Taking the next step

[pilkos_cats]

i was thinking we have a number of highly talented players in our team that are just not consistent enough to hold down regular spots in the seniors yet.
and was wondering who everyone thinks will take the next step and and force a lesser talented player such as rooke out of the team?

im not having a go at rooke, he is a good hard working player im just saying a in and out player like mackie has the potential to be an A grade player

 

[Turbocat]

Not since Ablett and Bartel in 01 draft have we had a mid player with the potential of Varcoe. If fit, expect a debut some time this year and Id say he will quickly push guys like Byrnes out of the side.

 

[cats2rise]

i was thinking we have a number of highly talented players in our team that are just not consistent enough to hold down regular spots in the seniors yet.
and was wondering who everyone thinks will take the next step and and force a lesser talented player such as rooke out of the team?

im not having a go at rooke, he is a good hard working player im just saying a in and out player like mackie has the potential to be an A grade player

Rooke cant take Rooke out of the team... I would have Rooke in my starting 22 and i don't think any small midfielders eg callan can take his spot. Obviously DJ and Hunt are the other smallish defenders but i dotn see Rooke getting squeezed out for a long period of time.

 

[catempire]

I'd rank them Mackie, Tenace, Byrnes and Callan, in that order.

Mackie showed in patches of games that he's a class act. Everyone says he needs to put on weight, and yes, he does. But more importantly, he needs to adjust of to the physical rigours of AFL football. I saw signs that he started to do that and I think he can take the next step this year.

Tenace is a bit similar. I think he's a classy unit but has taken time to adjust to the pace of AFL football. When I saw tapes of him as a junior you'd see him burst out of the middle, dash 20-30m and kick a goal from 50m. He's capable of it, it's just a matter of when he'll prove it in the ones.

The jury's still out on Byrnes for mine. Makes a lot of mistakes and doesn't seem to utilise his best asset enough - his speed.

Callan showed great signs when I first saw him. His courage and reading of the play looked great. I rank him fourth only because I worry about his injuries and the time it will take him to get up to speed.

 

[GeeCat]

Of the four mentioned, only Tenace looks like he'll be anything of a regular this season. On that alone, he'll take the next step ahead of the others.

For all his talent, Mackie's got far too many other guys to compete with to convince me he's capable of sewing up a concrete position in the team. I still see him floating in and out, even if he's a top 22 player on talent alone.

Callan has the capacity to push for a senior position consistently, and that may very well be the case if Rooke makes the expected shift to the midfield as the defensive enforcer. That being said, a guy like Enright could level the balancer and make a more permanent move to the back flank - leaving Callan as one of the odd men out again. Unless DJ and Woj, two of the guys I see him competing with for that 3rd 'smaller defender' role, cop out for some reason, I can't see Callan taking that 'next step' in the same way as a guy like Tenace.

Byrnes is rather overrated on what he's produced and 'potentially' capable of producing. Handy impact off the bench, but really, there's nothing outstanding in his game. Kicking? As ridiculous as it sounds, he has a nice kicking mechanic, but in terms of the product, it's far from perfect. Speed? Has it in bunches, but I'd deem it useless with his vision, or lack thereof. Goalkicking? Almost made running into open goals a laughable matter last season, and his handy work as a part time goalsneak hasn't translated well from his VFL days - at least not yet. With the expected progress of the Tenaces and the shifting of players like Rooke, Byrnes' days of full-time gigs in the engine room might be running out, if they aren't over already. In my honest opinion, if we've still got him consistently in our midfield rotation by the year's end, our midfield will have progressed very little to nowhere. He can be a handy impact guy on his day, but our team's need to move forward almost certainly means we can't be carrying seldom performing impact guys like him for 22 games a year.

 

[fugsy]

Talent counts for nothing unless you put it in the workload. Rooke may not have much flare about his game...but he sticks at it and works his nads off for the team.

That said...I don't mind Mackie if he's bulked up as much as I've heard over recent weeks. Tenace would probably cement a more regular spot if he learned to kick on the run. I haven't seen much of Callan...and Byrnes just ********es me off.

 

[Mr Sensitive]

Tenace matured towards the end of last year... I expect him to be over his second year blues and have an excellent year. Mackie will again show flashes but with his size I doubt he'll make more than the odd cameo... Callan will be thereabouts provided he has a good run with injuries.. will definitely push DJ for the spot vacated by Sando... Byrnes will get a few games but with the growth of Tenace I expect him to be relegated down the order, in fact I'd go as far as to say that he could very well be trade bait come season's end.

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It's like that movie with that drug trip I saw when I was on that drug trip!!

 

[pilkos_cats]

Now that we are four rounds in it will be interesting to see people points of veiw and if they have changed?

 

[Unwritten_Law]

Byrnes won't.

Mackie probably won't.

Tenace, hmmmm, he does enough for his spot in the side but I can't see him stepping up to be on the same level as an Enright or Kelly, at least for this year. He really needs to work on his fitness.

Callan can make the transition from the VFL to the AFL side. I like him however I can't see him becoming an "A grade player", only an honest HBF.

I vote for Prismall