David Armitage

[Sanctorum]

Recent complaints on this forum about the supposed slow progress of Paddy McCartin reminded me of a time about 4 or 5 years ago when the same views were being expressed about David Armitage, who came to the Saints as first round pick (#9) in the 2006 draft. And to be honest, I was one of those who held serious doubts about his ability to play at an elite level.

When St Kilda came to play the Lions in Brisbane, the club held a function for supporters, mainly to present Carl Ditterich, a Brisbane publican at the time, with a photo album highlighting his illustrious career. My mate Steve and I happened to be in a small group with Michael Nettlefold (former CEO) and we asked him when St Kilda (not if!!) were going to trade Armitage while he was still of some value....Michael dismissed our comments, stating that Armitage would most certainly never be traded away, and that the club had full confidence he would become a top player. We were left shaking our heads ("couldn't they see that he was a plodder?!!"), and so now we have to eat humble pie because he has indeed become an elite midfielder. Sincere apologies Armo!!

It may have taken some time, but the best of David Armitage is yet to come, and that's terrific....as for Paddy, he'll work out fine, he certainly is not going to be another Jack watts, to the contrary, in my (in)expert opinion, he will be another Matthew Richardson (of Tiger fame), but probably not until after Nick Riewoldt retires.

[saintbrat]

many said the same of Brendon Goddard for years..

[remboy]

many said the same of Brendon Goddard for years..

And Montagna in his first few seasons.
It's why the thread on McCartin is so stupid.

[SainterK]

Patience, it's harder for some

[elizabethr]

Some are just poor judges of footballers.

[st.byron]

many said the same of Brendon Goddard for years..

And Montagna in his first few seasons.
It's why the thread on McCartin is so stupid.

And Dal

[Saints94]

Some are just poor judges of footballers.

+1.

[gringo]

Guys like Tom Scully are still developing players after 6 years in the system. Callan Ward is a gun now but he has been around for ever too. Shaun Higgins seemed to take about 10 years but is now dominating. Sometimes a combination of opportunity and injury seem to conspire against players. We have a tendency to just look past the contributing factors. Jack Steven had OP for much of his early career but it didn't stop some critics saying he'd had his chances.

[spert]

I've been saying for a couple of seasons, that Armo needed to take the next step so he could compete with the competition's best, and he has now taken that step. On another note, I still reckon Steven can go up a rung..I stumbled across some video highlights of the 2013 season and Jack looked a lot sharper to me. Dunno..who knows..

[saintspremiers]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

[saynta]

many said the same of Brendon Goddard for years..

And Montagna in his first few seasons.
It's why the thread on McCartin is so stupid.

And Lenny Hayes.

[plugger66]

And Jodi Arnol.

[Saints94]

And Jodi Arnol.

& Justin Sweeney.

[elizabethr]

Descended into the usual farce

[plugger66]

Descended into the usual farce

Yep we couldn't have a little joke when Armo name is mentioned. Lighten for gods sake.

[saynta]

Descended into the usual farce

Yes. Bit tiresome really.

[stjay]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

[Stephen Theodore]

And to top it off, Michael Ford

[plugger66]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

Im not saying this is happening even though it could be especially after being dropped to the thirds last week. No way a player not doing the right thing on the track should be carried for the hope of him coming good when others who do the right thing on the track get delisted.

[gringo]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

Im not saying this is happening even though it could be especially after being dropped to the thirds last week. No way a player not doing the right thing on the track should be carried for the hope of him coming good when others who do the right thing on the track get delisted.

Although when you look at someone like Simpkin who is obviously never going to get a go, the potential of Spencer in comparison is a pretty easy decision.

[stjay]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

Im not saying this is happening even though it could be especially after being dropped to the thirds last week. No way a player not doing the right thing on the track should be carried for the hope of him coming good when others who do the right thing on the track get delisted.

Yeah a one year contract and being dropped to the thirds definitely suggests he is going to struggle to make a case to be renewed.
I know with a health condition like asthma it can go one of three ways - the athlete either finds a way to overcome it despite it's debilitating nature or it totally impacts his ability to build a fitness base and run out games or it impacts the mental state where it becomes a crutch where the player uses it as an excuse to avoid workload. Not suggesting he is in this last category but simply that the odds are stacked against him getting up to an AFL standard fitness level.
I really hope he comes through.

[plugger66]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

Im not saying this is happening even though it could be especially after being dropped to the thirds last week. No way a player not doing the right thing on the track should be carried for the hope of him coming good when others who do the right thing on the track get delisted.

Although when you look at someone like Simpkin who is obviously never going to get a go, the potential of Spencer in comparison is a pretty easy decision.

No it isn't that simple. Again im not talking about White but if a player is doing he wrong thing on the track and off the track and other players know that then it would be very bad example to re sign that person. White may not be doing that but there is no logical reason for him being dropped to the thirds unless there is an issue. And more to the point what are these fantastic things White has done in nearly 2 and half years of footy? And I don't buy this asthma thing. I reckon about 5 players in every club would have asthma based on things I have seen over the years.

[FQF]

Simpkin is a classic depth role player who you need on a list so that when someone like Dempster gets injured, he can come in a play the role to an adequate level. In fact, he might be the replacement for Dempster in the long term. In the last few years our backline has lost a lot of experience in Gwilt, Blake and soon Fisher and Dempster — I think Simpkin will be retained.

[gringo]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

Im not saying this is happening even though it could be especially after being dropped to the thirds last week. No way a player not doing the right thing on the track should be carried for the hope of him coming good when others who do the right thing on the track get delisted.

By the sounds of what Richo said he was very unhappy with having to send him back there. The downside of having a short injury list and a set amount of spots at Sandringham mean someone has to go and the guys about to possibly be selected are obviously the ones going to stay in the seniors. When do we get our own team in the VFL?


Although when you look at someone like Simpkin who is obviously never going to get a go, the potential of Spencer in comparison is a pretty easy decision.

No it isn't that simple. Again im not talking about White but if a player is doing he wrong thing on the track and off the track and other players know that then it would be very bad example to re sign that person. White may not be doing that but there is no logical reason for him being dropped to the thirds unless there is an issue. And more to the point what are these fantastic things White has done in nearly 2 and half years of footy? And I don't buy this asthma thing. I reckon about 5 players in every club would have asthma based on things I have seen over the years.

[plugger66]

A few years ago I would've been pissed off that Paddy wasn't an instant hit due to our crap recruiting of dud after dud.

Different now - look at Dunstan, Sinclair and Lonie. All hits from day one. So now I have patience and confidence that for some of the big boyz like Paddy and HJ it may take a few years.

Think the same. That's why I hope they persevere with Spencer White - he is a classic case, in my book, of a guy with talent that will need a few more years in the system to really find his feet.
Problem is I think the club's patience seems to be wearing thin with him. I am still waiting for him to really dominate at VFL level but I don't see a reason why you can't carry a guy like this on your list particularly when there is clear upside.

Im not saying this is happening even though it could be especially after being dropped to the thirds last week. No way a player not doing the right thing on the track should be carried for the hope of him coming good when others who do the right thing on the track get delisted.

By the sounds of what Richo said he was very unhappy with having to send him back there. The downside of having a short injury list and a set amount of spots at Sandringham mean someone has to go and the guys about to possibly be selected are obviously the ones going to stay in the seniors. When do we get our own team in the VFL?


Although when you look at someone like Simpkin who is obviously never going to get a go, the potential of Spencer in comparison is a pretty easy decision.

No it isn't that simple. Again im not talking about White but if a player is doing he wrong thing on the track and off the track and other players know that then it would be very bad example to re sign that person. White may not be doing that but there is no logical reason for him being dropped to the thirds unless there is an issue. And more to the point what are these fantastic things White has done in nearly 2 and half years of footy? And I don't buy this asthma thing. I reckon about 5 players in every club would have asthma based on things I have seen over the years.

I don't know about a set amount of spots. I would be pretty sure if White was doing everything right he would have played reserves last week instead of the thirds.