Jonathan O'Rourke

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Anyone have an idea what his salary might be. Like others I noticed that time an again he makes good postion and is ignored. Maybe some are upset of his salary, maybe it is his a personality.

I doubt players don't kick him the ball because of his salary.

 

[Hawthorn4ever]

blake Hardwick showed more in 1 game than Jor in all of his..

 

[Gralin]

blake Hardwick showed more in 1 game than Jor in all of his..

I don't think that is the case. Blake showed some glimpses, same as preseason but it's not like JOR hasn't.
He kicked a goal under pressure against the saints, our only goal for that quarter, he's shown fast hands and the ability to do some of the taps and knock ons our team thrives on and despite the injuries he's had he's got a decent tank.
Blake could end up being the better player but it's way to early to call it and what's the point anyway.

 

[seysearles]

I for 1 am in his corner. He has a massive tank and a equally massive work rate, what he is struggling with at the elite level is understanding the flow of the game. At VFL level he has mastered it, he gets to the right spot, he's comfortable with the pace, in short he has clocked it at that level.

What we don't do is give up on a kid who is just behind Izzy/Hill/Billy in running ability, we don't give up on a kid who is elite in and under by hand, we don't give up on a kid who is ice cool under pressure and can snag a goal. He needs to develop the instincts and ability to read the game at the elite level, once he gets that we should have a very good footballer.

So his form at VFL is what we should be satisfied with at AFL level? See I find that depressing. It just seems like his ceiling is low. On what basis did he go number 2 in the draft? Surely that pick is reserved for out and out jets that are game breakers. As far as I know O'Rourke hasn't done that at any level to date has he? He has been playing seniors 4 full seasons now. That just doesn't seem positive at all.

 

[eldorado]

It seems in the absence of Schoenmakers, O'Rourke has filled a valuable niche...

 

[Ned Ryerson]

So his form at VFL is what we should be satisfied with at AFL level? See I find that depressing. It just seems like his ceiling is low. On what basis did he go number 2 in the draft? Surely that pick is reserved for out and out jets that are game breakers. As far as I know O'Rourke hasn't done that at any level to date has he? He has been playing seniors 4 full seasons now. That just doesn't seem positive at all.

Jack Watts is effectively a Pick 2 - it can be a slow burn. Not willing to throw the baby out with the bath water yet.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

It seems in the absence of Schoenmakers, O'Rourke has filled a valuable niche...

Someone could have a field day finding all the adamant 'Schoey will never be a premiership player' posts over the years on these boards.

 

[LuckyHawk]

So his form at VFL is what we should be satisfied with at AFL level? See I find that depressing. It just seems like his ceiling is low. On what basis did he go number 2 in the draft? Surely that pick is reserved for out and out jets that are game breakers. As far as I know O'Rourke hasn't done that at any level to date has he? He has been playing seniors 4 full seasons now. That just doesn't seem positive at all.

Heard a draft /recruiter guy talk on tv about JOR a couple of years ago and he said it was a very weak draft. In any other year JOR would
have been a 10 to 15 pick he added too. We really shouldn't have expectations of him as a fair dinkum no.2 pick.
He still might get there with more games under his belt, doesn't look too far away.

 

[Billyc]

I've been pretty patient with O'Rourke to date but he has been on the list 2 years and he really hasn't shown anything. If he was a #2 pick and we had not traded a first rounder for him and say we'd drafted him in the fourth round, he would be in the gun for delisting. I can't imagine that will be the case but there is nothing about his game that seems better than average.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

I've been pretty patient with O'Rourke to date but he has been on the list 2 years and he really hasn't shown anything. If he was a #2 pick and we had not traded a first rounder for him and say we'd drafted him in the fourth round, he would be in the gun for delisting. I can't imagine that will be the case but there is nothing about his game that seems better than average.

I don't think the club considers what draft pick was used when they decide if a player is to be delisted or not....

 

[Since 2001]

I must be the only one who is moderately pleased with him. This is his second crack at it this year and he looks muchmore comfortable at the level. He is a young player FFS so to expect him to star is ridiculous. He will be up and down like all youngsters. I can see what he brings and he is going to be a valuable player for us.

Nope, I'm with you. Im constantly reminding people its his second season with us only had his first real pre-season leading into this year. injury plagued at gws and still needs more pre-seasons and games. Im just sitting here waiting for him to become the player i know he can and will be.

So his form at VFL is what we should be satisfied with at AFL level? See I find that depressing. It just seems like his ceiling is low. On what basis did he go number 2 in the draft? Surely that pick is reserved for out and out jets that are game breakers. As far as I know O'Rourke hasn't done that at any level to date has he? He has been playing seniors 4 full seasons now. That just doesn't seem positive at all.

Hasn't been playing 4 seasons........he was injured most of his career at gws. When he came to hawthorn he was injured. last season he played with no pre-season and got injured again. He had his first real pre-season and looked good at the start of the year, did his hammy and is just coming back. give him a break, played under 20 games and still has a future with the hawks.

I've been pretty patient with O'Rourke to date but he has been on the list 2 years and he really hasn't shown anything. If he was a #2 pick and we had not traded a first rounder for him and say we'd drafted him in the fourth round, he would be in the gun for delisting. I can't imagine that will be the case but there is nothing about his game that seems better than average.

Read the above ^^^

 

[tige19]

So his form at VFL is what we should be satisfied with at AFL level? See I find that depressing. It just seems like his ceiling is low. On what basis did he go number 2 in the draft? Surely that pick is reserved for out and out jets that are game breakers. As far as I know O'Rourke hasn't done that at any level to date has he? He has been playing seniors 4 full seasons now. That just doesn't seem positive at all.

Have you watched VFL? It's a poor standard, it's hard to get to excited by many. What I'm saying is he has got to a level where he is comfortable and understands that level, in effect he is a top liner in that Comp. He averages 22 touches and wins it both inside and out, he is a step above it.

I agree that he has struggled to find his place at the elite level but the kid has barely had a pre-season since being drafted, I even know now that he still has some concerns sprinting with all his hamstring problems of the past.

He runs mid 15 beep, he is really really good inside and he has a cool and calm head. I believe he will be a genuine good AFL footballer, we need him to level up from a 15/16 touches per game guy to a 21/22 touches mid.

Have faith dude, next year we will get a true understanding of what we can expect for the duration of his career.

 

[Since 2001]

Have you watched VFL? It's a poor standard, it's hard to get to excited by many. What I'm saying is he has got to a level where he is comfortable and understands that level, in effect he is a top liner in that Comp. He averages 22 touches and wins it both inside and out, he is a step above it.

I agree that he has struggled to find his place at the elite level but the kid has barely had a pre-season since being drafted, I even know now that he still has some concerns sprinting with all his hamstring problems of the past.

He runs mid 15 beep, he is really really good inside and he has a cool and calm head. I believe he will be a genuine good AFL footballer, we need him to level up from a 15/16 touches per game guy to a 21/22 touches mid.

Have faith dude, next year we will get a true understanding of what we can expect for the duration of his career.

Very well said! people also seem to forget that its hard for him to get the ball because our midfield is dominated by the senior players and it feels as if they are still in their peak and are always looked for first. When we played richmond and he got his chance in the middle he something like 8 touches and a goal in a quarter.

Never knew someone who has come back from a hammy injury is meant to be a weapon when they come back hahaha, people just expect that his fitness will be there again and don't realise he has to regain it and actually looked good early on in the year before the injury

 

[tige19]

Very well said! people also seem to forget that its hard for him to get the ball because our midfield is dominated by the senior players and it feels as if they are still in their peak and are always looked for first. When we played richmond and he got his chance in the middle he something like 8 touches and a goal in a quarter.

Never knew someone who has come back from a hammy injury is meant to be a weapon when they come back hahaha, people just expect that his fitness will be there again and don't realise he has to regain it and actually looked good early on in the year before the injury

He has had a lot of issues with his hammies, even as a junior. He was building nicely this year before the hammy went again.

Give him another pre-season, give him more responsibility and we will see him perform better.

 

[seysearles]

Have you watched VFL? It's a poor standard, it's hard to get to excited by many. What I'm saying is he has got to a level where he is comfortable and understands that level, in effect he is a top liner in that Comp. He averages 22 touches and wins it both inside and out, he is a step above it.

I agree that he has struggled to find his place at the elite level but the kid has barely had a pre-season since being drafted, I even know now that he still has some concerns sprinting with all his hamstring problems of the past.

He runs mid 15 beep, he is really really good inside and he has a cool and calm head. I believe he will be a genuine good AFL footballer, we need him to level up from a 15/16 touches per game guy to a 21/22 touches mid.

Have faith dude, next year we will get a true understanding of what we can expect for the duration of his career.

Well do let me know how much time he deserves so that we can be in agreement that he isn't going to make it to the next level when that date comes. I don't want to write him off but I just feel like most good midfielders have at least shown glimpses by the age of 22 regardless of injury or pre-seasons. In fact most midfielders that have something are actually already performing close to their peak by that age actually. I haven't seen anything close to that from O'Rourke yet which worries me. What I see is a bloke with a very good tank but everything else in the average bracket. Not much creativity. Average to poor disposal. Not much grunt. Not much footy cunning. Are those skills genuinely effected by a pre-season? In fact the thing which a pre-season will have the biggest effect on is the one thing he is capable in and that is gut-running. To me at best we have a Shiels and at worst (and currently more likely) we have a Beau Muston. If he had been picked up late in the draft we probably wouldn't be having this conversation but the fact that we coughed up a first rounder for him adds to the expectation (we could have used the pick on a Touk Miller or a Caleb Daniel). I really hope to be proven wrong, but I don't see it which depresses me and why I am hanging it on him in here.

 

[PhatHQ]

Well do let me know how much time he deserves so that we can be in agreement that he isn't going to make it to the next level when that date comes. I don't want to write him off but I just feel like most good midfielders have at least shown glimpses by the age of 22 regardless of injury or pre-seasons. In fact most midfielders that have something are actually already performing close to their peak by that age actually. I haven't seen anything close to that from O'Rourke yet which worries me. What I see is a bloke with a very good tank but everything else in the average bracket. Not much creativity. Average to poor disposal. Not much grunt. Not much footy cunning. Are those skills genuinely effected by a pre-season? In fact the thing which a pre-season will have the biggest effect on is the one thing he is capable in and that is gut-running. To me at best we have a Shiels and at worst (and currently more likely) we have a Beau Muston. If he had been picked up late in the draft we probably wouldn't be having this conversation but the fact that we coughed up a first rounder for him adds to the expectation (we could have used the pick on a Touk Miller or a Caleb Daniel). I really hope to be proven wrong, but I don't see it which depresses me and why I am hanging it on him in here.

Ooow! Touk Miller I rate him!! Easy hindsight pick right there & we wouldn't be having this discussion

 

[tige19]

Ooow! Touk Miller I rate him!! Easy hindsight pick right there & we wouldn't be having this discussion

I was gonna say that to.. Another good Calder kid. What a footy factory

 

[seysearles]

Ooow! Touk Miller I rate him!! Easy hindsight pick right there & we wouldn't be having this discussion

Went 2 picks below Daniel Howe who we took at 31 also. I had my eye on him as I heard that we were interested in him. I have been watching him and wincing ever since. Same with Gresham who the Saints took with the pick before us last year. I had hoped/expected him to fall to us at 19. Hopefully Burton gives stkilda nightmares in years to come and not the other way around.

 

[burner1]

He was really unfortunate to do his hammie then finger mid season - would have had a chance to get a good run of games.

Some players just take longer to adjust to the tempo of afl - eg doc has been a slow burn (how many years was he on list before cementing a spot?). JOR has shown enough to keep persisting with - if it clicks he will be a very handy afl mid and has a very handy mix of inside ability and run. As noted above he's now a level above the VFL - and our midfield (and its rotations) is very hard to break into (name one player that has broken into the midfield in the last 4 years??).

I think it's more interesting how strangely fickle a number of supporters are - eg JORs a dud, but TOB (despite doing far less and no injury issues whatsoever over 4-5 years) is a 'gun', shoeys 2015 was just a fluke and is thus a spud etc etc etc

 

[MrPremiership]

Has played 17 games.

How do people write off players after 17 games???

Will be a very good player. Let's judge him after 50 games. We have an aging midfield, his time will come.

 

[tige19]

He was really unfortunate to do his hammie then finger mid season - would have had a chance to get a good run of games.

Some players just take longer to adjust to the tempo of afl - eg doc has been a slow burn (how many years was he on list before cementing a spot?). JOR has shown enough to keep persisting with - if it clicks he will be a very handy afl mid and has a very handy mix of inside ability and run. As noted above he's now a level above the VFL - and our midfield (and its rotations) is very hard to break into (name one player that has broken into the midfield in the last 4 years??).

I think it's more interesting how strangely fickle a number of supporters are - eg JORs a dud, but TOB (despite doing far less and no injury issues whatsoever over 4-5 years) is a 'gun', shoeys 2015 was just a fluke and is thus a spud etc etc etc

I'm with you on TOB, I'm a little more harsher in my assessments and that's mainly to do with the fact he has been with us for 4 years and I haven't seen improvement. I hold hope for TOB though, less than I do JOR that's for sure but still hope.

 

[savagebradley]

Well do let me know how much time he deserves so that we can be in agreement that he isn't going to make it to the next level when that date comes. I don't want to write him off but I just feel like most good midfielders have at least shown glimpses by the age of 22 regardless of injury or pre-seasons. In fact most midfielders that have something are actually already performing close to their peak by that age actually. I haven't seen anything close to that from O'Rourke yet which worries me. What I see is a bloke with a very good tank but everything else in the average bracket. Not much creativity. Average to poor disposal. Not much grunt. Not much footy cunning. Are those skills genuinely effected by a pre-season? In fact the thing which a pre-season will have the biggest effect on is the one thing he is capable in and that is gut-running. To me at best we have a Shiels and at worst (and currently more likely) we have a Beau Muston. If he had been picked up late in the draft we probably wouldn't be having this conversation but the fact that we coughed up a first rounder for him adds to the expectation (we could have used the pick on a Touk Miller or a Caleb Daniel). I really hope to be proven wrong, but I don't see it which depresses me and why I am hanging it on him in here.

He hasn't played 20 games, mate, and all of them have been between injury breaks.

Michael Tuck played 49 games in the Seconds .
Dipper played 90.

Perhaps we can give O'Rourke a little time: he shows some promise.

 

[Hawthorn4ever]

"Re his hamstrings .. You need to get up to a sprint and then accelerate to do it .. JOr has one pace and it's really slow ..

 

[grumbleguts]

I want to like O'Rourke, I really do.

He does a lot of running that goes unrewarded. Constantly makes leads and provides options that more often than not aren't honoured. You can almost always seem him near the ball, but he doesn't go into the cold face to get it. I'd figure he's instructed to be the link player once the ball is won at the cold face. During our third quarter burst, the sheer amount of running he did eclipsed even that of Hill and Smith. He got sold into danger a few times by his teammates aswell.

More often than not though we lose it at the cold face. More often than not he isn't used even when in good positions. More often than not this means he doesn't rack up the disposals, doesn't look flashy and looks to be a dead weight. He's not explosive or quick: I'd liken him to a Jordan Lewis. Problem is, he's being utilised as a Bradley Hill.

His best quarter to date was when we used him as an inside midfielder against Richmond in the last quarter, and he racked up 8 disposals, 3 score involvements and a goal. I think that the only reason he's not being used as an inside midfielder was because we already had Whitecross, Langford, Lewis, Hodge, Mitchell and Burgoyne in that role.

If he stays in the side, it has to be as an inside midfielder. He doesn't have the attributes required for an outside player apart from a massive tank. Calling him a list clogger is far from the truth.

More often than not the cold face is called a coal face, because that's what it is.

 

[Hawkinator]

the amount of crap this bloke cops on this forum is ridiculous. He has played stuff all game time, and has only just started getting his body right.

I'll tell you the thing I like from seeing the games I have with him involved so far -

• Doesn't panic under pressure. He takes time and doesn't just handball off to the next bloke who is about to get smashed so that he doesnt get tackled.
• Good kick for goal, and good field kick in general.
• Clean extraction when he is playing as an inside mid. Seems to have a knack of getting the ball out to someone in space and actually wins quite a bit when he is actually allowed to play inside.. seems to me they are educating him on a couple of things and not asking him to dive under packs at the moment.
• some x-factor.. can actually kick a quick snap under pressure.. check his shot from (I think) the west coast game from the pack.. great goal sense.
• has actually started laying some good tackles, they have obviously been working on his defensive work.

He isn't lightning fast.. so what.. not everyone has to be lightning quick, that's why we have Hill, Hartung, Smith. This guy is obviously not there to be the outside sprinting mid, he's going to be in there contested.

Got to give this bloke a couple of preseasons at a quality club with our great conditioning trainers and fitness gurus to make sure he can get to where he should. Even in a shallow draft, you wouldn't pick someone at 2 unless you were sure they had some significant qualities.

I'll reserve my judgement for a year or two i think, people put too much on a bloke who realistically has played like 10 full games, based upon his draft number.