Dolla Beal

Sman-21

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Thread starter #1
So it appears NBL Finals MVP Jermaine Beal was serious about recent tweet of wanting a try out for Freo or the Eagles.
Eagles are giving him one tomorrow.
Don't like his chances of making it to AFL but would of been good to see Freo offer him a shot also.
Reason is if my memory is right AFL clubs are able to poach players from other sports and they are exempt from salary cap, might also not even cost a spot on the list.
So a bit disappointed Freo didnt give him a go.
Absolutely nothing to lose.

I see no harm in trying all these avenues to get players even if all end up failures.
 

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Freo Dr

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#3
Wow huge kick in the guts to the Basketball fraternity if true. But seriously it takes more than just athleticism to becomes a good footballer -
look at Notacluey - and he has been playing footy since his teens now. On second thoughts maybe Beal is ideal for the slime, probably be an AA in a couple of years time.
 

willoblue

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#4
He's 27 this year. It took Mike Pyke, who had previously been playing a sport with an oval ball on a field, three or four years before he was any good. Not worth it.
not worth it with respect to him actually playing AFL, but I'd have thought that it would be worth it in terms of publicity overseas & younger potential recruits in the USA.
 

Sman-21

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Thread starter #5
Didn't realise he was that old but like I said I doubt he will make it because AFL requires endurance athletes not to mention how hard it is to pick up and play the game.
Still think our club should be pursuing these options more often.
Nothing to lose and could unearth a gem one day.
Don't need to waste any valuable staff on them, eg for a tryout any idiot can follow a check list of drills and get him to do them, write down results, then give it to more important people to look at.
If he tests well get someone tutoring him teaching him the basics, once again doesn't require important coaches that need to focus on current jobs.

Who knows he could have great strong hands and be an excellent mark.
Around 192cm solid build so should be good 1 on 1.

Once again I will say I seriously doubt he would make it and due to height and weight would play as a forward or defender.
So lots of finer points to learn that take most people many years to understand.
No harm in trying though.

https://twitter.com/DollaBeal
 

strobe00

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#6
Sorry folks, he's a shooting guard or point guard. Very, very good shooter, great athleticism and a terrific ball handler (round bouncy one, indoors, on a wood floor). Perfect for basketball, but the wrong frame and skillset/approach for a footy player considering his age.

It's a bet that isn't worth taking. Slime may come away with the win, but Beal has less chance of playing a game at AFL level for the Toasters than Cale Morton did.
 
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strobe00

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#7
Wow huge kick in the guts to the Basketball fraternity if true. But seriously it takes more than just athleticism to becomes a good footballer -
look at Notacluey - and he has been playing footy since his teens now. On second thoughts maybe Beal is ideal for the slime, probably be an AA in a couple of years time.
Bring Le Bron or Dwight Howard over at 20-21 year olds, and it might be a kick in the guts if they were discarded without looking. But you can't call it a kick in the guts in this case.
 
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#8
Yeah nah these are atrocious. The only absolute star to come from a converted background was Scott Pendlebury, but his football started a lot earlier. Understanding the game is the simple most endearing and useful attribute. If Nick Suban didn't have it he'd have nothing. And how Lachie Neale can be a short arse in the tallest midfield in the competition and still fit in. It's why Menegola will probably never play a single AFL game despite being a total freak of an athlete.

Pass. Not interested in these novelties. Not interested in the gall of this prick either, expecting to convert to a sport on a whim and believing he deserves a trial on the basis of being alright at another? It's like Gary Ablett wanting a gig at Arsenal.
 
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#10
I do think we need to be more adventurous with developing athletes from other sports, but yeah, from a much earlier age because if the dude is going to occupy a place on the list, he has to be able to play and not just be a show pony.
 

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strobe00

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#13
We've already saved one player from that utterly boring and shitful sport in Zac Clarke.

No need for another.
* Extends middle finger to PB, and then remembers this is a football forum. Thinks about it, then retracts middle finger *

We better throw Moller out first thing tomorrow then. ;)

EDIT: FFS Scon. Too quick on the keyboard.
 

leungtl

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#14
Please no, the Wildcats need him far more than the Eagles do!

Has one of the best pull up jump shots in Australia right now. Not quite sure how that'll translate to football though...

 

mike91

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#16
So it appears NBL Finals MVP Jermaine Beal was serious about recent tweet of wanting a try out for Freo or the Eagles.
Eagles are giving him one tomorrow.
Don't like his chances of making it to AFL but would of been good to see Freo offer him a shot also.
Reason is if my memory is right AFL clubs are able to poach players from other sports and they are exempt from salary cap, might also not even cost a spot on the list.
So a bit disappointed Freo didnt give him a go.
Absolutely nothing to lose.

I see no harm in trying all these avenues to get players even if all end up failures.
Spoiler alert, he wont make it, freo didn't wanna waste there time.
 

PapaJ

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#17
Yeah nah these are atrocious. The only absolute star to come from a converted background was Scott Pendlebury, but his football started a lot earlier. Understanding the game is the simple most endearing and useful attribute. If Nick Suban didn't have it he'd have nothing. And how Lachie Neale can be a short arse in the tallest midfield in the competition and still fit in. It's why Menegola will probably never play a single AFL game despite being a total freak of an athlete.

Pass. Not interested in these novelties. Not interested in the gall of this prick either, expecting to convert to a sport on a whim and believing he deserves a trial on the basis of being alright at another? It's like Gary Ablett wanting a gig at Arsenal.

Absolute stars are not going to be converts who do so in their late teens or 20's - but there's been a few serviceable ones. Brogan comes to mind, he was pretty good at both. When it comes to Basketball, generally it's going to be the taller types that will catch an AFL recruiters eye - athletic, good hands, can jump and of course tall.

Mind you, Beal would be tallish on a footy field. I could see Beale being a footy player, but it would take a couple of years of re-programming at lower levels, and even then the odds he'd be good enough for AFL level? Really small.
 

Alfonz

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#18
I went to the USAFL championships. Not a bad standard. Teams like NYC had ex-VFL players in their midfield. Didn't stop them getting smashed by Austin. Anyway, in the GF, Austin's ruckman was the most influential player on the ground. He was a black guy and dominated the ruck contests and stoppages. Sort of like a poor man's Naitanui. Looked like a basketballer to me.

Anyway, for a position like ruck, you don't need to have the best smarts/skills to be a handy player. Naitanui is a perfect example. People with his athletic abilities are a dime a dozen in the US, yet he is an athletic freak in the AFL.

I think it is quite conceivable to get a US basketballer to adapt to the game in the ruck, and even do it better than Brogan or Pyke (I know he is a rugby player). But you'd want to get them reasonably young and give them many years to pick up the game.
 

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If you can run, jump and catch the ball then you get paid $500,000 to be a third string player in the NFL, not $200,000 to have to also learn to kick and gain awareness from all angles in the AFL.
 

theGav56

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#22
Yeah nah these are atrocious. The only absolute star to come from a converted background was Scott Pendlebury, but his football started a lot earlier. Understanding the game is the simple most endearing and useful attribute. If Nick Suban didn't have it he'd have nothing. And how Lachie Neale can be a short arse in the tallest midfield in the competition and still fit in. It's why Menegola will probably never play a single AFL game despite being a total freak of an athlete.

Pass. Not interested in these novelties. Not interested in the gall of this prick either, expecting to convert to a sport on a whim and believing he deserves a trial on the basis of being alright at another? It's like Gary Ablett wanting a gig at Arsenal.
There was this Irish guy. Jim somebody or other....
 

Tayl0r

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It's not like David Warner moving to football though, is it? Zac Smith was a soccer player. At least soccer is a field and you kick it.
 

slicedndiced

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#25
Ropehead Moller says hai.
* Extends middle finger to PB, and then remembers this is a football forum. Thinks about it, then retracts middle finger *

We better throw Moller out first thing tomorrow then. ;)

EDIT: FFS Scon. Too quick on the keyboard.

So we've doubled our quota.

Sorry. I just loathe and detest basketball.
 
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