Holmes.

[borderbarry]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

[plugger66]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

Not sure that matters. Longer has taken 2 in the last 4 games. Holmes is a long way off. Longer has the spot until Hickey is ready to go then Hickey is back. have no idea how Longer and Holmes work at Sandy together so they get as much time on the ball as possible especially with Pierce fit again.

[borderbarry]

Anybody that watches the Sandy matches, is Pearce doing well enough to get a game before Hickey returns?

[saintspremiers]

Anybody that watches the Sandy matches, is Pearce doing well enough to get a game before Hickey returns?

"Pierce off, Gibbs on!"

Anyone remember that line? !

[BringBackMadDog]

Pierce is doing OK, he is much more mobile than Longer and has a good leap. He has bulked up a lot (and he needed to). He is a much more natural footballer than our other ruck men, moves well and gets to the right positions. I think he will make it, not sure if he will play this year as they will tread carefully with him.

[Zed]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

Yet he only had 3 disposals ? . I found that a little odd.

He can obviously jump -and supposedly is quick. Given we have Hickey, Longer , Pierce and Stanley all in front of him from a ruck perspective, would we be better getting games into him as a full forward ?

[saintsRrising]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

Yet he only had 3 disposals ? . I found that a little odd.

At ball ups he knows where to be, and where the ball goes is defined. With his athletic gifts, and build, it is easier to make an impact there.

Around the ground you need to be able to read the play to know where to be, and that is a big learning curve for him. Can't be learnt in half a season.

[FQF]

We have an abundance of ruck men - realistically I think we can hope to retain the best and get good value from trading the others.

[ShanghaiSaint]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

potentially Holmes could be a future forward... massive amount of work i know but... you never know.

[Sainternist]

The names Longer and J. Holmes are ironic when put together.

[Enrico_Misso]

Seen Holmes twice.
He is athletic and strong with a big leap.
Can clearly develop in to a very useful tap ruckman.

The problem for him is getting to AFL standard with his marking and kicking.
But looks a very promising type.

[saintsRrising]

potentially Holmes could be a future forward... massive amount of work i know but... you never know.

Good forwards can read the game....and need to bea good kick on goal.

Stanley struggles with this, and he grew up in an AFL culture.

Holmes needs to learn ow to kick as well.

Lot easier to make him into a ruckman than a key forward.

[bigred]

potentially Holmes could be a future forward... massive amount of work i know but... you never know.

Good forwards can read the game....and need to bea good kick on goal.

Stanley struggles with this, and he grew up in an AFL culture.

Holmes needs to learn ow to kick as well.

Lot easier to make him into a ruckman than a key forward.

What makes Holmes so special?

I mean, why does he have to learn to kick?

The rest of the team sure as hell can't.

[saintspremiers]

potentially Holmes could be a future forward... massive amount of work i know but... you never know.

Good forwards can read the game....and need to bea good kick on goal.

Stanley struggles with this, and he grew up in an AFL culture.

Holmes needs to learn ow to kick as well.

Lot easier to make him into a ruckman than a key forward.

What makes Holmes so special?

I mean, why does he have to learn to kick?

The rest of the team sure as hell can't.

He's a big black American dude. Doesn't make him special but unique at our club.

I've seen him play for Sandy twice but his ability to win the ball gain possession is miles off. For him to make it, a miracle needs to occur over the next 12 months to get up to the level required for AFL footy.

[SainterK]

Good to have you back around red...

[magnifisaint]

potentially Holmes could be a future forward... massive amount of work i know but... you never know.

Good forwards can read the game....and need to bea good kick on goal.

Stanley struggles with this, and he grew up in an AFL culture.

Holmes needs to learn ow to kick as well.

Lot easier to make him into a ruckman than a key forward.

What makes Holmes so special?

I mean, why does he have to learn to kick?

The rest of the team sure as hell can't.

I understand he's a better kick than CJ

[saintsRrising]

potentially Holmes could be a future forward... massive amount of work i know but... you never know.

Good forwards can read the game....and need to be a good kick on goal.

Stanley struggles with this, and he grew up in an AFL culture.

Holmes needs to learn how to kick as well.

Lot easier to make him into a ruckman than a key forward.

What makes Holmes so special?

I mean, why does he have to learn to kick?

The rest of the team sure as hell can't.

What makes Holmes so special?

I mean, why does he have to learn to kick?

The rest of the team sure as hell can't.[/quote]

True

But the others get to kick it badly 12-30 times a game. Holmesy only gets to kick it badly 3 times!!!


He needs to be able to read the play better to get the ball more. Hopefully while doing that he will also learn how to use it better.

[lewdogs]

40 tap outs is very promising. If he can get his hands on the ball a bit more, could be a fantastic find.

[Dave McNamara]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

Yet he only had 3 disposals ? . I found that a little odd.

At ball ups he knows where to be, and where the ball goes is defined. With his athletic gifts, and build, it is easier to make an impact there.

Around the ground you need to be able to read the play to know where to be, and that is a big learning curve for him. Can't be learnt in half a season.

This is my concern the few times I've seen Jason play.

To me, Jason seems soley be focused on the next ball-up. He stands next to the pack waiting for the umpire to whistle that next ball-up, rather than making any attempt to get involved. In between ruck contests... we are literally playing a man short.

For mine, he needs to get his hands dirty... just dive in. I realise that battling for ground balls at the bottom of a pack isn't Jason's primary role, but I just think that as part of his learning our game, initially he needs to simply get his hands on the footy as much as possible, and in anyway possible... even if it's just handing the footy back to the scumpire for the next ball-up.

I also think that we need to go out of our way to get the ball into his hands during the game... he needs to get the feel of gaining possessions IMHO. Initially, I don't care if they are gifted.. Jason just needs to be getting the footy in his hands.

As for speed, he may well be quick, but the few times I've seen Jason run... hmmmmmm Jason vs Seb vs me... not sure who I'd want my money on...


But rucking... he's already pretty damn good... without having seen Jason's stats, I'd reckon there'd be a very high percentage of his taps being 'to advantage'.

[stinger]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

Yet he only had 3 disposals ? . I found that a little odd.

At ball ups he knows where to be, and where the ball goes is defined. With his athletic gifts, and build, it is easier to make an impact there.

Around the ground you need to be able to read the play to know where to be, and that is a big learning curve for him. Can't be learnt in half a season.

do you think he has a future sr

[gringo]

He's very driven to make it. I would think if anyone has a temperament to become a good player JH has it.

[saintsRrising]

Holmes in amongst the best for Sandy again. 40 tap outs. Now all they have to do is get him marking the ball.

Yet he only had 3 disposals ? . I found that a little odd.

At ball ups he knows where to be, and where the ball goes is defined. With his athletic gifts, and build, it is easier to make an impact there.

Around the ground you need to be able to read the play to know where to be, and that is a big learning curve for him. Can't be learnt in half a season.

do you think he has a future sr

Too early to say....as the key thing will be whether he can learn to read the play. ie look at Majak at North.. Goes ok at VFL level, but at AFL the opposition are good enough to limit is ability to get into the game despite his athletic gifts, and in large part it is due to his inability to really read the play.

Certainly for a guy that has only just started he has progressed well. In pure ruckwork he is already looking good. But it is the follower aspect that he needs to learn and to be able to impact the game.

Very, very, early days yet. ie Look at Longer in the seniors at present. Goes ok at the ruck contests, but cannot yet get into enough play around the ground.

[saintsRrising]

He's very driven to make it. I would think if anyone has a temperament to become a good player JH has it.

Good to hear.

[saintsRrising]

10 disposals today...so getting more possessions....

[saintspremiers]

10 disposals today...so getting more possessions....

That's excellent for him. Maybe, just maybe, he could play a game or few next season.

Give the boy time. I wouldn't play him this season unless we get Longer and Stanley both injured at the same time and Hickey is still out.