#9 Dylan Shiel (Part 1)

Its the burst away from the contest thats so, so good

I cant remember a essendon midfielder being able to break away from the contest like he does

7 Likes

Give him a pay rise

1 Like

In all seriousness, there haven’t been many players that have his speed at a stoppages. Period.

It really is something else, just got to keep working on the kick i50. Loved it when he pulls them short tho

More vids and gifs please!!

There were a few question marks from blitz about whether he would reach AA level again and whether he could be an elite mid.

Let’s put that to bed now.

In 2017 he was a top 10 player and by the end of this year he will be considered that again.

He’s an elite mid.

3 Likes

As they said in the commentary in the replay we destroyed North Melbourne off half back and in the middle.

The amazing thing was we destroyed North in 20 minutes starting with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter.

Its like we turned on a switch and engaged overdrive . Shiel was the key driver, with about 5 inside 50s then after we got to about 50 points in front, we dropped back to a lower gear.

Its entirely believable, when Dev said Shiel could step up a gear from where he was at last week.

Stunning

PS. I had Shiel BOG, because of the way he turned the game. But Zerret was also absolutely brilliant, and all 3 worked incredibly well together.

5 Likes

He was $67 pre season

Was into $34

Will go lower IMHO

Early days, but perhaps some credit goes to Woosha here. As good as Judd was early at WCE, he benefited enormously from setups that played to his strengths. At times we appear to clearing a similar path for Shiel to zip through- maximising his assets and (hopefully) looking after his shoulders.

2 Likes

Might throw $100 on him at those odds.

Give it another couple of weeks and he will be under $10

I just got him at $41. Worth a pineapple.

2 Likes

He isn’t as good as Merrett. And Merret isn’t top 10 yet.

What Shiel does is spectacular and always has been, that’s why he is talked about so much, he has some rare talents.

But Merrett is a more rounded footballer

3 Likes

That’s subjective.

I think Sheil is harder to tag than Merrett and also has totally different dynamic.

I love them both though.

1 Like

He always talks down Shiel, that’s his thing.

Myers is protecting the kids and Shiel’s shoulders?

Watson was pretty explosive.

He’s so versatile!

8 Likes

The way Merret, Shiel & Hepp looked last game, is like they looked at training sessions we reported. That’s why it seemed like we were talking ■■■■ after our first two games. Now you know.

6 Likes

Oh my hat. Of course it is subjective.

Shiel has amazing stoppage and centre bounce craft. In fact, he has a skill set that is up their with Dangerfield, Ablett, Martin, Judd etc when it comes to offensive impact.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe he has reached the heights of these players because he doesn’t have any other outstanding attributes. If he did he would be one of the greats, but he isn’t.

Zerret on the other hand, has a multitide of above average characteristics that makes him a more rounded player and a player I expect to get even better now Shiel is in the team.

I have always said that the measure of Shiels impact on our team will not be restricted to Shiels output alone but also to Zerrets. So far his impact has been profound.

@IceTemple I have always maintained that Shiels perceived skills are better than his actual skills because of how he moves. His kicking in the first 5 weeks would confirm that.

The key difference that separates the two for me is that Shiel likes to attack and he moves the ball forward fast, which forwards love.

He then follows up his own work and gets forward himself.

I love Zach but if there is an area he can improve on, that is getting forward more and putting on scoreboard pressure.

Shiel has had 5 shots at goal and they have all been points but 2 of those were posters. If he nails even just those two and he becomes a real weapon. He also has a very high ratio of score involvements and assists over his career.

I think Shiels kicking has let him down but I put that down to a few key things:

Playing at a new club and learning how they move.
The increased workload with all the stoppage work and bursting away from stoppages.
Still acclimatising to the new 666 rule and best way to take advantage of it.

Over the last few years we have been known as a side that likes to build from the back and take off through the corridor. Over the last few rounds we have almost evened up how much we score from stoppages against how much we score from turnovers and back half launches.

That I put down to mostly Shiel’s influence and that has made us now a multi dimensional side and incredibly unpredictable.

He is the exact player we have needed for the last 10 years and we are only just scratching the surface of what he brings to the side.

Zach is probably a better footballer but Shiel makes us a better side.
Love them both.

7 Likes