Shannon Byrnes

[winty]

I was just reading through the "best side of 2007" threads and noticed all the anti-Shannon Byrnes sentiments, and criticisms of his game, ie. not tall enough, cant kick properly, etc, etc.

I was wondering if we could somehow redefine his role in the side to become a Tony Liberatore mark II. The guy is a similar size, quite a strong tackle for his size, and is fast enough to keep up with most midfielders nowadays. Like Libber, he wouldn't need to get a lot of possessions himself, as long as he keeps the opponent's possession tally to a minimum. The only downsides I can see to this is a possible lack of stamina, and opposition coaches having he and his opponent one out in the opponent's goal square.

What do you guys (and girls) think? Do you think Byrnesy could be used in such a manner?

 

[foxdog50]

Mate like iv said im a fan of him and i would put him in my best 22.
Just like how he has go at the ball for his size, cos he doesnt care if your big giant, he will try to tackle u down...

 

[GeeCat]

Byrnes in a Libba role?

Aside from the fact that I'm sick to death of Libba comparisons (it's seriously as though every short player with siginificant deficiences is owed the idea of being transformed/compared to the most recent vertically challenged footballer to make it when, honestly, there's likely to only be one or so ever), Byrnes, simply put, hasn't close the defensive side or desire as Libba.

If our midfield wasn't so one-paced (and if the matter wasn't so overblown as it usually is), we wouldn't even be talking about him in the senior side. Seriously.

 

[RememberMe]

In 10 years, people will be talking about shaping small players in the ilk of Shannon Byrnes. You wait.

 

[Mooney_d'King]

Partridge in particular is a big fan of giving game team to our speedy players, Byrnes, Tenace and Wojo. People criticise Byrnes's disposal, but it may have to do with insufficient experience. We probably need to give him a good run. I remember rounds 1 and 2 last year he seemed to be quite a contributor so if we can slot him in, we should.

 

[GeeCat]

People criticise Byrnes's disposal, but it may have to do with insufficient experience.

What? I'm not following your logic.

 

[Mooney_d'King]

What? I'm not following your logic.

More game time/experience could equal better disposal. But I'm not sure.

 

[Turbocat]

Not a fan.

Basically I feel a player of his frame should be not just be a proficient but should be excellent by foot. Frankly he has shown me nothing to think he is anything more than speedy , lightweight, one sided player , that has little nous about his game. Really a player of his sort should not just love to snag a goal but should be good a creating ground goals. His eyes should light up when an open shot at goal presents itself , he should be a dangerous goal sneak with his finishing skills that should ensure that he hardly misses the Bread and Butter shots. Instead he is no better than so many other players we have in our midfield. Corey , Enright etc all are similar around the scoring zone but they have much more to their game.

If we are going to get better , we need more than just quick players on the grass , we need more class on the grass and for mine he is not a class player or at least just not classy enough

 

[nananana catman]

More game time/experience could equal better disposal. But I'm not sure.

Load of bollocks, if he cant kick now he'll never be able to.

Very ordinary player and if the likes of Ling Kelly and Teance pull their fingers put this year and run hard etc we wont be seeing him in 2008.

 

[Mooney_d'King]

Load of bollocks, if he cant kick now he'll never be able to.

Very ordinary player and if the likes of Ling Kelly and Teance pull their fingers put this year and run hard etc we wont be seeing him in 2008.

Fair enough!

 

[Copernicus]

It might help if Shannon had an ounce of defensive nature to him. Libba was a completely different type of player. The only thing the two have in common is short legs.

He's got a big year ahead of him if he wants to make the cut on our list, and putting him in a defensive role is not the panacea.

 

[TheRealComptroller]

Load of bollocks, if he cant kick now he'll never be able to.

Exhibit A - David Clarke Junior (excluding that kick to Riccardi in 2002 )

Exhibit B - David Spriggs

Exhibit C - Darren Gaspar

Exhibit D - Rowan Jones

ad infinitum

 

[someday-somehow]

Load of bollocks, if he cant kick now he'll never be able to.

Very ordinary player and if the likes of Ling Kelly and Teance pull their fingers put this year and run hard etc we wont be seeing him in 2008.

I'm afraid I agree, I don't mind the guy and his endeavour but there is only room for a guy of his side as a goalsneak/forward pocket type player. You have got to have the size to outmark as a midfielder these days or you will get carved-up. Enright/Corey/Long/Milburn/Chapman are all good marking players.
Sad to say for poor ol' byrnsey but the only value I see in him is possible trade bait at the end of the year as some other clubs rate him a bit.

 

[sarah.13]

If his disposal could improve ( i think it's panic under perceived pressure more than anything else ) he could be a very valuable player for us. It would release Chapman and Gazza to spend more time on the ball were we need their creativity. That would be a good thing.

 

[darren forssman]

Basically I feel a player of his frame should be not just be a proficient but should be excellent by foot. Frankly he has shown me nothing to think he is anything more than speedy , lightweight, one sided player , that has little nous about his game. Really a player of his sort should not just love to snag a goal but should be good a creating ground goals. His eyes should light up when an open shot at goal presents itself , he should be a dangerous goal sneak with his finishing skills that should ensure that he hardly misses the Bread and Butter shots. Instead he is no better than so many other players we have in our midfield. Corey , Enright etc all are similar around the scoring zone but they have much more to their game.

this perfectly summarises shannon's game, he should stick to be a motoring enthusiast. boom boom.

 

[GeeCat]

If we are going to get better , we need more than just quick players on the grass

Pretty much the gist of it all.

 

[The Hulkster]

Exhibit A - David Clarke Junior (excluding that kick to Riccardi in 2002 )

Exhibit B - David Spriggs

Exhibit C - Darren Gaspar

Exhibit D - Rowan Jones

ad infinitum

Exhibit E - Henry Playfair

 

[RememberMe]

If he didn't have a girls name, you guys would rate him so much higher.

 

[someday-somehow]

If he didn't have a girls name, you guys would rate him so much higher.

Along with his surname being a verb...maybe that's why he was drafted originally, wow apparently shannon burns so he must be fast!

 

[eliiiiza]

Geelong Football Club's Byrnes looks for more time
Michael Auciello
09Feb07

Shannon Byrnes looks forward to the new year after watching the sun set on the Swan Hill training camp.


SHANNON Byrnes wants to use the 2007
Geelong Football Club season to dispel any myths he might be a one-trick pony.

Known for his dashing pace, the Cats' midfielder doesn't want to be known as just a burst player.
After a disappointing season last year, the 22-year-old has used Geelong's intensive pre-season training to increase his endurance to allow him to run through the midfield all day.
``I sort of get pigeonholed a little bit as an impact player, so I just want to show them I'm more than that,'' he said.
``I've concentrated a lot on my running _ I've brought my 3km time down by about a minute-and-a-half so it's been some really good improvement.
``I want to be versatile because obviously it's pretty competitive in the small forward area, with Chappy and Gaz and Stokesy.''
Byrnes played just 10 games last season in a year that saw him in and out of the senior side.
``The club's year was disappointing, but personally it was a frustrating year,'' he said.
``I started off well in the NAB Cup and the first couple of rounds but I got sick in round two and came back from there, but couldn't really get the consistency back and I was in and out of the side all year.''
Byrnes said while an up and down year with his fitness might have been one reason for his inconsistency, he says his goalkicking also let him down.
He kicked three goals in senior games in 2006.
``If I had have kicked more goals I would have been hard to keep out of the side. It's certainly something that I'm going to focus on this year,'' he said.
``I'd like to average about one (goal) a game, that'd give me more than 20 for the year _ that'd be a pretty good year for a small forward.
``I'm probably going to spend a little bit more time forward this year but I'd like to kick more of them from the midfield as well _ midfield goals are more valuable than anything.''
Byrnes said coach Mark Thompson had told him just to continue to improve his running and goalkicking.
``At one stage Stokesy came in and he just kept playing good footy. I wasn't playing bad footy in the VFL, but he wasn't playing bad in the AFL, so I couldn't do much about it, I just had to bide my time,'' Byrnes said.
``I think I'm on the fringe (of the team) but I certainly feel if I'm playing my best footy I'm definitely in the best 22.
``So if I can kick a few from there (the midfield) I can show my importance to the side.''
With the increased pace of the game, Byrnes said there should be more room for speedsters like himself to spend more time through the middle.
``I think the game's turning that way _ you need more and more running players _ so I don't think it necessarily gives you a spot in the side, but there's certainly more room for running players than in previous years,'' he said.
``Obviously I want to play forward as well a bit, it'd be nice just to be able to run through the midfield as well.''
``If there's a spot in the team for that you'd be mad not to take it, but sometimes you want to get out there in the midfield, that's where I've played all my life. It's not frustrating but, it's hard to explain, it's just something you want to do.''

From http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/02/09/1326_geelong_sports.html

 

[CF]

the problem with Shannon has been he can only kick off his left foot and so if he gets caught out of position (ie needs to kick with the right foot) he usually coffs it up. He has good speed but he also has difficulty kicking accurately at the end of a sprint in front of goal and that is with his left foot. Heaven help him if he is in the wrong pocket and needs to use the right.