Gourdis.

[santa claws]

would just like to congratulate him on his debut this week. seems it will happen from what i can gather.
seems he has earnt his chance with solid performances all yr at coburg. looked okay in preseason as well.
saw him a little bit as a junior i can still see him at u18 carnival and his poor kicking which saw him slip.
apparently they have sorted this side of his game out i really hope so. as he has all the attributes to play at top level.

the question is will it hold up under the pressure of afl footy. i dont buy into the theory of being able to turn poor kicks around past a certain age though there has been exceptions to the rule.
i really hope gourdis is one of those exceptions.
his pace leap agility natural size and strength in the air means he is one we can groom to play on the bigger kpps.anyway heres hoping.

 

[jko'neal]

would just like to congratulate him on his debut this week. seems it will happen from what i can gather.
seems he has earnt his chance with solid performances all yr at coburg. looked okay in preseason as well.
saw him a little bit as a junior i can still see him at u18 carnival and his poor kicking which saw him slip.
apparently they have sorted this side of his game out i really hope so. as he has all the attributes to play at top level.

the question is will it hold up under the pressure of afl footy. i dont buy into the theory of being able to turn poor kicks around past a certain age though there has been exceptions to the rule.
i really hope gourdis is one of those exceptions.
his pace leap agility natural size and strength in the air means he is one we can groom to play on the bigger kpps.anyway heres hoping.

Would be good to see him get a run, and I agree once a poor kick alaways a poor kick. Would just need to play within his ability e:g Darren Glass or Presti.
Those guys play within their limitations, problem with our backline and I have said it many times, we already have 3 tall defenders that are poor kicks under pressure. Sounds like Gourdis is a fourth.

 

[The Rusty Trombone]

What's the fuss , he'll be fine. Andy Collins has been working closely with him for the last 2 weeks and says he's good to go so he's good to go.

 

[Ruanaidh]

If it happens it has been well earned. He should have been elevated earlier this year, he must be elevated now.

 

[WATIGE]

Hardwick has said that he will definitely play at least three to four in the last half - see Q & A thread.

All the best Goo.

 

[TOOs_Finest]

I've never watched all that closely, but from what I have seen of Goo, I don't remember his kicking technique being terribly flawed. So when people say he is a bad kick, I assume they mean he doesn't hit targets?

Hardwick has admitted that it's near impossible to fix a player's kicking, but you can improve their decision-making, and instill confidence.

I won't be surprised at all to see this kid make the most of his opportunity. Playing with the big boys will see him walk a bit taller, and as he learns the ways of the coaches and their gameplan, his decision-making and confidence issues should take care of themselves.

 

[tugga]

Well I hope he gets a game soon just so that the most hyped nonplayer on the history of this board can finally satisfy the hordes.
Good luck to the lad if he plays this week.

 

[TFLUA-Tiger]

His kicking actually isn't bad at all. When it misses it's not by much. The action is quite fluent, but under pressure it gets a bit rushed and misses targets.

You'd then imagine they'd be trying to overhaul his ability to cope with pressure rather than the actual kicking style.

 

[THE_GUN]

his kicking & decision making didnt look too bad in the vfl games he played this year for coburg.............. seen a lot worse in my past 45 years of following richmond go on to have long careers.

when you can mark,jump,run like the goo & have the hunger he seems to have your half way there.

still think he is a foward but.

 

[El Tigre]

His kicking actually isn't bad at all. When it misses it's not by much. The action is quite fluent, but under pressure it gets a bit rushed and misses targets.

You'd then imagine they'd be trying to overhaul his ability to cope with pressure rather than the actual kicking style.

Exactly what i was thinking. He hasn't been the man that you've wanted to have to rely upon. (There's developmental scope within the kid tho.)

Given the amount of Gooey love around here at the moment, i'd hate to see him get a run, have a bad game, and then get slammed by the BF followers. Buts thats sure to come....

 

[Spluff]

his kicking & decision making didnt look too bad in the vfl games he played this year for coburg.............. seen a lot worse in my past 45 years of following richmond go on to have long careers.

when you can mark,jump,run like the goo & have the hunger he seems to have your half way there.

still think he is a foward but.

I think even if he does prove to be too unreliable as a backman, an extended stint playing on the best KPFs in the competition could only do good for him. By playing on the best forwards he may learn something and be able to go back to playing forward for us where he has massive potential.

 

[tugga]

Exactly what i was thinking. He hasn't been the man that you've wanted to have to rely upon. (There's developmental scope within the kid tho.)

Given the amount of Gooey love around here at the moment, i'd hate to see him get a run, have a bad game, and then get slammed by the BF followers. Buts thats sure to come....

Yep, stand by for a thread titled Our Zac Dawson if he gets pantsed on Sunday.

 

[telsor]

I feel sorry or the guy.

Hasn't played a game and gets talked up around here like he's already a superstar, mostly by people who have only seen him once in an early practice match and are likely to turn on him if he doesn't measure up to their dreams.

People need to remember that he was a very late pick and he's been in the system for years now, and while he's had some decent games for the 2's, he hasn't exactly demanded a game.

The move to the backline has been good for him, and I hope he'll turn into a quality key defender, but let's not crack open the Moet just yet.

 

[Richo URA Star]

Well I hope he gets a game soon just so that the most hyped nonplayer on the history of this board can finally satisfy the hordes.
Good luck to the lad if he plays this week.

Not all hype the hordes must know something. Finally in the seniors where he belongs

 

[THE_GUN]

i have seen goo at least 6 times so far this year & liked what i have seen every time , at the moment i would have him rather than thursty who just hasnt come on & still looks like a 3rd tall.

goo could become anything, once he gets comfortable at afl level & gains confidence , feels like he belongs.

speed agility leap & reads the play pretty well from what i have seen. i would play him unconditionaly for the rest of the year.

 

[Bazzar]

The Goo has been fantastic for the Burgers, but it was that 15-20 minutes on Buddy in the NAB Cup that showed the little glimmer we could have something special. Time will tell.

 

[TheProwler]

All the best to him and anyone else who pulls on the great Richmond jumper but I am not expecting too much.

We have a plethora of KPD (most of which are mediocre at present) so in reality every game this guy plays makes it that bit tougher for a Post, Rance, Dea, McGuane etc to get the all important AFL game time. To spend as much time as he has on the rookie list surely highlights that this kid must have more deficiencies than some on our main list.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

All the best to him and anyone else who pulls on the great Richmond jumper but I am not expecting too much.

We have a plethora of KPD (most of which are mediocre at present) so in reality every game this guy plays makes it that bit tougher for a Post, Rance, Dea, McGuane etc to get the all important AFL game time. To spend as much time as he has on the rookie list surely highlights that this kid must have more deficiencies than some on our main list.

It also shows he has continually improved enough to regain on a year contract. Don't forget this is his first year he has played not under TW !
He is a fair way on front of Rance and Post, who both are showing concerning signs, Dea's injured and McGuanne has played enough games that he should be winning his spot solely on ability and form not to give him experience !

 

[True Thylacine]

To be totally honest I am not really sure what all the fuss is about with Gourdis but I am very happy for the boy to make his debut and good luck to him. If postings in here are anything to go on the poor bastard is already weighed down by the heavy burden of expectation so I wish him all the best!

 

[TOOs_Finest]

To be totally honest I am not really sure what all the fuss is about with Gourdis but I am very happy for the boy to make his debut and good luck to him. If postings in here are anything to go on the poor bastard is already weighed down by the heavy burden of expectation so I wish him all the best!

To answer your question, I think Gourdis has truly performed really well at Coburg. Not that this is the be all and end all of becoming an AFL player, but when you compare to a lot of the (bigger named) RFC listed players playing there, he has been a bit of a stand out.

I haven't read much in this thread expecting too much from the kid in his first game. I do agree some people have gone a bit over the top at other times on this board. But that was prior to him doing what he has now done at Coburg.

He has rightfully earned a spot doing the hard yards at VFL level, good luck to him that he can now go the next step.

 

[UpTheGuts]

Maybe set to line-up on Goodes?

He turned it over with some seriously bad kicking last week, including a couple that went along the ground when trying to hit up a target, and decision making can be poor from what I have seen at training. That said, runs in straight lines, quickish and has a seriously impressive physique.

All the very best to him and looking forward to him running out on Sunday

Been a long road for this bloke - with plenty of speedhumps - his folks, friends and teammates would be absolutely rapt for him. As am I.

 

[dorianyates]

i have seen goo at least 6 times so far this year & liked what i have seen every time , at the moment i would have him rather than thursty who just hasnt come on & still looks like a 3rd tall.

goo could become anything, once he gets comfortable at afl level & gains confidence , feels like he belongs.

speed agility leap & reads the play pretty well from what i have seen. i would play him unconditionaly for the rest of the year.

I agree. I would hate for him only to get the one game and then go back to Coburg. He should be played FB for at least 6-7 games. It's not like Richmond are vying for a spot in the finals this year. They could also give him an occasional run up forward as well. If he gets at least 7 games then by season's end a call can be made on him with more certainty.

 

[Spluff]

To be totally honest I am not really sure what all the fuss is about with Gourdis but I am very happy for the boy to make his debut and good luck to him. If postings in here are anything to go on the poor bastard is already weighed down by the heavy burden of expectation so I wish him all the best!

Beyond the fact that he's been in very very good form at VFL level, most of the excitement is about his potenital. He has a greater vertical leap than Naitanui and is considerably faster than him, and is good overhead and has a good ability to read the play - and despite what people say, his kicking's not that bad.

The downsides are that he had an abysmal endurance level when he came to the club, and apparently he was suffering from depression in his draft year.

 

[UpTheGuts]

The Goo has been fantastic for the Burgers, but it was that 15-20 minutes on Buddy in the NAB Cup that showed the little glimmer we could have something special. Time will tell.

I was there and seem to remember Buddy thrashing him, even if Gourdis did run through the lines and attack the loose ball well. That whole night was a bit of a fiasco, though

 

[tigerT]

I was there and seem to remember Buddy thrashing him, even if Gourdis did run through the lines and attack the loose ball well. That whole night was a bit of a fiasco, though

Buddy touched up Rance, then Gourdis went onto him at which point buddy copped a corky almost immediately and was lame for the rest of the game so for good/bad i wouldnt judge Gourdis on that matchup.