The missing link: Alan Didak

[TheClokes]

He needs to be what Judd is to Carlton, Hodge is to Hawthorn, and Bartel is to Geelong.

Will Alan Didak ever become that player?

He needs to be our next Collingwood captain!
He needs to be an elite centre-man and nothing else!

If he doesn't take that next step in his career
He has failed!

 

[adzarani]

Didak doesn't have the leg speed to control the midfield.

With his short little strides he is not able to outrun or chase down anyone except for the slowest of ruckmen or other talls.

Picture Didak on half back running the ball around the boundary all the way to the forward 50. He has got no chance.

The sooner he is back in the forward pocket the better.

We've got an elite goal sneak in Didak.

 

[Smoky]

He needs to be what Judd is to Carlton, Hodge is to Hawthorn, and Bartel is to Geelong.

Will Alan Didak ever become that player?

He needs to be our next Collingwood captain!
He needs to be an elite centre-man and nothing else!

If he doesn't take that next step in his career
He has failed!

He needs a Norm Smith medal - end of story.

 

[ksardog]

he needs to be played in the midfield and rotate with thomas on half forward flank.watching him rest on the bench instead of resting in the forward pocket does my head in.

 

[RRRooocccaaa]

With his short little strides he is not able to outrun or chase down anyone except for the slowest of ruckmen or other talls.

What a pile of steaming crap. He's taller than Burns, Clarke, Davis, Johnson, O'Bree and a few more I couldn't be bothered researching.

Nice selective memory here... hmmm... who WAS that guy sprinting around the wing against two Eagles players in the finals who gathered the ball on the run, dodged and outrun both of them and scored from outside 50...

 

[PieLebo87]

He needs to be what Judd is to Carlton, Hodge is to Hawthorn, and Bartel is to Geelong.

Will Alan Didak ever become that player?

He needs to be our next Collingwood captain!
He needs to be an elite centre-man and nothing else!

If he doesn't take that next step in his career
He has failed!

THAT and...

Stanley to become our Mitchell
Wood to become our Cox
Brown to become our Rutten
Toovey to become our Morris
Cook to become our Cornes
and so on....


It aint gonna happen.

Didak = Best HFFer in the league.

 

[Kirby]

The comparisons are ridiculous and he will never be that sort of player.

He doesn't have the explosive pace of Judd or Hodge who are both inside/outside linebreakers. Bartel is a stupid comparison as he is an inside, strong bodied, in and under ball magnet.

Dids has a few early strides of pace that make him elusive but he does not have that ball tearing 30-50 metre sprint that makes a line breaker.

His best possie is half forward with stints on the ball. In my opinion he is about the best HF in the business but by necessity he has to play further up the ground than is ideal. When our midfield picks up I'd like to see him play a little closer to goal. The role he played when AA in 06 is his perfect position.

 

[derro]

hes looked slow since the knee reco

 

[shawthing09]

The comparisons are ridiculous and he will never be that sort of player.

He doesn't have the explosive pace of Judd or Hodge who are both inside/outside linebreakers. Bartel is a stupid comparison as he is an inside, strong bodied, in and under ball magnet.

Dids has a few early strides of pace that make him elusive but he does not have that ball tearing 30-50 metre sprint that makes a line breaker.

His best possie is half forward with stints on the ball. In my opinion he is about the best HF in the business but by necessity he has to play further up the ground than is ideal. When our midfield picks up I'd like to see him play a little closer to goal. The role he played when AA in 06 is his perfect position.

Spot on Kirby.

Also as you mentioned all three of those players have a lot more inside ability then Didak. Didak's best possie is deffinately HFF with the freedom to roam.

Hodge, Judd and Bartel all have exceptional ball strength and the ability to win contested ball effectively where others would more often then not be lucky to force a ball up.

The two guys in our team that could become the sort of player that the Clokes is talking about are Thomas and Sharrod.

 

[ralu]

There is NO CHANCE in hell that alan didak will be the next skipper at collingwood. absurd!!

But i reckon dids should be played out of the goalsquare one on one more often. so dangerous around goals and never get beaten in a 1 on 1 contest

 

[Jabso]

Picture Didak on half back running the ball around the boundary all the way to the forward 50. He has got no chance.

How many players actually do that?

Didak has been playing well in the midfield this year. His first half of the year was awesome but he has tailed off a bit. HOWEVER it is very promising to see that despite his form going down he is still getting the ball and more than contributing.

The best midfielder to compare him to his Akermanis. IMO he has a lot of scope in the midfield.

 

[adzarani]

How many players actually do that?

Didak has been playing well in the midfield this year. His first half of the year was awesome but he has tailed off a bit. HOWEVER it is very promising to see that despite his form going down he is still getting the ball and more than contributing.

The best midfielder to compare him to his Akermanis. IMO he has a lot of scope in the midfield.

Lockyer, Davis, Thomas, R.Shaw off the bat without using examples like Cooney etc from other clubs.

It's more to illustrate how difficult it is for Didak to cover large distances and control the midfield as the elite mids mentioned do. He is not a player who runs from end to end with ease is my point.

He has had a good year in the middle, but his reluctance to push through the lines, run and chase has also contributed to a more stagnant midfield for us this year imo.

 

[BEEG]

Im happy with his 25touches a game 2 goals and 2 goals assist

 

[adzarani]

What a pile of steaming crap. He's taller than Burns, Clarke, Davis, Johnson, O'Bree and a few more I couldn't be bothered researching.

Nice selective memory here... hmmm... who WAS that guy sprinting around the wing against two Eagles players in the finals who gathered the ball on the run, dodged and outrun both of them and scored from outside 50...

Well what a steaming pile of you don't know what you're talking about.

If you think Didak is quick, you have no idea.

As for that goal, "sprinting around the wing", I rckn he ran no more than 8 meters from the time he got the ball to when he kicked it.

In fact from memory he had the whole fwd 50 open but kicked from outside 50 becuase he DIDN'T HAVE THE LEGSPEED to run to 30.

Lucky he is good enough to finish those goals though, or boy scouts like you would have to be on here defending him a hell of a lot more often.

 

[shawthing09]

How many players actually do that?

Didak has been playing well in the midfield this year. His first half of the year was awesome but he has tailed off a bit. HOWEVER it is very promising to see that despite his form going down he is still getting the ball and more than contributing.

The best midfielder to compare him to his Akermanis. IMO he has a lot of scope in the midfield.

How can you compare him to Aker, Aker was exceptionally quick for most of his career, haven't paid much attention to him lately but early days. Even then now Aker plays much more as a HFF then in the midfield.

As for a player to compare him too in the midfield. It's hard to say. I would say maybe Nick Stevens with added X factor around the goals. He is a very outside player who uses the ball well (although that hasn't been the case as much this year.) If he can develop the tank and is played in the middle permenatly that is the type of player he will be, which is ironic really.

 

[Art Corvelay]

Nah, I wouldn't want to see Didak stuck in the midfield. Very happy with the rotations he's currently given.