Chips

[tony74]

Positive story about Chipper in the Herald Sun tomorrow.

[BackFromUSA]

Loved the way he came back late 2014 and improved us just by being a backline general.

[saintbrat]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/s ... 71d590df33

St Kilda veteran Sam Fisher thought his career was over after his third game

SAM Fisher assessed the damage as Matthew Richardson strode back towards him.

Fisher was in his third game for St Kilda in 2004 when the Richmond great slotted his fourth goal on him, barely 15 minutes into the first term.

“I thought, ‘If he’s already got four on me, he’ll have eight at quarter-time and 20 for the game’,” Fisher recalled.

“He (Richardson) actually ran back after his fourth and said to me, ‘This is the end of your career’.

“I remember thinking ‘Great, I’m finished after game three’. But I always had trouble with him because he had all the attributes.

“He was so strong and quick, he had massive endurance and was so tall as well.”

When the first surgery failed, creating more movement in the joint but even more pain, he turned to tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt for advice on their similar injuries.

The Saints’ two-time best-and-fairest winner eventually had his big toe fused, joking that “I don’t kick left foot anyway”.

Problem was he was favouring the other leg in all his movements, resulting in a string of hamstring setbacks in the following season. He was out of contract, and again, wondering whether it was all coming to an end.

“I didn’t play my first game until Round 17 that year (2014) and I was probably one more injury away from (retirement) because I was out of contract,” he said.

“The first few hours after each hamstring reoccurrence you are like ‘That’s it, I’m done. I actually want to quit’.

“But I always knew that once I got it right, that I still had the attributes to play footy at AFL level and I played the last seven games of the season.”

Since then, Fisher has built up his core strength, focusing on his glutes, abdominals and hamstrings, helping keep the key backman on the park. He played 18 games in 2015 to finish ninth in the club’s best-and-fairest.

The man taken with the bargain No. 55 pick in the 2003 national draft is set to play his first NAB Challenge game this pre-season against Brisbane on Sunday in Mackay, still driven by the chance to help lead the young Saints back to finals.

The gun veteran credits the club’s draftees’ enthusiasm for helping him feel young, even if he can’t always keep up with their every move on the training track.

Loving the Attitude from the senior players

[Con Gorozidis]

Great effort to come back. A real testament to his dedication to his craft.

I admit that I was certainly one to write him off in 2014 - mainly because I heard a couple of radio interviews where he basically wrote himself off and said his body was totally stuffed. That must have been at a stage when he was pretty much ready to retire.

He obviously recovered mentally and physically after that and steeled himself. Last year he played some very good games. Well done to him.

[skeptic]

At the risk of being publicly strung out here, i've never really rated Fish as highly as most here.

His best years were truly magnificent... And he was a big part of why we were so good, and how close we came. No arguments there.
I just kind of feel like outside of that, his performance has never quite plateaued at the right level. I feel like he either has great seasons... Or just ok seasons. Over 10+ seasons, i feel like he's been missing for many of them.

Anyway, abuse away

[BackFromUSA]

skeptic - most players have up and down seasons - maybe except the super champs like Harvey, Hayes, Rooey ... Fish was playing out of position IMHO against monsters since 2011 and then he got injured. Before that an out and out champ. What he does off the ball is as important as what he does with the ball. Super important player for us.

[Con Gorozidis]

At the risk of being publicly strung out here, i've never really rated Fish as highly as most here.

His best years were truly magnificent... And he was a big part of why we were so good, and how close we came. No arguments there.
I just kind of feel like outside of that, his performance has never quite plateaued at the right level. I feel like he either has great seasons... Or just ok seasons. Over 10+ seasons, i feel like he's been missing for many of them.

Anyway, abuse away

No need for abuse. I reckon he played sore a heck of a lot and I am sure he would admit himself he struggled quite a lot over his career.
He has probably only been injury free for maybe 30% of his (216) career games. Probably 30% of his games have been excellent. 50% average and 20% poor.

[the dome]

I didn't know the detail about Chips' foot surgery but he always seemed a very reliable backman to me. It's an advantage to have a big -ish backman cover ground well when to go when to stay, initiate the play etc etc. Chips like The Blake always made me feel relaxed enough to believe we could weather the storm and safely bring the ball out of defence and onward.
I hope Chips simply has a very enjoyable and fulfilling year and avoids the dreaded injury curse.

[magnifisaint]

Always been a dependable player.

[Bluthy]

Shame we don't have Carlisle to free Chips up a bit this year. I like it when he has the ball in his hands - we almost always keep it.

[borderbarry]

Remember when Chips first started? We had Leigh Fisher there too who has since joined the ranks of the ungodly. It was a toss-up in my mind who would be the best out of Sam and Ferguson. Looks like it was Sam by a mile.

[saynta]

Remember when Chips first started? We had Leigh Fisher there too who has since joined the ranks of the ungodly. It was a toss-up in my mind who would be the best out of Sam and Ferguson. Looks like it was Sam by a mile.

Can we legitimately still call them the ungodly, maggots etc now that they have members of the fairer sex numbered amongst their ranks.

And on that note will the fairer sex be, well, fairer?

Interesting times we live in.

[BigMart]

Strange how some think Chips is some sort of medium defender.

Perhaps stand next to him and check out his chest and shoulders... he's a tank. and at 192 is the same hieght as Rutten, Glass, Rance, Harley, Grundy and loads of other Key backs.

he has played key back ever since 2004 and has never played as a medium back.... in that role (CHB)
he won 2 b&fs
was AA
Runner Up b&f
third b&f
that is as decorated as any champion key back.
i would argue... just on accolades
that Sam F was only behind Roo and Lenny from 2004-2012 as our 3rd best player.

Whist he is mobile, he actuall has average agility... and would get opened up by medium or small defenders. His rebounding strength came from running of tall fwds and being too mobile for them

[Con Gorozidis]

At his best an absolute gun. Not just a Saints club gun. A gun of the whole comp. No doubt in my mind.

The years he won the B & F he was just treating opposition players with contempt. He was just making it look easy and like he was playing against little leaguers. Noone could tackle him. Every time the ball would come close he would simply read it, intercept, break a few tackles and run off. He made the whole team better because guys like Joey simply knew Chips was going to win the contest and so ran off into space before Chips had the ball to make position up field. 99% of the time Chips won the ball and found someone free who had already taken off 30 seconds prior.

[BigMart]

He read the ball better than most. Not a close checking Rutten, Glass type one on one player... but a zone off defender, who backed himself to read the ball better than his opponent and lead them to the footy.... If we won the footy down back, he just ran off his man and created.

[BackFromUSA]

I always felt he was in trouble whenever he was forced to play deep on a gorilla. Otherwise he was reliable and a creative weapon.

[BigMart]

A lot of defenders are in trouble one out deep with a power forward

[BackFromUSA]

A lot of defenders are in trouble one out deep with a power forward

I reckon carlisle does alright in this situation ... hopefully 1 day

[skeptic]

A lot of defenders are in trouble one out deep with a power forward

Would you say it's a fair statement that the "in the air" contest was a weakness in his game

[saintbrat]

On radio this afternoon\

[BigMart]

Disagree,

Fisher has taken many a contested mark 'one out'

he does get caught on the lead, or off his man looking to read the ball

but is a very good contested mark.... one of the very few key backs who'll back himself to take the mark

I saw him at training giving Hugh Goddard one on one a bit of a bath... experience and strength and ability was too much for Hugh at this stage.

[skeptic]

That's your opinion and you're entitled but I disagree with your view too.

Fisher is a great third man up in a contest no doubt but if his opponent is the central focus of the pass and he doesn't have a lot of help, he's vulnerable. Always has been.

By and large in his career, he's been protected from this as footy is a team game... In particular under the RL team defence structure he really blossomed but that was more because he was able to utilise his strengths which are linking, ball movement and third man up.

I think you're kidding yourself if you think he is a great stopper.

If the choice was between Delaney or Fisher vs the opposition's main forward in a one on one contest... Of the two i would back Luke to bring the ball to ground more often than Sam even though Sam has the better all round game

To your last point, i certainly hope he would give a second year player a bath at training.

[BigMart]

A 197cm 100kg gorilla second year player

Fisher was preferred by AR over Delaney
Suggesting exactly what I believe

He is a better defender
Than Goddard, Delaney and all others except Dempster
Another star

[skeptic]

I feel like you're playing semantics now BM

The question is not and has never been who is the better player Fish or Delaney... Sam clearly is.

The debate is about this one particular aspect of Sam's game, his ability in the contest one on one, which I feel is a weakness for him, that it has been exploited at times, and that it has been compensated for to some degree by support from his team mates which is a good thing.

It's like comparing goal kicking between Roo and Kosi -
Kosi by and large was the more reliable set shot even though Riewoldt is by far the superior player.

From what I can gather, you think that every aspect of his game is elite. That's fair enough but I think you're wrong.

[suss]

I'm with BM on this one.