Welcome Hugo Ralphsmith | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Welcome Hugo Ralphsmith

Cant believe the criticism the 20 year old kid gets here thats only played 19 games
Hugo is a 200+ game AFL player and in 2-3 years time will be fun to come back and read through these posts

I remember many years ago arguing with a poster on this board (who is still here which i wont name)
*smile* bagging McIntosh with similar claims and was in favour of delisting him etc

Im glad the coaches and our club can see what he brings and kingsley's request has been shut down just 3 seconds after it was made.
 
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Just lacked composure at times this year, he has the tools and a high ceiling of potential.
 
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Rfc4Ever said:
Just lacked composure at times this year, he has the tools and a high ceiling of potential.
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Still only 20. At age 20, Edwards had as many knockers if not more. Next 2 years will tell with Hugo. Bit early yet.
 
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Redford said:
Still only 20. At age 20, Edwards had as many knockers if not more. Next 2 years will tell with Hugo. Bit early yet.
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Has shown plenty for a 20 yo. Needs to tidy up a few things but has shown genuine star traits in a couple of years.

I'm a proud owner of Hugo shares
 
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Scoop said:
I think Redford said it, Hugo has elite sprint times and elite distance times. That's what Issac Smith had. And like Hugo, early on Smith struggled with decision-making. Smith was instructed to run as far and fast as he can they just go long, and everyone in the team knew what he was going to do.

I don't think the Smith calls are silly, he can play that role. Can he be that good? That's the question. But he fits the role's parameters.
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Let’s not forget Smith was older than Hugo is now when he was drafted.
 
dimmauchamp said:
Also dont compare Hugo to Isaac Smith. Smith was a highly skilled running machine. Bloke used to glide around the ground. Loved watching him play even though he would carve us up
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Smith was 22 before he played a AFL game. Almost 22 before he was drafted really.
Really that just proves not everyone can come into a elite environment at 18 or 19 and be a superstar.
Hugo isn’t even 21 yet. Hugo also isn’t a superstar, just like Smith isn’t and wasn’t at his age, but he’s shown more than enough to persist with.
 
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No doubt Ralphsmith shows some good traits but it's absolutely fair enough to say that his disposal is a negative currently & he's not strong enough yet in the contest.
These are the weaknesses that cost him his position in the 22 this season.
Obviously I sure hope he can improve these things & turn it around. Strength will be easier to fix than disposal & decision making though.
I don't see any remote comparisons to Shane Edwards. Edwards was always a star who just got better & better.
 
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Tigers of Old said:
No doubt Ralphsmith shows some good traits but it's absolutely fair enough to say that his disposal is a negative currently & he's not strong enough yet in the contest.
These are the weaknesses that cost him his position in the 22 this season.
Obviously I sure hope he can improve these things & turn it around. Strength will be easier to fix than disposal & decision making though.
I don't see any remote comparisons to Shane Edwards. Edwards was always a star who just got better & better.
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Think you’ve given Shedda a bit of leeway there.
Before he became our club legend Shedda - he could have been Shanka with a short career because of that horrible tendency to scuff kicks at the wrong moment.

Happy to give Hugo time to work on his deficiencies even if not expecting him to quite reach the same heights as our Shane.
 
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dimmauchamp said:
Also dont compare Hugo to Isaac Smith. Smith was a highly skilled running machine. Bloke used to glide around the ground. Loved watching him play even though he would carve us up
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Isn't Hugo a highly skilled running machine? He may not get there but I think he should model his game on Isaac.
 
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turk-d-tiger said:
Cant believe the criticism the 20 year old kid gets here thats only played 19 games
Hugo is a 200+ game AFL player and in 2-3 years time will be fun to come back and read through these posts

I remember many years ago arguing with a poster on this board (who is still here which i wont name)
*smile* bagging McIntosh with similar claims and was in favour of delisting him etc

Im glad the coaches and our club can see what he brings and kingsley's request has been shut down just 3 seconds after it was made.
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Yep. Lotta people spent years bagging out the likes of Grigga, Bash, Shedda, KMac, Bobble etc etc. Now they're hunting for the next generation to bag the *smile* out of. Not everyone can be a Dusty, Cotch or Jaaack for all their entire careers, some got to work a bit at simply becoming reasonably competent when playing at the elite level.
 
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Redford said:
Still only 20. At age 20, Edwards had as many knockers if not more. Next 2 years will tell with Hugo. Bit early yet.
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Yep too early to call whether the lack of composure in the 1s is a fatal malady or something he will recover from.
Regardless, he hasn't matured yet as trade bait either. To maximise his price, should this be the direction the club ultimately goes, then he needs that flying eye-catching hairdo to have a day out against one or two prospective bidders. Sort of like the idea of a great trade opportunity being offered to RFC because of a hairstyle capturing opposition football department attention. Idle speculation atm of course.
 
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Tenacious said:
Think you’ve given Shedda a bit of leeway there.
Before he became our club legend Shedda - he could have been Shanka with a short career because of that horrible tendency to scuff kicks at the wrong moment.
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Maybe. Yes Shane did have some issues with his kicks, (a touch overstated IMO) but he brought so much more to the table. Noticeably his hands & creativity were evident even from early in the piece. Dimma persevered despite some kinks & the rewards came.

Hugo improved this year despite his apparent flaws.
Won't write him off just yet but his disposal has to tidy up considerably if he's to play an outside role.
There was some shockers this season. Time will tell if he can. I sure hope so.

Dimma is a pretty good judge of a player. Be interesting to see how much snr footy Hugo plays in 2023.
 
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Tigers of Old said:
Maybe. Yes Shane did have some issues with his kicks, (a touch overstated IMO) but he brought so much more to the table. Noticeably his hands & creativity were evident even from early in the piece. Dimma persevered despite some kinks & the rewards came.

Hugo improved this year despite his apparent flaws.
Won't write him off just yet but his disposal has to tidy up considerably if he's to play an outside role.
There was some shockers this season. Time will tell if he can. I sure hope so.

Dimma is a pretty good judge of a player. Be interesting to see how much snr footy Hugo plays in 2023.
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If he dosent make it , he’ll be a very handy runner for Dimma :))
 
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