Player Watch Callum Brown (Delisted 2022)

Thatsmyname

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Really disappointing after a breakout game last week, literally the quietest player on the ground by quite a margin, his best and worst have to be closer than that.
 

CaptainHowdy87

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Really disappointing after a breakout game last week, literally the quietest player on the ground by quite a margin, his best and worst have to be closer than that.

With all due respect, he racked up 23 points today and was safely our worst. Worse than Langdon who didn’t play the second half.

Think he’ll develop into a handy player, but he’s far too hit and miss at them moment.

Stats never tell the whole story.

He was far from the quietest player on the ground. He was everywhere in the first half chasing and tackling. He had great presence. Few really nice handballs out of congestion to advantage. Doesn't have to rack up possessions to impact the contest. Aish, Greenwood, Maynard, Howe and JT were all quieter/had less presence.

Safely our worst? Come on. What mistakes did he make? Langdon butchered the ball today. He was an absolute liability. Howe and Maynard had little influence. JT was very quiet again until bobbing up for a couple of goals. WHE took until the final qtr to really have any impact. Varcoe was reckless and had no impact in the first half, but did his thing in the 2nd half. Aish and Greenwood had absolutely zero impact in the game.

I thought our effort overall in the first half was quite poor. I thought Grundy, Sidey, Beams, Brown, Reid, Checkers and Wills were the only players really putting in. The whole side performed well in the 3rd and especially the 4th qtrs. That's when JT, WHE and Varcoe were finally able to contribute. They were just icing on the cake though. Grundy, Sidey, Beams and Brown really kept us in the game in the first half which I put far more value on than the guys that bobbed up at the end when we were well in control.

It was a real arm wrestle in the first half and their pressure was immense. Brown and Wills ware very good at matching their intensity and pressure. They've provided a nice balance to our midfield I reckon and I hope they continue getting time in the guts up until the bye since we have a relatively easy run.

Adams will be out another few weeks. I'm not sure what the diagnosis is on De Goey. When he's back I wanna see him 50/50 fwd and centre. People want Wills out and Sier in which is too early to make that call. Let Wills have at the very least one more game and wait until Sier's looking back to his best in the VFL.

Young Callum is wasted as a forward. Not everyone needs to be Fyfe/Cripps size to play in the midfield. Guys like Zorko, Merrett and Neale go alright. Callum's noticeably bulked up in the last 2 years and can/will continue to do so. At full strength he gets squeezed out of the midfield, but in the meantime this is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do and he's been pretty good the last 3-4 weeks.

At the very least he's definitely not been one of our worst in any of his last 3-4 games for the Pies. Being one of our top 5 players last week is a pretty damn good effort.
 
Mar 11, 2008
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Usual service resumed, unfortunately.

He's been very poor all year, until he was very good last week. I think posters put too much stock into one out of the box game.

He's just not very good.
 
Oct 7, 2014
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That’s fine in general. Except in this case, it’s an accurate measure. Are you seriously arguing he was good?


I'm saying he played his role well. no one gets a help of ball playing permanent half forward so no point using possessions as a factor deciding his performance. he pressured, tackled and his hands were better.
 

wicksy

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Feb 23, 2007
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Usual service resumed, unfortunately.

He's been very poor all year, until he was very good last week. I think posters put too much stock into one out of the box game.

He's just not very good.

I don't even think last week's game was his best this year. It's very clear that you've chosen him as your whipping boy and are not willing to let yourself be swayed otherwise. Quiet game yesterday but absolutely showing this year that he has class, poise and the grunt required to make it.
 
Mar 11, 2008
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I don't even think last week's game was his best this year. It's very clear that you've chosen him as your whipping boy and are not willing to let yourself be swayed otherwise. Quiet game yesterday but absolutely showing this year that he has class, poise and the grunt required to make it.

Disagree. He has been awful all year and isn't AFL standard in my opinion.

He has good first instincts in heavy traffic when he doesn't have too much time to think - this, his tackling and his ability to get free kicks for too high are his only positives. This helped him excel last week when it was a frantic ball in our forward half but isn't a long term solution unless he can translate it into becoming an inside mid. Unfortunately, at his size and strength you need exceptional creative talent (ala Sam Mitchell), which he doesn't have, to make that work other than in a pinch hitting capacity.

When out in space or when he has time, Brown is like a deer in the headlights. He has no awareness at all.

He has a low centre of gravity and good balance when over the ball, but he doesn't have anything even approaching class or poise as you suggest. He also struggles to kick 40 metres which doesn't help, because most short players who make it have excellent footskills. His are ok, but not great, and he lacks penetration.

I can't see him making it.
 
Disagree. He has been awful all year and isn't AFL standard in my opinion.

He has good first instincts in heavy traffic when he doesn't have too much time to think - this, his tackling and his ability to get free kicks for too high are his only positives. This helped him excel last week when it was a frantic ball in our forward half but isn't a long term solution unless he can translate it into becoming an inside mid. Unfortunately, at his size and strength you need exceptional creative talent (ala Sam Mitchell), which he doesn't have, to make that work other than in a pinch hitting capacity.

When out in space or when he has time, Brown is like a deer in the headlights. He has no awareness at all.

He has a low centre of gravity and good balance when over the ball, but he doesn't have anything even approaching class or poise as you suggest. He also struggles to kick 40 metres which doesn't help, because most short players who make it have excellent footskills. His are ok, but not great, and he lacks penetration.

I can't see him making it.
Using Sam Mitchell is not a good comparison as if you check his first year are very similar to Brown's.

I am prepared to stick my neck out and say he will be very good for us nearing 50 games.

He has footy smarts which is something you can't teach and that will make up for any current deficiencies you may perceive and that can be taught.
 
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Using Sam Mitchell is not a good comparison as if you check his first year are very similar to Brown's.

I am prepared to stick my neck out and say he will be very good for us nearing 50 games.

He has footy smarts which is something you can't teach and that will make up for any current deficiencies you may perceive.

I'm with you Maggie. I think he's got it and has a pretty high ceiling. Moves in traffic with the ball like Sidebottom - a little shimmy to send the opponent's balance in the wrong direction and then darts into space and uses it cleanly. Mitchell isn't the comparison, Sidebottom when he is playing an inside role is the player comparison for mine, that's who I think he can become. The balance to track the ball beautifully in traffic and the awareness and quick first couple of steps to find space and use the footy effectively. The goals that he's kicked this year have all screamed Steele Sidebottom to me. That's who I think Callum should be shadowing and learning from.
 
Jul 21, 2008
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Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Still early days for Brown but he has displayed some talent and skill. The Sidebottom comparison is interesting. I assume Sidey's dual side foot skills are not being factored in - it's Steele's movement not his penetrating or skilful kicking that Brown shares in common?

Brown was lauded in his early games. I recall comparing his courage to that of Gavin and being impressed with his handball in close and as a creative weapon. Then he had a slump in which we largely wrote him off. This season he has forced us to reassess his worth. I don't mind him and believe he should retain his spot until forced out by someone better.
 

jackcass

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Oct 8, 2007
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Using Sam Mitchell is not a good comparison as if you check his first year are very similar to Brown's.

I am prepared to stick my neck out and say he will be very good for us nearing 50 games.

He has footy smarts which is something you can't teach and that will make up for any current deficiencies you may perceive and that can be taught.

I'm not sure about the comparisons but lets not forget that Sam Mitchell was 19 when drafted so a year ahead of Brown in terms of development.
 
Mar 11, 2008
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Using Sam Mitchell is not a good comparison as if you check his first year are very similar to Brown's.

I am prepared to stick my neck out and say he will be very good for us nearing 50 games.

He has footy smarts which is something you can't teach and that will make up for any current deficiencies you may perceive and that can be taught.

All fair points.

My point on Mitchell was not that Callum has to play like him, but that it was obvious from the start that Mitchell had particular elite attributes which made him an inside mid candidate. His reading of the tap, positioning, vision and ball use were all elite. He just needed to build experience.

He also showed an ability to be excellent when in space (which Brown absolutely isn't), which allowed him to be versatile and move to a half back role later in his career. His elite kicking helped him in this aspect too obviously.

To be that size and make it at AFL level you need something special in your kit bag and I don't see any of that in Brownie, unfortunately. I hope I'm wrong. I like the kid. Good endeavour, great attitude, famous Collingwood name.
 
He was the worst player on the ground for us on the weekend. And will probably find himself in the seconds if/with another poor performance this Friday night.
It wasn't one of his better games but I certainly hope that the match committee give him a little bit more leeway than you. I actually though he had a bad half but did some good things in the second half. He might lose his spot if we have a full list to choose from but for now I will keep playing him.

What part of his game cost us a goal or quite possibly could have cost us the game?

Should we drop senior players based on one or two 'bad games'?
 
Oct 7, 2014
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It wasn't one of his better games but I certainly hope that the match committee give him a little bit more leeway than you. I actually though he had a bad half but did some good things in the second half. He might lose his spot if we have a full list to choose from but for now I will keep playing him.

What part of his game cost us a goal or quite possibly could have cost us the game?

Should we drop senior players based on one or two 'bad games'?
He was probably the worst player on the ground, and I said if he performs poorly again - he'll be in trouble at the selection table, which is true.

We're a club contending, spots are up for grabs - nothing is handed to you @ this level.
 
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