Player Watch Riley Thilthorpe

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He's still effin 19!!!!

  • doesn’t crunch at the footy
  • lacks body strength
  • looks timid

Give me a break.
Couldn’t give a squat that he’s 19 1 month off 20
It’s how I see him, I just haven’t seen this star potential that he’s been talked about
He can be your pet just that he’s not mine
 
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He does seem to be lacking some confidence at the moment. He has had an interrupted season though with his knee injury and then Covid. I remember in his debut game last year against the Hawks, he looked so good with his contested marking. He was leaping at the ball and marking it at the highest point, this year he just doesn't seem to be jumping at the ball. The defenders are too easily pushing him off the ball so he can't get a clean leap at it. Once he gets his core strength up, he should hopefully get back to that level he showed in that game and start taking some of these marks again.

When he is having these quiet games, we should be pushing him up the ground more and playing him as the lead up CHF to get him into the game, or even on the wing as others suggested.
 

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But your saying his future is in the ruck aren't you?
I'm hopeful he eventually becomes the roving key forward much in the same role as Nick Riewoldt of past seasons...he has the endurance and athleticism needed for that kind of role.
I think Ruck.

But hope that roving key forward.

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I thought you didn’t rate his ruck craft and ear marked him as a key forward
Did I?

I may have in the past.


But watching the last game, where he did spend a lot of time up the ground, I thought he competed well.



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But your saying his future is in the ruck aren't you?
I'm hopeful he eventually becomes the roving key forward much in the same role as Nick Riewoldt of past seasons...he has the endurance and athleticism needed for that kind of role.
Even if he becomes an elite ruck I think that doesn't really do what we need him to become. As Mutineer says it will mean we should have taken McDonald.
You don't need an elite ruck to win a flag. You do need to regularly kick 100 points and do so you need a 50-60 goal a year forward. Something that unless Fogarty improves out of sight (maybe he does), we don't have.
 
I like him as a 2nd ruck/3rd KPF, someone who can get up the ground and make an impact with how clean he is for his size, whilst also making an impact forward of centre. I think we need two genuine KPFs next to him, Fogarty could be one if he keeps up his form from the last two weeks

RT does need to become more of an aerial threat around the ground, though. I’m hoping a bit more bulk and muscle definition will help with that, eventually
 
Did I?

I may have in the past.


But watching the last game, where he did spend a lot of time up the ground, I thought he competed well.



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He's an adequate ruck. I don't think he will ever be a very good ruck. He's not a huge jumper, not top end tall, and doesn't necessarily scrap well on the ground. He does have clean hands, but that doesn't make you an elite ruck.
What he does have is mobility and especially so for his height.
Put those two together, and with some added muscle he should become an elite CHF who roams about defeating his opponent through those advantages.
 
Anyone else slightly concerned about RT? His aggression at the contest is lacking, needs to throw his weight around more.

This wasn’t an issue before, in fact he seemed to like it a bit rough.

Now, he’s unrecognisable in his appetite for the contest

seems to be a trend in players who come into our system. Are we developing this out of them?

What happened to Nick’s early mantra of not just embracing the contest, but seeking it out?
 
This wasn’t an issue before, in fact he seemed to like it a bit rough.

Now, he’s unrecognisable in his appetite for the contest

seems to be a trend in players who come into our system. Are we developing this out of them?

What happened to Nick’s early mantra of not just embracing the contest, but seeking it out?

I'd say it's more likely he is low in confindence and that's why he is less aggressive at the contest now. It happens with young players.
 
Has been a solid couple of games for RT the last two weeks. But can’t shake this feeling that maybe the ruck is his long term position? His athleticism for a big guy is off the charts, and we look better in the middle when he’s in there rather than ROB. Reminds me a lot of Dean Cox, he was always like an extra mid around the ground in those dynamic WC teams.
 
Has been a solid couple of games for RT the last two weeks. But can’t shake this feeling that maybe the ruck is his long term position? His athleticism for a big guy is off the charts, and we look better in the middle when he’s in there rather than ROB. Reminds me a lot of Dean Cox, he was always like an extra mid around the ground in those dynamic WC teams.

Think he will be 60% forward and 40% ruck long term.
 

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He's an adequate ruck. I don't think he will ever be a very good ruck. He's not a huge jumper, not top end tall, and doesn't necessarily scrap well on the ground. He does have clean hands, but that doesn't make you an elite ruck.
What he does have is mobility and especially so for his height.
Put those two together, and with some added muscle he should become an elite CHF who roams about defeating his opponent through those advantages.
Gawn isn't a huge jumper but is excellent around the ground, Thilthorpe is much better around stoppage and will be a very good resting forward like what we saw against Collingwood. This will make him elite.
 
Rules out ROB. Wonder if we'll chase Grundy?

We still push ROB ahead of the ball as a marking target at times, it's pi55 funny. As is playing him 10m off the stoppage when someone else is rucking the forward 50 contest. He stands in a position that we never use because it's not how we exit a stoppage and even if we did, he's literally the very last player you want to be giving the first clear possession to out of the contest. It's the very definition of no man's land, we don't attack through it and it's too close to be defensive.

How 3 coaches, Doc, Nix and VB, can encourage or ignore this rank stupidity is mystifying. Actually 4, what the duck is the senior assistant doing, surely he'd raise this as ROB would be better deployed to his defensive formation at those stoppages. And then there's Rahilly, if we did ever spit the ball out to him, wouldn't he want a better player with ball in hand executing a kick to a leading forward?
 
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We still push ROB ahead of the ball as a marking target at times, it's pi55 funny. As is playing him 10m off the stoppage when someone else is rucking the forward 50 contest. He stands in a position that we never use because it's not how we exit a stoppage and even if we did, he's literally the very last player you want to be giving the first clear possession to out of the contest. It's the very definition of no man's land, we don't attack through it and it's too close to be defensive.

How 3 coaches, Doc, Nix and VB, can encourage or ignore this rank stupidity is mystifying. Actually 4, what the duck is the senior assistant doing, surely he'd raise this as ROB would be better deployed to his defensive formation at those stoppages. And then there's Rahilly, if we did ever spit the ball out to him, wouldn't he want a better player with ball in hand expecting a kick to a leading forward?
It's not a Rob thread but yep if he isn't in the ruck then he needs to be off the ground/out of the team preferably. His marking has gone to s**t and we all know about his kicking

I think RT should be playing a fair chunk of gametime in the ruck. His hands are so clean and his ruck work is so far ahead of RoBs it isn't funny.

At this stage of his career perhaps he could have a few weeks leading the ruck?

He seems pretty fit and he won't go cold up forward. We've seen with Fog that it took a LONG time for consistent impact up forward so whilst we have Tex/Fog/Mcadam as the main targets, lets try something else.

I still see him as a forward/ruck (a far superior Kurt Tippett) but for now it does him no good to sit up forward all game not finding the ball if we are struggling.

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And then stops us from nurturing a good young ruckman. It’s the exact same result as keeping Rob. Only prob more expensive.

we're already stopping the nurturing, so there's no loss there. And it takes a good 3 years for ruckman to buikd the fitness and strength required to compete at AFL level. That's when a smart club would start managing their 32 year old first ruck. And $ shouldn't matter, if we don't spend it on him, we'll just buckle to Sloane begging for another $800k captain's deal via the media next year.
 
we're already stopping the nurturing, so there's no loss there. And it takes a good 3 years for ruckman to buikd the fitness and strength required to compete at AFL level. That's when a smart club would start managing their 32 year old first ruck. And $ shouldn't matter, if we don't spend it on him, we'll just buckle to Sloane begging for another $800k captain's deal via the media next year.
I actually can’t argue with any of that. May as well get Grundy for the sheer sake of being marginally better during these dark times. RT and Grundy would be good to see before we rebuild the rebuild.
 

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