Jarrad Grant

[Sockeye Salmon]

This is not what you expected when you opened this thread.

I had local footy commitments yesterday so I have only watched the game today. Last night I read all the comments about Jarrad Grant so I paid specific attention to his game.


He made two bad mistakes - his little chip kick in the first quarter that went straight to a Richmond player and he didn't get body contact when Edwards marked the high one. (He did have a pressured kick around the corner in the 3rd that was marked by Richmond but it was hardly a clanger).


Just in the first quarter he was directly responsible for Brian Lake's first two shots at goal and directly involved in Hooper's goal.

Later in the game he left his man to spoil, followed up and ran hard to mark in our pocket before chipping to Skinner. It was one of very few decent passages of play we had.

All in all, I thought he was pretty solid.

[LostDoggy]

Agree thought he was ok

[Go_Dogs]

Also agree with you SS - thought he wasn't too bad yesterday and showed his pace, his hands and his good game sense at various times. He's suffering from expectation being based on his draft position, and that he was a key forward. Realistically he's a flanker who should be a solid to good player for us.

[stefoid]

I like him when he is competing for the ball, and as a forward: he knows how to put the ball to advantage of other forwards.

But needs to fight harder with 2nd and 3rd efforts, and needs to make it to more contests.

I get the idea that macca is going to be a monkey on his back the entire preseason.

[Maddog37]

I like the fact he is trying to take pack marks or even punching in packs. Seems to resent being first man up in a pack and prefers to have the sit which is ok if he can do it consistently.

He is any easy target because he is very laconic but I feel he is having a crack.

[OLD SCRAGGer]

There seems to SOME people on these kind of forums that seem to have whipping boys...Gia, Grant, Higgins etc...

[Redemption97]

I was one of those who made comments around Grant’s game last night. I didn't do it because he is an easy target or that it makes me feel better, I made those comments because when I watch him play like he did, I get frustrated with him. He's been on our list for quite a few seasons now and the excuses are now running dry and the occasional flash of potential is no longer good enough. He's had years to work on his body but he is still smaller than most of our 1st year players. I'm disappointed that he's still not got himself strong enough after a number of preseasons to play the kind of football we know he is capable of and the kind of footy that our side desperately needs him to play.

He has the potential, there are things he does sometimes that show this but he’ll never produce consistently until he actually commits himself to the gym and puts on enough muscle to compete to an AFL standard. Then perhaps a lot of those half hearted tackles and the times he’s pushed out of the contest or when flying for the ball might be eliminated from his game, and hopefully then we’ll have the player we used a number 5 draft pick to get all those years ago.

That said, I’d like to see him have another season after what we’ve invested in him and hopefully Macca will have him locked in the weights room connected to a drip full of protein shakes! A stronger and more confident Grant next season will go a long way to making us a better side.

[bornadog]

I was one of those who made comments around Grant’s game last night. I didn't do it because he is an easy target or that it makes me feel better, I made those comments because when I watch him play like he did, I get frustrated with him. He's been on our list for quite a few seasons now and the excuses are now running dry and the occasional flash of potential is no longer good enough. He's had years to work on his body but he is still smaller than most of our 1st year players. I'm disappointed that he's still not got himself strong enough after a number of preseasons to play the kind of football we know he is capable of and the kind of footy that our side desperately needs him to play.

He has the potential, there are things he does sometimes that show this but he’ll never produce consistently until he actually commits himself to the gym and puts on enough muscle to compete to an AFL standard. Then perhaps a lot of those half hearted tackles and the times he’s pushed out of the contest or when flying for the ball might be eliminated from his game, and hopefully then we’ll have the player we used a number 5 draft pick to get all those years ago.

That said, I’d like to see him have another season after what we’ve invested in him and hopefully Macca will have him locked in the weights room connected to a drip full of protein shakes! A stronger and more confident Grant next season will go a long way to making us a better side.

You are being totally unfair about his body weight. He has the body shape that will never put on large amounts of weight. Rocket tried everything to get weight on him but they found he is just built that way. Have a look at Bob Murphy, or go back in time and look at Tuck, Robbie flower and many others. Maybe when he is in his late 20's he may bulk up a little.

Grant is only 22 years old and will never be a KPP, his best position is a third tall in the forward line playing almost a Eddie Betts type of role.

[Sedat]

There seems to SOME people on these kind of forums that seem to have whipping boys...Gia, Grant, Higgins etc...

I think the biggest problem for Grant is that his biggest whipping boy seems to be the coach

[Redemption97]

Yo7u are being totally unfair about his body weight. He has the body shape that will never put on large amounts of weight. Rocket tried everything to get weight on him but they found he is just built that way. Have a look at Bob Murphy, or go back in time and look at Tuck, Robbie flower and many others. Maybe when he is in his late 20's he may bulk up a little.

Grant is only 22 years old and will never be a KPP, his best position is a third tall in the forward line playing almost a Eddie Betts type of role.

I understand that he is lean and he’ll never be a behemoth key position player but I don’t believe you can’t get a lean body stronger. He doesn’t share the traits that make Bob Murphy a great player with a lean body. Bob certainly doesn’t get pushed out of the contest or off the ball as easily as Grant does.

My personal view is that if he can’t get his body stronger then he’ll never be a good AFL footballer.

[FrediKanoute]

The comparisons to Murphy are good. Murphy has a strong core and with that comes good balance (as well as a brilliant football brain). To me Grant's core is not strong. His quad's, glutes and abdominal muscles need to be developed -that means lots of squats and lunges in the off season. The good thing about bulking up the core is that shouldn't affect agility/pace 2 things Grant has.

I didn't think he has been too bad since he came back into the team. He seems to be working harder, but is not a natural backman. I still think his best position is forward. He made 2 errors yesterday, but I would be disappointed if he was dropped for those 2 errors.

[Maddog37]

He is 6 foot 5 and built like a whippet. I hate to say it but he needs time. As long as his attitude is ok I would stick with him. He has match winning potential.

[Cyberdoggie]

I understand that he is lean and he’ll never be a behemoth key position player but I don’t believe you can’t get a lean body stronger. He doesn’t share the traits that make Bob Murphy a great player with a lean body. Bob certainly doesn’t get pushed out of the contest or off the ball as easily as Grant does.

My personal view is that if he can’t get his body stronger then he’ll never be a good AFL footballer.

You dont' have to look big to be strong but unfortunately he's neither.

I didn't think he was awful but there were a couple of bad mistakes where he just wasn't strong enough. Got brushed aside in a weak tackle ponsford end that resulted in a goal that was a good example. Mind you he wasn't the only one.

[LongWait]

I would love to see Grant's tackling stats breakdown by quarter. My impression is that his tackling and 1%-ers drop off markedly after half time.

Grant is simply not strong enough period. Doesn't matter that he is wiry rather than beefy - he is just not strong enough and doesn't have a tank. Speed and agility may not be enough to give him a decent shot at being a 150 game player. I think that this is why the Coach rides him. If he didn't have so much potential Grant would be playing in Willi and would be gone at the end of the season.

[stefoid]

You dont need to be big and strong to play AFL. Being quick (of mind) and smart works well too - Cross is great at contesting the ball and has always been on the skinny side.