Player Watch Wayne Milera

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Idontpullout said:
Think he just needs that breakout game then he'd be hard to drop. Kind of like when atkins had the big one against sydney early last year.
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23 against GWS wasnt a bad game. He is averaging 17 in his first three at 82% efficiency. Think we would damage our own finals hopes if we didnt try to put 20 games into him before finals. He would definitely need a couple of breaks, but he could be streaks ahead of Mackay 19 rounds from now.
 
Shaz2012 said:
23 against GWS wasnt a bad game. He is averaging 17 in his first three at 82% efficiency. Think we would damage our own finals hopes if we didnt try to put 20 games into him before finals. He would definitely need a couple of breaks, but he could be streaks ahead of Mackay 19 rounds from now.
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Good points. My selective memory of that match has already faded. Now he just needs to step up in the close ones like saturdays game.
 
Idontpullout said:
Good points. My selective memory of that match has already faded. Now he just needs to step up in the close ones like saturdays game.
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Agree. He has to improve in those high intensity games. But I think that will come and the sooner we get 50 games under his belt the better we will be. I actually think he can be a part of our finals campaign this season, which is why I am keen for us to carry him a bit. By a bit, I mean, while he is picking up Mackay type numbers. If he starts to drop to single digits then he is probably best served in the SANFL. He seems like a confidence player so next week against Essendon will be telling. Will he pick himself up or will he still be in his shell a bit like he was this week.
 
It all depends on how he responds. He doesn't necessarily have to rack them up next week, but if the coaching staff noted his lack of defensive effort as an issue and over the next two weeks he doesn't appear (to them) to make any effort to improve this, he'd be likely to be dropped back.

Everyone develops differently, and I hope the coaching staff have a good idea of what they need to see from Wayne. Remember, we still have Brad Crouch, Doedee and potentially Menzel to come in and develop.

All 3 of those are far and away above sanfl standard. Oh what talent we have ladies and gentlemen.
 

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He's just such a nice kid, everytime I've heard him talk he seriously sounds like he's living out a childhood dream and needs to pinch himself to remind himself is happening.

I don't think he quite has the confidence in his body yet, which will come with time.

I want to see him absolutely ripped next season, not necessarily huge, but scottie pippen like ripped
Once this happens watch his game go to another level.
 
Excellent signing :thumbsu:

Even if his physicality never improves much, his ball usage is vital to us. We have nearly an entire midfield full of nuggety, contested ball players. It's nice to have a couple of players who can receive it on the outside and use it well. Considering we've been torn up by soft, outside players who can hit targets for years you'd think we would all be delighted to have one of our own!
 
mattymac said:
Milera extending his contact for 3 years is fantastic news and hopefully an indication the club isn't as shortsighted as some on this board.

Two weeks ago he was cheered as "one of our best". Last week saw almost unanimous feeling that "must play him all year and pump games into him", "good clubs can afford to carry developing talent".

This week some numpties already starting with the "I've been thinking for weeks he is soft", "doesn't run both ways", "needs to sort himself out quicksmart we can't afford to carry that" etc.

I put it to those posters that they just have little clue about player development.

It was a showdown. Young players on both sides looked lost at times and contributed less than usual.

Let's compare Milera's development to Charlie Cameron's. When Charlie started out there were calls that he looked lost, stood off the contest too often, didn't have the tank to run both ways etc. Pretty similar stuff. Yet we carried him because we saw the wisdom in developing him.

In Charles' first year he played 7 games averaging 9 disposals. Wayne played 8 games averaging 11 disposals. Very similar, Wayne with a bit more natural class and a bit higher up the field but not much in it.

Despite his humble start, in his second year we carried Charlie for 22 games. And now we are all the better for it.

Their numbers in their second year (averages per game):

CC: K=7 H=3 D=10 M=2.8 T=2.8

WM: K=9 H=8 D=17 M=3.3 T=2.7

Wayne is tracking nicely for a 19 year old with 11 games of experience.

Give him time to develop and build like we did with Charles. By the end of the year we should have 30+ games into him if we don't submit to shortsighted silliness.

Then put another pre-season of fitness training and weights into him... rinse and repeat... by his fourth season like Charlie he will be a 50-60 game player and on the brink of pure gundom.

But only if we invest in him properly now, which means cutting some slack for inconsistent performances like we did for Charlie in 2015. Put faith in him and build him up then we'll get repaid as he builds confidence in his ability.

Everyone was right last week. Good sides can afford to carry a developing gun. Hopefully this new 3 year deal is an indication that's what we intend to do.[/QUOTE

He is is very good with his disposal. He is very ordinary at contested ball compared to last year.
Not sure what the go is but It has been obvious since the JLT.

He is an important part of the midfield with his elite disposal. I remember his game against Richmond last year when we started slowly (sounds familiar) and it was his poise and accuracy that broke the early deadlock.

My criticism of Milera is nothing to do with his disposal count. It's his approach to contested ball. Ive said in previous posts I don't believe it's an issue with courage. He showed last season this is not the case. But something has changed this year and it doesn't make sense.
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Look at how Atkins is looking now after we pumped a full seasons worth of games into him in 2016, after playing a handful of games in 2015.

Should be aiming to do the same with Milera as long as he can physically stand up to it, pump as many games as we can into him this year to get him ready to really break out in 2017.
 
MRB37 said:
Look at how Atkins is looking now after we pumped a full seasons worth of games into him in 2016, after playing a handful of games in 2015.

Should be aiming to do the same with Milera as long as he can physically stand up to it, pump as many games as we can into him this year to get him ready to really break out in 2017.
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Make him train in the gym with Thommo for 12 months
 
Shaz2012 said:
23 against GWS wasnt a bad game. He is averaging 17 in his first three at 82% efficiency. Think we would damage our own finals hopes if we didnt try to put 20 games into him before finals. He would definitely need a couple of breaks, but he could be streaks ahead of Mackay 19 rounds from now.
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The worrying thing is that he's gone 23, 16, 12. You'd want those 12 touches to be very good if you want to keep your spot in the team.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
The worrying thing is that he's gone 23, 16, 12. You'd want those 12 touches to be very good if you want to keep your spot in the team.
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Its not worrying. He has only played 11 AFL games. Hawthorn and Port both played a very physical brand of footy which probably doesn't suit the outside type compared to the GWS game which was far more open. Atkins has gone down hill a bit too. Give Milera some time to find his feet and understand his game.
 
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