was he off at the start of the third? his second quarter was fantastic
If Jones can get 2 more years, then Lual should get a 10 year deal!
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Remember when he was selected as an emergency and we all went, āwhat for?ā
And then he got a called up and we were doubly stumped?
How wrong we were.
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Blitz is never wrong. However, sometimes our views are only 2nd best.
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He is current day proof that the VFL and our development are lacking massively.
Had he stayed in the VFL he was probably looking down the barrel of being delisted.
Heās been excellent since heās been in the 1sts.
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VFL player selected at AFL level and performs well is not proof our development is poor.
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Time to try Alwyn again and see if the same applies. Sad if bs has already written him off
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What an odd conclusion to reach given how Lual has actually come from the VFL and been able to adapt reasonably well to the next level.
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Did you watch his season in the VFL prior to being called up?
I havenāt watched him much at all, but understood he was pretty average in the VFL.
They have then taken a smallish risk, changed tac and exposed him to higher intensity footy at AFL level where he seems to have responded well and is at least showing a bit.
To me, that is what good development looks like - adjusting and tailoring strategies for individual players to extract the best version of that player.
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And Iām not clapping the overall development credentials the club is running with atm either.
Far from impressed at the way Perkins, Tsatas and Hobbs are withering away - all have a lot more to offer and have been mishandled in different ways.
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After watching him at vfl level I thought he would be an easy delist, my bad, certainly worth persisting with. Well done young man.
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I think nobody saw him play a great game in the VFL, but he looks at home in the AFL - hopefully he can keep building on it.
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I thought he played similar in the vfl when on the wing this year. Worked hard, good below his knees, good hands and a good side step in traffic, he just had at least 2 brain fades by foot each game which annoyed people.
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Has the skillset to play a few roles too
Agreed. I donāt think heās performing that differently to VFL. I do think heās helped by players following the team structure better at AFL, which simplifies his decisions. This has reduced the errors.
Oh, and at AFL fans rate the guys heās doing a defensive job on much higher than someone they donāt know at VFL level and who is therefore a hack.
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Well thatās a weird take.
Shakes head. Moves on.
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Wow.
I mean Luwow!
You know weāre a one paced team, when you can add a guy like Lual to the team and he looks a million bucks.
Good on him tho. His disposal has been excellent and his attack and pressure has been fantastic.
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I think he has great instinct of what spaces to get to and when. also has some natural subtle movements as he gets more experience and games he will flourish
Youāre welcome to your opinion.
I donāt see it that way. There are positions played in AFL that are tougher to guage at VFL.
Wing is one position. High half forward is another.
Wing in particular is vastly different at VFL. Itās played the way it was twenty years ago where if youāre a neat kick, you can mask all other deficiencies. You just deliver to your leading forward and it youāre having a great game.
At AFL level you have to run pocket to pocket, communicate well and hand off opponents with half bank flankers. A winger at AFL is doing a lot of unrewarded running. Itās not a high disposal position. You have to work within am structure at AFL level. It doesnāt translate to VFL because half the team barely train together so thereās around 10 AFL listed players in a particular game.
I look at VFL as more of a good cardio more often than not. Donāt get me wrong, you want a player to perform, you want them to compete, etc. but unless you have a few teammates youāre trying to build some continuity with, youāll gain as much from the training sessions during the week.
With Lual at AFL level, heās thrived as others do their job within the structure at a semi decent level for him to show those other things that donāt show up at VFL level. Where heās surprised me is heās pretty disciplined and doesnāt make terrible decisions, he balances well between pushing forward and being dangerous and folding back and helping within the forward press / defensive zone. Those traits in particular donāt show up at VFL level because you canāt rely on your teammates the same way as you do at AFL level. Obviously, the game against Geelong was a total shitshow and when a majority of players are getting beaten by their direct opponent, a winger is unlikely to be as effective.
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