Stanley = Positive

[matrix]

rhys will be a gun
once roo is gone and retired this kid will be a big part of our future

[Cairnsman]

How good is his after-burner. The guy has got pace to burn. How scary could that be with a guy of his size. Can he be our white Nic Nac?

[bigcarl]

How good is his after-burner. The guy has got pace to burn. How scary could that be with a guy of his size. Can he be our white Nic Nac?

Not until he can take a contested mark. He has some work to do on that

[matrix]

why couldnt he just be the next nic nat?

[bergholt]

Did lyon give him much of chance last year ?

he played 7 in 2010 when riewoldt was injured, then played 2 last year before being injured himself for the entire second half of the year. also played a good game on grand final day 2009.

[SaintPav]

I'd love to see him with 50 games under his belt..

[Cairnsman]

why couldnt he just be the next nic nat?

with the exception of a few physical attributes no reason at all. Although it would appear he has better pace than Nic so maybe if he can emulate Nic Nacs freakish vertical leap then he could be even better. We could then call him the power tool.

[3rd generation saint]

It was his best game for the club and he appears to be getting some confidence in his abilities and starting to take the game on.
If he starts holding his marks a lot more consistently, he will become a very hard match up for other teams to counter.

[SaintPav]

why couldnt he just be the next nic nat?

with the exception of a few physical attributes no reason at all. Although it would appear he has better pace than Nic so maybe if he can emulate Nic Nacs freakish vertical leap then he could be even better. We could then call him the power tool.

erm, you're too much..there was no need to say that he was white..we already know that..I guess that's important to you becuase that is how you measure people.

[defacto]

he's got a lot of work to do but gee i'm releaved. i had him to be delisted based on the intra club and the past couple of season.

happy to be proven wrong and happy to get slammed for it!!!

[mick13]

We gotta remember he's only 21 as well! Most ruckman/talls take a number of years to show anywhere near their peak. Sandilands took time and Cox is still peaking after getting to his best at 25. Naitanui/Kreuzer are freaks...also remember this kid was pick 48! Then again weren't both Cox and Sandi taken as rooies

We always knew he was gonna be a long term proposition. And remember this time last year we thought McEvoy (same age as Stanley now) was a lost cause and he was a much more touted top 10 pick.

Don't wanna get too far ahead, but it already looks like he has improved dramatically in the last year. Think about where he could be in 2-3 years if he continues this improvement.

Definitely one I'm looking forward to watching over the next few years.

[ace]

He finally got to play against a group of kids who were younger and less experienced than himself.

Even I could (but never would) beat up on an infant.

He has to learn to beat up on guys older than himself.
He has to become more determined to get is hands on and to hold on to the ball in marking contests.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

why couldnt he just be the next nic nat?

with the exception of a few physical attributes no reason at all. Although it would appear he has better pace than Nic so maybe if he can emulate Nic Nacs freakish vertical leap then he could be even better.

Didn't you see him against Nat in the NAB Cup game? Rucked against him for the whole last quarter and was jumping just as high as him and beat him convincingly in 4 centre bounces for the quarter.
Just wait till Rhys gets the confidence to take a leap on a pack and comes down with one!

[Cairnsman]

why couldnt he just be the next nic nat?

with the exception of a few physical attributes no reason at all. Although it would appear he has better pace than Nic so maybe if he can emulate Nic Nacs freakish vertical leap then he could be even better.

Didn't you see him against Nat in the NAB Cup game? Rucked against him for the whole last quarter and was jumping just as high as him and beat him convincingly in 4 centre bounces for the quarter.
Just wait till Rhys gets the confidence to take a leap on a pack and comes down with one!

Yeah really looking forward to seeing that one day soon. Hopefully he is a sleeping giant and now feels at home in the team.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Tom Hawkins is one who I think could be a similar story to Rhys. Both had very obvious physical attributes from an early stage at AFL level and had a lot of expectations on them (Hawkins more across the comp obviously), but both have seemingly taken a while to get that belief that they belong out there and can actually do really good stuff at senior level. Rhys is obviously not at the point Hawkins is yet, but he is probably ahead of where Tom was (or at least level) when he had played the same number of games Rhys has. Hawkins is two years older and has played 79 games to Rhys' 9. Hawkins was a football "prodigy" in the juniors, yet it's taken him till now to really look at home in the AFL, so I think we really need to be patient with Rhys, like they were with Tom.

They reckon Hawkins was just a bit overawed to be in the same forward line with the likes of Mooney and Stevie J, but that now he feels he belongs and is more the focal point, he's really stepping up and I certainly get the feeling the same may happen with Rhys, if we persist with him and he starts to really believe. It really looked the other night that he was hesitant to go for marks until he was sure neither Roo or Kosi were in the area, yet he still took 7 of them and it could easily have a couple more if other kicks had hit him properly and a few more if he'd gone for others without hesitating, or if they'd kicked it to him when he'd made really good leads.

I doubt he'll ever be a "superstar", as he just seems to be lacking in certain areas, like "footy smarts" and I'm not sure he has the necessary competitiveness, or hunger, or guts, or whatever, to reach that level "absolute elite" level, but he could really be a handful and at least give us something to build our forward line around for the next 10 years.

[Old Mate]

Kurt Tippett another which can be compared with Stanley. Tippett came on to the scene in 2009 as a 22 year old and played beyond expectations, since then he has plateaued. Stanley has the attributes to have similar output to Tippett and kick 40-50 goals per season and pinch hit in the ruck.

[Sobraz]

Tom Hawkins is one who I think could be a similar story to Rhys. Both had very obvious physical attributes from an early stage at AFL level and had a lot of expectations on them (Hawkins more across the comp obviously), but both have seemingly taken a while to get that belief that they belong out there and can actually do really good stuff at senior level. Rhys is obviously not at the point Hawkins is yet, but he is probably ahead of where Tom was (or at least level) when he had played the same number of games Rhys has. Hawkins is two years older and has played 79 games to Rhys' 9. Hawkins was a football "prodigy" in the juniors, yet it's taken him till now to really look at home in the AFL, so I think we really need to be patient with Rhys, like they were with Tom.

They reckon Hawkins was just a bit overawed to be in the same forward line with the likes of Mooney and Stevie J, but that now he feels he belongs and is more the focal point, he's really stepping up and I certainly get the feeling the same may happen with Rhys, if we persist with him and he starts to really believe. It really looked the other night that he was hesitant to go for marks until he was sure neither Roo or Kosi were in the area, yet he still took 7 of them and it could easily have a couple more if other kicks had hit him properly and a few more if he'd gone for others without hesitating, or if they'd kicked it to him when he'd made really good leads.

I doubt he'll ever be a "superstar", as he just seems to be lacking in certain areas, like "footy smarts" and I'm not sure he has the necessary competitiveness, or hunger, or guts, or whatever, to reach that level, but he could really be a handful and at least give us something to build our forward line around for the next 10 years.

Good post and fair comparison... The main difference between the 2 I see is that Hawkins is a more natural footballer, who struggled initially with the physical (athletic) demands of AFL, where Rhys is a more naturally gifted athlete, who is still learning and honing his basic football skills and instinct..

Both very interesting studies in the development of key position players with contrasting attributes at AFL level...
Hopefully both become stars of the comp... Hawkins well on his way, Stanley has the tools to..

[skeptic]

It's interesting to compare him to say a Will Johnson...
Of the two, it seemed WJ showed a lot more promise at Sandy yet a large proportion of forumites said that he clearly wasn't up to it yet Rhys be all accounts was on a lot of people's 'not up to it lists' but has come on a bit with a few games

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Tom Hawkins is one who I think could be a similar story to Rhys. Both had very obvious physical attributes from an early stage at AFL level and had a lot of expectations on them (Hawkins more across the comp obviously), but both have seemingly taken a while to get that belief that they belong out there and can actually do really good stuff at senior level. Rhys is obviously not at the point Hawkins is yet, but he is probably ahead of where Tom was (or at least level) when he had played the same number of games Rhys has. Hawkins is two years older and has played 79 games to Rhys' 9. Hawkins was a football "prodigy" in the juniors, yet it's taken him till now to really look at home in the AFL, so I think we really need to be patient with Rhys, like they were with Tom.

They reckon Hawkins was just a bit overawed to be in the same forward line with the likes of Mooney and Stevie J, but that now he feels he belongs and is more the focal point, he's really stepping up and I certainly get the feeling the same may happen with Rhys, if we persist with him and he starts to really believe. It really looked the other night that he was hesitant to go for marks until he was sure neither Roo or Kosi were in the area, yet he still took 7 of them and it could easily have a couple more if other kicks had hit him properly and a few more if he'd gone for others without hesitating, or if they'd kicked it to him when he'd made really good leads.

I doubt he'll ever be a "superstar", as he just seems to be lacking in certain areas, like "footy smarts" and I'm not sure he has the necessary competitiveness, or hunger, or guts, or whatever, to reach that level, but he could really be a handful and at least give us something to build our forward line around for the next 10 years.

Good post and fair comparison... The main difference between the 2 I see is that Hawkins is a more natural footballer, who struggled initially with the physical (athletic) demands of AFL, where Rhys is a more naturally gifted athlete, who is still learning and honing his basic football skills and instinct..

Both very interesting studies in the development of key position players with contrasting attributes at AFL level...
Hopefully both become stars of the comp... Hawkins well on his way, Stanley has the tools to..

Yep, agree with that.

[Old Mate]

Coaches have their favourites and see things in players others dont....looks as though Stanley has improved as a result of the coach having confidence in him. Others will have less output under Watters than Lyon.

[kosifantutti]

Loved his mark and goal tonight. My highlight of the night.

I also loved his commitment to running through the lines and trying to play on when he had the ball a couple of times at 60m.

[dcstkfc]

A heap of praise to the coaches for supporting Rhys and giving him the chance after a middling pre-season.

He is beginning to realise how good he can be.

A good game tonight, and one of the best stories at the club from the start of the new season

[SainterK]

He is beginning to realise how good he can be.

This right here is the key

[saintly]

It was his best game for the club and he appears to be getting some confidence in his abilities and starting to take the game on.
If he starts holding his marks a lot more consistently, he will become a very hard match up for other teams to counter.

from what was written in the papers this week, it 'confidence' or the lack of it that is holding him up. hammill, noticed it and the other coaches have noticed it and are trying to fix it. anyway that was what was written.

[SainterK]

Can anyone name me in AFL history, a tall (and that's pretty tall) that can play like a small?

I guess Nic-Nat can rove, and has pace....however a unique talent is Stanley, the way he can accelerate, collect the ball below his knees, it's exciting to watch him develop.