Yep.
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He wouldnāt be playing at all if he had no interest in āgetting backā .
Too many assumptions being made about what heās thinking.
Yesterday wouldāve been a step up in the kilometers covered from the previous game. Heās had off field issues, then the inevitable injuries, then Covid. Covid isnāt an easy path for all of us.
Donāt write him off yet
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Well said
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We in BlitzLand do this far too often.
No immediate results, delist.
I agreeā¦give the guy some time.
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Footy has changed.
Would love to see rioliās GPS compared to that of a small forward in 2022
Dean Rioliās fitness was an impediment when he was playing, let alone now, even he acknowledged that later in his career. He was brilliant and I loved him, but if heād been more disciplined, particularly early in his career, it would have been an enduring romance rather than I Know What Hamstring You Did Last Summer
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I have lost hope of him returning to his full fitness this year, his only way back is as the sub.
Now If games schedule line up like last week, select him as the AFL Sub if he can then play VFL the following day if doesnāt get a gig so still gets enough of a run.
If we get a injury qtr 1 well so be it. heās still a extra rotation.
AFL Rotation limits have probably impacted getting an unfit tippa back in the side as well.
Heās not getting many touches in the VFL but when he does there is a good chance it results in goals.
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Also his preferred position!
McDonagh is top ten in the league for kicks due to how much our backline is getting hammeredā¦
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I think 2023 is the realistic expectation for him at this point. Season 2022 is a third over already, remember (at least for those teams who wonāt play finals, like us) and heās still a long way off.
Iām not 100% sure what personal issues heās been dealing with (and it isnāt my business or anyone elseās on here) but for him to get back into playing shape, he has to first resolve them, then reconcile the his new, improved personal life with the needs of being a professional footballer, then actually put the yards in to get back into shape. Thatās a long path to walk, and thereās no short cuts, heāll have to do it in that order.
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We wrote Nic Martin off as vanilla before he even trained. Fair to say Blitz is far better at jumping to conclusions rather than letting things play out.
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He doesnāt have a contract for 2023. I wouldnāt be giving him one either if he canāt return to senior footy prior to then.
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Depends.
I think any senior footy from Walla this year would now be a bonus, not an expectation. Thereād certainly be things the club want to see (basically that Walla is actively addressing, and making progress towards resolving or managing, HMās points above) before offering him another contract.
But there is still 4-5 months before the club even need to make the call. Theyāll give him every single chance and I think heās earned that.
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I would rather retain a bloke we know can play great footy, and give him all the support he needs to get his fitness back to the level, as opposed to retaining someone we know canāt play footy, and insist on keeping for whatever reason.
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Walla would have been fine in the 90ās. We are not in the 90ās anymoreā¦ I donāt think.
Walla is cooked. He wonāt play AFL again and the AFL will be worse for it.
Yeah with each week itās becoming more apparent heās probably done at AFL level, sadly.
Itās such a shame he still hasnāt got his condition to level required
Pretty clear he hasnāt got on top of his diet be it eating poorly or just overdoing portions (or prob both)
Can do all the training / playing games he wants but if not in calorie deficit not going to lose weight.
Even if our dieticians have plans for him not going to matter if heās not following it
Needs to sort that out if going to get back
The problem is at the moment he is playing in a side that is unfortunately bareing the brunt of all the afl listed players injuries therefore not being competitive in the vfl, thus making his job twice as hard as it should be .
Letās see how he would go along side some quality afl players
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He should have had enough games at that level to be ready for AFL by now, there is a reason he isnāt in the seniors I think.
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I still think the club will offer him a year they arent going to leave him on the scrap heap
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Well yeah they do. Otherwise they have short careers with unrealised longevity.