Pettifer and Player Development

[Crumden]

I was surfing the radio waves Saturday night listening to the game. On K-Rock, they said one of the things Frawley doesn't do that coaches such as Sheedy and some other coaches do is develop young players (no surprises there).

They specifically mentioned Pettifer, saying he had come out of the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC as a champion but hadn't been developed to AFL standard. Pettifer had just spent a 5 minute burst on the field before being benched again, and the commentators said this was the problem.

Now I know plenty of people bag Pettifer and say he has had plenty of opportunites, but I am not convinced he has had many real opportunities. If he is good enough to be given a game, he should be given a proper opportunity on the field. If the coaching panel don't think he is good enough, don't pick him at all. At the moment, Pettifer isn't being given a fair go either way because he is caught in this "is he or isn't he good enough" limbo that the coaching staff and selection committee seem to be in.

From what people say Wallace said about Schulz not being up to it, it seems the same fate may be heading his way. Rarely gets enough gametime to feel his feet and adjust to the tempo of the game. It seems to me that the selectors should either keep him at Coburg till they think he is ready, or get him out on the ground and allow him to get used to the pace and get a few kicks.

There has been a lot of criticism this week of senior players trying to 'play it safe' on the field, but it just seems to be a reflection of how (junior and senior) player development is being handled. Playing it safe in the end has the opposite effect.

 

[Dean3]

Ya win some, ya lose some.

Coughlan, Newman, Ottens, Chaffey, Tivendale etc are coming along OK under the currect regime.
Players aren't under a spell or something, they're allowed to take things into their own hands and have a proper crack when they get even the slightest opportunity, eg Hartigan, Roach.

 

[oxx]

Hey Dean,
how come u have the same last name as rozy.?

 

[Coach Required]

Originally posted by oxx
Hey Dean,
how come u have the same last name as rozy.?

HAHAHA

LMFAO

 

[Dean3]

Originally posted by oxx
Hey Dean,
how come u have the same last name as rozy.?

Aw yeah that's hilarious.

Presumably because she favours Duncan Kellaway and I'm old enough to remember Roger Dean.

 

[oxx]

Dont get upset mate.

Im not saying you're like her or anything,just speculating.

 

[corporal]

I totally agree with you Crumden,

How is Pettifer meant to perform whene he is not getting any field time and when he does get the odd 5 minutes on the ground he plays in a disfucntional forward line and either get no ball or the ball takes so long to be chipped their that the opposition floods completely and there is no space to move, mark or crumb.

Either leave him to play VFL or let him have a proper run in the seniors.

The more I try and work out the logic at Richmond the more convinced I become that they are a completely clueless. (and I'm such a super coach of course)

 

[Captain Blood]

Dropped again - the poor kid will have no confidence. He won''t be around next year

 

[diggler]

Pettifer will be picked up by another club. One that knows how to nurtue young talent and will become a decent player.

 

[CJH]

Absolutely 100% agree Crumden!

Easily Pettifer's best game for us was when he was given a job on Dean Solomon last year. He played HBF for the whole game, got 17 touches and took the honours of Solomon. We then failed to persevere with him, leading him being dropped again.

It is entirely obvious that he has come into 2004 with some serious weight's work behind him - one of the players who is noticably bigger than last year - which would seem to suggest that he has had an attitude implant as well.

All he has had to to show it so far is a few sporadic minutes in starvation corner where opportunities are scarce.

Why not tell him that he will play HBF for the next 6 games regardless and give him a chance to grow.

And yes, exactly the same thing applies for Schulz.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

i have to admit i feel sorry for pettifer.i can think of a few of his teamates who should have been sent back before him.
i just hope before the end of the season he,s given the oppotunity to either take the next step or be rightfully dumped.

cheers!

 

[1980]

They've given a lot of attention and perseverance to Andy Krak, and rightly so. Just wonder why Pettifer hasnt had the same level of development applied to him. He's clearly got some skills, just not confidence.

Easiest thing to do is drop the kid. The hard thing to do is drop some of the team leaders that are really letting us down. And Frawley is clearly not the sort of coach that has the courage to make the hard decisions.

Oh no. I am agreeing with TOO. Thats twice in one week. Now if only you'd agree Spud was a lousy fullback....

 

[oxx]

Originally posted by diggler
Pettifer will be picked up by another club. One that knows how to nurtue young talent and will become a decent player.

What r u talking about Diggler ???
Im sure last year you hated his guts.

 

[Tigerrific]

Originally posted by 1980
They've given a lot of attention and perseverance to Andy Krak, and rightly so. Just wonder why Pettifer hasnt had the same level of development applied to him. He's clearly got some skills, just not confidence.

Easiest thing to do is drop the kid. The hard thing to do is drop some of the team leaders that are really letting us down. And Frawley is clearly not the sort of coach that has the courage to make the hard decisions.

Oh no. I am agreeing with TOO. Thats twice in one week. Now if only you'd agree Spud was a lousy fullback....

I agree 1980, give the kid a fair go. He couldn't do any worse than the guys we've had in so far and we may find that he improves with more gametime.

Frawley has obviously given some sort of commitment to Hyde and IMO Pettifer has far more potential to be a good player for us.

 

[Weaver]

Originally posted by Tigerrific
I agree 1980, give the kid a fair go. He couldn't do any worse than the guys we've had in so far and we may find that he improves with more gametime.

Or you could ask him to demonstrate at Coburg why he deserves a game in the seniors at all. If he wants a chance he should earn it. Not as though we are Brisbane and there are no places in the team for someone who wants to break in.

Don't like this whole idea that the kids should be given chances, they should demand them.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Originally posted by 1980

Oh no. I am agreeing with TOO. Thats twice in one week. Now if only you'd agree Spud was a lousy fullback....

will never happen on that topic.

cheers!

 

[Tigerrific]

Originally posted by Weaver
Or you could ask him to demonstrate at Coburg why he deserves a game in the seniors at all. If he wants a chance he should earn it. Not as though we are Brisbane and there are no places in the team for someone who wants to break in.

Don't like this whole idea that the kids should be given chances, they should demand them.

I agree with you Weaver but he did do very well for Coburg a couple of weeks ago. Whenever he gets promoted he gets so little game time to gain some confidence that it seems detrimental to his development.

 

[Darth_Tiger]

when pettifer was drafted they said he was a jeff farmer type who could do nothing for a quarter or more and then suddenly explode and turn a game off his own boot in five or ten minutes. Every time i have ever seen him play (most times) he is like a yo-yo off the bench. how is he supposed to find that turn the game type moment if he is not given enough time on the ground!?