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Toast Crowden - extends until 2021

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Would be nice if he kicked it more considering his apparent foot skills. Averaging 4.7 kicks per game this year and a kick to handball ratio of 0.6 (below average in AFL). He talks of picking up the pace of the game so will be good to see that unfold.
 
Dockernut said:
Feel like we’re surreptitiously corralling Cerra into the sign-on yards with this move.
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This could be the wrong thread but there really isn't any rush to sign Cerra and we shouldn't be pressuring him into it. He still has another 18 months to run on his existing contract.
 
Wally Walpamur said:
This could be the wrong thread but there really isn't any rush to sign Cerra and we shouldn't be pressuring him into it. He still has another 18 months to run on his existing contract.
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Interested to know why there was a rush to sign Brayshaw and Crowden so early then?
 

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Freo88 said:
Interested to know why there was a rush to sign Brayshaw and Crowden so early then?
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Probably because from a club perspective, a young high draft pick with a longer contract has a higher trade value (should anything happen in the future where a trade is required) and the player secures his future for two more years.

Cerra is only 25% into his contract and he probably just wants to play footy and with good consistent footy, increase the amount of money he'll get. Not all players and/or managers have to think the same when it comes to their contracts.
 
Freo88 said:
Interested to know why there was a rush to sign Brayshaw and Crowden so early then?
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Brayshaw came in full of beans at being selected by Freo. Kind of self signed rather than pushed into it.

As for Crowden, he said this...

"I’m pretty excited to be honest" Crowden said.

“When I came to the club I wasn’t expecting to get anything like this this early. I’m stoked to get it and to spend another two years at the Dockers.

It was a pretty easy decision. I had a chat to dad and some family members and we felt the correct decision was just to get it done as soon as possible to start building my career."

http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/2018-05-14/crowden-commits-to-2021
 
Fremantle

Team distance: 2531.8km

Distance kings
1. Mitchell Crowden 14.6km
2. Ed Langdon 14.4
3. Alex Pearce 14.2

Already leading distance covered per game for Freo. For a heavy set rookie, he's seriously good athletically.
 
Squiba said:
Fremantle

Team distance: 2531.8km

Distance kings
1. Mitchell Crowden 14.6km
2. Ed Langdon 14.4
3. Alex Pearce 14.2

Already leading distance covered per game for Freo. For a heavy set rookie, he's seriously good athletically.
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Crowden will be a good player, but I totally agree with him being dropped this week. He will go to Peel pick up a heap of ball, get some kicks and feel good about himself again. He will return, nothing surer, later in the year.
 
freoextra said:
Crowden will be a good player, but I totally agree with him being dropped this week. He will go to Peel pick up a heap of ball, get some kicks and feel good about himself again. He will return, nothing surer, later in the year.
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Yep. He is being asked to play small forward in the "bomb it to the spare defender" attack. Pretty hard gig I'd say.

Obviously has the work rate and skills to make it. Just needs to learn a few things and ideally get a run in the mids.
 
Joao said:
Yep. He is being asked to play small forward in the "bomb it to the spare defender" attack. Pretty hard gig I'd say.

Obviously has the work rate and skills to make it. Just needs to learn a few things and ideally get a run in the mids.
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He may need a rest but it would be interesting to see him as a mid.

Cerra and Brayshaw are getting midfield time.
Crowden seems to have been shoe horned into the FP for some reason.
He seems to not find the ball...maybe because we have no idea how to move it into the forward line, which means he has absolutely no idea where to go.

You watch his highlights and he's a line breaking midfielder with a razor sharp kick...everything in there shows an intelligent footballer.
Maybe play him there. He's already fit enough and we lose nothing
 

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Lach72 said:
He may need a rest but it would be interesting to see him as a mid.

Cerra and Brayshaw are getting midfield time.
Crowden seems to have been shoe horned into the FP for some reason.
He seems to not find the ball...maybe because we have no idea how to move it into the forward line, which means he has absolutely no idea where to go.

You watch his highlights and he's a line breaking midfielder with a razor sharp kick...everything in there shows an intelligent footballer.
Maybe play him there. He's already fit enough and we lose nothing
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Yeah agree with this. Cez and Andy (rightly) have preference so far but he is clearly a mid. Mitch doesn't look to have the goal sneak nous for small forward. Pressures like a maniac though.

Barlow was flat out finding the ball playing in our forward line. Not surprised that Mitch struggles. I think at times he well get a look in the mids. Happy for him to spend some time at Peel finding the pill.
 
Small forwards don't lead the club in terms of distance covered. It is too limiting a definition for the role he has been playing. Is there a heat map that shows where he has actually been playing?
 
There are heat maps but it's hard when he's averaging few disposals. He's leaned towards the forward half. One game when most of his possessions were at the centre bounce and the Sydney game when all of his possessions were in the forward half. It looks like hes been given a few different roles - but on average he's getting the ball forward of centre

theGav56 said:
Small forwards don't lead the club in terms of distance covered. It is too limiting a definition for the role he has been playing. Is there a heat map that shows where he has actually been playing?
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Mitch has copped a bit of flack here for having a lack of impact - that's fair comment in a lot of ways... but **extremely unfair** in others. So how then should we put his recent games into context?

It's a matter of personal opinion I know, but for me, I'm bloody stoked with Mitch's performance thus far.... I just hope he improves on it quickly.

I don't have a problem with his being dropped this week. IMO he needs the rest, and he needs to re-focus - but I do have a concern over his performances in future, though just not the way you'd think.

Mitch is young and still learning the game at AFL level. His talent is undeniable: we all saw his obvious gifts in his draft videos and all of us got excited, as did Fremantle's drafting team. His work-rate, effort and commitment is phenomenal in a guy so young - and I haven't seen that much genuine passion for team success from a Freo player since Barlow left.

Mitch gives his absolute all IMO and it honest-to-God gives me goosebumps seeing him give everything he's got for the common good of the team! ...I wish everyone out there was as committed to each other as Mitch. He's young, he's learning, he's got plenty of time so I'm super stoked Freo re-signed him.

But he STILL needs to lift his game a fair bit, and he needs to do it quickly... not because he's under-performing, under the pump, or simply not good enough, in fact it's quite the opposite.

Mitch may only be our third-highest draftee , but he could also conceivably end up being be the best pick of them all. Given the **enormous** esteem I already hold for Brayshaw and Cerra, that's really saying something.

Mitch isn't as silky as Cerra, but their kicking, decision-making and on-field vision seem almost on par. Mitch doesn't have Brayshaw's all-round composure and balance yet, but they would be close to each other in speed and toughness.

Yet so far neither Cerra nor Brayshaw have displayed anything close to Mitch's jaw-dropping stamina, core-strength, commitment to the contest and emotional reserves yet, and I don't honestly know how much you can teach those.

Mitch could be **so much better** than what he's shown us so far... I can legitimately see him winning a Brownlow one day. But to do that, he needs to hold himself to a higher standard than everyone else over the entire course of his career - because when you're good enough and motivated enough to dominate a game entierly, 'being competitive' is another term for under-performing.

He admits struggling to adapt to the pace of the game. That's not due to a lack of effort, work-rate, skill or talent ... that's due to a lack of anticipation.

Mitch needs to stop reacting, running, trying and fighting so hard, and put more effort into working smarter, and thinking things through AWAY from the field, so he can anticipate the play better, work more productively, and get greater rewards for his effort.

I seem to recall Lachie Neale being in the same boat as Mitch at first: in and out of the team like a yo-yo, until his thinking processes finally matched (and then surpassed) the speed of the game, and he started to dominate clearances. Mitch's pace and acceleration, plus his excellent on-field vision means he hasn't needed to anticipate the game at amateur and state level quite as much ... but everything about him suggests to me that he has the footy intelligence and drive to make it. I'm sure Mitch already knows all this, and is putting it all together in his mind.

As for him having to put it together quickly, that's just me being impatient for our first flag, and wanting to see more of the guy in his prime. :D:D

I want to see Mitch regularly blowing the opposition away with his speed, strength and God-given talent... not just regularly blowing me away with his already club-leading ability to cover the field at speed.
 
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Gekko71 said:
I still fervently believe the guy could be a star - but yeah... I'll grant you that one: 6 kicks in 14 quarters doesn't reflect his talent.
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He's young, I'll give him the benefit of being physically drained, but if you can't even be reasonable at WAFL level there's got to be concerns.

Being physically drained also goes against all his running stats that people keep bringing up.

Needs to show some sort of impact. I'd have though these conditions were made for him.
 

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