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Opinion Porps

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Porps, Porpy, The Porpoise, Porsch - whatever name you choose, fact is he is one of the most loved players on our list and has been for some time. We all know he possesses some special magic that cant be taught. His clean ball handling, vision and overall skill sets him apart from most others.

He's a player whose skill level is so high that he does not need to get his hands on it much to impact a game. I was in awe when watching the Cats replay at the way he collected that stray greasy ball from a soccer kick forward and handballed to Matty Wright all in one motion for the winning goal. His influence in those last frantic minutes against the Kangaroos was immense as he set up a number of last quarter goals.

The question for the board is - is his current output enough to warrant continued selection. On raw stats the answer IMO is no. In 2013 he has played 16 games and posted the following key numbers

Av 14 Disposals
Av 3 marks
Season total goal assists 9
Season total goals 13

I was surprised he had so few goal assists. I was also surprised at his conversion - now we all believe that Porps only needs a few kicks to hurt the opposition on the scoreboard, but in 2013 he's kicked 13.14.

Are these numbers good enough for a regular forward who rotates through the midfield?

Do we make an exception because when he touches the ball its usually gilt edged - but has it been this year?

I think his renowned magic can carry him so far but are we even seeing enough of that?
 

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Was bad in first half of season, ok last 6 games or so, currently "his" form is heavily dependent on how team goes. Last week against cats team went well, porps (and wright) looked good. This week wasnt so great and porps and wright looked crap. Life as a small forward.

It may not seem like it but he has been one of the more productive avenues to attack through. He's not getting the marks at the moment, but if he doesnt he's usually able to recover and win the ground ball to get a dish out, that may not sound particularly great but versus say kicking it to jenkins and have it marked and whisked away by the opposition its actually a pretty good outcome.
 
Would like to know how effective he has been rotating through the midfield. Doesn't tackle and hasn't kicked nearly enough goals. Its sad but imo Porp's days are numbered. 1 more season..maybe.
 
Peter J said:
Its a fair point I hadn't considered. Not sure how many sub games he has had
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Maybe 3, funnily enough they were some of his better quarters of footy. He is so not clean at the moment when I watch him I wonder if it is the same guy from last years finals series, or career b4 2013!
 

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Drugs Are Bad Mackay? said:
The thing is that their bodies aren't going to get any better. You get more injuries as you get older, not less.
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Certainly the case for Porps, who has had shoulder problems for years now and who has always struggled to meet AFL fitness standards.

Thommo.. I wouldn't write off just yet. You could be right, you could be wrong. Could go either way.
 
Drugs Are Bad Mackay? said:
Would he be a restricted FA by now?
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Porps is a restricted free agent this year. May even be unrestricted depending on where he falls on the salary scale. It's not hard to think of 10 players who would be paid more than him.
 
Drugs Are Bad Mackay? said:
The thing is that their bodies aren't going to get any better. You get more injuries as you get older, not less.
Click to expand...

No doubt there's regression from injury/age but I wonder how much of his drop this year has been related to the stomach ulcer & recovery?

Certainly early in the year it was a factor, and then there would be residual effect on fitness even after he recovered from the surgery itself. I'm optimistic we may see some improvement next year. Not huge, but some.
 

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Its impossibly hard to get fitter as you progress through a season. Maybe once upon a time players could do it, but the demands on a footballers body in-season these days are too great - especially for guys with an injury history like Porps.

If you aren't ready to go in round 1, you'll struggle. If Porps can have a good preseason, I'd expect him to return to his best next year. Having said that I'd probably spell him now, giving him the best chance to attack that preseason head on...
 
I wouldn't write him off yet, needs a solid pre-season but the problem is that if he doesn't come good it will end a bit like Johncock. It would be a shame to see him go out like Stiffy especially when his best was just unbelievable. Its a shame when injuries derail a career like they have because there aren't many players who are as good to watch as the Porps. Ill never forget that Sydney match when his shoulder kept popping out and he destroyed them.
 
Grenville said:
No doubt there's regression from injury/age but I wonder how much of his drop this year has been related to the stomach ulcer & recovery?

Certainly early in the year it was a factor, and then there would be residual effect on fitness even after he recovered from the surgery itself. I'm optimistic we may see some improvement next year. Not huge, but some.
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I wonder about that too. I imagine it does have an impact.
 
OldCrowBloke said:
Porp's year in some respects has been like Thommo's.

Players who have been great for the club, but being asked to carry a heavy load on bodies that are just not right.
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Thompson has been carrying OP. Get this right & he should return to his best.

Porps is apparently fit, so what is his excuse.

As I have said countless times this year, Porps should have been dropped about a month into the season to rediscover his mojo. Playing him has done neither him nor AFC any favours as just soured my fond memories of him.

Not sure if he will be part of our best-22 next year (not on 2013 form), but deserves another year on our list.

Should be stripped of his leadership responsibilities (with Jacobs) to concentrate on playing.
 
Carmo said:
Was bad in first half of season, ok last 6 games or so, currently "his" form is heavily dependent on how team goes. Last week against cats team went well, porps (and wright) looked good. This week wasnt so great and porps and wright looked crap. Life as a small forward.

It may not seem like it but he has been one of the more productive avenues to attack through. He's not getting the marks at the moment, but if he doesnt he's usually able to recover and win the ground ball to get a dish out, that may not sound particularly great but versus say kicking it to jenkins and have it marked and whisked away by the opposition its actually a pretty good outcome.
Click to expand...

Actually he was pretty invisible against the Cats too, 11 touches and 2 behinds isn't close to a good game. His Collingwood game was good, as we're the 3 before that, good not great mind you, but he's been pretty average the last 2.

He and Thommo both need to forget about this year. Both have carried too much weight into the season and are now struggling to get close to impacting games as they should. They should go have 6-8 weeks off, rehab/rest their bodies and then get ultra fit for 2014. Lets get some games into guys like Grigg and Kerridge, guys who will actually benefit from the game time.
 

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