Retired Dylan Roberton

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aussierulesrules said:
I'm not sure I'd want to see Dylan playing on the likes of Hawkins, Patton, Tippett and co. any time soon!
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But players get mixed up, they aren't always man on man for the whole game anymore, and it would be good if he could effect a spoil against those guys if he had to.
 
Yeah I meant that I wouldn't want him to be the main option on them, as I just don't think he'd have either the height or strength to match theirs and as such I think he'd be best suited to the no.3 role. Delaney/Bruce and Goddard/Bruce hopefully FB and/or CHB long term, with Robbo or even Lee 3rd is something that could really work well.
 

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I think Roberton is potentially a super important player for us from a structural perspective. His flexibility would come in very handy. We need a bloke that can provide some offensive but also potentially match up on a small, medium or even a big bloke if necessary. Gilbert was an exceptional player in 09 & 10 for this reason. Yeah he butchered the footy a bit, but he took the game on and was defensively minded enough to be third man up consistently.

With Dempster & Fisher gone after this year, we will potentially be left with Delenay, Goddard and maybe Bruce holding the key defensive posts. All 3 (maybe with the exception of Goddard, will wait and see), are more your shut down types. Roberton could allow us to only play 2 of these blokes and be the third tall that actually gets the ball and provides some rebound. I would love to see a backline that looks something like this in a couple of years:

Roberton Delenay Webster
McKenzie Goddard Newnes

This provides a nice mix of height, run, kicking & defensive pressure. For example:

2 shut down players (Delenay, Goddard)
1 hybrid (Roberton)
2 ball winners (McKenzie & Newnes)
2 gun kicks (Webster, McKenzie), or most importantly only 1 dud kick (Delenay).

If you wanted Newnes in the middle you could throw one of Murdoch or Acres back there as the other medium type defender with running ability.
 
saintbill said:
I think Roberton is potentially a super important player for us from a structural perspective. His flexibility would come in very handy. We need a bloke that can provide some offensive but also potentially match up on a small, medium or even a big bloke if necessary. Gilbert was an exceptional player in 09 & 10 for this reason. Yeah he butchered the footy a bit, but he took the game on and was defensively minded enough to be third man up consistently.

With Dempster & Fisher gone after this year, we will potentially be left with Delenay, Goddard and maybe Bruce holding the key defensive posts. All 3 (maybe with the exception of Goddard, will wait and see), are more your shut down types. Roberton could allow us to only play 2 of these blokes and be the third tall that actually gets the ball and provides some rebound. I would love to see a backline that looks something like this in a couple of years:

Roberton Delenay Webster
McKenzie Goddard Newnes

This provides a nice mix of height, run, kicking & defensive pressure. For example:

2 shut down players (Delenay, Goddard)
1 hybrid (Roberton)
2 ball winners (McKenzie & Newnes)
2 gun kicks (Webster, McKenzie), or most importantly only 1 dud kick (Delenay).

If you wanted Newnes in the middle you could throw one of Murdoch or Acres back there as the other medium type defender with running ability.



Think you might be forgetting a bloke called Wright who us very good player in this role
Given good run with injury was very very impressive last pre season before injury hit.
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I like Wright a lot, I am just sick of watching the Saints butcher the footy. I am not saying he is an awful kick, but it is definitely suspect. It worries me having too many dodgy kicks in the backline. Would almost rather see him cement a spot in an onball tagging role. Could be very useful at centre clearances, attacks the ball very hard and has that initial burst of speed that could create some separation allowing him to give off a clean handball, preferably to somebody like Billings;)
 
saintbill said:
I like Wright a lot, I am just sick of watching the Saints butcher the footy. I am not saying he is an awful kick, but it is definitely suspect. It worries me having too many dodgy kicks in the backline. Would almost rather see him cement a spot in an onball tagging role. Could be very useful at centre clearances, attacks the ball very hard and has that initial burst of speed that could create some separation allowing him to give off a clean handball, preferably to somebody like Billings;)
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I'd like to see Wrighty start in the centre square for a few games, see how he goes
 
saintbill said:
I like Wright a lot, I am just sick of watching the Saints butcher the footy. I am not saying he is an awful kick, but it is definitely suspect. It worries me having too many dodgy kicks in the backline. Would almost rather see him cement a spot in an onball tagging role. Could be very useful at centre clearances, attacks the ball very hard and has that initial burst of speed that could create some separation allowing him to give off a clean handball, preferably to somebody like Billings;)
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Completely agree with all of that. Our idea of what the future backline should look like is pretty much identical. :thumbsu:

Wright's kicking was awful when he came back from injury but I've watched a few of his games from earlier in the season and it wasn't as bad. Very much a confidence thing according to Richo so we have time to work on it but either way you want good-elite kicks in your backline which is why I think he'd be better off in the midfield, which according to Ameet is the plan anyway. :thumbsu:
 
hayes said:
Completely agree with all of that. Our idea of what the future backline should look like is pretty much identical. :thumbsu:

Wright's kicking was awful when he came back from injury but I've watched a few of his games from earlier in the season and it wasn't as bad. Very much a confidence thing according to Richo so we have time to work on it but either way you want good-elite kicks in your backline which is why I think he'd be better off in the midfield, which according to Ameet is the plan anyway. :thumbsu:
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Even when he was drafted word was that if he was feeling rushed, he panic kicked, and butchered it. With experience we could hope that he gets over that.
But as a young guy playing AFL, no doubt it feels a bit tight in the packs and his brain is screaming to get rid of it.
 
With Savage hopefully giving us the real breakaway speed in the backline (combined with pretty good and definitely penetrating kicking) I'd really rather that the other shorter options we have there have better disposal than Wright does, especially if Gears and/or Gilbo are also back there. Any of Webster, Newnes, Murdoch, McKenzie and Acres would likely be preferable as far as that goes. Wright to the guts.
 

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Here's what the 2015 Champion Data Prospectus had to say about Roberton:

Recorded below average for disposals, kick rating, meters gained, intercept marks and intercept possessions - all categories in which he rated above average in 2013.

Rated poor for rebound 50's after rating elite in 2013.
 
Periphery said:
Here's what the 2015 Champion Data Prospectus had to say about Roberton:

Recorded below average for disposals, kick rating, meters gained, intercept marks and intercept possessions - all categories in which he rated above average in 2013.

Rated poor for rebound 50's after rating elite in 2013.
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So all the prospectus does is look up old stats.
I can do that myself.
Get on the Robbinator for 2015
 
SaintsSeptember said:
Was there any analysis as to 'why"?
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Their intent isn't to provide an in depth analysis of a players stats and why they improved/declined, but more to plainly report what a player did. They will mention if a player sustained an injury but generally only the more obvious ones. They actually get it wrong with Roberton and say that Delaney pushed him out of the team, where as we all know, he was still recovering from his ankle injury.

Context is important but it really isn't what they are about.
 
Periphery said:
Their intent isn't to provide an in depth analysis of a players stats and why they improved/declined, but more to plainly report what a player did. They will mention if a player sustained an injury but generally only the more obvious ones. They actually get it wrong with Roberton and say that Delaney pushed him out of the team, where as we all know, he was still recovering from his ankle injury.

Context is important but it really isn't what they are about.
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Particularly since the Delaney role is not the Roberton role.

I'm actually quite pleased that no-one really knows what's going on at StKilda. It will be all the more satisfying when it clicks into place.
 
Great article on Robbo's injury last year:

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2015-05-08/robertons-resurgence

His right ankle became so bad at times that accelerating while driving required great care and concentration.
...
At the end of the season he had surgery, but by the time Alan Richardson arrived at the club, still didn’t feel anywhere near 100 per cent fit.

“The surgery didn’t really work,” Roberton admitted to SAINTS.com.au this week.
...
No matter how hard he tried, keeping up with the pace game was impossible. At the age of 22, he harboured a harrowing feared that league football had gone past him.

Roberton played seven consecutive games for Sandringham, rested for two weeks, played another match and then had a further fortnight off – not that the interspersed layoffs made his ankle feel any better.
...
In hindsight, Roberton concedes he made two critical mistakes throughout this period: he wasn’t completely honest with the club’s medical staff and that he simply did not work hard enough.

“I probably should have been more upfront with the doctors earlier and actually told them about how worried I was about my ankle and my future,” he said.

“If I had have done that earlier it may not have wiped off my entire year the way it did.

“I guess sometimes I saw myself just going the motions at trainings. I conceded that I couldn’t sort of run so my attitude became lazy.”

Roberton’s honesty is refreshing. He speaks plainly and openly and is unfazed by his own candidness. His baby face is juxtaposed by a five o’clock shadow that in reality has probably taken days to acquire. Above all else, there is not a hint of ego in his body
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Funnily enough, when he was at his lowest ebb, about halfway through last season, it was a familiar face that spurred him on.

“Richo had a similar sort of injury when he played, so he was really good about it and understood how hard it was to get right,” Roberton said.

“He understood where I was coming from because he’s been through it. This gave me some comfort even though I knew that physically I was struggling.”
...
This time last year he was headed towards the wilderness. Now, reinvigorated by his new role on the wing, Roberton is a key pillar in Alan Richardson’s best team.
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Honestly, I think Roberton has taken on the role they expected Gilbert to play. Frankly, I think he plays the role better.
 
Persevering Saint said:
Honestly, I think Roberton has taken on the role they expected Gilbert to play. Frankly, I think he plays the role better.
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He's a better kick of the pill for one...
 
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