Kicked a ripper crumbing snap in the first quarter. Pounced on the ball like lightning.
Iām not not sure about whether he is in our academy. My gut feel is that he isnāt but is still eligible as an NGA due to his Tiwi links.
I watched this weeks game and Iām afraid he hardly touched it. One or two nice one touch pickups and a great tackle on Jake Long. For one quarter Cooper was matched up on Long (on the wing) resulting in a nil all draw. Long was better in defense where he played as a key position back in the first. All up Jake had a mediocre day.
Clearly Cooper has all the tricks and it should be noted how difficult it is for a 17yo to back up against men 2 weeks in a row, but to make it to the next level he will have to improve his tank and competitiveness.
It staggers me that there isnāt a chase and tackle exhibition in the NTFL like there is for run and carry and fluke goals. If these players want a chance at the big time, and they may not want that, they must show an appetite for defensive pressure and run down tackling.
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Thanks Pev. Hope we get him on our NGA. His rising star game was full of sensational highlights.
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This is by far my favourite thread on Blitz at the moment.
Thanks @Pevster & others
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Of course it was a different time then, but it just shows again how incredible it was for Timmy Watson to not only do that, but to do well in the best competition in the country as a FIFTEEN year old.
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You are absolutely right.
The flip side of the coin is 24 year olds in the same competition probably donāt belong on an AFL list unless they are tearing the competition to shreds.
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Potentially the pick of our NGA prospects, Josh Eyre will be in our NGA in 2020.
A key forward from Calder was also added to the AFL academy like Brand. He was listed at 194cm but Iām sure he is taller than that now.
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Is Brand eligible this year? Is he likely to be picked?
So does that mean next year weāll be looking at points for Brand, Eyre + Daveys ++ others?
eligible 2020 draft
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Points maybe - depends where they go, likely at best 2nd / third rounders so minimal points for Brand and other academy guys just depends how they perform next year mainly.
Daveys a few years off read above only 15
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ā¦ and the AFL will change the FS rules that year they qualify.
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would be nice if for twin father sons you get a 2 for 1 special.
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They can share a bank account and get paid the same salary like the Morris twins from the NBA
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Never thought Iād see the day where we had more Irishmen on our list than Indigenous guys.
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Iām surprised that youāre surprised by that
The key when scouting NTFL prospects given itās a totally different style of play compared to the rest of the state leagues is donāt focus too much on city prospect things like how much a particular guy gets the ball or tank. Look for AFL quality skill sets. Few years back I shared a scoring system I used when rating players across the leagues to try and account for the differences in quality of competition. Most NTFL guys are going to have speed. Look at things like tackling intent, how well they work into space and dispose under pressure, balance etc. You may only see examples of these things a handful of times per game, but you need to forecast how these skills are going to develop once in a professional environment.
Adams game improved a tonne from only minor exposure to the higher level. Thatās why he has ended up on the radar of a number of clubs.
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Our use of the VFL list needs to be a lot more creative than it has been since going solo.
At the very least we should be giving 3 or 4 guys an opportunity at training with the VFL boys where they would learn a heap.
Iām kind of surprised that the entire VFL hasnāt given more NT prospects a go, especially considering the VFL doesnāt really have very many small forwards or defenders who are genuine excitement machines.
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