I'd be interested in knowing what everyone's take on this guy is - and whether his position at the club is a bona fide certainty for next year. This is his bio:

Guernsey Number: 33
Height: 187cm
Weight: 84kg
Recruited From: Corowa-Rutherglen/Murray U18
Draft history: 1999 National AFL Draft 5th round selection - No. 73 overall.
Debut: 2000
Date of Birth: 21 January 1982 ~ 24 years old

2006 stats:

Round - Versus - K - H - P - M - HO - T - FF - FA - G - B
Round 01 - Melbourne - 17 - 8 - 25 - 6 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0
Round 02 - Fremantle - 18 - 10 - 28 - 7 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0
Round 03 - Sydney Swans - 11 - 7 - 18 - 2 - 0 - 2 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 04 - Hawthorn - 20 - 15 - 35 - 5 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 05 - Richmond - 17 - 12 - 29 - 7 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 06 - Collingwood - 19 - 4 - 23 - 4 - 0 - 5 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 1
Round 07 - Essendon* - 18 - 3 - 21 - 12 - 0 - 6 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 08 - St Kilda - 8 - 2 - 10 - 4 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 09 - Adelaide - 14 - 4 - 18 - 5 - 0 - 2 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 10 - Port Adelaide - 14 - 11 - 25 - 6 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0
Round 11 - West Coast Eagles - 16 - 4 - 20 - 7 - 0 - 4 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 1
Round 12 - Kangaroos - 12 - 11 - 23 - 7 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 13 - Brisbane Lions - 7 - 3 - 10 - 6 - 0 - 4 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 14 - Geelong - 14 - 9 - 23 - 6 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 1
Round 15 - Western Bulldogs - 19 - 7 - 26 - 9 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 1
Round 16 - Essendon* - 20 - 4 - 24 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 1
Round 17 - Fremantle - 12 - 7 - 19 - 4 - 0 - 3 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0
Round 18 - Melbourne - 16 - 7 - 23 - 7 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0
Round 19 - Hawthorn - 3 - 8 - 11 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Round 20 - Richmond - 15 - 3 - 18 - 8 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0
Round 21 - Collingwood - 10 - 11 - 21 - 4 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 2 - 0 - 0

Houlihan started his career playing half forward flank, and although he seemed to go missing quite often showed glimpes of mercurial talent - in particular his pin-point foot skills. He flashed in and out of games and was able to cement his spot in a fairly strong side in 99 - 01 mostly through his undoubted potential more than consistency. Robert Walls stated during this period that Houlihan was rated highly at the club and was even considered a potential brownlow medallist - if he worked harder on the 1% acts and the physical side of his game.

Upon Pagan's arrival he thrust Houlihan into defense - along with Matty Lappin - to give us quality ball usage from the back half going forward. At his best he showed poise and an uncanny ability to avoid opponents and glide his way out of trouble, along with superb vision and skills to hit almost any target - on the flipside he was deemed soft, unaccountable and inexplicably created costly turnovers by foot despite his undoubted kicking ability. He was banished to the VFL affiliate Northern Bullants in 2005 for 4 of the last 5 AFL games.

IMO that wake-up call hardened him somewhat - however, we all know that hardness at the ball and the opponent isn't his strength. A good trait that he has is lifting his arms above his head before and when tackled to allow him to still distribute the ball. He also rarely seems to fumble the ball and is a one-touch player - the widely considered hallmark of a quality player. And, as previously mentioned, he is good at finding space and then using the ball creatively and effectively - often to Fev on a lead - despite his sometimes high clanger count.

So, where to from here for Houlihan?

At 24 he can still be considered youngsih, despite his high game count and 7 years at the club (in comparison, Setanta is 23 - who is just now starting to show some very promising signs at the top level).

In 3-4 years time, when Carlton will be genuinely competitive again, this guy will be 27-28, a senior member of the squad and the second oldest midfielder on the list. Wll he be a leader in this role, or will he be a flashy yet still inconsistent player for the navy blue? How much improvement does this guy have in him?

tradebait

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Love Cricket? Love me

I always thought he was definite tradebait

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

Trent Sporn in 2 years?

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Oompa loompa doompety dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me

I pray that he will be tradebait, although I doubt that anyone would take him.

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

i say keep him, no one will trade picks this year and that's all i want. In a team which has average disposal he helps out a bit.

Ryan Houlihan is the perfect player to trade.

It wouldn't bother me if he stays at the club, because at times he is a class act.

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end of message

Fev's eyes light up when Hoops is running with the ball.
We have'nt so many good users that we can give Houla the arse.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

I don't mind Houla, 1 criticism is that he doesn't kick enough goals for a former half forward. I know he is always in the midfield and across half back but our results will turn around when some of the midfielders help with the goals, not leave it all up to Fev.

Houla has only around 5 goals this season, midfielders should aim at least 15+.

I reckon he was really good yesterday... Given that we lack reasonable midfielders, surely we can't sacrifice one?

I luv Houla ...he's cool!!

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There's so much I could say...

If he was to be traded it would surely be to sweeten a deal that would be hugely beneficial to the club ie: in a push for Judd or something.

You wouldn't expect that we'd get heaven and earth in a sole Houlihan trade. 3rd rounder perhaps at best.



Uh... Taking the piss?

Keep him for mine. Has really improved this season and as the team develops he's a classy flanker who can rotate thru the midfield.

I love the kids coming thru but we cant just field an under 18's team. Players peak at 25 -28, with all our proposed delistings we need to keep a few guys in that age bracket to help the kids.

I vote to Keep him !!
He played well against the Wobbles yesterday.
IMHO ..... To classy to let go.

Has good evasive skills, looks to use the ball very well, and usually does. Has had a fairly good year. I think his upside gives value. Has worked on his overall game.

This has inspired me to live my life in the path of Ryan Houlihan.

I'll be right back, just going to grab a fire extinguisher.

I want him kept, get him to lose some kilos and put him on the wing. One of the classiest players on our list.

Houla's had his best season this year by far. His foot skills still let him down, but I reckon they have improved over the last 6 weeks. He is not as hard at the ball as most, but he has improved in that area too, and there is room for his type in a footy team.

I wrote in another thread somewhere that given his is only 24, and has played 140 odd games, he could very well be a 250+ game player for our footy club.

He is actually one of the very few players we have that would be of interest to other clubs, however, I would be loathe to trade him unless we were going to get a REALLY good deal out of it.

He is 24, has silky skills (although needs to get more consistent with them, which he is), gets plenty of the ball (averaging over 20 possessions a game this year), and is still probably 3 or 4 years off his best.

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Mens sana in corpore sano.

Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!

tradebait

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Love Cricket? Love me

Not a fan of Ryan Houlihan and never will be....sure Fevs eyes lightup when he gets it but the days of us having only Houlihan as a player who can deliver the footy are coming to an end ...
As for interest from other clubs?...with heavy emphasis on players pulling out of contests and being named and shamed I reckon Ryans value would be dropping quicker than Telstra shares......

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen