#33 Rupert Wills

[AN_Inkling]

^^At 25 the clock is ticking. AA may be too far, but he will at least need to consistently make the Collingwood 22 to avoid being delisted this year.

[3rd degree]

Wills hasn't played a senior game in 2 years give him a chance, Sure Seir is the better option, but give the Rupe a chance to fire.

[RudeBoy]

With Elliott out, and Mayne unlikely, this opens the door for Wills to retain his spot for this week.

[Pies4shaw]

^^At 25 the clock is ticking. AA may be too far, but he will at least need to consistently make the Collingwood 22 to avoid being delisted this year.

The clock certainly is ticking - he turns 26 in 6 days (born 20 May 1993).

[Magpietothemax]

fWIW, I would definitely play Wills again this week, even if Beams returns. I want to determine whether or not we can consider him close to top 22 and therefore, at worst, quality back-up.
He wasn't bad on Cripps in the 1st quarter, but was apparently taken off him subsequently. Cripps only exploded in the second half.
You need to give the guy some more airtime. FGS, he hasn't played for 2 years, and in Pendles' words after the game, he was "fantastic". I don't believe Pendles would have chosen this word on national TV if he did not think it was true.

[Pies4shaw]

Just so we are all quite clear about how the Club views Wills - the game is on the line, he's played only 50% game time and has had 9 disposals. Players are out of the game, injured and he's still warming the pine.

I'll be surprised if we ever see him in the Seniors again.

And ... dumped ... but named as an emergency, along with Wells, Quaynor and Aish.

[AN_Inkling]

fWIW, I would definitely play Wills again this week, even if Beams returns. I want to determine whether or not we can consider him close to top 22 and therefore, at worst, quality back-up.
He wasn't bad on Cripps in the 1st quarter, but was apparently taken off him subsequently. Cripps only exploded in the second half.
You need to give the guy some more airtime. FGS, he hasn't played for 2 years, and in Pendles' words after the game, he was "fantastic". I don't believe Pendles would have chosen this word on national TV if he did not think it was true.

If he was a young player who we had hopes of being best 22 then, yes, maybe. Though you still need to pick your best 22.

In this case though, he's about to turn 26 and is clearly not going to be a best 22 player at any point. He was brought in for a special job on Cripps due to his size, it's unlikely he plays for us again.

[inxs88]

The smugness of the Langdon lovers/Rupert Ranters is quite embarrassing.

[E]

Wills is a good honest toiler who just isn't quite an AFL footballer (but a stud at every other level). I'd like to see if he can get one or two more chances. He might yet be a late inclusion for DeGoey if he doesn't get up. Problem is that he was simply a liability in the Carlton game and the opposition are only going to get better from here on in.

As for those damn Langdon lovers, shame on you for sticking up for someone who plays for Collingwood (and who is a proven September performer) ........

[Pies2016]

The smugness of the Langdon lovers/Rupert Ranters is quite embarrassing.

I will go with disappointing rather than embarrassing but you always knew a couple would come hard for him.
Cripps has played 90 games of footy and other than Cunnington and Pendlebury, I can’t remember any other games where he has been completely blanketed. I’d be disappointed if the club dropped a bloke who is a natural ball winner, playing his first AFL game for two years, because he couldn’t stop Cripps. Nobody has ever talked about him being best 22 ( not in last year or so ) but I hope he gets another chance sooner than later. He should be at least allowed to hunt down his own footy and not have to run around chasing a backside for half a game.
That’s how we should measure him, not because he couldn’t stop Cripps in his first game in two years.

[AN_Inkling]

The smugness of the Langdon lovers/Rupert Ranters is quite embarrassing.

I will go with disappointing rather than embarrassing but you always knew a couple would come hard for him.
Cripps has played 90 games of footy and other than Cunnington and Pendlebury, I can’t remember any other games where he has been completely blanketed. I’d be disappointed if the club dropped a bloke who is a natural ball winner, playing his first AFL game for two years, because he couldn’t stop Cripps. Nobody has ever talked about him being best 22 ( not in last year or so ) but I hope he gets another chance sooner than later. He should be at least allowed to hunt down his own footy and not have to run around chasing a backside for half a game.
That’s how we should measure him, not because he couldn’t stop Cripps in his first game in two years.

I see it a bit differently. Outside of these special circumstances: injury to Adams, Beams, Sier and coming up against a great, big bodied mid he'd not have been given an opportunity. As a player who "hunts down his own footy" he's not AFL standard, in my view. He got a game because of Cripps, it's not as if he forced his way in and was then unlucky to come up against him.

I definitely agree that it's unfair to him that possibly his last game for us could be trying to contain Cripps. I'm not going to be hoping that he gets more opportunities though, as that means more injuries.

There's no joy or smugness or whatever you want to call it in me saying he's not AFL standard. It's just a pragmatic call on a near 26 year old who's played a handful of games. I don't think he's a player we should be selecting outside of special circumstances.

[Presti35]

Don't get too excited E, there's a high chance of a late change.

[Pies4shaw]

It would probably be useful to distinguish between the views people have about Wills and the views people have about the constant calls for his inclusion.

I really like Wills and would still love to see him succeed. What annoys me is that some people look at the VFL stats and build themselves a little fantasy about how well players are going without having had the opportunity to watch them play.

Thus, my position on Wills was that nothing I saw in his last VFL game suggested that his form was good enough for him to impact at AFL level. I would have said the same about Daicos (and maybe I did). I would love to see Daicos in the seniors - he is a beautifully skilled player - but I’m not going to complain about his exclusion unless he’s dominating games and being overlooked in favour of players who are not.

I don’t think the Club seriously selected Wills because they thought he might match it with Cripps. Nor do I think he was picked because his form demanded it. I think he was picked because they had to play another mid and he was next in line. He was next in line last week because Adams, Beams and Sier were not fit enough to play and because Daics couldn’t be picked on his very disappointing game against Essendon.

What the Coach actually did at the coal face was bring Sidebottom in to the contest. That is directly contrary to what the Club has been trying to do this year - they have wanted Sidey on the outside, not at the contest but necessity made them tear up that strategy. It was the same necessity that compelled them to bring up Wills.

Saying this directly does not make me anti-Wills. It’s just an evidence-based opinion. I didn’t want Rupe to fail - I just saw nothing in his VFL games to think that he was going to succeed on current form. I’m happy for others to have different views - it is just a little hard to take them seriously when they are unable to comment on how he he has been playing in the VFL because they haven’t been watching.

[glasseyevfx]

The smugness of the Langdon lovers/Rupert Ranters is quite embarrassing.

never mind the salmon mousse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMBsZC-FJNE

[Pies4shaw]

... or maybe not quite. He has a late call up. Not sure whethe he’s going to play FF for JDG or FB for Moore.