Marcus Drum

[Pure_Ownage]

Ha ha yeah thought i was having bad run for a bit there. Dont worry, I always try to keep it rational.

Would really like to see him play some footy this year. Good thing is we have some versatilty with lonergan and mackie seemingly able to play at both ends. As you also pointed out P_O Drum has played forward too so we have some options.

Given that the decision to keep Dasher was made prior to the appointment of Scott, it may well turn out that if fit, he could take his spot if form permits. Love Dasher and the fact that he was able to play in the flags, but I would hope he is used as a solid backup option for injury/poor form

Nah that was my understanding mate, don't sweat it.

I do agree we're quite versatile (although Lonergan should, and will, be settled down back now).

I think if the coach was totally unhappy having Dasher he wouldn't be going on (even though the coach came in late) but it is fair to say that while if he shows good form like he did at times this year, Dasher will survive, but if he doesn't, because he's our oldest player, he'll be the first one to go.

Drum is one of these guys we need to find out whether he can play or not, but there isn't a spot open for him due to the strength of the 22. It will be interesting to see how Scott manages things to get guys like him and and THunt in.

 

[Belisarius]

I reckon we are due for a good break.

Maybe it will be Drum that is the one that comes in - looks good and makes a difference to the side.

GFC fans just needs someone step up from the twos and make a significant contribution. Could Drum given he is older, has done a few pre-seasons and was a top 10 draft pick.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

As far as I am aware ( dont quote me on this!) Drum was unhappy at fremantle and wanted to come home for a fresh start. I don't believe it was fremantle that didn't rate him but rather it just not really working out. A mate of mine that grew up with him reckons he's the goods but he'd hardly say he's crap so take it as you wish. Personally, I think there must be something Wells and co. like about him to want to trade for him. Appatently Geelong wanted to get him in 2005 but were beaten to the punch by freo

Just for you Maxy I dug up some stuff from my vault to back that up:
http://www.countryfootyscores.com/m...ol/2993-three-years-on-still-a-way-to-go.html

You can get the sense homesickness really took a toll for the kid, along with injury. And there was obviously issues with the coach-player relationship and selection as highlighted here with Damo cracking it:
http://www.footballnation.com.au/afl/latest-afl-news/beat-of-the-drum/

I'm not having a crack at Freo, the way they handle their list is up to them (and they've done it well) but it was clear that he wanted to be home, and while the kid had some talent, it was best for both clubs that they part ways, despite the fact that there's some talent in him.

He seems happier now, attitude by all reports was very good, the few VFL games were reasonably promising and Balmey has been upbeat about his future:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/geelong-still-banging-drum/story-e6frg7mf-1225882027645

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...-mark-at-geelong/story-e6frf9jf-1225785337751

Hopefully it translates into him staying out of the medical room, and pushing for selection. We don't have a heap of defenders coming through (well not of the tall variety anyway) so if he can break his way in 2011 it would be a good thing for us.

 

[maxy87]

Cheers P_O im intrigued....

 

[MOONEY 21]

What number does he wear?

 

[CatTricks]

23 i think?

 

[Pure_Ownage]

23 i think?

Correct.

4 years at Freo + 1 with us, so 23 year old wearing 23. How interesting.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Cheers P_O im intrigued....

Yeah me too.

Reckon I might put him in my SC team this year. Would have been a dead cert if Dasher had retired, but even with him going on, I might take the gamble. Should hopefully be cheap.

 

[maxy87]

Take the gamble! If he plays (and does well) it will be money for old rope!

 

[David the Cat]

Just for you Maxy I dug up some stuff from my vault to back that up:
http://www.countryfootyscores.com/m...ol/2993-three-years-on-still-a-way-to-go.html

You can get the sense homesickness really took a toll for the kid, along with injury. And there was obviously issues with the coach-player relationship and selection as highlighted here with Damo cracking it:
http://www.footballnation.com.au/afl/latest-afl-news/beat-of-the-drum/

I'm not having a crack at Freo, the way they handle their list is up to them (and they've done it well) but it was clear that he wanted to be home, and while the kid had some talent, it was best for both clubs that they part ways, despite the fact that there's some talent in him.

He seems happier now, attitude by all reports was very good, the few VFL games were reasonably promising and Balmey has been upbeat about his future:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/geelong-still-banging-drum/story-e6frg7mf-1225882027645



Not too sure about the headline in the Australian article PO!!!!!!

No wonder the kid is sore!

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Haha, Balme puts out comment about Marcus, now of all times (it's like he knew we were talking about him ):
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/marcus-drum-to-beat-odds/story-e6frf9jf-1225948024435

MARCUS Drum is the epitome of the forgotten man.

Plagued by a seemingly never-ending combination of serious, bizarre and run-of-the-mill injuries, the 23-year-old hasn't been sighted at AFL level since late 2009.


But Geelong football manager Neil Balme yesterday said the club was hoping for a change of fortune.
"We're just saying, 'Let's try and get some real work into him and give him a chance of playing'," Balme said.
"We're hoping he can push for a spot."

I like

I think it will be hard for him (and Gillies) unless someone goes down but let's see...a full pre season and a couple of good NAB Cup games can get you straight in (it worked for Mitch Duncan after all).

 

[CatTricks]

Haha, Balme puts out comment about Marcus, now of all times (it's like he knew we were talking about him ):
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/marcus-drum-to-beat-odds/story-e6frf9jf-1225948024435



I like

I think it will be hard for him (and Gillies) unless someone goes down but let's see...a full pre season and a couple of good NAB Cup games can get you straight in (it worked for Mitch Duncan after all).

I think we will see both Drum and Gillies get some senior game time. Chris Scott will probably reward solid VFL form with AFL game time. Ive seen Drum play in the 2's twice if i remember correctly and once he was ok, the other i thought he was pretty damn impressive.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I think we will see both Drum and Gillies get some senior game time. Chris Scott will probably reward solid VFL form with AFL game time. Ive seen Drum play in the 2's twice if i remember correctly and once he was ok, the other i thought he was pretty damn impressive.

I certainly hope so, although I'm not so confident on that because it will mean ending Milburn's career, or sending Josh Hunt back to the 2's to work on some things etc, and while I think Scott will be more likely to do it than Sando would have been, they are still big calls, and I don't want to get my hopes up lest I be disappointed.

Although to be fair, much as I rate both Drum and Gillies, Taylor Hunt should be given a defensive spot ahead of both of them on the back of his good form in 2010 (yes they play different roles, but you get my point).

I think Scott will treat the NAB Cup as experimentation since it doesn't mean much, and will want to look at many players, as a new coach does, so the best chance for Drum is to be playing really well then (as he was last year, I reckon he would have played early doors if he stayed on the park) and impress enough to get some early season games, and then try to keep the spot on form. Hopefully Gillies can do the same.

 

[OldStyle2007]

"Irregular heartbeat" ?

yikes

 

[markfarmer]

Drum was always rated a Freo. He'd seem to get injuries at the worst times where he couldn't meet fitness with opportunity. And when he had opportunities, he'd soon have small setbacks. It must have been frustrating for him.

He was pretty good in the last few games for us in 2009. Here is the AFL site replay page if you want to go through any...Maybe the Cats game..

http://www.afl.com.au/full match replays/tabid/10987/default.aspx

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Drum was always rated a Freo. He'd seem to get injuries at the worst times where he couldn't meet fitness with opportunity. And when he had opportunities, he'd soon have small setbacks. It must have been frustrating for him.

He was pretty good in the last few games for us in 2009. Here is the AFL site replay page if you want to go through any...Maybe the Cats game..

http://www.afl.com.au/full match replays/tabid/10987/default.aspx

Yeah I agree on all counts. Was pretty good against us in round 22 09, probably played a fair bit in us getting him.

I don't know if you read the interview Adam McNicol did with him that I put up, but I got the real sense that apart from being homesick at times, he was one of those players who didn't cope that well mentally with injuries and it really got to his confidence-you know how some are very resilient and upbeat even when in the rehab group, but others not so. I've been encouraged that the times I've chatted to him this year he doesn't seem to be struggling as much with it, although admittedly I'm just a supporter so it's not like he'd tell me if the injuries were really getting him down.

But hopefully he can stay fit and have a good year in 2011 and it can turn out to be a win win trade.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

drummy has all the talent in the world. he got off side of harves though when he was dropped, adn instead of playing well in the wafl, he went to the west australian newspaper and whinged about not understanding why he was dropped.

seems to play well at the higher level, and many of us thought he WAS in fact unlucky to be dropped, but he let himself down in the WAFL by playing 12 bad games in a row instead of fighting for his spot.

i have no doubt at geelong he will succeed if he has the desire

 

[Pure_Ownage]

drummy has all the talent in the world. he got off side of harves though when he was dropped, adn instead of playing well in the wafl, he went to the west australian newspaper and whinged about not understanding why he was dropped.

seems to play well at the higher level, and many of us thought he WAS in fact unlucky to be dropped, but he let himself down in the WAFL by playing 12 bad games in a row instead of fighting for his spot.

i have no doubt at geelong he will succeed if he has the desire

Yeah I remember all of that stuff because I read most of the articles and the like.

My take on it was that it was a bit the fault of both (much like the thompson ablett situation), partly the coach's fault for dropping a bloke who was playing ok and probably didn't deserve it simply because of the desire to look at all the kids, and partly the fault of the player for letting his homesickness get to him as a result rather than just trying to bang the door down to get back in. I can understand how it whacks one's motivation to do that when you feel like your card is already marked though, but having said that as a professional footballer you should strive not to drop your motivation levels IMO, so he's gotta take responsibility for that.

Ironically enough, once he got back in he was ok, in fact I remember round 22 he was quite good and that probably had a bit to do with us being interested.

I certainly hope he can stay out of the medical room and do something, has looked ok from the little I have seen. Certainly our drafting of talls (well rather lack thereof) in the last month indicates that Wells has a considerable degree of faith in him, so hopefully that spurs him on to play a fair bit of senior footy this year, fingers crossed.

 

[you pick one]

Can't say I agree with all the optimism for Drum,must get games early next year or it could be curtains for Marcus,will be a real dog fight for a spot on the back line,can he play other positions.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Can't say I agree with all the optimism for Drum,must get games early next year or it could be curtains for Marcus,will be a real dog fight for a spot on the back line,can he play other positions.

He can play forward he's done it before. But his best chance is in the backline, the reality is at their age Scarlo and Dasher won't make it through the whole year unscathed and we have very few other options especially now Laidler is gone, so I expect Drum will definitely play some seniors. The rest is up to him. The lack of KP drafting indicates he isn't goign anywhere anytime soon.

 

[you pick one]

He can play forward he's done it before. But his best chance is in the backline, the reality is at their age Scarlo and Dasher won't make it through the whole year unscathed and we have very few other options especially now Laidler is gone, so I expect Drum will definitely play some seniors. The rest is up to him. The lack of KP drafting indicates he isn't goign anywhere anytime soon.

Or there was little to draft.I figure we have twelve back men on the list including Drum but not including Bartel and Kelly who we know can also go back and cover.I haven't included any of the new boys or a couple of maybes.Ten of these are premiership players you would know who they are the other three are Lonergan, Gillies and Taylor Hunt.
Naturally like all Cats supporters I'd like to see Marcus do well,but I have a feeling if he's getting regular games on the back line next year with the talent were got the wheels will have well and truly fallen off.
2012 could offer more opportunities with retirements down back,but for now we might have to settle for a 6'3'' goal kicking wingman

 

[David the Cat]

[/b]

Or there was little to draft.I figure we have twelve back men on the list including Drum but not including Bartel and Kelly who we know can also go back and cover.I haven't included any of the new boys or a couple of maybes.Ten of these are premiership players you would know who they are the other three are Lonergan, Gillies and Taylor Hunt.
Naturally like all Cats supporters I'd like to see Marcus do well,but I have a feeling if he's getting regular games on the back line next year with the talent were got the wheels will have well and truly fallen off.
2012 could offer more opportunities with retirements down back,but for now we might have to settle for a 6'3'' goal kicking wingman

A total underestimation of Drum's ability IMO. He's better than you think mate, and will make an impact... fitness and attitude notwithstanding.

He has all the skills necessary to be a very good player. Lets agree to disagree for now, but I think you may feel differently later in 2011.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

[/b]

Or there was little to draft.I figure we have twelve back men on the list including Drum but not including Bartel and Kelly who we know can also go back and cover.I haven't included any of the new boys or a couple of maybes.Ten of these are premiership players you would know who they are the other three are Lonergan, Gillies and Taylor Hunt.
Naturally like all Cats supporters I'd like to see Marcus do well,but I have a feeling if he's getting regular games on the back line next year with the talent were got the wheels will have well and truly fallen off.
2012 could offer more opportunities with retirements down back,but for now we might have to settle for a 6'3'' goal kicking wingman

I was talking tall defenders. Or are you seriously suggesting Kelly can cover full back?

The only tall backs we have are Scarlett, Taylor, Lonergan, Gillies and Drum with Milburn at a pinch.

Scarlett and Milburn are ageing, the latter won't be here in 12 months and the former won't be here a lot longer, Lonergan is 26 and is ok but has his flaws. Henceforth a lot of the future down the road is dependant on Gillies and Drum. So rather than it being "the wheels falling off", it will actually be a good thing if Gillies and in this case Drum, are playing a good chunk of senior footy next year. They shouldn't be gifted games and must earn them through good VFL form, but if they do that and push up and displace whoever, that is a good thing for the future security of our KP defender stocks, and is exactly what we need to see happen.

As to Drum himself, I know he's got real talent, but he, like Motlop, needs to find durability that he hasn't had in his career to date. Fingers crossed.

 

[you pick one]

I was talking tall defenders. Or are you seriously suggesting Kelly can cover full back?

The only tall backs we have are Scarlett, Taylor, Lonergan, Gillies and Drum with Milburn at a pinch.

Scarlett and Milburn are ageing, the latter won't be here in 12 months and the former won't be here a lot longer, Lonergan is 26 and is ok but has his flaws. Henceforth a lot of the future down the road is dependant on Gillies and Drum. So rather than it being "the wheels falling off", it will actually be a good thing if Gillies and in this case Drum, are playing a good chunk of senior footy next year. They shouldn't be gifted games and must earn them through good VFL form, but if they do that and push up and displace whoever, that is a good thing for the future security of our KP defender stocks, and is exactly what we need to see happen.

As to Drum himself, I know he's got real talent, but he, like Motlop, needs to find durability that he hasn't had in his career to date. Fingers crossed.

Drum 191cm 87kgs,I think we could mount a case for Mackie at 192/87 and Corey 191/89 to be added to that list,I'm sure they would be disappointed to be given the brush.
Is there ANY news on Corey's knee,is he training?
Your points on Scarlett and Milburn are valid that's why I thought 2012 would present him with better opportunities.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Drum 191cm 87kgs,I think we could mount a case for Mackie at 192/87 and Corey 191/89 to be added to that list,I'm sure they would be disappointed to be given the brush.
Is there ANY news on Corey's knee,is he training?
Your points on Scarlett and Milburn are valid that's why I thought 2012 would present him with better opportunities.

Corey is old and hence not a long term option (I'm looking ahead as you should always do with your KP stocks). He is training as far as I know although I haven't been to training yet.

Mackie has the size to pinch hit as a tall back but that will never be his permanent role going forward.

Drum could be either-he may well be used as a key defender depending on how much Gillies and Lonergan progress, or he may slot into Milburn's role, he has a very similar skillset.

As for blokes being given the brush, it's necessary and required, and should be done. It's a question of who, not if. In any case, I think injuries and natural attrition will provide said opportunities without people needing to be pushed out, but if their form isn't great they should be.

Certainly Drum's best chance will be 2012 of course but my point is our future really needs them to be improving to the extent where they push for regular senior footy NOW. Imagine if Dasher and Scarlo retire at the end of 2011 and Drum and Gillies have played no senior games in 2011 and we're not sure what they are or aren't capable of...pretty uncertain and not a great way to head into 2012 and beyond.