Player Watch Nathan Freeman

[Saintly Viewed]

He's not prepared to do the hard work at Collingwood. Based on his unprofessionalism offield, that isn't surprising.

If hes that good a runner not sure how you get the unprofessional bit? But then again you may have standards that are for saints

 

[surfer1]

Because they are part of our future, and as fans we want hope
And also because out of the top 10 picks of that year, they've played the fewest games. Personally I felt Bontempelli would be the best of the crop but I also thought Shazz wouldn't be far behind

Yes but we keep rehashing the same comments

 

[sirlothie]

Theres a few wowsers on here
Imagine them in the days of the 6 oclock swill

Haha my grandpa is 92 and still does that!

 

[Lefthanded]

I'd say gone.

I've known Nathan for awhile and reckon if he was inclined to stay he would have given me something positive like "we're working on it" or "hopefully staying".
Of course there's that forthcoming talk with Bucks so all is not lost yet.

I know you said in another post that his hammies are good. I have vague recollection of reading on here somewhere that he had some troubles with hamstrings pre draft (could have been several years prior) but can't find the post. Can you shed any light on this? ie confirm or bust the myth.

Maybe tell him to stay at least until he's beaten Sidey in the time trial!

 

[spartan-magpie]

What makes u think he will be a gun?

Intuition. And the moment in the game where was bursting across the field in the NAB cup.


Just have a feeling he will become a gun in the next 2-3 years. Big, strong and explosive body with endurance and good skills. You don't let those guys just up and go.

If he is being a knob though and holding the club to ransom then off to Carlton he should go.


I prefer to keep him. Even over Aish.

 

[THATSGOLD]

So, a guy who was picked at number 10 who is yet to play a game of AFL who has terrible hamstrings is going to be a gun. That's probably why every AFL club except the lowly saints have an interest in him.

Fair point. So what do you do?

 

[THATSGOLD]

What makes u think he will be a gun?

Because Hine has 100% strike record...

 

[PieBeast]

I know you said in another post that his hammies are good. I have vague recollection of reading on here somewhere that he had some troubles with hamstrings pre draft (could have been several years prior) but can't find the post. Can you shed any light on this? ie confirm or bust the myth.

Maybe tell him to stay at least until he's beaten Sidey in the time trial!

This post on Nick's from March 2014 might answer your question.

Yes I'm aware of all of that hence why my question to him was "you reckon you got injured due to step up in intensity from under 18's to AFL" and the surprising answer was "nah, I reckon I got overloaded"
He also said he doesn't have a history of hamstring injuries and has been receiving some painful blood injections to treat it.

http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/viewtopic.php?p=1449477&highlight=freeman#1449477

Mind you he is a fitness nut and runs plenty of km's during his time away from the Club so it's probably a combination of things.

 

[Lefthanded]

This post on Nick's from March 2014 might answer your question.

http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/viewtopic.php?p=1449477&highlight=freeman#1449477

Mind you he is a fitness nut and runs plenty of km's during his time away from the Club so it's probably a combination of things.

Combo of things is probably the best explanation. When I first saw "I reckon I got overloaded" I thought he was blaming the club. Hard to understand this if he's running plenty of km's during his time away from the club so may be club + his own training = overloaded. Hopefully the communication between Freeman & fitness staff has since improved so that they are aware of his desire to do extra and suitable programs established. None of us (should) want to lose a top 10 pick with his pace & endurance without him playing a game of seniors for us.

 

[Ketchup]

Combo of things is probably the best explanation. When I first saw "I reckon I got overloaded" I thought he was blaming the club. Hard to understand this if he's running plenty of km's during his time away from the club so may be club + his own training = overloaded. Hopefully the communication between Freeman & fitness staff has since improved so that they are aware of his desire to do extra and suitable programs established. None of us (should) want to lose a top 10 pick with his pace & endurance without him playing a game of seniors for us.

Give me a footballer like aish over an athlete like freeman any day of the week.

Take aish out of it. Give me a footballer over an athlete any day of the week.

 

[Snoop Dog]

He wants out because he is convinced he has been handled poorly. My understanding was he did have issues in his 2 years pre draft but I could be wrong. He certainly missed a bit of his TAC year bc of what I thought was hammy related.

 

[PieBeast]

He wants out because he is convinced he has been handled poorly. My understanding was he did have issues in his 2 years pre draft but I could be wrong. He certainly missed a bit of his TAC year bc of what I thought was hammy related.

He never said anything about being treated poorly in medical sense and denied having any hamstring related injuries in under 18's, he also loves Bucks and knows that I'm less than impressed with what's been going of late. At the same time he is not afraid to speak his mind.
It's purely my own guess but if he's not happy with the Club about anything the only reason would be we've waited too long to offer him a contract extension.

 

[Lefthanded]

Give me a footballer like aish over an athlete like freeman any day of the week.

Take aish out of it. Give me a footballer over an athlete any day of the week.

So is Blair a footballer? (Rhetorical question given he's on our senior list and not the most athletically talented).

Personally I want both, or at least the opportunity to see if Freeman has football talents to go with the athletic attributes.

 

[Snoop Dog]

He never said anything about being treated poorly in medical sense and denied having any hamstring related injuries in under 18's, he also loves Bucks and knows that I'm less than impressed with what's been going of late. At the same time he is not afraid to speak his mind.
It's purely my own guess but if he's not happy with the Club about anything the only reason would be we've waited too long to offer him a contract extension.

yeah as I stand corrected I just had this vague recollection about it as I had tracked him pretty close that year.

fingers crossed.

 

[Kappa]

He wants out because he is convinced he has been handled poorly. My understanding was he did have issues in his 2 years pre draft but I could be wrong. He certainly missed a bit of his TAC year bc of what I thought was hammy related.

I read lots about Freeman when we drafted him and no source ever mentioned anything about hammy issues

 

[Ketchup]

So is Blair a footballer? (Rhetorical question given he's on our senior list and not the most athletically talented).

Personally I want both, or at least the opportunity to see if Freeman has football talents to go with the athletic attributes.

I would say Blair is a more natural footballer than freeman.

 

[Snoop Dog]

I read lots about Freeman when we drafted him and no source ever mentioned anything about hammy issues

yeah i just went back and looked at the profile i did in my phantom that year and no mention so as said stand corrected.

 

[Rohan25]

Been reading the Saint board and it mentions that Freeman has turned off the Pies due to injury 'management'. Doesn't sound good.

Ha! And that worked out so well for Jesse Smith.

 

[BPikkers]

Fair point. So what do you do?

I'd like to keep him to see what he can do. Obviously picked in the top 10 so has some talent. I think he has confidence issues in that he doesn't feel he is part of the first 22. Otherwise why wouldn't he extend his contract for another 2 years and show the club where he belongs. I think he is looking for the easy option. That makes me question his character to be honest. We want fighters at the club. There is a reason we have had so many rookie listed players who have had great careers at Collingwood. They may not have been as talented, but the sure as hell were driven to show they could make it.

 

[The Pied Piper]

Can't the 2 Nathans just settle it over a few beers ... Sometimes that's all it takes !

 

[MeisterBot]

Although I don't think he will stay, I hope he does. Not because of the draft pick or whatever, but because he has that rare combination of speed and endurance that can be harnessed. Not sure why people are calling him an athlete over a footballer. IIRC, the biggest queries on him were his consistency and ability to find the ball on the outside. Similar queries were levied against DeGoey and JDG will be a fine footballer.

Buckley likes his pressure cooker midfield, and that necessitates a lot of hard running and big bodies to get the most out of it. The more, the better.

To be quite frank, Crisp is quickly becoming the kind of player that I suspect we would've wanted Freeman to be but IMO there is still room. Swan won't last forever and Pendles should be starting half back in the coming years ala Hodge. So I hope he doesn't go but if he's not willing to fight for his position, then I hope we can extract the most trade value we can.

 

[HFF]

lol I find it quite laughable that he could possibly be citing "opportunities".
How about get your body right to give yourself these opportunities and then we can talk about where you fit in the team dynamic.

It's all about $$$ people. Lets not kid ourselves.

 

[Duggy31]

Herald Sun are reporting he's chasing $300,000 per year. What is he basing that on? Is that what Scharenburg is getting?

 

[Ant85]

Herald Sun are reporting he's chasing $300,000 per year. What is he basing that on? Is that what Scharenburg is getting?

I'd say it's probably based on the presumed salary he would expect to be receiving by now had he been fit.

If he holds the club partly responsible for his continued hamstring problems, then he might believe he is justified in thinking the club has jeopardised his earning potential.

From that perspective (and I'm only presuming based on what I've read here over the weeks and in the media), I can understand Freeman's frustrations - although the club is in my best interest.

 

[Linda_Lovelace]

The annoying thing about this is that he is exactly what we need in our midfield mix, ie breakaway speed from the contest.

Problem is he may have lost his break away speed and be subject to further injury. Clubs hit rate when assessing players for injury is mixed, massive stuff up re Stevie J, got Daisy right.

Line ball this one, you would hope both parties could give a little.