Saints look to lock in Paddy

[kazonte13]

i just hope the AFL approve the motor bike helmet permit for him .

[CURLY]

Our club is not smart.
The club 'philosophy' is based on 'positive thinking' like that book the secret. They think if you 'imagine' some positive outcome that that makes it come true. Just saying 'he is going to be a gun' over and over won't make it true.

I'm just going to start imaging myself on my own island surrounded by models.

One can ponder all one wants on why the Saints are where they are at with Paddy. (Personally I just do not believe that our head recruiter is up to it, and their is too much emphasis on building a team rather than on just securing the best talent)

However given where we are the club needs to make the best of it, and one aspect of that is to not have Paddy's contract just expiring next year where another club can pounce if it chooses to.

It is much smarter to extend it now so that the club remains in a position where it can consider whether to retain or trade him.

I have to disagree that it is smarter to extend it now. It is silly. If he performs next year then absolutely but now? Why? He has shown very little, he really has. We have Battle and Marshall coming thru and we have Members and Bruce so we have options up forward, although they could be better granted, and Paddy is meant to play a different role to those but still we don't need him. We want him to become a gun absolutely, but need him, I disagree.

And which club is going to pounce on a heavily concussed, injury prone, unfit, under performing forward? Give him another pre season to get his body and mind right and see if he gets his act together. If he does awesome, extended then and pay him what he is worth, if not thank him for his time and wish him well.

Great idea wait until he has injury free season then let Collingwood or Richmond offer him a million a year and us have no power at all to retain him.

and we let him go and he then fails in their team not ours. Or he becomes a gun. or he gets concussed again etc. Unless you have a crystal ball no one knows so it is a silly argument either way. Basically he has shown little so far. if we wait till mid next year we will know how go/bad he is. I hope he comes good, I really do but do you really want another b grade player clogging up our list for 3 years. We have enough of those at present.

Well lets not draft anyone as they may not be any good.

[DJ Higgins]

Our club is not smart.
The club 'philosophy' is based on 'positive thinking' like that book the secret. They think if you 'imagine' some positive outcome that that makes it come true. Just saying 'he is going to be a gun' over and over won't make it true.

I'm just going to start imaging myself on my own island surrounded by models.

One can ponder all one wants on why the Saints are where they are at with Paddy. (Personally I just do not believe that our head recruiter is up to it, and their is too much emphasis on building a team rather than on just securing the best talent)

However given where we are the club needs to make the best of it, and one aspect of that is to not have Paddy's contract just expiring next year where another club can pounce if it chooses to.

It is much smarter to extend it now so that the club remains in a position where it can consider whether to retain or trade him.

I have to disagree that it is smarter to extend it now. It is silly. If he performs next year then absolutely but now? Why? He has shown very little, he really has. We have Battle and Marshall coming thru and we have Members and Bruce so we have options up forward, although they could be better granted, and Paddy is meant to play a different role to those but still we don't need him. We want him to become a gun absolutely, but need him, I disagree.

And which club is going to pounce on a heavily concussed, injury prone, unfit, under performing forward? Give him another pre season to get his body and mind right and see if he gets his act together. If he does awesome, extended then and pay him what he is worth, if not thank him for his time and wish him well.

Great idea wait until he has injury free season then let Collingwood or Richmond offer him a million a year and us have no power at all to retain him.

and we let him go and he then fails in their team not ours. Or he becomes a gun. or he gets concussed again etc. Unless you have a crystal ball no one knows so it is a silly argument either way. Basically he has shown little so far. if we wait till mid next year we will know how go/bad he is. I hope he comes good, I really do but do you really want another b grade player clogging up our list for 3 years. We have enough of those at present.

Well lets not draft anyone as they may not be any good.

No, lets draft people, realise they aren't that good and keep them forever

[The_Merchant]

DJ, have you watched Paddy play footy? He has shown plenty. Not sure who we could get as good as him for the price we are hopefully paying. His problem isn't ability, it is him staying on the park. Hopefully this indicates the medicos think he is fine and he can get a good run of games going. He will be a star, hopefully for the saints.

[Linton Lodger]

I'm utterly delighted, obviously he's higly rated and I wonder how many Clubs (Geelong included) were sniffing. The kid can play don't worry about that.

This decision and the indications on Richo yesterday, shows that the Club thinks long term and doesn't panic or do knee jerk reactions. Its giving me confidence in our current Administration (which I certainly didn't have for the previous one) and I'm a happy camper.

[bigcarl]

He can play alright. The concussions are the only worry.

At least we will be able to guarantee him a spot in the senior team next season if he's fit.

He's never had that before and hopefully it coincides with a change in luck.

[saintsRrising]

Our club is not smart.
The club 'philosophy' is based on 'positive thinking' like that book the secret. They think if you 'imagine' some positive outcome that that makes it come true. Just saying 'he is going to be a gun' over and over won't make it true.

I'm just going to start imaging myself on my own island surrounded by models.

One can ponder all one wants on why the Saints are where they are at with Paddy. (Personally I just do not believe that our head recruiter is up to it, and their is too much emphasis on building a team rather than on just securing the best talent)

However given where we are the club needs to make the best of it, and one aspect of that is to not have Paddy's contract just expiring next year where another club can pounce if it chooses to.

It is much smarter to extend it now so that the club remains in a position where it can consider whether to retain or trade him.

I have to disagree that it is smarter to extend it now. It is silly. If he performs next year then absolutely but now? Why? He has shown very little, he really has. We have Battle and Marshall coming thru and we have Members and Bruce so we have options up forward, although they could be better granted, and Paddy is meant to play a different role to those but still we don't need him. We want him to become a gun absolutely, but need him, I disagree.

And which club is going to pounce on a heavily concussed, injury prone, unfit, under performing forward? Give him another pre season to get his body and mind right and see if he gets his act together. If he does awesome, extended then and pay him what he is worth, if not thank him for his time and wish him well.

No what would be silly would be waiting till next season when things hopefully are looking all good. If they are other clubs would already have made their offers, and indeed evidently some already have.

If a club lets it get into a position of having a player come out of contract then in this day and age it puts the club into a very weak position.

Paddy can play. I have seen enough of him at Sandy and the Saints to know that he can play football. Not saying that he will be elite, but he is at least more than capable of of playing as key forward. The issue is not his ability, but is concussion and is secondly how much diabetes is interfering with the rate that he can build his body. On the latter I am confident that he will get there. On the former he just has to play a bit smarter.


Signing him now also means that he will not be on big $$$.

[DJ Higgins]

DJ, have you watched Paddy play footy? He has shown plenty. Not sure who we could get as good as him for the price we are hopefully paying. His problem isn't ability, it is him staying on the park. Hopefully this indicates the medicos think he is fine and he can get a good run of games going. He will be a star, hopefully for the saints.

Merch,

yeah mate I am a saints member and go to each Melbourne game (AFL) and the odd Sandy one. I haven't been overly impressed yet. Key word there being yet. Jono Brown commented earlier in the year that he is a one trick pony as a forward, i.e crashes packs and that's it. And that's from Jono Brown and I agree with him . He isn't quick, has no tank, no great leap, and the ball has gone thru his hands so many times a guy behind (Saints fan as I sit in a saints area) calls him rubber chest as the balls keep bouncing of it. I could go on but that isn't the point.

All that being said I still want him to come good. And that is all down to hard work. Kid is probably feeling flat after his run of injuries and average at best AFL games and the rest is doing him good both physically and mentally. I don't care if he has the rest of this season off to get his head space right as that will be the biggest hurdle. Then I want him to hit pre season like crazy. Just work he's arse off and next year earn his spot back. Battle and Marshall have shown a bit this year so next year they will be in the mix for a forward spot so the pressure is on especially from Battle. he can kick straight, learnt a lot from his one game and mixed AFL with year 12 this year. What will happen now he can focus 100% on us?

I just don't see what other see yet. No rose coloured glasses here so I still don't understand why the need to extend his contract now. Next year if he performs absolutely sign him up again otherwise how many years do we keep him on the list for if he can't make it at AFL level? 2020 is a long way away to have another spot taken by a b grade player. Prove me wrong Paddy. please prove me wrong

[The Fireman]

ok so it begs the question...how can a number 1 pick not be that good ?

[dals_da_bomb]

This would indicate medically his sound?.
I have no idea about concussions, yet i had assumed the number he had received was a real worry - for him as a person.
I take this that medically his healthy and the positives out way the risks - and i think thats really great.
Im old enough to consider this guy young. A huge life ahead of him and with that in mind i think its great news.

[WellardSaint]

ok so it begs the question...how can a number 1 pick not be that good ?

Nobody's perfect.
Until we can invent a time machine, and jump forward 6 years to see how Player X has performed,
we only go on educated guesses.
#1 is a judgement call by humans without the benefit of foresight and clairvoyance.

A car magazine or car review website might nominate a certain car as "Car of the Year"
based on their road tests,
and when the COTY goes into full production and is used in real world conditions
by families, in its thousands,
that's when unforeseen problems could arise.
Jeeps catching fire, Ford Falcons spending 3 weeks at the dealer with mechanics scratching their heads,
VW with DSG gearboxes having engine seize for no reason,
"Takata" airbags being found to be faulty in millions of cars,
Alfa Romeos being driven on flat bed tow trucks more often than by the owner...

[The Fireman]

ok so it begs the question...how can a number 1 pick not be that good ?

Nobody's perfect.
Until we can invent a time machine, and jump forward 6 years to see how Player X has performed,
we only go on educated guesses.
#1 is a judgement call by humans without the benefit of foresight and clairvoyance.

A car magazine or car review website might nominate a certain car as "Car of the Year"
based on their road tests,
and when the COTY goes into full production and is used in real world conditions
by families, in its thousands,
that's when unforeseen problems could arise.
Jeeps catching fire, Ford Falcons spending 3 weeks at the dealer with mechanics scratching their heads,
VW with DSG gearboxes having engine seize for no reason,
"Takata" airbags being found to be faulty in millions of cars,
Alfa Romeos being driven on flat bed tow trucks more often than by the owner...

maybe his exhaust gas results have been tampered with ?

[IluvHarvey]

Fantastic news. Gives him less pressure and can concentrate on getting himself right. A+ by the club here.

[Teflon]

ok so it begs the question...how can a number 1 pick not be that good ?

Yep agree
In today's footy number 1 should bet you a v good player - not all are elite but still should be v good. Paddy isn't that yet
I do t buy the 'J Brown 1 trick pony' cr@p - Browns trucks were the same, crash pack, he had no leap and his tank wasn't Riewoldt like. He played in v good sides that took the heat off - McCartin is being asked to be Carey game 1....

I think IF he can clunk a few more (to many do go through his hands) then he'll be a handful Paddy - he also needs second effort work but that is endurance.

[samuraisaint]

He can be a very good stay at home full forward. Back the kid in and give him the rest of the season off to get fit and to get in the weights room - not to bulk up but to build strength.
Good luck Paddy.

[Impatient Sainter]

Shouldn't have drafted him and we wouldnt be in the predicament of having to sign a kid who compared to his peers has shown nothing, is injury prone, clumsy and battles with diabetes.

Im going to be the professor of doom and suggest he won't play more than 40 games before he is forced out of the game with health issues.

There is no way we should be extending his contract.

[thejiggingsaint]

Shouldn't have drafted him and we wouldnt be in the predicament of having to sign a kid who compared to his peers has shown nothing, is injury prone, clumsy and battles with diabetes.

Im going to be the professor of doom and suggest he won't play more than 40 games before he is forced out of the game with health issues.

There is no way we should be extending his contract.

Time will tell, companero, time will tell.

[Scollop]

I reckon if we backed the kid this year instead of having Rooy in the team most weeks he would have given us close to the same output. There's no way in hell I would have said that about Rooy 3 years ago and when Rooy was at his best he was easily one of the best forwards in the history of the game. I don't think we'll ever be saying that about McCartin, but I do feel the kid can play.

Without Rooy on the playing list and the burdern of having Roo available as a potential compititor for his spot, and the aura of having the most dominant forward at St Kilda in the last 15 years in the background I have a feeling the kid will flourish.

I'll never forget McCartin's clunks in 2016, especially that juggled pack mark against Freo.



He belongs. He is worthy. He is capable of being our most important key forward.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/is-pad ... 7daf145a70

[David-Lee]

Ummmm no. Paddy wouldn't be playing every game in place of Roo because physically he CAN'T. That is the point. 3 concussions this season alone and now he is likely to not return until 2018. So, no. He literally can't replace Roo because he is not capable physically. Fact. Dispute it.

[Scollop]

Ummmm no. Paddy wouldn't be playing every game in place of Roo because physically he CAN'T. That is the point. 3 concussions this season alone and now he is likely to not return until 2018. So, no. He literally can't replace Roo because he is not capable physically. Fact. Dispute it.

Fact is IF Roo had retired at the end of last year it would have been better for the team. What I'm saying is that IF the coaches had backed the kid in from the start of the year Paddy wouldn't be under as much pressure. Without Roo on the playing list Paddy plays AFL in the first round this year instead of VFL!! Perhaps he wouldn't have beeen so desperate and try so hard every time he get's an opportunity.

[supersaints]

Ummmm no. Paddy wouldn't be playing every game in place of Roo because physically he CAN'T. That is the point. 3 concussions this season alone and now he is likely to not return until 2018. So, no. He literally can't replace Roo because he is not capable physically. Fact. Dispute it.

Fact is IF Roo had retired at the end of last year it would have been better for the team. What I'm saying is that IF the coaches had backed the kid in from the start of the year Paddy wouldn't be under as much pressure. Without Roo on the playing list Paddy plays AFL in the first round this year instead of VFL!! Perhaps he wouldn't have beeen so desperate and try so hard every time he get's an opportunity.

Are you Donald Trump???

I thought that for something to be factual in this sense .. it actually had to happen! Ii didn't happen So how can you claim it as a fact? ... Alternate truth maybe?

Opinions are fine by the way.

[Toy Saint]

Saints fans are demanding of Paddy because he was the #1 draft pick.

How would we be feeling if we had drafted Petracca? He missed 12 months with injury, has shown to be a real bull in Melbourne's forward line, but he doesn't have the tank for the midfield. He's been pretty inconsistent. I reckon Saints fans would be quite unhappy.

[To the top]

What has always amazed me on here, where passions boil over, is the players who are "attacked" and the players who are not "attacked"

With concussion, in another life, I was hit by a quick, short ball which lifted off a hard January turf pitch

I argued with the Doctors at the RAH Emergency Department to allow me to go home - where one of the Doctors was known to me and relented on the basis that I presented to my GP the next day


I had head aches, had trouble staying awake and those symptoms lasted for some 2 weeks from memory

When I returned to the Nets (and pre helmet days) I had trouble judging the ball coming toward me - and skips catching was hopeless

It took me until the commencement of the Finals, in March, to get back to close to "normal" although in that Finals series I batted defensively so got behind the ball and just nudged the singles (and made runs!)

Past that, no impact that I was aware of

These days more care is taken obviously and there is more analysis of the impact of your brain being rattled in its cage can have

And that is a good thing

So McCartin is in the right hands and the right things are being done

To the benefit of Patty, to the benefit of his career in football and to the benefit of St Kilda FC

That he has ability and is a required player is not in doubt

As with Freeman it is not 2017 - it is the years following

These kids are only 21 years of age

So instead of all this nonsense re McCartin what say you look at the options to improve the mid fielder Club's underbelly being the bottom 6/8 players we are putting on the park - because that is where improvement comes from

The support we have around our elite players

So we need a Michael Taylor who started as a back pocket and transitioned to an elite mid fielder for Norwood then Collingwood then back to Norwood, captaining both Clubs with distinction and turning into a champion of the game

[8856brother]

What is tthe actual test he's continually failing?

[David-Lee]

The test he is failing within the concussion protocol:

* memory impairment
* balance disturbance ( he has self reported incidences of loss of balance climbing stairs)
* neurological symptoms reported by specialists.

What exactly are these things? Well some are obvious others are not.
These are very serious and although many players past would carry on - as much as I crap on about Paddy I do not want him to suffer irreparable damage just to play with a ball.

Best of Luck Paddy for a speedy recover and pray he never suffers another concussion.