He is such a reliable shot on goal.
Dream time is gonna be embarrassing.
1 Like
Whereâs the all of the above option?
This is probably where someone like sheeds would probably sign up tex and throw him in (pump him up and back him in) even though he might not have the conditioning - heâd back his pedigree to activate those genes when the time comesâŚmight end up being a masterstroke or failâŚbut heâd have the vision and creativity to try these things for sure.
Wishing him all the best for a speedy recoveryâŚhe will still be my most favorite player even if heâs at home watching the game on TV
3 Likes
Round 1 is March 19th > so from start time of apparent injury 13weeks away
If injury recovery time is 6-8wks then really it shouldnât be any problem at all assuming he sticks to a program both fitness/diet wise.
Obviously not ideal wonât get the full preseason but there is no reason he canât be right for round 1 or even for some preseason games.
IF for whatever reason he isnât for early part of season then we will just rejig our fwd line a little from what Iâd see as the preferred 4 smaller types in Tippa, Smith, Snelling & Shiel to Smith, Snelling, Shiel & Perkins/Guelfi
Who knows perhaps Tom Hird might even be pressing his case for a early season debut
4 Likes
What is certain is that we shouldnât roll him out at AFL level if he is in a similar mindset and physical condition to what he was in the back half of last season before he was dropped/given leave.
Get him right mentally and physically before selecting him, however long that takes and from there aim for a season of sustained performance where heâs at the top of his game still come the business end.
1 Like
Im not optimistic about this at all.
Player who had fitness issues all of last year, fell into a rut mentally, stacked on the weight, came back unfit, gets the old man calf injury, out for a couple of months.
If there is not close and very specific attention given to Walla at this point by the club, I reckon you can write off 2022 for him, and who knows what happens from there.
Really not feeling good about any portion of whats happened here.
Would not be shocked if we have seen the last of him as a regular and noted contributor.
4 Likes
Regardless of the Injury he still has the means available to lose the weight. Swimming, cycling, even walking with a proper diet plan in place will drop the extra Kgâs very fast. Lots of people drop significant amounts of weight through calorie control alone. Exercise is just the icing on the cake when it comes to it, Its the old saying you cant outrun a bad diet.
His aerobic fitness is what will hold him back from playing early in the year if he does those things above correctly.
Even then if he sticks to a plan he could easily be playing by round 3/4.
This will literally all depend on if he knuckles down eats right and drops the weight by the time he can start to run properly again. Good luck Tippa.
2 Likes
Personally i would have Walla start a pre season again when calf is right and make sure he is right to go from about round 8 onwards. If he can finish the 2nd half of year fit and firing⌠that will go a long way to us going well at the business end of the season. We did ok in manufacturing goals this year when he was out. Langford for me is close to top 5 most important player in our team with his genuine scoring flexibility. He finds space really well up forward and is deadly with accuracy. Not discounting Baldwinâs mobility and Francis much improved fitness. Theres no rule you have to play a small player⌠you need mobile players that constantly are on the move and can apply defensive pressure.
15 Likes
He didnât have fitness issues all of last year. Or at least if he did, they didnât stop him being one of the top few small forwards in the league for the first couple of months of the season. He clearly fell away to the point that he wasnât playing, but he started very well.
2 Likes
Yup, not indicative of fitness issues at all hey?
He was cooked. Couldnt break out of a light job for most games.
Lol Hobbs is not a small forward.
He had the ability to rest in a forward pockets for a few minutesâŚâŚ
Absolutely laughable.
You know itâs going to be Hobbs and you will like it. Plus he did kick 4 goals in a seniors grand final as a 15 year.
If someone starts an AFL season fit, and then drops away, that doesnât mean that they werenât fit at any point. If he was averaging 2.5 goals and 3.5 tackles (first 8 games of the season) barely getting out of a light jog, then god help us if he ever gets fit.
2 Likes
franga went 4.5 in a TAC u18s game. we should paly him forward.
Yeah so he had fitness to sustain him for a third of the year and then teetered off almost completely to the point where he may as well have not been playing. Season is a marathon, not a sprint. He didnt have the levels required to sustain him for the seasons duration, therefore not fit enough.
Nic Cox should be our small forward
4 Likes
Well, okay. If being fit is playing all year then he didnât do that so he had fitness issues all year. Which I guess he will this year too because he wonât start super fit so he wonât be able to play all year so even if he finishes in peak shape he will have had fitness issues all year.
Im not sure what point youre trying to make tbh. He was unfit for the majority of the season. Sure he was playing good footy at some point, but for the majority his body let him down, he had fitness issues. Dont think it needs to be any more complicated than that?