Part 10 in the series….
10 - Greg Stafford
Position: Ruckman / Tall Forward
Age: 28 - Turns 29 a couple of days before Round 22
Height: 203cm
Weight: 100kg
Career Games: 146 ( 16 at Richmond)
Career Goals: 84 ( 26 at Richmond)
Draft History: Taken as a Zone Selection by Sydney (91?) then traded to
Richmond at National Draft 2001 in exchange for Nick Daffy, Draft Pick No 17
(so how is James Kelly going?) and some magic beans.
2002 Averages: 16 Games, 6.9 Kicks, 4.5 Marks, 4.4 Handballs, 1.6 Goals, 10.6
Hitouts, 1.8 Tackles, 0.8 Rebounds, 1.3 Inside 50s, 2.1 Clearance, 1.9 Clangers
2002 Summary: Came with a reputation of being big, mobile, injury-prone and a
confidence player who could kick the occasional goal. And pretty much played
the script out to a T. I didn't think he made much of an impact as a Ruckman
where I thought he struggled and was a bit too one-dimensional but did
eventually make a bit more of an impact as a forward where he showed he
could be handy. Started really well against Collingwood then began to struggle
eventually missing 4 games with a hip injury. Had the opportunity to grab the
number 1 Ruck position when Ottens missed a couple of games but fumbled it
badly, being exposed by Burton and Primus and worse - struggled against the
second stringers Porter & French which only confirmed my worst fears. Then
managed to get himself suspended and returned to finish the year predominately
up forward where he kicked a couple of bags of four. Finished the year as our
third highest goal-kicker with 26.
Previously: Debut with Sydney in 93 and looked a real up and coming prospect
in 96 when he first really hit the scene averaging nearly 14 possessions a game
with 5 marks and 10 hit-outs, but career never really hit the expected heights
when he was constantly being referred to a "Capable of being one of the
leagues best if he can get his body right". I remember him playing some very
good football in 2000 for the Swans but he did have a very poor 2001 and really
looked like he'd lost it. Always was highly regarded but just never seemed to
get over the line.
Ability: 5.5 - Possibly a bit hard, as he certainly always looks like he's got loads
of ability, but to be honest hasn't really shown himself to be much more than
middle of the road.
Offence: 5.5 - A bit of a surprise, he'd spent a bit of time up forward previously
where his size enabled him to be dangerous around goals but never looked like
kicking more than a couple here and there. Is a reasonable mark, led pretty well
at times, although primarily was a big target right in front. Helped to some extent
to straighten Richmond up at times by staying in the corridor and finished pretty
well for a man of his size. Excellent conversion rate.
Defence: 3 - Primarily spent his time either forward or in a role where he was
on his own. Disappointed me in that instead of pushing back to help the
defence he made himself too often into an option as a link man rather than plug a
hole.
Hardness: 6 - Above average in this department, certainly I wouldn't question
his courage and he would push his way through a pack but could learn to keep
the elbows down. Not overly tough, but hard enough.
Speed: 1.5 - I said mobile - I didn't say quick. I might be harsh here, but often
looked to me that he laboured to get the first few steps off at all. Really didn't
see him bar a few games each year before he came to Richmond and to be fair
had a Hip injury that may have made him look worse.
Stamina: 3 - Looked below average to me in this regard, also probably
something to do with injury and really rarely had the opportunity to Ruck all day
to prove it. The two games he did most of the work didn't look good to me.
Delivery: 7 - Well above average, his delivery was for me the biggest surprise.
Very fluent kicking style, if you kinda squinted he almost looked like a well
polished midfielder.
Air: 7 - Again well above average, although I think he could be better. Does at
times look like a bumbling Giant when the ball is in the Air, but good once he got
his big paws to it.
Ground: 4 - Respectable for a big man, at times quite good, but still gets the big
man fumbles down low at times.
Injury: 4 - Hasn't had the best of runs, although has managed to usually keep
himself on the park a lot, in fact not really a hell of a lot of games missed, but
always seems to be playing under a cloud.
10 - Greg Stafford
Position: Ruckman / Tall Forward
Age: 28 - Turns 29 a couple of days before Round 22
Height: 203cm
Weight: 100kg
Career Games: 146 ( 16 at Richmond)
Career Goals: 84 ( 26 at Richmond)
Draft History: Taken as a Zone Selection by Sydney (91?) then traded to
Richmond at National Draft 2001 in exchange for Nick Daffy, Draft Pick No 17
(so how is James Kelly going?) and some magic beans.
2002 Averages: 16 Games, 6.9 Kicks, 4.5 Marks, 4.4 Handballs, 1.6 Goals, 10.6
Hitouts, 1.8 Tackles, 0.8 Rebounds, 1.3 Inside 50s, 2.1 Clearance, 1.9 Clangers
2002 Summary: Came with a reputation of being big, mobile, injury-prone and a
confidence player who could kick the occasional goal. And pretty much played
the script out to a T. I didn't think he made much of an impact as a Ruckman
where I thought he struggled and was a bit too one-dimensional but did
eventually make a bit more of an impact as a forward where he showed he
could be handy. Started really well against Collingwood then began to struggle
eventually missing 4 games with a hip injury. Had the opportunity to grab the
number 1 Ruck position when Ottens missed a couple of games but fumbled it
badly, being exposed by Burton and Primus and worse - struggled against the
second stringers Porter & French which only confirmed my worst fears. Then
managed to get himself suspended and returned to finish the year predominately
up forward where he kicked a couple of bags of four. Finished the year as our
third highest goal-kicker with 26.
Previously: Debut with Sydney in 93 and looked a real up and coming prospect
in 96 when he first really hit the scene averaging nearly 14 possessions a game
with 5 marks and 10 hit-outs, but career never really hit the expected heights
when he was constantly being referred to a "Capable of being one of the
leagues best if he can get his body right". I remember him playing some very
good football in 2000 for the Swans but he did have a very poor 2001 and really
looked like he'd lost it. Always was highly regarded but just never seemed to
get over the line.
Ability: 5.5 - Possibly a bit hard, as he certainly always looks like he's got loads
of ability, but to be honest hasn't really shown himself to be much more than
middle of the road.
Offence: 5.5 - A bit of a surprise, he'd spent a bit of time up forward previously
where his size enabled him to be dangerous around goals but never looked like
kicking more than a couple here and there. Is a reasonable mark, led pretty well
at times, although primarily was a big target right in front. Helped to some extent
to straighten Richmond up at times by staying in the corridor and finished pretty
well for a man of his size. Excellent conversion rate.
Defence: 3 - Primarily spent his time either forward or in a role where he was
on his own. Disappointed me in that instead of pushing back to help the
defence he made himself too often into an option as a link man rather than plug a
hole.
Hardness: 6 - Above average in this department, certainly I wouldn't question
his courage and he would push his way through a pack but could learn to keep
the elbows down. Not overly tough, but hard enough.
Speed: 1.5 - I said mobile - I didn't say quick. I might be harsh here, but often
looked to me that he laboured to get the first few steps off at all. Really didn't
see him bar a few games each year before he came to Richmond and to be fair
had a Hip injury that may have made him look worse.
Stamina: 3 - Looked below average to me in this regard, also probably
something to do with injury and really rarely had the opportunity to Ruck all day
to prove it. The two games he did most of the work didn't look good to me.
Delivery: 7 - Well above average, his delivery was for me the biggest surprise.
Very fluent kicking style, if you kinda squinted he almost looked like a well
polished midfielder.
Air: 7 - Again well above average, although I think he could be better. Does at
times look like a bumbling Giant when the ball is in the Air, but good once he got
his big paws to it.
Ground: 4 - Respectable for a big man, at times quite good, but still gets the big
man fumbles down low at times.
Injury: 4 - Hasn't had the best of runs, although has managed to usually keep
himself on the park a lot, in fact not really a hell of a lot of games missed, but
always seems to be playing under a cloud.
