Jake Batchelor [merged]

[Penelope]

thats his game. as far as i know he has never been the stopper of the opposition no1 forward.

in that pre season interview with the bloke from AFL prospecus he said that he expects chaplin to go close to being  no 1 for intercept marks in the league this year

[big tone]

Well I though Batch was putrid  last night. He simply isn't a great spoiler/backman.. He got caught ball watching heaps last night too. He doesn't have that 'opponent first before the ball attitude' that you need as a genuine backman. I think if he is to make it as an AFL player he'll need to move forward, and be that lead up half forward.
In saying that the match ups last night we all wrong IMO. Rance on Nick was ok. Morris on Milne was ok.  Would have had Batch on one of there small forwards and had Grimmes on Beau Maister. And Chaplin on Stanley was ok.
Would prefer Dea over Batch at the moment.

[tdy]

I see batch as a work in progress.  He wasn't good this week against the saints, his kicking is only so so, but he has potential.  We shall see what the development coaches get out of him.

[Yeahright]

If he played on Beau to free up Chaps, why wasn't chaps chopping him out and making Batch look good? 2 other tall forwards (Rance busy on Roo) and we put Batch on Beau with no chop out?

[Rampstar]

Just had a look at 2010 and thats not much better IMHO. Took Conca not Heppell which some may argue is 50/50 then took Batchelor when most of the forum watches could see that Parker was a much better player and were calling for Parker weeks out before the draft. Then later in the draft we took Tom Derrickx and afew selections later Hawthorn took Paul Puopolo.

[Francois Jackson]

Just had a look at 2010 and thats not much better IMHO. Took Conca not Heppell which some may argue is 50/50 then took Batchelor when most of the forum watches could see that Parker was a much better player and were calling for Parker weeks out before the draft. Then later in the draft we took Tom Derrickx and afew selections later Hawthorn took Paul Puopolo.

Derrickx was a late pick so was always a long shot.

Batch i think has gone backwards but has takent.

Heppell was always the way to go for mine.
Most on here were wanting him and conca might turn out okay but from where I stand he looks more like another flanker and a very risky pick by FJ, especially how we could've had him at our next pick.

[bojangles17]

Just had a look at 2010 and thats not much better IMHO. Took Conca not Heppell which some may argue is 50/50 then took Batchelor when most of the forum watches could see that Parker was a much better player and were calling for Parker weeks out before the draft. Then later in the draft we took Tom Derrickx and afew selections later Hawthorn took Paul Puopolo.

Yah like that makes a whole lotta sense, so we re searching for more ruck stocks, but hey we can't go past this bloke who 5"4 .... ...any more crackpot ideas...your too funny

[Willy]

Nothing wrong with Concs. He goes well.
Was starting to hit his straps before getting injured this year.

[Hellenic Tiger]

I'm actually a Conca fan and agree with those who think Conca will be a good player.
IMHO he will play 200 games for the club.
As for Batch I think the kid is great and has talent I just think watching Rance and Chappy play kick to kick while he takes on monsters is killing him. The kid is great at ground level and tough he should be the third man up. I reckon Dimma is playing him wrong. Last year we had Griff, Rance and Post for part of it as well Grimes we are a couple short this year and it shows with Batch forced to play on bigger opponents.

[tony_montana]

I'm actually a Conca fan and agree with those who think Conca will be a good player.
IMHO he will play 200 games for the club.
As for Batch I think the kid is great and has talent I just think watching Rance and Chappy play kick to kick while he takes on monsters is killing him. The kid is great at ground level and tough he should be the third man up. I reckon Dimma is playing him wrong. Last year we had Griff, Rance and Post for part of it as well Grimes we are a couple short this year and it shows with Batch forced to play on bigger opponents.

Agree, was having a chat with bj today after a round and we were saying the same thing, his strengths are not being utilized. Biggest strengths imo are reading the play and line breaking passes out of defence, biggest weaknesses speed and cant jump. When you look at him physically he was ready from day 1, very mature physique and strong as an oxx, but has bulked up too much now. Have you seen him run or try and jump off the ground this season? looks very heavy. Needs to slim down and work on his speed to give him the best chance of realising his potential as a medium 3rd man up type defender.
Our best defensive lineup imo is:  Chaplin main fwd, Rance 2nd fwd, Grimes can play as 3rd tall and 3rd man up(but can be flexible),  Batchelor on the medium fwds and 3rd man up, Morris lockdown small defender, bachar small defender. They all offer decent rebound and run. Then you have the flexibility of rotating the likes of Newman, Ellis, Vlas through there when required. Depending on matchups we need to find another tall defender capable of playing to a reasonable level - Astbury? Griffiths? Elton? buggered if I know.

[big tone]

Batch moves like a robot.  Turning circle of the Queen Mary. This is the reason he is playing on bigger guys. Another FJ or his 'list people' wasted picks. Gone backward since his first year.

[Willy]

Yeah i'm a little worried about Batch. Seems to have stagnated after his first year and looks slow. I think his 'in-between' size, while it affords some flexibility, is actually a hindrance because he's not quite big enough to play on the KPPs but not agile enough to play on the zippy smalls. Still pretty young so he has some time, but i'm not confident he'l amount to much more than a depth player.
Think Concs will be a 200 gamer though. Really like his workman-like attitude and understated manner.

[Eat_em_Alive]

Who dis thread bout??

[WA Tiger]

Who dis thread bout??

Rupert Murdoch..

[Rampstar]

Just had a look at 2010 and thats not much better IMHO. Took Conca not Heppell which some may argue is 50/50 then took Batchelor when most of the forum watches could see that Parker was a much better player and were calling for Parker weeks out before the draft. Then later in the draft we took Tom Derrickx and afew selections later Hawthorn took Paul Puopolo.

Yah like that makes a whole lotta sense, so we re searching for more ruck stocks, but hey we can't go past this bloke who 5"4 .... ...any more crackpot ideas...your too funny

A crackpot idea is selecting a bloke who cant play when you could have picked a bloke whose probably gonna be in Hawthorns Grand Final Side on the last day in September.