Crows Youngsters

[Drummond]

Here are my thoughts on our young players tonight:

To be honest I thought John Hinge was one of our better youngsters tonight, whenever he was on the ground he impressed me. He has neat skills, and he seems to know how to find the footy, he’s a strong tackler and looks to be a player with real promise. He may not get a game this season, however he looks to be a real find and he is definitely one to keep an eye on.

I thought Bernie Vince did some nice things, highlighted by his strong mark at the beginning of the third quarter. He didn’t find much of the footy, but he looks clean and could be a handy player. I still don’t think he warranted the No.32 selection though.

I’m convinced Nathan Van Berlo is going to be a star for the Crows. He is full of courage, always put his head over the footy and is one of the best tacklers we have. Chris Knights is already a ball magnet, if he gets decent playing time there’s no reason why he couldn’t win the Rising Star Award. I can’t recall a player that finds so much of the footy, just seems to always be in the right place. And his supergoal was brilliant.

Ivan Maric looks like an excellent prospect; he looks comfortable when rucking and he is quite quick for someone so tall. He falls back into defense too which is great to see. I don’t think he can be relied upon to really defeat his opposition ruckman, but I think he could easily allow Biglands or Clarke to have a few minutes rest because he can hold his own.

I have always been extremely critical of Jericho, and after tonight’s performance I don’t really know what to say. I’ll start off by saying that I thought he was brilliant in the first quarter. His skills were great, he got plenty of possessions and he always found a target. However as the rest of the game wore on, other than his great supergoal, he was kept quiet and his effort at times was once again lacking. His first quarter performance did enough to suggest that he could easily play AFL if he wants to, but the rest once again showed his lack of desire and commitment. It’s frustrating because he has all the skills and pace to be a good player, but he doesn’t put it all together.

 

[Nige_Bix]

\I have always been extremely critical of Jericho, and after tonight’s performance I don’t really know what to say. I’ll start off by saying that I thought he was brilliant in the first quarter. His skills were great, he got plenty of possessions and he always found a target. However as the rest of the game wore on, other than his great supergoal, he was kept quiet and his effort at times was once again lacking. His first quarter performance did enough to suggest that he could easily play AFL if he wants to, but the rest once again showed his lack of desire and commitment. It’s frustrating because he has all the skills and pace to be a good player, but he doesn’t put it all together.

Fair assessment of him I thought - have to say that -subject to seeing the replay- he seemed to not quite commit to a contest on the outer wing in the last 1/4.

Overall I am really satisfied with the younger players - probably too early to comment on Vince's 32 pick value but he looks ok.

 

[Gets!]

Here are my thoughts on our young players tonight:

To be honest I thought John Hinge was one of our better youngsters tonight, whenever he was on the ground he impressed me. He has neat skills, and he seems to know how to find the footy, he’s a strong tackler and looks to be a player with real promise. He may not get a game this season, however he looks to be a real find and he is definitely one to keep an eye on.

I thought Bernie Vince did some nice things, highlighted by his strong mark at the beginning of the third quarter. He didn’t find much of the footy, but he looks clean and could be a handy player. I still don’t think he warranted the No.32 selection though.

I’m convinced Nathan Van Berlo is going to be a star for the Crows. He is full of courage, always put his head over the footy and is one of the best tacklers we have. Chris Knights is already a ball magnet, if he gets decent playing time there’s no reason why he couldn’t win the Rising Star Award. I can’t recall a player that finds so much of the footy, just seems to always be in the right place. And his supergoal was brilliant.

Ivan Maric looks like an excellent prospect; he looks comfortable when rucking and he is quite quick for someone so tall. He falls back into defense too which is great to see. I don’t think he can be relied upon to really defeat his opposition ruckman, but I think he could easily allow Biglands or Clarke to have a few minutes rest because he can hold his own.

I have always been extremely critical of Jericho, and after tonight’s performance I don’t really know what to say. I’ll start off by saying that I thought he was brilliant in the first quarter. His skills were great, he got plenty of possessions and he always found a target. However as the rest of the game wore on, other than his great supergoal, he was kept quiet and his effort at times was once again lacking. His first quarter performance did enough to suggest that he could easily play AFL if he wants to, but the rest once again showed his lack of desire and commitment. It’s frustrating because he has all the skills and pace to be a good player, but he doesn’t put it all together.

Nice read.

Although Vince got 15 touches...in his first game, and took 6 marks.

Not worth pick 32?

How many other picks in the 30's have a game like that on debut. He looked like he 'belonged'.

 

[Drummond]

Nice read.

Although Vince got 15 touches...in his first game, and took 6 marks.

Not worth pick 32?

How many other picks in the 30's have a game like that on debut. He looked like he 'belonged'.

Yeh I must admit I didn't know Vince got so many touches, I thought he got maybe 10, but 15 is a good effort. I must have got him confused with Hinge a few times. And he's actually a little taller than I remembered him.

He may prove to be worth pick 32, it's just that I don't think there is too much up-side to Vince. We'll see.

 

[Stiffy_18]

I thought all of our youngsters did a pretty reasonable job tonight and none of our senior players really stamped themselves on the game. We won this one without a big impact from the senior players.

Van Berlo - this kid has GREAT courage. Skills under pressure need a bit of a tidy up. He kicked a few around his body tonight in the Matthew Bod fashion but this kid has a HUGE heart and courage to match it. Will throw himself into every contest regardless of the circumstances. He is putting his hand up for round 1.

Maric - you can see how raw he is but you can also see the potential with the lad. He plays a style very similar to Matthew Primus. He holds his own in the ruck contest but he also follows it up when the ball hits the ground. In time he could be a REALLY good ruckman

Knights - Probably a bit quieter in the 2nd half but a solid hitout regardless. Kicked 2 goals (including a supergoal) and picked up a decent number of possesions.

Vince - I like this kid. He has a bit of flair about him. He did a couple of noce things tonight that left me asking "how'd he do that" but missed his opportunities in front of goal. I am pretty happy with his first AFL hitout. 15 possesions (8 contested) and 6 marks is pretty good return from Bernie. He does have a bit of class

Jericho - Showed a bit of both worlds. Did some fantastic things but had some periods where he was soft as butter. I thought he was sensational early. Really liked his game early. Then he went missing for 2 quarters and returned to have a pretty good final term. Kicked a super goal of one step. A better hitout than last week but I know he can do better.

Reilly - I think he is set for a fairly good year. His attack on the man and the ball is excellent. For a midfielder, the best way to get into the game is to tackle and then tackle some more. He has REALLY stepped up in this part of his game. His tackling is excellent. 17 possesions, 5 marks and 8 tackles is a pretty good return from a player who hasn'ttrained pretty much for a whole week. If there is one thing that ********ed me off about his game tonight, its that he was handball happy. 11 handballs is over the top IMHO. He has a great kick, its probably his best weapon so use it. Apart from that, can't complain

Hentschel - probably broke even with his opponent for the night. Took a couple of great pack marks and kicked 3 goals (missed a couple of sitters as well). Of those 3, 2 were snap shots that tall players just shouldn't kick

Hinge - Didn't really stand out but he wasn't out of his depth either. Attacks the contest well and used it OK when he got it.

Mattner - OK he is not exactly a "youngster" any more but I have to give him special praise here. His stats might not show it but I really liked his game tonight. He was giving away both height and weight but he played a very good negating game on one of the most promising tall forwards in the country. REALLY liked his game.

Bock - He was servicable. Nothing spectacular.

From the backbone players:

Massie - For a 2nd week in a row I think he did a quite reasonable job for us. Played pretty well on Williams who can always be a bit of a handful. Hasn't done his chances any harm IMHO.

Bode - It was a good game from Bodster. Missed some gettable goals (but just about everyone did tonight for some reason) but got plenty of the footy and disposed of it reasonably well. Keep it up Bodster

From the Hawks perspective, how bloody good is Roughead?????? That kid will be something special. He more than held his own against Rutten IMHO. That in itself is a pretty big achievement. I wish we had a young key forward like that coming through the ranks.

 

[Nige_Bix]

From the Hawks perspective, how bloody good is Roughead?????? That kid will be something special. He more than held his own against Rutten IMHO. That in itself is a pretty big achievement. I wish we had a young key forward like that coming through the ranks.

Actually what about Max Bailey - pick 18! - should we have taken him?

 

[Gets!]

Actually what about Max Bailey - pick 18! - should we have taken him?

Nah we dont need Bailey. We got Clarke, Biglands, Maric, Meesen and Griffin. Gibson can also pinch hit in the ruck.

Stiffy_18 Vince only had one shot at goal...and it was a snap.

 

[Drummond]

From the Hawks perspective, how bloody good is Roughead?????? That kid will be something special. He more than held his own against Rutten IMHO. That in itself is a pretty big achievement. I wish we had a young key forward like that coming through the ranks.

Great summary mate.

I actually think Roughead is more suited to the backline, but tonight he was great up forward. The kid can play, there's no doubt that he could turn into one of the best players in the competition. To be honest I thought he beat Rutten tonight on many one-on-one contests, I don't know what was wrong with Rutten but he looked slow tonight. He struggled to contain Roughead on many occasions in the last quarter, and it just looked as though he wasn't quite 100% fit. Anyone else get the same feeling?

 

[Stiffy_18]

Actually what about Max Bailey - pick 18! - should we have taken him?

With the number of developing ruckman on our list, I wouldn't

Stiffy_18 Vince only had one shot at goal...and it was a snap.

True but that shot was after a classy one handed pick up and a spin to get out of trouble. A bit of a real classy work followed but a shanked kick. If he kicked that goal it would have been special.

Vince reminds me of Vardy just a little bit. He is good in the air and he has that bit of sense around packs. If he gets to be as good as Vardy we would be laughing all the way to the bank

 

[Nige_Bix]

Great summary mate.

I actually think Roughead is more suited to the backline, but tonight he was great up forward. The kid can play, there's no doubt that he could turn into one of the best players in the competition. To be honest I thought he beat Rutten tonight on many one-on-one contests, I don't know what was wrong with Rutten but he looked slow tonight. He struggled to contain Roughead on many occasions in the last quarter, and it just looked as though he wasn't quite 100% fit. Anyone else get the same feeling?

I wonder whether Rutten is better against players he knows something about - gets a chance to work out how to play them. He would have seen a lot of the likes of Tredrea and Hall - so knows what to expect. Probably a few looks at Roughead will improve his performance. I thought Franklin looked pretty good too! Hawthorn did well with their P/Picks - but glad that system will be changed.

 

[Cap]

I was very impressed with Vince, I think he will make a great goal sneak in the future

Hentschel had a quiet game - but if he has quiet games like that and kicks 3 goals then so be it

Knights - Gun

Maric - ok maybe I was wrong about him, seems to be getting better and better.

Rielly - looking good, I reckon this is going to be his year

Jericho - still picked up 13 touches, I only saw the first three qtrs his first qtr was great and from reports it seems so was his last, his best is still in front of him.

Hinge - needs a bit more time

for what its worth I hear that Meeson got killed in norwoods trial game so Maric is in front for a Rd1 game

 

[Stiffy_18]

I was very impressed with Vince, I think he will make a great goal sneak in the future

One thing that might hold him back is his pace over the first 5-10 meters. If he was quick off the mark he could be that Vardy Type forward that we have been missing ever since, well Vardy.

Rielly - looking good, I reckon this is going to be his year

What changed your mind?

 

[Nige_Bix]

for what its worth I hear that Meeson got killed in norwoods trial game so Maric is in front for a Rd1 game

That's dissapointing considering comments were made about his expected improvement following a good preseason.

 

[McLeodMagic]

I was really happy with all the kids tonight. All of them did relatively well, Vince showed a bit of class but needs to improve on his kicking. Delighted with the work Big Ivan did in the ruck and around the ground.

With Skippy and Shirley being doubtful for next week, could we see Richard against the Dees?

 

[RooDog]

Yeh I must admit I didn't know Vince got so many touches, I thought he got maybe 10, but 15 is a good effort. I must have got him confused with Hinge a few times. And he's actually a little taller than I remembered him.

He may prove to be worth pick 32, it's just that I don't think there is too much up-side to Vince. We'll see.

Vince did some very nice work in close feeding the ball out... a couple of very nice handballs out from traffic to find a player on the run... A lot of this tends to go unnoticed

 

[noddy]

Vince did some very nice work in close feeding the ball out... a couple of very nice handballs out from traffic to find a player on the run... A lot of this tends to go unnoticed

Clean hands, good evasive skills & also does not panic.

Like what i saw from him.

Thought Jericho started off really well but bloody hell he must learn to keep his head over the ball & not worry too much about what's coming at him, took the gloss off of a fair game from him.

 

[Cap]

One thing that might hold him back is his pace over the first 5-10 meters. If he was quick off the mark he could be that Vardy Type forward that we have been missing ever since, well Vardy.

What changed your mind?

lets just say that from this weeks game he looked much more impressive than I have ever seen - I have to admit his foot skills are greatly improved from last yr

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Really impressed with Reilly. As others have said, he has gome in leaps and bounds from last year. His attack at the contest has improved outof sight.

The other youngster who is really impressing me is Van Berlo. He has heaps of courage and is pretty hard at it form one so young. I also detect a bit of mongrel in him in the way he attacks the oppositon.

 

[*PAF]

As I said in the Reilly Vs Salopek thread, too much is expected of players before they gain enough experience nowadays. Very very few players can make an impact early in their career, yet we expect all of them can do it.
All good things come to those who wait.
He is now approaching 50 games, so this year and next we will see just what sort of a player he will be for the rest of his career.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

As I said in the Reilly Vs Salopek thread, too much is expected of players before they gain enough experience nowadays. Very very few players can make an impact early in their career, yet we expect all of them can do it.
All good things come to those who wait.
He is now approaching 50 games, so this year and next we will see just what sort of a player he will be for the rest of his career.

Spot on PAF. Too be honest, i'm astounded by Reilly's last few weeks. I didn't think he had that type of game in him.

 

[Thunderstruck]

Happy with the youngsters tonight, they all showed a bit.

Vince - Love this bloke, very good effort for his first game, adds some flair around the contest and runs to the right positions to get the ball, something that I consider very important. Def has that x-factor.

Knights - Not as good as last week but still a good game from Chris. It scares me when I tell myself he is only 18

Hinge - Not a heap of gametime due to injury but when he was on he did some nice things. Has a fair body on him and hopefully we will see him cement a spot in the middle for Glenelg this year.

Reilly - Impressive game from him, really starting to stand out with his neat skills, time he is 25 he will be an elite player for us. Up with the Goodwin/Edwards sort of standard.

Maric - Gary Lyon loves him, and boy he is a big lad. Has a real go and his skills wern't that bad at all. Clearly well ahead of Meesen now.

Jericho - Started off like a blazing gun but totally dropped away and did some silly things, but kicked a nice goal later. Better effort than last week that's for sure. Still not convinced on him tho, especially with others coming thru the ranks.

 

[macca23]

Happy with the youngsters tonight, they all showed a bit.

Vince - Love this bloke, very good effort for his first game, adds some flair around the contest and runs to the right positions to get the ball, something that I consider very important. Def has that x-factor.

Knights - Not as good as last week but still a good game from Chris. It scares me when I tell myself he is only 18

Hinge - Not a heap of gametime due to injury but when he was on he did some nice things. Has a fair body on him and hopefully we will see him cement a spot in the middle for Glenelg this year.

Reilly - Impressive game from him, really starting to stand out with his neat skills, time he is 25 he will be an elite player for us. Up with the Goodwin/Edwards sort of standard.

Maric - Gary Lyon loves him, and boy he is a big lad. Has a real go and his skills wern't that bad at all. Clearly well ahead of Meesen now.

Jericho - Started off like a blazing gun but totally dropped away and did some silly things, but kicked a nice goal later. Better effort than last week that's for sure. Still not convinced on him tho, especially with others coming thru the ranks.

All good comments.

Just on Reilly, he was a Nick Stevens type of winger when we drafted him - definitely an outside receiver.

He's copped a fair bit of flak in the last couple of years while the club has been changing his role from that to an inside mid-fielder - that's chalk and cheese in anyone's book.

Last year in particular he was being groomed in short bursts for this role because of the need for skilled players to step up into this role when the big 4 we currently have all depart virtually at the one time.

Including the game against Norwood, he's been one of our hardest working, fiercest tackling mid-filders in all 3 games, while still showing some silky skills.

I picked him before a ball was bounced in anger this year to be the big improver of those already in the team, because of the learning process forced on him by Craig last year.

So far he's looking damned good!!

 

[macca23]

Jericho - Started off like a blazing gun but totally dropped away and did some silly things, but kicked a nice goal later. Better effort than last week that's for sure. Still not convinced on him tho, especially with others coming thru the ranks.

Now if only Craig can perform the same miracle on Jericho!!

He did do some really good things, and some very silly ones as you correctly pointed out.

My criticism is still based on his attck on the ball and the player being too soft and at times that was on display for all to see again yesterday.

That half-hearted effort on the outer wing early in the last quarter was not a pretty sight.

If Jericho toughens up he could be a footballer. If he doesn't he'll be gone.

Now he is a challenge for Craigy!!

 

[mattyc2422]

From the Hawks perspective, how bloody good is Roughead?????? That kid will be something special. He more than held his own against Rutten IMHO. That in itself is a pretty big achievement. I wish we had a young key forward like that coming through the ranks.

Haha, we hope he'll be special too. And he should be. He almost took over the game last night at the tender age of 19. Not many players can do that.

Buddy gets the hype, but Roughead will be a dominant force in the game.

You blokes are on the right track though too Stiffy. I dunno if its your recruiting department or the way you blood your youth or a combination of both, but your youngsters always seem to impress me.

 

[Crow-mo]

All good comments.

Just on Reilly, he was a Nick Stevens type of winger when we drafted him - definitely an outside receiver.

He's copped a fair bit of flak in the last couple of years while the club has been changing his role from that to an inside mid-fielder - that's chalk and cheese in anyone's book.

Last year in particular he was being groomed in short bursts for this role because of the need for skilled players to step up into this role when the big 4 we currently have all depart virtually at the one time.

Including the game against Norwood, he's been one of our hardest working, fiercest tackling mid-filders in all 3 games, while still showing some silky skills.

I picked him before a ball was bounced in anger this year to be the big improver of those already in the team, because of the learning process forced on him by Craig last year.

So far he's looking damned good!!

8 tackles for reilly shows a real committment to the 1%'ers.

but what is far more remarkable, and I've seen no one mention this:
8 tackles in a game is great
8 tackles in preseason is freaking unbelievable!!