Toast Fremantle's 2nd 2018 National Draft Pick: Luke Valente [Pick #32]

[sherrif]

I'll double check if I can find my old combine results and report back.

You dont need to.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-11-06/meet-connor-blakely
From that:
'Blakely doesn't have the breakaway pace that other midfielders possess, and he runs a 3.19 second 20-metre sprint. His kicking is fine without being a huge strength, but he gets around that by knowing where to go and where to be to get the footy in his hands.'
I was wrong it was 3.19 rather than 3.15 for the 20 metre sprint. I read somewhere that there might of been mistakes with the 20metre sprint testing that year. Connor is not slow so that would make sense.

 

[LemmingMaster]

You dont need to.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-11-06/meet-connor-blakely
From that:
'Blakely doesn't have the breakaway pace that other midfielders possess, and he runs a 3.19 second 20-metre sprint. His kicking is fine without being a huge strength, but he gets around that by knowing where to go and where to be to get the footy in his hands.'
I was wrong it was 3.19 rather than 3.15 for the 20 metre sprint. I read somewhere that there might of been mistakes with the 20metre sprint testing that year. Connor is not slow so that would make sense.

I dont have his years combine results, I swear AFL.com is incorrect. I seem to remember being surprised by his testing results because he never really showed his speed from the contest.
Looks like I was wrong, reading my old profiles from 2014, seems like he had bad testing results but I had previous speed test results that showed he was quicker than the the combine results.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

I dont have his years combine results, I swear AFL.com is incorrect. I seem to remember being surprised by his testing results because he never really showed his speed from the contest.
Looks like I was wrong, reading my old profiles from 2014, seems like he had bad testing results but I had previous speed test results that showed he was quicker than the the combine results.

Oh well

Some of us get bogged down in who ran what on one day a number of years ago

I'm happy to look at his body of work and see his improvement in footy

 

[blue shark]

Oh well

Some of us get bogged down in who ran what on one day a number of years ago

I'm happy to look at his body of work and see his improvement in footy

Footy is so much more than running fast in a straight line, pace in you team is important, but when was the last time
an outside player won the majority of awards?
Inside/outside players are worth their weight in gold.

 

[wayToGo_]

He's definitely improved his speed. But he's never going to be the guy streaming down the wing with the ball in hand breaking lines (ala Langdon) so it's not really a major factor. He needs acceleration and agility in congestion which it appears he has plus sufficient endurance and footy smart to get to contests - he's had plenty of 30+ disposal games so that doesn't appear a problem either.

I don't get the comparisons to de Boer? Blakely is miles ahead of de Boer in getting his hands on the ball at AFL level. I'd prefer to compare him to Barlow, who's output he compares really well to, and similarly against Neale. The only noticeable difference to both is scoreboard pressure. But Connor's still only 22yo so maybe we'll see him kicking a few more goals (or creating more) once he settles into a full time midfield role?

 

[Bicco]

Footy is so much more than running fast in a straight line, pace in you team is important, but when was the last time
an outside player won the majority of awards?
Inside/outside players are worth their weight in gold.

Do they do any kind of test running with the ball? Which is obviously more important than running without.

 

[theGav56]

Do they do any kind of test running with the ball? Which is obviously more important than running without.

Good test, but I'm not sure that it is more important. The amount of time players spend running with the ball is tiny.

 

[Freo Shark]

Guys this is about the greatness of Luke Valente. Find another thread.

 

[theGav56]

Guys this is about the greatness of Luke Valente. Find another thread.

Most of it is about him, who he is like, how he fits with other players with somewhat similar profiles.

 

[Freo Shark]

Stetching it Gav.

 

[theGav56]

Stetching it Gav.

Not at all. The comments regarding Blakely especially are about comparing his pace and role to what Valente brings. The comments regarding de Boer are about Valente's leadership and work ethic. I'm struggling to see your objection.

 

[greatgatsby]

A lot of comparisons for a young guy yet to play an AFL game! (I like his selection too)

 

[Cactus_matt]

Fyfe must have big wraps for our new #29

 

[RedmanWasHere]

As opposed to Chayce.

 

[Scham]

Butters is looking bloody good.

 

[yyou]

Butters is looking bloody good.

good fella too, according to a kid his own age who met him at a party

 

[fnerd]

Butters is looking bloody good.

Apparently we were right into him on draft night but port got in first.
If true what it does show that our drafting team is on the money

 

[EyeloveRichmond]

Sorry for the intrusion. I couldn't see the supercoach/fantasy thread on here so i'm must wondering what are Valente's chances of playing games early in the year? I think he is going to be a very good player and i wasn't opposed to us taking him at our first pick in last year's draft. Thanks for any opinions. Good luck on the year ahead.

 

[AlwaysFreo]

Sorry for the intrusion. I couldn't see the supercoach/fantasy thread on here so i'm must wondering what are Valente's chances of playing games early in the year? I think he is going to be a very good player and i wasn't opposed to us taking him at our first pick in last year's draft. Thanks for any opinions. Good luck on the year ahead.

I'd say very good if he has two intact hamstrings. But seriously, I'd expect him to debut by about round 4 or 5. One or two games at Peel then straight in.

 

[FreoRicci]

Sorry for the intrusion. I couldn't see the supercoach/fantasy thread on here so i'm must wondering what are Valente's chances of playing games early in the year? I think he is going to be a very good player and i wasn't opposed to us taking him at our first pick in last year's draft. Thanks for any opinions. Good luck on the year ahead.

If he was 100% now, probably play a game or two for Peel then come in. Injury list is huge at Freo, so could easy be a walk up start. Will play a few games, how much game time is the question..

 

[theGav56]

I'd say very good if he has two intact hamstrings. But seriously, I'd expect him to debut by about round 4 or 5. One or two games at Peel then straight in.

Hope he can get a tilt at it earlier, because that time-frame is similar to Blakely's possible return. I'm not saying you couldn't have both in the same side or anything, but there are some similarities in terms of position.

 

[Wizard]

If he was 100% now, probably play a game or two for Peel then come in. Injury list is huge at Freo, so could easy be a walk up start. Will play a few games, how much game time is the question..

We play in Adelaide in R7, he will be playing by then.

 

[Bont2Bruce]

We play in Adelaide in R7, he will be playing by then.

Obviously this didn't happen - but what's gone wrong for Luke this year? Hasn't been listed on the injury list for ages.

 

[Taylor]

Obviously this didn't happen - but what's gone wrong for Luke this year? Hasn't been listed on the injury list for ages.

He came to the club with an issue that has prevented him from building the tank.

 

[Joao]

Obviously this didn't happen - but what's gone wrong for Luke this year? Hasn't been listed on the injury list for ages.

Seems he came to us injured (probably the reason he slid) with OP I believe. It basically took half the season to get that right. Then he had more issues with the groin when he came back. Returned by the WAFL because as Tayl0r says, he doesn't have the tank. Building alright in the WAFL now but would have to find some form and more gametime % to get a look in this year you'd think.