Luke Ball?

[Teflon]

Just wondering and mods if its been posted eslewhere please lock away, but has anyone got any news on Luke Balls progress?

I mean Judd saw the same guy for the same OP apparently and is now at break neck speed at Blueland- hows Balls running times/speeds been?

This guy could add another 30% to his game and probably another 10-15% to our overall midfield this year (which is huge in AFL) if we can get him to return to the halcyon 04 days........with now a far more experienced head on the shoulders....

Anyone know?

[linz]

I'd be interested too Teflon. Didn't he have a web page going? Does anyone know the address. I'll try a google on Luke Ball in the meantime.

[linz]

Here tis: http://www.lukeball.bigblog.com.au/index.do

Might be a bit biased though.

[Oh When the Saints]

Spoke to him mid-December and he was very happy with his progress.


From my observations and a mate's experience with groin problems, I don't ever reckon Bally will regain 100% of the speed and agility he had as an 18-year old.

However, he should be able to improve significantly on what we saw in 06/07. The second half of the pre-season will give us a better idea.


BTW, the Carlton reports on Judd are rubbish. I saw him train about two and a half weeks ago and he was grimacing and holding his groin, and walking very gingerly after he ran. Looked a long way off.

So unless there's been a miracle, IMO it's a fair bit of spin.

[Teflon]

Thats interesting re: Judd OWTS as (and I know its Carlton...) but didnt he break recent time trials down there by 20 secs or so? (hun versions so who knows).

As for grimacing after a run couldnt he just have been staffed or eaten a dodgy souvlaki the night before...point being its not necessarrily groin related all the time.

Bah...who cares...thats Judd.

Ball is who Im interested in - I am just not prepared to give up on a talent that was a cut above in most footy judges eyes as a junior (and 04 AFL) to simply let him be relegated to a GOP by this dreaded injury that CAN be gotten over. Ball may just be the difference between our midfield being elite level this year or on the other hand described as on par with Bulldogs etc.......hes also a key to the future midfield with Harvs going, Hayes not getting younger.......we have to see Ball near his best again or IMO find another of that ilk in the next 3-4 yrs (after Harvs/Hayes) or an area that was once our strong suit may become the achilies heel.

[The_Dud]

Spoke to him mid-December and he was very happy with his progress.

no offence to him, but i would take anything he (or even the club) say with a grain of salt, as every pre-season the old line comes out that he's "had the best one yet" and he is "confident he is finally over his groin problems" and so on

i don't think we'll know until we see him under match conditions

[Quixote]

More spin coming out of Carlton lately than 1000 widowed Italian grandmothers.


Judd supposed time of 10:30 for the trial isn't that crash-hot anyways.

He has bulked tho...


Wise, considering who'll be tapping it down to him this season...

[evertonfc]

2008 is a huge year for Luke...

He'll either overcome his troubles this year, or he'll never overcome them.

Don't get me wrong, a workmanlike 20-possesion per week Ball is a handy player to have, but it's not the 34 possession, 2 goals, 13 tackle per week player we were hoping for. I hope and pray he comes good, but I fear he'll never be the player he could have been.

He *may* have to reinvent himself as Sam Mitchell type, and become and out-and-out inside player. Slow and limited disposal, but a warrior under the packs.

At the moment, his game style (semi-inside, semi-outside) is exactly what we need in midfielders; it's just a shame he doesn't have the present capacity to execute it.

[midas_touch]

Spoke to him mid-December and he was very happy with his progress.

no offence to him, but i would take anything he (or even the club) say with a grain of salt, as every pre-season the old line comes out that he's "had the best one yet" and he is "confident he is finally over his groin problems" and so on

i don't think we'll know until we see him under match conditions

Gotta agree here. Luke Ball's groin cannot be accurately assesed until he is actually exposed to these conditions. Perhaps the intra club game will be the right time to see where he is at.

[Teflon]

2008 is a huge year for Luke...

He'll either overcome his troubles this year, or he'll never overcome them.

Agreed. While its never make or break for this guys and his quality by the end of 08 we'll know if we have a tough, honest workhorse OR the absolute cream of the crop we've been dreaming bout since we drafted him.

IMO with the departure of Harvs/Hayes over the next few seasons and if Ball doesnt reach at least near his potwntial heights we'll need to find another absolute top liner to support Dal Santo aka Eagles/Geelong.

[battye]

Spoke to him mid-December and he was very happy with his progress.

no offence to him, but i would take anything he (or even the club) say with a grain of salt, as every pre-season the old line comes out that he's "had the best one yet" and he is "confident he is finally over his groin problems" and so on

i don't think we'll know until we see him under match conditions

Agreed, it's not like he's going to say he's disappointed with slow progress. We'll have to wait until the season begins to get a true indication.

[GrumpyOne]

Lets hope Ball's better than luke-warm this year.

[St Fidelius]

Spoke to him mid-December and he was very happy with his progress.


From my observations and a mate's experience with groin problems, I don't ever reckon Bally will regain 100% of the speed and agility he had as an 18-year old.

However, he should be able to improve significantly on what we saw in 06/07. The second half of the pre-season will give us a better idea.


BTW, the Carlton reports on Judd are rubbish. I saw him train about two and a half weeks ago and he was grimacing and holding his groin, and walking very gingerly after he ran. Looked a long way off.

So unless there's been a miracle, IMO it's a fair bit of spin.

Yeah I can handle Ball having less than 100% of speed and agility, as he is way good enough to combat those attributes, but I hope his kicking for distance has improved and if if has, all is well as far as I am concerned.

If his kicking has not improved, I only hope it's just a confidence issue and not the ongoing problem that has plagued him in the past.

Does anyone know if Luke was ever a good kick for distance in his junior days????

[bigcarl]

While its never make or break for this guys and his quality by the end of 08 we'll know if we have a tough, honest workhorse OR the absolute cream of the crop we've been dreaming bout since we drafted him.

i agree in that he is tough ... in the sense that he can take the knocks and goes in hard.

but he always seems to be on the receiving end. when is he going to start doing some damage himself?

[Teflon]

While its never make or break for this guys and his quality by the end of 08 we'll know if we have a tough, honest workhorse OR the absolute cream of the crop we've been dreaming bout since we drafted him.

i agree in that he is tough ... in the sense that he can take the knocks and goes in hard.

but he always seems to be on the receiving end. when is he going to start doing some damage himself?

I could care less about him doing "damage" Hamill tried to do "damage" when he ran into Steve Johnston and past the footy ....hes now retired.

What I want from Luke Ball is some run and carry back in his game and as St Fid points out some kicking penetration would be nice...

That said as for damage I'll be wrapt if Luke Ball manages to simply see the "damage" coming a little earlier and avoid it better (and Kosi for that matter) as Wheelan? absolutely got him blindsighted and it hasnt been the first time for Luke (who in his defence is a ball player - but even the great Harvey has learnt has to dodge a bullet over time...)

[Eastern]

GUYS !!

I thought that read somewhere that LB 14 would be starting FULL training when the team starts training after the break. Up until now he has been very carefully managed.

We can speculate as much as we like about his output in 2008 but the facts are that he is/has been receiving the absolute very best of care since his surgery and will be as fit/strong/agile as he possibly can be come Rd 1. Let's all cross our fingers and hope that he returns to at or very near full strength/fitness/agility. After all, that is about all we can do to help him !!

[Huzzad]

GUYS !!

I thought that read somewhere that LB 14 would be starting FULL training when the team starts training after the break. Up until now he has been very carefully managed.

We can speculate as much as we like about his output in 2008 but the facts are that he is/has been receiving the absolute very best of care since his surgery and will be as fit/strong/agile as he possibly can be come Rd 1. Let's all cross our fingers and hope that he returns to at or very near full strength/fitness/agility. After all, that is about all we can do to help him !!

Exactly. Unfortunatly this is the part of the year where speculation keeps people going till reports come in and we actually start playing games.

[Teflon]

Ofcourse we are gonna speculate at this time of year - what else have we got?

Every board all over the country is doing "what ifs" right now and at present all teams are ten feet tall and bullet proof and on paper have the flag in their hands.....

No ones bagging Luke - what Im saying is what I think this season will mean in the scheme of seeing him at near his best again AFTER the very best care from surgery has done what it can.

Our side has so many "x" factors when you think on it.....Luke Balls another alongside:

M Gardiner, both clarkes, gehrig, kosi, king, et al...

[HarveysDeciple]

Spoke to him mid-December and he was very happy with his progress.


From my observations and a mate's experience with groin problems, I don't ever reckon Bally will regain 100% of the speed and agility he had as an 18-year old.

However, he should be able to improve significantly on what we saw in 06/07. The second half of the pre-season will give us a better idea.


BTW, the Carlton reports on Judd are rubbish. I saw him train about two and a half weeks ago and he was grimacing and holding his groin, and walking very gingerly after he ran. Looked a long way off.

So unless there's been a miracle, IMO it's a fair bit of spin.

Yeah I can handle Ball having less than 100% of speed and agility, as he is way good enough to combat those attributes, but I hope his kicking for distance has improved and if if has, all is well as far as I am concerned.

If his kicking has not improved, I only hope it's just a confidence issue and not the ongoing problem that has plagued him in the past.

Does anyone know if Luke was ever a good kick for distance in his junior days????

in 03, 04 and 05 he kicked a lot of goals from around 50-55 either on the run or set shot, so his kicking had real penetration.
While never a monster a kick, the injury now has taken away the speed through the air and the penetration in extending the leg right through the ball.
that's the main thing I want back out of all of this.

[yipper]

Luke Ball is an elite midfielder - when he is fit. If he is back to full fitness in 08', then we have just added some serious class back into our midfield along with the grunt he has always provided. Combined with a now fully fit Hayes, emerging star in Montagna, the silky Dal Santo we are looking very, very good already. Add into the mix a hopefully emerging new talent like an Armitage or Geary combined with the unpredictability of our ruck set-up means the opposition will be keeping an eye on us through the pre-season. By late January we will get an idea of how Luke is travelling.

[st_Trav_ofWA]

of course caltoon are going to say Judd is breaking all the records down there hes the highest payed player on their list he cost them a first round pick and a handy player they aint gunna come out and say "well juddys stuffed be we are hoping we might get some good games out of him "

they would be on membership premotion over load " judd better then ever ..." "fastest bloke on the team..." "killing it in training "

[Eastern]

Luke Ball is an elite midfielder - when he is fit. If he is back to full fitness in 08', then we have just added some serious class back into our midfield along with the grunt he has always provided. Combined with a now fully fit Hayes, emerging star in Montagna, the silky Dal Santo we are looking very, very good already. Add into the mix a hopefully emerging new talent like an Armitage or Geary combined with the unpredictability of our ruck set-up means the opposition will be keeping an eye on us through the pre-season. By late January we will get an idea of how Luke is travelling.

Not wanting to correct you here yipper but I would argue that Montagna has emerged !!

[Teflon]

of course caltoon are going to say Judd is breaking all the records down there hes the highest payed player on their list he cost them a first round pick and a handy player they aint gunna come out and say "well juddys stuffed be we are hoping we might get some good games out of him "

they would be on membership premotion over load " judd better then ever ..." "fastest bloke on the team..." "killing it in training "

Look thats cynical and I like it and agree, however, as others have said, come the real stuff if Judd starts burning down the house again after same operation as Ball (although Balls carried his injury longer) then we'll know IMO that Luke Ball aint ever gonna reach the dizzy heights we all thought and that just maybe he was flogged and played while severly injured when he shouldnt have been????......I mean with appropriate rest and an operation 1 season after his injury occured IF Judd WAS able to get back to his best youd have to ask....how well did we handle Luke Ball? OR.....dare I say it *ducks for cover* was Luke Ball's dizzy heights ever really that dizzy.....

[st_Trav_ofWA]

there is also the question of the severity of the injury no one knows how the two blokes injurys compaire juds could be alot less the ballys but bally being a tough nut fights through it . in all honesty i couldnt care less how judds groin go's and the compairison between ball and judd is pointless lets just get luke out the playing without pain and then the dizzie hights will come back

[yipper]

Luke Ball is an elite midfielder - when he is fit. If he is back to full fitness in 08', then we have just added some serious class back into our midfield along with the grunt he has always provided. Combined with a now fully fit Hayes, emerging star in Montagna, the silky Dal Santo we are looking very, very good already. Add into the mix a hopefully emerging new talent like an Armitage or Geary combined with the unpredictability of our ruck set-up means the opposition will be keeping an eye on us through the pre-season. By late January we will get an idea of how Luke is travelling.

Not wanting to correct you here yipper but I would argue that Montagna has emerged !!

No argument from me.