If he improves again, as much he has improved this year, we have a winner.
He’ll be the reason, when we get those ‘classy finishing outside mids with speed’ they get the ball!!
NOB is a ball magnet with an elite tank and a sharp mind. One of the few in the club actually. He is still improving, and he needs to stay on our list until he stops improving.And then?
Pretty obvious, as long as a midfielder keeps improving and maintains his position in the best 22, you keep him.
The rest takes care if itself.
Keep. Needs to spend all summer getting an AFL body.
From where he was at the start of the year you have to take your hat off to him and congratulate him on a great year. He’s obviously made big strides this year - another preseason and increased fitness and he could be a great player… and most of all, he doesn’t just bomb it into the forward line - a big like for mine.
It wasn’t just the 36 possessions. The number of times he put himself in really good positions to use - and wasn’t - was really frustrating. He could have had 40+ really dangerous possies.
Keep, but please cut out the blind handballs backwards over his shoulder to no-one in particular. Seems to panic and do that every time he plays seniors.
Definite keeper. Wins stacks of the ball , now starting to impact with it too. Just put a bit of pace around him.
I’ll be honest and say I didn’t notice his first 10-15 possessions yesterday, but that third quarter was amazing. I’m firmly in the keep camp, has an ability to find the ball and has been improving all year. Earned his contract, give him one Essendon.
I reckon he’d earnt another contract before yesterday, but it’s a no brainer now.
I haven’t done a total 180 on him yet, I still think his pace is an issue at senior level and as good as he was yesterday, it wasn’t senior footy.
But he has pushed himself in front of a heap of guys through the back end of this season, and I have to give him credit for that.
Will be interesting to see how much improvement he’s still got left.
I reckon he'd earnt another contract before yesterday, but it's a no brainer now.I haven’t done a total 180 on him yet, I still think his pace is an issue at senior level and as good as he was yesterday, it wasn’t senior footy.
But he has pushed himself in front of a heap of guys through the back end of this season, and I have to give him credit for that.
Will be interesting to see how much improvement he’s still got left.
Yup.
I reckon he needs to be Jobe like and get it enough (and dangerously enough) to make guys chase him. You can’t be a super slow role/fringe player.
He’s only 22. Give him another year.
liked that he finished off a step in the last from exactly the same position that kav:( missed from moments before.
in his very first pre-season game with the club his attack on the ball and man was a stand out feature. He has always had the tank and the ability to find the pill. has slowly cleaned up his disposal. also like that he is a lefty. definitely a spot for him on the list.
keep
Keep, but please cut out the blind handballs backwards over his shoulder to no-one in particular. Seems to panic and do that every time he plays seniors.
Dambuster you are spot on… You must sit close to where I watch the games from… 100% AGREE…
Gets in between and make something of it. A keeper for me.
I’ve always thought his kicking was suspect, but he did laser some lovely passes yesterday.
It’d be a huge plus if he turned out to be a high ball gathering inside player. We seriously lack them. Jobe hocking and myers are about it, but are all getting on and big questions on their durability
People bang on about his pace, but that is not necessarily the problem. It’s okay to be slow, but you have to make up for it somehow. His problem is he is slow and, despite his weight and height, not that strong.
To become a solid AFL player, he’ll need to do two things imo:
- Become strong. Either hit up Dank, or have a big pre-season in the gym. Needs to get stronger so that he can win the ball enough on the inside that his lack of pace on the outside won’t be an issue. It’ll also help him stick the tackles he has been missing.
- Use the ball more aggressively. He has a reasonable kick on him that he needs to use to hit up leads more, rather than perpetually switch play with. His instinctive handballs backwards (often to someone who isn’t even free) have to stop. Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen him get the ball and look forward first up, and he had the best game he’s played at the club as a result. Really hope he can do that consistently, though I’m worried that it’s still an issue 4 years in.
He’s up against it, but at the same time if he works on those two things then it’s possible he can become a best 22 player.
To be honest, I thought we looked like a better side in the 2nd half of the year most of the times he played well. Would definitely be giving him one more year.
Should be at Essendon in 2016 following a good second half of 2015 season.There’s about 6 or 7 ahead of him in the delisting stakes
One year deal.
I agree. At the start of the season I thought he should definitely be moved on, because he’d been at the club 3 or 4 years and didn’t look to be improving. When he started getting a regular game in the middle of the season, I still wasn’t impressed, but gradually later in the season he started looking OK. Towards the end of the season (and into the ressies finals) he was getting plenty of the ball and his disposal, which had been poor, wasn’t so bad. So in one season he’s improved enough for me to think he’s worth another year. Definite improvement from one season to another is what we’d like to see from everyone.
Keep, but please cut out the blind handballs backwards over his shoulder to no-one in particular. Seems to panic and do that every time he plays seniors.
It looks like he’s just been given one of Gils turds, can’t dispose of it quick enough