Ebert

[Santos L Helper]

Originally posted by Macca19

I have no confidence in Williams anymore and i fully expect Brett to be wasted this year in the SANFL and only play 7 or 8 games.

Sory mate. I feel like the grinch who stole Christmas from you now Macca.

 

[Macca19]

Originally posted by Santos L Helper
Sory mate. I feel like the grinch who stole Christmas from you now Macca.

haha its all good. Ive realised Williams reluctance to give any youngsters a fair shot for a while now.

 

[PAfolwr]

Originally posted by Macca19
haha its all good. Ive realised Williams reluctance to give any youngsters a fair shot for a while now.

The funny thing is that had Guerra been delisted by Essendon, Williams would probably snap him up asap and give him heaps of gametime week in week out.
He does appear to be one of these people that thinks the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Question: If you are a youngster that follows Port Adelaide, what is the easiest way to play heaps of games for the Club?
Answer: Get delisted by Essendon.

 

[greg62]

It is true that young Brett is a fine player. Still winning a Magarey is a long way from playing consistent AFL. You only have to look at recent winners of the medal which includes numerous AFL rejects.

I think 5-10 games this year is a more realistic expectation.
The Brownlow might be out of the question, but the Rising Star is certainly a prospect.

 

[Macca19]

Originally posted by greg62
Still winning a Magarey is a long way from playing consistent AFL. You only have to look at recent winners of the medal which includes numerous AFL rejects.
I

Noone is saying that the Magarey does = Consistent AFL footy.

And yes, the majority of the winners in the last 10-12 years have been ex AFL players in the twilight of their career. Those players wont improve anymore, they will only decrease as the years pass by.

Brett was 19 this season and only just turned 20. Hes only gonna improve whereas the others wouldnt. He didnt even play the whole year in the midfield. He only played the last 12 or so games in there.

The last 19 year old to win the Magarey was Buckley. Look how good he turned out to be. Hopefully Brett goes somewhere close to emulating Nathan.

 

[mic59]

I can't see Brett getting much more than 10 games this year. At least it's better than some of the returns players have been given before. But 10 games should be a minimum. And the main reason for this is that our defence and midfield are getting on. Francou, James and Schofield still have a few years but we don't want the players to replace them to be totally green.

But there will have to be a big shift from last years' attitude towards experimental, project or other players. In 2002 there were 39 games played by those who could not be said to be the regular team. In 2003 there were 16. A lot of this could have been said to have been caused by injuries, because whereas in 2002 the low numbers were played by such as M.Stevens and Morgan; in 2003 they were due to injuries to Salopek, Thurstans, Primus and Francou. Mentioning the first two shows that Mark Williams was giving youth a go as they played 9 and 10 games respectively and would have been expected to play about 15 each. Chaplin and Gilham are two who will have to be getting time on the field soon as a replacement for Wakelin will be required in a couple of years. Although Lade has done an admirable job as a loose man in defence in the past.

 

[PAfolwr]

If Ebert was in this year's draft, he would have most likely have gone as the number one pick.
The Club that would have got him would play him from the very first game, and not as a tagger.
He would be given every chance to establish himself this year and next, and thus given every opportunity to become one of the elite players. If he was to become one or not, it would be entirely up to him but at least he would have that chance.

Here we are talking about him getting at most 10 games with limited to very limited game-time. Some including myself expect him to be tried out as a tagger at some stage.
That is sad!

As far as the Magarey medal not being as big a deal as it used to be, I think Macca19 answered that very well.

 

[mik]

its obvious that many of us port suporters dont believe choco is givin the youth enough chances, so why not try and give him the message!!!!

we need to get choco to start giving the younger kids time in the middle before our list is gone. IT NEEDS TO BEGIN THIS YEAR..

we cant wait till the end of the season and say 'why the f**k didnt u give ebert/sal/white/thurstans/gilham etc an opportunity'..
he has to know that the suporters would rather see the younger kids play, even tho they give away experience and possibly cost us games.

i'm sure choco is smart enough to realise this (fingers crossed), but if he still employs the same methods, he will hurt the club badly...


and on another note, i feel that the game plan should be changed so the midfielders should always go long to tredders at CHF, giving crumbers a chance...not chipping around so that when we stuff up it costs us.

 

[Eddie Woloschek]

At the 2002 Draft, Choco was all over Salopek, while Gilham got the "oh yeah, him too" treatment. That may have been because Salopek was Choco's target and Gilham was the choice of Stewart and Pelchen.
I have not been too critical of SOF since 2000, but he better get his act together quickly. Camp NZ was an idea from Loserville, so let's hope it hasn't left a scar. Let's face it, not too many clubs in the AFL will be knocking on his door, so a good hard look at himself is long overdue. However, i think he's a bit arrogant for that and we'll see more of the same.

Phil Walsh is clearly a worry. Matt Rendell left because he couldn't stand him (whether that's good or bad, I don't know). Remember Walsh was the bloke who walked out on Collingwood after his first season of VFL football, not to go to his great love Geelong, but because Richmond offered him heaps. He was a dud thereafter.

Choco goes, Walsh goes. So who's our next mentor?

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Salopek was the unexpected bonus of the draft, while Gilham was second choice for #16 (after Bell). Favourite son syndrome I guess.

Walsh doesn't appear particularly loved by anyone other than Choco. So his fortunes are well and truly tied to that star. Rising or falling? Not long to find out now.

Clarkson would have inside running to take over as gaffer I'd guess. SANFL premiership coach and is already in the Port system. Bucky speaks highly of him, so that must count for something. Otherwise you go into the assistant coach pool - O'Donnell, Harvey etc - and who can tell from that? Or the recycleds (Wallace, Eade etc) ... and they've been out of the system for a while - and maybe for a reason.

Oh and back on topic, I was told 5AA interviewed Brett Ebert this week and he couldn't understand where the comments about Russell's criticisms came from. Apparently Russell helped develop Camp Middle Earth and he was fully supportive of the concept.

 

[Portia]

St Kilda for one would be mad not to talk to Choco if we ditched him. Minor round success and finals failure? Thats top Saints form.

Plenty of candidates for rookie replacements for Choco, if thats what you're asking, Eddie. Gary O'Donnell and John Longmire are my front runners.

If we're desperate for an experienced coach however, as much as I hate to say it, Rodney Eade would be able to refresh the Port gameplan without having to completely retrain the entire team.

 

[Fullarton Power]

Originally posted by Kid Dynamite!
Given that Adam Morgan was selected over Brett then I'd say that this is quite true.

yeah, that's a very good point. I wouldn't select Adam Morgan over my Grandma, and she's been dead since 1984.

 

[Eddie Woloschek]

Originally posted by Porthos

If we're desperate for an experienced coach however, as much as I hate to say it, Rodney Eade would be able to refresh the Port gameplan without having to completely retrain the entire team.

Rodney Eade is a madman. Then again, it would make the transition easy. More effective soundproofing of coaches' box and assistants' ears required however.

 

[Santos L Helper]

Originally posted by Porthos
St Kilda for one would be mad not to talk to Choco if we ditched him. Minor round success and finals failure? Thats top Saints form.

Plenty of candidates for rookie replacements for Choco, if thats what you're asking, Eddie. Gary O'Donnell and John Longmire are my front runners.

If we're desperate for an experienced coach however, as much as I hate to say it, Rodney Eade would be able to refresh the Port gameplan without having to completely retrain the entire team.

I was told I had a srew loose for mentioning Eade, but let's look at a couple of things.

1. You all know I think Choco and Walsh need to go, and at the moment there's no real ideal person within the group to take over. Although I do believe Clarkson will make an excellent coach.
2. Eade is a 'madman' but the average lifespan of an AFL coach is around 5-7 seasons max (?), well Eade is ok until the players get sick of him which appears to be around this length of time.
3. Eade is an excellent tactician! He was the first coach to disect our gameplan (when it was going well) and enable his team of less skiled players to always cause us trouble. He is a thinking coach and also gets a lot from less skilled players.
4. Until he lost the players at Sydney, he was always relaxed and sensible in front of the media. Something we sorely need from our senior coach(es).
5. He coaches with several gameplans in mind. How many times have we come to these boards and lamented the FACT that we have Plan A, and then nothing?
6. If Eade falls apart after five or six seasons, we will still have gotten a good lifespan from a good coach and probably had finals success.

This is my opinion, it's open to comment or criticism.

 

[sog35]

I guess the only issue with Eade is whether the players would go into pre-season with him thinking he's a nutter. If they do, then he may have to not only prove himself as a master tactician but as a sufficient player motivator and manager.

I also like Clarkson. He has proven to be a premiership winning coach at the level below, with a good understanding of midfield rotations and match ups.

 

[Portia]

Malcolm Blight went into every season as a nutter. I reckon the players could do with being scared ****less a bit.

 

[Santos L Helper]

Sog old mate, you don't reckon they're going into this pre season thinking the coach is a nutter?

Let's get serious here.

 

[sog35]

I definitely think out players could do with being **** scared during preseason. Unfortunately our nutter of a coach isn't that type of nutter. And by god I wish he was.

I reiterate, Clarkson should be the next man for the job I think. He has just that little touch of mongrel that slightly sets him apart from Williams. If not Clarkson then Eade.

 

[Santos L Helper]

Originally posted by sog35
I definitely think out players could do with being **** scared during preseason. Unfortunately our nutter of a coach isn't that type of nutter. And by god I wish he was.

I reiterate, Clarkson should be the next man for the job I think. He has just that little touch of mongrel that slightly sets him apart from Williams. If not Clarkson then Eade.

I thought you might have learnt from the cricket ground mate.....always listen to Santos!.

 

[Eddie Woloschek]

Not convinced about Clarkson. Don't know enough about him but sense he is at Port because of what he did out on the Ponderosa. Not sure he'd still have an asst's gig in Melbourne. Eade and Wallace don't excite me. Amongst the untried guys, Gary O'Donnell would be my choice - good playing pedigree and has learnt under Matthews. Cool, calm, collected. I think he'll be in demand at season end, if not before. Not sure that there is much depth about the place, though that's no reason not to make a change if the insipid late season performances continue. Problem being, we're probably good enough to win 17-18 again with the gameplan written on all 15 teams' whiteboards, but when it comes to quality opposition in pressure situations, the only Plan B seems to be to look disconsolate and tell us that "there is huge pain in the guts that won't go away until we atone for this next year." Well, for SOF, there won't be a next year unless he's drinking a champagne spritzer on last Sat in Sept.

First thing he should do is pick the Wiz Cup sides from the bottom, and continue the practice into the season until individuals prove they can't measure up week after week.

We don't expect Salopek or Ebert to be as good as Francou, but we might find Cassissi or someone even lower ranked makes progress quickly.

Port use few players and the ones that don't get used don't get any experience. Perhaps they've realised this and that's why they took Mahoney. Mind you, i think choco has a big inferiority complex about his list - it's a way of avoiding blame. I'd hate to see him open slather on trades. "What's that? Bandy for Tredrea? How about we throw in Schoey to make it fair?"

 

[PAfolwr]

We must make room for Salopeck, Ebert, Cassisi and Kane Cornes to get huge amounts of gametime between them this year. At least the equivalent of 3 full time players spread amongst them.
Not bench warming time but the full amount of gametime, and not one of them to be used as taggers but full on midfielders. Give Kane Cornes and the others a fair dinkum go as midfielders/playmakers.

We do not have any matchwinning midfielders on our list now that Dew is being used as a forward pocket, and we need to find out if one of these players (or more than one) is capable of being a matchwinner.

Francou, James and Carr are not the matchwinning type that can turn a game on it's head in a few minutes, no matter how good they might be. Neither is Schofield. He has done so occasionally in the past, but that has been when the team as a whole has played well.
Burgoyne can occasionally do so, but that is usually when he is playing in the forward line not midfield.
In the past we had Dew and Francis as a combo, where thanks to their long kicks into the forward line, or their long range shots at goal with good accuracy meant that we could score heaps in just a few minutes. Since then we have had workhorses, runners and taggers. During 2003 finals that went down to runners and taggers only.
That has nothing to do with the quality of these players, just the type of players they are. (If that makes sense)

 

[Eddie Woloschek]

Originally posted by PAfolwr
We must make room for Salopeck, Ebert, Cassisi and Kane Cornes to get huge amounts of gametime between them this year. At least the equivalent of 3 full time players spread amongst them.
Not bench warming time but the full amount of gametime, and not one of them to be used as taggers but full on midfielders. Give Kane Cornes and the others a fair dinkum go as midfielders/playmakers.

Agreed. We are in desperate need of more class in the midfield and a few gamebreakers. Ebo and Sal look better better bets than Dom and SOPII at this stage, but only opportunity will tell the story.

 

[powernut]

I don't see Kane Cornes as a playmaker, much the same as Josh Francou. I think Sal and Ebo will be, but not just yet. Kingsley will never be more than a workhorse, if he's fit.

Our playmakers need to come from the Burger boys, Wangas, Rog and Scoey imho. They are the ones who can carry the ball and run through lines.

The other name not yet mentioned is Wilbur. He'll be much better this year. Midfield or backline?? I'd love to see him in the centre square when the going gets tough......Admire his work ethic.

 

[PAfolwr]

Originally posted by Santos L Helper
Here's a sad, but true, story straight from the inner sanctum at Alberton.

Williams does not rate Brett Ebert very highly and Phil Walsh rates his disposal as poor. If you all knew this then I apologise, but if you were all hoping for a fair run for 'young Brett'.......think again.
I also have heard that many of our assistants are frustrated by the apparent lack of consideration given to them by the senior coach and his moron backup. Only recently we had to change dieticians because his job was compromised by Williams' superior knowledge on the subject.

This year is on track for disaster!

I was reading these two articles, and the way that Ebert was not even mentioned made me think back to this post.
The two or three that Williams could be talking would have to include Kingsley and Wilson. He did say play MORE in the midfield.

From this article
But football manager Mick Moylan was optimistic, claiming Stevens was not used exclusively in the midfield, and that last year James was severely hampered by his groin injury, which limited his game time.

"So it really gives the opportunity to players like (Steven) Salopek and (Dominic) Cassisi to really step up and have an impact," Moylan said.

And from this article
(Williams)"Josh Mahoney's going to be important for us now and two or three others will get an opportunity to play more in the midfield.

 

[Damp Squarie]

Originally posted by Santos L Helper
Here's a sad, but true, story straight from the inner sanctum at Alberton.

Williams does not rate Brett Ebert very highly and Phil Walsh rates his disposal as poor.

Would Williams be erring on the side of caution though?
He's hardly going to be beating his drum too much given his lineage.

I have only seen a little bit of young Ebert so I cant comment as to his ability however he must have inherited some classy stuff from Dad?