i had him in the sights too.
I know he has another year but I am surprised he survived.
At the very least they should have put him on the rookie list.
Won’t be at all surprised if he is delisted at the end of next season.
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A bit extreme, a pick 48 doesn’t come on as hoped in his very first year, shocking turn of events
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Yep. Had one year. That’s a very strange position to take.
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Just calling it as I see it.
Won’t make it in my opinion.
Really?
Imagine if Carlton has the same thoughts of a first year player with Kade Simpson who struggled massively, you can’t judge kid on their first season.
From accounts of others, his major problem seems to be his work ethic. he seems to be pretty middle of the road at VFL level. hes worth a go for another year.
For mine he is to apprehensive with the groundballs and I’m not sure that can be fixed.
Looks like he’s protecting himself. Bit like Alex Morgan.
I know he has some nice AFL traits but some things you just can’t teach.
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I agree with you in part, still a wait and see how year 2 goes.
Found he would get the ball and embrace the tackle straight up, no attempt to do anything but get tackled. You see other players bend to pick up the ball with arms straight up after to clear with handball…or sometimes a small spin move…he doesn’t have that. Also never saw any of his leap.
Big preseason and a more productive season 2 needed
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Yep, even in open play with no one with ten mtrs and he wouldn’t reach down for the ball. He would generally just track it until somebody else came in and swept it away.
I saw that numerous times throughout the year.
As a mid its unacceptable but as a medium sized forward it needs to be your bread and butter unless you are going to mark absolutely everything in site.
I know its an extreme position to take but i think he wont make it unfortunately and I actually liked his draft package video when we drafted him.
His work ethic is highly questionable.
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We did the same with Yestin Eades. I think we did it with one other first year player in the last 5 years or so but can’t remember who.
Obviously the club has a lot more info to base these decisions on, such as how the player works etc…
On VFL form so far he seems a very long way off it. Although he did seem to save his best VFL game for his last one so hopefully he’s got plenty of improvement in him.
Not sure where he really fits though. If he’s a medium forward I don’t see who he pushes out to even become depth, let alone make the team.
Can he play as a small pressure forward?
Not that it always takes, or happens, but as as a blanket premise, those things are just not true.
Everything can be fixed & anything can be taught.
He’s had 1 interrupted year after suffering concussion for a few weeks at least, is undersized and needs some serious pre seasons to bulk up, and clearly to build fitness, being one that was deemed needing a week off at one point.
He’s always been considered a Long term project, … you even said so yourself.
One of the club people, my memory says Paul Cousins, said his main issue was getting hold of the ball. This was seen as a common issue for lightly build kids. Other than that, the vibe was positive.
What I took from that is a pre-season of bulking up will allow him to be more competitive and win more of his own ball. If he’s got the work ethic, he should do well once he’s developed an AFL size physique.
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Not sure taking a quote from early in the year is relevant.
As I said I had reasonable hopes for him when we drafted him but I saw some really bad signs.
What makes you think he’s worth persevering with?
It is unfair to write him off based on his first year although he really struggled to find his feet. Was given a role that was new to him with a focus on tackle pressure/crumbing as opposed to flying for marks and being a focal point forward.
Will be interesting to see how he goes next year. Dylan Clarke had the advantage of a significant role change this year which sparked improvement whereas I don’t see Houlahan getting the same option.
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Where are the reports of poor attitude and laziness actually coming from?
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I believe when in doubt we put them on the wing…
As for Houlahan - I hope he does put in the required effort. I don’t normally pick players as a “my player” but I liked how he moved in the drafting clips and thought he moved like a natural footballer. So I’d like to see him succeed. He’s on an AFL list, which is a big opportunity. Up to him now to make the most of the opportunity to see how good he can be. Doesn’t hurt to have a successful AFL career.
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Well, because of the reasons I stated, …
… and the fact he’s only been at it for ONE year.
I don’t know how anyone could judge him to stay or go at this point.
This too, I’d forgotten that.
I think it’d be more from the ‘Langford factor’, making judgments watching the way he plays as opposed to training/off field stuff.