I want Francis to understand and work on what he has been sent back to the 2’s for, then come back and stay in the side till he retires. Is that too much to ask?
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thats an assumption based on nothing at all, i would have thought. how do you know what he’s thinking
Nope it’s not.
I told my Blues mad, and fellow football and golf tragic brother-in-law late last season, that Francis was the most talented player I had ever seen in an Essendon jumper, ever.
He looked at me incredulously, so I repeated it…and then Francis showed a glimpse of what he can do in the last 3-4 games of the season.
My brother-in-law doesn’t challenge me on my statement now, just wants to know what’s wrong with him/why isn’t he in the team.
In the 1980’s you could get away on sheer talent alone. But you can’t in the modern game. It is all hard work, a grind. As a junior I’ve got little doubt Francis got by on his monumental talent because you can when football is a hobby and a joy and no one is a professional.
Suddenly, get to the AFL, and it is all weights, running, game plans, minutes played, 24/7 scrutiny in the media…and yes, plenty of money for the short time you’re wanted as a player.
I’m not sure many AFL players get much joy out of the game today. It’s a job.
And I’m not sure that suits someone like Francis who seems to me, an outsider, to thrive on the sheer joy of simply playing and flying for marks.
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Yeah, I’m with you. He was my #1 pick for his draft year.
He’s got to be carrying something.
He was ok this year but no where near last years form. He was also getting a lot of work from the physios in the games he played.
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This is a bit much. He’s a good player, sure, but you can’t make a call like this about a kid with 13 games under his belt that can’t crack the senior side at the moment.
I think Francis is a victim of circumstance. The 6/6/6 rule has killed the role of intercept markers, forcing those players to become more accountable and less able to roam or peel off. A guy like McGovern doesn’t have an issue making that change.
Francis, on the other hand, needs to make the same adjustments as Sicily has had to make (Sicily has struggled to do this), Lever will have to change the way he plays too. Francis needs to become a defensive stopper first and interceptor second. Towards the end of last year he did the total opposite, making his name primarily as an inteceptor.
Francis is not strong enough 1 on 1 to take a kp spot and isnt nimble enough to play the rebounding mid defender ably played by Ridley and Redman,
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I could and I did.
It was based on my assessment of his sheer talent which, as I pointed out in a previous post, isn’t a guarantee he will make it as a modern day AFL player.
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Talent personified, but not sure the will or want especially in the modern day climate will be their 100%. I’m definitely going to have the shreds torn off me here but I’d be happy to entertain a trade if it were half decent 
I can understand why.
His talent will be the lure for any club, especially Adelaide as they plunge down the ladder.
And his contract ends this year.
If he doesn’t “make it” this year I’d guess that he is as much a chance to walk away from AFL as he is to be traded.
No point doing something you don’t enjoy day after day even if it is closer to home.
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The weight of expectation?
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Worst Kyle Langford thread ever!
And there are a few.
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Exactly. He’s probably our 3rd? most talented defender, but not in our top 6-7 best performed.
That’ll change.
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You think we’ll get some other blokes with more talent so he’s no longer 3rd?
Langford’s issue isn’t that he doesn’t get to enough contests, it’s that he doesn’t have the craft nor the inclination to crack in hard enough to get the ball. He’s always there, just never demands or compels himself to win the footy.
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Spot on. Poor bugger doesn’t have the height, speed or endurance to add as a second string to his bow.
Spot on. As a key defender/shut down he really needs to work on he’s competitiveness and hunger for the contest. I remember being in Geelong watching a relo play against him in the nationals, he was opposed to schache, I remember thinking how good the kid was until he had to lockdown as a defender, 4 goals and about 8 marks against him in a qtr I questioned whether he could become just that
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Poor bugger?
You guys are right off tap.
The dude is about to make millions playing AFL football over the next decade, hopefully with us.
Why isn’t he in the team? Roles + Ambrose is killing it rn.
Also Langford is actually good.
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Fantastic viewing.
He is going to be so dangerous from the opposition point kick-out.
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Hope so… he’s as natural a footballer as we have on the list. Still wouldn’t mind seeing him have a go at half forward.
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