I think we need to talk about David Armitage!

[skeptic]

He debuted in 2007 and we all hoped that he would turn into an elite level midfielder for us.

Safe to say that he was somewhat underdeveloped over the Lyon years and talks of trading him bobbed up in the off-season of 2014 - to Richmond for pick 14'ish IIRC, but to my understanding this was more external than from within the club.

David backed this up with his first and consistent elite level season 2015 and we all thought our faith had paid off however he followed that up with a somewhat underwhelming 2016 at least in the sense of what he's capable of.

He's 28yo old, 150 games under his belt, firmly inside our best 22 and held in high regard both internally and amongst the Saints faithful.

Of particular note is that his work ethic and prep is first class and many think that his influence and leadership are vital to the fabric of the club.

It is also well known that we need elite level midfielders with spread and excellent, neither of which seems David's strong suit... he's more the contested possession running bull.

Looking at our mids we've got Ross, Dunstan, Acres, maybe Stevens, Newnes, and Weller all kind of cut from the same cloth but younger and not currently as good.

Did/do we overrate David?

Would he have been the right player to trade off for the right price after his value peeked?

DOn't get me wrong, I like the guy and feel like we should have played him more early on and obviously the question is moot now as he's with us for 2017 and pbly onwards. It's just I wonder about what we say/think of Armitage after he retires.

Discuss

[#gosaintas]

150 games and a warrior. What a great pick up at pick 9.

[To the top]

150 games and 89 goals

Jack Steven, by comparison, has played 134 games and kicked 88 goals.

You must be at different games to me judging by your description of Armitage, who is a bona fide leader of our Club.

[skeptic]

150 games and 89 goals

Jack Steven, by comparison, has played 134 games and kicked 88 goals.

You must be at different games to me judging by your description of Armitage, who is a bona fide leader of our Club.

His leadership qualities are beyond question.

So do you rate him as an elite midfielder in the AFL

[cwrcyn]

Armitage is an ideal midfielder for the heat of finals battles. This guy never flinches and after Riewoldt he is, for me, the first guy picked each week. Played this year through some discomfort and battled on. I can bet you that his opponents respect him enormously.

[St Plugger]

I can bet you that his opponents respect him enormously.

The absolutely correct response. Say no more!

[whiskers3614]

Like Geary is all heart...

Skill level B grade at best!

Having said that Collingwood won a flag with a C grader captaining!

[PADDLEPOP1001]

Will be better this year,injury held him back last year!

[Scollop]

I'd rate him very very high. We can win games without him but I think he's crucial if we want to beat the best teams. We all know he's a tackling machine and I think Dave's a key player if we want to make finals. If he's super fit by round 1 then he is one of our most influentual mids.

We saw with the stats from champion data how numbers of tackles by the Doggies went to another level in 2016. Hopefully his leadership and his tackling is consistent again in 2017. Dave is also above average taking contested marks against other mids and pretty reliable in front of goal. His ground ball - loose ball winning ability has always been good.

I feel like Dave cannot sitback and expect team success is a given. He needs to be a key to make it happen. I'd love to know if Dave is motivated enough to want to improve himself and get fitter than he's ever been before. I'd love to know if he burns for finals success and if he wants to be a leader who inspires others. If he and our other leaders are as passionate about team success as we (the supporters) are passionate about the club, then he can be remembered as a champion and a legend instead of just another player

[SMS]

He will be very good in 2017 as he will have steele and stevens taking some of the inside load.
He will end up a stkilda premiership player by 2019s end.

[Con Gorozidis]

Armo-Steele-Ross-Acres-Dunstan.

We are set to monster sides on the inside.

All we need is one more fast classy player on the outside and look out.

[Beno88]

Do not under estimate the injury issues he had this season. The fact that he played all 22 games is incredible.

[St Chris]

Skill level B grade at best!

Don't agree. Any perceived deficiency in skill level probably has more to do with how/where Armo gets the footy.

Armo's 2015 was elite. We've all seen what Armo's best looks like, when he is fit and injury-free.

When he hangs up the boots, we might regret we didn't see that version of him often enough.

[carn_sainter]

I can bet you that his opponents respect him enormously.

Excellent perspective.

Also, Armitage passes his coaches' scrutiny with flying colours. These two points say all that there is to be said.

He is not an offensively damaging player but he is a massive contributor and clearly an important player.

[Scollop]

Armo-Steele-Ross-Acres-Dunstan.

We are set to monster sides on the inside.

All we need is one more fast classy player on the outside and look out.

It's looking good. And maybe we don't need to recruit anyone if guys like Savage and Webster can keep improving. Quick ball movement is more important these days than simply having outside runners. Two blokes about to be handed Brownlow medals and the guy who had to hand it back aren't considered players on the outside but they do know how to distribute well. We've got the guys you mention plus Billings, Newnes, and Joey who I consider classy.

It's also too simplistic to think that adding a classy player or even 2 classy players will win you premierships. We need a great game plan and a great coaching team as well as a balanced list. I think we are still developing both as acoaching team and as far as the list is concerned, some of our players like White, DMac, Sinclair, Lonie, etc might be just as important as they gain more experience

The mids for the doggies including their mosquito fleet have developed a style which is based on quick ball movement. When it comes down to playing footy in late September, the players that are classy and can make good decisions under intense heat usually get you over the line in important games.

[BringBackMadDog]

Like Geary is all heart...

Skill level B grade at best!

Having said that Collingwood won a flag with a C grader captaining!

I don't get the knock on his skill level, he averages over 72% disposal efficiency over his entire career which is about the same as Sam Mitchell. This is exceptional for an inside mid that generally gets most of his possessions in heavy traffic.
Armo is a star and if he can get fully fit next season will lead our midfield with Ross and Steven

[SaintPav]

"We need to talk about Kevin" is about a problem child who commits mass murder.

The title of this insinuates that Dave is a problem.

Dave is far from a problem.

[skeptic]

Skill level B grade at best!

Don't agree. Any perceived deficiency in skill level probably has more to do with how/where Armo gets the footy.

Armo's 2015 was elite. We've all seen what Armo's best looks like, when he is fit and injury-free.

When he hangs up the boots, we might regret we didn't see that version of him often enough.

I guess this is kind of what I'm worried about

As this thread indicates, he's highly rated on this board to the point that a number of forumites have posted words to the effect of... see this point, nothing else needs to be said. It's bordering on quite defensive.

Have we seen enough of the best of him? Will we see more of the best of him?

[Saints43]

Armo's 2015 was elite.

I reckon that the first half of the 2015 season was elite. But, I don't think he finished in that same form.

He's been around a long time and one terrific season makes him a regulation good midfielder in my book.

[saynta]

He debuted in 2007 and we all hoped that he would turn into an elite level midfielder for us.

Safe to say that he was somewhat underdeveloped over the Lyon years and talks of trading him bobbed up in the off-season of 2014 - to Richmond for pick 14'ish IIRC, but to my understanding this was more external than from within the club.

David backed this up with his first and consistent elite level season 2015 and we all thought our faith had paid off however he followed that up with a somewhat underwhelming 2016 at least in the sense of what he's capable of.

He's 28yo old, 150 games under his belt, firmly inside our best 22 and held in high regard both internally and amongst the Saints faithful.

Of particular note is that his work ethic and prep is first class and many think that his influence and leadership are vital to the fabric of the club.

It is also well known that we need elite level midfielders with spread and excellent, neither of which seems David's strong suit... he's more the contested possession running bull.

Looking at our mids we've got Ross, Dunstan, Acres, maybe Stevens, Newnes, and Weller all kind of cut from the same cloth but younger and not currently as good.

Did/do we overrate David?

Would he have been the right player to trade off for the right price after his value peeked?

DOn't get me wrong, I like the guy and feel like we should have played him more early on and obviously the question is moot now as he's with us for 2017 and pbly onwards. It's just I wonder about what we say/think of Armitage after he retires.

Discuss

No

[citywest]

Should have traded him to Richmond 2 years ago for pick 12.

[the dome]

I like Armo.

[skeptic]

He debuted in 2007 and we all hoped that he would turn into an elite level midfielder for us.

Safe to say that he was somewhat underdeveloped over the Lyon years and talks of trading him bobbed up in the off-season of 2014 - to Richmond for pick 14'ish IIRC, but to my understanding this was more external than from within the club.

David backed this up with his first and consistent elite level season 2015 and we all thought our faith had paid off however he followed that up with a somewhat underwhelming 2016 at least in the sense of what he's capable of.

He's 28yo old, 150 games under his belt, firmly inside our best 22 and held in high regard both internally and amongst the Saints faithful.

Of particular note is that his work ethic and prep is first class and many think that his influence and leadership are vital to the fabric of the club.

It is also well known that we need elite level midfielders with spread and excellent, neither of which seems David's strong suit... he's more the contested possession running bull.

Looking at our mids we've got Ross, Dunstan, Acres, maybe Stevens, Newnes, and Weller all kind of cut from the same cloth but younger and not currently as good.

Did/do we overrate David?

Would he have been the right player to trade off for the right price after his value peeked?

DOn't get me wrong, I like the guy and feel like we should have played him more early on and obviously the question is moot now as he's with us for 2017 and pbly onwards. It's just I wonder about what we say/think of Armitage after he retires.

Discuss

No

Then why post Saynta? Please just ignore me or don't but your attempts at antagonising are getting very boring. I leave you alone.

[Wrote for Luck]

The testosterone injection from Steele and Stevens should freshen up the likes of Armo and Steven, as well as encourage Rossy and Luke to get a genuine taste for blood with no mercy.

Next season the midfield tables have turned in our favour. Injury free, Armo may be in his absolute element.

[Wayne42]

He debuted in 2007 and we all hoped that he would turn into an elite level midfielder for us.

Safe to say that he was somewhat underdeveloped over the Lyon years and talks of trading him bobbed up in the off-season of 2014 - to Richmond for pick 14'ish IIRC, but to my understanding this was more external than from within the club.

David backed this up with his first and consistent elite level season 2015 and we all thought our faith had paid off however he followed that up with a somewhat underwhelming 2016 at least in the sense of what he's capable of.

He's 28yo old, 150 games under his belt, firmly inside our best 22 and held in high regard both internally and amongst the Saints faithful.

Of particular note is that his work ethic and prep is first class and many think that his influence and leadership are vital to the fabric of the club.

It is also well known that we need elite level midfielders with spread and excellent, neither of which seems David's strong suit... he's more the contested possession running bull.

Looking at our mids we've got Ross, Dunstan, Acres, maybe Stevens, Newnes, and Weller all kind of cut from the same cloth but younger and not currently as good.

Did/do we overrate David?

Would he have been the right player to trade off for the right price after his value peeked?

DOn't get me wrong, I like the guy and feel like we should have played him more early on and obviously the question is moot now as he's with us for 2017 and pbly onwards. It's just I wonder about what we say/think of Armitage after he retires.

Discuss

No

Then why post Saynta? Please just ignore me or don't but your attempts at antagonising are getting very boring. I leave you alone.

Maybe he's trying to catch up to his other Nick's post count, which means he has to post often, often meaningless, this one is a perfect example..