Ben Lennon | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Ben Lennon

zippadeee

Tiger Legend
Oct 8, 2004
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Tigers of Old said:
Looking back over this thread my early concerns were well founded. With high picks I prefer we go with genuine junior mids & fill them in snr flank roles rather than the opposite of trying to craft talented young flankers into midfield options. I’ll keep beating that drum.Agree Lennon was one of our biggest busts in recent times. Aah well just neeed to learn from it.

Is there any club that has used so many high picks on half forwards or half backs.
Ellis X2, Lennon, big V, Menadue,
 

123cups

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May 1, 2016
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Tigers of Old said:
Looking back over this thread my early concerns were well founded. With high picks I prefer we go with genuine junior mids & fill them in snr flank roles rather than the opposite of trying to craft talented young flankers into midfield options. I’ll keep beating that drum.Agree Lennon was one of our biggest busts in recent times. Aah well just neeed to learn from it.

We couldn’t have gone wrong if we picked a genuine mid. I remember we were crying out for a class forward that year. Could the Lennon pick also be an example of why you always go best available?

Another general trend that comes for mind:

Good mark
Good kick

These 2 traits could be the most overrated traits when projecting a teenager’s future capabilities at AFL level.
 

123cups

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Btw, I heard Lennon was spotted in Eastern Europe recently. Still figuring out how to build a tank.

zippadeee said:
Is there any club that has used so many high picks on half forwards or half backs.
Ellis X2, Lennon, big V, Menadue,

I guess we did have a nucleus of premiership keys and mids, so they’ve been trying to fill the gaps since about 2011 onwards. Prior to that, we recruited 2 x KPFs, 2 x genuine class mids, and 3 x KPPs just outside the first round.

Lots of talls taken early, but not too early (avoid the hype).
Mids were cream of the crop.

Talls were Riewoldt/Rance/Vickery/Post/Griffiths/Astbury with picks 13, 18, 8, 26, 19, and 30-something, over a 4-year period.

In hindsight, the Terry Wallace period coincided with a pretty solid eye for the future. Have to give Terry credit for his list management involvement during this time. It not only formed the nucleus of our premiership side, but it gave the club a solid list structure that allowed them the luxury of picking flankers for years afterwards.
 

turk-d-tiger

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Dec 1, 2007
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When a player doesnt have athletic ability then they will always be found out at the next level

Lemon was slow couldnt jump and had no stamina, How is he meant to get the football without a height or speed advantage against players like grimes who can jump over him leap above him and spoil him when he is leading.

Also having no midfield ability makes him a limited footballer with no other strings to his bow, Was a terrible selection
 

Dont Argue

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Jun 26, 2018
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turk-d-tiger said:
When a player doesnt have athletic ability then they will always be found out at the next level

Lemon was slow couldnt jump and had no stamina, How is he meant to get the football without a height or speed advantage against players like grimes who can jump over him leap above him and spoil him when he is leading.

Also having no midfield ability makes him a limited footballer with no other strings to his bow, Was a terrible selection

I agree completely and yet most draft gurus had him as a low draft pick. It does beg belief with all data available that many thought him very capable. Are we mug punters the only ones who value athleticism?
I know if I was coach, I'd want to see the data and would ask the question why would we look at someone who can't run or jump? Maybe the game changed overnight!!
 

bullus_hit

Whatchu talkin about Jack?
Apr 3, 2006
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turk-d-tiger said:
When a player doesnt have athletic ability then they will always be found out at the next level

Lemon was slow couldnt jump and had no stamina, How is he meant to get the football without a height or speed advantage against players like grimes who can jump over him leap above him and spoil him when he is leading.

Also having no midfield ability makes him a limited footballer with no other strings to his bow, Was a terrible selection

Tank was actually ok, 14 beep which is above average. Speed was well below average, agility & leap were very poor. I think for his style of play it was always going to be a tough ask. His last month in the TAC was exceptional & that included numerous games in the midfield with significant scoreboard impact. I think the lesson we can all take from this is you can't rely too much on TAC performances, particularly when it comes to playing as a full time midfielder. We've seen it Scrimshaw, we've seen it with Duggan and we've seen it with Corey Ellis.

Dont Argue said:
I agree completely and yet most draft gurus had him as a low draft pick. It does beg belief with all data available that many thought him very capable. Are we mug punters the only ones who value athleticism?
I know if I was coach, I'd want to see the data and would ask the question why would we look at someone who can't run or jump? Maybe the game changed overnight!!

Just to extend on my earlier comments, I also had him ranked high & the reasons are explained above. That is a lesson I've carried over to all subsequent drafts, it's the reason I had Rayner ranked at 5 which may or may not be proven correct, but in all fairness that filtering system would have ensured that Scrimshaw wouldn't have been picked at 6 so I guess you win some & you lose some.
 

tigerman

It's Tiger Time
Mar 17, 2003
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bullus_hit said:
Just to extend on my earlier comments, I also had him ranked high & the reasons are explained above. That is a lesson I've carried over to all subsequent drafts, it's the reason I had Rayner ranked at 5 which may or may not be proven correct, but in all fairness that filtering system would have ensured that Scrimshaw wouldn't have been picked at 6 so I guess you win some & you lose some.

Richmond recruiters got him wrong too, as did the players who gave him a big tick after he trained with us as part of the AIS-AFL Academy.

Do you have any intel on any State league players, and if so who do you like?
 

bullus_hit

Whatchu talkin about Jack?
Apr 3, 2006
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tigerman said:
Richmond recruiters got him wrong too, as did the players who gave him a big tick after he trained with us as part of the AIS-AFL Academy.

Do you have any intel on any State league players, and if so who do you like?

Mitch Grigg I've mentioned but another player worthy of consideration would be Haiden Schloithe who took out the Sandover last year, interestingly he edged out Tim Kelly for the award so there's fair reason to think he can make the step up.

Shane Nelson is another who had consistent season & regularly notches up 40+ touches & possibly Michael Gibbons if we just want cheap rookie cover. Josh Corbett already stitched up with the new state league rule so that rules out the Fothergill-Round medalist. Jye Bolton still hasn't been given a crack but he's another decent option if we want cheap cover, two Sandover medals in 3 years is a fair effort & he played ok the times I saw him for Collingwood.

Different set up now with GC & Carlton scooping the cream, much harder to get players who fit the right age profile & have some sort of upside.
 

Tigerfan

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Apr 28, 2004
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tigerman said:
Richmond recruiters got him wrong too, as did the players who gave him a big tick after he trained with us as part of the AIS-AFL Academy.

Do you have any intel on any State league players, and if so who do you like?

You’ve got to remember that he got squeezed out of a very very good team.
And all the other clubs are too busy thinking like sheep.
I’m sure he’s worthy of a spot at Carlton or suns.
 

Dont Argue

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DirtyDogTiger said:
You’ve got to remember that he got squeezed out of a very very good team.
And all the other clubs are too busy thinking like sheep.
I’m sure he’s worthy of a spot at Carlton or suns.

I think the point being discussed was his worthiness as a pick 12. Needless to say the answer in hindsight is emphatic
 

zippadeee

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Oct 8, 2004
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Is there any chance we can go to the AFL and ask for compensation? Maybe a priority pick..