Lets talk about David Armitage

[Rough_Edges]

Bear that in mind with your own previous criticism of our young players,David Armitage in particular.

I'm not afraid of people being negitive. Of course theres going to be negitivity, its a football forum.


I think the critiscm of David Armitage is fair. An attitude problem, isn't fit enough to play AFL football and loves the night life (so we are told).

AFL football and the saints deserve more than that, lets be honest.

 

[John Bonney]

Re: Lets talk about Xavier Clarke

I'm not afraid of people being negitive. Of course theres going to be negitivity, its a football forum.


I think the critiscm of David Armitage is fair. An attitude problem, isn't fit enough to play AFL football and loves the night life (so we are told).

AFL football and the saints deserve more than that, lets be honest.

That is total garbage with no basis in fact and you have been one of the perpetrators and spreaders of these libelous rumours regarding this fine young player.
Where do you get off on spreading this crap.

 

[John Bonney]

Re: 2009 Expectations?

Yeh not that long to go now.

I expect

A few new players to be blooded. Steven, Heyne..

Armo to continue to dissapoint.

Riewoldt AA CHF.

Top 8 finish.

Armitage represented his state in under 16's and twice at under 18'S including 2006 [his draft year] with his ear stiched to his head under a helmet,the result of a sickening head clash 10 days before.
He was selected on a HBF in the All Australian team from this carnival.
He starred as a 15 year old in the AFL Mackay competition.
AFL QLD Talent Director Mark Browning requested he move to Brisbane to further his chances.Played 2 seasons for Morningside being reguarly named in the best players and averaging 1.5 goals per game
He played in 2 grand finals and easily won the Rising Star award in acompetition that included names like Petterd,Proud,Urqhart ,Hampson and Tippet.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Re: Lets talk about Xavier Clarke

That is total garbage with no basis in fact and you have been one of the perpetrators and spreaders of these libelous rumours regarding this fine young player.
Where do you get off on spreading this crap.

Belive what you want.

But he didn't get 50% TOG for no reason, did he? Simply not fit enough.

Couldn't lift his legs off the ground after finally getting a go at subi. 93% TOG i think it was, for a massive 6 touches and zero impact.


As I have probably said, if you go through all my posts, I am a fan of Armitage. But he has been nothing but dissapointing in his career.

Hopefully he improves as the kid obviously has some scope.

Also Please don't make me sound like a spreader of a rumour that i hope was not true after repeating what was written in the paper and said on a TV show.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Re: 2009 Expectations?

Please list his acheivments at AFL level.


-Being unfit
-Having a not up to standard AFL disposal
-Getting repeatedley dropped after continued bad performances.


Obviously a mate of some kind, but i don't give a flying (excuse me) **** about what he did at a 15 year old.

I care what he has done as a 18,19 year old and it has been very little.


I really hope he comes on, but my hopes of him being a superstar have quickly diminished into my hopes he becomes a solid best 22 player.

Hopefully the thread gets bumped up in 12 months and everyone is like.

RE you idiot.

For mine though, i'm pretty safe.

 

[John Bonney]

Re: Lets talk about Xavier Clarke

Belive what you want.

But he didn't get 50% TOG for no reason, did he?

Couldn't lift his legs off the ground after finally getting a go at subi. 93% TOG i think it was, for a massive 6 touches and zero impact.


As I have probably said, if you go through all my posts, I am a fan of Armitage. But he has been nothing but dissapointing in his career.

Hopefully he improves

I wouldn't bother going through your posts or responding any further to your selective witch hunt on Armo .
I WONDER WHAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IN YOUR LIFE.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Re: Lets talk about Xavier Clarke

..and here I was looking forward to a debate about Armitage which you are obviously incapable of having.

 

[John Bonney]

Re: 2009 Expectations?

Please list his acheivments at AFL level.


-Being unfit
-Having a not up to standard AFL disposal
-Getting repeatedley dropped after continued bad performances.


Obviously a mate of some kind, but i don't give a flying (excuse me) **** about what he did at a 15 year old.

I care what he has done as a 18,19 year old and it has been very little.


I really hope he comes on, but my hopes of him being a superstar have quickly diminished into my hopes he becomes a solid best 22 player.

Hopefully the thread gets bumped up in 12 months and everyone is like.

RE you idiot.

For mine though, i'm pretty safe.

He has played 16 games of AFL along with 5 games of NAB Cup.

 

[John Bonney]

Re: Lets talk about Xavier Clarke

Try getting out on a football field yourself if you have the guts and then you might just have an inkling of what it must be like in the cauldron that is AFL football.
You are in the minority with Armitage most St Kilda people want to see him suceed because God knows the club needs him.

 

[Kildonan]

After watching replays of Saints matches from the preseason onwards, I have to admit that Armo looked so impressive early and yet in later matches he did have long patches where he just didn't find the ball. I think it was mainly where he was played rather than his attitude. When given a run on ball, he seems to find it enough and do the one percenters. In the Melbourne match, where we had been so disappointing the week before against Brisbane, Luke Ball and Armo led the way with team inspiring one-percenters. I think he will be a great servant for our club.

I agree with JB, that we don't need unsubstantiated rumours to further burden our players. Life in a distant city and a demanding physical job would be hard enough. Every player is entitled to a life outside of work. The Saints are one of the most professional outfits in the AFL. Lets hope that the senior players and coaching staff have a strong policy that all players abide by.

Armo is not the only player to inexplicably get dropped or be given limited TOG. Most of the players in this category are youngsters.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Re: Lets talk about Xavier Clarke

Try getting out on a football field yourself if you have the guts and then you might just have an inkling of what it must be like in the cauldron that is AFL football.
You are in the minority with Armitage most St Kilda people want to see him suceed because God knows the club needs him more than smart arse frontrunners like you.

I love the argument/statement "Why don't you go do it, not so easy"


I don't get paid $100,000 a year to play football. I pay my membership fees, so if i think a player isn't doing enough, i can sit back and criticise.

And please stop telling me that I do not like Armitage and I think he isn't good enough (not in those words).

Armitage I hope developes into a good AFL player.

Your argument is bored and stale. Attacking me isn't that impressive.

 

[Rough_Edges]

After watching replays of Saints matches from the preseason onwards, I have to admit that Armo looked so impressive early and yet in later matches he did have long patches where he just didn't find the ball. I think it was mainly where he was played rather than his attitude.

He was played in the forward line because he did not have the fitness to play midfield.

 

[John Bonney]

He was played in the forward line because he did not have the fitness to play midfield.

Admittedly his fitness has not been at an elite level but i assure you he has worked his guts out to remedy that..he is running the best times of his career.
Having said that IMO Lyon,Rock and the development staff have to take some responsibility for the delay in his progress.A general lack of communication,direction and show of consistency in his selection and game time did contribute to this.
For crying out loud in his first preseason the Saints conditioning trainer [Starcevich] never even returned from Brisbane after the Christmas break.
He kicked 10 goals last season and should double that this year.
By the same token he is a true ball winning midfielder and i am confident he will prove that sooner rather than later.

 

[HoldenMCaulfield]

I think it is fair to say that he has not had the impact on AFL level we were all hoping for. I certainly hope that you are right, JB and he'll live up to his potential for St Kilda.

I have seen him play some very good games for the Scorpions. But then again, in most of those games, there were two other Casey players who were even better.

Michael Rix and Shane Birss.

 

[Squizz]

I have seen him play some very good games for the Scorpions. But then again, in most of those games, there were two other Casey players who were even better. Michael Rix and Shane Birss.

Yup - very true.

In relation to negative posts, I still believe that if you've paid your dough you're entitled to an opinion (even if on the harsh side). But having said this, if you've had a go and no-one else agrees with you then sometimes you need to pay the mirror a visit. Not always an experience like Sammy Fish (from Kildonan's poolside post on the other thread and player comments that he spends the most time in front of the mirror!).

Armo is one who has divided opinion, and I've got two opinions on him (which is OK when you have a split personality like I do). He reminds me of an early version of Luke Hodge, and is one of our best tacklers. He's quite a good kick too, but when he played AFL games he seemed to be trying to run and kick at full pace which affected his disposal. Whilst he had a bit more time at VFL level, some of the pressure at AFL level was self-inflicted (he thought he had to run quicker than he actually did).

But this is something he can quickly rectify, particularly if (like Hodge) can do some work on his running between seasons and add a yard.

I thought the club's decision to play him at the WACA, and then not on a wet night at the MCG was strange - and hurt us on both occasions. Ross Lyon has previously made comments about a apprenticeship. Maybe he's in the middle of this and will come out a much better player. I just think the way we have used players between the VFL and AFL is wrong - Rix, Leigh Fisher, Birss and Armo (and previously CJ) all had completely different roles in the VFL to what they had with the Saints.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

He can kick, mark, and tackle well. He is quicker at AFL level than Birss and Rix ever were. If it is only fitness than I don't doubt he will get there. Barring injury everyone can get fit. Not everyone can develop the skills.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Admittedly his fitness has not been at an elite level but i assure you he has worked his guts out to remedy that..he is running the best times of his career.
Having said that IMO Lyon,Rock and the development staff have to take some responsibility for the delay in his progress.A general lack of communication,direction and show of consistency in his selection and game time did contribute to this.
For crying out loud in his first preseason the Saints conditioning trainer [Starcevich] never even returned from Brisbane after the Christmas break.
He kicked 10 goals last season and should double that this year.
By the same token he is a true ball winning midfielder and i am confident he will prove that sooner rather than later.

Agreed.

Lyon must take some responsibility, but as you said yourself in that post. He hasn't been fit enough.

I have no dobuts that he is running the best times of his career, but to date his AFL career hasn't been what the supporters had hoped for.

 

[John Bonney]

Agreed.

Lyon must take some responsibility, but as you said yourself in that post. He hasn't been fit enough.

I have no dobuts that he is running the best times of his career, but to date his AFL career hasn't been what the supporters had hoped for.

Maybe we have to be patient similar to a fellow top 10 drafy choice like R.Clarke ,most of the doubters seem to have changed their opinion on he and his brother.

 

[Rough_Edges]

I never called for him to be delisted or traded tho mate.

He has been disappointing.

Whether your a mate of Armo or a avid fan surely you can appreciate that he has been disappointing in regards to expectations.


Don't think anyone isn't annoyed about the lack of quality football X and Raph have played, but still we see something there. As most do including myself in Armo, just he hasn't seemed too determined in the previous 2 years hence my prediction he will continue to disappoint as I have seen nothing to tell me otherwise.

 

[John Bonney]

Stick to your guns RoughE [even though you seem to be having a bit of an each way bet],Saints will be the big winner if he has a breakout season.
I think his laconic personality can sometimes give the wrong impression but be assured he loves the club and the football culture in Melbourne.
Incidently can you give us an indication as to what you would consider to be a pass mark for Armo in 2009.

 

[Rough_Edges]

Just want to see him get fit enough to play AFL football.

Has the skills, but not the fitness.

 

[Kildonan]

Armo is a great size for a midfielder. He's big enough to block and shepperd, to tackle the bigger players, to take decent (courageous) marks and small enough that he has still has great mobility and agility.

He is gutsy - his contested work is great, often getting down and dirty to get the hard ball, but this is where I have a criticism of his play - he often ends up at the bottom of the pack, so often in fact that the umpires are reluctant to pay him a free kick because they are unsure whether he is playing for one or not. He needs to clear it more often, rather than tying it up, before he causes a ball up or worse - getting pinged. Another area for improvement would be to see him carry and bounce the ball a bit.

He is selfless on the field. He will do the 1 percenters - like protecting team mates with blocks, bumps and shepperds. He draws opposition players toward him when he has the ball. He can kick a goal and he also finds the key forwards frequently. When he doesn't have the ball he chases and tackles, or he throws himself at the opponent's boot to stifle a kick. He thinks about what he can do to advantage the team and does it.

I love his endeavour out on the field. I hope he gets 25 games this year.

 

[Modra93]

Hopefully he has knuckled down over the preseason and realised he is off the pace and has really worked on his fitness, much like Gram did a few years ago. If he has we should have a solid player this year, if not I wont be expecting much more from what weve seen.

 

[tiggywigs]

Time will tell of course, but I have seen enough of Armitage (I'm the partner of a diehard Saints fan) to think that he could be a very important engine room player for your club. I also seem to remember that Saint Bob (RH) publicly stated that Armitage was destined to be a 10 year player for the Saints.

 

[__aria__]

Way too early to be worrying about him. I learned this when I wrote Urquhart off when he couldn't break into the Nth Ballarat seniors.

Only saw Armitage early in the year but he looked good.