Haha, sorry Warby, I guess I was just enquiring further into the comparison with Cooney.

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ahhh SB so if he fails its Pagan's fault if not he was always a gun


I think someone else nailed it, our quick blokes, AW, Simmo, Betts (for example) spend an awful lot of time covering the slower blokes. As this is slowly addressed they will find themselves with time on their hands, the luxury of running forward rather than covering, the freedom to seek space etc.

The team as a whole - disappointing.

the kids, fair suck of the sav!

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

He's not disappointing but just isn't living up to the ridiculous expectations of being another Judd whenever a 6'2" player is taken early.

His statistics and game tally are actually better than last year's which were nothing startling to begin with and masked by only one standout game.

2004 - 5 games with 10 possessions or more

2005 - 10 games with 10 possessions or more
http://www.pro-stats.com.au/psw/web/player_career?pid=2004017
http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/A/Andrew_Walker.html
Will be a gun going on those figures when he is released to play the role he was born to.

Not disappointing at all.

I reckon this year he really stepped up a notch or two. While he didn't stand out like a Ryan Griffen or an Adam Cooney, he quietly went about it and got the job done on some of the AFL's most prolific ball winners. Not an easy task to stop guys like Akermanis and McLeod from getting the ball.

I compare Walker to Goddard. Goddard was taken at #1, Wells was taken at #2. So far, Wells has burned up the track and is making an immeadiate impact. Goddard is taking his time but I have no doubt he will get there.

Cooney was taken at #1, Walker at #2. Cooney has come on quicker than I expected and has made a huge impact in his first two years of AFL football. Walker hasn't come on as quickly, but I reckon when he does, it'll be worth the wait.

Oh and I do remember this one bloke who plays for Carlton who took flower forever to develop as a player. IIRC he was a gangly athletics kid from down Lalor way. Turns out turned in a few ripper games a few years back.

Patience, people, patience.

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Great post PJ!

Didn't we have this discussion not even two weeks ago?

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That article is as shallow as a car park puddle.

AW has been a young player in a shit side. Would he be better in a better-performing side? No doubt. Will he improve as he matures and as we get better? You bet!

I wouldn't stress it. I think the Footygoss article was written by someone wo may have seen no more of Walker than what he saw on FTA TV.

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I think we might have.

Seems people like to bring up how crap Walker supposedly is every now and again.

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Yeah; I can't stand people who slag our players all the time....next thing they'll be bagging Prenda and Davo and Livo and Lance and Spornie and Fev; you can see it coming can't you?....

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Not to mention some dorky looking dude with glasses who started off unspectacularly playing in the back pocket before cementing his place in the middle wearing #7.

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Couldn't kick for shit in his first few years. Some hack he turned out to be, hey!

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Absolutely agree with everything PJ has said. I believe he was given the jobs on the 'guns' this year purely for him to learn from them. If he learns a little from McLeod, Aker, Judd etc then it's only going to be good for him moving forward. I'm not disappointed in him at all as I truly believe he is going to tear up the competition in a similar fashion to Kouta. It's unfair IMO to compare him to Delidio & Cooney as they have been allowed to play their natural games from the beginning. And Delidio (as much as I rate him) has only had 1 full season. He could really struggle next year (although I do really doubt it)!!

I am obviously just a tad dissapointed..If he was from Collingwood I would be sprouting: "Gee he is bloody clueless...he looks lost out there...he hasn't a clue...so much for a number 2 pick, collingwood has stuffed up again!!!"

However....I am only a fan and fans tend to go apeshit over nothing. I am currently going apeshit over the 'patience' theory. He is obviously one of the most athletic guys going around...and I posted on CSC ages ago that when there is unlimited potential things take longer...the more talent there is then the longer it takes to mature.

Go kid...make yourself a champion.

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Danny how do you reckon Kouta would have gone if he was given tagging roles in his early days. To me young Walker is an athlete playing football he needs to play - put him on the wing and let him run let him see the football not have him playing push and shove with guys like Akermanis . He has got talent he must have talent to go No2 - let him use it . I would hate for him to turn into a Prendagast or Bannister .

Whats that famous saying " Let The children Play"

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I have no doubt that Walks will become an outstanding player. I think his first game, as well as raising the expectations of supporters, perhaps raised his own expectations too.

Whenever he makes a mistake he is extremely hard on himself. I just hope that in this coming season he just goes out and plays footy and doesn't carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

You never know, with Murphy now being the "number 1 pick" it might actually relieve some of the pressure on young Walker.

Walker showed in his first game that he has the raw talent to grab games by the scruff of the neck. I imagine at the time he was told to go out and just have fun, whereas ever since he has had to be more accountable. I agree Cooney has certainly kicked on and is now a genuinely dangerous AFL player, but I believe this on the back of his 2005 form. After 2004 I was convinced we had the better of the two but this year Cooney stepped up exponentially whereas Walks mainted a more steady tradjectory. I am certain that the improvement Cooney made from last year to this year will be replicated by Walks from this year to next. I base this belief on the fact that Cooney was a top age recruit with a mature body and senior football experience who completed a full preseason and was ready for rnd 1 2004 - Walks, on the other hand, was the just about the youngest of the top ten draftees and came to us with a bung knee that prevented him completing a full preseason. I reckon this puts him about year behind in development compared to Cooney.

Now just looking at some of the training picks that we have scattered around this fine site, it looks like Walks is becoming a bit of a tank or at least genuinely AFL sized; not only does this bode well for his playing impact in 2006, but it shows his commitment to getting his body right for footy and shows his commitment to the club. We've seen he has mecurial talent and we've seen his commitment in his fierce tackling and his attitude to training, so just sit back, have faith and wait for him to put it all together on the field. Walker is one player that we don't have to say, "oh great skills but needs to get his attitude right" or "super leader but can't really play footy", the guy is the package, but he's young and he's only just coming into his own.


As for the toothless, moccasin wearing collingwood supporters, until Walker starts putting 30 possession games together, Carlton supporters are always gonna cop it from them, just ask them how their 1st round picks from 2002 to 2004 are going... or that's right, they don't have any. Ask them how didak is going? what about Josh Fraser? ummm Danny Roach??? oh yeah that Pavlich bloke has kicked on, shame about him...

See i know we like to analyse everything.
But fair dinkum !!!.. Walker being judged at age 19.
When a kid gets drafted early these days he is automatically compared to Judd.
Judd is a freak!

Walker is not allowed to play his natural game at the moment.. the reasons are to knock off any rough edges that might hinder him in the future.
However having said that.. the leash will be off this year!

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Hence why I hate Chris Judd around draft time.

The prick has set the benchmark and everyone expects their first pick to reach that benchmark.

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Why can't we draft a freak?

Bloody sucks!

We're always the damn draft bridesmaid. Never the bloody draft bride!

A football career is not a sprint its a marathon.
AW has more strings to his bow than most footballers.

He just needs to do the Campo stuff and run past for some cheap kicks.. to get a feel for touching the ball.
He works hard he might as well do some of the easy stuff now too.
Also he needs to work on his kicking technique abit.
Like alot of our players he looks like he is taking a curve on a motorbike when he kicks .... we have a few players that do the same thing. .. i cant understand why time isnt put into the kicking technique of these guys by the coacing blokes.

Surely if i can see it they can too?

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And there was another......

Came to us as a half-forward - strange kicking style, stilted runner, long hair and sideboards. Ended up in defence and hung around a while.

For 359 games..... and four Premierships.

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