Begley didn’t have high accumulation games in the VFL… or anything close to them.
Neither did Guelfi, but at least Guelfi had more moments of stardom than Begley at that level.
Guelfi 2 VFL games, named in bests 0 times
Begley 15 VFL games, named in bests 6 times
Plus Guelfi is 2 years older, with 2 full years of WAFL under his belt.
Stats…
Worse, VFL stats. No way Begley was in the legit best 40% of the time.
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VFL bests stats are useless. More often than not the guy wasn’t the best but is being encouraged, rewarded for doing a job, achieving a target etc. More often than not all the coaches don’t even agree on who was best.
No disrespect to Hocking but I was shocked when he won the B&F.
He played mostly off half back that year and averaged about 12 disposals.
He’s hardly the type to slice you open with those 12 disposals either.
Maybe not. He did have some moments of stardom though, legit or otherwise.
I’m talking about accumulating possessions, which is definitely not his number one skill.
Sorry that was if Begley were to spend time this year in the vfl midfield and produce a similar output to Langford’s midfield exposure in the VFL.
Kicking a winning goal against the Crows last year…I’d call that a moment of stardom.
Oh maybe that doesn’t count as it was in the seniors & not the VFL
No, that’s called kicking the winning goal, not stardom.
Begley will be better to spend bulk time playing midfield in the VFL for half a season - Let him add more strings to his bow as it could take him time to get his mojo back after his long injury absence.
Has he gotten the ball more than 20 times a game at VFL/AFL level? If not I’d suggest that ball winning ability may not be a strong suit of his.
Its not that simple.
He hasn’t played as a permanent midfielder so its more a lack of opportunity.
Granted it is a question mark but he has natural ball hunting ability in my opinion and he is obviously extremely fit.
The question is whether he has the natural game instincts to run to the right spots when the ball is in transition.
I’m not advocating him for the midfield / yet. He is a fwd & that’s where I would play him.
His stats compare with other young fwds - the exception is he averages one goal & one goal assist a game. Langford’s disposals for same sample earlier in his careers were worse, and he had half almost a 1/3 the number of goals and 1/4 goal assists.Begley is very efficient at getting a score or helping others get a score
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Spread is important but I’d like to see him in VFL win it in stoppages, in congestion and showing he can chase down runners. I think if he can go into the AFL show that he can win it inside 50 off the pack and in dispute and provide pressure on the rebound.
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His work rate, awareness and skill level are first rate. The rest will fall into place. I see him going a lot further than most of the other young guys we have.
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He can do that no problem.
I have watched him closely around stoppages in the forward half of the ground and he is a natural ball hunter.
Keeps his centre of gravity low and hits the fall of the ball with speed and muscles through.
I liken him to a Dan Hannebery in style. Nice balance of inside ability as well as smooth on the outside.
I’ve got zero question marks on this FWIW.
Granted, he naturally gravitates to the inside rather than the outside.
He just needs to get a bit more consistently involved in overlap and spread. That will come, with midfield time.
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I have no doubt that after 5 games of full time midfield in the VFL he will be selected for an AFL best 22 midfield spot.
Kiddin’
Who is he replacing?
Even if our bench mids (assuming 7th def as 4th player) were Langford, Myers and Parish he wouldn’t get past them. Just going to have to bide his time and wait for opportunity.
Development as a midfielder isn’t going to happen in 5 games.
Begley being overhyped by many IMO.
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