Batch's Review: Carlton vs Sandringham

[CQ SAINT]

Batch’s Review: Young Saints stars as Zebras take third straight https://www.saints.com.au/news/1134787

[Saintmatt]

Pretty clear that Batch has a man crush on Owens and Heath. God bless him.

Future is bright with those two

[Wayne42]

I initially thought it was Jack Watts

[bangaulegend]

Tom Highmore is a worry for me he has been so good but can't get a game . I don't know his contract status but I'm sure there are clubs out there that are willing to offer him some decent coin to move over . His intercept marking is as good as any AFL listed player IMO . Has a few things he needs to work on but I think he will be pretty handy & dare I say it but reminds me of a young Sam Fisher

[SaintPav]

There’s also Nick Coffield to come back in as well.

[Scollop]

Thank fk we finally have the right people in the footy development area. Love what Batchelor is doing at Sandringham

I reckon the recruiting has been fantastic in the last 5-6 years but prior to Batchelor our VFL results were crap. Obviously that had to be
a football development issue.

Cho was getting advice and relying on people like Aaron Hamill. Hamill was probably one of Cho’s anvils. Hopefully Aaron’s influence at Carlton will be the anchor that holds those pricks back too

[CQ SAINT]

Tom Highmore is a worry for me he has been so good but can't get a game . I don't know his contract status but I'm sure there are clubs out there that are willing to offer him some decent coin to move over . His intercept marking is as good as any AFL listed player IMO . Has a few things he needs to work on but I think he will be pretty handy & dare I say it but reminds me of a young Sam Fisher

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/to-st-kilda-saints

Tom is one of 20 players on our list out of contract at years end.

10 of them had little to no value when we gave them their chance as rookies or DFA's and they now sit on the fringe of a finals playing list. The list is also grounded by young draft talent. Fortius Quo Fidelity. We should expect loyalty from them

There are some bigger names still unsigned but Geary is the only unrestricted free agent.

I think we can expect to lock away most of the ones we choose to and if Tom was to seek opportunities elsewhere, after we sign Battle, then so be it, but our development program would be the reason he was sought after and our recruiting team are very good, so Que Sera, Sera.

[bangaulegend]

Tom Highmore is a worry for me he has been so good but can't get a game . I don't know his contract status but I'm sure there are clubs out there that are willing to offer him some decent coin to move over . His intercept marking is as good as any AFL listed player IMO . Has a few things he needs to work on but I think he will be pretty handy & dare I say it but reminds me of a young Sam Fisher

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/to-st-kilda-saints

Tom is one of 20 players on our list out of contract at years end.

10 of them had little to no value when we gave them their chance as rookies or DFA's and they now sit on the fringe of a finals playing list. The list is also grounded by young draft talent. Fortius Quo Fidelity. We should expect loyalty from them

There are some bigger names still unsigned but Geary is the only unrestricted free agent.

I think we can expect to lock away most of the ones we choose to and if Tom was to seek opportunities elsewhere, after we sign Battle, then so be it, but our development program would be the reason he was sought after and our recruiting team are very good, so Que Sera, Sera.

Loyalty is a great thing but opportunity & more money are another . Unless he gets some game time then you can't blame him for testing the water else where but seam's a waste IMO

[skeptic]

Yeah it’s interesting isn’t it

Byrnes, Owens, Highmore and Bytel can’t buy a game at the moment
Connolly was looking good early too though he’s slowed down a bit
And that’s been with Coffield and Clark on the shelf for the most part

Don’t want to disrupt a winning formula but geeez I’d like to see some of these guys rotate in and out more

[Teflon]

Like to see Clarke /Bytel in this week
Owens was impressive but kicking still a ?
Can Highmore play a Webster role?????
Keen to see Connolly go to the next level ….has footskills that can open a game up
Byrnes …..has a touch of headless chook about him to me….runs hard….racks them up….but does he hurt you ??

[CQ SAINT]

How do Geelong keep so many good players hanging on? Its all about culture. Its the same reason we have been getting raped for so long.
Player development and retention must be the priority.
We could do a Bulldogs and pull off an unlikely coup but 1 premiership lasts only so long.
Sandringham, and remotely Moorabbin, need to be become the Bayside Footy Factory and it appears we are well on our way to delivering that. Faith in the process rather than any individual needs to become our mantra.

[cwrcyn]

Bytel needs to put a string of high performance games together. He's not a natural aerobic beast, so he has to run and spread as much as he can to build up his fitness. This is what's missing from his game. He can do the stoppage work, but without that ability to get from contest to contest he'll be struggling to get a look in.

[cwrcyn]

He missed about a month of the preseason. It didn't help him

[Banger9798]

Sounds like Bytel is finally getting a tank, and as Jake said, asserting himself at VFL as if he is better than that level.
Byrnes also hammering the door down, but we missed Steele's extraction from stoppages last week, Bytel might be the one to fill that space.

We have a very strong pool of players now, it will require good management, but I expect to see a couple traded by years end...we need to get value for them.

[ace]

Tom Highmore is a worry for me he has been so good but can't get a game . I don't know his contract status but I'm sure there are clubs out there that are willing to offer him some decent coin to move over . His intercept marking is as good as any AFL listed player IMO . Has a few things he needs to work on but I think he will be pretty handy & dare I say it but reminds me of a young Sam Fisher

Before Sam got involved with drugs.
Sad for Sam, he could be facing a 20 year suspension.

[ace]

Tom Highmore is a worry for me he has been so good but can't get a game . I don't know his contract status but I'm sure there are clubs out there that are willing to offer him some decent coin to move over . His intercept marking is as good as any AFL listed player IMO . Has a few things he needs to work on but I think he will be pretty handy & dare I say it but reminds me of a young Sam Fisher

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/to-st-kilda-saints

Tom is one of 20 players on our list out of contract at years end.

10 of them had little to no value when we gave them their chance as rookies or DFA's and they now sit on the fringe of a finals playing list. The list is also grounded by young draft talent. Fortius Quo Fidelity. We should expect loyalty from them

There are some bigger names still unsigned but Geary is the only unrestricted free agent.

I think we can expect to lock away most of the ones we choose to and if Tom was to seek opportunities elsewhere, after we sign Battle, then so be it, but our development program would be the reason he was sought after and our recruiting team are very good, so Que Sera, Sera.

Geary will not be required next year.
He will only play if there are a number of injuries.

[CQ SAINT]

Tom Highmore is a worry for me he has been so good but can't get a game . I don't know his contract status but I'm sure there are clubs out there that are willing to offer him some decent coin to move over . His intercept marking is as good as any AFL listed player IMO . Has a few things he needs to work on but I think he will be pretty handy & dare I say it but reminds me of a young Sam Fisher

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/to-st-kilda-saints

Tom is one of 20 players on our list out of contract at years end.

10 of them had little to no value when we gave them their chance as rookies or DFA's and they now sit on the fringe of a finals playing list. The list is also grounded by young draft talent. Fortius Quo Fidelity. We should expect loyalty from them

There are some bigger names still unsigned but Geary is the only unrestricted free agent.

I think we can expect to lock away most of the ones we choose to and if Tom was to seek opportunities elsewhere, after we sign Battle, then so be it, but our development program would be the reason he was sought after and our recruiting team are very good, so Que Sera, Sera.

Geary will not be required next year.
He will only play if there are a number of injuries.

I agree. I thought that was widely agreed. But I was implying that no one important enough to reward would leave. Whether Geary plays or not, he won’t leave.