www.sen.com.au
for the first time!
He hasn't played a single game with us. I'm all for pumping up the rookies but that's a stretch to say we a better team with him, when he hasn't seen an AFL field yet.“Doing it quite easy”: Suns ‘unicorn’ draftee’s staggering athleticism impressing teammates
“It was quite unique.”
Read is turning heads on the eve of his first pre-season AFL game. Running capacity is such an important aspect when it comes to rucking and it sounds like Dimma might be ready to throw Ethan into the deep end next week when we play the Lions. I was very impressed with his ability to compete with an AFL ruckman in Peter Ladhams when he made his sole VFL appearance for us last year and he was also very dominant when he played full forward in that game (if he kicked straight he would have had a bag of 4-5). I don't know where Ethan will play because of his versitility but I just get the feeling that we're a better team with him playing than we would be without him, which is crazy for a 202cm 18 year old with a slight frame.
Just a few days to go until we see the
I understand your point of view but we're talking about a different kind of athlete here. I watched Read a fair bit last year, both live and on stream, and I've never seen a tall player that is as good as he is below the knees or one that can kick the ball as well as he does over short to medium distances. He also has a hunger for the ball that's really rare for someone his age and isn't afraid to tackle the opposition. However, the main reason I think we're a better team with him is his versatility to play in just about in part of the ground and his unique athleticism really rams that point home for mine.
Not at all, if Witts gets hurt Ned is the backup ruckman, not Read. Read will play primarily as a defender as he is way to slender to ruck yet.
Roaming defender and maybe part time ruck would be his 1 wood imo.
Probably too early to say?
I have a feeling Dimma will test all four draftees early in the season. We have a deficiency in the forward pocket - Jake Rogers - should get a try if his back is ready to go. Jed Walter will certainly get a go as a foil for Ben King OR if King doesn't come up. Will Graham should get tried on that HB flank that is up for grabs - Farrah, Jeffrey, Uwland and probably more (Sexton?) - AND Ethan Reid can plug holes almost everywhere. They are the 20% Dimma mentioned as missing - 4 players to replace some of the remaining dead wood and we should be good to go in 2025. Make the bottom of the 8 this year - and it's been a good year.
Good time to revisit this. Moyle is presumably going to be dropped for Witts and it seems like Read will get a chance to audition in the ruck. This may very well be the beginning of the end for Ned if Read plays well as a backup ruckman. Interestingly, Lukosius being swung into the backline seems to imply Read may actually end up playing forward this weekend (like he did in the VFL last week) and that's obviously a departure from the theory that he will be developed into a key defender. The Dimma era is unpredictable to say the least!
Spot on so far. Just waiting on Rogers to debut.
