North one of the 4 clubs looking at 211cm giant American

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rooboy335

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#77
Wow Harper at 1:15 looks to have some really good size about him now.

Impressed by both Cox but also Wallace. At 2:05 had to rewind to see who that was as for a split second I thought that was a bigger Wellsy even though that wouldn't have been possible.

It's encouraging what Eric has shown so far, looks very agile for his size, good technique with the hitouts, I just hope he can stay on course and not get homesick or discouraged. At his rate of improvement I can see him making it.
 
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roos_fanatic08

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#78
the fact he can bend down and pick the footy up with ease is something not seen in this country for someone his height....nor his speed. He would beat most AFL ruckman in a 20m Sprint by 2-3 seconds.
 
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Moderator #81
Thank God we tore down the portables to upgrade to the magnificent training facilities we see today. Imagine the embarrassment if we had THAT old crap to try and woo him with.

I'm certainly impressed. He seems like the type who'd work hard to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to give himself a chance down the track. If he did, by geez by jingos by crikey we'd have a buzz about us as a lineup.

No X Factor? We'd have bloody Triple XXX factor with Maj, Big Eric and Huge Cox.
 

Happy Hour

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#83
No thanks. Ruckmen are a dime a dozen. If you can pick up a ready made quality Ruckman like h-mac for pick 38, then why on earth would you invest your precious resources in such a risky proposition.
 
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Moderator #85
No thanks. Ruckmen are a dime a dozen. If you can pick up a ready made quality Ruckman like h-mac for pick 38, then why on earth would you invest your precious resources in such a risky proposition.
He doesn't cost a draft pick and would probably generate enough PR to cover the cost. Let alone the prospect of him becoming a good footballer with those attributes.

He won't come to us though. Said it pages ago, he'll be off to the State Government Grant Centre. (Collingwood, I realise that could've sounded like geelong too)
 

Only Forwards

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#86
He doesn't cost a draft pick and would probably generate enough PR to cover the cost. Let alone the prospect of him becoming a good footballer with those attributes.

He won't come to us though. Said it pages ago, he'll be off to the State Government Grant Centre. (Collingwood, I realise that could've sounded like geelong too)
Wallace would be what would have to sway him.
 

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Moderator #87
Wallace would be what would have to sway him.
Could go either way. Depends on whether Mason is open to working with Eric and the North program rather than wanting all the attention on himself and how many Cash4Gold kiosks Eddie has promised him.
 
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#88
Who knows if it will work out? But it reminds me a little of when European players first started showing up in the NBA in the late 1980s. At first, they were big men like Arvydas Sabonis from Lithiuania. Not terribly mobile. But a fundamentally solid low post player. They you had Rik Smits, Dikembe Mutombo, and Hakim Olajuwon. All big men.

After that is was forwards and swing men (stern look ). Tony Kukoc, Detlef Schrempf, Vlade Divac, Dirk Nowitzki (centre actually). Then they got smaller more skilled, Drazen Petrovic, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli. Last year there were 92 foreign-born players in the NBA from 39 countries. The game is global and those players market it back where they're from, just by being in the league.

Can AFL go global? Well, you need more than just a ball and a hoop. But it has to be good that you're starting to get athletes from other countries who love the game. It's such a great game (saying that as an American who grew up on gridiron and baseball and Michael Jordan). You've got speed, skill, strength, and a bit of violence...all the elements of great sport. Just because Cox hasn't played it his whole life doesn't mean he can't get good at it.

I reckon the biggest difference, to be fair, is that non-US born NBA players have probably been playing basketball their whole life. It's just that the rest of the world, in terms of skill and size, finally caught up with the US. The best players in Europe are the equal of the best players in the US (although the average US players are probably still much better than the average players elsewhere).

Anyway, I reckon AFL has a better chance of catching on in America, with it's huge talent pool, that it does in Western Sydney. The more players like Wallace and Cox try and succeed, the more will come. There are probably a lot of young American men willing to come to Australia to have a go, given the state of the US economy (it's how I ended up here).

Insert gratuitous Cox joke.
 

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#90
He's spending the longest time with us of all the clubs, he's attending one of our games (he's only training with the others) and we have an American he can move in with straight away. We also have a state of the art facility within view of the CBD.

I'd say we are the front runners atm.
 

indy nile

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#91
No thanks. Ruckmen are a dime a dozen. If you can pick up a ready made quality Ruckman like h-mac for pick 38, then why on earth would you invest your precious resources in such a risky proposition.
I know right? Why take such a massive risk on a 211cm international rookie when you can give up a second round pick for an injury prone 29 year old.
 

Tas

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#97
The positive thing is we can put him on a 3 year international player and he wont take any salary cap space or list space which prevents us taking another kid in the draft.
 

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#99
The positive thing is we can put him on a 3 year international player and he wont take any salary cap space or list space which prevents us taking another kid in the draft.
Exactly mate.

I hope this opens a pipeline, and US kids think we are the team to come to.

I couldn't care if we have 100 busts in a row.

You only need 1 kid to make it and become a good senior player for this to be worthwhile.


It has to be this type of athlete though, the ruck is the only position it will work, apart from the Irish recruits with the ball handling skills.

The rucks the only position on the ground where you can impact the game, without using the ball, possessions are largely negligible.
 

RinoRoo

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Takes no cap space, takes no high picks, afl help to cover salary... Even if you think he will never make it there is no reason to care.

I'm the opposite of that however. I believe dammit. Be wrapped if he chooses us and he can hoist our sixth premiership with Wallace in three years time.
 
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