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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.
Welcome to the Tigers Jacob Hopper
- Thread starter tigerman
- Start date
I understand. I’m not writing him off at all. I was very happy to get him in trade week. My concerns are around some things that have stood out to me. I won’t say what they are because I’m sure I’ll get shot down for being negative. I’ll see how things pan out and give him a chance to settle into the season and our system. I’m optimistic he’ll be a decent player for us. Just saying I’ve seen some things that made me raise an eyebrow
I’ve seen him destroy opposition.
Unless he’s permanently inhibited by a long term injury, it’s only a matter of time until we see his true value.
No bull. A bull.
Unless he’s permanently inhibited by a long term injury, it’s only a matter of time until we see his true value.
No bull. A bull.
I’m not sure most of them were handballs. More likely throws. He’s a bigger chucker than Murali.
Agree with the comparison in that both players arrived after suffering serious knee injuries in the year prior. Last night Hopper’s hitting of short targets was poor and he was Mr Up and Under longer distance, including his last kick. So his kicking penetration can clearly get a lot better under a full recovery scenario - but that’s still the If. As it was with Prestia.
In both the trades for Taranto and Hopper, we paid overs in both draft and contact terms for inside players that are not elite kicks, because we were bereft of up and coming mids after multiple failed draft picks and were utterly desperate to fill a gaping hole.
This will keep us somewhat competitive in the next few years but blue collar rather than elite.
We have a lot of midfielders in our side at the moment. Including a few in the forward line (Dusty/Bolton/Cotchin). I think Sonsie needs to come in. There are others that could go out. I'm still not sure what Mansell offers. But I also think Sampson needs to come in, shifting one of our smaller forwards to mid.
I'm just not sold on Hopper as a Richmond footballer yet. I'm waiting for the big reveal. He's got a few more weeks to get himself comfortable, but I hope his price tag doesn't make him an auto selection.
You wont get any argument out of me against Sonz and Samson The Great.
And i think its well-adjusted tigership if you give Hoppy a few weeks before you sew him on the duffle coat
As far as I'm concerned, you don't earn credits playing for the opposition.
Particularly when that opposition has been pretty poor for a couple of years.
How long do you give a guy who's not performing when he hasn't got any credits in the bank?
He has been a very good player at GWS, particularly a couple of years ago. On reputation, he can have a few more weeks to gel and find his best.
I'm not sure he's in that form now, and I'm not sure he's best 22 right now.
I would actually like to see what he does at VFL level.
The whole build up from the back to Nigel to Hopper then Cut Lunch was a thing of beauty!
Desperate fingertip footy beautifully executed!
Clock ticking down to finish and the tigers just played precision footy together to both beat the clock and the 'toons as well as the umpires!
The gelling of the players was poetry in motion!
To have such finesse left in their play after nearly 4 Q's was a testament to their discipline!
Quite seriously, the *smile* being talked about in this thread is either hysterical or disturbing. I haven't figured out which.
We've got a big bodied inside mid, on a 7 yr contract and people here "will give him a few more games." If it please their Lordships, may I ave some bread with me soup?
There's no way, with Sonsie's body size, that he's going to go straight into the middle, be a big clearance bull and last 22 games plus finals. He's got talent, no doubt, but isn't ready for that level of heat yet. Not to mention, if Sonsie plays, the impact it'll have on Prestia without a brute next to him.
This fella is 187cm and 86kg. Sonsie is listed at 181cm and 77kg. I see Sonsie as more a Cotchin type player than a Hopper type, in terms of playing style. Hopper is there to help the team extract the footy, and we won that stat. Whilst he didn't do it himself a lot, I'm sure the body work enabled others to.
If Sonsie was likely to give us a better chance at winning, don't you think Dimma and the match committee would pull that lever? I mean, I know they have no interest in winning games at all, but this Hopper fella is just passing through, and Sonsie is key to our long term after all.
We've got a big bodied inside mid, on a 7 yr contract and people here "will give him a few more games." If it please their Lordships, may I ave some bread with me soup?
There's no way, with Sonsie's body size, that he's going to go straight into the middle, be a big clearance bull and last 22 games plus finals. He's got talent, no doubt, but isn't ready for that level of heat yet. Not to mention, if Sonsie plays, the impact it'll have on Prestia without a brute next to him.
This fella is 187cm and 86kg. Sonsie is listed at 181cm and 77kg. I see Sonsie as more a Cotchin type player than a Hopper type, in terms of playing style. Hopper is there to help the team extract the footy, and we won that stat. Whilst he didn't do it himself a lot, I'm sure the body work enabled others to.
If Sonsie was likely to give us a better chance at winning, don't you think Dimma and the match committee would pull that lever? I mean, I know they have no interest in winning games at all, but this Hopper fella is just passing through, and Sonsie is key to our long term after all.
Yep people saying to play Sonsie over Hopper don’t realise they’re completely different types of players. Sonsie would complement our current midfield mix on the outside in a Jack Graham type role, however Jack had a great game so there just isn’t space for him at the moment. He (Sonsie) has the skill set (quick and smart hands in tight, composure, great ball use) to be a good, balanced inside/outside mid for sure but he’s not the bull that Hopper is. I have no doubt Sonsie will end up an absolute gun but he may just need to bide his time, especially as he missed a large chunk of training post Christmas due to a hip injury so that’s set him back a bit. Unfortunate because by all reports he’d had a ripping pre season until then
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Amen, TG.
Can someone please inform Jacob that PRE have decreed that they will grant him 'a few more games' to prove his worth?
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Yep!
And I think someone mentioned Prestia. Let’s be honest - his first games were pretty underwhelming and I for one was trying to understand what he was going to add to our team. It only took a bit of time and we know the rest.
Hopper is also here for the long haul - not two praccy matches and just one game.
I respectfully must ask ...... do we seriously consider "This fella is 187cm and 86kg" ............... a brute??
I'm 188 and 90kg (normally 88kg but I'm getting old!)
I would never describe myself as a brute.............
at 187 cm you need to be 94kg of packed muscle to be a brute.....................
