-
IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Nick Vlastuin
- Thread starter Hungry
- Start date
MB78 said:
I know it's not easy to do, but I thought he would have developed his fitness a lot quicker than he has. While he is always solid, he was one player I have expected to improve a lot quicker than he has. Still a favourite of mine, but I will be disappointed if there is no clear improvement on this season.
bullus_hit said:
I have come to that conclusion by closely watching him over this whole season. 9 times out of 10 Vlastuin is the first player in our backline to read the play coming down the field and put himself in the best possible position to intercept or crumb the ball. That is the attribute of a real footballer and not just someone who relies on one athletic attribute to stand out. Deledio has this skill but far too many playing at AFL level these days are pretty hopeless in this area - including too many our list.
Vlastuin is consistently the one in the back half that cleans up poor disposals from his teammates or positions himself to give them an outlet option when they are under pressure. His disposals find teammates with far greater quality than anyone else in our back half. His superior decision-making constantly bails out the side from dangerous situations and sets up attacks and when an opposition are smart enough to take him out of the play our whole backline looks a lot more shaky.
Grab a video of our games and see how many times he is in the right place at the right time doing the right thing and then compare that to others who may flash in and out of a match doing the fancy things. Then have a look at the sides that win Premierships and see how many players like Vlastuin they have in their sides and decide if they value them as much as Richmond.
Sometimes you have to tear you eyes away from just following the ball during matches and watch how players way up the field are reacting to what might happen to determine if they are anything different from the average AFL plodder, it can be quite enlightening.
David C said:
That's all good and well but to claim he's better than Rance, Martin, Cotch & Riewoldt is a slight exaggeration. Don't mind him as a player but he's not tracking as well as I expected after a stellar debut season. I would actually say he's stagnated a bit and his performance in the heat of finals football has been underwhelming, 12 touches against Port & 12 against North simply won't cut the mustard.
David C said:
The 9 times from 10 is an exaggeration but I agree with the sentiment. Time after time I see Vlas reading the play and intercepting the kick, getting in the right place to block the handball or make the spoil. He's a great reader of play, agreed.
I can see why he's part of a very successful backline - I'd be reticent to move him to midfield when he does so well down back. He's more of a footballer than an athlete and this may be why he's not an inside or outside mid. Not sure why you'd want to mess with this.
Our midfield goes missing sometimes (not often) but shifting Vlas up there is not the answer. I don't like Deledio being moved back either - he did his time at half back under Wallet, and it's a waste of his talents playing back there now. He needs to be forward or mid, nowhere else.
At an interesting point in his development.
I've expressed continual doubts as to his ability to be a full time mid, despite starting his career there, but I've been very bullish that his ceiling is an All Australian half back flank in the Enright mould.
Simply needs to get more of the ball.
I've expressed continual doubts as to his ability to be a full time mid, despite starting his career there, but I've been very bullish that his ceiling is an All Australian half back flank in the Enright mould.
Simply needs to get more of the ball.
Tenacious said:
No it doesn't.
A player can make the right decision and skill execution from 0 to 10 times out of 10. The AFL "Elite" players are right up the top end and those who only do it 6 or 7 times out of 10 basically do not get matches in the top AFL sides, but they survive in the lower teams.
You only have to look at our list and it is easy to pick out too many individuals who consistently make poor decisions and have sub-standard disposal. You can get away with this against the lower sides but when it counts you get smashed - as the last 3 finals should make clear to everybody.
Next time you see a scrubby kick by a Richmond player with no pressure on him bounce 3M in front of the target instead of hitting him on the chest make a note of the player, it will rarely be Vlastuin.
Because you need flexibility to reach the top - as people keep banging on about Hawthorn as they "throw all of their players around in all positions".antman said:
Just imagine if we had the option to throw Vlastuin on the ball in that North final to either have the job of beating Harvey to the footy or to just replace Cotchin in getting possession - we desperately need more quality options in that area because the backline won't win you matches if the midfield is getting smashed.
David C said:
Well said mate
People that don't rate vlastuin highly, don't really understand footy
Has had a great year Vlastuin. Unlike others in our backline he doesn't tend to participate much in the cheap kick backwards so that he can get another cheap disposal. He's usually looking to get the ball forward which shows confidence. I really like that from him. Would love to see him groomed for more midfield time next year. Doesn't have to be full-time but as part of the rotations. He is all class.
He's on a video online on the site that can't be named.
The two of us.
Guess what? Girlfriend and her whole family is richmond.
#tigerforlife
The two of us.
Guess what? Girlfriend and her whole family is richmond.
#tigerforlife
