Tom Lee 2013 Impact

[saintsRrising]

I see him as our third tall forward behind Roo and Stanley.

That will give us three very mobile and quick big forwards.

With some pacey smalls that will give us a very nippy forward line.

[saint6709]

I see him as our third tall forward behind Roo and Stanley.

That will give us three very mobile and quick big forwards.

With some pacey smalls that will give us a very nippy forward line.

yep

[borderbarry]

In a couple of seasons time who will be FF? Tom Lee or Spencer White?

[Dave McNamara]

How many games did he play in defense? Because this highlights his return of 60.20 even more IMO

Played the first 13 that year at FB. Last 5 was at FF.

So, based on that, it's 12.4 averaged per game at full forward...

Hmmmmm..., I'm a bit worried that he kept missing four easy shots each week...

[plugger66]

How many games did he play in defense? Because this highlights his return of 60.20 even more IMO

Played the first 13 that year at FB. Last 5 was at FF.

So, based on that, it's 12.4 averaged per game at full forward...

Hmmmmm..., I'm a bit worried that he kept missing four easy shots each week...

Even though he played the last 5 at FF in 4 of those games he played a half at FB and it is hard to be accurate from that far out.

[Dave McNamara]

Played the first 13 that year at FB. Last 5 was at FF.

So, based on that, it's 12.4 averaged per game at full forward...

Hmmmmm..., I'm a bit worried that he kept missing four easy shots each week...

Even though he played the last 5 at FF in 4 of those games he played a half at FB and it is hard to be accurate from that far out.

Fair point Pluggs... ordinarily...

Remember though, this is the new St Kilda.

Cuddles and the Pelican rigidly enforce the True Believer inspired, tough love..., take no prisoners..., and...

zero tolerance forf mediocrity!

[BigMart]

Avoidance is one method....

Luckily for Sydney they look at other clubs reject (recycled) and fit them into premiership players.... Some AA and B&F thrown in for good measure...

Sometimes other people trash is actually treasure

[HitTheBoundary]

Even though he played the last 5 at FF in 4 of those games he played a half at FB and it is hard to be accurate from that far out.

Unless you're Jeff Fehring.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Like Saad this year, I'm expecting Lee to come in and make pretty much an immediate impact, (form and fitness permitting) unless there are simply too many ahead of him up forward who are in sparkling form and fit (ie. Riewoldt, Wilkes, Stanley, Kosi). Even then he may get squeezed into the backline somewhere, as we didn't get him to play in the VFL.

He trained with Freo for some of last year's preseason (early) and then went back there to make up the numbers in their intra-club match and apparently gave Zac Dawson a bit of an ass whipping up forward and then, once he was switched from the backline to the forward line in the WAFL, he kicked 60 goals in the last 14 games, with another 10 in the Foxtel Cup, including 6 in the grand final, against a Werribee team that had plenty in it from AFL lists. He then kicked 5 or 6 in Claremont's first final and probably would have kicked a bag more in their GF win, but he tore a quad early in the game (which he played on with), which removed any likelihood of that happening.

With an AFL preseason behind him and another year of getting stronger and fitter, he ought to be cherry ripe to come in and make a strong impact next season. If he'd been on an AFL list this year he probably would have played a heap of games. He has the speed and mobility to be able to do a lot of running around to compliment the likes of Roo and whoever else is up there out of Wilkes, Stanley and Kosi and he could really help to give us a very potent forward line next season. On the other hand, if there is no room for him up there, he could similarly make a strong impact across HB, especially if Fisher is used at FB.

The club rates him EXTREMELY highly.

[gringo]

Like Saad this year, I'm expecting Lee to come in and make pretty much an immediate impact, (form and fitness permitting) unless there are simply too many ahead of him up forward who are in sparkling form and fit (ie. Riewoldt, Wilkes, Stanley, Kosi). Even then he may get squeezed into the backline somewhere, as we didn't get him to play in the VFL.

He trained with Freo for some of last year's preseason (early) and then went back there to make up the numbers in their intra-club match and apparently gave Zac Dawson a bit of an ass whipping up forward and then once he was switched from the backline to the forward line in the WAFL, he kicked 60 goals in 14 games, with another 10 in the Foxtel Cup, including 6 in the grand final, against a Werribee team that had plenty in it from AFL lists. He then kicked 5 or 6 in Claremont's first final and probably would have kicked a bag more in their GF win, but he tore a quad early in the game (which he played on with), which removed any likelihood of that happening.

With an AFL preseason behind him and another year of getting stronger and fitter, he ought to be cherry ripe to come in and make a strong impact next season. He has the speed and mobility to be able to do a lot of running around to compliment the likes of Roo and whoever else is up there out of Wilkes, Stanley and Kosi and he could really help to give us a very potent forward line next season. On the other hand, if there is no room for him up there, he could similarly make a strong impact across HB, especially if Fisher is used at FB. The club rates him extremely highly.

Good summary, he really compliments what we have already as he is really mobile and can pick up the ball at ground level cleanly and is very zippy. He can play like an oversized Milne but can also be like the high jumping Jack Riewoldt type forward as well. As Kosi and Roo slow down he can play a bit higher and add some defensive pressure into the forward line.

I'm not so sure on using him as a back. He doesn't add much as far as a gorilla stopper and we would be better to chuck Blakey there to guard the big guys. Our defence went pretty well on teams with shorter forward lines.

[Con Gorozidis]

Good summary
I see him as raring to go at AFL level. Could have a similar impact to Saad.
If he plays FF most games and kicks 40-45 goals ill be very happy.
Kosi kicked 27 in 2012 and is probably on the wane - so I think Tom is a better bet there.
For those who missed it - he pole-axed Werribee in a match .

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-pre ... MWKF-RazSg

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Personally, I would probably start Wilkes at FF, especially if he continues to tear up the track over the preseason, as he has apparently been doing so far (not sure if it's been mentioned here, but apparently he fronted up to preseason training looking fitter and slimmer and the club were thrilled with how he presented himself. By all reports he was pretty out of shape when we got him this time last year, as he wasn't expecting to get drafted and it's seemingly taken him till now to get all that excess weight off and get into top shape).

If he is in the sort of form that he was in for most of this season (or better) over the preseason, then I'd hope he would get first crack at FF (unless Kosi is absolutely on fire) as I'd really like to see how he'd go with another preseason under his belt and in better shape and with a bit of faith shown in him by the match committee. He showed a lot this year despite still having a fat ass and having very little continuity in his footy (especially early in the season), so I'd really like to see how he goes under more favourable conditions next season.

It would be a huge ask for Lee to come in and kick 40 goals in his first season (although not out of the question) but I think Wilkes could do it if he gets on a roll and really starts to believe in himself. He averaged 1.5 goals per game this year, despite being subbed off in multiple games and playing much of one game at FB, but even if he kicked 35, with Roo kicking 50+ and Milne and Saad adding say 70+ that would be a great start. If we then get 30+ from either Lee or Stanley that will be a terrific result. It's worth noting that Lee played in a team this year that had several kick over 30 goals, so he was one of many carrying the load for them.

Imagine what a weapon he could be early if he is the "sub" to start off with! Imagine subbing him on half way through the 3rd and having him on come on and run around like a hairy goat and start jumping over packs to take marks, the other team wouldn't know what hit them!

[plugger66]

Personally, I would probably start Wilkes at FF, especially if he continues to tear up the track over the preseason, as he has apparently been doing so far (not sure if it's been mentioned here, but apparently he fronted up to preseason training looking fitter and slimmer and the club were thrilled with how he presented himself. By all reports he was pretty out of shape when we got him this time last year, as he wasn't expecting to get drafted and it's seemingly taken him till now to get all that excess weight off and get into top shape).

If he is in the sort of form that he was in for most of this season (or better) over the preseason, then I'd hope he would get first crack at FF (unless Kosi is absolutely on fire) as I'd really like to see how he'd go with another preseason under his belt and in better shape and with a bit of faith shown in him by the match committee. He showed a lot this year despite still having a fat ass and having very little continuity in his footy (especially early in the season), so I'd really like to see how he goes under more favourable conditions next season.

It would be a huge ask for Lee to come in and kick 40 goals in his first season (although not out of the question) but I think Wilkes could do it if he gets on a roll and really starts to believe in himself. He averaged 1.5 goals per game this year, despite being subbed off in multiple games and playing much of one game at FB, but even if he kicked 35, with Roo kicking 50+ and Milne and Saad adding say 70+ that would be a great start. If we then get 30+ from either Lee or Stanley that will be a terrific result. It's worth noting that Lee played in a team this year that had several kick over 30 goals, so he was one of many carrying the load for them.

Imagine what a weapon he could be early if he is the "sub" to start off with! Imagine subbing him on half way through the 3rd and having him on come on and run around like a hairy goat and start jumping over packs to take marks, the other team wouldn't know what hit them!

I doubt they would ever use a tall forward as a sub and I dont think they should. The perfect sub is about the 20-22 best player in the side who is some sort of onballer or at least a HBF or HFF type.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

I'm not suggesting we do it long term, but if there are three others in ahead of him who are in great form (say Roo, Wilkes, Rhys), then it wouldn't surprise me if he starts with the green jacket at least in his first couple of games, just to see how he handles the step up. He may be tall, but he's also extremely quick and agile/mobile (he'd be quicker than most on our list- he recoded a 20m sprint time of 2.93sec, from memory, which is very slippery), so I wouldn't be opposed to him being used that way for his first couple of games. Even if the other three were left on, I think he'd have the mobility and speed to play on a flank, like say Gilbert can and he could compliment the others up forward and add further potency for the last part of the game.