We should have drafted Heppell

[Coach]

But Houli is a toal squib? Needs a heart transplant instead of starving himself for no reason. Still plays the odd game though so good on him.

[tony_montana]

Heppell had his first great game on the weekend - prior to that is very vanilla. No hurt factor, not a line breaker with his run or his loopy kicking. Has strengths like - hes a one grab player, has very quick hands and reads the play well but he is over rated. A lot like Gibbs in the first 3-4 years when everyone would drool whenever he hit a target sideways 30 metres away or took a mark or gave off a handball, regulation sort of stuff the commentators batt off too when a 'name' does it.

If Conca tidies up his kicking he'll be elite, but tbh its a bit concerning, his ball drop is not great. Who else did we pass by drafting Conca?

[Dice]

But Houli is a toal squib? Needs a heart transplant instead of starving himself for no reason. Still plays the odd game though so good on him.

 

I'd take Conca over Heppel-titus still though Coach.

[Tigers of Old]

Rubbish contribution to the thread. It was clearly a bad choice overlooking Hep

Rubbish. Don't think anything's clear at this still relatively early point.

[yellowandback]

While I think this has been quite well argued - albeit crudely at times without good reason - I'm still fairly happy with the Conca selection as I see him having some more upside if he gets his body right and gets a few full pre seasons under his belt.
Heppell is naturally ahead but fitness base might be helping him

[RedanTiger]

Who else did we pass by drafting Conca?

IIRC Reece said himself that he was expecting to go at around pick 16 so.......

[the claw]

heppel is just a potentially better version of houli, but how much better, considering one was a 1st rnd pick and one a pre season pick?

you have to be kidding right.you have watched heppell play right. he has two things in spades  houli definately hasnt got and neither has conca imo.  thats an ability to buy time in traffic and awareness.he runs all day makes very good decisions and is a fantastic size for a mid at 189cm just wait till he gets to 89kg and gains the core strength that comes with it. bloody hell  ones a genuine mid and ones a battler in the role.
i still think heppell plays a lot like a young scott pendulbury and that was always on the cards. he was always a top 5 pick at worst based on performance skill set size and potential ipside.

also lets not try to  make this thread a bag conca thing its not. he looks like he will become a decent player in time.

all that has happened is a poster has rightly pointed out we should have taken heppell because hes a better player with a far greater upside still.
i save my angst for francis jackson in this.  as has been stated conca at 6 was a stretch and most people involved in the draft said so. imo jackson has been guilty reaching for players in several drafts.

[Penelope]

buying time and awareness are pretty much the same thing. (and conca does that in traffic too, and doesnt squib)

and i agree he has houli covered on that. Besides that they are a similar type in the role they play.

my point is, is he that much better than houli when you take into account what they cost? A first rounder compared to a pre season pick?

[Rampstar]

Conca, Ellis and Vlastuin were not only selected because they could play footy they were selected because they bring to the table a cultural shift in terms of what type of player we want at Richmond. Whilst Heppel may be a better player, I dont think he would help change the culture of Richmond which has been nothing short of disgraceful since the early 1980s.

[the claw]

buying time and awareness are pretty much the same thing. (and conca does that in traffic too, and doesnt squib)

and i agree he has houli covered on that. Besides that they are a similar type in the role they play.

my point is, is he that much better than houli when you take into account what they cost? A first rounder compared to a pre season pick?

yes hes infinately better than houli i dont even think houli a mid.

nope they are not the same granted maybe similar. awareness is knowing whats around you and exactly where your team mate is.  buying time is the ability to  get thru traffic and avoid contact which directly impacts on your ability to use well and make a good decision.
houli has struggled as a mid because of it and ive seen little of it in conca in fact his awareness to date is poor and he panics rather than slow up and buy time.

one who has both awareness and an ability to buy time is shane  edwards but his skillset is ordinary along with other things.

nathan foley is so good inside because of his awarenes he shoots out handballs instinctively and they hit every time thats awareness.

for me the best in the business and hes getting on a bit now is shaun burgoyne, he doesnt go thru the midfield as much as he used to but   he combines fantastic skills with both awareness and the ability to buy time. these types are priceless imo. even better if they are big bodied and win their own ball if they have to.

[TigerTimeII]

BS thread Conca is and will be better than heppell

just like hodge is better than judd

heppell judd princesses

Hodge Conca warriors..

[Tigers of Old]

buying time and awareness are pretty much the same thing. (and conca does that in traffic too, and doesnt squib)

Conca is fantastic in traffic. That's his best strength. He and Titch are highly underrated at the clearances.
Reece started the year like a gun and had an 8 week layoff.
Meantime Heppell's been pumping himself full of lord knows what.
Comparisons at this point are early IMO. A lot thought Cotch was going to be a mistake early too before he exploded once he got past his injuries.

[TigerTimeII]

heppell is a soft princess  cant win a hard ball and take the hits Conca takes

[TigerTimeII]

heppell is an overrated turd... this thread is pathetic

[the claw]

buying time and awareness are pretty much the same thing. (and conca does that in traffic too, and doesnt squib)

Conca is fantastic in traffic. That's his best strength. He and Titch are highly underrated at the clearances.
Reece started the year like a gun and had an 8 week layoff.
Meantime Heppell's been pumping himself full of lord knows what.
Comparisons at this point are early IMO. A lot thought Cotch was going to be a mistake early too before he exploded once he got past his injuries.

we arent watching the same player then.  dont know how many times ive seen conca just panic with ball in hand  or get run down when he shouldnt.  reckon i will be paying more attention to him now. maybe im missing something.