Questions on a Few Ex-Pies

[TradeDraft]

Richard Cole - Took him in the 2001 with our 1st Pick at 11 ahead of Dal Santo who I think we where linked too. Fans Raved about Cole when he was playing then he got Fat. What are your Thoughts?

Shane Woewodin: Brought him in after the 2002 Losing GF and as winning the Brownlow 2 years ago we thought he was the Missing Peice to us winning the Flag and had a good 2003 Season but after that fell away. Why did he fall away?

Tristan Walker: Late National Draft Pick that people said had Tones of Upside and I thought he could be a Star and I even felt was De-Listed to Quickly. Your Thoughts?

 

[mattys123]

Cole; Highly talented youngster, was rated very highly in his draft, but like some indigenous players, he never seemed to have the work effort required to be an AFL player. My "happy" memory of Cole was a tackle he laid in the goalsquare (against WCE I think) that crunched a player and created a goal.

Woewoedin; Was worth picking up, as he had lost his way at Melbourne since winning the brownlow, had some good games for us, but was past his best really.

Walker; Big "Tex" was a project player, a late draft pick who had the physicality to be an AFL player, but lacked the ability. Injuries also didn't help his development. To think he was our full forward in the 2003 GF.

 

[ozpie]

Cole: obviously had attitude issues, went to essendon after us yet wasn't able to turn it around which suggests that there wasn't much more we could have done. You win some and you lose some and it's a shame as Cole had all the tools to be a good player minus the required work ethic

Woewodin: I think Shane was unfairly criticized by some, I've even heard a few on this site refer to him as a spud. He was probably lucky to win the brownlow and struggled with the extra attention rival teams placed on him afterwards. As you said he had a great year in 2003 but slowed down afterwards, but that was to be expected considering his age. For a bloke that was overlooked twice in the draft he sure had a great career. Future AFL coach

Walker: I played junior footy with Tex. Although he was a great player he wasn't the best player in his team. He was a late draft pick for us so was always gonna be a long shot to make the grade. Probably wasn't tall enough to play ruck and wasn't mobile enough to play KP.

 

[soreplums]

Cole- lacked accountability and skills weren't great. Turned it over to much and had too many goals kicked on him.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

The best thing to Cole was the fact that we managed to trade him to Essendon for way above market value. We never looked back from that moment and Essendon have been in decline ever since.

 

[TradeDraft]

The best thing to Cole was the fact that we managed to trade him to Essendon for way above market value. We never looked back from that moment and Essendon have been in decline ever since.

Though we got Stanley or Cook with that pick

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Though we got Stanley or Cook with that pick

That doesnt matter though. A draft pick doesnt always guarantee success. It could easily have been a Beams. Always better to trade a player and at least give yourself a shot in the draft.

 

[PieEyedLad]

Gee whiz, Richard Cole - there's a name I'd fotgotton about!

He always had plenty of potential, but he was a very frustrating player come matchday.

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

Richard Cole - Talented but no awareness. The amount of times he just ran with the ball out of the defensive 50 and got caught was ridiculous, even before he got fat. Then of course he got fat.

Shane Woewodin: Good for a year then fell away quickly. When he got it, the team slowed down. He was a lot like Licuria was when he was "past it". Just took too long to decide what he was going to do when he got the pill and the game closed in around him.

Tristan Walker: The best "man on the mark" in the history of football. The number of certain goals he saved by jumping around like a monkey on heroin contributed as much to the team as most of our players could

My take

 

[macleodboy07]

kevin sheedy took on cole at essendon. now we all no how good sheedy is with the indiginous players. he almost single handedly developed the pathway for more and more indiginous players to come into the afl system and stay in the system and develop their game.
now if sheedy saw the potental in cole and thought he could help him develop and deal with whatever commitment issues he had with the rigors of afl footy. and if sheedy failed. well then there was nothing anyone could of ever done to get the potental out of richard cole.

in the end we did very well to get a 20odd draft pick for him. (and getting such over market value for him off sheedy tells me sheedy was confident on cole making the grade)

now that draft pick was used on ryan cook by memory, which clearly didnt work out, but thats the draft, you win some you lose some. cook was a good player at vfl level but just couldnt lift to the next level. that happens.

lets not forget we got swan at pick 58 in the 2001 cole draft. so lets move on and be thankful we got another shot at the draft with trading cole.

 

[mdc]

He was a failed Indigenous player, wasn't he? Must have been highly talented but lazy and unaccountable.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

kevin sheedy took on cole at essendon. now we all no how good sheedy is with the indiginous players. he almost single handedly developed the pathway for more and more indiginous players to come into the afl system and stay in the system and develop their game.

Thats a bit of a myth that Sheedy has liked to perpetuate.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

in the end we did very well to get a 20odd draft pick for him. (and getting such over market value for him off sheedy tells me sheedy was confident on cole making the grade)

Or that Sheedy was getting senile.

 

[Demonalke]

Cole; My "happy" memory of Cole was a tackle he laid in the goalsquare (against WCE I think) that crunched a player and created a goal.

to my memory that was leigh brown at north melbourne...

 

[soreplums]

Cole always wanted to play at essendon. His step-mum or aunty worked there so that might have helped him get there.

 

[Ed D]

I thought the club was upset in losing Cole? But he did have a link with Essendon. His awareness (or overconfidence) was terrible, and I think he just got too lazy at the Dons and if you add his injuries in he was sure to get delisted.

Woewodin was just too slow by the end of it. Not much pace and he just didn't have the great skills or ball clearing ability to stay in the game.

As for Walker he just wasn't good enough. He was big and could move quick enough, but he wasn't a good defender or forward.

 

[macleodboy07]

Thats a bit of a myth that Sheedy has liked to perpetuate.

i disagree.
i believe sheedy put in more time and effort into indiginious players then anyone else, at a time when clubs were looking the other way because of the extra effort and time needed for the indiginious players.
still to this day indiginous players struggle to move away from their families but when sheedy started i think it was something around 8% of players in the league were indiginious, now that number is pushing 20% i believe.

and i also no personaly of ex afl indiginous players that sheedy has coached getting into a little bit of trouble around the local footy ranks. and still to this day sheedy calls them up and pulls their head in.

i dont care if anyone on here thinks its a myth that sheedy like to milk.
ive seen the work he has done with indiginous players even after they have left his coaching and he is fantastic!

and i am very greatful for the work he did and is still doing because i absolutly love watching the cyril rioli's and liam jarrah's play.

and just for the record i am not an indiginious australian. just a football lover that likes watching exciting football

 

[Markfs]

Geez...have any of the posters with their comments about indigenous players ever gone into a bar or a train carriage and be surrounded by black people? I have ... and it doesnt matter how friendly they are, you stilll feel like a fish out of water. A lot of aboriginal players come from places where they are surrounded by relatives and go to play footy in melb for a club with mostly white guys..thousands of kms from home..

Richard Cole was closely tied to an essendon family who, I think, brought him to melb to play footy. I dont think he really liked it at Collingwood. I see that he now plays for Cobram so he is probably is the type of guy who likes footy but doesnt like the high intensity AFL stuff

Shane went to Melb with bleached hair and got with a their other running half backs and played some pretty good footy. The umpires noticed the hair and gave him a brownlow and Melb stupidly overpaid him in his next contract. They offloaded him to us and he ended up being the solid footballer that he could have been at Melb. We ditched him because we needed pace and Shane didnt have much of it. Dont bleach your hair if you want a long career.

My son said that Tristan played school footy with him here in WA. He said he was pretty average but he was a big boy. The outcome wasnt surprising.

how about rupert betharas? I always liked him. I would find a spot for him in today's team.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Woewodin lost me when he game the MCC Members the bird after he kicked a goal early in the 2003 Grand Final. That told me he didnt really have his mind on the job and was more concerned about himself and settling old scores with the Melbourne FC than he was about his new club or his teammates.

He barely got a touch from that moment on.

 

[TradeDraft]

how about rupert betharas? I always liked him. I would find a spot for him in today's team.

Yeah He was a Cult Figure at the Pies around 2002-2003 and then just Disappeared but I think he still helps out the Pies.

In Fact he brought a Kid Down to the Pies VFL Team.

This Kid:
​

James Tran
No. 71
23/3/90
179 cm
80 kg
Recruited from Melbourne High
Very quick and skillful.

 

[conodie05]

One thing I noticed about Woewodin and in particular his last season, was that he was the greatest downhill skiier I have ever seen on a footy field, Auskick included.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

I always liked Richie but he reminds me of another Pies player that came on the scene a few years later. Harry O.

Harry use to have me squirming in my seat when he took the game on & often turn the ball over in his early days.

One massive difference though, Harry wanted to be there & did everything in his power to improve his game. Richie did not.

Exit stage left...Richie

 

[abs_of_STEELE]

how about rupert betharas? I always liked him. I would find a spot for him in today's team.

Ahhh Rupert, always loved him (who didn't?). He definitely would've continued with his art work after footy. I remember he once said that he wouldn't take a two year contract at any stage, as he always lived life on the edge. He'd be pretty hard to track down now, but I'm sure wherever he is he'll be producing more artwork.

 

[Swooop]

kevin sheedy took on cole at essendon. now we all no how good sheedy is with the indiginous players. he almost single handedly developed the pathway for more and more indiginous players to come into the afl system and stay in the system and develop their game.
now if sheedy saw the potental in cole and thought he could help him develop and deal with whatever commitment issues he had with the rigors of afl footy. and if sheedy failed. well then there was nothing anyone could of ever done to get the potental out of richard cole.

in the end we did very well to get a 20odd draft pick for him. (and getting such over market value for him off sheedy tells me sheedy was confident on cole making the grade)

now that draft pick was used on ryan cook by memory, which clearly didnt work out, but thats the draft, you win some you lose some. cook was a good player at vfl level but just couldnt lift to the next level. that happens.

lets not forget we got swan at pick 58 in the 2001 cole draft. so lets move on and be thankful we got another shot at the draft with trading cole.

Good post, thank you.

 

[Tarkyn_24]

Mark McGough works at my sister's school nowadays as a Phys Ed teacher, she's had him for a few of her Netball Specialist classes as a relief.