Relaxed Crow Reilly

[WaynesWorld19]

For us long standing supporters of Reilly his form this year has shown a "glimpse" of what he is capable of.

For those who "judge" players especially recruits you need to understand that it's not just talent that impacts on player performances or their development ....there are a range of social & emotional issues that impact on players.

This is a great article in understanding some of the thoughts of Reilly and I suspect other interstate players such as Meesen, Maric, Douglas when relocating interstate.

The other problem is that with drafts "hyped up" these days there is this expectation amongst draftees that they will be playing AFL in their first year.
When they don't, and Adelaide rarely do, this can depending on the mental makeup of a player set them back in their development as the article suggests.

This is what makes Marics development so exceptional ....he must be very strong mentally to have made such a adjustment and developed so well.

Meesen however will probably tread the Reilly path...it's good that Reilly now councils the new recruits on his experiences

Relaxed Crow Reilly finds life to his liking in Adelaide

By Emma Quayle
May 14, 2006

BRENT Reilly knew what it felt like to watch on, and wait, even before he was drafted to Adelaide.

Two days before the Calder Cannons played for the 2001 under-18 premiership, the midfielder flung his arm out during a warm-up drill at training, and fell, clutching a broken collarbone.

Before the game, he stood up in front of his teammates and, with slightly moist eyes, told them not to worry about him.

"He was pretty emotional. There were a few tears, but he held himself together," said the Cannons coach, Robert Hyde.

"He told all the kids about how sorry he was to miss out. But he said he wanted them to play well and to win the premiership because they deserved it, and because he wanted to see them do it. He showed some strong resolve."

Reilly was the first of that year's Cannons to graduate to AFL colours on draft day; after he became a Crow at No. 12, James Kelly went to Geelong, best mate Andrew Welsh went to Essendon, and David Rodan and Dane Swan were also chosen by Victorian clubs.

But it was then that his second wait began. While Welsh, Kelly and co. could go home each night after training, Reilly had not only his new Adelaide teammates to get to know, but a second bunch at his SANFL club, Sturt. "That was tough at the time," he said.

"You think, 'Haven't I already had to do this?' Everything started over, and I didn't like it at the start. I didn't want to do it all that much, but I look back on it now, and it was the right thing. It's what I needed."

Tough, too, was watching Kelly burst into the Geelong team, and Welsh make a similarly speedy start, as Reilly played not even for Sturt, but for its reserves team. There were times he felt jealous about the big things happening to those close to him, though when he finally got his chance, he wondered why he had been in such a hurry.

As soon as Reilly's first game began, he realised he wasn't anywhere near ready for it. "I'd waited and waited. In my head, I thought I'd done everything to be ready, but the second it started I thought, 'I'm not even close to being ready for this'," he said. "It was so quick, and I felt like such a little tacker. I didn't get much game time, but every time I was out there, there were all these big bodies and everything just seemed to happen so quickly.

"It actually calmed me down a bit. I thought, 'OK, I can wait a bit longer now'.

"I knew what things would be like when I got back, so I could go away and do all the things I'd realised I needed to do. It wasn't such a big shock the next time."

Reilly played his 50th game against Port Adelaide last weekend; 23 of them came last year, but it is only in the past few rounds that he has felt comfortable, like he truly understands his teammates and can think more about what he wants to make happen in games, rather than simply keep his spot. Suddenly, he compares well to his star-studded draft class, too.

That said, this season did not start as smoothly as he had hoped. Reilly was in the Subiaco rooms when the Crows lost their last final last year. With a sore hamstring, he knew he would be ready to run around the next week. "It was a good experience, to see what the boys went through," he said. "It was like you saw things a bit differently, watching on. I knew I didn't want to go through a similar thing."

Like he had at the end of 2000 when he set new running records at the Cannons, Reilly got faster over summer, and stronger. But it wasn't until round three, when he suspected his spot was in danger, that he taught himself extra things.

"If I've had a bad game, I've always hated myself and never wanted to talk to anyone. I had to change my ways, and try and become more relaxed," Reilly said. "It's a hard thing to do. If you keep telling yourself to relax, you end up thinking even more, so you have to learn how to think about other things. I've got this thing where I just want to let things happen now, and hopefully it will help.

"I've still got a long way to go. There's things I still need to get better at, but I know what they are now. I feel like I've made my start."
2001 DRAFT

Pick Player Games

1. Luke Hodge (Haw) 72

2. Luke Ball (St K) 69

3. Chris Judd (WC) 98

4. Graham Polak (Fre) 66

5. Xavier Clarke (St K) 70

6. Ashley Sampi (WC) 72

7. David Hale (Kang) 43

8. Jimmy Bartel (Geel) 70

9. Luke Molan (Melb) 0

10. Sam Power (WB) 55

11. Richard Cole (Coll/Ess) 56

12. Brent Reilly (Adel) 50

13. Nick Dal Santo (St K) 81

 

[- PC -]

Looking at that top 10 he compares well with games played. Especially at a club that doesnt slot a rookie in and hold a spot for him

Chris Judd of course is the exception and thats becuase he is exceptional

 

[absolutezero]

Did we miss the opportunity to have Nick Dal Santo?!

 

[noddy]

In 3-5 years time B Reilly will become the captain of our club with VB as his vice captain.

What has took my attention as much as our scintillating form so far this year is the amount of leadership being shown by both these players not only in their work around the ground but in the way they use their voice to give directions & phrase to their team mates.

 

[GoSarge]

Did we miss the opportunity to have Nick Dal Santo?!

11 other clubs also missed the opportunity to pick him up aswell, we weren't the only ones. Not sure how highly rated he was as a junior either. Melbourne must be spewing, they got a dud with a top 10 pick in a strong draft.

On current form, I think he is better value then Sampi, Clarke, Power, Molan and Cole (all taken ahead of ahead of us) and we didnt even have a pick in the top 10. We did pretty well and have ourselves a quality player.

 

[Gets!]

I am pleased with Reilly. No doubt about it.

 

[Dandy_GO]

I'm certainly not unhappy enough about it to include it in my weekly roast column in a popular newspaper.

 

[Drummond]

Good article, thanks WW.

Reilly has certainly taken his game to another level this year; he has become the quality player everyone thought he would be.

 

[FCAGJAT]

In 3-5 years time B Reilly will become the captain of our club with VB as his vice captain.

What has took my attention as much as our scintillating form so far this year is the amount of leadership being shown by both these players not only in their work around the ground but in the way they use their voice to give directions & phrase to their team mates.

A victorian captain and a WA vice ... where's the SA pride? I agree though both shown that they can be in the leadership group!