That is an incisive and βcolourfulβ comment
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The club needs to take Lav, Langford, Francis and Redman out for a nice steak dinner in the next week or two
Sit them down and ask them what they want to be remembered for during their at Essendon
Make them well aware just how important they are to the club moving forward and make them well aware of exactly what it takes to become an elite AFL footballer
All four have the tools, it is just a matter of whether they are willing to apply themselves to the cause
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Played a lot better when up the ground this year.
Looking forward to 2018.
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Except the guy cant mark or kick for goal
we have no idea what he is. 2 years that could have been good development years wrecked by serious injuries.
The games we got into him this year were a bonus but his form was irrelevant. He had no time to adjust. 3 games in the VFL with a bag of 6 and then some fluff games at the end where we hoped heβd pick up the pace.
This preseason is massive for him though. Get him through that and avoid playing any games against Geelong at all costs.
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He is also possible the worst set shot in the club, Hooker included.
At least my guys have at least on decernable AFL level skill as apposed to just looking physically impressive.
Whats the point of kicking good if you never get the ball?
Lav does neither
Iβd say 6 goals in the vfl in one game the game that lead to his call up has been better than anything longβs done his entire career.
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Lav had one strong game in the VFL, was rushed back and never seemed up to the pace at all.
No doubt his physical stature plays a part, but he doesnβt 'playβstrong.
Confident an injury free preseason/first part of the season will help show us exactly when he has to offer.
10 goals in 2 games is more than 1 strong game.
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I maintain that people forget that he missed 14 weeks with a very serious injury for a kid whoβs footy is largely built on explosiveness and lateral movement. To say nothing of the loss of aerobic capacity in an athlete to whom such things are apparently hard won anyway.
Heβs had such little continuity in his first few years that all of us - both supporters and doubters- are guessing as to his ceiling.
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Wrong. Set shots prior to injury looked very very solid. Has a nice kicking action so should fix any inaccuracy with continuity.
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βJayden got a clip over the head while marking the ball in the air and he landed so awkwardly that his boot actually snapped,β Crow said.
"Heβs got an injury to the inside of his ankle, the medial ligament, and also an injury to the flexor retinaculum, which is a sheet that goes across the front of the ankle.
βThe first part of that injury is only of moderate concern for us but the flexor retinaculum is something we rarely see, so weβre getting an opinion from a specialist tonight about the best way forward in managing that.β
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100% agree Sal.
Plenty to work with in Lav, but I see him as a midfielder who pushes forward, rather than a permanent forward.
Needs more fitness base to do that, but Iβm as bullish about him as just about anyone outside the 22 that played on Saturday.
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I think he is doing all he can considering the injury setbacks he has had. Playing games at AFL level is not the be all and end all and can sometimes hurt a players development vs playing in the VFL. He kicked 6 goals against a very week side in the VFL and was brought into the AFL side to early after such a long injury layoff. He wasnβt up to it, this knocked the kids confidence. Hence the thumbles dropped marks and wayward shots on goal, he would have been better off playing more games in the VFL side.
I recon himself and Langford will both be very good AFL players, I am hopeful but not convinced that it will be as full time midfielders.
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Courtney Johns kicked 8 in a vfl game once
I agree, but I worry about the deficiencies in his basic skill set
Iβm still amused how we talk about βmidsβ and βforwardsβ.
If you take out our key position players everyone else is pretty much a midfielder these days. Mids also need to play defence given how zones work and they can also push forward.
LAV needs to improve but arguing if heβs a mid or a forward is a bit old fashioned when he needs to be good at both.
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