Is Weller signed for next year?

[Saint wagga]

I would put the view forward that if Weller isn't signed for next year, we should delist him at seasons end. He had a stinker today (not alone I know) but as someone who was given 3 years to show something up at the Gold Coast and shown the door for nothing, he's shown nothing this season at AFL level with us to suggest he won't be a list clogger. If you feel differently please explain why...( constructively, I'm not looking for vitriol)

[White Winmar]

In fairness to Weller, he's had a pretty reasonable run of form this year, SW. I'll admit today wasn't his best game, but generally speaking, he's far from our worst. I'd have him ahead of a dozen others on the list. The positives for him are that he has a strong, mature body, he has courage aplenty and a great attack on the ball, and he seems to find it often enough. On the downside, his disposal can be a bit dicey, but that makes him the same as 35 other players on our list ATM. I was under the impression he has re-signed, but I could be wrong about that. I think they'll keep him.

[evo]

I think Weller and Shenton have been told they will be elevated to the senior list for next year.

[Dave McNamara]

Mav's made himself our number one tagger, and arguably one of the best in the league this year... and all in a team with a weak mid-field, and hence weight of numbers going massively against him.

Not sure who he was on today, though commentary in the second quarter said that since he was moved onto Jack, Jack had been much quieter.

For perspective, Delaney has been a revelation (and a steal) for us this year... not sure that Franklin getting heaps of it from a mid field that all too often was allowed time and space to deliver to Franklin's advantage... would cause too many to doubt Delaney's value to us.

Weller will get even better as a tagger, and hopefully with experience and confidence he'll gain more composure for those occasions when he gets a shot on goal. This natural progression will be further enhanced as the team gets better.

Weller is also one of those all-important tough nuts who won't be bullied in all those big finals matches that we'll be playing in in the not so distant future.

So for mine, he's a keeper. Every side needs a Maverick.

[bergholt]

I would put the view forward that if Weller isn't signed for next year, we should delist him at seasons end. He had a stinker today (not alone I know) but as someone who was given 3 years to show something up at the Gold Coast and shown the door for nothing, he's shown nothing this season at AFL level with us to suggest he won't be a list clogger. If you feel differently please explain why...( constructively, I'm not looking for vitriol)

I reckon he's had a tagging job in every game he's played for us but no way I can remember who he was on each week, so I'd find it hard to judge him. Pretty straightforward replacement for CJ - limited skills but good workrate.

[SemperFidelis]

I'm surprised by the OP.

I have had Weller marked down as a big tick, a tagger with some versatility and a better kick than CJ or or Bakes.

He's young, has a crack and seems to have fit into the team relatively seamlessly. I would be very disappointed to see him go.

[Bunk_Moreland]

I'm surprised by the OP.

I have had Weller marked down as a big tick, a tagger with some versatility and a better kick than CJ or or Bakes.

He's young, has a crack and seems to have fit into the team relatively seamlessly. I would be very disappointed to see him go.

Exactly, delist him after one bad game. Talk about knee jerk

[skeptic]

I'm surprised by the OP.

I have had Weller marked down as a big tick, a tagger with some versatility and a better kick than CJ or or Bakes.

He's young, has a crack and seems to have fit into the team relatively seamlessly. I would be very disappointed to see him go.

Exactly, delist him after one bad game. Talk about knee jerk

It feels like its happening here a lot.

Weller this week,

Gwilt, Schneider, Jones playing to about the same standard most weeks are either finished or saviours

Ross, Stanley and so forth... Week to week it changes

[Saintlester]

Jack had 14 touches in first quarter. Mav went to him after 1/4 time and kept him to 11 for rest of game. In that time he picked up 15 himself. For a tagger I think that's a pretty good game. A player who will never be elite but hard at it and deserves his spot. Pretty good season so far.

[samuraisaint]

Weller has a massive upside in that he can stop a very good player, and get a bit of leather himself. He also has a massive downside in that his skills, kicking and handpassing are at the amateur level. He is going to have to spend the summer improving those skills and working hard to build grace under pressure, because he rushes to dispose of and then butchers the kick/handpass. If he doesn't he will be like a Jack Daniels or Clinton Jones - and I would argue that Daniels has an upside that those guys don't have, and that he is he could snag a goal or two sometimes and put pressure on his opponent because of that.

[samuraisaint]

I'm surprised by the OP.

I have had Weller marked down as a big tick, a tagger with some versatility and a better kick than CJ or or Bakes.

He's young, has a crack and seems to have fit into the team relatively seamlessly. I would be very disappointed to see him go.

Exactly, delist him after one bad game. Talk about knee jerk

It feels like its happening here a lot.

Weller this week,

Gwilt, Schneider, Jones playing to about the same standard most weeks are either finished or saviours

Ross, Stanley and so forth... Week to week it changes

Schneider is in his last year. Father time has caught up with him. Fact.
Jones is finished and won't play senior footy at AFL level again. Thanks for the efforts but mother nature waits for no man (except Harvs)
Gwilt has been moved into the forward line. Necessity is the mother of invention and it is working well. Good coaching.
Stanley is trade bait. Kicked a couple of goals yesterday which kept the scoreboard reasonably respectable. A side in premiership contention may take him as a fallback option, but he is never going to be the answer, I have said that for the past two seasons.
Ross - well, he still has time, but needs to build his fitness, could be a good inside mid and a handy utility in a pocket playing defensively, I think.
Weller has shocking skills, let's be honest, and we are is second chance. He needs to work very hard over the spring training/summer pre-season to work on his weaknesses or he won't make it. Clubs can't keep players with sub-par disposal skills anymore; too much of a liability.

[dragit]

I do wonder how many of these young guys we hope will become good players turn out to be just very average players…

Weller, Curren, Saunders, Murdoch, Ross… they're worth persisting with for now, but "having a crack" doesn't really cut it at this level. If these guys are running through our midfield together, we won't be winning many games. Just too many skill deficiencies or pace issues at the moment, fingers crossed we find a player or two from that lot.

[samuraisaint]

I think Saunders is definitely a player. He is cooked this year, because he's young and his body is not yet battle hardened. You can chalk him down as a ten year player, I reckon. Curren will make it too. He has the cleanest pair of hands in that group you mentioned and can be damaging offensively.
The rst are definitely in the wait and see category though.

[Bluthy]

I do wonder how many of these young guys we hope will become good players turn out to be just very average players…

Weller, Curren, Saunders, Murdoch, Ross… they're worth persisting with for now, but "having a crack" doesn't really cut it at this level. If these guys are running through our midfield together, we won't be winning many games. Just too many skill deficiencies or pace issues at the moment, fingers crossed we find a player or two from that lot.

Spot on Dragit. Under Lyon we seemed to miss the boat on the trend towards players with skilled disposal to be able to keep possession - Lyon just wanted hard bodies (sounds a bit saucy!) who will play team footy. What's the point in getting a possession if you then give it away? - you're actually in a worse situation because now everyone has run forward of the ball. Will they get better now they are in a better focussed development environment? Maybe a bit but I think quite a few of them will be placeholders while we recruit better skilled players. Its the danger of getting players from other clubs like Weller - they only let go players with average skills.

[Saint wagga]

I appreciate the opinions voiced in this thread! Just to add a few things, I'm not just asking Weller be delisted after one bad game...I've consistently felt like we don't need to be adding a midfielder with poor skills who has been tried and let go by another club for nothing. We have enough "hard at it goers" fringe players who could or could not make it in the midfield, most younger and therefore more chance of improving. I also believe a stopper/purely defensive tagger isn't a mega high priority for a rebuilding team. (I think Richo has other ideas as he seems extremely defensively minded at the moment) but that's just my opinion...

[8856brother]

I do wonder how many of these young guys we hope will become good players turn out to be just very average players…

Weller, Curren, Saunders, Murdoch, Ross… they're worth persisting with for now, but "having a crack" doesn't really cut it at this level. If these guys are running through our midfield together, we won't be winning many games. Just too many skill deficiencies or pace issues at the moment, fingers crossed we find a player or two from that lot.

Was thinking the same yesterday. You can add Markworth and White to that list as well. Love Wrights attack on the pill but worry about his disposal and his body. Webster I think will make it as Newnes will. One thing in common is they can both kick.
This years crop are extremely exciting though.

[bergholt]

Weller has a massive upside in that he can stop a very good player, and get a bit of leather himself. He also has a massive downside in that his skills, kicking and handpassing are at the amateur level. He is going to have to spend the summer improving those skills and working hard to build grace under pressure, because he rushes to dispose of and then butchers the kick/handpass. If he doesn't he will be like a Jack Daniels or Clinton Jones - and I would argue that Daniels has an upside that those guys don't have, and that he is he could snag a goal or two sometimes and put pressure on his opponent because of that.

Jack Daniels a goalkicker? Are we remembering the same guy? Red hair and a worse kick than CJ?

He averaged one goal every six games. Jones, for comparison, has kicked more than one every four games. Neither of them are superstars in that department but I'd be hard-pressed to put Jack above CJ.

[evo]

Jack had 14 touches in first quarter. Mav went to him after 1/4 time and kept him to 11 for rest of game. In that time he picked up 15 himself. For a tagger I think that's a pretty good game. A player who will never be elite but hard at it and deserves his spot. Pretty good season so far.

This is why he is our premium tagger.

[thejiggingsaint]

Fortunately for us all, better qualified people than SS posters call the shots regarding list management. ( waits in trepidation for onslaught of outraged responses )

[saintsRrising]

Weller has a massive upside in that he can stop a very good player, and get a bit of leather himself. He also has a massive downside in that his skills, kicking and handpassing are at the amateur level. He is going to have to spend the summer improving those skills and working hard to build grace under pressure, because he rushes to dispose of and then butchers the kick/handpass. If he doesn't he will be like a Jack Daniels or Clinton Jones - and I would argue that Daniels has an upside that those guys don't have, and that he is he could snag a goal or two sometimes and put pressure on his opponent because of that.

Jack Daniels a goalkicker? Are we remembering the same guy? Red hair and a worse kick than CJ?

He averaged one goal every six games. Jones, for comparison, has kicked more than one every four games. Neither of them are superstars in that department but I'd be hard-pressed to put Jack above CJ.

I think he meant to write...

and I would argue that Weller has an upside that those guys don't have, and that he is he could snag a goal or two sometimes and put pressure on his opponent because of that

And I agree.. Weller seems to bob up in the right places to kick goals and should have had 2 yesterday.

[bergholt]

And I agree.. Weller seems to bob up in the right places to kick goals and should have 2 yesterday.

Interestingly, Weller's only kicked 6 in 45 games, a lower rate than either of the other two. Lower even than Stevie Baker who wasn't exactly a noted goalkicker!

That said, he played in the back pocket a fair bit with GC. And I agree with you that he does look like he can kick a good goal.