Another Kid We Should Look AT!!!

[nugget_12]

Tom Collier

I have been reading plenty of good things about this guy.

192cm Natural Defender with plenty of run and rebound and SKILLS!!!!
He has been likened to young Justin Leppitch, but by all reports will be alot better.

He has a good build to play straight away and he is the type of player along with Jack Reiwoldt that you could build a side around.

Both Tassie Boys aswell so that is something that could be touching for the most sentimental of tiger supporters.

Only Downside is he may not last until our Priority pick at 17 or 18 so we may have to use our first pick. May not be all bad, If we draft Al Neville we could afford to somewhat overlook a midfielder first up.

I believe this is something we should have really done back in the 05 draft so should really attend to this year if we are to get alot better.

Any-one with more info on him it would be appreciated if you could post it.

Cheers.

 

[_RT_]

Our very own draft watcher in Weaver has the kid rated at about 11 in his rankings at the midway point of the season. Another poster in the Drafts board has him at about 17 so we might be a chance to grab him. He has also picked up a season ending injury that may see him slide a little in the rankings as the year wears on.

 

[nugget_12]

yeh i just read about his injury after i posted so it may work in our favour.

I just think we really need to address our defence and i think with collier down there with McGuane and Thurstfield aswell as Polak it could really sure it up in years to come.....

Allows Bowden to play loose in his last few years.

If we can get him at 17 or 18 that would be a great outcome for us.
But in saying that i still wouldn't be upset if we had to take him at number 2.
Obviously i dont think he is worth number 1 if we get. And i say number two because i dont think Carlton will win another game and therefore take Kruzer at number 1.

 

[_RT_]

yeh i just read about his injury after i posted so it may work in our favour.

I just think we really need to address our defence and i think with collier down there with McGuane and Thurstfield aswell as Polak it could really sure it up in years to come.....

Allows Bowden to play loose in his last few years.

If we can get him at 17 or 18 that would be a great outcome for us.
But in saying that i still wouldn't be upset if we had to take him at number 2.
Obviously i dont think he is worth number 1 if we get. And i say number two because i dont think Carlton will win another game and therefore take Kruzer at number 1.

Just looking at Weavers ratings and Rance from WA is another possibilty, although I think he can go F/S to the WCE. I believe the kid won AA honours at FB so if he is available when our pick comes around I would like him as well.

BTW expect the Blues to win 1 more game. The Dees have fallen to pieces and the Blues play them last game. With Ratten most likely getting the gig I think the player may just lift and win one for him.

 

[HBK619]

What type of player is he, a running flanker or a stick-to-your-man-defender?

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

If we are to look outside the top 4 kids[Highly unlikely] then Rance would be the one.

 

[skybeau]

What type of player is he, a running flanker or a stick-to-your-man-defender?

He gave Kent Kingsley an absolute bath in the game Coburg played against Tassie earlier this season. Good leap and marking ability, great spoiling and created heaps of run. For a 19 year old, it was hella impressive.

 

[Brooksy88]

He gave Kent Kingsley an absolute bath in the game Coburg played against Tassie earlier this season. Good leap and marking ability, great spoiling and created heaps of run. For a 19 year old, it was hella impressive.

Didn't Kent kick 6 that game?

 

[RichosGuns]

I think we will have a fair chance of getting Collier, as I think he will be around for pick 17. However, I think Richmond would be better off going after a Ruckman with the pick. Its a shallow draft, yet a deep draft for Ruckman, but I still this we should secure one with either pick 17 or 19.

How heavy is Collier, because under TW he is unlikely to actually put anyway weight on so we would need him to be at least 85kg+ I reckon. 192cm is a good height, esspeacially handy if he can grow another 1 or 2

 

[skybeau]

Didn't Kent kick 6 that game?

5. 4 gimmes. Collier gave him a bath one-on-one.

I said the following at the time:

Kingsley yesterday was the equivalent of the big fat kid who played at full forward for his junior club...couldn't run anywhere, couldn't take a mark...but was always in the goal-square, ready for a easy pass from others prepared to do the hard work.

His opponent was BOG, from BOTH teams. Sure he kicked 5 goals by being at the back of the packs waiting for handpasses...but in EVERY contest (except 1, I recall he outmarked Collier once), he was slaughtered, half because Collier's spoiling was magnificent, half because Kingsley got himself into the wrong position. How many times did Kingsley stop leading and fall back, only to have Collier and others jump over him to spoil or mark themselves?

If that's regarded as a satisfactory performance from Kingsley, an apparently AFL standard goal-kicker, then by geez I hope he never plays for Richmond.

 

[PHX]

Collier is great, ready made player. Not a stick.

We picked Kingsley over him in the draft last year.

Yes it's true.

 

[Calcium Man]

Collier is great, ready made player. Not a stick.

We picked Kingsley over him in the draft last year.

Yes it's true.

Everyother club overlooked him too.

Cant see it happening this year tho.

 

[PHX]

Everyother club overlooked him too.

Cant see it happening this year tho.

Yes but we even talked to him and then chose Kent.

Hindsight. Awesome thing.

 

[Weaver]

Collier is great, ready made player. Not a stick.

Wonderful how grass the green can be on the other side of the fence.

Collier is 192cm and 86kg. Neither super-tall and certainly heading toward stick-size. Very similar numbers to Thursfield. It doesn't stand out in juniors where everyone else is the same.

Collier's best football is normally as a ruck-rover. He often struggles at CHB and frequently turns matches going onball.

The idea that he is a dominant defender is a bit of a stretch. His team has won twice, is bottom of the ladder, and averages a score of 125 against them every week. He has a LOT of opportunites to spoil.

Most scouts seem to think he is a little footy-dumb. Large part of the reason no one drafted him last season.

Rance is a considerably better option.

 

[nugget_12]

Weaver could you please post some info on Rance? or a link to a thread or something.

I think we need another defender this year and some-one that is a natural defender and can really create play.

 

[Weaver]

Weaver could you please post some info on Rance? or a link to a thread or something.

I think we need another defender this year and some-one that is a natural defender and can really create play.

Rance played FB for WA this year. His dad Murray Rance was an ex-Eagle.

Rance is tallish at 194cm and at 87kg a year or two off playing which is normall for a teenager (despite pleas to the contrary on this forum). He is a natural defender in that he takes up good positions, sticks close and reads the play well.

The thing about WA football is that it emphasises kicking skills and run. The brand of footy they played involved a lot of switching play in defence, counter-attacking. They had defenders getting out to the wing and creating the extra man by overlapping with midfielders.

To play that way they needed blokes who could kick and run and are comfortable with the footy and Rance, Pears and Myers tick those boxes. That will make them very hot property.

What makes things difficult is that clubs will pretty much KNOW that Rance can play that way. On the other Metro and Country played old-style mark-kick-walk-mark-kick-walk footy. No switches of play. It is a little bit of an unknown about whether the Vic kids can play that way if given a chance. Murray Bushrangers and Bendigo are about the only Vic teams that play that way consistenly and it is no mistake that guys like Drum and Mundy have been snapped up by Freo.

My guess is that Wallace and co will be very keen on Geelong FB Chris Kangars. He is quite good (played Vic Country) but is a national standard 400m runner as well who turned down athletic scholorships in the USA. He is still learning about positioning, bodywork, decision making but I would expect him to be a big riser by draft time. Expect him (if fit) to light-up some of the testing at the draft camp.

 

[Don Logan]

The thing about WA football is that it emphasises kicking skills and run.

What then happened to JON??

 

[PHX]

Are you employed by an AFL Club Weaver analysing players or simply very interested in draft-time??

 

[Weaver]

What then happened to JON??

I genuinely believe that JON will still make the grade.

His confidence is shot. He suffered injuries early. Watching him now he is not kicking naturally. He is stabbing at the ball, he is overly deliberate and taking too long over his kick. He is like a golfer standing on the tee thinking entirely about every part of his swing. You do that when your game goes to pot.

He is also struggling with the smaller, heavier Melbourne grounds. Very different from the spaces of WA.

Finally finding a position is proving tough. He was a winger/HFF and occasional ruck-rover in WA. There are no true wingers in the VFL. There isn't much of that AFL-style running game. He can't really run into form because everything is so tight, scrappy and stoppage oriented.

If he makes the senior team it will be on the back of a good preseason. Play some lower intensity games on hard summer grounds. Play some AFL opponents in practice matches where he has same time. That will get his confidence up and hopefully that will be the beginning of him.

It might sound funny but sometimes I think that some blokes who rely on their kicking can end up completely stuffed if they get the yips (Bowden, Raines). Even Johnson is a better kick than he has been this year. Losses and mistakes destroy the confidence and they end up getting worse and worse.

Thursfield is a better kick than he looks - but nerves and the yips have him lobbing passes a metre above teammates heads at the moment.

 

[Weaver]

Are you employed by an AFL Club Weaver analysing players or simply very interested in draft-time??

Been watching for more than 10 years. Never been paid by an AFL club. Have occasionally earned money in this sort of field though in the past from sources other than clubs.

Mostly just an enthusiastic hobbiest. I couldn't afford the paycut that working for an AFL club would demand. $1,000 for a 3-day week might sound appealing until you realise it is only 25 weeks a year. Finding that other job to pay your way gets tough unless you want to work 7 days a week and give up your life.

 

[PHX]

Thursfield is a better kick than he looks - but nerves and the yips have him lobbing passes a metre above teammates heads at the moment.

Thursty's possessions have been awesome after 2 weeks of dodgy-ness settling back into the AFL caper.

Dont know where to find it but I'd suggest his possession-to-clanger ratio would be second-to-none since round 10-11.



And yes, I see the problem with what you describe with the wages. Good hobby to have though.