Toast Esava

[Farmer2Goggin]

He certainly doesn't look out of place like Blicavs did in his first 50 game but he severely lacks the ability to work himself into the game. He must be a confidence player. Needs to get hands on the ball a bit early.
I reckon a run behind the ball could be a go. He's agile enough to stick with key forwards. This is now a period in the clubs rebuilding phase where the coach needs to experiment with young players.

Mooney was trialed in defense in his early days at Geelong, along with playing as the backup ruck and later found his home in the forward line.
Lonergan spent his early days as a key forward and eventually found his home in the backline.

The big negative for playing him in defence is his poor kicking - I think he'd be a turnover merchant in defence.
He is suited to the 3rd tall/relief ruck and to be honest he doesn't need to set the world on fire but just needs more consistency and a goal a game - maybe 8-10 touches plus competing strongly in the air.
He must be getting close to his use by particularly with Neale in the squad - Neale is both an athlete and a footballer , is taller and with much better skills - I think he will impress in 2023 when he puts on a bit more size.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Is it that he doesn't get to see many chances because his teammates aren't necessarily looking for him, or they're somewhat hesitant to look for him with concerns over his positioning or dropped marks etc?

Might throw in converting his shots as well ( ie kicking, especially set shot is terrible)

 

[BORIS332]

Because in a number of interviews in the past Scott has in some ways suggested that match commitee has differing views... I can't recall the exact wording from the past, but when listened to it's has been very obvious that Scott was pro and others may not be very pro having Sav in the side.

CS loves Sav, it's glaringly obvious.

+ Scott is the head coach, so I hold him responsable over anyone else over team selection.

Several logical fallacies in the above but I doubt you can be convinced otherwise.

 

[you pick one]

I spent some time this arvo going through the first half of Saturdays game focusing on Sav now lets get one thing straight well two I'm not a great fan and except it's difficult to judge how hard a player works on TV vision.

What was annoying is the number of time he failed to get to the high ball the very reason for his selection other than minimal ruck work,why wasn't he getting to contests he appeared to be caught a kick and half from the ball deliverer now weather or not that was good planning and the opposition forcing his starting positioning to nullify him in the air or Sav looking for a run and jump at the pill doesn't matter Sav was impeded in his run up right from the time the ball left the kickers boot a grab a touch a hold of the arm and then let go only when he's no chance of making the contest.Now that's good footy if the umpires are not paying those infringement on the day.
But **** me drunk Sav learn to make that more obvious to the umpires when it happens or better still learn to get separation from your opponent if that length of run up is required.

 

[ShaunWDT]

I just dont understand what hes in the side for, if all we want is a relief Ruck for 5 minutes a quarter throw Blitz or SDK in there both will do far more for the rest of the game that they arent in that position and well have more run by not being so tall.

 

[Cold Sober]

Don't think he fits into Geelongs forward set up but think he would be a gun elsewhere. Allir Allir type player.
Would be a gun in a lesser team. [intruding I know but I'm a fan]

 

[Cataholic]

Don't think he fits into Geelongs forward set up but think he would be a gun elsewhere. Allir Allir type player.
Would be a gun in a lesser team. [intruding I know but I'm a fan]

He might be athletic, but he's just not a footballer.

His positioning and timing is poor, and he can't mark or ruck........imo.

 

[SkittleCats]

It occurred to me tonight that with SDK missing the Sydney game it might be the perfect time to try Sav out in the backline, and im glad to see a few others have come to a similar conclusion.

I think at the very least it would be good to give him a single focus for a game, rather than playing him all over the place, which is a consistent theme of Scott's coaching: Ask too much of players who cant deliver. At worst it might help him develop his game a bit, and at best it could lead to us yeeting Blicavs from the team and having Sav take over that role, which enables us to eliminate one of the terrible trio from the team at least.

The backline is an area where we have a bit of experience and strong personalities that might be able to help him find a role that actually suits him. And he'd see a lot more of the game set up which could help him develop his game awareness and positioning. At least spending a bit more game time with a consistent role while being around players like Stewart, Smith and 2E has to be more beneficial than his current role. Which seems to be him bouncing around between ruck, midfield, forward and wing just so he can launch into a pack but not touch the ball.

Sure, he might turn the ball over because he cant kick or handball to save himself, but it's not like Blitz can do any better, and he's a 2 time BnF Medal winner...

 

[Stocks_go_Up]

As I said it's difficult to turn someone into something they aren't.. the only exception is [PLAYERCARD]max gawn[/PLAYERCARD] who looked like a 1 legged girrafe in his early days. Sav just doesn't have the natural football acumen to have a big impact. Yes he has the physical but not mental

 

[CatRiot]

Don't think he fits into Geelongs forward set up but think he would be a gun elsewhere. Allir Allir type player.
Would be a gun in a lesser team. [intruding I know but I'm a fan]

No where near Allir Allir. Allir reads the play 100x better. And that's the difference. Esava's kicking is a bit clunky too, which can get caught out in traffic also.

 

[00VicWard001]

did not get a lot of it, but he looked very promising!!!!

Kinda funny that the very first sentence of this thread applies to his latest game a few years later…

 

[calder_daddy]

It occurred to me tonight that with SDK missing the Sydney game it might be the perfect time to try Sav out in the backline, and im glad to see a few others have come to a similar conclusion.

I think at the very least it would be good to give him a single focus for a game, rather than playing him all over the place, which is a consistent theme of Scott's coaching: Ask too much of players who cant deliver. At worst it might help him develop his game a bit, and at best it could lead to us yeeting Blicavs from the team and having Sav take over that role, which enables us to eliminate one of the terrible trio from the team at least.

The backline is an area where we have a bit of experience and strong personalities that might be able to help him find a role that actually suits him. And he'd see a lot more of the game set up which could help him develop his game awareness and positioning. At least spending a bit more game time with a consistent role while being around players like Stewart, Smith and 2E has to be more beneficial than his current role. Which seems to be him bouncing around between ruck, midfield, forward and wing just so he can launch into a pack but not touch the ball.

Sure, he might turn the ball over because he cant kick or handball to save himself, but it's not like Blitz can do any better, and he's a 2 time BnF Medal winner...

I understand why you want to try it and I’m all for trying things out. But you can’t just put a player who’s never played that position, trained with the backline and know the backline structures. It’s just not possible, if he trained there all pre season or has a history coming through the backline in the juniors then yes.

But he would get absolutely smashed.

 

[cats_09]

It occurred to me tonight that with SDK missing the Sydney game it might be the perfect time to try Sav out in the backline, and im glad to see a few others have come to a similar conclusion.

I think at the very least it would be good to give him a single focus for a game, rather than playing him all over the place, which is a consistent theme of Scott's coaching: Ask too much of players who cant deliver. At worst it might help him develop his game a bit, and at best it could lead to us yeeting Blicavs from the team and having Sav take over that role, which enables us to eliminate one of the terrible trio from the team at least.

The backline is an area where we have a bit of experience and strong personalities that might be able to help him find a role that actually suits him. And he'd see a lot more of the game set up which could help him develop his game awareness and positioning. At least spending a bit more game time with a consistent role while being around players like Stewart, Smith and 2E has to be more beneficial than his current role. Which seems to be him bouncing around between ruck, midfield, forward and wing just so he can launch into a pack but not touch the ball.

Sure, he might turn the ball over because he cant kick or handball to save himself, but it's not like Blitz can do any better, and he's a 2 time BnF Medal winner...

And if the club wanted to try that, the place for it would be in the VFL - not sure you experiment with something like that at senior level when the player has never been trialled in that role

Add in that this week we may be without Cameron up forward, and while Ceglar is in line to play some VFL this weekend, we'll still need a second ruck option to give Stanley a chop out - doubt we'll see much change in Ratugolea's role

 

[Pollywaffle]

It occurred to me tonight that with SDK missing the Sydney game it might be the perfect time to try Sav out in the backline, and im glad to see a few others have come to a similar conclusion.

I think at the very least it would be good to give him a single focus for a game, rather than playing him all over the place, which is a consistent theme of Scott's coaching: Ask too much of players who cant deliver. At worst it might help him develop his game a bit, and at best it could lead to us yeeting Blicavs from the team and having Sav take over that role, which enables us to eliminate one of the terrible trio from the team at least.

The backline is an area where we have a bit of experience and strong personalities that might be able to help him find a role that actually suits him. And he'd see a lot more of the game set up which could help him develop his game awareness and positioning. At least spending a bit more game time with a consistent role while being around players like Stewart, Smith and 2E has to be more beneficial than his current role. Which seems to be him bouncing around between ruck, midfield, forward and wing just so he can launch into a pack but not touch the ball.

Sure, he might turn the ball over because he cant kick or handball to save himself, but it's not like Blitz can do any better, and he's a 2 time BnF Medal winner...

Have said that in the past.
Maybe a Mal Michael type ( started as a forward and looked like a spud )
But can’t see him doing that without a period of time practicing the craft in the magoos though..

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Kinda funny that the very first sentence of this thread applies to his latest game a few years later…

not sure what to make of him anymore. make or break season... needs to learn how to get more of the ball and play intelligent. Seems to have athletic traits which excite people, but lacks a footy brain to this point.

 

[00VicWard001]

not sure what to make of him anymore. make or break season... needs to learn how to get more of the ball and play intelligent. Seems to have athletic traits which excite people, but lacks a footy brain to this point.

Yeah, you pick one posted earlier that his opponent scrags or touches him and disrupts his attack on the ball. That tells me that he is slightly slower to identify or anticipate what is happening and is reacting instead of moving to the right position before it comes his way. Often he hits a pack hard and grabs a mark or creates a contest despite him being slower to anticipate what is about to happen simply because he is athletic enough to desperately get there. He spills marks because he is making the biggest physical effort at the last moment. Hawkins and Cameron, footballers first and foremost, do their biggest work before the ball is even kicked to them. They know where its going to go and engage their opponent to create the space needed to get to the ball and mark it comfortably.

So my thought is this - he has the athletic attributes to make it. He just needs to time to work out how to compete with an opponent prior to the actual contest for the ball. He can only do this by playing against opponents (yes he can do it in the VFL) - and he needs to practise building synergy with AFL midfielders who he will be playing with for the next 10 years. Selwood/Duncan and Hawkins have it, now it's up to Esava to get it with other young mids.

Lastly, playing with Cameron and Hawkins is also the right way to actually learn how to move. All the drills and discussions in the world wouldn't be close to actually seeing two masters of their craft working AND teaching you at the same time. I always notice, Hawk is one of the first to pat Sav on the back after he's done something well and never ever admonishes him or glares at him when he does something average (and Hawk gives other team mates serious glares - Atkins got one the other day after a terrible kick to the boundary).

 

[SkittleCats]

And if the club wanted to try that, the place for it would be in the VFL - not sure you experiment with something like that at senior level when the player has never been trialled in that role

Add in that this week we may be without Cameron up forward, and while Ceglar is in line to play some VFL this weekend, we'll still need a second ruck option to give Stanley a chop out - doubt we'll see much change in Ratugolea's role

I mean we did it with Blicavs, why not Sav? It's not like Blitz spent a couple of years doing an apprenticeship in the VFL, they just plugged him straight in.

But i agree that if Cameron misses as well then Sav will likely fill that role.

 

[David the Cat]

Sav on Buddy...there's a tasty little matchup.....

 

[standupand]

I mean we did it with Blicavs, why not Sav? It's not like Blitz spent a couple of years doing an apprenticeship in the VFL, they just plugged him straight in.

But i agree that if Cameron misses as well then Sav will likely fill that role.

Cameron plays quite a different role for us though. He's very mobile and almost another crumber. Wheels around packs hoping to get a quick give and then uses that trusty left peg. But you actually very rarely see him fly for pack marks. Esava always looks to give a contest in the air first and try to set up a teammate.

 

[Down at K Park]

Sav on Buddy...there's a tasty little matchup.....

Buddy would have his 1000th goal in the second quarter if that match up eventuated.

 

[goyoucatters]

Buddy would have his 1000th goal in the second quarter if that match up eventuated.

I get that the Swans are looking after Bud as he nears the end of his career. But keeping him off the ground until after quarter-time seems a little extreme to me.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Watching the suns dees game, Chol was available and looks exactly what we hope Sav could become, can ruck ok and impact, can take big marks and kicks goals...
Would have been cheap too.

 

[cats_09]

Watching the suns dees game, Chol was available and looks exactly what we hope Sav could become, can ruck ok and impact, can take big marks and kicks goals...
Would have been cheap too.

He joined GC as a DFA on a 4-year deal - may not be that cheap, depending on GCs offer

 

[Vdubs]

No love for Sav after yesterday?
I thought he was in our best- not a great feat I guess, given how down we were, but he showed a fair bit of attitude and endeavour yesterday

 

[cats_09]

No love for Sav after yesterday?
I thought he was in our best- not a great feat I guess, given how down we were, but he showed a fair bit of attitude and endeavour yesterday

Haven't watched enough of the match to comment - I was at work and knowing the result I'm not sure I can bring myself to watch the replay