Kudos to Josh Smith!

[inxs88]

Slaughtered the down hill skiing Frenchman LeCras last night. Had 28 smartly delivered possessions as well. Shall win our best first year player on Copeland night by the length of the street!

[Leggie]

He's a great player to watch. What's the go with his contract?
Extend the bloody thing.

Go Pies

[Raw Hammer]

A bright spark in a dull season. Composed, skilled, smart...good find.

[bally12]

Like this kid. Good decisions, can play lock-down roles, and is a good kick.

[Funkadelic]

Agree with everything that's been said, tough, composed, good size, good long kick. Earned his spot this year well done kid

[Pies4shaw]

It's funny to see people saying he's a good kick, now he's acclimatised to senior footy, when he was being bagged (by others - I'm not taking issue with anyone in this new thread) as too small, too slow and a poor kick after his first game against Essendon. At that time, no-one much seemed interested in posters saying that he had shown himself to be a good kick - and over long distances in pre-season and VFL matches, that he had barely played any senior (or VFL) footy, so a little patience might be required and that 23 disposals in a first game was promising. Almost at once, he was written off by some as a "mature-aged" plodder.

He looks like a good, solid, AFL-standard footballer. He did the first time he played in the intra-club practice match. He was injured in the NAB Challenge and was still fast-tracked for his debut, once he recovered. So he should have been. He hasn't played a bad game, yet. He probably won't ever be a real star of the Pendlebury variety but he's a genuine upgrade to our list.

[MightyMagpie]

[inxs88]

There is an argument that promoting deserving rookies such as Smith, Cox etc.. to the Senior Primary list is a:

* vote of confidence in the player
* reward for sustained excellence
* eliminate player self-doubt and trust in a players ability
* allow for some more scope and flexibility on speculative choices for the rookie list
* sends a message of unity to all of the squad

That aside Keefe and Josh Thomas don't fall into the above.

[MightyMagpie]

No argument that promotion might do that, but practicalities (list space - ie not delisting wanted players - and salary cap) will override these points.

Think of Frost situation 2 years back.

[David]

I've been really impressed with him. Great to see another rookie list success story; we seem to have had more than our fair share in the last decade or so.

[Mugwump]

The really impressive thing about this kid is not just that he is a good kick, as people have already said above, but that he is a precise kick on both sides of his body. We have too many one-sided players, amd the art of kicking equally well off both feet is much underrated. It is part of what made Peter Daicos and Steele Sidebottom so hard to play against and so damaging when they get it.

My one criticism of Josh last night is that he goes backward a lot, amd I reckon his metres gained score would be pretty ordinary. I'd like to see him drill it to a player forward more often.

[Dave The Man]

Yet another Hine Special

[Jezza]

A quiet, but reliable achiever.

He will definitely win the best first-year player. Great find by our recruiters.

[slangman]

Has got better with each game.
Reliability is essential in defence and he has been the most reliable all season

Very good year

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

The thing about Smith is that he is an ordinary footballer, not especially gifted in anything, doing extraordinary things on a football field. This sends a message to other ordinary people out there, that anyone can play at AFL level if you're prepared to work hard enough, for long enough, to achieve your dreams. We're very lucky to have him at Collingwood.