Rhys Stanley

[sainter27]

Without doubt everyone will make out over the summer that he will be the 'breakout' player in 2013 for us, and I hope this will happen.
The club need to manage this expectation really carefully. He is the next poster boy for our club - after rooey- all and sundry know
this. I hope the club is careful, he isn't what Rooey was at the same age, or Luke Ball, or Lendog.
In terms of upside, he has it all and am thrilled that he has commited to the club for another 3 years, but the next
12 months will really define it for most- we all have high expectations for him next year- and so do most other clubs. But if is he not what
we expect next year he will be the year after. His talent is there but mentally he is a little off just
at the moment. Patience is a sometimes a virtue but mostly makes you look stupid.
We will not look stupid with some patience here

[BigMart]

He's not that good...

He's a talented fwd/Ruckman and he will go alright.... I suspect a career somewhere between Waite and Koschitzke...

[8856brother]

He's not that good...

He's a talented fwd/Ruckman and he will go alright.... I suspect a career somewhere between Waite and Koschitzke...

He teased this year. Showed a bit, but needed to. Don't know how he will go next year. Hope he dominates and becomes a gun. Firstly, he needs to put some games together without getting injured.

[kosifantutti]

He's not that good...

He's a talented fwd/Ruckman and he will go alright.... I suspect a career somewhere between Waite and Koschitzke...

I didn't know we were recruiting Jarrad Waite. That's a big forward line.

[Waltzing St Kilda]

Won't be dominant but can move, trap the ball in the forward line, be a handful for the oppostion's defence. As such I suspect he won't get the respect he deserves.

[noob]

I hope he just plays more than 10 matches in a row.

[mad saint guy]

I honestly think he has the potential to be a more damaging ruckman than a forward. He's not a great natural reader of the play and doesn't have an aggressive, imposing mental game. What he does have is height and freakish athleticism that gives him a big advantage at centre bounces and he could be an incredible link player running along HB/wing while he's the designated ruck. I'd like to see something like a 60/40 split of ruckwork between Ben and Rhys.

I don't think he's the next poster boy and he's certainly not the next Riewoldt. But he could be a damaging ruck/forward who uses his height to create mismatches around the ground and his pace to create and score goals.

All he needs to do next year is get his body right and play 18+ games as a solid contributor.

[Gershwin]

I think with the support that he has with top high performance staff, the academy and the abundance of coaches that he will shine next year. No softly, softly from me I'm looking forward to a break-out season.

[gringo]

I actually have really high hopes for Rhys, watch his junior clips he can read the play and has to get the mental stuff right along with the body and I expect him to be in elite company one day.

My measuring stick is Taylor Walker, last couple of years he looked uncertain and ready to break out at different times but for what ever reason he exploded this year and is on his way to being A grade. Rhys has the potential to be every bit as good if not better. Seems like he just needs to mature into his skin.

Too good for ruck - fast leading CHF for the next 10 years or oversized forward wing to just unsettle the crap out of defences.

[saintsRrising]

Personally I think he has a huge upside......and will be interesting to see if it is eventually as a forward...or a ruck.

But remember he is 21..Tippet is 25.

Lets look for 2013 to be an establishment year. 2014 and beyond MAY be break-out years.

He could quite easily play a few years as a forward/ruck, before becoming stronger and either morphing into a No 1 ruck....or as a true key forward.
He has the tools to become either.

Worse case scenario is for me is, if he stays on the park is that he becomes one of the better ruck/forward players in the AFL.

He has shown he can clunk marks, take pack marks, run away from most players...and is a booming kick. He just needs to become more disciplined and believe in himself more.

[andrewg]

He will be a star

[gringo]

Personally I think he has a huge upside......and will be interesting to see if it is eventually as a forward...or a ruck.

But remember he is 21..Tippet is 25.

Lets look for 2013 to be an establishment year. 2014 and beyond MAY be break-out years.

He could quite easily play a few years as a forward/ruck, before becoming stronger and either morphing into a No 1 ruck....or as a true key forward.
He has the tools to become either.

Worse case scenario is for me is, if he stays on the park is that he becomes one of the better ruck/forward players in the AFL.

He has shown he can clunk marks, take pack marks, run away from most players...and is a booming kick. He just needs to become more disciplined and believe in himself more.

I can see him turning into a big hulking lump in his older age like the big G train. He has the same speed for size thing as G and could just settle nicely as that quick leading high forward with long arms.

[bigred]

Needs to get his body right.

If we can get an uninterrupted preseason into him then he could be anything.

[Winmar]

Big guys take longer to mature. When he's 24 and has played over 50 games we might see what he's really made of. How many soft tissue injuries will he have had by then though?!

[spert]

Did much better than I expected and just a pity he missed so many games through injury. He will be very valuable for us if he stays injury free.

[Ross who?]

I remember Nettlefold saying 2 years ago that the club expected him to be in their top 4 players eventually

[joffaboy]

How many games has the kid played in the seniors so far? About 15-20?

Give the kid a break. He is no Riewoldt, or will ever be, however he is quick, can take a grab, can jump and lead OK.

He is certainly a regular seniors player which is pretty good in my eyes. Will team well with Roo, and the quick smalls in Saad, and Milera and Milne.

As bigred said, if he can have some luck with injury he could get to a Kosi/Waite level, which is pretty good.

[gringo]

How many games has the kid played in the seniors so far? About 15-20?

Give the kid a break. He is no Riewoldt, or will ever be, however he is quick, can take a grab, can jump and lead OK.

He is certainly a regular seniors player which is pretty good in my eyes. Will team well with Roo, and the quick smalls in Saad, and Milera and Milne.

As bigred said, if he can have some luck with injury he could get to a Kosi/Waite level, which is pretty good.

I don't mean to pressure him, but saying he's no Roo definitively is a bit silly also. He could be anything, if he's just a contributor that's fine too but I see the sky as the limit for him. It's just how motivated he is to get there that will stop him.

[dragit]

Good to keep in mind that Nick was always going to be a #1 pick, while Rhys was #47…

He's doing pretty well, we do get very impatient with big guys, but there are not many "great" players over 195cm that are under 25 years of age.

For interest sake… a numerical comparison

rhys stanley first 21 games
188 disp
88 marks
16 goals 16 behinds
84 hitouts
38 tackles

nick riewoldt first 21 games
258 disp
136 marks
12 goals 13 behinds
5 hitouts
22 tackles

[gringo]

His stats are better than I imagined. He got called the most important player on our list by Watters- I guess because he offers a target up forward while still getting heaps of hit outs.

[saintsfreak]

I actually have really high hopes for Rhys, watch his junior clips he can read the play and has to get the mental stuff right along with the body and I expect him to be in elite company one day.

My measuring stick is Taylor Walker, last couple of years he looked uncertain and ready to break out at different times but for what ever reason he exploded this year and is on his way to being A grade. Rhys has the potential to be every bit as good if not better. Seems like he just needs to mature into his skin.

Too good for ruck - fast leading CHF for the next 10 years or oversized forward wing to just unsettle the crap out of defences.

Walker was always gonna be a gun, Rhys has never dominated games like Walker did before becoming consistent. Walker kicked bags of 4 and 5 in his second season.

[paddy]

I'd be happy if stanley (the knife) just manages to play a full season next year....

his output will go up and down, but as long as we are not resting ever forward fifty entry on his ample shoulders he will turn out a gem imho

[Dr Spaceman]

Stanley needs to get his body right so he can cope with the rigours of AFL footy.

And he needs to keep his head right and remain motivated for an AFL career.

But IF he can do those things then I reckon he's going to be far better than the "good" player some on here are predicting. You simply don't see too many blokes over 2 metres tall who have his combination of pace, leap and agility.

To me Rhys is either going to develop into a star of the competition or disappear from the scene as one of those unfulfilled talents. One or the other.

I just don't see the other option, i.e. having a long career as a GOP, as a likely outcome.

[kosifantutti]

I remember Nettlefold saying 2 years ago that the club expected him to be in their top 4 players eventually

Well if you listen to people on here, we're going to trade away Goddard, Dal Santo, Montagna and a few others for draft picks.

Trade away enough good players and Rhys becomes one of our top 4.

[bigred]

Imagine Kosi with some pace, second and third efforts, defensive running and a bit of ruck ability.

Stanley could be all this and more :p