#9 John Noble

[Pies2016]

Just a reminder, he actually wasn’t in our best 22 when we played the Lions.
With the benefit of hindsight he possibly should have been but he wasn’t.
There’s no doubt he’s an improved version in 2022 and that’s a credit to him.

[bally12]

I'm not a Noble fan. Note..that means I'm not a fan in Noble the footballer and his footballing skills/talent/value to our side, not Noble the person. I say that because some people on here don't get that distinction and start bandying around things like "hate speech" and effects on players' mental health if they are criticised on social media, and "you're not a true supporter", and the like.

Fundamentally I believe a defender's first attribute should be to be able to defend one-on-one in a contested ball situation, both ground ball and aerially. By virtue of Noble's lack of size/weight, he's not going to be able to compete against most good AFL small forwards in this area. That's his major weakness, and good teams will be able to isolate and expose him.
He also was prone to panic in high-pressure situations and just give up the ball to literally anyone in his vicinity which usually meant he was directly responsible or coughing up 1 or 2 goals a game. I have to admit he's improved a lot in this area. Kudos to him on this front.
Also kudos to him for being braver in contested ball situations...I haven't seen him shirk a contest for a while, which I saw plenty of in Buckley's time. And I don't even blame him for doing so in the past...at 72kg I'd be getting out of the way of a gorilla charging at me as well.

His strengths are obviously his pace, repeat efforts, rebound out of defence, and accurate foot-skills hitting up a 25-30m target. Last couple of weeks I've seen him kick on his left a couple of times, and I had to look twice because I didn't think he had a left side.
I'm all for continuous improvement in a player, so well done to Noble...certainly have no issue with his attitude and effort. 50 games for the Pies is a good effort and no one can take that away from him.

He was actually dropped after the Brisbane game, so the coaches obviously recognise some of his weaknesses as well. He's not the lock that you guys are carrying on about. I'd prefer rotating Poulter in his position, but more than happy to be proven wrong, and Noble continues to improve.

[E]

[E]

[piedys]

Noble busted his arse again tonight, after copping a decent blood nose early in a contest. Bonus points for that; bravo lad.

[slangman]

Noble is in our top 5 players this season.

One of the few players who gives 💯 every week.

[Magpietothemax]

Yet another display of courage, energy and skill from John Noble. So glad that now he is getting the recognition he deserves.
He is fast becoming a gun.

[the fuzz]

An absolute gun.
Has become one of our best players.

[Jezza]

He's made great progress this year.

Stepped it up to another level, which I didn't expect.

[Big T]

Super tonight.

[Pies2016]

He got smashed in the nose last night and came back on after running repairs and didn’t miss a beat. It’s a tough game and not everyone responds well after the front of your jumper is covered in blood. Respect.
Maybe he is growing into that sleeve tattoo, after all.
It will be interesting where he finishes up in the clubs most improved conversations.

[Mr Miyagi]

He went hard last night, he’ll be sore today.

[E]

in the votes again this week, including polling in the top 5 for the coaches votes.

At this point, i think my prediction that Noble was in our best 22 will go down in Nicks folklore.

I mean our best two players at the minute might be a steak knife and a mid season rookie draft selection. Neither touted! Both just keep working.

anyway, well done again John Noble. Your courage, hard work, calmness under presurre, leg speed, ability to run through the lines and most importantly, your precise and high quality disposal appears to finally being acknowledged!

[think better]

He reminds me of Nick Maxwell - determined to get the best out of himself and tough as nails

[inxs88]