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Player Watch Daniel Curtin

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Also Curtin is starting to be able to run the jets on when he needs to.

It's all getting very Koutafedies like.
 
This year is the the moments year in his career. The year we get to see lots of glimpses of what his skillset will bring on a regular basis when its fully AFL hardened and fit.



It’s these kind of plays where you start to think what could his ceiling be?

Because that’s genuinely Bontempelli-esque
 
It’s these kind of plays where you start to think what could his ceiling be?

Because that’s genuinely Bontempelli-esque
Hi ceiling, if he can get to a point where he is truly AFL fit to a midfielders level, he could be in the top 5 players in the comp. Imagine a taller Bontempelli that kicks goals and can swing back and intercept as a 3rd tall if needed. My ONLY gripe is that we signed him for 3 more years and not 8 or 10 which was likely not ever realistic but by the time he is coming to the end of his next contract, he might be right at the height of his game and what will it cost to keep him then???
 

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Hi ceiling, if he can get to a point where he is truly AFL fit to a midfielders level, he could be in the top 5 players in the comp. Imagine a taller Bontempelli that kicks goals and can swing back and intercept as a 3rd tall if needed. My ONLY gripe is that we signed him for 3 more years and not 8 or 10 which was likely not ever realistic but by the time he is coming to the end of his next contract, he might be right at the height of his game and what will it cost to keep him then???

You'd think the club probably pushed for longer to be fair.
 
I always struggle with conversation around "what is his ceiling" because the difference between a Bontempelli and any other player with similar physical attributes is the consistency of impact. Bontempelli isn't the best player in the competition because he's so big and athletic, he's the best player in the competition because he uses those traits to impact the game so significantly and so often.

At this stage, we're just seeing glimpses of Curtin's impact, and we're seeing his confidence grow each week. When he took that mark up forward, you could almost see him realise as the ball was mid-flight, wait, I'm in the box seat here. Nobody can outmark me here.

Can he get to the stage where he is able to have that kind of impact a dozen times a match, every week? It's possible, but hard to say at this stage.
 
Since his move to the wing in Round 11, no player in the AFL has taken more forward half intercept marks. Great from the player and, dare I say it, a good coaching move.
Probably not the move, but sticking with him is the good part.
I’m pretty sure he’d have excelled up forward to.
 
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Hi ceiling, if he can get to a point where he is truly AFL fit to a midfielders level, he could be in the top 5 players in the comp. Imagine a taller Bontempelli that kicks goals and can swing back and intercept as a 3rd tall if needed. My ONLY gripe is that we signed him for 3 more years and not 8 or 10 which was likely not ever realistic but by the time he is coming to the end of his next contract, he might be right at the height of his game and what will it cost to keep him then???

You'd think the club probably pushed for longer to be fair.

This is pessimistic I know, but my gut feel is he’s backing himself to be worth big money in 2029 and likely knows that with our list profile we won’t be able to afford what others can offer. It does seem he’s enjoying his time here and we look to be in for a good period over the next four years, but money talks.

The good news is with our list profile we should be in the window over that time and will be able to take full advantage of whatever he can offer.
 
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The AFL highlights don't have the mark that preceded this one, unfortunately.
 
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The AFL highlights don't have the mark that preceded this one, unfortunately.
It's a shame they don't.

After that first contested mark he got up a little slow, and I saw him slowly work over towards the back of the pack and then he waved for the long bomb. I said to my mate at the time, he's going to have a fly at this from the back... and the rest is another chapter of the upcoming classic story, tentatively titled "Dan The Great".

Just an absolute jaw-dropping 30 seconds of footy. Carey or Pavlich-like.
 
It's a shame they don't.

After that first contested mark he got up a little slow, and I saw him slowly work over towards the back of the pack and then he waved for the long bomb. I said to my mate at the time, he's going to have a fly at this from the back... and the rest is another chapter of the upcoming classic story, tentatively titled "Dan The Great".

Just an absolute jaw-dropping 30 seconds of footy. Carey or Pavlich-like.
That mark was immediately to the left of where I sit and he landed straight down on his back, so no surprise he got up sore after that one.
 
It's a shame they don't.

After that first contested mark he got up a little slow, and I saw him slowly work over towards the back of the pack and then he waved for the long bomb. I said to my mate at the time, he's going to have a fly at this from the back... and the rest is another chapter of the upcoming classic story, tentatively titled "Dan The Great".

Just an absolute jaw-dropping 30 seconds of footy. Carey or Pavlich-like.
Watching now on the Kayo replay. Of all people he's matched up on Sharp for the first mark, then works his way unmanned back behind the play unnoticed by anyone and positions himself next to Sharp again when calling for the ball. A very handy mismatch and two 10/10 reads of the ball. Also helps when our players are looking for him. It's paying off in spades.
 

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not as prolific as last week disposal wise but a couple of moments yesterday that just screamed that this kid will be clutch in big games when needed

the tap to himself, surge forward and running bounce before hitting Rankine in the 2nd when we were 28 points down

and two big contested marks within a minute of each other in the 4th and topped off with a goal were chef kiss worthy
Also, elite kicking to forwards to set up goals on a day where we were below par.
 
That's just such a ridiculous mark there, the fact he managed to hold the ball the whole way down after that impact is insane.
Had no right to go for it, let alone mark it! And took out Jordon Butts in the process. Outrageous for any player, yet alone a 2nd year kid
 

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Honestly so excited to see how he develops. I think the exciting thing for me is his rate of improvement is unreal with the added fact he has some unbelievable physical tools to work with. Even earlier in the season he was a bit timid with his physicality and he seemed to be a bit lost with positioning and also the pace of AFL footy. He's now well and truly settled at AFL level the last 2 months and i think he now realises how much bigger and stronger he is than his opponents.

His disposal, composure and decision making is elite + his running capacity is unreal, with the added fact he's near ruckman height and being elite in the air...
Scary prospect and i reckon the only reason he dropped slightly to us was because clubs may have thought he might not have a defined role at AFL level and be a bit of a tweener. Luckily for us he's adapted beautifully and his versitility is actually a nightmare match up for any player. Only player that can go with him from a physical height/strength and running stand point that i can think of in the AFL is Blicavs.
 

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Player Watch Daniel Curtin

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