The Official Nick Gill Thread

[crowsarethebest]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

Phail.

Still thought his kicking marginally improved on last week's display and that's a positive for him. Plus look at the conversion of other players - at the end of the day he kicked 1.1 while blokes like Knights and Porps had 0.2 and 0.3 respectively.

So you are saying that his kicking is better than Knights and Porps just becuase he kicked 1.1 compared to 0.2/0.3? Knights kicking>>>>>>>>>>>GIlls. At least Knights can consistenty kick drop punts. Gill did well last night-the conditions were pretty bad for the big men BUT his kicking is still crap. He'd be one of the worst kicks in the AFL... his field kicking is acceptable but his set shots are . If he wants to play as a forward he'll have to improve it TONNES.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

Gill has already demonstrated in his two matches that he can do things no other Crow can. His one-on-one mark in the first quarter with a wet ball was great. His pack grab that sparked our run in the last quarter was fantastic. We do not have a single player on our list capable of either of those marks, Hentschel aside. Thus he must be persevered with.

His kicking will improve. It will improve because he has now been exposed for his short coming at the highest possible level on the most public of stages. I imagine he would be quite embarrassed at all the attention and negative comment his kicking is receiving. He will feel sick to his stomach when the team goes through the video analysis from Saturday night and his hospital ball to Knights in the last quarter is shown. And I'm sure he felt against the Bombers that his kicking cost our team the game, and perhaps even a finals birth. These incidents will burn inside him and he will leave no stone unturned in improving his kicking. There is no way he will want that feeling of humiliation and guilt to be repeated.

Make no mistake, August 2007 is a career-defining period for Gill. The events of this month will shape him and focus his energies in the future. It is akin to Nathan van Berlo running with Ben Cousins in the 2006 preliminary final. Before that VB thought he was fit, thought that he worked hard at training. He was shown at close quarters the strides he needs to take to become a top line AFL midfielder. Career defining moment. The best possible motivation.

Gill could get away with being an average kick in VFL or SANFL footy because he could dominate games and get plenty of shots on goal. Now it is no longer the case. It's one thing to be told by a coach 'you need to improve your kicking' - it's another to have hundreds of thousands of football fans, your entire club and, most of all, your team mates - who are relying on you - passing on the same words.

We're on a winner with Gill. We can draft kid after kid hoping to pick up a player who can take a contested mark up forward for us one day, but in Gill we've got one. Finally. Over the next four weeks watch as our midfielders confidence in him grows as they realise they can kick the footy to him and he will make them look good. And watch his confidence grow in return.

 

[the egg]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

heard a commentator say "with a name like Gill you'd think he'd be alright in the wet weather" haha

 

[fightingdreamer88]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

Gill has already demonstrated in his two matches that he can do things no other Crow can. His one-on-one mark in the first quarter with a wet ball was great. His pack grab that sparked our run in the last quarter was fantastic. We do not have a single player on our list capable of either of those marks, Hentschel aside. Thus he must be persevered with.

His kicking will improve. It will improve because he has now been exposed for his short coming at the highest possible level on the most public of stages. I imagine he would be quite embarrassed at all the attention and negative comment his kicking is receiving. He will feel sick to his stomach when the team goes through the video analysis from Saturday night and his hospital ball to Knights in the last quarter is shown. And I'm sure he felt against the Bombers that his kicking cost our team the game, and perhaps even a finals birth. These incidents will burn inside him and he will leave no stone unturned in improving his kicking. There is no way he will want that feeling of humiliation and guilt to be repeated.

Make no mistake, August 2007 is a career-defining period for Gill. The events of this month will shape him and focus his energies in the future. It is akin to Nathan van Berlo running with Ben Cousins in the 2006 preliminary final. Before that VB thought he was fit, thought that he worked hard at training. He was shown at close quarters the strides he needs to take to become a top line AFL midfielder. Career defining moment. The best possible motivation.

Gill could get away with being an average kick in VFL or SANFL footy because he could dominate games and get plenty of shots on goal. Now it is no longer the case. It's one thing to be told by a coach 'you need to improve your kicking' - it's another to have hundreds of thousands of football fans, your entire club and, most of all, your team mates - who are relying on you - passing on the same words.

We're on a winner with Gill. We can draft kid after kid hoping to pick up a player who can take a contested mark up forward for us one day, but in Gill we've got one. Finally. Over the next four weeks watch as our midfielders confidence in him grows as they realise they can kick the footy to him and he will make them look good. And watch his confidence grow in return.

Absolutely agree mate. Top notch post, the best I've read in some time.

 

[fightingdreamer88]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

So you are saying that his kicking is better than Knights and Porps just becuase he kicked 1.1 compared to 0.2/0.3? Knights kicking>>>>>>>>>>>GIlls. At least Knights can consistenty kick drop punts. Gill did well last night-the conditions were pretty bad for the big men BUT his kicking is still crap. He'd be one of the worst kicks in the AFL... his field kicking is acceptable but his set shots are . If he wants to play as a forward he'll have to improve it TONNES.

I hate it when people can't understand simple things - everyone says Gill's kicking is woeful but when you compare it to that of the players I named, who generally have better kicks on them (Porps especially), his conversion wasn't that bad.

 

[Alex99]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

Unless Nick Gill can find a way of getting his goal kicking under control – he will slide away into obscurity and be just another failed attempt as a forward by the AFC.

He is a very good player but he has to finish off the good work up the ground by kicking goals and if he cannot do that, there is no point in having him in the side.

At this stage he should be kept on the list to see if he can improve on that deficiency

 

[jmorg1]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

I hate it when people can't understand simple things - everyone says Gill's kicking is woeful but when you compare it to that of the players I named, who generally have better kicks on them (Porps especially), his conversion wasn't that bad.

I think porpoise would have had 2.0 if he had taken his two set shots in the same two positions as Gill did.

 

[Stiffy_18]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

Longterm no your not Stiffy .....you say that after a win but when Gill strats costing games because of his difficient skills you WILL get on the negative badwagon.

Having said that:

1. Burtons foot skills were as bad as Gills when he first started but he was what 21 when drafted??? .....and it took him some 2-3 seasons to get acceptable and now is pretty reliable.

Not sure at 24 Gill has the same time period to improve or whether he is capable of improving???

2. Gills chasing and tackling has not been mentioned much here ......in the two games he has chased "with intent to tackle" better than any other forward and that gets top marks in my book.

In some respect he's a taller version of Bode

However fact remains that you are not going to win many finals games with sub-skilled players .......can he improve over the summer given he has already had 12 months of tuition from Jarman??? ......you'd have to say there is a HUGE ?????

Long term, no doubt about it! There comes a point where you just can't carry players in your team with questionable disposal.

For the time being, I am happy taking the bad with the good but in the long term, I am hoping that we will get better options to push him out of the best 22. If we had Hentschel and a developed Sellar and or Tippett, I sure as hell wouldn't be taking the bad with the good but we are in different situation here. Simply put, we don't have anyone else that brings what Gill brings to the table and at the moment, the positives outweigh the negatives.

With everyone fit and firing, I don't think there would be place in the team for Gill when you consider that Parrie, Bode, Knights etc would be in the best 22. There are only so many bad kicks the side can carry at any particular time before the skill level of the whole team drops away considerably.

If we can improve his kicking, he would be a VERY important player to us. If Gill had Hentschel's kick he could well be that forward we have been crying out for.

 

[crow87]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

He shows alot, some of his marks are incredible and certainly has good intensity, dont know quite what it is but theres just something about him, knows where to be, and you cant teach that. Kickings absolutely shocking though, but he'll get there, just get out and kick for an hour and a half every day Gilly (loved saying that-"C'mon Gilly!"-at the game last night!) and he'll improve very quickly. This is less of a criticism than it probably seems but, seriously, I am a better kick than Gill (as are probably many, sure add pressure and its not so easy but this guys a professional). Im sorry to end it on that note cos he seems to promise alot, I'm a fan.

 

[KUNG FU]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Dumb thread FD88. We aren't all expected to like the same players.

I hope he plays the rest of the season out for us and I think he will. However, I'm far from convinced he's the answer to all our problems. Just another stop-gap measure.

 

[Cap]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Dumb thread FD88. We aren't all expected to like the same players.

I hope he plays the rest of the season out for us and I think he will. However, I'm far from convinced he's the answer to all our problems. Just another stop-gap measure.

I suppose thats what the crows recruited him for ? so i guess the pick wasn't wasted as it has achieved its desired purpose.

but still i'm looking forward to the clean out at the end of season, I think Gill won't be part of it (the cleanout that is).

 

[KUNG FU]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

I suppose thats what the crows recruited him for ? so i guess the pick wasn't wasted as it has achieved its desired purpose.

but still i'm looking forward to the clean out at the end of season, I think Gill won't be part of it (the cleanout that is).

You're right, but I think the mindset of the AFC on that decision was wrong, as I keep harping on about.

The clean out will be very interesting and be very telling as to the future direction of this club. Especially considering the weak draft and the prospect of bringing Walker & the rookies in.

 

[jmorg1]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Nick Gill reminds me of one of those basketball players who jumps around all over the place like a pogo stick, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots but who can't shoot to save his life.

 

[Cap]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

You're right, but I think the mindset of the AFC on that decision was wrong, as I keep harping on about.

The clean out will be very interesting and be very telling as to the future direction of this club. Especially considering the weak draft and the prospect of bringing Walker & the rookies in.

yeah that is a debatable topic isn't it - I suppose the though process was right - we need to cover Hentschel, but the actions may not be in the best interest of the club, however sometimes people get lost in "the future" and forget about the present - that is we still need to be competetive over the next 2-3 years.


but i suppose it may also tie into their plans at the end of this season, maybe Gill is need for a stop gap this year and potentially into the future if AFC start to make a cut into their list.

 

[Stiffy_18]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Nick Gill reminds me of one of those basketball players who jumps around all over the place like a pogo stick, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots but who can't shoot to save his life.

Not a bad analogy except that when you consider two spots and the structures and roles, they couldn't be more different!

In basketball, you would want that sort of role player playing big minutes to complement the rest of your team (and most importantly the rest of the starters). However, you don't expect him to be a scorer, you leave that to the stars of your team. Think of Dennis Rodman and the Bulls. A fantastic role player whose sole purpose was to play strong defence and rebound at all costs. Bulls didn't expect him to score, they had Jordan and Pippen to carry that load and be supporter by Kukoc etc.

However, in football its a bit different. Gill is a forward and while he brings defesnsive pressure and other aspects to the game, one of his primary roles would be to score when its his turn. Unfortunately, if you are a bad kick, you aren't someone that you can carry in the side for too long, especially if those around you are not great kicks either.

 

[maccas_no1]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Not a bad analogy except that when you consider two spots and the structures and roles, they couldn't be more different!

In basketball, you would want that sort of role player playing big minutes to complement the rest of your team (and most importantly the rest of the starters). However, you don't expect him to be a scorer, you leave that to the stars of your team. Think of Dennis Rodman and the Bulls. A fantastic role player whose sole purpose was to play strong defence and rebound at all costs. Bulls didn't expect him to score, they had Jordan and Pippen to carry that load and be supporter by Kukoc etc.

However, in football its a bit different. Gill is a forward and while he brings defesnsive pressure and other aspects to the game, one of his primary roles would be to score when its his turn. Unfortunately, if you are a bad kick, you aren't someone that you can carry in the side for too long, especially if those around you are not great kicks either.

That is pretty much the sort of role I play in my basketball team, I will be honest I cant shoot for shit I average maybe 6ppg, but that isnt my role, I use my height as an advantage, stand the middle of the key, block up the middle try and force the opposition to take the outside shoot which sets me up to pick up rebounds, or take the hit if they drive to the basket, Ive finally getting my self right so that when that happens Im not having a foul called on myself.

Offensive I just try to pick of alot of rebounds and score that way, but I know who the scorers are in my team so it isnt my priorty, I more try to protect them.

 

[Jars458]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Saying you would have lost without him is going extremely too far. I think he could have had 0 touches and given away 8 free kicks and fd would still say he was fantastic.

He was well held by Carlile and had a decent last quarter. I still think there would have been 10 other players out there who had more impact in the end result in the last quarter than Gill did. His intensity was good all night though.

Yep, sensible comments.

He was certainly intense and will get an above average mark from the coaching staff.

Encouraging signs (other than his kicking).

 

[fightingdreamer88]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

Long term, no doubt about it! There comes a point where you just can't carry players in your team with questionable disposal.

For the time being, I am happy taking the bad with the good but in the long term, I am hoping that we will get better options to push him out of the best 22. If we had Hentschel and a developed Sellar and or Tippett, I sure as hell wouldn't be taking the bad with the good but we are in different situation here. Simply put, we don't have anyone else that brings what Gill brings to the table and at the moment, the positives outweigh the negatives.

With everyone fit and firing, I don't think there would be place in the team for Gill when you consider that Parrie, Bode, Knights etc would be in the best 22. There are only so many bad kicks the side can carry at any particular time before the skill level of the whole team drops away considerably.

If we can improve his kicking, he would be a VERY important player to us. If Gill had Hentschel's kick he could well be that forward we have been crying out for.

Don't seal his fate, give him a chance because you never know.

 

[coast2coast]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

very much in the perrie and burton mould

too right.. he's perrie and burton's goddamn lovechild!!

 

[smoovy]

Re: Gill cracks me up...

too right.. he's perrie and burton's goddamn lovechild!!

What sets Burton and Gill apart from Perrie is their ability to contest the ground ball. If Sarge does not mark the ball he is ****ed.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

but still i'm looking forward to the clean out at the end of season, I think Gill won't be part of it (the cleanout that is).

I doubt there will be a huge cleanout given it is a weaker draft.

Will depend a bit on how many rookies are elevated.

 

[Crow-mo]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

I am always shaking my head at people who think someone like Gill will cost us in the long run. how do you miss the point by so much?

someone like Gill will be in the mix come the reckoning, and he may or may not make the most of an opportunity - but he will make the opportunity.

meanwhile the same goldfish will sledge him, and give a free pass to the guy who didn't make the contest, didn't give us oppprtunity, just didn't do jack...

but hey, at least he can kick.

 

[Coopers]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Bottom line: Gill has 4 more games to keep his spot on the list next year.

If we trade for an experienced KPP, if Hentschel is fit, if Tippet/Sellar are worthy of game time next year... Gill will definately be looked at.

He's got 4 games (and dear god hopefully some finals).

 

[maccas_no1]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

Bottom line: Gill has 4 more games to keep his spot on the list next year.

If we trade for an experienced KPP, if Hentschel is fit, if Tippet/Sellar are worthy of game time next year... Gill will definately be looked at.

He's got 4 games (and dear god hopefully some finals).

I think he should be given all of 2008 aswell, lets be honest the AFC havent passed judgement on Jericho yet and how long has that clown been on the list.....................four years

 

[macca23]

Re: If you are bagging Gill, go the hell home

I think he should be given all of 2008 aswell, lets be honest the AFC havent passed judgement on Jericho yet and how long has that clown been on the list.....................four years

One more year to equal the pace setter - Matthew Smith.

5 years for fk-all.