#22 Steele Sidebottom

[burnsy17]

Think i am right in saying that he kicked 10gls. in a grand final prior to being
drafted to us??????

He sure did...and at the MCG too! He's pure class.

.....and it was done in a half of footy.... Playing from the back pocket!!

[woftam]

Think i am right in saying that he kicked 10gls. in a grand final prior to being
drafted to us??????

He sure did...and at the MCG too! He's pure class.

Etihad stadium actually.

[qldmagpie67]

For mine was his best game of the year by a ways.
He looked so much better staying on the outside of the congestion and forward running was a highlight.
Agree think we have seen the future last Friday.
Pendles starting off the back of the square or HBF using his vision and experience to be the link man to the midfield or wingers.
Swanny allowed to roam anywhere he sees fit and get forward as much as possible
Sidey playing an offensive role using those elite skills and his vision to gift off goals to team mates.
What we saw was responsibility being lumped onto Adams Crisp DeGoey Greenwood for getting us the ball and getting it out to our runners and best users.
Our forward line also looked far better and not so cramped up.
I'm not a huge Dunstall fan but on the coach last night he said he thinks our window is in 3yrs and that would make Cloke 31 should we use his value now at the trade table to load up with more draft picks or other talent ?
Cloke at his best is in our top 3-4 players but whether his been injured or our entry to him has been so poor or our game style with him playing so deep is totally wrong but 3 goals since the bye is a very poor return for someone of his skill. I'm not saying trade him but it is food for thought.
Reid must play back with Brown gives our defence experience and Reid is s far better user if the ball than Frost.
I think with Pendles spending time back it gives the likes of Langdon Sinclair Williams Maynard confidence as well plays Maynard used his run to get up th ground and be dangerous as well.
It certainly was an eye opening change in team structure.
I know the Cats were off the boil a bit but I don't think enough credit was given to the job Greenwood did on Selwood. He's there prime mover along with Caddy (who didn't play) but he was shut down and when he did get the pill he was under the pump.
I also noticed we went longer down the line then switched inside quickly going forward we seemed to always have players streaming though the corridor and getting into dangerous positions in and around the forward 50

[RudeBoy]

Think i am right in saying that he kicked 10gls. in a grand final prior to being
drafted to us??????

He sure did...and at the MCG too! He's pure class.

Etihad stadium actually.

Was it? I must be thinking of Daisy kicking a bag of goals in the TAC u18s GF on the MCG.

[woftam]

He sure did...and at the MCG too! He's pure class.

Etihad stadium actually.

Was it? I must be thinking of Daisy kicking a bag of goals in the TAC u18s GF on the MCG.

Yes that was Daisy on the MCG. Steele @ Etihad.
Tom Rockliff was Steele's captain & he got a stack of the footy & kicked 4 goals as well. Then nobody drafted him in Steele's draft year. Just madness.
Then the Lions got him in the pre season draft & now he is their skipper.

[Collingwood Crackerjack]

Pick 10 wasn't he? Or was it 8?

Getting a fair return, about what you would expect from that pick

[Cuthbert Collingwood]

Been meaning to post on this for a while - Steele seems to attract a lot of flack on this site, especially for "dinky little sideways kicks" (that are often the only option, and can be very effective in opening up play, but that's beside the point), but when I see him on TV the commentators are usually salivating about him, even Jason Dunstall, describing him as elite talent, a natural, and a generally insert superlative here. Is it possible that we are missing something here, maybe judging him a little harshly? It also has parallels the the Blair situation, as I don't ever hear commentators talking about how useless he is and that he doesn't deserve to be on a senior list. Maybe we're not seeing the wood for the trees?

[stui magpie]

Think i am right in saying that he kicked 10gls. in a grand final prior to being
drafted to us??????

He sure did...and at the MCG too! He's pure class.

.....and it was done in a half of footy.... Playing from the back pocket!!

With a broken leg.

[HAL]

Describe your surroundings.

[Pies4shaw]

Been meaning to post on this for a while - Steele seems to attract a lot of flack on this site, especially for "dinky little sideways kicks" (that are often the only option, and can be very effective in opening up play, but that's beside the point), but when I see him on TV the commentators are usually salivating about him, even Jason Dunstall, describing him as elite talent, a natural, and a generally insert superlative here. Is it possible that we are missing something here, maybe judging him a little harshly? It also has parallels the the Blair situation, as I don't ever hear commentators talking about how useless he is and that he doesn't deserve to be on a senior list. Maybe we're not seeing the wood for the trees?

He's the best all-round footballer at the Club after Pendlebury and Swan and the best user of the football (on both sides of his body) in the side, bar none. That's been the position for about 4 seasons. Hence, 4th in the Copeland in 2012, 3rd in 2013 and 2nd in 2014 and running third this season in the list of Collingwood players in the coaches' award behind - you guessed it - Pendlebury and Swan. The "dinky sideways kicks" nonsense is just that.

[Pies2016]

Been meaning to post on this for a while - Steele seems to attract a lot of flack on this site, especially for "dinky little sideways kicks" (that are often the only option, and can be very effective in opening up play, but that's beside the point), but when I see him on TV the commentators are usually salivating about him, even Jason Dunstall, describing him as elite talent, a natural, and a generally insert superlative here. Is it possible that we are missing something here, maybe judging him a little harshly? It also has parallels the the Blair situation, as I don't ever hear commentators talking about how useless he is and that he doesn't deserve to be on a senior list. Maybe we're not seeing the wood for the trees?

He's the best all-round footballer at the Club after Pendlebury and Swan and the best user of the football (on both sides of his body) in the side, bar none. That's been the position for about 4 seasons. Hence, 4th in the Copeland in 2012, 3rd in 2013 and 2nd in 2014 and running third this season in the list of Collingwood players in the coaches' award behind - you guessed it - Pendlebury and Swan. The "dinky sideways kicks" nonsense is just that.

They are all fair points but I for one have been a bit critical of him on occasions this season. I think the fact that many are saying that was his best game for the season, suggests that he has taken a while to return to his elite best. For me, it hasn't been about the crabbing but more about what I have perceived as a lack of intensity when I believe he could have influenced a contest.

We all have high expectations of Steele and he seldom disappoints but the game against the cats just reminded me that he may not have been firing on all 8 cylinders for a lot of the second half of the season ( Im excluding first half cause of injury ). And if that great game is purely off the back of a role change, then give him that same role for the rest of his career.

[Dangles]

Steele was a steal alright. I remember the day he got drafted and how much I was hoping we'd get him. I couldn't beleive it when he, a player who kicked 10 goals in the TAC Grand Final, slipped rough to number eleven. I was rapt and he hasn't disappointed me.

[Tannin]

He's the best all-round footballer at the Club after Pendlebury and Swan

Yep. Hard to say who is in fifth place after those three. The fourth place, of course, goes to that wonderful old veteran Daylight.

and the best user of the football (on both sides of his body) in the side, bar none.

Nowhere near as good as Pendlebury. Difficult to argue that he's ahead of Elliott in this regard, and despite the odd brain-fart (well, OK, more than the odd one) Fasolo uses it to spectacular effect on a good day. Nevertheless, one of our better users. Third-best in my book, second-best is not an unreasonable claim.

The "dinky sideways kicks" nonsense is just that.

Oh dear. Now you've ruined a good post which started off with uncontrovertable truth and faded into mild overstatement with a daft assertion. The worst part of Sidebottom's game is his bad habit of doing dinky little nothing kicks which advantage no-one. They nearly always go to a man, but are far too often sideways and even when they aren't, they don't advantage the side as the handful of metres gained is pointless when the opposition have just had that much longer to run past and man up our forwards.

I think he is aware of the problem, and is trying to overcome it. He's improved on it a lot this year and is doing more creative things with the pill. (This caper of identifying a weakness and working on it until it's eliminated is a characteristic of champion players: look at how Swan has gone over the journey, relentlessly eliminating the weaknesses in his game, one by one, to the point where he wound up with a Chaz. Don't be surprised if Sidey doesn't pick one up himself one of these days.)

[Boot]

Love to see the silky skills of Steel Sidebottom. I think he has the ability to fit nicely into a forward flank role in 2016 with Varcoe, Aish and others ( Freeman, Treloar, Sinclair, Pendlebury) taking over his wing position.
With Steel's goal kicking skills added to his running power the forward line of Elliot, Cloke, Fasolo
Sidebottom, Moore, Swan
has a premiership look about it with lots of class and enough X-factor to worry any backline in the AFL.
Lets hope the club can pull off the recruitment of Aish and Treloar over the trading period and get us all set for a great 2016.

[jackcass]

Oh dear. Now you've ruined a good post which started off with uncontrovertable truth and faded into mild overstatement with a daft assertion. The worst part of Sidebottom's game is his bad habit of doing dinky little nothing kicks which advantage no-one. They nearly always go to a man, but are far too often sideways and even when they aren't, they don't advantage the side as the handful of metres gained is pointless when the opposition have just had that much longer to run past and man up our forwards.

I think he is aware of the problem, and is trying to overcome it. He's improved on it a lot this year and is doing more creative things with the pill. (This caper of identifying a weakness and working on it until it's eliminated is a characteristic of champion players: look at how Swan has gone over the journey, relentlessly eliminating the weaknesses in his game, one by one, to the point where he wound up with a Chaz. Don't be surprised if Sidey doesn't pick one up himself one of these days.)

Agree, the sideways disposal and the stop and prop possessions the only flaws in his game that require some improvement and more often than not the cause of much supporter frustration.