Welcome to the AFL, Robbie McComb

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Testekill

Testekill

Don't look at me like that
Veteran 10k Posts
Dec 3, 2009
18,268
18,174
Brisbane
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Footscray Bulldogs, Williamstown
From our VFL team to rookied.



Will be interesting to see if he makes the jump but he was probably our best VFL listed performer.



“Robbie McComb and Lachie Sullivan, who was our young skipper, are great benchmarks, they give us a beacon of how VFL footy can evolve for young players … they are tradies working bloody hard during the day and over two or three years they became really capable and quite dominant VFL players,” he said.
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Yes will done mate, you have done it that hard way but you made it.

Not overly excited by this selection but hoping the bloke proves me wrong :think:
 
There had to be one!
 
Judging by the disgruntled posts here, this bloke is starting behind the eight ball. So I hope he has a real dip to prove us all wrong. I hope he has a ripping 2022 and in 12 months time we're all feeling suitably regruntled.

Regardless of how Robbie goes, I'm with Charlie Bucket ... there's a decent strategic upside to reserving a place late in every draft for the best performing Footscray VFL player. It says to them all that there's a pathway if you back yourself. Most - like Ben Cavarra and Will Hayes - will find the going tough but we might occasionally get one who make a genuine career of it. Remember where Matty Boyd and Dale Morris came from as overlooked juniors. Both of them All-Australians and premiership players.

Also don't forget that our best VFL players are regularly beating their AFL-listed opponents most weeks of the season, so they can't be far off the level. You could reasonably argue that we shouldn't be selecting anyone who has no development left in them (say up to 23-24 years old) but that's fine tuning. It doesn't invalidate the whole strategy.

Even if we don't get any gems out of it we will be doing a lot to keep the Footscray side at the top of the table by making it an attractive destination for AFL wannabes. That's a worthwhile objective in itself.

And anyway ... if we just went the standard route of scouring the leftovers of 18yos for our last pick or a rookie spot, how many of those sort of picks have made the grade in the last decade? For any club, not just ours. I reckon it wouldn't be very many.
 
dogwatch said:
Judging by the disgruntled posts here, this bloke is starting behind the eight ball. So I hope he has a real dip to prove us all wrong. I hope he has a ripping 2022 and in 12 months time we're all feeling suitably regruntled.

Regardless of how Robbie goes, I'm with Charlie Bucket ... there's a decent strategic upside to reserving a place late in every draft for the best performing Footscray VFL player. It says to them all that there's a pathway if you back yourself. Most - like Ben Cavarra and Will Hayes - will find the going tough but we might occasionally get one who make a genuine career of it. Remember where Matty Boyd and Dale Morris came from as overlooked juniors. Both of them All-Australians and premiership players.

Also don't forget that our best VFL players are regularly beating their AFL-listed opponents most weeks of the season, so they can't be far off the level. You could reasonably argue that we shouldn't be selecting anyone who has no development left in them (say up to 23-24 years old) but that's fine tuning. It doesn't invalidate the whole strategy.

Even if we don't get any gems out of it we will be doing a lot to keep the Footscray side at the top of the table by making it an attractive destination for AFL wannabes. That's a worthwhile objective in itself.

And anyway ... if we just went the standard route of scouring the leftovers of 18yos for our last pick or a rookie spot, how many of those sort of picks have made the grade in the last decade? For any club, not just ours. I reckon it wouldn't be very many.
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Picking the best player from a state league team that's won 18 games in a row is not a bad gamble.
 
Mutt said:
Picking the best player from a state league team that's won 18 games in a row is not a bad gamble.
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Is he the best player though? Genuine question but from the limited times I’ve watched Hayes has more impact, and he was a mile off afl
 
doggies ftw said:
Is he the best player though? Genuine question but from the limited times I’ve watched Hayes has more impact, and he was a mile off afl
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The club seemed to think so. The VFL hierarchy also rated him by the look of it.

The Western Bulldogs have added midfielder Robbie McComb to its playing list for season 2022.
Taken with the Club’s second pick in today’s NAB AFL Rookie Draft, McComb will already be familiar with the Kennel, having spent four seasons in Footscray’s VFL program.
The 25-year-old played every match of the shortened 2021 VFL season, averaging 25.5 disposals, 4.6 marks and 4.7 tackles.
A proven ball-winner, McComb’s efforts saw him claim Footscray’s Best and Fairest award, while also being named in the 2021 VFL Team of the Year.
He becomes the fourth player on the Bulldogs’ list to be drafted via the state-league pathway, joining former VFL Bulldogs Ryan Gardner, Mitch Hannan and Anthony Scott.

Robbie McComb profile

Former club: Footscray VFL
Height: 180cm
Weight: 82kg
Date of Birth: 19/12/1995
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doggies ftw said:
Is he the best player though? Genuine question but from the limited times I’ve watched Hayes has more impact, and he was a mile off afl
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Hayes was mainly playing outside while McComb inside. From the matches this year it felt like McComb was certainly harder at the contest and applied more pressure.
 
Anthony Scott was an unpopular signing as a reigning Footscray B&F winner and played 21 games, including a prelim final, in a grand final making side. Not as impressive but Will Hayes came in after winning the same award and managed 9 games in his debut season including a final.

These types of players are unlikely to be stars (although it can and has happened numerous times) but in a sport where you require 23 players on the day plus backups who can come in and contribute to replace an injury, they can have a lot of value off the rookie list rather than force the club to turn to a raw 18 year old.

McComb may well prove to be a miss but I think it's fair to back the club in with this selection given the exposure they have to him through the VFL program.
 

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Hopefully he is the next Liam Picken.
 
Hannan, Gowers and Scott all impressed VFL watchers on this board and had their supporters before being drafted. I can't recall any such hype or positivity around McComb this season. All the best to him nonetheless, hope he challenges a few of the more credentialed guys for a spot.
 
Charlie Bucket said:
The boys wouldn’t wanna leave any hair brushing instruments unattended in the locker room with Rob McComb now at the club.
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Already been told he & Toby McLean are clashing
 
Rookie said:
Hannan, Gowers and Scott all impressed VFL watchers on this board and had their supporters before being drafted. I can't recall any such hype or positivity around McComb this season. All the best to him nonetheless, hope he challenges a few of the more credentialed guys for a spot.
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He won our B&F and was often acknowledged by people on here as in our bests.
 
He seems good cover to me, perhaps replacing Lipinski as depth. If we suffer a few injuries it will be nice to have someone like him to call on who already knows our system.
 
The Inbetweener said:
He seems good cover to me, perhaps replacing Lipinski as depth. If we suffer a few injuries it will be nice to have someone like him to call on who already knows our system.
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Possibly gets the games Lipinski got this year, if there are similar injuries. Seems like he wasn't as prolific as Lipinski at VFL level, but perhaps harder-edged. May not play at all. Not a huge amount on the line given it's just a rookie spot.
 
High floor, low ceiling depth type. We're at a stage with our list now where we need coverage for blokes like Libba. I see no issue with putting him on the list. If he comes in and plays 5 games because we need a bull in the middle for coverage then great. That's his role. He hasn't been recruited to play 150+ games.
 
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