Seb Ross

[8856brother]

<edited by mods>

Nice one.

<please do not quote blatant breaches of rules - just adds to the moderating workload>

No probs. Thought you may have been bored.

[ace]

Needs to develop a weapon or 2.

This. He seems generally proficient, but lacks one outstanding quality. He's good in close, but he seems to be just average in all the other areas. He's still got time on his side. He may be the type who needs plenty of time or several preseasons to get up to speed. His cousin Jobe was the same. Almost got delisted/traded after his third year. Got serious about his preparation and you all know the rest.

Maybe the way Billings and Dunstan have started, has raised our expectations of Seb a bit too much.

It is easy to overlook the impact of charity to Gold Coast and GWS on these players respective drafts.
Billings 2013 first round pick 3 but effectively pick 5 because of previous years 2 mini draft picks.
Dunstan 2013 first round pick 18 but effectively pick 20 for the same reason.
Seb Ross 2011 first round pick 25 but effectively pick 37 because of previous years 2 mini draft picks and GWS choosing 10 under age kids and trading a further 2 ahead of the draft. Oh and don't forget Gold Coast's Northern Territory zone picks and GWS's NSW zone picks.

In a world uncompromised by Andrew Demetriou.
Billings is a genuine early first round pick.
Dunstan is a genuine start of second round pick.
but Ross is a genuine start of third round pick.
If Ross had the raw talent of Billings and Dunstan he would not be at St Kilda, he would have gone before St Kilda got a look in.
Ross will need more time to develop to his maximum potential than Billings and Dunstan.
Let's hope that maximum potential for all three is super star.

[ace]

Very good in the first half... Creative by hand.... In the best 5 players at quarter time

With Dunstan, Armitage, Hayes, Ross... We have too many slow inside mids....

Two will need to go IMO

He needs more games to accurately assess where he is... 18 possessions in his first game... Not a disaster

We desperately need Armitage back in the team now but if we are ever to win a premiership he needs to forced out by better players.
Lenny will be gone by then, so I hope the guys who force Armitage out are Dunstan and Ross.

[QuestionOfAccuracy]

At this point there's nothing that stands out about Seb's skill-set and I am concerned that he doesn't have a potential *weapon*.

People like to compare him to Jobe, but the thing is he's not as big as Jobe, and he's not as skilled with the ball as Jobe - well, not by foot anyway.

I actually thought Seb did some nice things in-close in the first half, but in the second half I hardly noticed him at all.

If Seb is going to make it, he's going to have to build on his tank (a lot). He's going to have to be stronger over the ball. And he's going to have to improve his kicking.

[Zed]

At this point there's nothing that stands out about Seb's skill-set and I am concerned that he doesn't have a potential *weapon*.

People like to compare him to Jobe, but the thing is he's not as big as Jobe, and he's not as skilled with the ball as Jobe - well, not by foot anyway.

I actually thought Seb did some nice things in-close in the first half, but in the second half I hardly noticed him at all.

If Seb is going to make it, he's going to have to build on his tank (a lot). He's going to have to be stronger over the ball. And he's going to have to improve his kicking.

I wonder if we should be comparing him more to Armo - ie how many years before he really became a regular fixture in the midfield ?. I like Seb - but he is going to be slower to develop than say Billing or Dunstan .. Worth persisting with.

[mightysainters]

On my first few impression, unfortunately I don't think he will be much..

[gringo]

Give him time. He's going alright with out being outstanding.

[ace]

From today's Age - written by Lloyd.

Jobe Watson stunned everyone at Essendon, including myself, with his ability to transform his physical weaknesses through dedication and a desire to fulfil his full potential. Like Rioli, Watson continually broke down due to soft-tissue injuries, but over just one off season his use of a boxing coach, sprints coach and a dietitian catapulted him to levels that no one ever thought he could reach
I’m not suggesting Rioli needs to lose weight like Watson did - Rioli looks in good shape - but the Bomber's lung capacity and ability to run all day was not there to complement the exquisite touch that he had when the football was in his hands. Once he was able to fix this problem, he became Essendon’s best and most important player in the space of three years.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/c ... z302n4Dnyy

They forgot to mention the assistance he obtained from a drugs coach.

[magnifisaint]

Watters said he played like Pendlebury?

[stinger]

Have watched him really closely ever since he started and I'm hoping the coaches back him in and give him afl game time. I was reading something the other day on dunstan and how it took lenny Hayes 2-3 seasons to have a 20+ possession game. Ross is going to be a really solid unit physically, shows quick hands and good tackling ability, appears to still lack confidence to go for his kicks and be more aggressive by foot (I reckon I could count the number of penetrating aggressive kicks he's gone for in his 10 or so games on one hand) but that'll only come with afl game time...obviously fitness and run need more time, but what better training than afl match hardening, he comes across as having a very sound character, shows good physicality on the field and I like the young group of 'no dickheads policy approach' that seb seems to tipify of our young brigade...I know they don't all make it, but my fingers are crossed that seb will really blossom over the next couple of seasons to be a really strong on field contributer in our best 22!!

i like your post.....there were plenty of posters who dissed lenny early in his career too....

[WinnersOnly]

Watters said he played like Pendlebury?

When stationary he does...he just cant move with the ball or cover the ground required to get to enough contests.

[elizabethr]

He is only keeping Armo's spot warm..

[derby Street]

Unless he can suddenly develop some pace it's not looking great for Seb. Even when he came on fresh as the sub he was running up and down on the spot. That said - I haven't given up on him yet, but ......

[kosifantutti]

Have watched him really closely ever since he started and I'm hoping the coaches back him in and give him afl game time. I was reading something the other day on dunstan and how it took lenny Hayes 2-3 seasons to have a 20+ possession game.

Nice story. Not true, but a nice story.

http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/ ... Hayes.html

[FQF]

Have watched him really closely ever since he started and I'm hoping the coaches back him in and give him afl game time. I was reading something the other day on dunstan and how it took lenny Hayes 2-3 seasons to have a 20+ possession game.

Nice story. Not true, but a nice story.

http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/ ... Hayes.html

Interesting though to see his slow start. Still stands for the proposition to give players time.

[savatage]

Since the first time I saw him play - I always thought he was not AFL standard. I hope he can prove me wrong but I'm still sticking with my initial thoughts of him.

[Old Mate]

The fact is, the draft is a lottery (especially from the range of picks we had when Ross was picked) and they don't all make it.

I'm confident Longer, Newnes and Webster from the 2011 draft become very good AFL players for us. Unsure about Ross and Markworth at this stage. If three from that draft make it we're doing very well towards constructing a good team.

[Kick-it-lace-out]

List Clogger

[supersaints]

We need to Dank him , just like his cousin......
Worked well for Watson,

[falka]

Sure speed is a definite issue.
But there have been lots of slow footballers.
He just is either not fit, or can't push himself mentally to get to more contests, he just needs to keep moving!
Worth persisting with for now on the list, but has along way to go.

I'm not holding my breath though!

[Saints94]

I thought Bastie had a good patch of games last year from round 7 onwards imo, averaged 21 touches from rnd 7 - 10 I think..

[St Ick]

The kid is starting in this third year of AFL footy. He has some deficiencies in his game, sure, but he worked bloody hard in the VFL at the start of the year to show he is a cut above that level.

Remember he is a tall mid, remember Kennedy got traded away to Sydney, Jobe was nearly put on the chopping block. The big mids can take time, I think Seb has what it takes, but will take a little more time. There are skinny kids (like Curren), tall kids (like JJK) who don't make that immediate impact, it doesn't mean we, as supporters, should hang them out to dry.

I still fully expect each of Markworth, Ross, Webster, Newnes and Longer to be solid 150+ game players for us.

[Con Gorozidis]

The kid is starting in this third year of AFL footy. He has some deficiencies in his game, sure, but he worked bloody hard in the VFL at the start of the year to show he is a cut above that level.

Remember he is a tall mid, remember Kennedy got traded away to Sydney, Jobe was nearly put on the chopping block. The big mids can take time, I think Seb has what it takes, but will take a little more time. There are skinny kids (like Curren), tall kids (like JJK) who don't make that immediate impact, it doesn't mean we, as supporters, should hang them out to dry.

I still fully expect each of Markworth, Ross, Webster, Newnes and Longer to be solid 150+ game players for us.

Some fair calls - too early to judge Seb. Next year I reckon will be his year of judgement.

If Markworth Ross Webster Newnes and Longer play 150 - will win a flag.

Thats 5 blokes. Add Steven Billings Acres Dunstan Bruce Hickey Templeton Weller Wright Roberton and that would put us right right up there in 5 years.

[Old Mate]

The kid is starting in this third year of AFL footy. He has some deficiencies in his game, sure, but he worked bloody hard in the VFL at the start of the year to show he is a cut above that level.

Remember he is a tall mid, remember Kennedy got traded away to Sydney, Jobe was nearly put on the chopping block. The big mids can take time, I think Seb has what it takes, but will take a little more time. There are skinny kids (like Curren), tall kids (like JJK) who don't make that immediate impact, it doesn't mean we, as supporters, should hang them out to dry.

I still fully expect each of Markworth, Ross, Webster, Newnes and Longer to be solid 150+ game players for us.

I hope he makes it. We really need him to considering the quality mids we've lost (BJ, Ball & Dal) over the last few years and the quality mids we will lose (Hayes & Joey) over the next few years.

The reason I'm apprehensive about Ross developing is I don't know if his run and spread will significantly improve. As I said in an earlier post he will need to become an extremely dominant ball winner to make it to cover other deficiencies (speed, spread etc).