#5 Jamie Elliott

[melliot]

Robo said on SEN that Seedsman was the standout.

[MagpieBat]

The full quote, for context:

Whateley: “Jamie Elliott of the Pies.”

Mark Robinson: “Good choice!”

Whateley: “He’s gone from the sneak-around forward, who’ll bob up with a goal, to a legitimate midfield option. But he’s going to be a menace at half-forward. He seems to have got himself into a really good shape, and I’ll think he’ll put pressure on what’s there. He’s going to pressure a player like Blair, I think, to win a place.”

(the emphasis is that of the original speakers)

[mattys123]

Am I the only one who thinks Wheatley has this completely wrong and that the best Elliott can give us this year is a small forward option?

And that's not having a go at Jamie, just that it's his second year of football and he still hasn't even proven that he can play as a consistent forward at senior level, let alone part of the best midfield in the AFL.

There's more chance of a Fasolo type, in his third year, pushing up into the midfield than Elliott I reckon, and also the fact that our midfield is so deep in talent that we may not even need Elliott, or Fasolo in there this year.

Oh, and he said Elliott would replace Blair in the side, the media have been writing little Blairy off since he played in the flag, and yet he still gets picked most weeks and excels.

[Beast]

Blair's spot in the side is safe as houses, and Elliot hasn't shown any capacity to play in the midfield, at least not yet.
Whateley is a clueless dribbling knob.

[Tannin]

As a forward, Blair is OK. But he's really only playing forward because he doesn't get enough time in his proper position, which is in the middle and under the pack. Blair has come of age this last year or so and is ready to take on a genuine starting midfield role. He's already been playing in that spot in a lot of games.

The trouble is, Blair is up against genuine class opposition in Ball and Beams and possibly also J. Thomas. Are there enough spots to fit him in?

As for Elliott, I'm a fan. He needs to settle down a bit more and learn to convert his chances better, but he's doing everything right so far and neither Didak nor Krak are walk-up starts with Jamie Elliott on the list.

There is probably only room for one genuine small forward of the Elliott- Didak - Krak type. By the time you have the two talls (Cloke and Q), the very important defensive forward/third tall (Goldsack), and two running, marking, tackling, goal-kicking medium forwards (Macaffer, who is a genuine gun, and Fasolo, who is on track to be another one), you only have one, possibly at most two, spots left for small forwards like Elliott.

[SuperStar Beams]

The role that Goldy plays Macaffer could also play bringing in the option of two smalls.
Our main forward 6 will depend on the game day conditions.

[Tannin]

^ I agree, SSB, but the way I'm looking at it, Goldie and 'Caff both bring pace, height, ability to take a mark, contested ball, goal-sense, and fanatic, relentless hard-enough-to-shave-with pressure to our forward line. If they were twins you'd play all four of them. If one is injured, sure. But if both are match-fit, there is only room for one full-time small unless you leave Fasolo out, which seems a bit unlikely.

[burnsy17]

I dont know about all this hype.... i mean, yes, he shows signs of being a decent player, and his touch is great, his goal scoring accuracy very good..... but he gets 8-10 touches a game.

I'd like to see him up the ante before we proclaim him the next Gary Ablett Snr.

He'll be a handy HFF this season.

And he is nowhere near taking Blair's spot in the guts!

[jackcass]

[Darkstranger]

[quote="mattys123"]Am I the only one who thinks Wheatley has this completely wrong and that the best Elliott can give us this year is a small forward option?

And that's not having a go at Jamie, just that it's his second year of football and he still hasn't even proven that he can play as a consistent forward at senior level, let alone part of the best midfield in the AFL.

There's more chance of a Fasolo type, in his third year, pushing up into the midfield than Elliott I reckon, and also the fact that our midfield is so deep in talent that we may not even need Elliott, or Fasolo in there this year.

Oh, and he said Elliott would replace Blair in the side, the media have been writing little Blairy off since he played in the flag, and yet he still gets picked most weeks and excels. [/quote]





I think you missed the point here champ.. Question was who has been the most impressive - answer Elliot... To which I agree.. His defence pressure is second to none for Collingwood.. Fasolo is a highlight reel and just doesn't do the team thing....yet...

[rand corp]

Elliot is currently our best 'defensive' forward in locking the ball in our forward 50 through chasing, tackling and pressure.

He has also shown himself to be very good overhead for his size, a reasonably accurate kick and a very smart footballer up forward.

He is kicking goals.

He may well blossom into a mid but I see him as a very important small forward at the moment.

[HAL]

I see. kicking goals is kicking goals ?

[Joel]

I see him as a small forward only at this point. I hadn't even considered him for the midfield - has he even played at all in that position to date?

He reminds me a bit of Medhurst - he can take a strong grab, and has a jump in him that you don't expect for his size.

[Jezza]

I don't think Elliott is at the stage to be a dangerous midfielder, but he's a great small forward option and he's pressure in the forward line has been second to none in the pre-season. What I like about him so much is he's willing to put the pressure on opposition defenders, he's a great mark of the ball, and his kicking for goal isn't too bad either.

I was a little worried that he would fall into the second year blues after an impressive first year where plenty of progression was made, but so far he's proving me wrong. I just hope his pre-season performances correlate to strong performances in the actual season.

[innocent_criminal]

He, like many emerging players also benefit from having the 'lesser' defenders play on them, once he establishes his worth, that's going to change as part of the natural progression.. having to man up on the seasoned big bodied mids will be a stretch at this point... luckily we have some of those types ourselves already.