Brendan Goddard - has he lived up to expectations??

[Dan Warna]

i thought he was no good for about a year and a half.....
then he started to do what apparently someone saw in him before he was drafted.
then my opinions of him changed to a more positive side.

then the poor bastard did a knee.

id prob trade him for cooney but other than that i think he is vital to our team.
seeing him up the ground a bit when we finally manage to get a stable defense would be nice.
bombing goals from 50 out, or hitting our FF on the tits with a stab pass

theres not much mercy for kids these days.

he was pretty much thrown in the deep end.

his return in 05, 06, and 07 showed gradual incremental improvement. (actually statistically 07 was marginally down on 06, but not so you'd notice).

Even cooney was pretty much harangued as the worst no.1 pick ever in his first season as an 18 year old, but as he's now 22/23 people are thinking wait a minute!

you can see it with our kids too...anyone remember the wringing of the hands at montagna being an utter failure, and now that armo is showing a bit of form...the OMG we wasted our pick on armo, has been dulled a bit, the reality is armo wont start showing us what he's capable off for another 2 or 3 seasons yet.

they want to trade for round 1 picks, when very few draftees are much chop till they've been in the system a few years.

sure you have your reiwoldt (second year gun) and judd (gun off the starting block) and joel selwood and the like, but the majority don't hit their straps till 21/22/23 and looking down the discard list a fair wack don't make 50 games.

[Dis Believer]

Anyone who doesn't rate Bj very highly doesn't know anything about football.

Watch the way he moves, moves through traffic, thinks his way through things, and delivers the ball.

He may not have exploded on the scene from day one like Judd did, but that's why Judd is rated so far above the rest of the competition - because there's only one of him.

Remind me again how old BJ is, and how long you internet champions are permitting him to get back to his best after a full reco?

[Fraser9]

Goddard is an absolute hack, should not be playing AFL, should be traded

[LENNY LEADS THE WAY]

Goddard is an absolute hack, should not be playing AFL, should be traded

Show some respect jnr

[Ralphy]

Goddard is an absolute hack, should not be playing AFL, should be traded

your an absolute hack you should be traded perhaps to someone like freo They could need you

[bergsone]

If Goddard is a hack.A couple more hacks would be good.Really you must be kidding

[mad saint guy]

was hitting his straps till injury kicked in, but has been a solid contributor from his early days.

on the other hand mcintosh was a disaster till 2007, and really had North fans scratching their heads why he was on the list.

you can imagine what st kilda fans would have been saying about mcintosh for 4 years on the list for about 11 games.

No matter how many times you say that, it will never become true. McIntosh only played one game in his first three years, but most teams don't want to play ruckmen until they are at least 21 or 22. In 2006 McIntosh played 17 games and showed that he was going to be a gun. Obviously in 2007 he became their number one ruckman and is now one of the best in the comp.

There was nothing abnormal about McIntosh's transition to the seniors.

Mcintosh was drafted in 02, he didn't play 03, 04 and got 1 game in 05.

in 2006 he averaged 10 possessions and 8 hitouts per game, not what you'd call good. His reserves form was ordinary and he was being lambasted as lazy and soft.

Not many predicted in 06 that mcintosh was going to be a gun in 07, he was barely passed pedestrian and considered soft.

10 possessions and 8 hitouts per game is fine for a 21 year old backup ruckman. He was never bagged for his VFL form, he was never considered soft and the Kangaroos always had planned for him to become a key player after 4 or 5 seasons. He needed that time to get his fitness, strength and skills up to scratch (as 95% of ruckmen do).

I don't know how you have come to believe this (like Blake struggling to play every game because of an injury in 2004), but you can stop repeating it because it isn't true.

[perfectionist]

Sorry, couldn't be bothered reading all the crap that might have been written on this thread. Here are the facts, OK OK , my version of the facts.

1. In any draft year, the difference between No 1 and No 10 ( or more) is largely driven by media hype than anything else. An opinion, repeat, opinion, by ONE AFL recruiter who has media access assumes the status of wrote.
2. Judging young men at 17 does not, in any sphere of activity, determine the man ( despite what the Jesuits might say).
3. Brendon Goddard's kicking skills are great - rating No 1 in my book.
4. His attitude to the task is No 1 in my book.
5. He is recovering from major knee surgery.
6. He displays leadership qualities.
7. He is still only 22 - repeat - 22!

Conclusion? Well, who knows! For mine, I think he will be a Saint champ in a premiership team.

[AlpineStars]

Goddard was aproaching star status last year before his injury, Most knee injurys in fact take 24 months to recover 12 months medical and 12 months mental. He is avoiding contests and taking soft options because of a lack of confidence. The biggest dissapointment since he came back is his lack off discipline giving away free's going over the line on kick ins I think he is very frustrated and out of touch (for his standards). But he is still better than about 7 or 8 of our starting 22.

[Dan Warna]

apparently you know more about mcintosh that mcintosh and laidley

both commented on his attitude, his fitness, his discipline to training etc which resulted in him lifting his form dramatically towards the end of 2006.

laidley himself said that mcintosh couldn't bench press 40kg when he arrived at the club

and mcintosh also said that he was too laid back in his attitude towards football for his first few years.

he'd not be the onlyone who thought it was going to be an easy ride.

Fortunately for North and himself he turned it around.

[ace]

THe 2002 draft was an exceptional bad draft.
The talent pool was pathetic compared to 2001 and 2007.
Goddard would still have to be rated in the top 3 from that draft.
But none of the players selected from that draft is worthy of the title "top 3 pick".
St Kilda recruiting did a good job with Goddard, they got the best they could from a lousy bunch.
The big recruiting mistakes that year were
1 giving away what they thought was pick 8 but became 6 for Barry couldn't play football let alone ruck Brooks, resulting in missing out on Steven Salopek.
2 giving away pick 19 (became pick 16) for an injury prone good player in Luke Penny but ultimately injury prone made it a bad decision.
3 using pick 22 to get Matthew Ferguson not that there was much left to pick from.
Simply put , 2002 was a bad year to finish second bottom on the ladder.
The cheats may have lost picks 1, 2, 18, 34 & 50 that year but they did not lose very much.

[Little Dozer]

Goddard is an absolute hack, should not be playing AFL, should be traded

Worst post ever.

[Winmar7Fan]

He is one of the best, longest and accurate field kickers I can remember at our club in 25 years......Plugger was the best at set shots for goal, but BJ can't be topped around the ground.

Dont want to get into a slanging match but there was a certain No 7 15 years ago who was a breathtaking kick left foot ,right foot , set shot on the run, snap shots the lot.

[mbogo]

Did the same player almost snatch victory in the last qtr against Sydney in a final in the mud when moved to FF but for one final errant kick - ten years ago?
It might have even resulted in the sacking of a coach and the player leaving when he should DEFINITELY not have.
Or maybe I dreamt it - who knows?

[SaintWal]

Shoot me if you must but BJ has been a victim of the Saints not having a strong backline.

He was never able to find a position that truly suited him but before his injury he was blossoming into an awesome talent of half back. I believe given a stronger backline in the last few years he would have been a devastating winger capable of kicking plenty of goals

I would liken him to a young WCE player named Fraser Gehrig, I believe that the best is to come from BJ, and BJ's best will be quite something.

[skeptic]

I said it right at the start of the season...

Gram needs to become a midfielder because Goddard should get his spot on the HBF as the primary Quarterback... not only a better disposer of the football but much better defensively

if we had more depth in the backline, Sam Fisher would be our other HBF, hurting opposition on the rebound with Max at FB, a competent CHB and a combination of Attard, Baker, L.Fisher, Blake, Gilbert and Raph in the other pocket depending on match ups
ideally, Raph and Gilbert would be played further up the ground though

[The OtherThommo]

Go back almost 12 months. We played Sydney at the Dome. Lyon didn't play BJ as a 1/4 back - he sent him out to go one on one with Adam Goodes (note -not tag him, but go one on one). BJ was being freed up to do what he is capable of doing - going and getting it, rather than waiting for it to arrive.

And, it was going fine - he was doing Goodes over. Then he did his knee.

He's been back for a few games after the worst injury a player can suffer. His coach decides to leave him with the game in front of him for a while.

And, the problem is? It's been half a dozen games FFS. Yet again the hypercritics have it out of their trousers and thrash it to within an inch of it's life, without actually consulting their own knob(s) to see if there's a different opinion.

Just give him some time. Christ, he's been better than Wells, even with the reco.

[Winmar7Fan]

Did the same player almost snatch victory in the last qtr against Sydney in a final in the mud when moved to FF but for one final errant kick - ten years ago?
It might have even resulted in the sacking of a coach and the player leaving when he should DEFINITELY not have.
Or maybe I dreamt it - who knows?

Yes thats right the same player that won more games for us than he lost and is responsible for a huge amount of Locketts record number of goals and brought in big crowds to see them both perform, that despite his faults was Loyal to the club and stayed when offered a lot more money to go elsewhere and gave us so many great memories and was discarded like a dirty nappy when they decided they had enough almost at the end of his career when he had not much left to offer but his negative points.
YEH THATS THE ONE

[Dan Warna]

don't worry

for me winmar will always be a saint great.

[Winmar7Fan]

don't worry

for me winmar will always be a saint great.

Sorry but i'll always be bitter over that for me no player was more electrifying and exciting . In these times when i think the label of a champion is used so loosely this guy was an absolute Superstar . I cant think of a player who had it all like him. Who could fiercely tackle but moved with such grace , play dominantly almost anywhere he was needed ,take breathtaking high flying marks , rack up high possesions in the midfield freakishly evading tackles ,kick fluently off either foot and hit team mates lace out on the chest from any kicking distance 90 % of the time and if needed go to full forward with the true capability of kicking 6 goals from up to 60 metres out.I know he had his problems but i feel for what he gave to the club and supporters he MORE than made up with and should have started and finished as a St kilda Champion rather than the slap in face of flicking him with a year or so left of such a highly decorated career. He didnt deserve that. Seeing him running around in a footscray jumper broke my heart and im sure it broke his too. It was all wrong .I dont think any player will ever excite me as much as this true ST KILDA LEGEND

[ace]

Nicky Winmar was a greater player than Tim Watson was a hopeless coach.

[aussiejones]

I cannot believe why BJ is being discussed .

He is the very least of our problems.

He regularly shows passion for the game ,

As far as position , I would like him at CHB .

Also to quote another poster what does this mean "But he has a chip on his shoulder," ?? WTF

I think BJ is doing very nicely and I look forward to many years from him.

[stinger]

Goddard is an absolute hack, should not be playing AFL, should be traded

flower off troll.....

[Dan Warna]

don't worry

for me winmar will always be a saint great.

Sorry but i'll always be bitter over that for me no player was more electrifying and exciting . In these times when i think the label of a champion is used so loosely this guy was an absolute Superstar . I cant think of a player who had it all like him. Who could fiercely tackle but moved with such grace , play dominantly almost anywhere he was needed ,take breathtaking high flying marks , rack up high possesions in the midfield freakishly evading tackles ,kick fluently off either foot and hit team mates lace out on the chest from any kicking distance 90 % of the time and if needed go to full forward with the true capability of kicking 6 goals from up to 60 metres out.I know he had his problems but i feel for what he gave to the club and supporters he MORE than made up with and should have started and finished as a St kilda Champion rather than the slap in face of flicking him with a year or so left of such a highly decorated career. He didnt deserve that. Seeing him running around in a footscray jumper broke my heart and im sure it broke his too. It was all wrong .I dont think any player will ever excite me as much as this true ST KILDA LEGEND

nicely put

I wonder in todays football would nicky be even better (no racism allowed, none of that shyte franchina put out would be allowed)

OR

would be see a gimped winmar as he was forced to play a defencive role in the current st kilda structure where personal flair is shut down for team discipline?

he was probably the last great st kilda player who mastered or was allowed to play the torpedo, and wasn't that a thrill

I remember the sickening feeling against the doggies in 92 when winmar did his collar bone, it was like the air went out of st kilda, and the last resistance given in.

mate that day against carlton, I reckon I would have had a swing at franchina, and probably 12 years younger too