Delisted James Gwilt

[Nutsngum]

What's your problem with Gwilt's kick? As far as I'm concerned it's pretty good, not elite but he's far from a muppet.

Did we watch the same player? He turned the ball over far too many times this year with miss kicks or putting the wrong person under pressure.

Im not really saying his kicking itself is bad, but more his decision making took a turn for the worse.

 

[L_W_P]

If Gwilt, Chapman, Cooney, McKernan are getting games next year, they will simply be denying their young guys experience - good luck to them.

Gwilt is an average 28YO footballer, too short for KPD & too slow for medium/smalls… his trade value was zero.

Cooney and Chapman are in their best 22. They are pushing to win a flag right now, no doubt these guys get games.

If Gwilt and McKernan are playing it will be due to injury or form slumps from senior players in Fletcher/Hurley or Bellchambers/Giles.

Hird and Essendon wont be playing McKernan over Daniher or Gwilt over Ambrose.

They also need senior bodies as backup if (when) the AFL drop the banhammer on half their list!

 

[12Chill]

Did we watch the same player? He turned the ball over far too many times this year with miss kicks or putting the wrong person under pressure.

Im not really saying his kicking itself is bad, but more his decision making took a turn for the worse.

Oh fair enough, decision making isn't the best.

 

[Saint Luke]

I have always loved Gwilt's kick. It has a lovely shape to it, not too high (giving opponents time to defend), not too low (that it can be intercepted very often) and his accuracy was high. Was definitely top 10 at our club in kicking skill before he was moved on. It wasn't his kicking that let him down, he was a middle sized defender with middle sized reach and medium speed. He couldn't match it with the talls and he couldn't match it with the quicks and in the end maybe the worst that could be said was that some of his decision making was letting him down.

He was of an age where he wasn't likely to be a part of the rebuilt St Kilda in the years ahead, and he was taking up a spot which could be used by someone who will be

Gwilt turned it over kicking from the square repeatedly last season. Sometimes you couldn't even tell where it was supposed to go. His kicking a few years ago was great, and occasionally he had consistent games in 2014, but he turned it over too much. Those turn overs always lead to goals.

 

[Nutsngum]

Gwilt turned it over kicking from the square repeatedly last season. Sometimes you couldn't even tell where it was supposed to go. His kicking a few years ago was great, and occasionally he had consistent games in 2014, but he turned it over too much. Those turn overs always lead to goals.

Yeah this is what I meant. To be honest it could very well stem from years of being part of a very stable core group and gameplan that wouldn't have led to those turnovers but now with an inexperienced midfield receiving any kind of risk is immediately exploited. Gwit's experience will be much better used in an Essendon team then a rebuilding Saints one.

 

[Saint Luke]

Yeah this is what I meant. To be honest it could very well stem from years of being part of a very stable core group and gameplan that wouldn't have led to those turnovers but now with an inexperienced midfield receiving any kind of risk is immediately exploited. Gwit's experience will be much better used in an Essendon team then a rebuilding Saints one.

Agreed. I think he is a great "addition" player, not a key role player. Playing him on smaller guys will probably see him do very well. Some will say we missed out, but let him kick it out of defense and then they'll see. Great player, just became too costly.

 

[saintbill]

Did we watch the same player? He turned the ball over far too many times this year with miss kicks or putting the wrong person under pressure.

Im not really saying his kicking itself is bad, but more his decision making took a turn for the worse.

Absolutely correct. 3-4 years ago you wanted the ball in Gwilt's hands. The last 2 years he has butchered the footy consistently. I put it down to losing his confidence. When you are consistently losing one on one battles every time you touch the footy the pressure is on you to make it count. Mentally I think Gwilt was absolutely shot in the end. Panic has set in to his game.

As for dominating pre-season training, this would be the 3rd year in a row I have heard this comment made about Gwilt. He was a terrific player but I am 100% confident we have made the right call on Gwilt.

 

[hayes]

It's the offseason, there's going to be "player x is flying this preseason" articles on everyone.

 

[Kildonan]

Agree also - that the club made the right call on Gwilt.
He benefited from having good players around him and when injuries struck many of them down he was found out a bit

 

[kernelT]

Cooney and Chapman are in their best 22. They are pushing to win a flag right now, no doubt these guys get games.

I personally think they are dreaming if they think they'll be playing off for a flag anytime soon.

Topping up with 30 year olds is okay if you really are pushing the top 4, but pretty ordinary if you are just scraping into the 8 or lower.

It does look like they are preparing for player bans though which is a pretty reasonable move.

 

[Kildonan]

Their (Essendon's) list maturity is at a point where you would think they would be expecting to challenge about now.
The timing of the drug scandal has been unfortunate for them. When the penalties are handed out - I wonder how much of an effect it will have on this player group's premiership chances. I don't see them as a genuine premiership chance, myself, anytime soon. In my view the timing of the punishments is worse for them (now that they have fought and squealed delaying the inevitable) because it overlaps with them peaking in maturity. Their list will have peaked and begun the decline. If reality isn't accepted in a timely manner, they will be trapped into a major rebuild setting them back the better part of a decade.

 

[Persevering Saint]

Their (Essendon's) list maturity is at a point where you would think they would be expecting to challenge about now.
The timing of the drug scandal has been unfortunate for them. When the penalties are handed out - I wonder how much of an effect it will have on this player group's premiership chances. I don't see them as a genuine premiership chance, myself, anytime soon. In my view the timing of the punishments is worse for them (now that they have fought and squealed delaying the inevitable) because it overlaps with them peaking in maturity. Their list will have peaked and begun the decline. If reality isn't accepted in a timely manner, they will be trapped into a major rebuild setting them back the better part of a decade.

Gee... Darn...

 

[Nutsngum]

Agreed. Essendon is a bottom 4 finals side and nothing more when it really comes down to it. They arent a bad side by any shot but I just simply cant see them beating Sydney, the Hawks or Port in a grand final.

Lets put it this way, you dont get beaten by the wooden spooners then go on to win a flag.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

The club wanted to help him find a new club, the best approach for him as a player (and for Jones) was to put them on the market as delisted free agents. The other recruiters would be informed of their availability. The Saints had nothing to gain by asking a price in a trade as we had already appropriated better picks than we could obtain from Gwilt's trade. We have the maximum number of players allowed on our senior list already. Further draft picks wouldn't help unless they were lower than the draft picks we used (#1, #21, #22, #41). Gwilt was not going to bring us a pick of that calibre.

The fact that the club tried to maximise the players' opportunities is also a good thing. The players will remember that as an act of a good employer who cares after the welfare of its players - even those leaving the nest. It also builds some credit with recruiters at other clubs.

Agree'd , for all we know the club may have talked to Essendon about picking him up before they delisted him.
We just dont know whats going on.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Absolutely correct. 3-4 years ago you wanted the ball in Gwilt's hands. The last 2 years he has butchered the footy consistently. I put it down to losing his confidence. When you are consistently losing one on one battles every time you touch the footy the pressure is on you to make it count. Mentally I think Gwilt was absolutely shot in the end. Panic has set in to his game.

This, as I think I've said previously this year. You could just tell by his body language at times this year that his confidence was just shot and it affected every part of his game, probably.

Didn't stop him coming 10th in the B&F despite having played just the 17 games, though, or from being our no.2 option for one of the KPD positions for most of the year (behind Delaney and keeping Bruce out for much of the year), or from having 17-24 possies in 9 of his 17 games, despite mostly playing KPD, which says to me that he can still well and truly play the game. His 3 goals 1 in about 30 minutes of footy once swung forward in the 2nd half of one of our late season games also suggested that that was the case. You don't do that in the bottom team in a losing team if you don't still have something going for you.

Agree also - that the club made the right call on Gwilt.
He benefited from having good players around him and when injuries struck many of them down he was found out a bit

With regards to the bolded, I think that is the case for almost everyone, but lets not forget how outstanding he was for much of his 2011 season until he did his knee.

That was the year when most of our team had their terrible "losing grand final hangovers", especially early on, yet he was one of very few who I felt actually stepped up their games to a new level that season, and along with Fisher down back, I felt he was a beacon for us back there in a team that was really struggling. The two of them I felt really held back the tide back there through the darkest parts of our season and were a big part of the reason our season just didn't completely capitulate.

I thought he and Fisher were pretty much as good as each other that season and of course Fisher won our B&F (ahead of Dal), which to me suggests that Gwilt was likely to have also had a very high B&F finish if it hadn't been for him doing his knee. He came 8th in our B&F in 2010, yet there was far less strong competition for the award in 2011, so if the club agreed with me that he stepped it up to a new level that year, I think he would have come top 5-6 in that 2011 B&F for sure (had he not done his knee), proof that he wasn't just reliant on those around him to get the job done.

His biggest problem since his knee reco as far as I'm concerned is that since he's had enough time to recover from it he's been asked to punch well above his weight and play key position- in a team that has largely been losing- and has also as a result bulked up enough to play on the "gorillas", which has taken away some of the things/strengths that made him as good as he was in 2010 and 2011.

For all these reasons it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he gets back to playing really good footy for Essendon from next year. As long as they don't also stupidly plan on him playing regularly KPD of course and get him to slim down a bit over the preseason and get back more of his running game.

 

[L_W_P]

As fantastic as Jimmy was playing back I always felt his best footy was up forward.

He was so under-rated as that third tall, running up the wings, in 09 and I still dont know why he didnt play that GF. Was that when he did his knee?

 

[aussierulesrules]

No, he established himself permanently in the 22 in 2010 and came 8th in the B&F that year, playing down back (including 20 or more possies in all 4 of our finals, including both GF's and the prelim), and then played I think it was 17 games in 2011 until he did his knee.

 

[t_94]

Remember that night in the wet when gwilt played on podsiadly when he was red hot and all the rage? 2010 I think Gwilt smashed him and had about 25 possessions himself, got over the cats by 10 or so points. His best was very good, always seemed like a confidence player to me

 

[CALL ME SNAKE]

Good honest smokey draft pick who carved out a handy career with a few extremely good games sprinkled over the yrs.
Not a gun by any means but Jimmy can hold his head high after his career as a Saint. Was a bummer his knee cost him a couple of seasons form.
I wish him luck at the Bombers ( as long as they lose im happy for him to get in the best players )

 

[Big Mart]

Essendon are not close to challenging IMO they have huge holes in their team. A woeful fwd line for a start

It's a desperate move.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Essendon are not close to challenging IMO they have huge holes in their team. A woeful fwd line for a start

It's a desperate move.

I wouldn't describe picking up a free agent for Zilch as a desperate move.
It is a move, but the move seems to be somewhat lacking in the desperate element.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Essendon's loss of Ryder will probably really hurt, but I like all of their 5 main additions in Cooney, Gwilt, Giles (none of which cost them much, from memory) and of course Langford and Laverde and as with Gwilt, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Cooney returns to some of his best footy, noww that he's got a fresh start. All the reports are that his knee is the best it's been probably since he first injured it and that he's able to do most of the training now, a far cry from how much training he's apparently missed due to his knee in recent years.

 

[Fehring]

I agree with dragit that Chapman, Cooney and Gwilty are taking away games from youngsters at a club that's not good enough to win a flag.

That having been said, I think they'll get good value from Gwilty. This year was his first full year back from a knee reco and he was still a long way off his best - that was the same with Lenny after his first reco: he actually had 18 months of below par footy before rediscovering his best. If Gwilty pans out, he could give them 3-4 good years.

 

[Easy Mode]

I agree with dragit that Chapman, Cooney and Gwilty are taking away games from youngsters at a club that's not good enough to win a flag.

That having been said, I think they'll get good value from Gwilty. This year was his first full year back from a knee reco and he was still a long way off his best - that was the same with Lenny after his first reco: he actually had 18 months of below par footy before rediscovering his best. If Gwilty pans out, he could give them 3-4 good years.

I hate to bring it up but Gwilt and Cooney also don't have a certain sporting authority hanging over their heads either.. so that may of come into the equation when acquiring them - not that they would ever admit this.