Andrew Walker has more than his share of critics on this sight.Sure,apart from the weagles debut he has been off the mark.He is a player with that magical quality and we are all waiting for him to tare a game apart.Its just not happening at the moment.Just looks ordinary alongside Cooney...

But a sobering thought.Went down to Frankston today today to watch them play the Cats 2s.I think the Cats were all AFL listed bar a couple.The Frankston side,a hotch potch collection of locals,and part timers to boot belted the Cats by 12 goals.You wouldnt have to be a rocket science to be a recruiter would you with that sort of result.Frankston really shouldnt be a match for these sides.BUT,getting back to Walks.One of the hyped picks of Walkers draft was Kane Tenace.Tenace was at one time being touted as a No 1. pick.Well today,he was abysmal to the point of being on and off the bench all day.He looks as though he has completely lost it.Totally lost out there today.My point being how fickle form can be and how confidence can be a massive part in your form.If the Walker knockers had seen Tenace today you would have been horrified that you contemplated getting him before Walker.Tenace is obviously a highly talented player who will come good,but watching him today was a bit of a wakeup call to me.

While on the Cats,one of there few shining lights was Tom Lonergan.Reckon this guy can play,and i would love to entice him to us,as he is obviously out of favour down there.Also reckon Byron Murphy from Frankston has got AFL list written all over him.Poise,balance,and electrifying closing speed.As quick as Tenace and thats quick.

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All my dangerous friends

Great post Mick.. some people want to shield Kouta Campo and Lance but blame Walker.
Walker is the least of our problems.
He will be an elite player.
Hes being given tasks at the moment that are foreign to him by Denis.. just to make him a more rounded footballer.
If some of the senior players would do what theyre meant to.. noone would be worrying about Walker.
Will play 200 games for the footy club with most of those at a very high level.
I wish we had more Andrew Walkers.
Its only a matter of time before it clicks for him... I really cant see how some of the more senior players are ever going to click again.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

P.S. I am off to the sunshine state for the next fortnight so make sure you VFL gurus keep tracking the Ants to check how the hopefulls are travelling.
Guys,things are not nearly as bad as they seem at the moment.The sun will come up tomorrow.Remember,FORM IS A FICKLE THING,and no more so than this year.Gunna be a lot more hiccups before this season is over.And a PS to all you doomsdayers............LIGHTEN UP.

Bon voyage folks,see you all in a fourtnight.

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All my dangerous friends

Love the post, Micky.
Walker will be alright in the end.
As people have said, one day it will click for him and he will unleash on a team something chronic.
Can't wait for that day.

RE: Lonergan, his name has been floated around a bit in the trade section.
Wouldn't mind finding out a bit more about him.
IIRC, he's 194cm and around the 95kg mark.
About 20-21, I believe.
Worth a look I reckon.

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

Dont want to seem like im bad mouthing Tenace coz hes a real talent.But its a fine line between success and failure at this levelThe likes of Judd and Cooney are the exception not the rule.Hell,Hodge is a top player,but is only just getting it together now.

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All my dangerous friends

I wouldn't be bad mouthing Tenace either. The guy has some real talent. Has put some bulk on his upper body but still has plenty of pace. Geelong are looking stronger by the day. Like Brisbane, talented youngsters have to wait their time and will drop off for a while. Will be a few years still before Tenace is a top line player, but he's well on the way.

Fingers crossed for the young man.

I was wondering what had happened to Tenace.

Cooney is a star no doubt - but we were never going to get Cooney and I still feel that Walker will turn out to be one of the real stars of his year. He is a year and a bit younger than Cooney and still developing. I have alot of faith in how he'll develop.

This is going to be the problem of playing for draft picks though. Any kid that comes through the draft system is going to be cut down and trashed by "supporters" every time they put a foot wrong.

Walker's a gem. I reckon you can spot top talent by the way they go for the ball when its in dispute, ie, the paddles to advantage, the way they manoeuver their bodies.. etc.

Walker "gets it". And he has pace, spring, and a massive engine. The guy is a real gem who just needs patience from us. I'd like him to get jobs to run him into games, but in a few years... watch out.

Betts is the same. The way he paddles the ball around on the deck so he can flick it up to himself.... thats real smarts.

BTW, I think this Murphy sounds pretty good. It think we need an injection of talent in the middle that can jump straight into it next year... either trade for one or fluke a mature recruit. Maybe this guy? Why hasn't be been snared eariler?

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Love Cricket? Love me

You disappoint me Tyrants.

The word "knockers" in the thread and THAT's the best you can do????

Walker is still only 18!! The same age as the majority of top recruits from last years draft.

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Mjonc signing off at 8888

a couple of good points in that post, ponks

Im off to take a good hard look at myself. Also, because I've got tomorrow off, I'm going to draw a shortlist of players we should trade for, and conceivably get. Michael Braun is the first one that comes to mind.

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Love Cricket? Love me

geesh the boy is 18yrs old and still learnin hasnt physically matured either ...get ya hand of it when judgin him as a dud at this early stage he has 12yrs of senior footy to go.

Ya know what i would rather have a person that takes a couple of yrs to mature then a another young lance whitnall whose career is over at 25 cuz physical cant match his mental.

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Can smell the gf its there for the taking we are the form side

Plus, Walker would look better on a calender than an 18 year old Lance

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Love Cricket? Love me

Wauhh?

What is it good for?

that's a goodie

hee hee

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Love Cricket? Love me

At round 7 in 2008 Walker will be 21 years old. He is still very young and has shown improvement from last year, which can be seen by his increase in stats and time on ground. All you can ask from him is to keep improving and I reckon in 3 years he will be dominating the competition.

I'm happy with Andrew Walker....he needs to be played in a position..wing for me and left there. He is similar to Kouta IMO and will take time to develop and muscle up...when he does look out he will be a real impact player.

Cooney played SANFL and was ready for AFL....playing against men early makes you grow up a bit quicker....Jonothan Brown is a classic example.
Walker is only 18 ..still a young kid....give him a go.....maybe some decent onfield leadership could help his development and fastrack his game....have to fill sorry for kids like Walker, Simpson, Bentick etc....just chucked in the deep end and told to swim.......

Plenty of time for Walks. He's been pretty consistent this year, played on Crawfs and did a good job, done some good stuff and shown his sublime skills at times. How about against the Power where he did that pass where he's just hooked it about 60 metres across his body and hit one of our blokes on the chest to set up a goal.

I've said it before but the kids got some something special

Btw, can someone post me the top 10 picks of the 03 draft?

1 Adam Cooney
2 Andrew Walker
3 Colin Sylvia
4 Farren Ray
5 Brock McLean
6 Kepler Bradley
7 Kane Tenace
8 Raphael Clarke
9 David Trotter
10 Ryley Dunn

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