Can Boomer Harvey reach 500 AFL games?

[kranky al]

Frigging funny.

Plagiarised keith richards joke fyi

 

[shintemaster]

Plagiarised keith richards joke fyi

He's old and likely won't remember he even thought of it first.

 

[JD Tomahawk]

Could get to 450

 

[kranky al]

He's old and likely won't remember he even thought of it first.

It was about him - author is unknown

 

[H2F]

He is a star. So is Nick Riewoldt.

But neither would I have them in the Hawks structure.

Why so defensive?

 

[Chadwiko]

He is a star. So is Nick Riewoldt.

But neither would I have them in the Hawks structure.

Why so defensive?

Difference is, and with all due respect to Riewoldt, Boomer is still winning games off of his own boot.

I'd like to see other objective Hawks fans say with a straight face they don't think Harvey would crack their best 22.

 

[Coathanger]

Very funny.....He's not even in North's best 22 most weeks!

The little ball hog shouldn't be spoken in the same sentence as Michael Tuck!

 

[spurs]

Very funny.....He's not even in North's best 22 most weeks!

The little ball hog shouldn't be spoken in the same sentence as Michael Tuck!

Bartlett was the ball hog and I rate him. To say Harvey isn't best 22 shows your uneducated view on football.

 

[Jack Bradley]

Bartlett was the ball hog and I rate him. To say Harvey isn't best 22 shows your uneducated view on football.

Why would you bother arguing with someone who obviously knows jack s**t? He's probably been watching football for 1 year and has jumped on the hawthorn fan bandwagon

 

[Headless]

Very funny.....He's not even in North's best 22 most weeks!

Jeepers, that's a poor call.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Look at all the North fans hurling abuse when Boomer has his annual day out.

Perhaps I am wrong but sheesh talk about opportunistic.

As I said he is a star but wouldn't have him in Hawthorn's best 22 as there is nowhere in our structure for him and I wouldn't replace any of our young guys for him.

That's it, I'm dragging you back to the bay with me.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Very funny.....He's not even in North's best 22 most weeks!

The little ball hog shouldn't be spoken in the same sentence as Michael Tuck!

^ This guy.

 

[Matchu]

The Footy Show discussion between Boomer and James Brayshaw showed both parties are more than happy to keep him playing for the time being.

 

[the dog's kennel]

Here's the problem for Boomer in my view. He is clearly still a gun. But the game is slowly moving past him. Not because he's old - but it's moving past his kind of player and because he's old he will not be able to aerobically adapt.

Let me clarify: Boomer is an athletic freak - but his real go is non-stop repeat offensive top-speed sprints. He's never been a huge 2-way runner. Not saying he's lazy - he'll lay a tackle when it's his turn. But he has always focussed on the offensive side. That has been his role in the team, and that's fine. The game over the last few years was ideal for him. It was a game tailor-made for power-running athletes like Boomer. You could take short sharp rests and go and go. And there was the potential to be sub as well.

But this is changing. Firstly, hard 2-way running is becoming absolutely critical to the fashionable zone defence structures. Which means there's more a focus on keeping going at 80% then lots and lots of 95% runs. Secondly the interchange numbers are going down, and will undoubtedly continue to. And there is no more sub. All these lead to less top-line sprinting and more constant energy-sapping endurance running.

I feel like this will work against Boomer's effectiveness and thus longevity.

So to answer the question: I would say Boomer's time in the game entirely depends on how long Brad Scott persists with his current game plan, which is less zone-y. If Clarko or Simpson or Beveridge took over the Roos tomorrow I would say that would lop a year or two off Boomer's career immediately, just from their desired game style alone. I predict Boomer will not retire from the game, he will be retired from it.

 

[Scotland]

Very funny.....He's not even in North's best 22 most weeks!

LOL.

Brent Harvey has been in North's best 22 since 1997. Has he ever been dropped?

 

[DERIBERATE]

Boomer will be the first player to retire from football that can instantly access his super

 

[Wild Bill]

Here's the problem for Boomer in my view. He is clearly still a gun. But the game is slowly moving past him. Not because he's old - but it's moving past his kind of player and because he's old he will not be able to aerobically adapt.

Let me clarify: Boomer is an athletic freak - but his real go is non-stop repeat offensive top-speed sprints. He's never been a huge 2-way runner. Not saying he's lazy - he'll lay a tackle when it's his turn. But he has always focussed on the offensive side. That has been his role in the team, and that's fine. The game over the last few years was ideal for him. It was a game tailor-made for power-running athletes like Boomer. You could take short sharp rests and go and go. And there was the potential to be sub as well.

But this is changing. Firstly, hard 2-way running is becoming absolutely critical to the fashionable zone defence structures. Which means there's more a focus on keeping going at 80% then lots and lots of 95% runs. Secondly the interchange numbers are going down, and will undoubtedly continue to. And there is no more sub. All these lead to less top-line sprinting and more constant energy-sapping endurance running.

I feel like this will work against Boomer's effectiveness and thus longevity.

So to answer the question: I would say Boomer's time in the game entirely depends on how long Brad Scott persists with his current game plan, which is less zone-y. If Clarko or Simpson or Beveridge took over the Roos tomorrow I would say that would lop a year or two off Boomer's career immediately, just from their desired game style alone. I predict Boomer will not retire from the game, he will be retired from it.

The two players that played on him on the weekend did nothing offensively to hurt us. Boomer still can change a game.

In the Crows game we were 19 points down half way through the third. Boomer in the next 6 minutes kicks 3 goals. Not many players in the game can do that. He is 4th on the goal kicking ladder - what he does offensively is worth so much more than what he lacks defensively.

It would be like saying Beveridge should retire Bob Murphy because he doesn't kick enough goals.

 

[the dog's kennel]

The two players that played on him on the weekend did nothing offensively to hurt us. Boomer still can change a game.

In the Crows game we were 19 points down half way through the third. Boomer in the next 6 minutes kicks 3 goals. Not many players in the game can do that. He is 4th on the goal kicking ladder - what he does offensively is worth so much more than what he lacks defensively.

It would be like saying Beveridge should retire Bob Murphy because he doesn't kick enough goals.

Absolutely, I'm not denying that, WB. And I'm not suggesting that Boomer isn't an extremely valuable player in any side right now. I'm just saying that whatever his used-by-date is - whether it be 2016, 2018 or 2020 - it will be a year or two earlier if his team plays a more zone-y structure and there is greater emphasis placed on defensive positioning.

This isn't me saying "Drop Boomer!" This is me explaining why i think it is extremely unlikely that he will get to 500 games.

 

[bluengold89]

I picked him up in a dt keepers league in 1997, it's been a hell of a ride.

 

[Eshay187]

Absolutely, I'm not denying that, WB. And I'm not suggesting that Boomer isn't an extremely valuable player in any side right now. I'm just saying that whatever his used-by-date is - whether it be 2016, 2018 or 2020 - it will be a year or two earlier if his team plays a more zone-y structure and there is greater emphasis placed on defensive positioning.

This isn't me saying "Drop Boomer!" This is me explaining why i think it is extremely unlikely that he will get to 500 games.

I disagree. I agree with your full field zone defence analysis, but I reckon it has lead to the game starting to highly value players who are able to "break the line" and break an opponents zone defence by creating an extra man. He does this a lot, flying through the middle with speed.

Very valuable player.

 

[shintemaster]

Absolutely, I'm not denying that, WB. And I'm not suggesting that Boomer isn't an extremely valuable player in any side right now. I'm just saying that whatever his used-by-date is - whether it be 2016, 2018 or 2020 - it will be a year or two earlier if his team plays a more zone-y structure and there is greater emphasis placed on defensive positioning.

This isn't me saying "Drop Boomer!" This is me explaining why i think it is extremely unlikely that he will get to 500 games.

I think you're grasping at straws. He won't be leaving the game because he doesn't position well defensively.

 

[thumping]

North will have a father- son pick on the list while the father is still playing .

 

[golazo]

Why would you bother arguing with someone who obviously knows jack s**t? He's probably been watching football for 1 year and has jumped on the hawthorn fan bandwagon

Not saying he's correct, but he's been on this forum for 10 years.

 

[Jack Bradley]

Not saying he's correct, but he's been on this forum for 10 years.

Anyone who has followed football for 10 years and is that stupid either has some form of mental *ation or is a master troll. This bloke is probably a mixture of the two.

 

[Arc1]

Bradley Hill has been a more or less automatic selection in the Hawks team for 2/3 years now. I struggle to think of a single aspect of his game other than endurance in which he beats Boomer and it's not like Boomer is incapable or running every game out in a season.

He would also replace Poppy.

Actually, he would still sit comfortably in yours or any teams top 10 players when you actually stop to think about his current level of performance. There would be maybe 60/70 players better than him in the league tops. Hawks love their good kicks, Boomer is one of the best short kicks in the game both in field kicking and finishing around goals.

On actual performance I'd certainly want him, but there's some silly extremes in this thread.