Luke Ball & That Groin - Herald Sun

[spiral2]

Luke Ball had the ability to be elite comfortably.

But to be frank, what I've seen of him during his career so far (bar the first half of 05) have not impressed me much.

He's a battler. A plodder. A glorified Stephen Powell.

It's an absolute tragedy (in footballing terms) that injury has robbed him to date of what would have been 4 years of elite football.

He'd be a premiership player if his groin wasn't stuffed.
He'd be mentioned among the greats already.

But to date, in my book, he's not even close.

He's a gutsy, tough, defensive on-baller. Not much more.

Let's hope this surgery works.

i think there's some truth in what you're saying Rodg but you're being too harsh

glorified steven powell, c'mon! bally can kick a drop punt!

are you judging him by the right criteria? he's an in and under player, he's always going to appear to 'battle' more than a judd or hodge. he doesn't have their speed or kicking skills so will spend more time in the clinches, scrapping for the footy, laying tackles etc and less time on the highlight reel. I don't think his value (at full fitness) will be less though.
I think it's easy to miss some of the great things that bally does, because they often happen in close rather than on a wing/HFF with no one within 30m.

no doubt, however, he has lost the offensive edge to his game over the last couple of seasons. If the surgery is successful I hope he can regain confidence in his offensive ability and not get stuck being overly defensive.
with more fitness and hopefully more speed and kicking power he should be able to run forward and be dangerous more often.

He's also entering into his prime years now and he should be full of desire following the last couple of seasons.

don't forget to compare him to 2007 Judd, how good was he???
here's hoping both of them come back bigger and better in 2008!

[ausfatcat]

Luke Ball had the ability to be elite comfortably.

But to be frank, what I've seen of him during his career so far (bar the first half of 05) have not impressed me much.

He's a battler. A plodder. A glorified Stephen Powell.

It's an absolute tragedy (in footballing terms) that injury has robbed him to date of what would have been 4 years of elite football.

He'd be a premiership player if his groin wasn't stuffed.
He'd be mentioned among the greats already.

But to date, in my book, he's not even close.

He's a gutsy, tough, defensive on-baller. Not much more.

Let's hope this surgery works.

i think there's some truth in what you're saying Rodg but you're being too harsh

glorified steven powell, c'mon! bally can kick a drop punt!

are you judging him by the right criteria? he's an in and under player, he's always going to appear to 'battle' more than a judd or hodge. he doesn't have their speed or kicking skills so will spend more time in the clinches, scrapping for the footy, laying tackles etc and less time on the highlight reel. I don't think his value (at full fitness) will be less though.
I think it's easy to miss some of the great things that bally does, because they often happen in close rather than on a wing/HFF with no one within 30m.

no doubt, however, he has lost the offensive edge to his game over the last couple of seasons. If the surgery is successful I hope he can regain confidence in his offensive ability and not get stuck being overly defensive.
with more fitness and hopefully more speed and kicking power he should be able to run forward and be dangerous more often.

He's also entering into his prime years now and he should be full of desire following the last couple of seasons.

don't forget to compare him to 2007 Judd, how good was he???
here's hoping both of them come back bigger and better in 2008!

I think that was rodgers point spiral, he's become an in and under player only, in 04 and 05 Ball was great because he played inside and outside, with a burst of speed and great kicking skills as good if not better than Judd & Hodge.

[Beej]

Over the last couple of preseason's we've read encouraging reports about his recovery.

Last preseason I remember hearing that, in terms of running and kicking, it was the best they've seen Ball in a long time.

rodgerfox has a point.

We're all aware that Ball is an All-Australian at his best. Not the best or most penetrating field-kicks we've ever seen, even before his injury, but such a brain and a pair of some of the best hands in the competition.

Injury or not, at this point in time he's not half the player he could be.

At his worst, a glorified Stephen Powell.

At his best and with the 3 years of football that he lost, Greg Williams?

He could still go on to become anything from here, but we'll never know just how good he could've been.

[spiral2]

I think that was rodgers point spiral, he's become an in and under player only, in 04 and 05 Ball was great because he played inside and outside, with a burst of speed and great kicking skills as good if not better than Judd & Hodge.

no doubt he has over the last two seasons.
I'll have to go back over my 04-05 tapes and see Bally in full flight

[rodgerfox]

I think that was rodgers point spiral, he's become an in and under player only, in 04 and 05 Ball was great because he played inside and outside, with a burst of speed and great kicking skills as good if not better than Judd & Hodge.

That was exactly my point.

He has the skills and ball winning ability of both Hodge and Judd - plus the 'in and under' game that they don't have.

He'd be a freak if he could run and kick.

Someone said above about 'with or without injury' in regards to his form - for mine it is injury solely to blame for him not reaching his potential yet.