Depth players

[Robroy22]

You read this term so often, but how hard must it be to be labelled one or considered one by your club?
Opportunities are given to others who do the same amount of training and make the same amount of sacrifices....yet the depth player just has to wait for an injury before they get a chance to shine. And even then its usually just a fill in gig.

We don't have depth players in my area of expertise, you either are a shaper or you're not. I know we all started out doing the "shitty" jobs and developed our skills to get to where we are now....but these players are being actively recruited as depth players because they're cheap. It does my head in thinking about being stuck on a list when you're only making up the numbers...I know they're relatively well paid, but accepting that you'll probably never make it, or moving from one list to another just to get a chance. I thank goodness I'm not an AFL depth player.

Thoughts?

 

[Markfs]

Are you kidding? So a "depth" player is only allowed to play well enough so the coach can drop them when they're no longer needed? Do they drug em?

 

[Robroy22]

No they don't drug them....but every club has them. How many games has Sphanger played this year?...Shoenmakers has been there on the cusp for years, Watson at Carlton, Pears at Essendon...Minson played a couple of games for the Bulldogs after the start of the year.
They're kept (some are even recruited) as "insurance" for key players....must be a fun gig.

 

[Markfs]

No they don't drug them....but every club has them. How many games has Sphanger played this year?...Shoenmakers has been there on the cusp for years, Watson at Carlton, Pears at Essendon...Minson played a couple of games for the Bulldogs after the start of the year.
They're kept (some are even recruited) as "insurance" for key players....must be a fun gig.

Spangher has played in a premiership..... he was delisted by west coast and traded by sydney to the hawks. He was a bloke considered not good enough ..... you might say that when the West Coast BF board listed their best 22, Spangher wasn't listed...... the Sydney BF board probably didnt list him in their best 22 either....

Shoenmakers has been tried in tons a positions a dozen times over the years and hasnt been up to scratch. He kicked a goal last night and the whole team gathered around him. He might get to play in a grand final...

I'm not sure these guys should be pitied. Of course, they are probably NOT listed in the best 22 by BF.... which is a terrible cross to bear... but they dont seem to be taking it too badly

 

[sirlothie]

I'd just take the 4x the average wage to play sport for a living and stfu...

 

[mike123]

Maybe we should cut lists down to 22 so nobody on a list misses out.

 

[Markfs]

I'd just take the 4x the average wage to play sport for a living and stfu...

lang hancock got a percentage of each ton of iron ore shipped out of the pilbara.... amounted to several billion dollars..... all he did was fly over it and see the red soil and staked a claim..... now give me that life

zuckerberg has made billions for doing a few months work with his buddies on facebook....

if i'm dreaming, i wont be dreaming to become someone who goes out for a beer and gets ratted on by some fan...

 

[TradeDraft]

No they don't drug them....but every club has them. How many games has Sphanger played this year?...Shoenmakers has been there on the cusp for years, Watson at Carlton, Pears at Essendon...Minson played a couple of games for the Bulldogs after the start of the year.
They're kept (some are even recruited) as "insurance" for key players....must be a fun gig.

Watson at Blues got De-Listed

 

[sirlothie]

lang hancock got a percentage of each ton of iron ore shipped out of the pilbara.... amounted to several billion dollars..... all he did was fly over it and see the red soil and staked a claim..... now give me that life

zuckerberg has made billions for doing a few months work with his buddies on facebook....

if i'm dreaming, i wont be dreaming to become someone who goes out for a beer and gets ratted on by some fan...

Their life still shits on most of our lives but if I was going to be a pro athlete I'd probably be a NBA basketballer, soccer player or tennis player.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Their life still shits on most of our lives but if I was going to be a pro athlete I'd probably be a NBA basketballer, soccer player or tennis player.

Golf best pro sport i reckon
You walk around 4 days a week with each other week off
Often walk in the sun.
Someone carries your gear.
Can play till 50 and then be a senior player
Can be fat if you like
Dont even have to win to collect big
Travel the world
Fel like the weekend off, dont try too hard thursday or friday

 

[didaksrightfoot]

You read this term so often, but how hard must it be to be labelled one or considered one by your club?
Opportunities are given to others who do the same amount of training and make the same amount of sacrifices....yet the depth player just has to wait for an injury before they get a chance to shine. And even then its usually just a fill in gig.

We don't have depth players in my area of expertise, you either are a shaper or you're not. I know we all started out doing the "shitty" jobs and developed our skills to get to where we are now....but these players are being actively recruited as depth players because they're cheap. It does my head in thinking about being stuck on a list when you're only making up the numbers...I know they're relatively well paid, but accepting that you'll probably never make it, or moving from one list to another just to get a chance. I thank goodness I'm not an AFL depth player.
That
Thoughts?

What?

Squads aren't limited to 22 guys - therefore you will always have guys who miss out. Players on AFL lists will fit along a bell-curve: you have a few elites/A graders at the top end, a bunch of guys in the middle who are either regular 22, or in-and-out of the team, and then a few guys at the bottom who will rarely get a shot in the 22.
Every team will have players in each group - and by nature of having a 40 man squad - you are garaunteed to have guys who aren't regular 22.

Every guy on an AFL list will have an idea of where they are at - but also know that it is a combination of talent, hard work and luck, that will either sustain them at their current level, or help them improve. Most will understand that position, but also strive to improve so that when they get a chance in the 22, they can maintain it.
Look at our 2010 flag. That season was characterised by having "star"/veteran players who seemed to be just biding their time on the sidelines waiting for the inevitable call back into the team when the "depth" youngsters revealed they weren't up to it... only it became clear that those youngsters had now taken over and weren't gonna give up their spot.

 

[Robroy22]

What?

Squads aren't limited to 22 guys - therefore you will always have guys who miss out. Players on AFL lists will fit along a bell-curve: you have a few elites/A graders at the top end, a bunch of guys in the middle who are either regular 22, or in-and-out of the team, and then a few guys at the bottom who will rarely get a shot in the 22.
Every team will have players in each group - and by nature of having a 40 man squad - you are garaunteed to have guys who aren't regular 22.

Every guy on an AFL list will have an idea of where they are at - but also know that it is a combination of talent, hard work and luck, that will either sustain them at their current level, or help them improve. Most will understand that position, but also strive to improve so that when they get a chance in the 22, they can maintain it.
Look at our 2010 flag. That season was characterised by having "star"/veteran players who seemed to be just biding their time on the sidelines waiting for the inevitable call back into the team when the "depth" youngsters revealed they weren't up to it... only it became clear that those youngsters had now taken over and weren't gonna give up their spot.

Nah that's not really what I'm on about....I'm not talking about "kids" drafted and playing twos for a year or two waiting for their chance. I'm talking about those guys that are on lists for 5-6 years waiting for that chance....or the ones that swap clubs only to be "depth" players again at the new place. I don't think any of our 2010 youngsters had been waiting for that many years to get a game.