With Captain courageous out ..will Byrnes or Bytel both will get their chance soon ..

[Rubyjo]

Who will take their chance and become a bonified Afl player ? It's up for grabs between these two ..who will step up and blow the doors down...it's there for the taking if they are good enough .

[Vortex]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

And if the coach is saying he's still got work to do before he can be selected in the week Steely goes out then that is a real concern.

[Scollop]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

And if the coach is saying he's still got work to do before he can be selected in the week Steely goes out then that is a real concern.

‘he’s still got work to do’ could mean that the coach is talking about his fitness.

Is the coach talking about his form and whether he is finding the footy or is it about his tank? Does he have the capacity to keep running for 4 quarters?

[shanegrambeau]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

….

As we reminded you in another thread, Bytel has effectively played about one to one and a half seasons. His years in rehab count for nothing. We got him knowing that. But I do agree, it seems that he hasn’t made a good enough impression and Windy might already be passing him.

[meher baba]

Not sure we needed another thread on this subject.

Anyways, ir seems pretty clear that the current pecking order among the young midfield/halfback hopefuls is something like

Windhsger
Byrnes
NWM
Owen
Bytel
Connolly

And this is in a situation in which, if we have a short injury list, there isn’t a spot available in the top 22 for any of them.

So, TBH, Bytel’s prospects don’t look very good, and even Byrnes is having a frustrating time.

Fans wanted us to have depth. Now we’ve got it, opportunities are more limited for young guys unless they tear it up at Sandy and training.

[Vortex]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

And if the coach is saying he's still got work to do before he can be selected in the week Steely goes out then that is a real concern.

‘he’s still got work to do’ could mean that the coach is talking about his fitness.

Is the coach talking about his form and whether he is finding the footy or is it about his tank? Does he have the capacity to keep running for 4 quarters?

It could also mean he's not AFL standard, as you correctly allude to, we just don't know but what we do know is he is now in his 4th year and he still hasn't proven himself as an AFL player. I get that he came to us with an injury but that arguable places more pressure on him to prove himself

Just Like Nathan Freeman, at some stage the club has to be ruthless and make a call. As previously mused, how long does the club invest in him before making the call. I'd say 5 years but he needs to get in the side this year for a few games and show something and there has never been a better time than while Steely is out. Fingers crossed.

[Scollop]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

And if the coach is saying he's still got work to do before he can be selected in the week Steely goes out then that is a real concern.

‘he’s still got work to do’ could mean that the coach is talking about his fitness.

Is the coach talking about his form and whether he is finding the footy or is it about his tank? Does he have the capacity to keep running for 4 quarters?

It could also mean he's not AFL standard, as you correctly allude to, we just don't know but what we do know is he is now in his 4th year and he still hasn't proven himself as an AFL player. I get that he came to us with an injury but that arguable places more pressure on him to prove himself

Just Like Nathan Freeman, at some stage the club has to be ruthless and make a call. As previously mused, how long does the club invest in him before making the call. I'd say 5 years but he needs to get in the side this year for a few games and show something and there has never been a better time than while Steely is out. Fingers crossed.

Not a good comparison Vortex. Freeman was recruited in 2013 and didn’t get to play a game for the seniors at Collingwood. We had him on our list for 3 years and he finally played only 2 games in 2018 and that is his career total. That was his fifth year.

At least we’ve seen glimpses of Jack Bytel with 13 games last year. Nathan Freeman couldn’t get on the park to play VFL, let alone get any consistency to play at the highest level.

Jack Bytel is very young. Last year was really his first year of some continuous games and a taste of the big league. I’d give him another 2 years at the end of this year if he continues to show development in 2022.

Jack Steele and Christian Petracca are basically the same age and they were recruited in 2014. I think Jack is older by a month or so. Incidently…They were recruited one year after Nathan Freeman.

The following is the averages for both Jack Steele and Christian Petracca in their 3rd year… Their stats were ok but Christian wasn’t fulfilling his potential and didn’t live up to the status of a future gun at that stage of his career. The reason I’ve picked these 2 guys is that both took about 5 years before establishing their bona fide elite status at the level.

I think Bytel can fulfil his potential, however he’ll need an extra year or two because of his back surgery and the delay to his VFL/AFL career.

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_ ... fopt2=2017

[shanegrambeau]

……seems pretty clear that the current pecking order among the young midfield/halfback hopefuls is something like

Windhsger
Byrnes
NWM
Owen
Bytel
Connolly

…..

NWM is number one and ahead of that lot.

[meher baba]

……seems pretty clear that the current pecking order among the young midfield/halfback hopefuls is something like

Windhsger
Byrnes
NWM
Owen
Bytel
Connolly

…..

NWM is number one and ahead of that lot.

Arguably can’t cover as many positions.

Anyway, we’ll see if he gets picked this week. If he is, then I will accept you’re right.

[meher baba]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

And if the coach is saying he's still got work to do before he can be selected in the week Steely goes out then that is a real concern.

‘he’s still got work to do’ could mean that the coach is talking about his fitness.

Is the coach talking about his form and whether he is finding the footy or is it about his tank? Does he have the capacity to keep running for 4 quarters?

It could also mean he's not AFL standard, as you correctly allude to, we just don't know but what we do know is he is now in his 4th year and he still hasn't proven himself as an AFL player. I get that he came to us with an injury but that arguable places more pressure on him to prove himself

Just Like Nathan Freeman, at some stage the club has to be ruthless and make a call. As previously mused, how long does the club invest in him before making the call. I'd say 5 years but he needs to get in the side this year for a few games and show something and there has never been a better time than while Steely is out. Fingers crossed.

Not a good comparison Vortex. Freeman was recruited in 2013 and didn’t get to play a game for the seniors at Collingwood. We had him on our list for 3 years and he finally played only 2 games in 2018 and that is his career total. That was his fifth year.

At least we’ve seen glimpses of Jack Bytel with 13 games last year. Nathan Freeman couldn’t get on the park to play VFL, let alone get any consistency to play at the highest level.

Jack Bytel is very young. Last year was really his first year of some continuous games and a taste of the big league. I’d give him another 2 years at the end of this year if he continues to show development in 2022.

Jack Steele and Christian Petracca are basically the same age and they were recruited in 2014. I think Jack is older by a month or so. Incidently…They were recruited one year after Nathan Freeman.

The following is the averages for both Jack Steele and Christian Petracca in their 3rd year… Their stats were ok but Christian wasn’t fulfilling his potential and didn’t live up to the status of a future gun at that stage of his career. The reason I’ve picked these 2 guys is that both took about 5 years before establishing their bona fide elite status at the level.

I think Bytel can fulfil his potential, however he’ll need an extra year or two because of his back surgery and the delay to his VFL/AFL career.

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_ ... fopt2=2017

Put simply, Bytel’s problem is that

1. He played quite a lot of games last season, and he performed ok but wasn’t outstanding.
2. This season, there was a wonderful opening for him in the absence of Jones, Billings and Clark. But others were preferred: Owen, NWM, Wood, Windhager and Byrnes as Medical Sub.
3. Now Billings, Jones and (soon) Clark are back. And NWM and Windhager have done really well.
4. Past experience shows that, when this starts to happen to a player who is a few years into their career, it’s hard to come back, other than by changing club.
5. QED I expect Bytel to move on soon.

All rather sad, but it happens to lots of players,including some who become stars at their second or even third club.

[shanegrambeau]

Why say Bytel has had 4 years to prove himself?
Why stop there?
How old is he?
22?
Let’s just say he’s had 22 years ..and failed.

He’s had one and a half seasons tops.

Unless you count laying on your back in a rehab clinic or operation table under general anesthesia!

[meher baba]

Perhaps Bytel has proved himself, but his best isn’t what we need ATM.

All of a sudden, we seem to have quite a few good inside mids, and others like Gresham, Windhager, Sinclair and Clark who can play there some of the time.

[Sanctorum]

It is difficult to say if Jack Bytel will prove to be a regular player, his main problem as I remember it is lack of pace and if he can't boost that the he is unlikely to make the grade.

His contract is up at end of 2022 and given the clutch of very promising young mids brought in this year it may well be he'll be cut.

Ryan Byrnes is another proposition, well ahead of Bytel yet can't break into the firsts, could come in for Steele but NWM is due to come back from a break and Windhager showed plenty against Geelong to stay in the team on Saturday night against the Crows. It's a headache the selectors are quite happy to have!

St Kilda have other options to cover Steele, including promoting Jack Sinclair's role to spend more time at the stoppages, which he has done very successfully in other games this year. Ben Paton is another option.

[shanegrambeau]

It is difficult to say if Jack Bytel will prove to be a regular player, his main problem as I remember it is lack of pace and if he can't boost that the he is unlikely to make the grade. …..

That’s the way it looks - we’ll, at least that makes sense. He’s too slow??. I guess they determined that about 2/3 through last year, when he started to be dropped without doing much wrong.

Yeah, looks like he’ll be gone, or perhaps, like Ross, there will be no takers, and he gets a chance to revitalize his career. I don’t suppose people get faster at this stage of their careers, especially after overcoming injuries. I have no idea what I’m talking about, but perhaps it is the scar tissue that forms and the whole muscle set up loses its dynamic, momentum, elasticity and ‘whip’ power?
Spoken like a true biological prodigy.

[Zed]

Windhager is developing nicely and i understand the argument that he should play in Steele’s absence to fast track his development - however if we get all of Clark, Steele, Higgins back, with no new injuries, then this team can go very deep into Sept. Windy perhaps makes the team as the medi-sub.

Given that, I’d prefer to bring in a slightly underdone Clark and start getting some games into him. When fully fit, he will be part of the midfield rotation- so the next 2 weeks is a good chance to get some midfield minutes under his belt.

Windy will be a great player for us in years to come, but if we make a GF this year, it’s more likely that Clark will impact and do something to help us win the elusive flag than Windy.

[SAINT-LEE]

As I said in another thread, Bytel is in his 4th year and hasn't shown significant indication he is going to make it at AFL level.

And if the coach is saying he's still got work to do before he can be selected in the week Steely goes out then that is a real concern.

‘he’s still got work to do’ could mean that the coach is talking about his fitness.

Is the coach talking about his form and whether he is finding the footy or is it about his tank? Does he have the capacity to keep running for 4 quarters?

It could also mean he's not AFL standard, as you correctly allude to, we just don't know but what we do know is he is now in his 4th year and he still hasn't proven himself as an AFL player. I get that he came to us with an injury but that arguable places more pressure on him to prove himself

Just Like Nathan Freeman, at some stage the club has to be ruthless and make a call. As previously mused, how long does the club invest in him before making the call. I'd say 5 years but he needs to get in the side this year for a few games and show something and there has never been a better time than while Steely is out. Fingers crossed.

Not a good comparison Vortex. Freeman was recruited in 2013 and didn’t get to play a game for the seniors at Collingwood. We had him on our list for 3 years and he finally played only 2 games in 2018 and that is his career total. That was his fifth year.

At least we’ve seen glimpses of Jack Bytel with 13 games last year. Nathan Freeman couldn’t get on the park to play VFL, let alone get any consistency to play at the highest level.

Jack Bytel is very young. Last year was really his first year of some continuous games and a taste of the big league. I’d give him another 2 years at the end of this year if he continues to show development in 2022.

Jack Steele and Christian Petracca are basically the same age and they were recruited in 2014. I think Jack is older by a month or so. Incidently…They were recruited one year after Nathan Freeman.

The following is the averages for both Jack Steele and Christian Petracca in their 3rd year… Their stats were ok but Christian wasn’t fulfilling his potential and didn’t live up to the status of a future gun at that stage of his career. The reason I’ve picked these 2 guys is that both took about 5 years before establishing their bona fide elite status at the level.

I think Bytel can fulfil his potential, however he’ll need an extra year or two because of his back surgery and the delay to his VFL/AFL career.

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_ ... fopt2=2017

Nailed it Scollop!!!!

[Impatient Sainter]

Bytel & Byrnes are not quite there (yet) to be full time AFL mids. Bytel needs to work on his movement to find space with the ball & Byrnes his kicking under pressure.

I would permanently move Sinclair into the middle, Clark to HBF and Byrnes to play Higgins role until he returns.

[lloyd21]

Bytel been concussed twice & did a calf this year…

Kids a star ..elite vision & handball , kicks either foot too.

Really excited to see him with Owens & Windhager as a combination going forward.

Crouch had a good year thus far & Ross even though only matter of time the kids will come in .

Byrnes for mine been disappointing particularly his kicking , still think he’s a keeper too.

[spert]

Bytel is very good actually, but his body just isn't holding up, so we are not seeing his best. Byrnes is an outside runner and I think will only get better. We have young guys in Owens and Windy, but they are developing and not yet at the level to replace Steele. We need an extractor and they don't grow on trees. I would play Battle as a small ruck, as he can work at ground level, and play Paddy and Marshall as forward/ rucks off the bench. I'm not a coach though )

[saintsRrising]

If Bytel is fit enough , I personally would select him to fill in for Steele and to see where he is at.

If not good enough Clark should be match fit by then.

Windhager to come in for Higgins.

Butler should be rested so that he is fully fit for our hard run home.

[Scollop]

How did Dan McKenzie go for the first 5 years of his career at St Kilda?

DMac is valuable contributor who struggled in his early years but the club luckily gave him a contract and we knew there were strengths that he could utilise and we knew he had to keep working on his weaknesses

Have a look at how he’s going now. He’d be top ten in our best and fairest I reckon

[Banger9798]

Intriguing selection table this week

Do they lay down the challenge to Bytel to show what he can do and if his is prepared to guy run to contests

Or

Go with the silk of NWM

Or
Honour Byrnes' form in the VFL

[Killa]

Everyone has to stand up in support of the Captain

Starting from our experienced players snd where I single out Ross because of his physique - noting Steele is a big bodied midfielder also capable of gong forward and taking a mark

So everyone needs to step up

And by everyone stepping up opportunity will come at the lower end - so our kids as the support given opportunity because of injury

The kids can not be expected to replace Steele

And we do not experiment - we pick on form because we have games of football to win

We are not in a rebuild - we are contending

And we have very talented kids cutting their teeth

There opportunities will come surrounded by some very very good footballers taking pressure off them

They are the cream on the cake

[skeptic]

Intriguing selection table this week

Do they lay down the challenge to Bytel to show what he can do and if his is prepared to guy run to contests

Or

Go with the silk of NWM

Or
Honour Byrnes' form in the VFL

Indeed. Personally, I like moving it around a little bit amongst the players fighting for the spot. Bytel is the like for like replacement and has been good for Sandy... and he had a few stand out matches last year. Better than he’s been given credit for but yeah, he wasn’t able to maintain that.

Connolly too has looked good for most of the season. Sinclair to the middle, Connolly to HBF could work too. Got to give these guys opportunities when they deserve them IMO

[CQ SAINT]

Personally, I'd slip Paton into the square to negate the best mid, leave Sinclair where he is, bring in NVM for Higgins and rotate Windhager with Paton and then slingshot out of defence all day, if we can't take the ball from stoppages. If we can't control Adelaide and North like that, with the cattle we have, then it won't matter who we bring in.
Let's just out gun, out run and out score both Adelaide and North and go into the break a huge top 4 chance.