Can he Conca?

[Tiger_Stripes]

Reece Conca, relative draft unknown, a few days out from the draft rumor escapes he is being looked at by Richmond for pick 6. All of a sudden the unknown player previously pegged to go around 17-25 is being talked up by Emma Quayle as the great hidden talent of the draft, despite previos appraisals being nowhere near as glowing. Richmond picks Conca at 6.

I've spoken to blokes that played against him at state level who believe he is average.

I've spoken to a recruiter at a club who, along with his club, thought the Conca rumours were a joke.

That same recruiter had Heppel number one in the state no questions asked.

I'm not unhappy we've chosen him as, by all accounts he's an upstanding bloke good for the culture however from what i've 'seen' so far, he doesn't seem to have that 'special' trait that defines an A grader in the ilk of Riewoldt or Cotchin. I know it's early days but he looks like a B to B+ and hey, keep in mind, we're all here to harmlessly speculate.

So I ask the wise, totally unbiased BigFooty masses, what do you think of this new recruit based off of what you've 'seen' rather than what you've heard.

 

[Hipster Doofus]

When i went down to trainings in december and early january he was never out there with the boys, just on the sidelines looking on.

I saw him at the NAB cup game and i liked his long field kicking, but he did stuff up a short hit-up on a kickout vs the pies

He's not gonna be like martin and be a force staright away, but if we take our time and give him 22 games this year we will se why he was so highly rated by the recruiting staff

 

[turtle27]

Did you spot a special trait in Jack early on that would see him win a Coleman at 22? I suspect most didn't. Not sure a couple of practice games is enough to form an opinion on TS.

 

[Mr Magic]

For me , he has traits that indicate he could be a future star.

Whether he exploits this , injury beats him or bad luck who knows.

I look at it like this , and I am not privy to why Richmond selected him, he may not dominate the competition in the youth but his physical attributes and football sectionals regarding various snapshots suggest to me he could be special.


Whether he should be picked at 6 is debatable but that is old news.

Either way someone has stuck their neck out.

better pick than Oakley Nicholls though by a country mile!!

 

[Tiger_Stripes]

Did you spot a special trait in Jack early on that would see him win a Coleman at 22? I suspect most didn't. Not sure a couple of practice games is enough to form an opinion on TS.

Jack not a great example but you know what I mean by that 'special' trait. Think Cotchin's first kick a goal or Martin's dont argue. I agree it's way too early to form judgement but, for fun, I'm asking you to speculate

 

[TJTIGER]

As a club RFC have been doing things that will maximise our oportunities for rising up the ranks. I see Reece Conca a bit like that. He has the physical foundation, skills, general background, support. Now it's up to him to get game time experience, work hard on conditioning etc. Then we'll see. From what I've seen of him (NAB Cup) I'm satisfied he's a good risk (like any new draft). We just have to be patient.

 

[peggles]

As a club RFC have been doing things that will maximise our oportunities for rising up the ranks. I see Reece Conca a bit like that. He has the physical foundation, skills, general background, support. Now it's up to him to get game time experience, work hard on conditioning etc. Then we'll see. From what I've seen of him (NAB Cup) I'm satisfied he's a good risk (like any new draft). We just have to be patient.

for me, conca is very much an all-rounder. he's pretty good at all parts of the game. but the thing i've seen via footage as well as in practice games is composure, he doesn't panic and is a smooth operator. He's quick without looking like he's in a hurry.

 

[TOOs_Finest]

From what I've seen so far, the kid simply makes good decisions in traffic. Along with that, he has good disposal execution. These are the two things we are basing our drafting on. Apparently he has a very good head on his shoulders as well, mature and not the kind you'll be reading about in newspapers for being a jackass in a nightclub after 2am.

I'm confident he can very good for us, but more so in a Jimmy Bartel kind of way, rather than the high profile Luke Hodge/Chris Judd way. Will be very solid in a developing team, then will flourish down the track in a very good all round team.

 

[leighroy]

i see conca as a murphy type from carlton, will get feed the ball from the griggs , jacksons, cotchins and will rack it up but will also use it well and be a goal kicking mid which we need

 

[Infamy]

The kid has had an interrupted preseason and not even played a senior game of AFL
How on earth can anyone possibly catagorise him as "looks like a B to B+"?

 

[PUNTROADHAMMER]

Reece Conca, relative draft unknown, a few days out from the draft rumor escapes he is being looked at by Richmond for pick 6. All of a sudden the unknown player previously pegged to go around 17-25 is being talked up by Emma Quayle as the great hidden talent of the draft, despite previos appraisals being nowhere near as glowing. Richmond picks Conca at 6.

I've spoken to blokes that played against him at state level who believe he is average.

I've spoken to a recruiter at a club who, along with his club, thought the Conca rumours were a joke.

That same recruiter had Heppel number one in the state no questions asked.

I'm not unhappy we've chosen him as, by all accounts he's an upstanding bloke good for the culture however from what i've 'seen' so far, he doesn't seem to have that 'special' trait that defines an A grader in the ilk of Riewoldt or Cotchin. I know it's early days but he looks like a B to B+ and hey, keep in mind, we're all here to harmlessly speculate.

So I ask the wise, totally unbiased BigFooty masses, what do you think of this new recruit based off of what you've 'seen' rather than what you've heard.

1. Shouldn't this be a thread for after the season rather than before.
2. Show some faith in the new RFC regime.
3. He is not David Swallow.

 

[TOOs_Finest]

1. Shouldn't this be a thread for after the season rather than before.
2. Show some faith in the new RFC regime.
3. He is not David Swallow.

Totally disagree here prh. Nothing wrong with a little pre-season speculation, and then look back at season's end to see how we all fared. At the time of the draft, many were questioning this selection. Several months later, not a lot has changed, except some people have seen a bit of him in the praccy matches (seen him live twice now myself). So on the eve of the first game of the season, interesting to hear how people see the road forward for this kid. Isn't that what BF is all about?

 

[Infamy]

Plenty wrong with preseason speculation IMO
Especially on a kid who's not played a game before

 

[captain blood 17]

From the VERY early signs, i have seen a kid who can hit a target and use the ball pretty well. We won't see the true value of Reece for another couple of years as our list develops around him. I reckon he will be quite effective on a wing in two years time thereabouts. Lets just get some footy into the kid and a good fitness base and strength and see what happens. Remembering we are finally recruiting with a long term plan, not immediate results.

 

[Haggard H]

Jack not a great example but you know what I mean by that 'special' trait. Think Cotchin's first kick a goal or Martin's dont argue. I agree it's way too early to form judgement but, for fun, I'm asking you to speculate

Ah, I remember Richie Tambling's pre-season debut, collected the ball in the middle, ran like lightning to the 50 and kicked a goal that had us all jumping in the stands.

I remember watching Danny Meyer put in a few well composed moves the same pre-season, and turning to my mate and saying we've got a 200 game player there.

And I went nuts watching Dean Polo's AFL debut.

I'll take a solid B+ quite happily, and from the little I've seen, heard and know, B+ will be a minimum mark for this kid.

 

[TOOs_Finest]

Plenty wrong with preseason speculation IMO
Especially on a kid who's not played a game before

Sheesh, boring times on the Gold Coast board I reckon then

No different to the speculation that preceded DM's debut last year, except people were convinced he was a ready made player.

At least noone is going over the top here, would be worried if we were shouting from the rooftops that he was a lock to win the Rising Star or something.

 

[theyellowsash]

where did swan and goodes go...rookie both 30-40 something wasnt it. and the f/s pick for GAJ was seen as about right for his talent. conversely tambling was considered a monty for top 5 and potential number 1 by EVERYONE, and jon actually had pretty good wraps (playing in seniors, although he went higher than recruiters thought he would). selecting goodes (or any of the low selected champions) at number 1 in his draft wouldve been seen as a joke at the time but by now would be seen as probably the best example of left field recruiting and research in afl history.

 

[Goldust]

This thread is laughable. The kid has yet to play one game of senior AFL football, let alone 20, 50, or 100 and is being dubbed everything from ball magnet, composed, smart, future star, average and not a force straight away.
Give the kid a go first.
I’ll reserve comment until we get some games into him!

 

[Wallaby]

Did you spot a special trait in Jack early on that would see him win a Coleman at 22? I suspect most didn't. Not sure a couple of practice games is enough to form an opinion on TS.

Oh, definitely. Riewoldt was a special player from day 1. he may not have got the ball much early on, but he had the touches and the smarts to show if he could do the basics well, he definitely had 'it'.

I remember one game in the 2s (on the ABC) we had Kent Kingsley playing full-forward. he kicked 5 goals, and they were all served up on a platter for him by Riewoldt.

As for Conca, apart from a funny name, I know nothing and I am waiting to see.

 

[Goldust]

Oh, definitely. Riewoldt was a special player from day 1. he may not have got the ball much early on, but he had the touches and the smarts to show if he could do the basics well, he definitely had 'it'.

I remember one game in the 2s (on the ABC) we had Kent Kingsley playing full-forward. he kicked 5 goals, and they were all served up on a platter for him by Riewoldt.

As for Conca, apart from a funny name, I know nothing and I am waiting to see.

I remember seeing Riewoldt in his first season playing at Coburg in a forward line that comprised he, Kingsley and Cleve Hughes. Riewoldt pretty much ran things and was instructing both senior guys where to go and what to do. Was impressive work from an 18 or 19 year old!

 

[turtle27]

Oh, definitely. Riewoldt was a special player from day 1. he may not have got the ball much early on, but he had the touches and the smarts to show if he could do the basics well, he definitely had 'it'.

I remember one game in the 2s (on the ABC) we had Kent Kingsley playing full-forward. he kicked 5 goals, and they were all served up on a platter for him by Riewoldt.

As for Conca, apart from a funny name, I know nothing and I am waiting to see.

That's my point. TS basing his opinion on a couple of praccie games is flawed. Basing it on some senior games at Coburg or real season AFL senior games, carries a bit more weight.

And, as Haggard said, if this kid delivers B+ for the rest of his career, he'll go a long way to complementing a midfield of Lids, Foley (assuming he gets back to previous form), who are A Graders, and Cotch, Dusty, who we think will be A Graders. That will be OK by me.

 

[Tiger_Stripes]

That's my point. TS basing his opinion on a couple of praccie games is flawed. Basing it on some senior games at Coburg or real season AFL senior games, carries a bit more weight.

And, as Haggard said, if this kid delivers B+ for the rest of his career, he'll go a long way to complementing a midfield of Lids, Foley (assuming he gets back to previous form), who are A Graders, and Cotch, Dusty, who we think will be A Graders. That will be OK by me.

Everyone is entitled to critique. I really just asked to see what people's impressions are, not one person here has a proper opinion yet. I was just interested to see peoples perception of him, especially in light of what is heard from people who played him and the recruiter. No harm in speculation. Here's hoping his ankle op just took the fitness out of him that he'll need to step it up in a big way in the future. Like Dea_Day said, it's all fun and something to talk about.

 

[Bojangles17]

ridiculous thread on a kid yet to fire a shot in anger...what else did the ESS recruiter tell you

 

[Tomnat Tigers]

Like what ive seen so far from Conca and looks like a future player but in saying this at the time when he was drafted i was spewing that we took him over Heppel. But seeing what Conca can do i believe he is the type player we need going forward. Even if he is not as good as Heppel he will suit us a lot more than if we got Heppel.

 

[Rustof]

Simon Black Mk2.