Training report - Monday 8 February 2021

andrewb · February 9, 2021, 2:32am

Houli_Dooli:

nackers:

rom what I have seen of Cox he has been very good in gereral contested situations with ground balls, regularly able to pick up the ball cleanly and dispose efficiently.

The main knock on him at this stage would be his physicality both in marking and contested situations, and there would be a question over his ability to accumulate possessions which won’t be answered until we see some actual game time.

But some of his running looks absolutely elite, and his ability to run past players and create space will surely be a great asset.

He’s a little similar to Tom Jok from a couple of years ago with his running, the big difference being Jok had the tank but struggled to go above 3/4 pace whereas Cox can consistely run at a high pace.

Thats potentially a problem playing against key position players who are his height, but he would be as heavy as most wingers and has a height advantage.

Interesting comparison to Jok.

Guys who are much taller than others that play in their position tend to go one of two ways:

Best case: They have a unique set of physical attributes that makes them able to do everything that the little blokes can do but their height makes them genuinely special eg Aaron Sandilands, Patrick Cripps, Matthew Richardson when he was playing on the wing, Kevin Durant as a 7 foot small forward in the NBA, Magic Johnson as a 6’9” point guard.
Usual case: They aren’t quite quick enough or agile enough to keep up with others in their position but their height makes them serviceable and a point of difference eg Mason Cox, Manute Bol, Mark Eaton. You sacrifice a bit when they’re on the field/court but you gain a bit too, so it’s a matchup thing.

From what Nackers has been reporting (thanks @nackers, you are a star) it would appear we may have drafted the former. If we can turn this guy into a mobile winger who can compete at ground level, run all day, take marks around the ground and drift forward or fill the hole in the back line then we have a real point of difference. Exciting.

nackers · February 9, 2021, 2:33am

Yes that pretty well sums up what I have been seeing and my thoughts on his potential.

Milanista28 · February 9, 2021, 2:39am

If he develops as we all hope he’ll become a nightmare match up.

Humbert_Humbert · February 9, 2021, 2:41am

Only watched him live for 10 minutes but I thought Cox showed he had a footy brain. Won the ball and knew what to do with it. Remember too that he’s got 0 games of VFL under his belt and was up against guys who’ve been in the system for years.

I want to reiterate how good Nick Bryan looked on Saturday. Phillips isn’t a superstar but he’s big, experienced and hard to move under the ball, and Bryan was engaging him physically at throw ins. You’d expect the skinny kid to have his nuts handed to him but he easily held his own.

Ants · February 9, 2021, 3:45am

We really really really need to have nailed our recent 1st and 2nd round picks. If Mozzie, Jones, Bryan, and our 2020 high picks can reach high levels we’ll be really well placed.

If we then got something out of Ham, Cahill, Hird, McBride, Johnson and Brand that would be icing.

chef · February 9, 2021, 3:49am

I found that weird too.

I thought Jok had some interesting attributes.

dons1972 · February 9, 2021, 4:06am

Brings back memories of when we ran Max Crow (6’4" was tall back then) on the wings at Windy Hill.
He was so much taller than the opposition wingers and would out mark them in every contest.
Here’s hoping.

Marty002 · February 9, 2021, 4:16am

Same goes for that idiot in BrisVegas.

choppsuey · February 9, 2021, 4:22am

I believe it’s pronounced “Brisbogan”

Marty002 · February 9, 2021, 4:25am

I stand corrected.

Heppelltitis · February 9, 2021, 5:52am

Langford has 1 wing sewn up. So down to Cox or Ham for me. Lol that we might end up going with Ham as the more mature body.

Hopefully Cox plays a lot, and Ham when he needs a break.

Houli_Dooli · February 9, 2021, 6:01am

Langford might start on a wing.
but he will be flexible - with Stringer out and Lav in defence, might even see Langford do spells at wing and half forward, with Ham or Zaharakis coming off the bench/small forward and wing. Langford will be the mid that kicks 1 goal a game for us.

Ants · February 9, 2021, 6:02am

Well, arguably Zerrett could spend more time on the wing if some of his inside time is taken by Caldwell, Heppell and a fit Stringer.

Heppelltitis · February 9, 2021, 6:12am

Oh I certainly hope so. Have been banging on about that for years. I’d also consider him off a hbf even.
But it’s been conditioned out of me, to believe the coaches might see what’s bleedingly obvious and play Zerrett there. So it’s best for my sanity if I just leave him off the list.

Clone_Hirdy · February 9, 2021, 6:14am

I don’t want to be disrespectful to Bryan, but Phillips is 201cm 98kg. He is 10-12kg lighter than the premier ruckman around the comp. Body on body is not really his thing. Draper is 107kg as a comparison.

Jake_Brady_10 · February 9, 2021, 8:24am

Basically was last year

Humbert_Humbert · February 9, 2021, 8:37am

Tim English is 93kg, Nankervis is 102kg, Stef Martin is 103kg, Brodie Grundy (who is, incidentally, the premier ruckman in the comp) is 100kg, … Phillips at 98kg isn’t exactly an outlier.

RTBC · February 9, 2021, 8:54am

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good pessememe.

bombershopefulin21 · February 9, 2021, 10:24am

There is a long way to go before anyone is right or wrong about our recruits. At this time of the year one can be forgiven being bullish about our recruits,. However, only time will tell who makes it and who does not. Let’s keep our fingers crossed as we are so desperate for talent.

Clone_Hirdy · February 9, 2021, 10:30am

Only 2 ruckman I checked prior to making that statement were Nick Nat who is 110kg and Max Gawn 109kg.