JON

[Tango]

kellaway was at the club for a hell of a long time before he ever made the senior side,
JON is 18 and although is not a walk up start in the 22 yet, he is not far from it?

 

[thomas the tiger]

Claw you are such a negative individual. Why so bitter all the time????????

JON hopefully will become a gun running of the backline and breaking lines with his pace.

 

[TIGEREXTRA]

Any player with an attitude like JON is going to be an excellent player.

Looking forward to seeing him in the NAB and the season proper.

 

[The_General]

Seeing JON standing next to some of the other boys at the club, he appears to be more 190-192 than 188.

 

[the claw]

Claw you are such a negative individual.  Why so bitter all the time????????

JON hopefully will become a gun running of the backline and breaking lines with his pace. 

what negativity all i said was the obvious he is not a kpp and hes lightly framed.. i hope like hell he becomes a gun whatever position he plays. if i was being negative i would have said too skinny cant kick  hes a dud. :hihi

 

[Skills]

Our problem has been that we have had guys like Chaffey who were only doing what was asked of them by our coaching staff of the past , just play in the back half for your whole footballing life.  This hasn't allowed our youngsters to get much ground time.   

Maybe JON does end up a dashing midfielder but he will do his apprenticeship in the back half.

Good to see us using methods that have made other clubs successful.

Yep.  During the Frawley days, one of the things that held the team back was the inabilty of Chaffey, Torney, Newman and Fiora to graduate from small defender to midfielder.  Hopefully, things have changed somewhat.

Actually Danny tried something different. He tried to turn David Rodan from an onballer into a Back pocket player in one Pre Season Match.

 

[billyb#40]

JON also said that 2005/6 was the first preseason he had done as he had had injuries in other preseasons. He had some OP down time this year too and now a collar bone so hopefully he has some better luck this year.

I see him in the Bowden mold, quick- very quick and balanced so will naturally improve - interesting to see him play on Lance Franklin in a few years, if he can muscle up a bit.

Also as a number of people have said he impressed me as a serious, stable young guy who wants to be a sucessful AFL player and could be a star.

 

[Shers]

I actually really enjoy reading Claw's posts. He can obviously be pretty negative at times, but often constructive also. And he knows more about footy in WA than many of us.

Having met and spoken to JON, I think he has a terrific attitude (as has Richie Tambling).
We all know he's really quick, as his draft camp stats showed (and so was Pearce's, why didn't we draft him with a late pick?). But seeing JON playing for Coburg, he is really quick, especially for someone 6'3''. You know the 5'10'' players are quick when their legs are really going, such as Whitey, but you don't realise straight away with JON, because he's much taller, but then you realise that he's literally running away from his opponent and you know he's quick. A good example is in the Essendon-Dreamtime game, near the end where JON kicked the point. He ran away from his opponents then, very quick.
The darksiders could then (rightly) point out that he went on to kick a point, and he's not a very good kick. I'll admit, from watching him at Coburg, his kicking does need improvement, and I'm sure the coaches are working on it.
Anyway, from last year's draft, I think JON has just about the most upside. If he can get bigger, which he certainly needs to and will, and improve his kicking, he'll be a great player.

 

[D85]

i got some high hopes for him, i think IF he makes it, he'll be a club leader of some sort.

 

[CarnTheTiges]

One upside JON has over AK, he can kick the footy.

 

[RROFO]

... if i was being negative i would have said too skinny cant kick hes a dud. :hihi

Oh I'm sorry. That's what I thought I read. :hihi

I agree, ATM it is hard to see JON holding down a key position. If he's going to be a flanker lets hope he's the best in the competition. Every team has 2 flankers. Of course we seem to have a damn sight more than 2 on the list ATM.

 

[tigersnake]

Why is everyone so bloody fixated on JON being skinny? He about the average build for an 18 y.o. 6 foot 2 player.

Also, as I've said a lot, some players, especially black players but *smile* would also fit, are naturally skinny or rangey but still extremely indestructable and strong.

 

[gustiger12]

Yep this isn't a surprise and fits TW's mould of fast backmen.  With all due respect to Andy - holding up Jon for a year would be criminal. Much better to set the bar high and have the kid strive to meet it.

Couldn't agree more Brett. This is the way forward. Much as I admire and respect AK sentiment cannot stand in the way of progress. It only hurts us in the longer term.