Relton Roberts

[jackstar is back again]

Roberts was drafted as a 23 y.o. rookie (turned 24 in March). Like Peterson, you can't just rely on natural talent at AFL level. The commitment, dedication and willingness to do the hard yards is there.

wasnt a commitment or discipline thing for relton, he was genuinely missing his family esp his little boy who were all up north

You would have to be joking ?? Seen him pre season against Essendon at Moe, he would of fitted in perfectly in the maternity ward at St.Vincents Hospital.  Looked like the Paul Hogan character Arthur Dunger !

[WilliamPowell]

Roberts was drafted as a 23 y.o. rookie (turned 24 in March). Like Peterson, you can't just rely on natural talent at AFL level. The commitment, dedication and willingness to do the hard yards is there.

wasnt a commitment or discipline thing for relton, he was genuinely missing his family esp his little boy who were all up north

Fair enough but that falls under the commitment, dedication and willingness to do the hard yards is there.

Early sacrifices so your family can have a better life.

Couldn't do it.

Not disputing for a second that he was missing his little boy terribly because I know he was but I reckon []())([]™ & MT have hit the nail on the head.... the discipline wasn't there either.

There were faults on both sides (club & player) but oput simply IMHO Relton wanted to play AFL but didn't appear to be commited enough to play AFL

[TigerTimeII]

its all intertwined and connected

when ur mind is distracted cos of missing ur family u resort to habits that comfort u, usually food etc

its not that simple

[Mr Magic]

You could tell straight away from his very first game that he lacked the physicality and defensive work ethic required at AFL level.
Massive longshot despite the hamburger incident.

Move on.

[Infamy]

Roberts was drafted as a 23 y.o. rookie (turned 24 in March). Like Peterson, you can't just rely on natural talent at AFL level. The commitment, dedication and willingness to do the hard yards is there.

wasnt a commitment or discipline thing for relton, he was genuinely missing his family esp his little boy who were all up north

You would have to be joking ?? Seen him pre season against Essendon at Moe, he would of fitted in perfectly in the maternity ward at St.Vincents Hospital.  Looked like the Paul Hogan character Arthur Dunger !

Who cares, when you are a full time athlete it's not too hard to lose weight. Just look at how much weight Stuart Chew Dew lost in one preseason after coming out of retirement.
He had the talent but not the application, he was a late rookie pick which is where you take your high risk high reward players.

[Judge Roughneck]

You could tell straight away from his very first game that he lacked the physicality and defensive work ethic required at AFL level.
Massive longshot despite the hamburger incident.

Move on.

Meh.

He was fast and smooth. I reckon he had more talent than most

[WA Tiger]

Really are we not over this guy yet...it's not like we owe him anything by continually talking about him, he watsed his chance.... bye Relton, Go close the thread already...

[one-eyed]

Storm returns
Grey Morris   
NT News
February 9th, 2011


Former AFL player Relton Roberts is hopeful of making a return to the Wanderers' senior ranks soon. Picture: REGI VARGHESE

ONE year ago Relton Roberts was getting ready to play the game of his life.

The Ngukurr-born goalkicker was only weeks away from his first AFL match for Richmond in what had been a meteoric rise from the Katherine competition to the biggest sporting stage in Australia.

But history shows it all came undone after a combination of homesickness, bad diet, cigarettes and personal problems. After just two senior games and a handful of VFL matches Relton Roberts, the 24-year-old Ngandi Storm with all the skills, was back in the NT.

Even his return to the NTFL competition was inconsistent, with some brilliant performances combined with ordinary ones.

No senior matches since early November had Top End fans wondering if the champion goalkicker would ever come back.

"I probably just wanted to have a rest and Wanderers weren't in a big rush for me to get back," Roberts said.

"Paul (coach Paul Motlop) told me he's not in a rush and that's good.

"My fitness is good now. There are no more smokes and I'm nearly ready to go.

"One more game in the reserves this week and hopefully I'll be back in A-grade next week against Nightcliff." Roberts is keen to make an impression with Wanderers this season, which is good news for an Eagles side primed for a serious tilt at its first senior flag since 1993.

"I'm just about right. Hopefully I'll be up forward where I can kick a few goals then come back next year after a good season with the Arnhem Crows," he said.

Wanderers coach Paul Motlop wants a fit and motivated Roberts in the senior side. "Relton's got to get his fitness up. We need him to be playing at a reasonable level," Motlop said.

"At the moment he's missed a few weeks so he's got a bit to catch up on if he wants a game.

"There's no doubt a fit Relton playing good football would be the cream on the cake for us, but right now he's got some hard work to do and not much time left."

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/02/09/211431_ntsport.html

[Stripes]

Cigarettes as well!!!  No wonder this guy never made it! 

[Tigeritis™©®]

Cigarettes as well!!!  No wonder this guy never made it! 

He would have fitted in well in the eighties. Probably wouldve been a star. He obviously has natural talent but born in the wrong era for AFL/VFL.
What the club needs to do is go back to the drawing board a come up with a better system to keep the indigenous guys around for the long term. We know they have awesome natural ability but they must be comfortable enough with city life away from family and friends and life with the riguors and pressure that comes with AFL.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Cigarettes as well!!!  No wonder this guy never made it! 

He would have fitted in well in the eighties. Probably wouldve been a star. He obviously has natural talent but born in the wrong era for AFL/VFL.
What the club needs to do is go back to the drawing board a come up with a better system to keep the indigenous guys around for the long term. We know they have awesome natural ability but they must be comfortable enough with city life away from family and friends and life with the riguors and pressure that comes with AFL.

The might want to start by recruiting the right type of profile - Relton was not serious enough about his football to apply his talent into becoming an elite footballer.
I loved him but he was never going to make it.

[one-eyed]

I couldn't find this on the net so I scanned it in.....


Still the Wanderer - Wayward Roberts off-track again
By Craig Hutchison, Additional reporting Julian Bayard
Herald-Sun
27 Feb 2011, Page 66

IT'S been quite the fall from grace for former Richmond player Relton Roberts.

Roberts, who left the Tigers mid-way through last season, has returned to the Northern Territory in the hope of playing senior footy again for the Wanderers in Darwin.

However, his poor attitude, which is something that saw him in strife at the Tigers, has once again let him down with Wanderers president Steve Olsson slamming his performance at the club.

"Since he's come back from Melbourne, his whole attitude has been not up to scratch,'' Olsson said.

"He's been late for team meetings, hasn't turned up to training, he's been eating the wrong stuff, drinking the wrong stuff.''

Roberts played two senior games at the Tigers last season. His form and condition fell away, and a club official was astonished late in the year when he saw Roberts eating a burger, bought from a junk food van, before to playing a VFL match.

Olsson said the club was disappointed that he was wasting his talents.

"(He would have been) very handy and, in Darwin footy, everybody knows what he's capable of, but he just hasn't been able to put it together,'' he said.

Roberts was dropped by the club earlier in the season, but Olsson said he hadn't learned from his mistakes.

"We dropped him early in the season for disciplinary reasons and he then sort of spat the dummy a little bit,'' Olsson said.

Roberts told the NT News earlier this month he was keen to get back in the seniors: "My fitness is good now. There are no more smokes and I'm nearly ready to go.''

But he was not in the Wanderers side named for last night's qualifying final against the Tiwi Bombers.

[Con65]

and our football department thought that this guy was fit to play in Rd1 last year and worth a rookie upgrade...hmmm

[Infamy]

I think it was more the fact that he was one of two mature aged rookies so had less time to prove himself

[Dice]

Who cares ?