Can the Richmond Football Club afford to take John Butcher?

[Scoop]

I was having a debate with a fellow Richmond supporter and the biggest question we could come up with is;

Can the Richmond Football Club afford to take John Butcher?

Do we have the smarts in the football department to ignore the classic Richmond footballer? Are we brave enough to make a stand? For years we have ignored the chronic deficiencies in players games and taken the player purely based on the things they can do while ignoring the obvious. The John Butcher types are the exact reason we are in the position we are in 2009. Guys who are above average in one facet of the game and do this one skill extremely well but fail in the fundamental skills that are required to be a basic AFL footballer, kicking, handballing and being smart with the ball.

From someone who saw Butcher on the weekend, this is their synopsis;

“Butcher is a great height, mega quick on the lead and has a good set of hands, but my God, it all breaks down badly after that. Badly. You would not believe some of the things he’s resorted to doing now e.g. with set shots he holds the ball underhand in his right hand for a brief second before stepping into his run up, then props, steps to the left at a 180 degree angle and then completes the run up and kicks. Skills will break down under AFL pressure, errors will come with it"

This is a critical junction in the tenure of Francis Jackson. For years we have been told that the club will focus on foot skills and not deviate away from that. Right now with a top 3 pick that mantra will be put up to the test. We quite simply cannot afford to take the risk on another unskilled footballer.

 

[GoodOne]

I don't think we'll take Butcher. I agree, dont think Butcher's skills are up to scratch and therefore not worthy of a Pick #3. There a couple of midfield pearlers we can grab at 3.

 

[Long Lost Hernaman]

We must take the best decent sized ball magnet who makes good decisions and who is an elite kick. If Butcher or someone else with the fabled X factor turns out to be a better player in the long term then so be it but no taking chances on this one. Its just too important.

My preferences: Martin and Tapscott. Also like Trengrove. No to Morabito and Butcher.

 

[Phar Ace]

I don't think we'll take Butcher. I agree, dont think Butcher's skills are up to scratch and therefore not worthy of a Pick #3. There a couple of midfield pearlers we can grab at 3.

Agree, but I'm also confident Francis will be ticking the basics boxes before he gets caught up with any X factor boxes - agree Butcher should slip on any reasonable analysis. But what were the rubs on one Buddy Franklin at the same time of the year? (Out of interest)

 

[craig]

Think Franklin was seen as a bit of a loose cannon in the maturity / attitude department

 

[Willo]

We must take the best decent sized ball magnet who makes good decisions and who is an elite kick. If Butcher or someone else with the fabled X factor turns out to be a better player in the long term then so be it but no taking chances on this one. Its just too important.

My preferences: Martin and Tapscott. Also like Trengrove. No to Morabito and Butcher.

I tend to agree

 

[doherz]

Think Franklin was seen as a bit of a loose cannon in the maturity / attitude department

Franklin is a solid CHF/FF but no Carey, no Lockett. When the team was under pressure this year, we barely scraped through with a pass.

 

[Massai]

Richo has exactly been flash with his set shots at goal either. Great mark, great pace, very tall, Butcher sounds similar to me indeed.

Look his kicking style maybe wanting, Buddy Franklin's kicking style is too crash hot either, but his size, marking ability and street smarts make's him a big asset up forward, as does Richo for us.

All this talk of recruiting a midfielder with the 3 pick, we need a KPF and a KPB IMHO more importantly than the midfielder.

At the end of the day, there is not one kid in the National Draft who has everything down 100% pat, unless they are a Judd, Cousin's or Ablett, they don't come along very often.

I sincerely hope that Francis Jackson has done his homework, no more video highlights only and that the decisions made are in the absolute best interests of the RFC. The only issue I have is whether FJ can be outranked by Craig Cameron with regard to who is recruited and if that is the case, then I'm worried, as CC has not exactly set the world on fire with his decisions regarding draft selection, trading and contract extensions to date. I'll one step further, if a significant improvement is not made in the recruiting/trading/contracts area by mid 2010, then I would think that Benny Gale should be handling CC his termination notice.

 

[craig]

In regard to CC - I reckon its time the Tigers took on some of the mantra that was imparted on Carlton by Pratt.

Instead of finding out who is best available .......................... screw that ........................... lets just go find who is the best and get them instead.

Gregg Swann and Chris Judd then magically appeared at Princes Park.

Hopefully Camerons imprint on this draft trade is minimal, i am not a fan of anything this bloke has done since hes been at the RFC.

Give me 1/2 the no doubt exorbitant dollars hes on and i dont reckon i could do any worse than him re list management and contracting.

 

[houdini]

any one could pull names out of a hat and still draft better than CC

 

[houdini]

[Hopefully Camerons imprint on this draft trade is minimal, i am not a fan of anything this bloke has done since hes been at the RFC.

Give me 1/2 the no doubt exorbitant dollars hes on and i dont reckon i could do any worse than him re list management and contracting.
[/quote] SURELY cameron never actually got paid to fail miserably at the job he did

 

[Barnzy]

We need a player with elite skills, if Butcher isn't that then PASS!! Trengove or Martin.

 

[craig]

Agreed.

If Trengrove or Martin are the best most skillfull footballers after Scully and are available we take them.

Hopefully we can get a Ledin, Tapscott, Black, or Griffiths with our second nail.

Tigers need skill and quality.

 

[IanG]

In regard to CC - I reckon its time the Tigers took on some of the mantra that was imparted on Carlton by Pratt.

Instead of finding out who is best available .......................... screw that ........................... lets just go find who is the best and get them instead.

Gregg Swann and Chris Judd then magically appeared at Princes Park.

Hopefully Camerons imprint on this draft trade is minimal, i am not a fan of anything this bloke has done since hes been at the RFC.

Give me 1/2 the no doubt exorbitant dollars hes on and i dont reckon i could do any worse than him re list management and contracting.

We tried to get *smile* Pelchen, he wouldn't come.

 

[Streak]

Has anyone knocking Morabito here actually seen him play. I have, and he looks a very good prospect. No weaknesses in his game at WAFL level. Good mover and a missle like kick.

I haven't seen any of the other midfielders mentioned on here, but apart from the press I have seen on Scully and Trengrove, anyone else would want to be good to go before Morabito.

 

[Streak]

And no, I don't think we should be looking at Butcher. Would assume the fact that Sarge looks like he will be staying means the club isn't looking at Butcher at this stage.

 

[GoodOne]

Has anyone knocking Morabito here actually seen him play. I have, and he looks a very good prospect. No weaknesses in his game at WAFL level. Good mover and a missle like kick.

I've only seen the the 4 video highlights of Morabito and he looked rather average to me. Rarely hit a target and hardly ever played inside, always skirting the packs.

 

[Crazy Costanza]

A BIG PASS ON BUTCHER!!!!

A midfielder is of utmost importance to this developing team. I remember sitting through the Rich Vs Coll match a few weeks back and thinking to myself at how easily the Collingwood midfielders of Swan, Didak, Beams, Penndlebury, Lockyer and O'Bree tore up our midfield. The skill level from Richmond was appalling in that match. Honestly, we could have had Lockett and Carey in our forward line that day and we still would have lost.

A quality midfield is the heartbeat of any successful team. Get that part right, and the rest will start to fall into place.

My opinion only, but Dustin Martin is the best player in the draft for me. If your looking for a creative, tough player who has an unflawed kicking action and can also beautifully kick on both sides - he is your man. The prospect of teaming Martin up with Cotchin for the next 10 years would be magnificent.

 

[GoodOne]

\

All this talk of recruiting a midfielder with the 3 pick, we need a KPF and a KPB IMHO more importantly than the midfielder.

Most would agree, however if there are no key positions worthy of Pick 3, then there is no point wasting your high pick for it. We also desperately need more players with excellent disposal skills. I don't believe Butcher is worthy of Pick #3.

 

[Col.E.Kurtz]

I largely agree about Butcher, but how far do we take this? Do we definitely rule out Morabito because he doesn't kick the ball as well as Martin? What if in every other way Morabito is the twice the footballer?