Welcome Welcome Paul Tsapatolis as Cat B rookie

[Turbocat]

In the sense that he doesnt seem to have much spring - as a basketballer I'm hoping he makes a good footballer!

Id agree he is not what i call vertically gifted. sav etc... .his size he is never going to be nba bound. ... but afl.. we will see..

 

[cats_09]

In the sense that he doesnt seem to have much spring - as a basketballer I'm hoping he makes a good footballer!

Having watched a lot of basketball, I wouldn't say it's always the case but it's not uncommon that the centre or the real tall guys on the team don't show as much spring as the even slightly shorter players

Even the really athletic tallest guys on court, to an extent seem to still rely on their height & reach to get an advantage over their opponents, rather than a genuine spring; while those who can't rely purely on their height tend to show more in terms of spring or jumping abilities

It's something he may almost need to learn, especially in terms of jumping for ruck contests

 

[Cursed Cat]

Having watched a lot of basketball, I wouldn't say it's always the case but it's not uncommon that the centre or the real tall guys on the team don't show as much spring as the even slightly shorter players

Even the really athletic tallest guys on court, to an extent seem to still rely on their height & reach to get an advantage over their opponents, rather than a genuine spring; while those who can't rely purely on their height tend to show more in terms of spring or jumping abilities

It's something he may almost need to learn, especially in terms of jumping for ruck contests

will happily defer to you on the matter C09 - played a little basketball at a very very low level (go Redbacks!) and have watched it on and off over the years, but I know you know your hoops .. anyway, I genuinely hope he succeeds; was slightly underwhelmed by his highlights package but who knows what he will be capable of with an oval ball ..

 

[Turbocat]

will happily defer to you on the matter C09 - played a little basketball at a very very low level (go Redbacks!) and have watched it on and off over the years, but I know you know your hoops .. anyway, I genuinely hope he succeeds; was slightly underwhelmed by his highlights package but who knows what he will be capable of with an oval ball ..

AS I said a few posts ago.. id like to see some combine data ... and no matter how he looks in basketball highlights ..we need to see some footy play.. but i like what i saw especially in this one . Poor camera work unfortunately...

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Perhaps. I would have thought there will be areas of his physique where they will definitely be wanting him to focus so that his body is better prepared for the AFL. Will be great if he's already in good shape. But the prime factors for establishing ascendancy as a ruck in football and as a centre in basketball aren't identical. Even just the body contact involved in footy will surely mean a different training regime to what he has been used to in the past.

what can take so long for ruckman to establish themselves as best 22 competitive rucks is a few things;

1. you are being compared directly to your opponent in one in one hit outs which for a young ruck against an established senior ruck is a hard ask. Like asking a young key forward to be rated based off 80-90 marking contests with a senior defender. You get naturally exposed more your deficiencies than other positions around the ground due to the extreme combative nature.

2. the physicality required is high meaning they need a lot of strength and conditioning to be competitive

3. As a ruck it’s very important to have a good game sense. You have to position yourself very quickly as soon as the ball leaves the umpires hands at the throw to get advantage position. Is a split second thing and if you don’t have a smart footy brain you won’t make it.

 

[Turbocat]

will be on SEN this morning

 

[Turbocat]

Just been on... I'm sure it will be podcast option soon.. have to say im impressed by him..

He sounds young but had offers from college in the usa and basketball in Greece... ... played basketball against Rowell and with andererson.... and almost fell in love with the footy club mainly thru Troy Selwood

Troy Selwood

Age

36

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.5

3star

K

7.7

3star

HB

5.8

4star

M

4.3

4star

T

3.0

5star

CL

1.2

3star

No current season stats available

D

7.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

2.2

2star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.2

5star

.

Not the first time I have heard comments about TroyS.

 

[cats_09]

His SEN interview

 

[gaz love x]

Sounds like he's been training all year pretty much. Might not be coming from as far back as we thought if that's the case

 

[Turbocat]

Sounds like he's been training all year pretty much. Might not be coming from as far back as we thought if that's the case

202 and 102 kgs ..at least he is nota twig... but my bet is if he plays in 2021 we have injury issues..

 

[gaz love x]

202 and 102 kgs ..at least he is nota twig... but my bet is if he plays in 2021 we have injury issues..

I mean relative to guys coming through the draft. It's always unlikely for an 18 year old ruck to play first season. Of course there's less competition at Geelong than anywhere else so I'm not placing money against it

 

[Turbocat]

I mean relative to guys coming through the draft. It's always unlikely for an 18 year old ruck to play first season. Of course there's less competition at Geelong than anywhere else so I'm not placing money against it

It will be easier for us to judge when we see him do some football stuff. I can remember specifically say we would be lucky if Blitz ever played one game.
Any player his size taken in the draft , with a full load background to be listed and come in and push older players out of his way.. would be amazing.
Yes you are right he doesn't have the same hill to climb as nearly any other player on our list. If he could put pressure on Sav for selection it would be almost be beyond belief.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Having watched a lot of basketball, I wouldn't say it's always the case but it's not uncommon that the centre or the real tall guys on the team don't show as much spring as the even slightly shorter players

Even the really athletic tallest guys on court, to an extent seem to still rely on their height & reach to get an advantage over their opponents, rather than a genuine spring; while those who can't rely purely on their height tend to show more in terms of spring or jumping abilities

It's something he may almost need to learn, especially in terms of jumping for ruck contests

In Basketball the tall guys need both timing and a good vertical off a standing start , particularly in the paint where they jump with both feet firmly planted.
AFL guys tend to have more of an opportunity for a running jump off a few steps so technique is different as is the difference in overall height achieved.
Will be interesting to see how he adapts aerially as well as to the endurance aspect of AFL.

 

[Turbocat]

Having watched a lot of basketball, I wouldn't say it's always the case but it's not uncommon that the centre or the real tall guys on the team don't show as much spring as the even slightly shorter players

Even the really athletic tallest guys on court, to an extent seem to still rely on their height & reach to get an advantage over their opponents, rather than a genuine spring; while those who can't rely purely on their height tend to show more in terms of spring or jumping abilities

It's something he may almost need to learn, especially in terms of jumping for ruck contests

I guess if we compared him to the kid that has signed for Melb United that played for Duke .... that kid looks to have a more inside presence due to his vertical threat... think he is list as 203 and 23 a touch older. Basketball is such a competitive sport ..id say it probably not a bad career choice to choose football for Tsap

 

[CatsDoItBetter]

I guess if we compared him to the kid that has signed for Melb United that played for Duke .... that kid looks to have a more inside presence due to his vertical threat... think he is list as 203 and 23 a touch older. Basketball is such a competitive sport ..id say it probably not a bad career choice to choose football for Tsap

He’ll be exciting for the NBL had some good connection with Williamson. I know Tsapatolis played for Aust but these highlights show White to be a much more exciting player. A much better guitarist as well no doubt 7 nation army should be blasting when he gets the ball for United.

 

[Footy Smarts]

He’ll be exciting for the NBL had some good connection with Williamson. I know Tsapatolis played for Aust but these highlights show White to be a much more exciting player. A much better guitarist as well no doubt 7 nation army should be blasting when he gets the ball for United.

They both represented Australia at under-17 level but Tsapatolis was a starter while White didn't see much game time. Maybe White has developed and is a much better player but a 17 year old is always going to look less physically capable than a 22 year old. From an AFL perspective compare Sean Darcy

4

Sean Darcy

Age

22

Ht

202cm

Wt

113kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.1

3star

K

3.4

1star

HB

6.6

4star

CL

2.4

4star

HO

28.8

5star

D

6.8

1star

K

2.0

1star

HB

4.8

3star

CL

1.8

4star

HO

20.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

6.8

4star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

32.0

5star

as a teenager to now (he's 22). You just see a complete physical transformation especially from big guys who tend to not be able to develop muscle mass until later.

 

[Turbocat]

He’ll be exciting for the NBL had some good connection with Williamson. I know Tsapatolis played for Aust but these highlights show White to be a much more exciting player. A much better guitarist as well no doubt 7 nation army should be blasting when he gets the ball for United.

Exciting may or may not be what we need. The kid think his high marking is asset ..lets hope so. If White is back here I can only presume that he is just your good ordinary type college player... probably says why Tsap deciding to play footy is a smart move.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

This kid is a project player. Even if he does become a Mark Blicavs

46

Mark Blicavs

Age

29

Ht

198cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.5

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

4.1

4star

T

4.2

5star

MG

114.1

2star

D

11.1

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

1.9

3star

MG

114.1

2star

D

8.6

3star

K

2.0

1star

HB

6.6

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.6

4star

story, that's hardly a dominant player by any means at all.
Anyways good luck to him. We are in desperate need of a gun ruckman, or a ruckman who can be counted on against anyone in the competition.

Blicavs has won 2 B&F's and is considered in the 'industry' as one of the best utility players in the league. I'd say that is fairly dominant and if Tsapatolis can equal that we have done exceptionally well.

What you say about Ruck is very true, that is a long term weakness for Geelong. So he is well-worth the punt.

 

[cats_09]

 

[goyoucatters]

Good article. Some promising indications amongst all that. Maybe not quite as much of a long shot as I first thought.

IWWT.

 

[cats_09]

Good article. Some promising indications amongst all that. Maybe not quite as much of a long shot as I first thought.

IWWT.

I've now read the article (was busy before when I posted it), and found this part interesting

“This year, Ryan O’Keefe was asking me “come to the Jets with me. We’ll get you drafted.” But, I stuck to my Category B pathway.”

Sounds like he's been looking at football for a little while, but that he wanted to have some control over his future & which team he'd end up at rather than going through the draft and the unknown of that

 

[goyoucatters]

Sounds like he's been looking at football for a little while, but that he wanted to have some control over his future & which team he'd end up at rather than going through the draft and the unknown of that.

The fact that people in the game have been ringing him over the years trying to get him back seems to indicate that he's more than just a tall athlete with (hopefully) transferable skills. Interesting that he talks about being keen for the physical aspect of the game as well.

If he'd just gone on to talk about idolising Otto as a youngster, I'd be completely sold.

 

[LifeSpan-Void]

We have already seen the greek term used a lot on here and on afl website. Paul?Cant see that working on krock... I wonder if it is Tap a toll is ( with the S siient?). It was not that long ago that Kolo's name was a struggle or SavRat ..... so may you maybe you are on the right track..some sort of abbreviation becomes the norm

The T is effectively silent in this case so “Sappa-toll-is”

 

[FredLeDeux]

The T is effectively silent in this case so “Sappa-toll-is”

Blokes with that name set-up are always called Zappa hereabouts

 

[LifeSpan-Void]

Blokes with that name set-up are always called Zappa hereabouts

Yeah it’s a fair lean that way but say it wrong in front of an old Greek and they’ll let you know about it at any rate