Re: Rising Star Award 2006
Good luck to all nominees. A couple like Moran and Le Cras are stiff to get nominated this year as they would have been favourites next year. Nice for a tiger to win it but i think three nominations even a better sign.
I think it should be out of Pearce, Raines and Murphy because they became key players in their respective teams this year. Shaw solid but a bit of a plodder class wise compared to the other three. Thomas has more X factor.
I think Polo and Foley (as others like Birchall and Rischitelli) get lost a bit in the conventional wisdom.
In particular Foleys stats this year are phenomenal. Has only averaged 2/3 game time per game(if that) and ended up with an average of 15.4 disposals, 2.6 contested posessions, 4.1 tackles, 3.2 first posessions and 2.8 clearances. If you extrapolate those figures to full game time, they would be good enough to having him ranked 3rd in the league for contested possessions, 6th in the league for tackles, 14th in the league for first possessions, 14th in the league for clearances and 25th in the league for disposals.
Seriously good figures and illustrate what many of us see - He is just a contested ball and clearance freak. On tose figures he should be a monty for the Rising star but obviosuly a bit unfashionable for the cogniscenti!!
BTW Port's number 41 should go close next year - a little ripper.
Good luck to all nominees. A couple like Moran and Le Cras are stiff to get nominated this year as they would have been favourites next year. Nice for a tiger to win it but i think three nominations even a better sign.
I think it should be out of Pearce, Raines and Murphy because they became key players in their respective teams this year. Shaw solid but a bit of a plodder class wise compared to the other three. Thomas has more X factor.
I think Polo and Foley (as others like Birchall and Rischitelli) get lost a bit in the conventional wisdom.
In particular Foleys stats this year are phenomenal. Has only averaged 2/3 game time per game(if that) and ended up with an average of 15.4 disposals, 2.6 contested posessions, 4.1 tackles, 3.2 first posessions and 2.8 clearances. If you extrapolate those figures to full game time, they would be good enough to having him ranked 3rd in the league for contested possessions, 6th in the league for tackles, 14th in the league for first possessions, 14th in the league for clearances and 25th in the league for disposals.
Seriously good figures and illustrate what many of us see - He is just a contested ball and clearance freak. On tose figures he should be a monty for the Rising star but obviosuly a bit unfashionable for the cogniscenti!!
BTW Port's number 41 should go close next year - a little ripper.
