Hi Rowsus, hope you're travelling well over there in Denmark, start of the season is almost on us. Just reflecting in your excellent Rockliff piece in Janurary, just wondering what you thought about Beams vs Rockliff in a selection sense. Starting to think Rockliff's high price might be a bit of a risk and Beams could be just as good value at $80k less. Any thoughts would be kindly appreciated.
Hi Drew, I'm travelling ok, but after being unemployed (again!) for the last 3 months, I'd love a job again!
There is no doubt risk built in with Rocky's price, and a strong possibility that Beams could out perform Rocky with $80k in your pocket.
The thing that keeps bringing me back to Rocky is, he is actually the historical benchmark!
Looking at players the debuted in 2005 or after: The figures after each player are what they achieved after 50 or 100 games.
Rocky is the leader of those that have played 50 games or more. After 50 games he averaged 100.2, Barlow is second placed at 99.3. For the record, Selwood was 94.0, Pendlebury 88.8, and Fyfe 94.5. Rocky is also first in 100+ scores at 50 games with 52%, 120+ games with 28%, and 140+ games with 12%.
Rocky is the leader of those that have played 100 games or more. After 100 games he averaged 105.7, Selwood is 2nd with 103.8. Rocky is 2nd for 100+ scores with 57%, Selwood is 1st with 59% and Pendlebury 3rd with 50%. Rocky is 2nd for 120+ scores with 33%, Selwood is first with 37%. Rocky is 1st for 140+ scores with 17%, Selwood is 2nd with 12%, and Pendlebury equal 3rd with Dangerfield at 9%.
It's that last stat that attracts me so much. Rocky has played 101 games (his 101st game was 170!), and across his Whole career he is scoring 140+ scores at a rate better than 1 in 6 (17.8%), and at that same stage of their relative careers,
twice as fast as anyone except Selwood! Add to that, that he has scored more points than anyone that debuted during 2005 or later for the same stage of their careers, and he looks like he could be heading towards Ablett/Swan/Pendlebury/Selwood status at a very fast rate. That high rate of 140+ scores means, that even if he throws in a 90, and gets a big B/E somewhere, just like Ablett, he's a chance to reach it anyway!