Could Mitch Morton be as good as Steve Johnson?

[Brettstigers]

But for not being that tall the pair can take a contested mark. The Morton to Riewoldt combo last night was great too watch.

So we have two players who look great in the pockets or leading up, two terriers in Hislop and Nahas trying to hold the ball in the forward line and our two key position talls for our forward line are................?

 

[pahoffm]

So your saying his old fellow hangs slightly to the left?

... of his kicking leg.

Yes!

 

[Mr Brightside]

Gee his marking has improved......could be very handy if we can get a couple of good KFs to play aside him.........

I wouldnt fix what is not broken, concentration i.e too close to man on mark is his only set shot fault, nice an relaxed in his style and generally sticks to a routine that delivers

 

[Ty Esler]

Good player morton. Miller's only trade I don't want to undo

Aaron Fiora for Troy Simmonds. Watching Fiora duck his head for another team made me warm and fuzzy in ways I can barely explain

And horrible broken leg aside Nathan Brown was traded in a three way deal for Danny Jacobs and a draft pick that became Kepler Bradley. No question who got the most productive player there

 

[Leysy Days]

Saw Morton from a different angle tonight.

Usually sit on a wing and never get close enough, but tonight I did.

Saw the technical fault in his goal kicking.

When he holds the ball, in his walk/run up, he doesn't hold it in front of his kicking leg.
He holds it in a centre position, politely, in front of his "old fellow".

You'll notice, when he errs it's tlightly to the left side, because that's the angle the leg travels to make contact with the ball.

But it is very effective in snapping across his left shoulder.

However, if he is on the wrong side of goals, ie, his right foot on the outside, or any significant distance in front, say 35m+, he's more than likely to miss.

Seems strange that a 22yo AFL footballer has never been picked up on it earlier in his formative years ......

So, he just needs a heap of practice at just holding the ball in front of his kicking foot, right foot, as he walks/runs in to kick.

He'll be more accurate, especially over longer distances, when that happens.

Whilst his kicking is not technically correct, he's just about the best kick we've got. As GoodOne suggested his biggest issue to leysy is getting too close to the mark.

Also, If the above is the issue, could phantom explain why Mitch's natural "swing" of the ball in the air is in fact left to right? Rather than the natural hook most have...

 

[Scoop]

Gee his marking has improved......could be very handy if we can get a couple of good KFs to play aside him.........

I wouldnt fix what is not broken, concentration i.e too close to man on mark is his only set shot fault, nice an relaxed in his style and generally sticks to a routine that delivers

Gets way too close doesn't he? On a few of the set shots last night you could tell before he kicked it that he was going to get to close to the man on the mark. If he gets that right his actual kicking technique is spot on.

Few things that the group needs to work on that can be improved in the short term are;

1) Goal kicking
2) Defensive zoner from kick outs.
3) Blocks at stoppages.

But Mitch and Jack just need a bigger body to work with. One tall forward will mean Jack and Mitch get the second and third best defenders. Makes a massive difference.

 

[Streak]

There are a lot of playes in the league who get to close to the man on the mark when shooting for goal. Why I'll never know?

 

[tannerztigers]

He is getting better and better!

Is he only 22? I am really excited about MM.

 

[RICHO_12]

Steve Johnson, No Mitch lacks that aspect of Stevie J's game where looks for the assist before the incredible goal!

 

[Leysy Days]

Gets way too close doesn't he? On a few of the set shots last night you could tell before he kicked it that he was going to get to close to the man on the mark. If he gets that right his actual kicking technique is spot on.

Few things that the group needs to work on that can be improved in the short term are;

1) Goal kicking
2) Defensive zoner from kick outs.
3) Blocks at stoppages.

But Mitch and Jack just need a bigger body to work with. One tall forward will mean Jack and Mitch get the second and third best defenders. Makes a massive difference.

On the money as always Scooper lad!

On the last point that is exactly why Richo should go on. It will help Jack, Mitch's, Vickery & maybe Posts development no end if he's taking the Glass's, Scarletts, Lake's etc of the game. Makes a massive difference to the output & therefore confidence of a young player.

 

[Judge Smailes]

Watching last night - compared to Mitch's fisrt 5 games or so in the Black and Gold, what stood out to me is the improvement in his marking. he originally took a lot of "two grabbers", whereas of late he has taken some really strong one grab marks, plus a few contesetd ones. In all likelyhood he will never be as good as Stevie J, however I think this is a great thread for discussion. To those who poo-poo the idea without any constructive comment, what's the point? The question wasn't whether mitch IS as good, it is whether he could be. Kudos to the original poster of this thread.

 

[Hairydolfin]

thankyou I think you hit the nail on the head there. Cheers

 

[pahoffm]

Whilst his kicking is not technically correct, he's just about the best kick we've got. As GoodOne suggested his biggest issue to leysy is getting too close to the mark.

Just saw him consistently hold the ball, and not in a stable position either, in front of his willy, not in front of his kicking leg. This causes him consistently to drift left with his kicks.

In fact during it became extremely predictable which kicks/goals he'd get and which ones he'd miss.

The only one that went differently was the one he tried to compensate for, down our end, he just shanked it to the off and almost missed completely.

What this means, if I was an opposition coach, is that I would push for my players to force Morton to lead out to the left hand side away form goals. He usually goes out to the right from the goals.

So , when pushed out to the left, when he turns around to have his shot, he's kicking across goal, not into them.

I dare any of you to look at all his kicks from last night.
It was just so clearly obvious.
And his kicks became equally predictable.

Hopefully he can work on this and get himself up to Steve Johnson's class.

If he can work this out, you'll see him being able to confidently & consistently have shots from 40-50m out.

Also, If the above is the issue, could phantom explain why Mitch's natural "swing" of the ball in the air is in fact left to right? Rather than the natural hook most have...

Can't explain any swing, didn't see it.

But from what I saw, nearly every kick had a bias to the left. All but one of his missed shots were to the left of the goals. Except the one he compensated for, which went right.

And he was at his most effective on the left side facing the goals from within about 35 metres.

I reckon he gets close to the man on the mark because he's well aware of the effective range of his kicking.

Next time I watch Cale, I'll see if it's a family thing.
Although Cale seems to be able to thump the ball 50 metres.
Maybe their Dad inadvertently taught them the technical flaw.

;D

On his reading the ball & marking, it looked excellent.

 

[bowden4president]

On the last point that is exactly why Richo should go on. It will help Jack, Mitch's, Vickery & maybe Posts development no end if he's taking the Glass's, Scarletts, Lake's etc of the game. Makes a massive difference to the output & therefore confidence of a young player.

I agree.

This is why I hate the "will he be part of the next premiership side" argument.

 

[bringbakflemmo]

Don't think Mitch has the agility of Stevie J which helps SJ create space for himself so he can show his goalkicking repertoire.
Remember though SJ can afford to play like a millionaire in the Cats side as any mistake of his will be cleaned up by the brillaint midfield or backline.
Morton doesn't have the luxury of playing in a side that has the ability to make up for errors.
As long as he is a good Richmond player that will do me.

 

[Scoop]

On the money as always Scooper lad!

Not according to some. ;D

On the last point that is exactly why Richo should go on. It will help Jack, Mitch's, Vickery & maybe Posts development no end if he's taking the Glass's, Scarletts, Lake's etc of the game. Makes a massive difference to the output & therefore confidence of a young player.

Agree. Richo and Cuz add things to the mix that others simply cannot.

Another year with Richo will enhance Mortons game much quicker.

 

[the claw]

Not according to some. ;D

Agree. Richo and Cuz add things to the mix that others simply cannot.

Another year with Richo will enhance Mortons game much quicker.

ya know what ive asked for richos head on more than one occasion especially when they have played him on a wing.

theres only one reason why you would keep richo and that reason is exactly what maisey said to take the heat of post and jack and the one who needs a hair cut.
play him at home in the square make him stay close to goal and let the other two roam. ive not only called for richos head ive called for exactly this set up for yrs now. its a reason why i call for schulz to be played out of the square while richo is hurt hes to take the heat from post and jack but first we have to play both those kids.

 

[Leysy Days]

Just saw him consistently hold the ball, and not in a stable position either, in front of his willy, not in front of his kicking leg. This causes him consistently to drift left with his kicks.

In fact during it became extremely predictable which kicks/goals he'd get and which ones he'd miss.

The only one that went differently was the one he tried to compensate for, down our end, he just shanked it to the off and almost missed completely.

What this means, if I was an opposition coach, is that I would push for my players to force Morton to lead out to the left hand side away form goals. He usually goes out to the right from the goals.

So , when pushed out to the left, when he turns around to have his shot, he's kicking across goal, not into them.

As leysy said previously, Mitch's natural kick is exactly the opposite to what you say. He drifts the ball from left to right. Not right to left.

That is why he "always" plays on when kicking from the right. Its because his natural kick from that side is to drift it across goals.

& from the left it will naturally swing in & would be his preferred side from a set shot. i.e not playing on.

I dare any of you to look at all his kicks from last night.
It was just so clearly obvious.
And his kicks became equally predictable.

It might have been the case for that one match. But leysy prefers to look at more than that when making an assumption.
Reckon you'll find different on this if you do.

 

[Col.E.Kurtz]

Morton went up a level as a player in my books this week because he put in around the ground and got a career high 6-7 tackles. Every time he gets a new coach he seems to take it up a level, he was useless for Woosha, good as an attacking player for Plough and has learned how to tackle under Jade. The sky is the limit if we keep changes coaches

 

[IanG]

Morton went up a level as a player in my books this week because he put in around the ground and got a career high 6-7 tackles. Every time he gets a new coach he seems to take it up a level, he was useless for Woosha, good as an attacking player for Plough and has learned how to tackle under Jade. The sky is the limit if we keep changes coaches

Interesting stats, it puts a lie to Wallace's claim that he did put an emphasis on tackling.