Tom Lynch it still hurts

[terry smith rules]

Watching some of the Adelaide NAB game yesterday and Jono Brown said he believes Tom Lynch is the BEST mid sized forward in the comp!!!

I have no reason to disagree, last year he led the comp in goal assists and kicked quite a few himself

Every time I watch Adelaide he plays well, working really well with Eddie Tex and Jenkins , and he is still only 25

I think back to his first game with us and he was put on D. Fletcher and you could see his confidence draining in real time.

Now it is like "if only" and we wouldn't be having these ongoing discussions here about who and how for the forward line hit up role

[Bunk_Moreland]

So you don't like Jack Newnes?

[Linton Lodger]

So you don't like Jack Newnes?

Give me Jack any day of the week.

[the dome]

I remember Buckets Loewe endorsed Tom Lynch as a young player the club should invest in. I also remember thinking that Tom Lynch showed genuine ability during his early day @ St.K. His kick passing seemed good for a big guy I thought.
Sometimes the project player pays you back and Adelaide had a good inkling he would.
I was disappointed when Tom was let go - it seemed a bit early at the time.

Heard that the crows would like Bruchey as well to make the journey over to crow-land.
If true their endorsement of Bruchey along with Dermies' is focusing the club (i hope) to keep him a Saint.

On Lynchey I agree that he would be handy for us right now.
I guess if we can keep learning from the past that will be a positive in spite of our loss.

[St Chris]

Our lament makes it sound like we sent him packing....

Tom needed to agree to a move. We were in the midst of Rossie's reign and Lynch couldn't get on the park in the seniors. He wanted more opportunity, we couldn't accommodate that, so both parties agreed to part ways. History shows us he would have played a lot more had he stuck it out at St Kilda, but that wasn't to be known at the time. Although Ross pulled the pin prior to the deal being done, Tom's mind was probably made up well and truly by then.

It was the perfect trade, all parties got what they wanted. We got a future skipper in Newnes, the Crows got a young player who has blossomed, and Tom got enough senior footy to establish himself.

[Bluthy]

Well Lyon isn't renown for bringing young talent through. There was talk that at St Kilda he had very little to do with players outside his top 25. But you don't know what Lynch's situation was - did he feel neglected, I don't think we had a great development environment for young players. But maybe he just didn't click at the club or we saw some bad signs about his attitude or work rate. Sometimes it just doesn't work at a club and does at others where your really click with coaches and players. But Newnes is developing nicely so could be win win.

[On the Bench]

Well Lyon isn't renown for bringing young talent through. There was talk that at St Kilda he had very little to do with players outside his top 25. But you don't know what Lynch's situation was - did he feel neglected, I don't think we had a great development environment for young players. But maybe he just didn't click at the club or we saw some bad signs about his attitude or work rate. Sometimes it just doesn't work at a club and does at others where your really click with coaches and players. But Newnes is developing nicely so could be win win.

Tom did not feel loved. He says that Ross only spoke to him 3 times in his time at the Saints. He was asked to stay after Rossy left but he was ready to move by then. It has probably worked out best for him and the the Saints.

[BigMart]

wasnt his workrate

he was considered an elite runner for his size. Ran a near 15 beep at Sandy training to lead the pack, had a huge on field motor which was his strength... he does not play that tall, and mobility is his asset. hes a clever player, not clean skilled and certainly not a genuine KPP.

its funny becausae Ross was crying out for a 3rd in his teams... but wouldn't look at a young player... preferring to try Gardiners Gamble's of the world and even Dempster, Gwilt or Raph forward?

Lynch is no gun, but not poor either... and should definitely played more at a younger age at Stk. as should have Armo, Jack S and a few others...

[saint-stu]

My memory of Tom was that he was fairly poor for is. Hardly touched the ball. Too early to make a call on him back then though. Should never make a decision until they're at least 23 IMO.

[Jacks Back]

So you don't like Jack Newnes?

Give me Jack any day of the week.

[hayes66]

Often wondered what people think regards drafting. Was it a mistake to draft Lynch? If so, who was at fault the recruiters, as he was a failure at the saints or was it the match commitee who under valued him?

[skeptic]

The thing i remember about Tom in his early seasons, was watching him play at Sandy, I was so impressed with just how well he worked with the big Sandy forward... Sautner

He had what i thought was an uncanny ability to lead to the right spot each and every time... Often, just on instinct it appeared, he would know to draw his man away from Sautner, block for him... But he equally knew when to be the focal point of the entry too.

You can't teach that stuff... You just learn it over time usually but Tom got it right away.

Me personally, i just thought it was rubbish that people expected him to kick 20-30 goal seasons as a 20yo in a team with Riewoldt and Kosi.
The fans turned on him really quickly after Dustin Fletcher did a number on him early (first game I think), but despite having a few promising games... He was victim to the Lyon development process which was that if you weren't a star right away you didn't play.

Did he ever even play consecutive games?

He had at least 2 good games for us.

That whole era of recruiting gets trashed but i really have always wondered could we really have been that bad at it. I mean i can usually pick one decent player around our pick based on what i read in the paper alone and I'm supposed to believe that our football club got like 1 out of 10 picks right in 3 or so seasons?
I think we were just bloody awful at developing players in that era. Once Lyon left Armo got better, Geary too... And a few others whilst Lynch improved at the Crows too.

Meanwhile we took Siposs, played him as a medium forward, then as a running back, then as a small forward, then as a mid, the on as a 3rd man up backman.
We took Sam Dunnel, played him as a defender at Sandy and as a forward for the Saints and so on.

I think we did well in the trade for Lynch don't get me wrong but i think we were quite hopeless the way we went about playing/developing him

[hayes66]

The thing i remember about Tom in his early seasons, was watching him play at Sandy, I was so impressed with just how well he worked with the big Sandy forward... Sautner

He had what i thought was an uncanny ability to lead to the right spot each and every time... Often, just on instinct it appeared, he would know to draw his man away from Sautner, block for him... But he equally knew when to be the focal point of the entry too.

You can't teach that stuff... You just learn it over time usually but Tom got it right away.

Me personally, i just thought it was rubbish that people expected him to kick 20-30 goal seasons as a 20yo in a team with Riewoldt and Kosi.
The fans turned on him really quickly after Dustin Fletcher did a number on him early (first game I think), but despite having a few promising games... He was victim to the Lyon development process which was that if you weren't a star right away you didn't play.

Did he ever even play consecutive games?

He had at least 2 good games for us.

That whole era of recruiting gets trashed but i really have always wondered could we really have been that bad at it. I mean i can usually pick one decent player around our pick based on what i read in the paper alone and I'm supposed to believe that our football club got like 1 out of 10 picks right in 3 or so seasons?
I think we were just bloody awful at developing players in that era. Once Lyon left Armo got better, Geary too... And a few others whilst Lynch improved at the Crows too.

I think we did well in the trade for Lynch don't get me wrong but i think we were quite hopeless the way we went about playing/developing him

I can definitely see the logic behind drafting Lynch. When you look at who played in the '09 & '10 Grand Finals as the third tall. McQualtor and Dempster then McQualtor and Eddy.
When you see Lynch work with Tex and Jenkins you can see he would of been handy working with McCartin and Bruce.
Yes we did alright out of the trade but i can't help thinking to trade a good young player for a good young player, "How does your list improve doing that?"

[Moods]

Every time I read these Tom Lynch threads I think, 'did ppl actually watch him play?'

He was absolutely woeful when given a go by Ross. Admittedly he didn't get many games, but he literally showed NOTHING when he did play. Now a young bloke doesn't have to be BOG or even in the best players when he's starting out to hold his spot, but he does have to show something. Ross was correct at the time to give him limited chances. It was definitely impacting the team b/c Lynch was so poor. Lynch was treacle slow, he COULDN'T kick, and when he did try to kick his depth of kicking was roughly 45 metres. He didn't appear to have any agility at all. I don't reckon I'd seen a young player so out of his depth.

I have been staggered by his development at The Crows, and full credit to him. He has turned himself into a good AFL player. Not a great one, but a good one. He has an impact in games and is an important player for them.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I recall at the time thinking it was a good move by us to release him. Sometimes a new environment is exactly what a player needs.

[hayes66]

Every time I read these Tom Lynch threads I think, 'did ppl actually watch him play?'

He was absolutely woeful when given a go by Ross. Admittedly he didn't get many games, but he literally showed NOTHING when he did play. Now a young bloke doesn't have to be BOG or even in the best players when he's starting out to hold his spot, but he does have to show something. Ross was correct at the time to give him limited chances. It was definitely impacting the team b/c Lynch was so poor. Lynch was treacle slow, he COULDN'T kick, and when he did try to kick his depth of kicking was roughly 45 metres. He didn't appear to have any agility at all. I don't reckon I'd seen a young player so out of his depth.

I have been staggered by his development at The Crows, and full credit to him. He has turned himself into a good AFL player. Not a great one, but a good one. He has an impact in games and is an important player for them.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I recall at the time thinking it was a good move by us to release him. Sometimes a new environment is exactly what a player needs.

Well in answer to your question< "Yes i did see him play and i have a different assessment than you do". I am guessing but i think Adelaide would also disagree with your assessment as they did trade for him. Yes a player sometimes needs a change of environment to get the best out of himself but that is only relevant in this case if YOUR ASSESSMENT OF TOM WAS CORRECT!!
With all due respect there is some change you assessed Tom incorrectly.
Footy is an opinion business.

[Moods]

Every time I read these Tom Lynch threads I think, 'did ppl actually watch him play?'

He was absolutely woeful when given a go by Ross. Admittedly he didn't get many games, but he literally showed NOTHING when he did play. Now a young bloke doesn't have to be BOG or even in the best players when he's starting out to hold his spot, but he does have to show something. Ross was correct at the time to give him limited chances. It was definitely impacting the team b/c Lynch was so poor. Lynch was treacle slow, he COULDN'T kick, and when he did try to kick his depth of kicking was roughly 45 metres. He didn't appear to have any agility at all. I don't reckon I'd seen a young player so out of his depth.

I have been staggered by his development at The Crows, and full credit to him. He has turned himself into a good AFL player. Not a great one, but a good one. He has an impact in games and is an important player for them.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I recall at the time thinking it was a good move by us to release him. Sometimes a new environment is exactly what a player needs.

Well in answer to your question< "Yes i did see him play and i have a different assessment than you do". I am guessing but i think Adelaide would also disagree with your assessment as they did trade for him. Yes a player sometimes needs a change of environment to get the best out of himself but that is only relevant in this case if YOUR ASSESSMENT OF TOM WAS CORRECT!!
With all due respect there is some change you assessed Tom incorrectly.
Footy is an opinion business.

Wasn't having a go specifically at your opinion Hayes66 - I was having a go at everyone's, if that makes you feel better

You're right of course. Footy is an opinion business. I would love for someone to show me footage of Lynch doing one effective thing in a game of footy when he played at the saints (I'm sure someone will Utube and do exactly this) but I'll genuinely be interested if anyone can find anything.

[noob]

Tom 'Flinch' Lynch.

[hayes66]

"Wasn't having a go specifically at your opinion Hayes66 - I was having a go at everyone's, if that makes you feel better

You're right of course. Footy is an opinion business. I would love for someone to show me footage of Lynch doing one effective thing in a game of footy when he played at the saints (I'm sure someone will Utube and do exactly this) but I'll genuinely be interested if anyone can find anything."

I probably didn't express myself well. I take no offensive. I was trying to make the point whether Tom did or did not show anytime for us is an opinion and not a fact.
I personally rated Tom, whether you take my word or not does not really matter. I am assuming our recruiters saw something in him and Adelaide saw something in Tom.
Regards looking up YouTube or whatever is a rather pointless exercise, i think.
Let's just agree to disagree.

[kosifantutti]

Wasn't having a go specifically at your opinion Hayes66 - I was having a go at everyone's, if that makes you feel better

You're right of course. Footy is an opinion business. I would love for someone to show me footage of Lynch doing one effective thing in a game of footy when he played at the saints (I'm sure someone will Utube and do exactly this) but I'll genuinely be interested if anyone can find anything.

Don't watch it all at once. It might be too much for you to take.

[hayes66]

Don't watch it all at once. It might be too much for you to take.

Well done you have nailed it. Tom's greatest asset is footy smarts. Does he look good to the natural eye? No. He is slow and looks heavy footed when running but he has something you can't measure, reading the game. Possibly a poor example but Greg Williams was rejected by Carlton twice. Why? Slow and a rather small swat body but what he could do was read the game. He was a footballer. Not saying Tom is as good as that but he is a footballer to his boot straps.
I give full credit to Adelaide for identifying Tom because many had written him off.

[BigMart]

It was obvious he could play a bit in his first season... He was very impressive at Sandy in the VFL.

That's what's you'd hope for in an 18yo forward

[Moods]

Wasn't having a go specifically at your opinion Hayes66 - I was having a go at everyone's, if that makes you feel better

You're right of course. Footy is an opinion business. I would love for someone to show me footage of Lynch doing one effective thing in a game of footy when he played at the saints (I'm sure someone will Utube and do exactly this) but I'll genuinely be interested if anyone can find anything.

Don't watch it all at once. It might be too much for you to take.

It was....

Those kicks off the ground or unexpected snaps at goals from our third tall were breath taking.

You did well to find this. I looked everywhere and could only find highlights from when he was playing at the Crows.