Toast Welcome to the Club Aaron Naughty Naughton

Has anyone nicknamed him “Astro” Naught yet?? I’m claiming it if not!

Oh, for goodness sake, he's not the Messiah! He's a very Naughton boy.
 

Cadillac

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Mar 25, 2016
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E7F08CD3-EEF5-488A-952D-7F3B94A1EE6E.jpeg
 

CarnTheScray

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Jun 4, 2019
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Did Aaron play last night?

I just checked my fantasy team and he only got 0 points. I only got him because people on this board said he was the next Carey. I hope he is healthy.
He got 2 touches. 2 reasons as to why are:
- he's had half a preseason coming back from injury
- the ball didn't go down his end all night long
 
Mar 29, 2011
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Did Aaron play last night?

I just checked my fantasy team and he only got 0 points. I only got him because people on this board said he was the next Carey. I hope he is healthy.
That was a bad pick for your fantasy team he's had an interrupted pre season with work on both knees. Might take a few games to get back into form
 

The Inbetweener

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Nov 25, 2011
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Loved his physicality last night.

do we think he’s still struggling with his knee? Doesn’t seem to be moving that well yet.

for clarity i am in now way having a go at him, just wondering other people’s opinions on how they think his moving
 
Loved his physicality last night.

do we think he’s still struggling with his knee? Doesn’t seem to be moving that well yet.

for clarity i am in now way having a go at him, just wondering other people’s opinions on how they think his moving

Definitely not 100%, but way better than round 1. Also a lot less strapping on, so he clearly was t ready even though they were saying he was. If covid didn’t happen, he’d have missed a massive chunk of the season.

If it’s going to be a wet game in Sydney, I’d leave him out of the side though
 
I think it's time to celebrate the fact that this bloke is now in the top echelon of key forwards.

That's hardly news to most on this board but for too long there were lingering doubts. I think they've now all been dispelled - will he ever fix his set shot kicking? can he keep up his high rate of CMs and CPs when opposition sides start to focus on him? is he really better as a defender after all? will he kill himself on re-entry to the atmosphere and/or splashdown?

Let's have a look at what he's done this season:
  • He has kicked 35 goals and is equal fourth in the Coleman, only 5 behind Charlie Curnow.
  • He's on track for around 60 goals if he plays every game, even if we don't play finals. The last player to kick 60 or more for the WB was Barry Hall back in 2010 with 80 goals.
  • His G:B ratio is now a healthy 1.6, better than Hawkins and King but worse than Curnow and J.Cameron who are both 2.0 or higher.
  • He has taken 28 CMs (in a down year for him) and is fourth in the AFL on this stat, 6 behind Max Gawn. Last year he led the AFL in CMs with 65. The nearest were Dixon with 59 and Gawn 58.
  • He has kicked goals in every game except Rd 7 against Essendon but he had a career high FOUR Goal Assists in that game. His season tally includes two bags of 5 and three bags of 4.
  • He has career high averages in Kicks, Disposals, Goals, Behinds, Hit Outs, Tackles, Clearances, Contested Possessions and Goal Assists. In other words he has improved in just about every important aspect of his game.

Interestingly he has finally started to get some free kicks. After averaging 1.13, 0.33 and 0.84 the last three years he is averaging 1.54 a game in 2022. This is getting up around Nick Riewoldt territory and is more than Hawkins gets at Geelong.

All this while playing with a jarred knee for much of the year (though it seemed to be a bit better after resting it during the bye) and having no regular KPF partner, meaning he has been consistently blocked, scragged and triple teamed for much of the year. Watch what happens if he has one or two other talls beside him and posing a threat - players like Bruce, Jamarra or Schache. We had an insight into that last Friday.

He has the wheels to get up the ground and take important transition CMs on the wing or even at half back. And then sprint forward to be a target for the next kick inside the 50.

Curiously his marks and CMs are slightly down this year. That might be because of all the attention he is getting but it also demonstrates how much his all-round game has improved. He is not only a threat in the air now - he has the agility and straight line speed to be a genuine competitor when the ball hits the ground.

He is also becoming one of the club's on-field leaders.

And finally, consider that he is doing all this at the age of 22. Doesn't turn 23 until late November. Of the top six KPFs Curnow is 25, Cameron and Lynch are 29 and Hawkins is 33. Only Max King is younger - by 7 months. KPFs generally don't peak until around their mid 20s.

Now check the OP to see what we thought we were getting when we drafted him with pick 9 back in 2017.
 
Last edited:
Oct 19, 2012
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Minas Morgul
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Having actively supported the dogs since i was 5 (so for 25 years), I've seen maybe 4-5 generational players/talents for the club. Naughton in my mind fits in this category.

I bang on about his talents in just about every thread so I'm not going to repeat it in this one. I'm pretty confident though in saying that Aaron Naughton will be the next captain of this football club. No other choice.

Make sure he's locked down for life and hes best 22 and next captain. And by best 22 i mean best 22 to ever pull on a Red White and Blue jumper.
 
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