Heath Shaw

[hotpie]

..........Is Heath Shaw going to become the new Ben Kinnear?

All I have read since the draft is "he's a hack, he's not as good as his relatives, he's injury prone, he didn't deserve a father/son pick, he isn't worthy of wearing number 10", he's Ray's sone so he must be a loser", etc etc

I think its extremely harsh how he is being judged without being given a chance. He's only been at the club for a week!!!

Give the kid a break.

 

[Didak_84]

Yeah very true i think theres just to many jealous people out there and yeah if he couldnt play footy then why the **** is he making the afl god some people are dumb

 

[NICK THE PIE MAN]

Hmmm.
You sometimes wonder whether the clubs just take the kid regardless of their ability when they are the son of a former champ. Some call it lazy recrtiting and wasting the pick when there are more talented kids on offer.

Does have its benefits though. The people in the know say Brayden was a steal at pick 32.

As for Heath?

Well, hopefully some people at the club know something we don't.

I for one have been saying all year that we should just take Brayden and it is not worth taking Heath. However, I will gladly stuff my face with humble pie if Heath proves me wrong. And I hope he does prove me wrong.

 

[hotpie]

He's with us now, lets review it at the end of 2005. In the meantime get off his back, give him time to learn and grow, and treat him equally to all our other new recruits.

 

[Murray]

Agreed.
I think we should wait until the end of 2005 before passing judgement.
After all we have given Kinnear 5 years with a further extension of 2 more, if he is still there I reckon I could get on the list.

 

[browny4PM]

Originally posted by hotpie
..........Is Heath Shaw going to become the new Ben Kinnear?

All I have read since the draft is "he's a hack, he's not as good as his relatives, he's injury prone, he didn't deserve a father/son pick, he isn't worthy of wearing number 10", he's Ray's sone so he must be a loser", etc etc

I think its extremely harsh how he is being judged without being given a chance. He's only been at the club for a week!!!

Give the kid a break.

The facts of Heath's drafting are that

a) He is not a hack, but at the same time not necessarily worth being picked up with such an important pick in the draft.

b) He is a totally different player to his relatives, so hard to compare. He played a lot taller that his brother in the TAC Cup, often used out of the square at Full Forward.

c) He is injury prone, no doubt about it. He hasn't had an uninterupted season since being at the Knights. Could have just been unlucky and his OP wasn't managed properly at Northern. This seemed to result in further injuries to his legs. But the time he did spend on the ball he showed real class and smarts.

d) Only time will tell. Under the care of Butters he should get over his injuries in time and end up being a 10 year player with the club, but should take time before his debut.

 

[dunno4]

He was only pick 48. Taking a look at what other clubs picked in the 40's and it wasn't much.

Sydney redrafted Amon Buchanan at 45 and I haven't read much complementary about Andrew Eriksen at 47.

 

[FIGJAM]

Whilst the Wiz hasn't posted profiles on the lads, he did say in defence of the Shaw boys when attacked by an idiot (and to paraphrase):

"I'd wager that both boys play 100+ games for the Club".

He has stated before that Heath has been improving at a rapid rate and he may well continue to do so.

He might just be as good as Brayden (which will hopefully mean AFL standard).

 

[jefffff34]

Diamo scum.

 

[brentoncowell]

Well he isnt Brayden, yet he is still a Shaw. I dont agree with the father/son rule, but he is at the club now, i cant change tradition. He is from Ray's side which is a little bit of a problem, but my father cant even handball properly and i kick the footy alright so he might be ok. But if we arnt gonna deprive them because of the father, then why should they get a guernsey juct because dad did? We are in a bit of trouble if he is like Rhyce.

 

[Babylove]

Young footy players develop at different rates.

As someone pointed out after the draft we won't be able to truly assess this years draft for two or three years. Heath is young (17 I believe), give him time to develop.

If every player who didn't have huge raps on them and drafted late were given up on think of all the great footballers we would have missed out on seeing. Prime examples are Adam Goodes and Simon Black. Both were taken later in the draft, both didn't have a lot of hype and both took a number of years to develop. They are now both are brownlow medalists and both considered top class footballers.

All I'm saying is don't be so quick to judge.

 

[browny4PM]

Everyone is questioning Heath's ability, but he isn't our drafee with the least ability. Look no further than "Jules".

After Noel Judkins comment about ranking him in the top 20, he just lost a lot of credibility. I'm not questioning his recruiting capabilities, just his comments were a bit far fetched

 

[FIGJAM]

Originally posted by browny4PM
Everyone is questioning Heath's ability, but he isn't our drafee with the least ability. Look no further than "Jules".

After Noel Judkins comment about ranking him in the top 20, he just lost a lot of credibility. I'm not questioning his recruiting capabilities, just his comments were a bit far fetched

Colin Wisbey had Rowe ranked at 32 on his list (one place ahead of Dyson).

Here's his report:

-----------------------------------------

Julian Rowe (Oakleigh Chargers)

187/73 top age right foot (dual-sided) outside wingman.

Not special in any one attribute but at least quite good in virtually all.. My only major query is his ability to add weight.

I rank him on my list somewhat early at 32 because there are not many with his range of attributes, especially a combination of finishing skills and height, beyond the players who will go first round.

Not definite AFL but attractive as a package of attributes. Will need plenty of time to bulk up. Ready year 3.

*STYLE LIKE: W Campbell

*TRADEMARK:

- Run into space, maybe out wide, to present an option, then mark and deliver accurately.

*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:

May not be top-shelf but has a bit of class about him and is a genuine footballer with good athleticism and all-round capability.

He is typically referred to as "outside", and that's fair enough as that's the style of game he plays - primarily link man and finisher. However he doesn't shirk it either and is certainly quite capable inside traffic and contesting marks (even against taller opponents or over the pack). And he is desperate. He is definitely not a downhill skier. Importantly, he is not just a gatherer of stats for stats' sake. His natural preference seems to be to run 20m and kick long downfield, meaning that when he does get it in space out wide, he is quite often worth 70+ metres.

His disposal defines him.

He is not perfect all the time but is usually an excellent user - hand or foot, either side, long or short, on the run or stationary. Good feeds, often quick and/or lookaway. - spots well, has poise under pressure.

Is generally clean, smart, balanced.

Very good overhead for someone so light. That won't translate to AFL level until he puts on significant weight though.

Weight / strength concerns me quite a lot. He is slim but looks to have an OK frame. However he doesn't appear to have added weight since last year, despite growing a couple of centimetres. His game doesn't necessitate great bulk so he can get away with less weight than others but, at 187cm, he still needs an absolute minimum of 7kg to have any chance of even a look in.

Is an attractive 187cm now and may still have a bit of growth left in him, although top-age.

Very consistent. eg At least 20 disposals in all but one of his 10 games in '03

Seems fairly quiet but is a team man / clubman with real character eg worked hard, showed visible commitment to his team right throughout his injury lay-off.

*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:

- Very good decision-maker, quick thinker. Great vision. Doesn't panic - holds the ball, even under great pressure or mid-tackle, until he finds an option. Always tries to look for options. Very creative, clever. Not just an instinctive decision-maker but also seems to be a thinker tactics-wise eg works in well to plan tactics with the ruckman.

- Seriously dual-sided and uses very well - hand or foot, long or short, regardless of pressure. Very good depth - and reliably so.

- Lovely relaxed kicking style. On his non-preferred left in particular, his take is fairly high and his release a bit early, but overall his kicking action is almost textbook on both sides. Only slight query is a big arc sometimes - it gets him depth but can mean his kicking action gives a would-be tackler a little extra time to close if Rowe doesn't show good awareness of the pressure he is about to be under. (Fortunately Rowe does have good awareness).

- Although underweight, he is good at getting the ball at stop plays.

- Good at playing a kick behind the play when the ball is on the forward line.

*HANDS:

- Quite clean, all levels. Not always crisp but has quick recovery and good 2e, 3e.

*OVERHEAD MARKING:

- Although skinny, he is reliably very good overhead. Led the TAC comp for average marks (7.0 per game). Took at least 10 marks in 4 of the 10 TAC games '03, (and 5-7 on 4 other occasions), and 8 marks in the U18 Champs game against SA. Takes many marks linking in space but, at TAC level at least, also takes plenty of contested marks, including some very big grabs (even over a pack).

- Takes some big grabs from behind at U18 level but is also reliable in front.

*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:

- Good acceleration and pace. My guess is that he is probably about a metre slower than, say, Tenace over 30m. Doesn't mind a dash. Is inclined to sometimes lose his form (running action) when chasing someone who is seriously quick. (He tends to over-stretch on some such occasions). Generally displays good closing speed over a shortish distance though, sometimes coming from nowhere to nail an opponent.

- Good ethic. Does the team things and is accountable, no matter what role he has. Desperate - throws himself at smothers or under the pack. Covers ground, chases, tackles, blocks, presents. Lacks physical strength at this stage so tackles don't always impede but the intensity is there. Good 2nd efforts.

- Endurance is a funny thing with him. He can often be puffing and he occasionally seems to be labouring in a chase. On the other hand he runs and runs and covers a lot of ground. I'm just not sure how much is actually natural endurance and how much is sheer heart.

- Very good evasion, in a variety of forms.

- Very good leap, even from a standing start.

*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):

- Adding significant weight will make a significant difference.

*AFL VERSATILITY:

- The big query is weight. If he adds enough weight to be able to handle AFL but not enough for routine hurly-burly, he is made for wing. However, HFF would suit him very well also. Although not a regular goal-kicker, he doesn't get within range too often at U18 level but is quite reliable when he does (9-4) in '03. What he would do as a HFF is create opportunities for team mates around him and deliver the ball lace-up to a leading forward.

- In the probably unlikely event that he becomes strong enough for HBF, his ability to mark, run and kick long and accurately either side would see him as a potentially attractive play-creating HBF, perhaps in the Ryan Lonie mould. Although he is not particularly physical by nature, he has the capability to be accountable. I include the HBF as a theoretical option for him but, frankly, I'd be surprised if he can add enough weight.

*QUERY:

- Ability to add weight / Strength.

*SOME STATS:

- TAC: Averaged 24 disposals in 10 TAC games (18th in comp). 7.0 marks (1st in comp), 1.8 tackles, total 9 goals-4. 75% of disposals are kicks. 29% of his possessions are marks. At least 20 disposals in all but one games '03 (including a 33). At least 10 marks in 4 of the 10 games!.
Mid-way trend .. % change in disposals was 0%. % change in marks was -25%. % change in tackles was 400%.

- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Averaged 12 disposals and 4.3 marks in 3 U18 Rep games.
Kicks vs feeds: 31-7
Gets own ball?: 8/38TD were HR. 3 hbg
Kicks long vs short: long. 23-2
Kicking accuracy: 6/31 ineff.
Handball accuracy: n/a
Marking: 13 (incl 1 contested)
Tackles: 5

*OTHER STUFF:
- Tore cartilage '03 U18 Champs - out rest of '03.

----------------------------------------------

So you're knocking the ability of a kid, who played on a wing and was ranked 18th in terms of average posessions. A kid who has very tidy skills and is especially quick.

He sounds like another piece to the puzzle to secure future success. He's the pacey, skilled link up man we've all been looking for. Yes, he has to add about 12 kilos, but it is possible (eg Tarrant, Lonie) and it's not like he's a 200cm beanpole like Richards!

If we didn't draft for our needs this year, then it's by sheer friggen luck we have and I'm happy with the sound of Rowe. We have an array of nuggety one paced midfielders and we need some fast class to dish it off to.

I think all five draftees will play a number of senior footy games in the Black and White!

 

[labrooy]

FIGJAM,

I like the sound of the kid. He seems to be the type that MM likes, one with a good work ethic. I am sure the club will work at bulking him up. If he wants to make the big time he will do what it takes. To me he seems a good pick up.

 

[Nic]

Certainly doesn't sound terrible and you'd expect to take a few chances with pick 64! If there's one thing Judkins has been doing well it's getting the most out of later draft picks.

 

[leonmagic]

That's a fair call nick but TRUST me, Rowe will not make it.


In fact, i was a training on Wed and i swear i tore about 67 muscles laughing at his body

 

[FIGJAM]

Originally posted by leonmagic
That's a fair call nick but TRUST me, Rowe will not make it.


In fact, i was a training on Wed and i swear i tore about 67 muscles laughing at his body

I'll take Wisbey's word on his football capabilities over your opinion of his body shape when standing next to 25 year old guys who have been lifting serious weights, while slugging protein shakes and creatine for 8 years.

Wiz rated him one spot ahead of Ricky Dyson. This is good from my point of view, because I've seen Dyson play. Dyson is a brilliant player at times, but is lazy. He will be a good player though and probably make the grade. He's a decent sized build.

For Colin to prefer Rowe over Dyson (and Colin generally hates skinny kids) Rowe would have to exhibit facets that seriously cancel out his obvious weight problem. They are all listed in Colins report.

One other thing. Rowe is 6' 1". He's not Guy Richards. Tarrant was a whippet when he came to us, but he's now a machine. Rowe is smaller still, but at 6' 1", he'll bulk up well over the next couple of years (as all of us did/do between the ages of 17 and 24).

Lastly, he is a piece of the puzzle. An outside finisher with great skills. A link up man. He won't need to be built like Brodie, because he won't be playing in the middle.

PS: If you were at training the other day, where's the report??