Guy O'Keefe

[The Coon Dog]

Leaving aside any off-the-field incidents, what do you think he needs to do to get into the team TCD? Doesn't seem to be much more he CAN do -- bests in the seconds every other week etc.

Comrade or some of the other ruegular Willy watchers may be better placed to answer that. I just feel that if he was going to play, it would have been against Freo when we had no Gia, no Welsh, no Murphy & no Higgins.

[Desipura]

Comrade or some of the other ruegular Willy watchers may be better placed to answer that. I just feel that if he was going to play, it would have been against Freo when we had no Gia, no Welsh, no Murphy & no Higgins.

regular, sorry hard to resist

[LostDoggy]

Since I moved back to Willy 01/07/09 I have only missed one Seagulls game (last weekend) and I am convinced that GOK is ready to go in the AFL. He may struggle to last the game out but many first gamers and indeed 1 - 10 gamers take a while to become accustomed to the pace of AFL, he certainly seems to have the skills and size for the game, maybe there is some off field problems that we are not aware of that is keeping him out this year. IMO he should be a gun player.

[Cyberdoggie]

Leaving aside any off-the-field incidents, what do you think he needs to do to get into the team TCD? Doesn't seem to be much more he CAN do -- bests in the seconds every other week etc.

Well it's fairly obvious he hasn't had a debut yet due to reasons other than his performances because he's been pretty consistent and one of the better seadogs this year.

Apart from the off-field matters he has a few things he needs to work on.
*Fitness! he's got to get much fitter if he wants to have an impact at afl level.
*Accountability/hardness/defensive pressure. Needs to improve in these areas as he's very much an Eagleton like player. No room for 2 Eagles in the side!
*Speed. Not something that can change drastically but he reminds of a young Matthew Boyd. Matthew wasn't the quickest and had some clear weaknesses in his game (kicking, balance, ball handling below his waist and his leg speed) but through hard work and determination he has become an excellent all round footballer with no glaring weaknesses.
O'Keefe is never going to be a Cooney or Griffen type racehorse but if he doesn't improve then it will be something that will hold him back as a footballer.


I also agree that if he doesn't get a game this week against the weagles then his only chance would be if injuries played a part.

To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if Easton Wood got a game this week instead of GO'K

[lemmon]

Just looking at this from O'Keefes perspective I really feel for the lad, along with Skipper they have been our best players down at Willi yet he has had to sit and wait while players around him who havent had that same impact on the field have gone up and debuted. He's got to be wondering what more he can do.

[Dazza]

If it's off field problems than I'm guessing not getting a run in the seniors is not going to help. At least give him a taste so he knows what he is missing. I get the feeling he could start to look for an out as soon as his contract is done if we don't give him a run soon.

[Go_Dogs]

If it's off field problems than I'm guessing not getting a run in the seniors is not going to help. At least give him a taste so he knows what he is missing. I get the feeling he could start to look for an out as soon as his contract is done if we don't give him a run soon.

And go to a crap club to chase more game time? I'd like to think not. Yes, he's had to wait perhaps longer than he should have, but there is going to be opportunities very soon as players retire, and he's got a good bunch of young guys around him. If I were Guy I'd be doing everything I can to stay at the club - regardless if I felt a bit hard done by.

Stack has waited about 2 and a half seasons before his debut, and he's worked out ok and shown some good signs since.

[bornadog]

And go to a crap club to chase more game time? I'd like to think not. Yes, he's had to wait perhaps longer than he should have, but there is going to be opportunities very soon as players retire, and he's got a good bunch of young guys around him. If I were Guy I'd be doing everything I can to stay at the club - regardless if I felt a bit hard done by.

Stack has waited about 2 and a half seasons before his debut, and he's worked out ok and shown some good signs since.

He is still only 19 years old, so plenty of time to develop.

[Go_Dogs]

He is still only 19 years old, so plenty of time to develop.

Exactly - they're just kids still. Football fans however are becoming increasingly less patient to see kids debut.

Hopefully the kids can see the work that goes into it and realise that they are sometimes multiple hard pre-seasons behind other guys - and until they have proven they can do the required amount of work at the required level, they won't get a run, and neither should they.

At the same time, would love to see Guy get a game this week

[Mofra]

If it's off field problems than I'm guessing not getting a run in the seniors is not going to help.

I'd agree he's missing bevcause of off field behavior; if the missing of any session is true I wouldn't want to see him debut. We should be rewarding discipline, not poor behavior.

[Mantis]

Exactly - they're just kids still. Football fans however are becoming increasingly less patient to see kids debut.

Hopefully the kids can see the work that goes into it and realise that they are sometimes multiple hard pre-seasons behind other guys - and until they have proven they can do the required amount of work at the required level, they won't get a run, and neither should they.

At the same time, would love to see Guy get a game this week

Hearing that he has missed at least one recovery session and isn't the hardest worker on the track means that he hasn't quite got the message yet.

He may have reasonable football skills, but his work-rate & fitness levels aren't anywhere near AFL standard yet. Unless he really knuckles down and takes a leaf out of the Cross & Boyd book on how to prepare your body and give yourself every chance of succeeding he might slip by the way side.

[Sockeye Salmon]

And go to a crap club to chase more game time? I'd like to think not. Yes, he's had to wait perhaps longer than he should have, but there is going to be opportunities very soon as players retire, and he's got a good bunch of young guys around him. If I were Guy I'd be doing everything I can to stay at the club - regardless if I felt a bit hard done by.

If I was O'Keefe, I'd walk.

[LostDoggy]

[QUOTE=Mofra;102200]I'd agree he's missing bevcause of off field behavior; if the missing of any session is true I wouldn't want to see him debut. We should be rewarding discipline, not poor behavior.[/QUOTE

missing a rehab session is not good but it would be interesting to know if he was the only 1 that missed & the reason? I wonder if any others who missed played against Freo?

I agree mofra that we need to reward discipline but surely Form is the number 1 selection criteria & he has been consistently the best seadog this year & would probably win the Willy B&F if it was held today.
If a player is injured or is to be rested this week Okeefe has to be the player to come in as he finished the game in great form after halftime last week.
If he isnt the player to come in this week it would be very surprising as he was still named emergency despite missing that session & this game against wce seems the perfect time.

[wb_age]

What's his contract status?

If GC can't entice one of our more renown players, considering Clayton drafted him I get the feeling he may be poached if he doesn't get gametime anytime soon.

[Mofra]

missing a rehab session is not good but it would be interesting to know if he was the only 1 that missed & the reason? I wonder if any others who missed played against Freo?

I agree mofra that we need to reward discipline but surely Form is the number 1 selection criteria & he has been consistently the best seadog this year & would probably win the Willy B&F if it was held today.

I would think Skipper is leading the B&F based on what I've seen.

In any case, I'd expect the main factor is whether a player can have an impact at AFL level in the opinions of the match committee, not just their VFL form. Guy isn't quick and is in the bottom group for fitness so surely that must be weighing on the minds of the committee.