UNPOPULAR AFL OPINIONS (May 2024)

Go to https://betterhelp.com/truefooty for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #advert

Jesse reacts to your Unpopular AFL Opinions!

good day guys welcome back to the truest of football YouTube channels today we are bringing back a series that I know you enjoy the unpopular opinion so I ask you guys to supply your unpopular AFL opinions through the YouTube Community tab you guys have come through very strongly as you so often do and I am going to respond to your unpopular opinions and tell you what I think before we crack into it I do notice that about 60% of the people that have watched True footy videos over the last month have not actually hit subscribed that’s the highest I’ve seen that number in a while if you are enjoying the content and want to see more content I’d really appreciate if you subscribe to the channel and help me grow it great so without further Ado let’s crack into your unpopular opinion some of these are more popular than unpopular but either way we’re just going to have a footy chat so the first one is D rocket who says Zack Merritt has been the most consistent midfielder of the last eight years so to start off I don’t think this is too unpopular I think when it comes to consistency Zack Meritt is one of the first names I think of um at the moment we’re discussing this at a time where he has just you know got a bit of attention for kicking three goals and having 30 against uh West Coast not a huge goal kicking midfielder uh that being said but when he’s kicked three goals it’s nice to see him in the spotlight he has been a terrific player so looking at the last eight years so going back to 2016 in other words he’s won four best and feris they were kind of like equally spaced out three all Australians and probably a number of those as well where was in the Australian Squad and didn’t quite make it in that same time period he’s averaged between 27 and 31 a half disposals every year since 2016 The Only Exception Is 2020 where he averaged 26.2 so in terms of just like consistent output Zack Meritt is one of the most consistent players in the competition so again I don’t think that’s wildly you know crazy I think Loy Neil might be another one who has been terrifically consistent can’t remember Loy Neil having a real down year that being said if it’s over eight years you know I think Loi Neil was pretty good when he left freem Mano but he certainly took his game to the next level or at least in my opinion but Loy Neil is probably a good Contender for that next one we have from Naga and Marcelo with a couple of Sina ones Naga first of all says sina’s list needs a compl complete rebuild and Marcelo says Darcy Wilson could win the rising star maybe to start with a Darcy Wilson rising star one that’s a bit of a hot one because Darcy Wilson just played you know his best game at a a level three goals 21 possessions against North Melbourne and I think in the rising star odds he is now second behind Harley Reed I’ll be it a fair way back in second um I don’t disagree he could certainly win the rising star the unsexy answer here is a lot of it comes down to how many games these guys play because if somebody gets injured it’s going to throw that into chaos I mean Darcy Wilson could absolutely the rising star like I said in the football come down this week you know he’s shown an ability to hit the scoreboard he’s shown an ability to show up you know at at crucial moments and um you know I think he’d be a worthy winner I still think Harley Reid probably will win it if he plays enough games you know I think he’s been pretty pretty damn good uh it has to be said a bit of an understatement there I do think George wardor is still a candidate for this he played really well in the same game he had 22 touches and a goal the only argument against wlor is will his body hold up because not only because of you know hamstring issues but he’s also a very crash and Bash inside mid whereas you know highley re and Darcy Wilson without double-checking both of them are probably getting more uncontested than contested ball and that might affect wo’s ability to win the rising star so I think it’s from those three at the moment murch is probably the next best as well um but that is my long winded wave saying I think Wilson could win it for sure now sin K’s list needs a rebuild that is a huge call I think if I’m not mistaken nagar is a s k a fan I’m going to strongly disagree with this I think the young core of Talent at Sina is it’s probably not even underrated I think is well known I suppose at this current point in time Sina aren’t looking crash hot but let me throw some names at here first of all Max King is 24 this year and you know should be an Elite key forward in my opinion Macho Owens naah Wang millera Matas philipo Darcy Wilson Marcus windhager Liam Henry I also really like Lance Collard and Jack Higgins is barely 25 years old so when you say rebuild it it implies just like throw it out and start again or I think in a position now with this young core it might be this young core that takes them to the the promised land rather than the the group we’re seeing right now cuz it’s a mature team and they’re horribly underperforming I don’t think that’s a talent thing but if I’m s I’m not looking at rebuilding like going to the draft as it turns out they might have a top eight pick you know the way the season’s going at the moment so that might you know sort itself out they’re probably going to add through the draft but I’d be targeting guys in the 21 to 26 bracket and I probably even be looking at free agency so I’m going to disagree I think they’re under performing horribly at the moment in a really rough patch of form but I think that Talent there if they can harness that that’s already a really good group I don’t think a rebuild is necessary get guys just letting you know that this video is brought to you in a paid partnership with betterhelp betterhelp is a service that helps connect you with a credential therapist who is trained to listen and give helpful unbiased advice the prospect of starting therapy can be quite a challenging proposition it may be the case that the right therapist for you and your specific needs doesn’t live in the same error as you or sometimes people find the face the face aspect of it quite challenging the better help service helps overcome these challenges because you can schedule your therapy sessions first of all at your convenience and you can do them via phone call video chat or messaging if that’s what you prefer how you get started is you click on the link in the description of this video that takes you to a questionnaire which helps them assess your specific needs and in most cases you will be matched with a therapist within 48 hours and another helpful aspect of it is if you’re matched with a therapist that you don’t think is right for you you can switch to a different one at no additional cost so if you think you are someone who could benefit from from therapy consider betterhelp and click the link in the description or go to betterhelp.com Troy clicking that link below both supports the channel but also gets you 10% off your first month with better help so you can speak to a therapist and see if it helps you the next couple are around Carlton particularly their key forward so the first one says Charlie kerno is not in the top four five forwards in the game right now and Skipper FC says Harry McKai has been one of the best forwards in the comp this season and by extension better than Charlie in my opinion so I I I think it’s a bit rough to say kerno is not the top five forwards in the comp because he is leading the common when you break down statistically the comparison between him and Mai I do actually agree makai’s probably had the better year despite having a few less goals it also depends when you say Ford are we talking Kei Ford my mind immediately goes to Kei Ford but we’ll get to that so first of all maai versus Kono 22 goals versus 25 so not much difference maai considering they’re in the same FL line too makai’s had a bit more of the ball 14 and a half disposals versus 13 um he’s averaging eight marks to 6.2 contested marks as well is pretty line Ball but bear in mind maai leads the competition for contested marks he’s getting a lot more tackles three and a half tackles to keros 1 and score involvements is 7 and a half to 7.2 overall both have kicked you know I Tred to see like who performed best in big games and Makai stands out because the Lions um performance you know back in the opening round but generally speaking theyve both hit the scoreboard in important games against quality opposition so I think it’s harsh to say konos hasn’t had a good year but I do agree that Mai’s probably been more of a Stand Out despite kicking less goals as for the top five forwards in the competition I think you can make the case they’re both in there the other like right now Waterman and Hogan got to be in there they’re second and third in the common Ben King has kicked a lot of goals this year bayy frit as well if you’re you opening it up to not just key forwards and even though Jeremy Cameron you know here was goalless last week generally probably still in the top five forwards so depends how you exactly you frame it but I think it’s a little harsh on KERO we got a couple around the Western bulldogs and they’re both conflicting AFL Legend says the Bulldogs list is very overhyped and their problems won’t be completely fixed with a new coach and then Gussy msto great name says Luke beverage is not the problem and needs to stay for another season as the problem at the Bulldogs is more of a list issue what are my thoughts on this I don’t think the Bulldogs list is overhyped I don’t I think it’s more like there’s a high level expectation because we know the quality that those Bulldogs in question can produce I still think there’s a very high quality core there bondon P best player in the game in my opinion Liberator is the second best clearance player in the comp bear in mind we put a pin in that right now like the concussion thing really concerns me but as far as Talent goes they got Norton they got Jamara they got tror I know there’s been some question marks on tror he’s producing a lot his buuse hasn’t been great Ed Richards is a gun Cody waitman has been you know he’s been really good this year I think it’s the middle tier that’s possibly Dr dropped off you know Jack McCrae used to be a key player Rory lob you know maybe not an a grader at any point but probably should be playing better than he has we’ve seen Caleb will be dropped we’ve seen biley Dale be dropped if I’m not mistaken Bailey Williams has been solid but I don’t know if he’s the player that he was and johanneson you know North medalist again not a bad player but I don’t I think maybe it’s that group of players that has contributed partially to them dropping off it’s not the top tier it’s the it’s the support the Bulldogs are in a bit of a unique position it’s interesting like I saw beverage say um and I probably am going to do a Bulldogs video in its own right but I saw beverage say you know he doesn’t believe in rebuilds you can’t rebuild in the modern game I kind of think that’s very easy to say you know in the position that the dogs are in cuz they’ve compiled the whole stack of talent some of that has been through good trading and drafting some of that has been a bit of luck with your Academy and father son but either way I think beverage probably already knows how good the young Talent is let me list some names for you Riley Sanders is going to be a star Jamari ugle haen Sam Darcy I’m a huge fan of Jordan Croft is another first round key position four they’ve added to their list James O’Donnell is an underrated Young Gun buzzling hasn’t played a game but I still think is a high level Talent guys like buku kasas waitman is 23 Norton is 24 turning 25 this year I’m not sure when his birthday is so that is a whole stack of under 24 talent in the same way that I just listed heap of Sina young players both of these sides are very well equipped to go forward whether beverage is going to be the right coach is a completely different question Jay amazing says Dylan Moore is a top five small forward in 2024 I don’t think this is a bad call you don’t need to sell me on how good Dyan Moore is from his eight games he’s at 18 disposals a game five marks a goal and a half a game three and a half tackle the only you know comeback to this I would say is do we consider Dylan Mo a traditional small forward I kind of think him as a high running forward who impacts through the Midfield and gets the ball inside 50 and the reason that’s important is because if we’re going to compare him to other small forwards the other small forwards that are you know well known are the guys who kick goals so there’s Isaac Rankin I think is up there Shay Balton both of those guys do play high at the ground but I don’t know if I consider more a real like crumming small forward ranking and Bolton both have more goals this year as to Paul Curtis Jamie Elliot Tyson stangle Cody waitman like pure small forwards bayy frit is kind of more of a medium forward all of them have more goals but I don’t think that is a fair way to assess Dylan Moore so I don’t really know what I’m saying here I’m I’m always comparing him to other high forwards of the competition you’d say Isaac ranking is in that group you know someone like a b b anworth guys who push up and and assist at stoppages rather than inside 50 small forwards long story short I think he’s an absolute gun I just in my head I find it tricky to categorize him we got a bunch of West Coast ones some good input here West Coast Fans so Shan Christie friend of the channel says West Coast are ahead of expectations L jet says Adam Simpson will remain his coach after all the Improvement shown this year yeah to quickly I I’ll agree with that I think Adam Simpson is fairly safe we’ve seen the required Improvement um you know I think a lot has to be said for getting some players back I’ve been saying that all offseason and was dismissed and uh we are seeing a clear Improvement there I I kind of always said that West Coast should probably still a bottom four side and that’s what they are um but when you take all the best players out of a bottom four side of course things get as bad as they did so they’ve definitely exceeded outside expectations you know more optimistic Eagles fans this is probably about right for what we expected bearing in mind I did have a second last so yeah have to agree Gary Jeffrey says West Coast will finish higher on the lad than S Cuda Jack darling and Bailey Williams will be dropped when Oscar Allen and Matt Flynn are ready to play and then luke8 says yo Waterman and mcgaven will be in the all Australian Squad so to start off with the sinila thing I think that that relies a lot on Sina falling off because I think when I look at the two sides yes you know s in in in different form and West Coast have had a pretty good month I am reluctant to back Us in too much considering we don’t have the squad depth of other teams right now you look at the waffle and who’s supporting that I think we’re getting a lot out of our best players at the moment and two of them will miss this week against Collingwood so we’ll start to see the the depth exposed and that’s where I think we might come unstuck this year so I don’t think we’ll finish higher than Cuda as for darling and bayy Williams being dropped maybe darling maybe darling for Oscar Allen I I think bayy Williams is too good to get dropped so I’d probably go with a forward line of bayy Williams Allen and Waterman to start and then have marrick and Jack Williams as depth but that you know who knows Williams of the Jack variety might go better than bayy as a as a second Ruck and you know forward bayy Williams is the better actual Ruck so we’ll see but there’s no guarantee Matthew Flynn comes in and sets the world on fire either as for yo Waterman and mcgaven as it currently stands I think if you did a rolling top 40 both all three of these players would be in I’d have Waterman and yo on the field to be honest and mcgaven probably ad depth key position Defender to what extent can they keep it up you know y just heard his groin competitive for Midfield spots we’ll see but I like the call all three have been outstanding this year Adam says Hawthorne are still a chance of making the eight I really don’t think so I really don’t think so now we did see them last year start you know with a couple of sloppy months as it were and then come good I just don’t think they have the depth or consistency to really push for the eight but we might see a year like last year where they come out and start putting some distance between them and the and the worst teams at the comp I think that’s fair to say I just think you know it’s too competitive for the eight I don’t see it couple of goal Coast ones now random stream says will gra is the next mat R and Cory blackl says goal Coast were overhyped in the preseason to make finals they won’t finish in the top 10 even with the easier draw so to start off on Will Graham he is second in the league for tackles per game 8.2 tackles per game and that is that is raal like raal is a very clearance heavy and tackling heavy player for sure um by comparison you know as you’d understand Graham doesn’t win the same clearances he’s only played five games he’s averaging about three though which is very solid considering he’s attended 44% of Center bounces for the go co Sun so he looks like an absolute jet I actually think he might be a bit more balanced than Ral but I won’t go as far as to say he’ll be as good as Ral because I think raal is going to be a gun as for the overall expectations on go Coast yeah I was watching Luke Hodge talk about this I think on SC and he made a good point you know why do we expect golos to improve rapidly I think I myself included got a little excited about some of the best form I still had them missing the eight um so the fact that they’re languishing at the moment maybe it’s not the end of the world but I I do think they’ve been pretty poor in some of the games against quality opposition o footy says Brisbane don’t make the finals this year you know what this isn’t a bad take because their injury list is ridiculous so I’ve actually written it down they have five players currently recovering from acl’s that’s absurd I I heard again on SC that they’re investigating where it’s the gabber but there’s never been a problem before so I doubt it’s that but Kitty Coleman Tom to Darcy Gardner Lincoln McCarthy all out for the season the fifth player is Will ashro who’s recovering from an ACL last season they got starich out for a month Bailey out for two to three weeks and Robertson and answorth out for two weeks probably less important plays but either way the the depth is starting to erode a little bit and um yes I think this might be a painful second half of the year for the Brisbane Lions the Silver Lining is that they could possibly you know expose some of the young depth we’ve seen flashes of good young players there like tons is another player that I’ve noticed that I think could be a good player at AFL level it could be a silver lining like that so we’ll see but I think brisman making finals now looks increasingly tough zav void says K Shad de would be the greatest number 35 in the 21st century when he retires and he puts sorry Nick deos um yeah by default I don’t think he’s going to do that but very encouraging debut two goals eight disposals five marks uh for a guy who was taken at the end of the draft last year as a bit of a afterthought father Su I mean that respectfully but you know Jake wman was another the guys who get bit on with like the final pick of the draft and uh to debut in round eight and play well that’s outstanding and a heartwarming story as well there’s some good footage of him in Gunston um Gunston telling him he’s going to debut we got a few ESS and ones now tiger storm 47 says Nick Martin wins the brown Low by one vote and Mario man says essam will win the Premiership this year I don’t see the Premiership happening this year I think they are on the right track for sure yeah I mean it’s very easy for me to say probably not um I I think they need to take a few more scalps drawing with cing was a good start they still didn’t win and their their biggest opponent this year other than that was probably the power and they lost that heavily they lost to Sydney by five goals and I thought they played pretty well uh either way they should they should make finals right as for Nick Martin is not a terrible call he’s top five in the league for disposals with 31.2 he’s ranked third in the league for meters gains and he hasn’t had less than 25 touches in a game and His Highest was 44 and ESS is winning game so he could pull some votes it depends to what extent you think ESS will continue winning games that will ultimately affect that and Zack Merritt’s in some prettyy handy form as well we got a couple on Nick deos and bond so Billy chook says Nick deos is an above average player top 30 for sure definitely not top 10 soccer short says 944 socker sh is 944 says bont and Nick deos are both overrated so I’m going to disagree with this I think as an aside I just recently did a video top 20 players in 5 years you still have some top tier players in the top 20 and I’m sure the top 30 as well like you could go through the top and find some a grade players or players that you’d describe off the top of your head as a grade I still think top 30 is probably a little bit harsh with a cost so I mean look at his performance against Caron let’s break it down 32 disposals 16 contested possessions and that’s probably the balance you want for a guy who uses the ball like he does he laid seven tackles he had seven clearances he had six inside 50s 626 M gained and two goals to claim the medal and he kicked the goal to win the game he also attended 89% of Center bounces so you know he’s not playing on the half back flank anymore that performance was a pure Inside Out Midfield performance I don’t think top 30 is right I think as for top 10 that’s hard to quantify the thing we have to also acknowledge he hasn’t had been amazing first couple of months since start the season but that is the performance of a top tier player and we know what he can do I disagree on bond I still think bont is the best midfielder he hasn’t been the best midfielder this year but I think on ability he is and you know despite not really hitting Top Gear this year he’s still ranked second in goal assists he’s getting 5 and a half tackles a game fifth in score involvements fourth in contested possessions and six clearances a game and like I said probably hasn’t had the Midfield support around him other than Liberatore and you know probably hasn’t even hit full flight yet and I think this guy is just so balanced with what he can do so many ways he can hurt you he Glides across the field he doesn’t look like he’s trying but he’s still putting space between him and his opponent he is tackling he’s defensively minded he’s going forward and kicking goals goal and a half a game as well I disagree that he’s overrated I love him Rob Max says fro look better when Jackson is the S run signing both rockmen big deals would prove to be a mistake so they’ve won two out of three games since Darcy came back if I’m not mistaken other than you know running into the Juggernaut that is the West Coast Eagles as for signing them both are big deals I think you have to consider like what else should they have done and what would have any other team done you know I think it would have been a crazy risk to say you know what sha DIY we got Luke Jackson you can go away now uh I don’t think that’s how good football clubs run I understand the uh point about having a lot of money tied up in rucks but they’re still probably the number one Ruck youer in the the competition my response to here is to give it time I do think Luke Jackson when he was playing as the number one rock was having an elite season and since then there’s been a clear drop in output but give him some time to to move back into that role as well and play as a more of a forward who supports by hitting the scoreboard I totally get where you’re coming from but I still I I think there’s potential there I would give it time three-prong forward line of Amos Tracy and Jackson I think that has some potential now C says alir is heavily overrated interesting um you know I’m I’m not going to lie to you I haven’t really paid close attention so I ran some stats on comparing this season to his 2021 season where he was all Australian I still think he’s a good player but there has been a clear drop off he’s averaging three less effective disposals a game a clear drop off in contested possessions 1 percentage is like 40% down contested marks he’s averaging two a game back in 2021 that’s down to 0.9 made his gain is quite a bit down intercepts down from 8.7 that year to 6.3 and his super coach score and again it’s just a silly way of looking at it but super coach does give you a bit more of an indication than fantasy and that’s down from 87 to 65 so there’s been a clear statistical drop off and it was a little bit of an outlier That season I think 2022 he was still okay 2023 was reflecting more what he’s doing this year by that logic I suppose he is overrated a little bit but uh I still think there is a chance that he he returns to some of his best football but I suppose he’s you know he’s not young anymore I think he turns 29 this year we got a few quick ones to Rattle off AFL snap says West Coast will beat king with this week I haven’t TI dust but I have a funny feeling we’re going to play well but the yo and Morman outs make me feel a little bit iffy about that ganging Wars says Harley Reid is better than Nick dayos so the way you phrase that is that he’s currently better I I kind agree with that yeah it’s an interesting one though they are very different players and it’s a little bit like comparing Patrick Dangerfield to Andrew McLoud like they’re just quite different I I think both of these guys do things the other the other will probably never be able to do Harley is an amazing contested player still more of an outside Le play because his skills and his Pace are really good so you actually want him getting more uncontested ball than contested Ball but he goes forward he flies for hangers incredibly hard to tackle and he can just get that burth separation that even deos doesn’t quite have but deos can run all day works really hard from contest to contest and is also extremely well-rounded lazy’s tackles probably a better defensive player than Harley at the moment so I’m not comparing the two at the moment Nick Doos is a better player right now as for who do you want on your team well you know if if Reed becomes a bonafide grade A Plus midfielder and Doos never fully makes that transition then you could say that Aly might have him covered and that’s still down to your preference because I think running defenders in the way that deos is are still important so I don’t really have a horse in this race I don’t really care who’s better out of them but I I certainly would stop short of saying that Reed is better than Doos right now crazy ninja gamer says Jake Wardman has has been the best forward in the competition in the last month I don’t know if that’s an unpopular opinion but I feel like it could be he he might have been yeah yeah he probably has been considering like it’s his work rate um that has allowed him to get in so many good positions to take those marks he’s also been pretty clutch in terms of his goal kicking has been good his field kicking has been good his endurance is unreal he covers the ground so well I think that’s fair to say and finally Max Hansen says the Eagles 2023 indigenous gy is better than the 2024 one big call I’ll get them both up on the screen so you can look at it my personal preference is I quite like the 2024 one is my favorites but they generally all been nice so that’ll wrap up this month’s version of unpopular opinions guys this is one of my favorite ones I enjoy this chat so let me know in the comments what you think and for now I’ll say goodbye and I’ll see you in the next one cheers