They singled him out when asked which youngster they were most excited about.
Don’t you think that strange considering his body of work to date?
yes.
they probably identified its something in his head holding him back I'd say.
I reckon with junior talent, you have about a dozen kids a year who are a level above (often very strange people - watch Will Ashcrofts instagram fitness channel for instance, Nick Daicos probably owns 3 pubs, and still lives at home)
then 13-200 there's not much to separate them or predict how they will respond in a pro environment.
and its largely determined above the shoulders.
(I reckon Allir Allir is a textbook example of a player who can't handle pressure. every final he plays, hes dreadful. And finds himself 1:1 with Dusty, and he drops a chest mark.
He gets by in H&A on pure athleticism - Sydney must have a good shrink I reckon)
Young Sam probably gets by at training and lower levels on ability, he probably works his arse off and does extras and seeks advice etc etc, and so appears going places,
but hasn't got the (ticker, head, nerve, edge, killer instinct, mongrel, any number of things) to impact at the top level.
maybe he suffers anxiety? that *smile* can stop a train. almost impossible to concentrate on a role, while your mind is trying to protect you from certain death so you can procreate.
sometimes we underestimate the size of the jump between U18's and seniors, then firsts and seconds.
and psychology is hard to measure.
If Sam doesn't make it, so be it. He'll have good fun and make some money at state level or in the bush and do other stuff. him and his family gave it a real crack, and got way further than most.
and in terms of psychology, he captained every side he ever played in, so the club would have thought he was solid,
but he's probably just hit some kind of ceiling? he might be able to work through it, but its not looking likely
