He is a KPP of course he will take time. Not worried at all.
No disrespect to Ambrose and Hartley.
But if those 2 blokes can be solid AFL defenders then Francis wonāt have any issues.
Did he even play in the second half? Turned it on at half time and genuinely surprised to read here that he was playing.
Reckon he will be a bust.
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Still only shows flashes. Going to need patience but right now pick 6 looks a reach
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And Charlie Curnow the huge slider, putting up immense performances at AFL level and one of the fittest players at CFC already
Started the third with real intent, took two strong grabs with a dish off handball each time. Looked like he was ready to fire, then ping went the hamstring.
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Ah. Granted I was watching with no sound, so probably missed the hammy.
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At 53, Iām fitter than him after heās had two full years in the system. And believe me, Iām no specimenā¦
Is our system that bad?
Is his fitness that rooted?
Which is it?
Ok I missed the start of the third but thought he was well off it in the first half except 1 nice mark and kick on the wing.
I donāt think so tim
Thought it was ankle that he landed badly on during a marking contest that Draper took? They had his ankle strapped with ice.
I heard that too actually, then someone here said hammy.
lets say its a leg injury, bordering amputation.
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He is disappointing, it is either injuries or fitness, must be the curse of pick 6. No one can complain though, in his draft year blitz went crazy over him and were desperate for him and were equally delighted when we got him.
His best is awesome and game changing, then there is the rest of his gameā¦
Massively disrespectful to Ambrose. Guy has limited skills but seemingly enormous work ethic.
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He is what he is.
Stop anchoring expectations to the draft pick.
Stop comparing him to whatever player you feel is the best in that draft.
If only Francis had half of Ambroseās fitness
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So much for my hope that he would force his way into the senior team with 4 -5 rounds to go and then be a wild card for us during the final series. Onus now firmly on him, has all the tools to be outstanding, still believe he will make a serious impact next season.
If youāre not worried about his development youāre kidding yourself. If anything he seems to have backwards this year.
Has great hands but misreads the ball in flight way too often.
People hate comparing draft picks but ā ā ā ā that. He will never be the player Curnow will. You can mark that down. FWIW I was on the Curnow train so maybe Iām less invested.
The KPPās players take longer to come on is because tall kids need to fill out and get pushed off the ball too easily. Not the problem here. The kidās not fit enough to play the game and thatās a worry after two seasons.
I donāt normally rubbish any players on this site, but Iām genuinely worried.
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We pick a guy in the draft. He is frequently injured, and his fitness is on par with Noonans. We give him two years and see almost no improvement.
If the pick used was pick 46 rather than 6 Blitz (apart from the VFL nerds) would be screaming for him to be delisted.
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Lads, fitness isnt black and white.
Francis is a power athlete with fast twitch fibres.
aFL requires elite endurance. Some players are not physically able to reach this, they struggle with muscle recovery contest to contest.
Doesnāt mean he is lazy.
Does mean he has a significant weakness.
Natanui is exactly the same. But he is a freak so he gets away with it.
To play defence he is gonna have to build a tank, may take a long time. To play utility or like Stringer he may be able to get by with a poorer tank. This is the Challenge of picking his best position.
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