we have in the future.
 

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Really happy with Fasolo's progress. He is only a 2nd year player and has already cemented himself in the side.

I think he will improve in his 3rd year, but it will be his 4th and 5th that will see him breakout. A bit like Daisy Thomas. I think he has to get some of the arrogance and flash out of his game to play more for the team and learn a bit more defensively. But not too much because he is at his best when he is playing with confidence.


You stole my thunder above in saying Fasolo to defence. I think this would be a very wise and cunning move by Buckley.

He has speed, body size and is good one on one. He would also be a good option to take kick ins as he is a good user and decision maker, and should offer us a real weapon coming out of defence. Then as he builds up his tank, he should become a genuine midfield rotation.

You can't be unhappy with his first 2 years. He has played in a GF and also part of a side that made it to a PF. He has played in ANZAC days and also had a full season this year. He already feels like a seasoned player, but we have to remember how inexperienced he still is.

Next year should be a development year for him. If he keeps along at this pace, I fear he will always be an inconsistent flashy player. I think we should try and round out his game...even if that means he stagnates a bit short term.
 
What's with the "move him to the midfield" mantra? Why not just concentrate on making him a specialist forward? Don't understand why as soon as someone looks like they show promise in a position that they automatically get 'upgraded' to a different role.

He can mark, he can kick, he's got a good head on his shoulders and he's got a strong core. Just wait until he learns the 'Koala Tackle' a-la Medhurst style.
 
The Sherriff said:
What's with the "move him to the midfield" mantra? Why not just concentrate on making him a specialist forward? Don't understand why as soon as someone looks like they show promise in a position that they automatically get 'upgraded' to a different role.

He can mark, he can kick, he's got a good head on his shoulders and he's got a strong core. Just wait until he learns the 'Koala Tackle' a-la Medhurst style.
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It's to develop an all-round game. He needs to learn to link up better with team-mates, play accountable and he needs to learn to get involved in a game when he is quiet. It's to develop a Plan B. It's also to develop a bigger tank.

He went quiet too often this year. He is very young, so the world is his oyster. But you can't have your more skilled players getting cold up forward when we are struggling to move the ball cleanly.
 
his lateral movement in close is a rare and innate talent that should be fostered. He could be excellent around forward half stoppages for extracting quick ball, so he should be used as a high forward/mid imo.

He just needs to learn to use his rare ability to get free in close to bring his teammates into the game with a quick handball to space, rather than breaking free and rushing a kick.
 

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