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David Ellard

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pepalenko

pepalenko

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I’m not getting David Ellard’s absence from our team.

I’ve read a bit on here that both he and Curnow in the team don’t go which is fair enough, but I am questioning what Curnow has over him.

Statistically the two are very close this year as highlighted below:

Avg. kicks: Ellard 12 Curnow 8

Avg. handballs: Ellard 8 Curnow 11

Avg. contested poss: Ellard 9 Curnow 8

Disposal Efficiency: Ellard 65% Curnow 70%

Avg. clearances: Ellard 4 Curnow 3

Avg. tackles: Ellard 7 Curnow 5

Avg. 1%: Ellard 3 Curnow 1

Avg. goals: Ellard 0.5 Curnow 0

As you can see, not much between them based on official AFL stats. The point of interest for me is that Ellard has only had 33% of time on ground in his 8 matches vs 57% for Curnow’s 14 matches.

I’m not dumb enough to believe that pure stats are the beginning and end of a player’s performance and there are always other aspects like attitude etc, but does anyone else think that Ellard is a bit stiff this year?

I will go on record as saying that I think Curnow has been serviceable this year and I think has played to the best of his current ability, so this post is just asking why no love for Davey?
 
Rightly or wrongly I wonder if the MC feel that they have more to work with in Curnow...bigger body, to my eye the more mobile of the two, same great work ethic. Brock has certainly nudged himself above both, and Bell may make it harder again...no bad thing.
 
Could be as simple as a bigger body. Site says Ed is 2 inches taller and 5 kg's heavier, not that the site is necessarily accurate.
 

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i would suggest that curnow has a greater ability to "impress" on the training track which could infuelence the MC decision when it comes to selection.
Curnow has been apart of the MC team from the start of the year where as ellard tends to have to force his way in through the year.
 
Blue since 72 said:
Could be as simple as a bigger body. Site says Ed is 2 inches taller and 5 kg's heavier, not that the site is necessarily accurate.
Click to expand...

Does the site say how big Bell is by any chance? He looks like he has a fairly big body but I don't think ive heard how big he actually is yet though :P
 
Kades_Dad said:
Curnow is leading the AFL in helicopter kicks though.
Click to expand...

And yet his disposal efficiency is slightly better than Judd's, Murphy's and Kruezer's year to date. He handball's more than he kicks so he probably know's his kicking is not great plus where he plays would have an effect on the ratio.

I understand the stars get cut more slack for their error rates but it does show he's not the worst out there.
 
Very similar players but I think Ellard's ability to get forward and kick a goal makes him a more important player.

Very rarely does Ed get into a goal kicking position let alone kick it.
 
Ellard's ability to get forward is pretty underrated. I suppose it stems from the fact he started out as a small forward though.
 
Kades_Dad said:
Curnow is leading the AFL in helicopter kicks though.
Click to expand...
haha didn't robbo win that last year?? an don't forget 2nd behind swan in one step meaningless kicks around the body..
curnow does alot of shut down work around ball ups.stripping of ball,bumps,ellard hunts the ball more an doesn't seem to do that as much...they are no stars but curnow has more upside imo
 

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He is a terrier but too small against the Brad Swelles & Jordan Lewis of the world..in the AJ league at providing depth.
 
I expect Ed or David to be put up for trade.

Not because I want to lose either but the MC have signalled they don't intend to field a side with Bell, Mclean, Curnow and Ellard together.
 
I honestly rate Ellard higher than Curnow, for his tackling ability (i remember someone at the club rating him its best tackler during the offseason) and his tendency to go forward and kick goals, I remember last year in a game against the swans iirc he may have bagged himself 4, and he may have got 3 in another game. Very surprised to see his efficiency is inferior to Curnow too, because the curn has to be one of the lesser kicks on our list. Obviously handballs hit targets more often. I think Ellard offers more in the long run, but that's just one man's opinion on two fairly evenly matched players. I struggled to see why he got dropped and see him as possibly a better option than even AJ, although he is more of a tagger than a nippy, annoying back pocket, which is AJ's MO.
 
Blue since 72 said:
And yet his disposal efficiency is slightly better than Judd's, Murphy's and Kruezer's year to date. He handball's more than he kicks so he probably know's his kicking is not great plus where he plays would have an effect on the ratio.

I understand the stars get cut more slack for their error rates but it does show he's not the worst out there.
Click to expand...

Have you actually been to a game this year mate? Curnow leads our team for helicopters by a country mile. From where I was sitting on the weekend the Blues supporters were threatening to go out there and drag him themselves.

The only player I could pick that would be close to his low standard would be Aaron Joseph. Don't throw stats at me either, because anyone can skew the numbers and hit a target with a handpass.
 
Kades_Dad said:
Have you actually been to a game this year mate? Curnow leads our team for helicopters by a country mile. From where I was sitting on the weekend the Blues supporters were threatening to go out there and drag him themselves.
Click to expand...

Didn't disagree his kicking's not the best but he's obviously doing an overall job to the MC's satisfaction, as is Joseph.

The only player I could pick that would be close to his low standard would be Aaron Joseph. Don't throw stats at me either, because anyone can skew the numbers and hit a target with a handpass.
Click to expand...

I noted he hand passes more in my original post. For him a hand pass out to a runner who does find a target 45 down the track is more important to the team than him kicking one of his helicopters hey!
 

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Blue since 72 said:
Didn't disagree his kicking's not the best but he's obviously doing an overall job to the MC's satisfaction, as is Joseph.
Click to expand...

The MC have done a pretty poor job this year in my opinion on a number of fronts. I've got gripes with a whole lot of stuff that doesn't make sense like:
  • Playing Joseph
  • Letting a horribly out of form Garlett suffer in the seniors for months
  • Not playing Thornton as a swingman
  • Selecting Marcus Davies in any way, shape or form
  • Playing Yarran as a sub when he was clearly injured
  • Thinking that Hampson is a forward
  • Dropping Bootsma for no real good reason and then denying the kid another chance
  • Dropping Brock Mclean constantly after calling him back for one game
Etc....
 
Twomey2Betts said:
Ellard's ability to get forward is pretty underrated. I suppose it stems from the fact he started out as a small forward though.
Click to expand...
This is why I prefer Ellard in the side. He nails his chances when he gets them. Also, if spots were given on the basis of being a top bloke, he'd be the first in.

Maybe Curnow has better spread when we transition - something we haven't always done well this year.
 
If only Ellard was 5-10 cms bigger :( He'd be awesome. As it is he does a great job punching above his weight but at AFL level I think, for the role he plays, his size is probably the thing that holds him back compared to Curnow and the like, or at least that's what I'm guessing the MC figure.
 
Could seem him playing as a defensive forward rather than a mid, with Jeffy spending more time up the ground.
 
Big Sim said:
Could seem him playing as a defensive forward rather than a mid, with Jeffy spending more time up the ground.
Click to expand...
It's not a bad idea, you could probably rotate them. Ellard also has another handy trait which probably isn't thought of too often: clutch ability.
 

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