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Travis Varcoe

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Hinkley29

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An intriguing player in my view. He is lightning quick, has good skills, is good at laying tackles and seems to make good decisions. His weaknesses are that he is slight of build and cannot find enough of the footy.

On an unrelated topic I was just thinking how in my view Wojak is not in great form at the moment, and could be a candidate for the chop, when I realised that we don't have a fast line-breaking small defender who could replace him.

At this point a crazy thought popped into my head. Why couldn't Varcoe be groomed to be this player?

If you look at the quality attacking small defenders in the league, their key attributes almost to a man include pace, good foot skills, quality chasing/harassing and good decision making. Varcoe ticks these boxes.

In my opinion, Varcoe suffers from purely being a small forward because he can drift in and out of games when he isn't winning the ball. This would not be the case in defence. An attacking small defender rarely has to win his own ball (Varcoe's true weakness in my eyes) as he is fed by others to be a link man. Heath Shaw is a prime example of this (I do not use him as an example as a way to demean Heath, he is a very good player in my poinion and serves an extremely valuable purpose for the Pies).

This idea literally has just jumped into my head, and I admit has been posted without any research whatsoever. I also understand that it would be a steep learning curve for Travis as he has primarily been a forward to date. But, I think it may be worth it as I fear that we won't ever see him fulfill his immense potential if he is rotting on the vine as a low-possession small forward.

I would be interested in other Cats fans views on this. Is it a good idea, or am I having another brain fade?
 
I would say hes being more groomed as a small forward who will have spurts on the wing or in the middle. For starters I don't think wojak should ever be dropped from the side, regardless of how much ball he is getting, his run inspires the side and always creates something when he gets the footy. Interesting idea re varcoe though.
 
In time perhaps. Right now I'm not sure he could play tight enough. I know Mackie, etc aren't crash hot in this regard either but Trav could be a disaster. I think you see what I see in Trav - all the physical attributes and similar size of Andrew McLeod. Hopefully he develops Andrew's footy brain and greater hunger for the ball/contest. Look out when he does wherever we put him.
 
I have always seen Trav as a lightning quick wingman. I'm all for trying him out in that position, in the VFL. We can't run that risk at senior level
 

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I am not sure that he quite has the size for that, and although he has decent defensive attributes in his tackling, I am not sure if we'd want him to be actually trying to stop someone from kicking goals - that's not his style (although you could say the same for Woj - that said, I don't recall too many of his opponents getting a ton of scores), and he wouldn't have been trained to do that thus far. It could be an avenue they'd check out sometime later on if he gets a bit more size to him, but I don't think it'd work right now.

I too reckon he'd go alright on a wing. Just needs to work on getting more ball - we've seen how well he can handle it.
 
Just to clarify - I don't think Varcoe is capable of filling the role of attacking small defender in the AFL right now. But I do think he could fill this role if groomed for the role in the VFL.

The more I think about it, the more I hope he gets the opportunity to broaden his role beyond forward pocket, as I think he could offer so much more using his pace and skill to great effect further up the ground to set up play. However, I don't see him ever being a real midfielder as I don't envisage him winning enough of his own ball. Thus small defender is his logical other option.

Carry on.
 
Hinkley29 said:
Just to clarify - I don't think Varcoe is capable of filling the role of attacking small defender in the AFL right now. But I do think he could fill this role if groomed for the role in the VFL.

The more I think about it, the more I hope he gets the opportunity to broaden his role beyond forward pocket, as I think he could offer so much more using his pace and skill to great effect further up the ground to set up play. However, I don't see him ever being a real midfielder as I don't envisage him winning enough of his own ball. Thus small defender is his logical other option.

Carry on.
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I think he nees more time playing week in and week out. You have to remember blokes like Leon Davis, etc took years to become consistent players capabloe of playing in the midfield...
 
is Djerrkura more defensive than Varcoe? Maybe he could be groomed as a defensive flanker in the VFL assuming he gets over his injuries. Certainly from the limited time I've watched him, his attack on the man isn't an issue.
 
Interesting idea,similar to Wirrapunda, could be useful when his body more developed.
What I have noticed is that Varcoe does get his hands on the ball a fair bit but gets it ripped off him through lack of strength.This will improve as he matures.
 
Leading into the draft Trav was listed as a midfielder so I wouldn't be supprised if playing him up forward was his apprentiship. He is slight build and had a bit of time away with the foot injury but I think he is well suited to a wing/HF with some time in the midfield rotation. Not sure he is strong enough overhead, defensive and offensive, to go down back.
 
I think physically he is two years off this being a possibility at AFL level. He could start playing that role in the VFL, If I had to groom him for a position though it would be on the wing not as a HB.
 
i reckon leave wojak right where he is. he mightn't be in top form but geez he's still good for a few breakaways at top speed and getting the ball back to our forward line in the blink of an eye. he knows his position so well and no doubt keeps the opposition in 2 minds when he's near or when he gets the pill.
i think keep trav lurking around the forward line and give him some time to develop. as long as he keeps chasing and tackling and creating scoring situations....he just needs to also consistenly kick his 2 or 3.
 

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When Wojack gets his hands on the ball in the middle of the ground or at chb he creates such panic and confusion amongst opposition players in his vicinity, hes too valuable to drop. would take a string of shockers like friday for him to be dropped imo. good thinking though.
 
One of my favourite catters, ive watched his progress through the last 2 years, still needs to be a bit more selfish and take people on sometimes but a good player. To be honest he was unlucky not to play in the premiership side IMO, but him and burnes are very close and i think Varcoe just has the edge on him. Burne's kicking for goal needs to improve, when i go down to the cattery he is always copping it from the crowd, becoming milened perhaps?
 
Varcoe cannot (and will not) continue to be selected on the basis of offering defensive pressure alone ............. I still think he does'nt like the hard contest which so many Geelong players have thrived on in the last 18 months.

Coaching staff continue to work with him on this .......... confidence is a big thing with Varcoe and many believe he is 2+ years away from making an impact.

Come grand final day (god willing) ... I don't think he's in our best 22.
 
Jumping Jack said:
Varcoe cannot (and will not) continue to be selected on the basis of offering defensive pressure alone ............. I still think he does'nt like the hard contest which so many Geelong players have thrived on in the last 18 months.

Coaching staff continue to work with him on this .......... confidence is a big thing with Varcoe and many believe he is 2+ years away from making an impact.

Come grand final day (god willing) ... I don't think he's in our best 22.
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This is exactly my point. We need to find a way for him to get more of the ball, and I don't see this happening playing as a forward pocket. Release him to the back line as a link man who doesn't really play "defensively" on a man and see what happens. I think he could be a star in this role (I think I am talking myself into my own theory now;)).

I am not sure about the hard contest being the be all and end all. All teams need their outside and inside players. If you have a player who is creative but doesn't necessarily end up at the bottom of packs, they can still play a very valuable role.
 
There will be at least 3 changes this week (yes thats right) and varcoe could quite likely be one of the 'unlucky' ones..

My critical yet constructive opinion of his position in the team:

His workrate needs to improve. Showing some promise but drifts in and out of games.

He should be dominant in the vfl but never seems to have big games..

Needs to learn that the mercurial stuff isn't enough to get him a game.

Needs to put more into his preparation for games and work harder on the ground.
 
I got confidence the guy will make it as a player. still young, and i reckon if he put on a bit more muscle and became a bit more solid his confidence mite go up a little bit more. great pace and dangerous around goals. just a work in progress that, if we can keep on our list should help us stay in the top part of the ladder for a bit longer.
 

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Trav's pressure in the forward line has been vital in the last few weeks and was important in a lot of wins last year too.

Keep him there! He's getting better all the time and his tackling is great!
 
Lets not forget that Gazza averaged 8.5 poss in his 1st 2years of senior footy and Leon Davis 7.4 in his.
Needs 1 or 2 more pre-seasons and another 20-30 games before we see how good he really is. Has very slick hands,neat kick although lacking penatration at the moment and that all important X-factor.
Have a feeling all his detractors will be eating their words in a year or 2.
 
his tackling i think is his best atribute, but i would have to question his willingness to get the hard ball gets. He always waits back and doent look like he wants that ball as much as the next bloke. being flashy and not getting many posestions will not keep him in the best 22. :confused: he may not have the body size but that doesnt stop little stokes from gettin in and havin a crack. gamble showed the hardness and the forward line pressure needed and not forget his marking and leap makes him hard to match up on.
 
What about the rumours that he's getting homesick and the club bring his family out every fortnight?
 
TheYid said:
What about the rumours that he's getting homesick and the club bring his family out every fortnight?
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If that is true then it'll help my Varcoe + first round pick to Port for Travis Boak push...but I digress (besides, that wouldn't land Boak anyway).

I think there is some scope for Varcoe to be a defensive half back flanker but I can't see it happening at the moment.

But the idea has some merit on a front I don't think has been mentioned. A good small forward would take Varcoe to the ball and this might help bring him into the game more.

Varcoe seems to drift in and out of games up forward but down back he would have an assignment and that might help his development.

Tagging might also be an option here. Again, more to bring him into the play rather than because I think he'd be good at it.

On a side issue - are there any other players in the comp at the moment who score goals from within 10 metres as regularly as Varcoe??
 

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