SA Footy

Some highlights and lowlights this season I thought amongst our playing group. Here is my assessment (I've tried to include everyone who played this year but may have forgotton some). I'd welcome people's thoughts....

Fiacchi - had a solid year without anything spectacular. Seemed to get injured more this year than in others. Starting to lose pace and will need a big pre-season.

Petrenko - started off in the midfield early on in the season but failed to get enough of the ball and was eventually settled in the backpocket where he played some solid football. Needs to work on his disposal badly and will have a make-or-break season with the Crows next year

McGregor - Great all season although his first half was better than his second half. Another who is slowing rapidly

Hier -very disappointing. When we desperately needed a fullback to standup this season, Hier let us down. Has potential but someone needs to work with him to show him how to spoil without holding onto the full-forward

Stewart - had a good year but believe he is wasted playing in the last line of defence. Would have liked to have seen him used on the wing. Would expect to have him all year due to and expected delisting by the Power

Broadbent - pure class all season.

Rimington - got better and better all season. Expect him to come along further next year. Needs to watch his aggression on the ball though because he gives away a lot of free kicks

Daniels – tries extremely hard but fighting out of his depth

Jarrad – one of the better players this year but less of an impact than other years.

Ciccolella – injury interrupted year reduced his influence. Still amongst the best players for the eagles but needs someone else to assist

Treeby – never got going. Seemed unfit and carrying too much weight leading into the season. Got injured and missed most of the season. A crucial player to get right in 2010.

Polec – the more I saw of him the more I liked the look of him. A certainty for AFL in 2011 and expect big things from him next year.

Goldsworthy – came on really well. His lack of pace will stop him playing AFL but has good goal sense and excellent disposal. Needs to come next year and get more of the ball when playing midfield.

McKenzie – absolute class. Probably B&F winner.

Grocke – maybe his best year for our club since arriving a few years back. Always trying and the one criticism I have is that he needs to get more ‘goal hungry’ and stop passing the ball when marking from 50m.

Symonds – career in jeopardy after another terrible year.

Fairclough – Better year than the last couple of seasons but still well below the standard needed as a league football player. Has the strength but cannot find the football which is unforgiveable as a midfielder. Had two standout games.

Salter – Brilliant year. Not expected to play much with the eagles next year.

Passador – Injured all year and we missed his presence. Probably a wise choice to retire as he was slowing.

Dabrowski – had an ok year but has lost all spring in his jump so that we lose most hitouts.

Almond – while he had a good first season I thought he plateaued from about round 5 without further improvement. His disposal is terrible and needs to be worked on if he has hopes of playing AFL. He will be a useful player next year.

Miles – maybe our best recruit. Never starred but gave good service.

Sumner – in the few games he played he looked classy. Definitely bound for the AFL next year.

Hicks – Garbage. One of a number of players who will front for Henley next year.

Jacky – Played some classy games but lacks guts and hardness. Expect him to get delisted and will probably go back to Perth.

Banner – Good first season. Has lots of potential but needs to slow down and take his time rather than jamming the football on his boot. Should take some advice from Cicca

Redden – promising at times but mostly injured.

Powell – similar situation to Treeby. Got injured early and didn’t return until late. Unlike Treeby he made more of an impact when he returned.

Corbett – tough to rate. Did some good solid jobs but will never be a star. Great disposal skills but am yet to be convinced he deserves a place in the starting 18.

that Polec looks damn good.

as an observer of football i think that your comments on those players are just about 100% correct

Players you missed Mr.Fuller
Hill
Cheep
Wright
Westbrook

No room for Jay "boom recruit" Cheep in your best 40?

ST...

spell_check wrote:Players you missed Mr.Fuller
Hill
Cheep
Wright
Westbrook

hill....will be very good in time
cheep......not as good as his reputation was but should improve next year
wright............haven't seen enough of him
westbrook.........lacks a yard but can take a grab & does kick straight

what has this to do with the eagles ?

bayman wrote: (deleted quote)

what has this to do with the eagles ?

Nothing, that's why it's now deleted.

Thanks Spellcheck – I also missed Shirley and Hentchell
Cheep – zero impact as a midfielder. Played some ok games in the forward pocket but that is not why we recruited him. Don’t expect him to improve next year. If he stays he will be in and out of the twos.
Hill – I thought he was excellent and not really sure why he was dropped. Tall and quick and takes a good mark. Needs to work on his set shots at goal. I expect him to be drafted this year though.
Wright – looks like tarzan plays like Jane. He has to get serious about football and stop his gym sessions and worry about getting fit. When he was 10kg lighter he was a very useful midfielder. As it is he is too slow.
Westbrook – a good return to the league. Was right to be dropped in about round 17 but thought he should have been brought back last week. Hopefully he will stick around next year.
Hentschel – was good at this level but see him now more as a defender. We’ll see a lot of him next year either through delisting or through not making hte crows starting 18.
Shirley – was great for us everytime he came back. Hard at it and lots of the ball. Bad disposal by foot but his hands make up for it.

Mr Fuller wrote:Some highlights and lowlights this season I thought amongst our playing group. Here is my assessment (I've tried to include everyone who played this year but may have forgotton some). I'd welcome people's thoughts....

Fiacchi - had a solid year without anything spectacular. Seemed to get injured more this year than in others. Starting to lose pace and will need a big pre-season.

Petrenko - started off in the midfield early on in the season but failed to get enough of the ball and was eventually settled in the backpocket where he played some solid football. Needs to work on his disposal badly and will have a make-or-break season with the Crows next year

McGregor - Great all season although his first half was better than his second half. Another who is slowing rapidly

Hier -very disappointing. When we desperately needed a fullback to standup this season, Hier let us down. Has potential but someone needs to work with him to show him how to spoil without holding onto the full-forward

Stewart - had a good year but believe he is wasted playing in the last line of defence. Would have liked to have seen him used on the wing. Would expect to have him all year due to and expected delisting by the Power

Broadbent - pure class all season.

Rimington - got better and better all season. Expect him to come along further next year. Needs to watch his aggression on the ball though because he gives away a lot of free kicks

Daniels – tries extremely hard but fighting out of his depth

Jarrad – one of the better players this year but less of an impact than other years.

Ciccolella – injury interrupted year reduced his influence. Still amongst the best players for the eagles but needs someone else to assist

Treeby – never got going. Seemed unfit and carrying too much weight leading into the season. Got injured and missed most of the season. A crucial player to get right in 2010.

Polec – the more I saw of him the more I liked the look of him. A certainty for AFL in 2011 and expect big things from him next year.

Goldsworthy – came on really well. His lack of pace will stop him playing AFL but has good goal sense and excellent disposal. Needs to come next year and get more of the ball when playing midfield.

McKenzie – absolute class. Probably B&F winner.

Grocke – maybe his best year for our club since arriving a few years back. Always trying and the one criticism I have is that he needs to get more ‘goal hungry’ and stop passing the ball when marking from 50m.

Symonds – career in jeopardy after another terrible year.

Fairclough – Better year than the last couple of seasons but still well below the standard needed as a league football player. Has the strength but cannot find the football which is unforgiveable as a midfielder. Had two standout games.

Salter – Brilliant year. Not expected to play much with the eagles next year.

Passador – Injured all year and we missed his presence. Probably a wise choice to retire as he was slowing.

Dabrowski – had an ok year but has lost all spring in his jump so that we lose most hitouts.

Almond – while he had a good first season I thought he plateaued from about round 5 without further improvement. His disposal is terrible and needs to be worked on if he has hopes of playing AFL. He will be a useful player next year.

Miles – maybe our best recruit. Never starred but gave good service.

Sumner – in the few games he played he looked classy. Definitely bound for the AFL next year.

Hicks – Garbage. One of a number of players who will front for Henley next year.

Jacky – Played some classy games but lacks guts and hardness. Expect him to get delisted and will probably go back to Perth.

Banner – Good first season. Has lots of potential but needs to slow down and take his time rather than jamming the football on his boot. Should take some advice from Cicca

Redden – promising at times but mostly injured.

Powell – similar situation to Treeby. Got injured early and didn’t return until late. Unlike Treeby he made more of an impact when he returned.

Corbett – tough to rate. Did some good solid jobs but will never be a star. Great disposal skills but am yet to be convinced he deserves a place in the starting 18.

Mr fuller some of those named played in the seconds and played a lot better under jefferies than under fuller funny that

Some of those named
Dabrowski .A second ruckman being used as a number 1 by ron .Westies fans will tell u he was their CHF not ruckman.struggled to win hit outs or find Eagles players when he did like yesterday's game.
Redden For an AFL listed Ruckman he lacks fitness in my eyes .But unlike Dabrowski the last time he played league against Sturt he was winning the taps .I mentioned to the Power guy who was watching during the year to get him to thump the ball sometimes hasn't happened yet.
Powell and Treeby I love the way these two play.but bad player management this year by the club or was it ron .They should have had their surgeries 09 pre season or rested for 09 to be fresh for 2010.
Corbett and Daniel both rated highly by Ron .Myself I am unsure what to do with these two I will leave that to people who know more than me .
Jacky and Banner AFL listed players Jacky tries to do the flashy thing and not the one percenters . and got injured very often.Banner started like he would set the world on fire then was injury prone.Part way through the year he seemed to be a receiver not an in and under player.Something happened after his last injury and he improved on field in the two's.
Hicksplayed his best game all year Saturday in the two's
Sumner lost something along the way fingers crossed for next year.
Symondsyep I agree but he looked better on a wing but once again injury prone .
MILES Out rucked dobber and was better around the ground not bad for a fill in ruckman.
Goldsworthy We needed him Sunday .but he falls out of games as he did on Saturday
Now how about
LANE When not out with injury will be in my Forward line with Goldsworthy another genuine small forward.Hopefully unlike Ron Mick will not try and turn small forwards into midfielders.
Hill Should have been playing most of the year.Was a gun saturday.
Rowntree started the year in the league team dropped to the seconds then played under18's .After saturdays game should be in the midfield next season.

SnappyTom wrote:No room for Jay "boom recruit" Cheep in your best 40?

ST...

He would be in my line up .Another player wrongly used by Ron Fuller in my eyes.Played mainly at Hf or FP where he seemed to struggle at league level .He did kick goals when he played .
BUT he was getting into the packs and getting the ball out .And for some reason after the sturt debacle he was dropped and seeing he was the only player getting the ball I found that strange.
Mind u when he played on the wing he was best on ground against South.

Hopefully Mick will get the best out of him in 2010.

Mr Fuller wrote:Wright – looks like tarzan plays like Jane. He has to get serious about football and stop his gym sessions and worry about getting fit. When he was 10kg lighter he was a very useful midfielder. As it is he is too slow.
Westbrook – a good return to the league. Was right to be dropped in about round 17 but thought he should have been brought back last week. Hopefully he will stick around next year.

Wright yep looks like an AFL player but is a disappointment.Mind u Ron had trouble getting the best out of him but jeffries could
Westbrook sorry see symonds in your comments he did nothing when dropped.

Lane it too slow.

He isn't good enough to be a midfielder and if you play forward pocket you must be quick. This is why Fitzgerald never made it. Similar players IMO

Haven't seen enough of Rowntree to comment.

Sometimes young players come in and immediately you can see there is some quality they have that will make them a very good player i.e Polec, Broadbent, Stokes, Sumner etc.

I remember Rowntree a year ago or so when he played a game and didn't pick up on anything about him. Hopefully he has improved.

And on that matter.....young Smith played a handful of games this year. No impressive trait there that I could see. Not quick, too tall for a midfielder, too slow for a key player. I'm not saying he won't be good in the future but i really questioned how he got into our side.

Mr Fuller wrote:Lane it too slow.

He isn't good enough to be a midfielder and if you play forward pocket you must be quick. This is why Fitzgerald never made it. Similar players IMO

Haven't seen enough of Rowntree to comment.

Sometimes young players come in and immediately you can see there is some quality they have that will make them a very good player i.e Polec, Broadbent, Stokes, Sumner etc.

I remember Rowntree a year ago or so when he played a game and didn't pick up on anything about him. Hopefully he has improved.

And on that matter.....young Smith played a handful of games this year. No impressive trait there that I could see. Not quick, too tall for a midfielder, too slow for a key player. I'm not saying he won't be good in the future but i really questioned how he got into our side.

Lane impressed in the under18's state games I understand.kicked 4 or 5 goals in a league game then dropped .kicked a bag for the year when playing seconds.
Fitzy fell out of favour with fuller . Got injured Saturday
Smith one of Fullers new favourites or was he just thrown to the wolves as a well known Eagles poster told me Sunday.

They can get rid of Brad geddes & James McEntee, not up to it! Zak Hier maybe as well!

Why just eagles supporters. Thought this was an SA Footy forum.

bloods08 - I just thought no one from any other team would be interested. You are welcome to read and post.

Agreed with comments re Geddes and McEntee.

lol - we could just post this list to Godden to save him a lot of trouble.

Rowntree and Banner were outstanding in the reserves on Saturday, Mitch had a nasty injury early in the season so think he could be forgiven for taking a bit if time to get his mindset right again. If Brad Geddes could play a full injury free season think he could be a surprise packet, he spent some time in the middle in the twos on the weekend and got some telling touches and was very clean with his disposal....seems to have run over a black cat like Rob Fiacchi.

Some positives coming from season 2009 were the find of some really decent young kids Allmond, Polek and Sumner. Banner and Cheep will only get better with time. Powell and Treeby with a full injury free pre-season will be a great asset to us. Looking forward to 2010 key areas we need to recruit in are a Full Forward who can contribute 60 + goals, a ruckmen and some midfielders with a blistering turn of pace.

Mr Fuller wrote:Some highlights and lowlights this season I thought amongst our playing group. Here is my assessment (I've tried to include everyone who played this year but may have forgotton some). I'd welcome people's thoughts....

Fiacchi - had a solid year without anything spectacular. Seemed to get injured more this year than in others. Starting to lose pace and will need a big pre-season.

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:Petrenko - started off in the midfield early on in the season but failed to get enough of the ball and was eventually settled in the backpocket where he played some solid football. Needs to work on his disposal badly and will have a make-or-break season with the Crows next year

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:McGregor - Great all season although his first half was better than his second half. Another who is slowing rapidly

Agree. But reckon he still has a couple of very good years in him at SANFL level. Potentially up forward if we can find some defenders.

Mr Fuller wrote:Hier -very disappointing. When we desperately needed a fullback to standup this season, Hier let us down. Has potential but someone needs to work with him to show him how to spoil without holding onto the full-forward

Agree to a certain extent, but thought some guys were getting gold passes while he was getting dropped. Considering he was so important to our structure, thought he could have been treated a bit fairer at selection.

Mr Fuller wrote:Stewart - had a good year but believe he is wasted playing in the last line of defence. Would have liked to have seen him used on the wing. Would expect to have him all year due to and expected delisting by the Power

Agree, although don’t think he’ll be delisted.

Mr Fuller wrote:Broadbent - pure class all season.

Yep, one of our best. Won’t see him next year and was surprised how much we saw of him this year. Disastrous use of him in the semi final – not his fault.

Mr Fuller wrote:Rimington - got better and better all season. Expect him to come along further next year. Needs to watch his aggression on the ball though because he gives away a lot of free kicks

Seems to have found his niche in the back half. Was expecting more after some of his promising efforts in 2008. Needs to step up in 2010.

Mr Fuller wrote:Daniels – tries extremely hard but fighting out of his depth

I’ve been very critical of him, but thought he was our most improved by the end of the season. Needs to work really hard on his intensity in a tight situation. Get him to study Ty Allen. Does have a footy brain and can find the ball in traffic. Definitely the player who got the most gold passes from Fuller, but may just be justified in the long run.

Mr Fuller wrote:Jarrad – one of the better players this year but less of an impact than other years.

Average first half of the year followed by an outstanding 2nd half once returning from injury. Almost as if that heavy knock he got against Port at Woodville was the turning point in his season, for the better.

Mr Fuller wrote:Ciccolella – injury interrupted year reduced his influence. Still amongst the best players for the eagles but needs someone else to assist

Thought he was relatively injury free most of the year? Did he miss any games? His best season since 2006 and a much needed player for next season.

Mr Fuller wrote:Treeby – never got going. Seemed unfit and carrying too much weight leading into the season. Got injured and missed most of the season. A crucial player to get right in 2010.

One of those players who needs to be at the peak of his fitness as he doesn’t find the ball naturally. Hopefully he can get his body right and have a big 2010.

Mr Fuller wrote:Polec – the more I saw of him the more I liked the look of him. A certainty for AFL in 2011 and expect big things from him next year.

A fantastic start to league football. Outstanding for a 16 year old. Did get taught a football lesson by Sturt’s number 15 in the Semi Final, but will be a better player for it.

Mr Fuller wrote:Goldsworthy – came on really well. His lack of pace will stop him playing AFL but has good goal sense and excellent disposal. Needs to come next year and get more of the ball when playing midfield.

Very good when he was playing league. Should have been in the Semi Final. Hopefully he gets picked in the draft, but if not, will be very valuable for the Eagles next year.

Mr Fuller wrote:McKenzie – absolute class. Probably B&F winner.

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:Grocke – maybe his best year for our club since arriving a few years back. Always trying and the one criticism I have is that he needs to get more ‘goal hungry’ and stop passing the ball when marking from 50m.

Agree. Could develop his game to lead back inside 50 more often and kick some more goals as well as presenting out to the wings. A very good season and still has potential to improve.

Mr Fuller wrote:Symonds – career in jeopardy after another terrible year.

Thought he did ok in the last part of the season. Was unlucky to be dropped for the Elimination Final. Definitely needs to step up though and if he is to make anything of himself as a league footballer, 2010 has to be the year.

Mr Fuller wrote:Fairclough – Better year than the last couple of seasons but still well below the standard needed as a league football player. Has the strength but cannot find the football which is unforgiveable as a midfielder. Had two standout games.

Thought he did ok as well and was unlucky to be dropped at certain stages. Hopefully he keeps improving and sticks at it. Still young and has much needed pace.

Mr Fuller wrote:Salter – Brilliant year. Not expected to play much with the eagles next year.

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:Passador – Injured all year and we missed his presence. Probably a wise choice to retire as he was slowing.

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:Dabrowski – had an ok year but has lost all spring in his jump so that we lose most hitouts.

Agree, although would say he was better than ok. Had to shoulder the majority of the ruck responsibilities and we really need another league quality ruckman to compliment him.

Mr Fuller wrote:Almond – while he had a good first season I thought he plateaued from about round 5 without further improvement. His disposal is terrible and needs to be worked on if he has hopes of playing AFL. He will be a useful player next year.

Harsh. Thought he was outstanding for his first year of football. Very hard at it. Runs hard. Was able to go from the wing to a running half back to an onballer and perform in all roles. If he is to make AFL he will need to work hard on his disposal, but it is far from being bad and I believe he will (or at least should) get a crack at the big time.

Mr Fuller wrote:Miles – maybe our best recruit. Never starred but gave good service.

Agree. Was able to see out the season which was great credit to him.

Mr Fuller wrote:Sumner – in the few games he played he looked classy. Definitely bound for the AFL next year.

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:Hicks – Garbage. One of a number of players who will front for Henley next year.

Agree.

Mr Fuller wrote:Jacky – Played some classy games but lacks guts and hardness. Expect him to get delisted and will probably go back to Perth.

Agree. If not this year then next.

Mr Fuller wrote:Banner – Good first season. Has lots of potential but needs to slow down and take his time rather than jamming the football on his boot. Should take some advice from Cicca

Agree. Has some class about him. Needs to go hard at every contest.

Mr Fuller wrote:Redden – promising at times but mostly injured.

Very raw still, but would like to see him spend a bit of time with Lindsay and/or Dabrowski over the off season instead of with Port Power. Really needs some hardness.

Mr Fuller wrote:Powell – similar situation to Treeby. Got injured early and didn’t return until late. Unlike Treeby he made more of an impact when he returned.

Agree. Important player who hopefully will be fit for 2010.

Mr Fuller wrote:Corbett – tough to rate. Did some good solid jobs but will never be a star. Great disposal skills but am yet to be convinced he deserves a place in the starting 18.

Agree.

Cheep – I think we expect a lot from our recruits and the pressure put on them is sometimes unrealistic. Should benefit after having a taste this year and hopefully he decides to stick around and has a big pre-season. Has some very good attributes (namely slick hands and quick thinking in close) which Sturt had and we didn’t in the final.

Burton – played the two games on the road back from injury.

Cullen – was fighting for Miles’ spot from the start. An experiment that is worthwhile, but he wasn’t quite up to league standard and ended up back at Henley playing in a losing A1 GF.

Davoren – Wouldn’t be surprised if he goes back to Henley. Has the talent to play league football but his body is still not big enough. Once bulked up he could be a very good player. Hopefully he sticks at it and has a big pre-season on the weights.

Rob Fiacchi – Another injury cursed year. Admire that he continues to get back.

Patrick Giuffredia – Injured early in the year and out for the season.

Trent Hetschel – Played a couple of very good games down back before going to the Crows. Didn’t play as many games for the Eagles as I expected him to this season.

Stuart Hill – Another big improver this year. Hopefully they can mould him as a CHB. Good size and good athleticism, but just doesn’t seem to find defending a natural thing. Much like Ben Schwarze. Seems as though he’d have the attitude to be able to adapt his game. Although he might be the answer at Full Forward post Passador?

Travis Lane – good young player who should add depth next year.

Brendan Papps – I think he played a league game or two early. Perhaps not more than a reserves player.

Angus Rowntree – seems as if the club has big wraps on him. Haven’t seen much of him, but wasn’t anywhere near up to league this year. Still a couple of years away I would guess.

Duane Shultz – played some good games from defence. Unfortunately injured at the end, but should take some confidence that he can play league footy and give it another crack next year. Very good blogging.

Brodie Smith – Another kid thrown in the deep end by Fuller. No where near league level at this stage body wise, but will benefit greatly from the 4 or 5 games he played.

David Westbrook – Came back as good as ever early in the season and played an important role when Salter and Passador were out injured. Was pushed out by these two players when they came back from injury.

Brad Geddes - hampered by injury. I think with a good pre-season he could be a good league player still.

Lee Staple didn't play league this year, but think he could be quite a good player and would hope he plays a fair bit of league next year.