04-09-2019, 01:00 AM
(04-09-2019, 12:47 AM)Professer E link Wrote:I watched Cripps' first game, for the NBs, and he was horribly slow, and looked unfit. But he stood up in the last quarter, won vital clearances and took a big mark in the square to win the game. He dragged that team across the line. He clearly had "it", although he wasn't ready physically. The kid was clearly a footballer looking to develop athletic prowess. He knew where to go for a kick, and just how he hard to go to get it. He had footy smarts, understood the physicality required and spent his petrol tickets wisely.
Some of our kicks have had injuries which have stymied their physical development and game time, but I can't believe we'd draft spuds and lazy blokes in the first place. Given Walshs'gut running I don't see our kids lacking in that area. For some they just need time to develop the base, injuries haven't helped.
My worry with OBrien is he looks an athlete first and footballer second. Like so many kids he looks shocked by the speed and physicality of senior footy. So why hasn't he been given a grounding to redress this? I know that physicality and being an outside runner seem to be mutually exclusive, but it's not kiddie football, the reality is that it's a hard game and you need to be mentally and physically prepared for it.
So there is no debate - O'Brien should not have been playing senior footy last year and at 17 other clubs he wouldn't have gotten a game (most likely). But he clearly went past Dow last season and by the end of the year put in 2 exceptional performances that showed me why SOS drafted him.