Walsh the shinning light for Sandy

[axcellence]

He is probably 1 year away at least based on the ABC TV telecast on Saturday...

If he can let Kosi find form in the VFL it could be a good thing ... whilst he gets a taste and sees what's required at the next level.
It could prove good for both players.

He's obviously behind an in form Kosi... but there were signs as someone posted above where Kosi looked disinterested in chasing .. just stood by whilst opponents were rebounding, and maybe he needs to step down reassess and refocus - to return a better player.

Walsh would be the equal of the out of form Kosi... we're currently seeing.

I'd rather swap Kosi to the ruck and McEvoy to the forward line. Plus, for Walsh to come in - St Kilda would have to either "promote" him or put someone else on the LTI list.

[Dr Spaceman]

I’m not saying he will play this year and I’m not saying he won’t.

No one knows for sure.

However I think for some of us we have it in the back of our minds that he’s come out from Ireland and only played a handful of games and it’s gonna take a long time for him to be good enough to play at senior level etc.

That’s all true however I wonder if Tommy was a rookie from Shepparton, and was improving the way he is, whether we’d be so quick to write off his 2010 prospects.

I just think his background may, at times, overly influence our thoughts on TW.

But of course I may be wrong.

[markp]

I think we have to be careful here and not expect a Jim Stynes type to come out of his development

i'll make a bold prediction here and say he'll be as good as stynes (who was a super player).

Wow... if that comes even nearly true and/or J. Smith comes good then the whole pick 16 + 30 thing will certainly be forgotten.

Jesse Smith + Walsh > Ball + Lovett + Pittard

I'd like to see that!

Looking forward to next season, the prospect of a fit and firing Jesse Smith, Walsh and Stanley earning regular spots in our best 22 is certainly worth getting excited about.

[Foz]

Hard not to be impressed by Simpkin as well.

Simpkin was in the best, coming back from injury and plays a potential similar role to Sam Gilbert.

His disposal looked A ok too, which is not always striking from the Sandy players.

He showed plenty of aggression and if he keeps the upward momentum looms as a possible key defender in years to come.

[plugger66]

Hard not to be impressed by Simpkin as well.

Simpkin was in the best, coming back from injury and plays a potential similar role to Sam Gilbert.

His disposal looked A ok too, which is not always striking from the Sandy players.

He showed plenty of aggression and if he keeps the upward momentum looms as a possible key defender in years to come.

A bit small for a key defender. Would have to play a Sam Gilbert type role IMO. Has to make it this year though because I doubt we would keep him another year as a rookie.

[Solar]

The thing that struck me was his leading, has improved out of sight. Was timing his leads better the kosi is currently. I know people will disagree but if roo was not injured I could see walsh replacing kosi for a couple of weeks. But would struggle as the number one forward.

But very happy where he is at. Ahead of archer, cahill, johnson etc. and has only just learnt the game.

Simpkin reads the ball so nicely and allowed tommy to go forward. A likely type and it will be interesting to see how he progresses.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

He is probably 1 year away at least based on the ABC TV telecast on Saturday...

If he can let Kosi find form in the VFL it could be a good thing ... whilst he gets a taste and sees what's required at the next level.
It could prove good for both players.

He's obviously behind an in form Kosi... but there were signs as someone posted above where Kosi looked disinterested in chasing .. just stood by whilst opponents were rebounding, and maybe he needs to step down reassess and refocus - to return a better player.

Walsh would be the equal of the out of form Kosi... we're currently seeing.

I'd rather swap Kosi to the ruck and McEvoy to the forward line. Plus, for Walsh to come in - St Kilda would have to either "promote" him or put someone else on the LTI list.

I reckon Tommy wouldn't go any worse at FF than Kosi is at the moment, but I'd also rather see Kosi and Mac swap. Mac would likely give us at least as much forward as Kosi is at the moment, while Kosi would probably kick more goals running forward from the ruck, than he presently is at FF. He also probably wouldn't get any less hitouts than Mac is at the moment and would do more around the ground. So we could win on both fronts. Then Kosi would hopefully get his confidence back and return to FF and Mac could go back into the ruck.
As for Tommy, I saw a young Barry Hall in Tommy, on the weekend. Blonde hair, big muscles, similar height and strong, hard leads. Physically he probably has all the attributes Hall has and maybe even more (speed). He's also a very decent (and long) and accurate looking kick, already. An awful lot to like, and work with. And hopefully he has a better temperament.
He may have only been playing our game for a few months, but he's the "son of a great" (their version of Gary Ablett Jnr) in Irish footy and has probably been playing their version of FF for years, so I don't expect it will take him long to adjust to playing there in our game. The games are not that different, especially for those playing at FF. And playing FF in Aussie rules ain't rocket science. I don't expect it will be long before he'd be ready to have a crack in the seniors. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has a Barry Hall type career (if he sticks at it). I doubt he came out here to make up the numbers. I also doubt that we'd have spent two years trying to get him to come over, etc, if we didn't foresee him playing a big role in our future.

[bigcarl]

I wonder if Tommy was a rookie from Shepparton, and was improving the way he is, whether we’d be so quick to write off his 2010 prospects.

agree. he needs to be judged on his form, not his background. if he begins kicking regular bags of goals for sandringham he's a walk up start imo given our current forward woes.

[bigcarl]

he's the "son of a great" (their version of Gary Ablett Jnr) in Irish footy and has probably been playing their version of FF for years, so I don't expect it will take him long to adjust to playing there in our game.

The games are not that different, especially for those playing at FF. And playing FF in Aussie rules ain't rocket science. I don't expect it will be long before he'd be ready to have a crack in the seniors.

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has a Barry Hall type career (if he sticks at it).

i like this.

[Dr Spaceman]

he's the "son of a great" (their version of Gary Ablett Jnr) in Irish footy and has probably been playing their version of FF for years, so I don't expect it will take him long to adjust to playing there in our game.

The games are not that different, especially for those playing at FF. And playing FF in Aussie rules ain't rocket science. I don't expect it will be long before he'd be ready to have a crack in the seniors.

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has a Barry Hall type career (if he sticks at it).

i like this.

Hopefully he'll leave out a few of Barry's unique "skills" though.

[Moods]

As long as Walsh won't weaken our side by replacing a proven and in form player and goalkicker - he's ready for promotion now.

Even if he's equal to the player he's likely to be replacing - there's his upside we need to consider.

If only we had an in form goal kicker Tommy's size I would happily argue the fors and against. The only thing that appears to be holding him back is his own inexperience. They don't want to throw him to the wolves too early I guess which is very understandable.

Just out of curiousity - can anyone recall how long Marty Clarke had played the game before debuting for the pies? I thought it was about 12 games. Not sure you have to play 50 games before getting the hang of it - the main reason 95% of don't play AFL is because we don't have the athletic ability or physique. Tommy's already got that covered. He has around the clock professional coaching that a local footballer would kill for. Personally I reckon after 15 games he could well be ready at this rate.

[plugger66]

As long as Walsh won't weaken our side by replacing a proven and in form player and goalkicker - he's ready for promotion now.

Even if he's equal to the player he's likely to be replacing - there's his upside we need to consider.

If only we had an in form goal kicker Tommy's size I would happily argue the fors and against. The only thing that appears to be holding him back is his own inexperience. They don't want to throw him to the wolves too early I guess which is very understandable.

Just out of curiousity - can anyone recall how long Marty Clarke had played the game before debuting for the pies? I thought it was about 12 games. Not sure you have to play 50 games before getting the hang of it - the main reason 95% of don't play AFL is because we don't have the athletic ability or physique. Tommy's already got that covered. He has around the clock professional coaching that a local footballer would kill for. Personally I reckon after 15 games he could well be ready at this rate.

I think the difference between the 2 is one is a KP player and the other was an onballer which is basically all the gaelic rules players are.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

he's the "son of a great" (their version of Gary Ablett Jnr) in Irish footy and has probably been playing their version of FF for years, so I don't expect it will take him long to adjust to playing there in our game.

The games are not that different, especially for those playing at FF. And playing FF in Aussie rules ain't rocket science. I don't expect it will be long before he'd be ready to have a crack in the seniors.

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has a Barry Hall type career (if he sticks at it).

i like this.

Hopefully he'll leave out a few of Barry's unique "skills" though.

Yes, well that goes without saying!

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Just out of curiousity - can anyone recall how long Marty Clarke had played the game before debuting for the pies? I thought it was about 12 games. Not sure you have to play 50 games before getting the hang of it - the main reason 95% of don't play AFL is because we don't have the athletic ability or physique. Tommy's already got that covered. He has around the clock professional coaching that a local footballer would kill for. Personally I reckon after 15 games he could well be ready at this rate.

I thought Clarke played seniors after even less, but this is what Wiki have to say:
"On Friday 16 February 2007 he made his AFL debut in a preseason game with Sydney Swans at the North Sydney Oval. He had an outstanding game.[3] This led Pies assistant coach Gavin Brown to say[4]

"He was probably the stand-out player from the point of view that he had never played a game of Aussie Rules before. "It just showed that he has an enormous amount of will and want, and he had put in a lot of hard work. It was fantastic for him today - a good step.

Clarke made his debut in a premiership season game on Saturday, 23 June 2007, also against the Swans. Again, his game was outstanding, with 20 possessions in front of a crowd of 64,222 at Telstra Stadium in Sydney.[5] Some sources have even called his performance "one of the best debuts in the history of the game"."

So he played a pre-season game in the seniors for Collingwood as his first ever game of Aussie Rules and then made his Premiership season debut in about mid season.

[Dr Spaceman]

As long as Walsh won't weaken our side by replacing a proven and in form player and goalkicker - he's ready for promotion now.

Even if he's equal to the player he's likely to be replacing - there's his upside we need to consider.

If only we had an in form goal kicker Tommy's size I would happily argue the fors and against. The only thing that appears to be holding him back is his own inexperience. They don't want to throw him to the wolves too early I guess which is very understandable.

Just out of curiousity - can anyone recall how long Marty Clarke had played the game before debuting for the pies? I thought it was about 12 games. Not sure you have to play 50 games before getting the hang of it - the main reason 95% of don't play AFL is because we don't have the athletic ability or physique. Tommy's already got that covered. He has around the clock professional coaching that a local footballer would kill for. Personally I reckon after 15 games he could well be ready at this rate.

I think the difference between the 2 is one is a KP player and the other was an onballer which is basically all the gaelic rules players are.

The other difference is that one is a superstar.


And the other one is Marty Clarke!

[samoht]

Walsh may also have another thing going for him - I'm not sure , but I think he can kick the ball (round ball anyway) reasonably well on both sides of his body ?

If so he has all the attributes .. for a FF... I can see why he's being tried there.

If Sandy can deliver the ball better (certainly better than they did against North Ballarat) we might see what he's got or can develop over the next few weeks.

[borderbarry]

Would like him to debut a few weeks after Roo returns. He could learn a lot off Roo.

[Saintersss]

I thought Walsh did well considering the quality of the delivery.
He could have kicked 5 ... missed a couple of relatively easy snaps.

He also was a team player.. gave handballs and short passes instead of just bombing at goal.

He is going to miss them in the AFL as well, if not miss more. The bloke, while kicking pretty good for someone who has only played for half a month, is still not a good kick. And under the huge pressure and tackling in the AFL his disposal will be very poor.
Look he looks very very promising, but lets not just chuck him in the deep end and destroy his confidence. Give him some time to develop, and maybe, just maybe, he might be ready for the latter part of this season, but most likely he will debut next year or later.

[shmic_s]

Just in regards to rookie elevations etc.

St Kilda have 2 veterans on our list (Lenny & Baker) this year.

Lenny is a veteran outside the list.
Bakes is a listed veteran.

Because we have chosen to use Bakes as a listed veteran, this allows us to upgrade one rookie to the main list at any stage.

Once upgraded, that player's wages will be included in the salary cap. So they won't upgrade anyone unless they're most likely playing that week.

[bigcarl]

The bloke, while kicking pretty good for someone who has only played for half a month, is still not a good kick.

i saw him playing for sandringham more than half a month ago and his kicking was the best part of his game. he can really roost them and they spin beautifully.

[Fidelis]

I don't pretend to be right on top of all things Sandringham but my understanding of the significance of Walsh's game on Saturday is that it was perhaps the firs gam where he played excusively as a forward. He's played mainly as a back to this point; easier to learn the game back there. The move forward is a good sign; the club clearly feels that he is ready to broaden his footy education. More importantly perhaps is that they may be flagging that his future is forward.

I wouldnt get too carried away by his game on the weekend. He didn't look out of place and there were flashes of promise but he made some basic skill errors; dropped marks he should have taken, missed easy goals and turned it over a couple of times.

I'm very optimistic about his future in the game but for my money, he's still a long term development project. I'd be surprised if there's senior selection just around the corner.

[saintspremiers]

Dump Kosi and bring in Walsh.

Kosi is shyte without Roo in the side to help him out.

[Dr Spaceman]

Dump Kosi and bring in Walsh.

Kosi is shyte without Roo in the side to help him out.

A forward line containing both Stanley & Walsh as our two main targets is an absolute dream.

In that dream I can see them listed at CHF and FF in our team line up in Friday's Herald Sun.

Unfortunately the date on the newspaper does not end in 2010!

[saintpeter]

Tommy Walsh is a huge name in Irish Football. He won't be wasting his time out in Australia. He is a natural footballer and athlete and he will pick up the game very quickly, as shown by his progress so far. Give him a few more months. Do not see him making an appearance this year, but next year could be very interesting.

[Griggsy]

Yes in all probability he will play next year. Once Nick and Gram return our team will become very tough to get a match in much like last year, maybe 1 spot being rotated between the bottom players, but I don't see that being Walsh.