Analysis Individual Player Analysis Pre 2018 Season - Brendan Whitecross

[RIOLINWITPUNCHS]

So I thought over the next few weeks I could do an analysis of every player on the list to envoke some discussion and probably some debate heading into this season.

For the record I am using a number generator to decide the order of each player thanks to Google.

#11 Brendan Whitecross:

Gee the irony in Google picking this bloke as the first guy to be analysed is not lost.

Whitey would have to be the most popular player at the club or close too it.

Heads into 2018 as a 28 year old. Yes 28. Hard to believe isn't it?

There is Alex Woodward and Alex Johnson (from the Swans) but you would be hard pressed to find a more unlucky bloke in footy then whitey. He would more then likely be a premiership player if not cruelled by his ACL injuries.

Played 8 games in 2017 and averaged 13.5 disposals. Maybe it's just me but I was suprised he only got 8 games given our horrid injury run.

From what I recall he was excellent in the AFL games he played bar maybe 2 of them.

The poor bastard was even a victim of an Aggravated Burglary throughout the year where his Porsche was stolen, but later recovered.

Anyway this guy is as loyal as they come and 2018 is an intriguing year for him IMO.

With the emergence of so many young players at the back end of last year I feel it's going to be tough for him to break into the side in 2018 but if nothing else he will be the perfect guy to have at Box Hill to mentor the younger guys.

I sincerely hope his form at BH warrants a call up to the 1's as he can definitley hold his own but having said that I really hope we don't have to call on him throughout the year as it more then likely means we have had a shocking injury run.

 

[RIOLINWITPUNCHS]

Mods do you suggest I just add to the 1st post for each player or start a new post for each one?

 

[Agent Smith]

Mods do you suggest I just add to the 1st post for each player or start a new post for each one?

I'd go new post for each one, personally. Otherwise the first post will become massive!!

 

[Gralin]

New thread per player and put the player name in the title

 

[grumbleguts]

Nice analysis, I would mention that for a large part of his career thus far he has been easily best 22, and this was illustrated no more clearly than the last home and away round against Collingwood in 2016. Jack kicked a winning goal from 75 out and everyone remembers him for that, but Whitecross single handedly stopped us from losing it.

On another note, if you are going to write a lot you need to learn the difference between "then" and "than".

If I learn how to words properly then I will be better at writing them than if I don't learn how to words.
Learn how to words.

 

[kazzooka]

Nice analysis, I would mention that for a large part of his career thus far he has been easily best 22, and this was illustrated no more clearly than the last home and away round against Collingwood in 2016. Jack kicked a winning goal from 75 out and everyone remembers him for that, but Whitecross single handedly stopped us from losing it.

On another note, if you are going to write a lot you need to learn the difference between "then" and "than".

If I learn how to words properly then I will be better at writing them than if I don't learn how to words.
Learn how to words.

Poor spelling and grammar is something that frustrates me a lot in bigfooty (how the hell do so many people mix up his and he's? Makes them look like idiots and whatever they write difficult to comprehend) but you will be very very busy if you keep trying to correct people.

It's an impossible task.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Gralin]

Hey if someone is going to go to the effort of writing up their thoughts on a player in a considered manner and they get the odd word wrong based on grammar rules (some of which are no longer relevant anyway) I say join the conversation and leave the writing lesson to a thread on writing or the language

On Swiss, I've always been a fan, his host family when he started was from my brother in laws local footy club so I took an interest in him from the start.

Prior to his first knee he was really coming on, could play back or forward and was branching out into the middle, good runner, good lateral movement and balance and a good kick.

Was a young leader and had the temperament to be a real leader at the club, I've always thought the way he dealt with his knee injuries exemplified why you want blokes like this around the club and the fact that he's pushing hard at training and being vocal to help fill the void left by blokes like Hodge and Gibbo is great to hear.

We always get excited about the next kid who could be anything and he might never become more than a hard worker bottom half of the 22 or fringe player now but what he will do is keep everyone else honest and if he is at box hill help the kids become better footballers

Mentions of him seeming faster during match sim give me hope that he could up for a big year where he contributes weekly which would be great reward for the perseverance

 

[Beandip]

I'll never forget when he did one of his knees, basically hiding his (enormous) personal pain to be a smiling face celebrating with the boys afterwards - he knew what had happened and that he wouldn't be part of what was to come, but he was determined to make sure that didn't affect the playing group. That's an enormous sacrifice, when he was every bit entitled to be gutted, to put the team first and help his mates celebrate and sing the song etc.

Absolute. Class. Act. A wonderful person to have around the club.

 

[Great 2008]

Love him. Feel for him. Unluckiest Hawk ever imo.

I usually type my posts on the fly, in between tasks at work or after a few beers in a game day/autopsy thread so please excuse any poor phraseology or grammar. x

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

He's one player that seems to have played too many games of late at BH for mine.

Not sure if the club considers him depth or not, but it looks so. In reality, he still has 4 - 5 years of footy ahead of him.

Will be interesting to see how the club uses Whitey and Mirra.

Really hope he has a great pre-seaon and is in the Round 1 side.

 

[kazzooka]

Really hard to judge what to expect from him. Before he did his knee the first time he was a best 22 player that was about to break out from being a role player to a really important and influential player.

Once he got over the knee issues his form was so so at Box Hill and it seemed he wouldn't get back. Then in late 2016 he got a chance despite many thinking others had better Box Hill form. However his desperation and form in the back half of the season had all of us thrilled for him. It really looked like he was capable again and was set for a big 2017.

Only 8 games from him when we had major injuries and no standouts does not suggest that he will play a big part in 2018 unfortunately. He will definitely get his chance though hopefully he takes it and regains his place as a regular.

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[WWSD]

Injuries have ruined his career. Prior to his first knee injury in 2012 he was having a career best season that year averaging 21 disposals, 6 marks and a goal per game. It’s hard to believe he’s never played in any of the 5 Grand Finals under Clarkson.

 

[Mitchell54]

Mods do you suggest I just add to the 1st post for each player or start a new post for each one?

i'd suggest a new post and keep a link or the page # & post # for each new post in the op

 

[Randy Campbell]

This is the year, where the importance of Swiss to list will be at its most.

 

[RIOLINWITPUNCHS]

i'd suggest a new post and keep a link or the page # & post # for each new post in the op

I did think this also but Gralin has suggested a separate thread for each player and he holds the cards if you know what I mean .

 

[Shwab]

Whitey is an exceptional user of the footy, I believe his kick rating was in the top 10 of the 450 players for kicks between 2011 - 2016. Across his 17 games the last 2 years his disposal efficiency is over 81%, the skill set has been perfect for the Clarko game plan.

Would love him to be rewarded with on field success, but his biggest impact may be his off field contribution with our young group.

 

[TheFourPillars]

Whitey is an exceptional user of the footy, I believe his kick rating was in the top 10 of the 450 players for kicks between 2011 - 2016. Across his 17 games the last 2 years his disposal efficiency is over 81%, the skill set has been perfect for the Clarko game plan.

Would love him to be rewarded with on field success, but his biggest impact may be his off field contribution with our young group.

He has had his best pre season in years. A hard worker. He is one of the first out on the track and a real leader. He is giving himself every chance to contribute to our season and is leading by example

 

[Agent Smith]

I did think this also but Gralin has suggested a separate thread for each player and he holds the cards if you know what I mean .

Gralin is going all in.

 

[Gralin]

Gralin is going all in.

A silk in the hand....

 

[Sir Galahad]

He has had his best pre season in years. A hard worker. He is one of the first out on the track and a real leader. He is giving himself every chance to contribute to our season and is leading by example

I think it's his wife who drives the Porsche 4WD (aka tossermobile).

Anyway, he's written a few internet blogs over the years. This recent one's great & tells us a lot about the sort of person he is:

https://www.playersvoice.com.au/brendan-whitecross-wisdom-and-deaf-one-eyed-dog/#eE0044fOxt3JwpLL.97

Like others here, I thought he'd re-discovered the magic, late in the 2016 season, and was set to become an important player in 2017. This extract explains a bit of what was going on in background:

"PULLING MY FINGER OUT

"... Through 2015 and 2016 it was tough – I’d got myself back in a position to play AFL football again, to playing some good footy, and things still weren’t going my way. I thought, ‘What’s going on here? I’m good enough to be playing, why aren’t I?’"

(Then, later, he concluded) "...it was all my own doing. I wasn’t playing as well as I thought, I was getting the shits with not being selected, blokes being brought into the side in front of me when I thought I should have been there.

"I had a good chat with Alastair Clarkson and the other coaches, it was an honest conversation, and they said, ‘This is where you’re at, this is where you need to get to. If you don’t pull your finger out and make something of it, you could be spat out of the system.’

"You don’t want to hear those things, but you’re better off hearing them then and having the chance to do something about it. It made me want to work harder – to be a better player, a better leader, a better person around the club.

"For the first time in my 10-year career, I didn’t go away camping over summer.

"For the last five years I hadn’t been able to complete a good off-season, which meant I’d start every pre-season with niggles and setbacks. I decided to stay in Melbourne and train my butt off, so that day one of pre-season I was ready to go.

"There were days when I was running laps of the oval and thought, ‘Bugger it, I should just go away.’ The problem with camping is you go to remote places and there’s no road to run on, or it’s a gravel track full or corrugations or potholes, it’s not good for your training. I missed it, but while it was a tough call I know it was the right one, and so far it’s paying off."

 

[Easy Slips Catch]

Speed and agility are his weaknesses. Great with ball in hand, not so great getting ball in hand.

GWs, GC and the Bears, by not chasing this type of guy are showing why their clubs are emotionally bankrupt.

 

[MrPremiership]

Could/Should be a three-time premiership player. That's how cruel the game could be.

Amazed he is still around and hasn't chased an offer from up north. Certainly drops further down the pecking order this season with the kids coming through.

 

[Briar Gold]

Speed and agility are his weaknesses. Great with ball in hand, not so great getting ball in hand.

GWs, GC and the Bears, by not chasing this type of guy are showing why their clubs are emotionally bankrupt.

The Lions chased him a few times. He's thought seriously about it but hasn't done it. This off season, Hodge took his spot but arguably the Lions would've been better off with a fit and determined Whitey.

 

[Wizzmania]

Love him and he was about to enter a very classy AFL echelon as a genuine utility before being cruelled by injuries. Now a master of the turnover.
2018 will go one of two ways: we will rejoice in the fact that he has rejuvenated himself in a team desperate for midfield depth; OR we will patiently endure a list clogger until he comes out of contract at season's end.
Has been stiff in his AFL career to date, and we desperately want that to change, anlthough given he has just tied the know his wife may disagree!

 

[crazywildhorse]

whether or not this is his last season, we need to make sure this guy stays around the club. He would make a terrific addition to any coaching team.