Tom Lynch kicks three

[BigMart]

lynch played nearly every game in 2009...he was overcoming injury in the presesaon, and recovered in time for r1

[vacuous space]

I thought they would have him running out of defence and rolling in front of talls.

Apparently they have quite a few options for that role as well, so he may find himself in the same position he was with us. All dressed up with nowhere to go.

Who have they got? Johncock is going to take the dangerous smalls, as always. Rutten will be back there if he's healthy. Otten will probably play a marking role back there. Unless I'm forgetting someone, they're missing a true key defender and could use another rolling defender. Losing Bock and Davis doesn't help.

[Moods]

Is this thread for real?

EVERY player has to cement their spot when they play senior footy - particularly in a team that is vying for a flag which is the position we have been in for the past 3 years. Lynch didn't need to be in our best players when he played, but he needed to do a hell of a lot more when he played. IN AFL terms, he has no pace, very little kicking pentration, not overly athletic, not particularly tough or strong, and after watching him play it's a complete mystery to me why he was drafted in the 1st round by us in the first place. Definitely a recruiting blunder rather than development blunder.

Sam Gilbert is the classic example of a young blokegrabbing his opportunity back in 07 (Lyon's first year) Played consistently every game without being a superstar. Jack Steven last year was another good example.

I agree with Plugger - Lynch got as many games as he has deserved. And for mine Armitage needs to start showing something and soon. His NAB cup has been woeful. Into his 6th season as a Midfielder - the excuses are wearing thin.

[vacuous space]

...no pace, very little kicking pentration, not overly athletic, not particularly tough or strong...

Lynch can play. He's probably getting a game round one. Outright trashing him like that doesn't do anybody any favours. I think it was a smart move by him asking for the trade. It can't have been easy. I believe he was a fairly rabid Saints supporter growing up. He would have had to have realised that Siposs and Stanley were moving past him up forward and there was a depth of players down back to compete with. Adelaide is a much better situation for him. We're better off with Newnes, same as we're better off with Markworth and Wilkes than Walsh.

[skeptic]

I just don't understand this mentality of young players having to dominate the VFL to earn a shot.

When did Gwilt dominate the VFL consistently?
When did Fisher or Riewoldt, or Goddard?

The VFL isn't some amatuerish competition where juniors can just come off the street and tear it apart.

The forumla for me is quite simple. You identify roles for the VFL players and get them to work on the aspects of their game that they need to in order to fill those roles. You wait until they play some decent football... not dominant, not even super outstanding. When a player in the senior team is struggling and not doing his job, you drop him to the 2s and give the performing youngster a shot. You give him 2-3 games minimum and he either shows enough to initially hold his spot, or you send him back to Sandy with a new appreciation for what he has to do.
Players improve gradually with experience. Other than Milne, I don't think we've ever had a player that just consistently ripped the VFL apart as a jumior.

The fact that guys like Johnson, Walsh, Lynch couldn't get games in a team desperate for a marking forward really says sometihng. What I'm not sure. Either they weren't working hard enough or RL really did suck at developing juniors.

It's too early to tell but so far you have Lynch who has looked pretty good for the Crows and will pbly get a game rd1.
Walsh has trained solidly but continues to look out of his depth so will see
no word about Pattison or Heyne
Luke Ball has been a very consistent player for Collingwood... one of their better ones.

+ Stanley and Winmar are pressing for selection which is a new level for them

For mine, at this stage I'm leaning towards the poor development angle... but that's nothing new

[kosifantutti]

Pretty sure that stat is true, I can't remember him playing consecutive games.

Depends on whether you consider Round 15 and Round 16 consecutive games or not.

[joffaboy]

I just don't understand this mentality of young players having to dominate the VFL to earn a shot.

When did Gwilt dominate the VFL consistently?
When did Fisher or Riewoldt, or Goddard?

The VFL isn't some amatuerish competition where juniors can just come off the street and tear it apart.

You can possibly compare Lynch to Gwilt, but are you seriously comparing him to Fisher, Goddard and Riewoldt?

[skeptic]

I'm not really comparing him JB, I'm just making the point that it's not a realistic expectation for people to just dominate the VFL consistently.

Take Fev for example, a super talent at AFL level, nearly kicked 100 goals multiple times over 10 years.

Had some huge weaks last season in the VFL... also had some stinkers

Gram, Eddy, Clarke, Blake, McEvoy - all mainstayers in the team at one stage or another... never consistently ripped the VFL apart

This expectation that Johnson should have kicked 50+ goals and taken 15m a game for Sandy is ridicuolous

[SaintPav]

I'm not really comparing him JB, I'm just making the point that it's not a realistic expectation for people to just dominate the VFL consistently.

Take Fev for example, a super talent at AFL level, nearly kicked 100 goals multiple times over 10 years.

Had some huge weaks last season in the VFL... also had some stinkers

Gram, Eddy, Clarke, Blake, McEvoy - all mainstayers in the team at one stage or another... never consistently ripped the VFL apart

This expectation that Johnson should have kicked 50+ goals and taken 15m a game for Sandy is ridicuolous

If the guys you are talking about were not any good it doesn't matter if they were not given much opportunity in the seniors.

You can't play yourself into form in the VFL because it's a completely different game and playing well in that competition doesn't mean that you will do well in the AFL.

[skeptic]

Sorry Saint Pav you've lost me.
How do you know if they're not any good? Would you have said that the players I listed above were not any good?

With your second comment... isn't that kind of the point?

Will Johnson improved markedly in the VFL in 2011 opposed to 2010. He had some ok form... few good matches, couple of bad ones and a lot of ok ones. He played in a position that was identified by RL as a need in the seniors.
According to some forumites he wasn't selected because he wasn't dominant enough.

The question is was that expectation of a developing tall playing for Sandy reasonable?
Me personally i don't think so.

Same deal with Tom Lynch. People are saying he got as many games as he deserved, yet at this stage, with 1 preseason he actually looks like he'll be starting in the crows seniors - yet at our club we're saying it wasn't poor development he just wasn't good enough. Maybe it's just me but that seems ridiculous.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Considering how little the likes of Siposs and Ledger supposedly did in the VFL before they were promoted to the seniors last year, you may have a point. I think it was mainly bad timing for Lynch. If he'd come along a couple of years earlier, or later, there is every chance he'd have been given a lot more opportunities and may very well have grabbed one of them. And of course if there had been an opening on our half-back line last year I think he would have acquitted himself perfectly well there, as that is where he was playing so well in the VFL. He was just largely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I thought they would have him running out of defence and rolling in front of talls.

Apparently they have quite a few options for that role as well, so he may find himself in the same position he was with us. All dressed up with nowhere to go.

Who have they got? Johncock is going to take the dangerous smalls, as always. Rutten will be back there if he's healthy. Otten will probably play a marking role back there. Unless I'm forgetting someone, they're missing a true key defender and could use another rolling defender. Losing Bock and Davis doesn't help.

I don't remember exactly, but I was having a read on the Adelaide board on BF to see what they thought of Lynch and someone there reeled off a bunch of names in their backline and it looked like they had two set in place in the key back roles and they named about 4 other options they had for the 3rd tall option down there, and one of them was Otten.

[sainters4eva]

Is an emergency for Crows NAB Cup final team

[plugger66]

Is an emergency for Crows NAB Cup final team

Good on him. Well done Lynchy.

[MCG-Unit]

I thought they would have him running out of defence and rolling in front of talls.

Apparently they have quite a few options for that role as well, so he may find himself in the same position he was with us. All dressed up with nowhere to go.

Who have they got? Johncock is going to take the dangerous smalls, as always. Rutten will be back there if he's healthy. Otten will probably play a marking role back there. Unless I'm forgetting someone, they're missing a true key defender and could use another rolling defender. Losing Bock and Davis doesn't help.

Petrenko, Symes, Doughty, Brodie Smith, Reilly and Mackay can all play the running HB role I think.....
Not household names and I doubt they're all the same height as Lynch though.

In the senior games I saw Lynch, he struggled IMO. What I noticed most was at marking contests, he tried to out-body his opponent, and looked anything but strong, no leap really

[SaintPav]

Is an emergency for Crows NAB Cup final team

Good on him. Well done Lynchy.

WE should have kept him...Buckets would be proud..

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Pretty sure Lynch has been named as one of the "subs", able to play in either half and then they reset them at half time, apparently.

[groupie1]

Lynch always looked like the slowest bloke on the pitch... a feature St Kilda can ill afford. Good luck to him elsewhere.

[skeptic]

i thought the kid looked alright for a developing flanker

[SaintPav]

i thought the kid looked alright for a developing flanker

Well you are a skeptic.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Got subbed on at half time tonight and played the best half of footy I've seen him play. Took 9 marks, playing as the "lead up half forward" (the sort of role Roo is basically playing at the moment) and probably had 15 possies. They went to him almost every time they went to half forward and he rarely let them down, including a couple of good, quick play-on's under pressure that directly led to goals.

[St Ick]

Got subbed on at half time tonight and played the best half of footy I've seen him play. Took 9 marks, playing as the "lead up half forward" (the sort of role Roo is basically playing at the moment) and probably had 15 possies. They went to him almost every time they went to half forward and he rarely let them down, including a couple of good, quick play-on's under pressure that directly led to goals.

He did well in a half, if he was still with us most who are bagging him would have him as our next big thing after a half like that. He is an opposition player but Ill still have a soft spot for him, just not vs us. Hope he did enough to play round one.

[SaintPav]

Lynch. Walsh blah blah least of our problems....

[Sobraz]

His loss and certain success at the Crows is going to sting..

Good luck to him though, I like the kid for some reason.. Hope he has a great career..

[Sobraz]

Lynch. Walsh blah blah least of our problems....

We don't have forward line/entry problems?

[bobmurray]

Lynch. Walsh blah blah least of our problems....

We don't have forward line/entry problems?

We don't have Lynch so that's a positive, i'll eat that statement..if..and that's a big big if...if he makes it...