Rating our list 2020 Zaine Cordy 12

[Hotdog60]

The list rating still goes on as we continue to evaluate each player on our list starting with the highest number Lin Jong down to Matthew Suckling.
The poll will run for a week and when your post in the poll if you can give a reason on your thoughts so we can share your insights.
At the end we'll see how our list looks in the eyes of WOOF members.

[Hotdog60]

A few stats:
Age : 24
Height: 193cm
Weight: 90Kg
Games: 85

Cordy joined the Club his father Brian played 124 games for, with the Western Bulldogs’ fourth round selection (pick No. 62 overall) at the 2014 NAB AFL Draft. A versatile and athletic tall defender, Cordy was rated a top-30 prospect leading into the 2014 NAB AFL Draft, but slipped through to the fourth round during the father-son bidding process in what has proven to be a bargain for the Bulldogs. Cordy possesses all the right qualities in a defender, he is super competitive, and has the versatility to play on a range of opponents. Despite his pedigree as a defender, it was as a forward that Cordy earned his nine senior games in 2016 - including the Bulldogs' stunning finals run. Cordy was a member of the Western Bulldogs 2016 AFL Premiership Team. Since the premiership season, Cordy has returned to defence where he has become a mainstay of the Bulldogs' back six. The defender notched his 50th career game as 22-year-old in Round 2, 2019.

LINK (https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/players/1084/zaine-cordy)

[The Adelaide Connection]

Much maligned, but I think he is still best 22 or thereabouts. Often asked to compete against players much bigger than him and has a bit of mongrel and feistiness that we often generally lack.

I often wonder why, when things really aren't working (the oppositions forward line is getting on top and Naughton et al can't get near it), why we don't consider spinning the magnets within games by throwing the bigger Naughton back for a period and move Zaine forward (circa 2016).

[GVGjr]

I agree with TAC, Cordy gets a a bit more criticism than deserved and I really like the way he competes.
As TAC has also mentioned, he's versatile enough to be thrown forward and he's done OK in the ruck at times

[bulldogsthru&thru]

When he has a bad game, he has a shocker. He can be a dumb footballer at times. Frustrating to watch. But then you look at this profile and forget how young he is and also how much smaller he is than the opponents he comes up against. 193cm is tiny for a CHB these days. In that case, can he actually play on the monsters? If not, then what exactly is his role? He's not an interceptor either so I think this is his issue.

He certainly has flexibility to play forward/back/ruck and has that mongrel about him that we sorely lack. His tackle on Kennedy against the eagles was one of the plays of our season. Time is on his side but he needs to establish a clear role for himself. At present I don't know what that is.

[bornadog]

When he has a bad game, he has a shocker. He can be a dumb footballer at times. Frustrating to watch. But then you look at this profile and forget how young he is and also how much smaller he is than the opponents he comes up against. 193cm is tiny for a CHB these days. In that case, can he actually play on the monsters? If not, then what exactly is his role? He's not an interceptor either so I think this is his issue.

He certainly has flexibility to play forward/back/ruck and has that mongrel about him that we sorely lack. His tackle on Kennedy against the eagles was one of the plays of our season. Time is on his side but he needs to establish a clear role for himself. At present I don't know what that is.

I agree in your overall assessment of Cordy, however, I think his ideal role is third tall. As you say he is not tall enough to play the CHB/FB role but I think he competes hard against some of the taller players, so is suited to play teams that have the three talls in their forward line. He has also played on smaller players, when teams don't have the third tall.

We have sometimes tended to go with Wood, or Crozier as a tall third, but it doesn't always work, as they need to use their leap, and lots can go wrong..

I think Cordy is still best 22.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

I agree in your overall assessment of Cordy, however, I think his ideal role is third tall. As you say he is not tall enough to play the CHB/FB role but I think he competes hard against some of the taller players, so is suited to play teams that have the three talls in their forward line. He has also played on smaller players, when teams don't have the third tall.

We have sometimes tended to go with Wood, or Crozier as a tall third, but it doesn't always work, as they need to use their leap, and lots can go wrong..

I think Cordy is still best 22.

I think he can be best 22 as well. But it may be that against certain teams he misses out. In the final against the saints we functioned a lot better down back after he went down which is interesting because they essentially have 3 talls and I agree that he is suited to the 3rd tall. I don't think we have the mix exactly nailed down in defence when playing three talls. It's something that might come with time playing together.
The other issue with Zaine is he is quite slow once the ball hits the deck so playing on a smaller opponent usually doesn't work out too well.

[comrade]

Reckon he enjoyed himself in the hub if this end of season shot of his physique is anything to go by:

https://i.ibb.co/Qb8cw3V/D63-CF7-E3-FE51-43-FF-A38-E-27408-D686931.jpg (https://ibb.co/mDvBWVK)

Looks nothing like a professional athlete and no surprises he struggled in 2020.

Barely AFL quality for mine: can’t intercept mark, iffy kicking, beaten one on one too often and regularly makes terrible decisions.

[Hotdog60]

Not wanting to derail my own thread but could he be one of the players in the Dunks not professional excuse.

[hujsh]

That's a terrible look.

I was going to ask if he's maybe a bit like Hargrave who was played on the talls early and struggled before becoming a solid defender of the smalls but... not if that's how he's turning up...

[bornadog]

Not wanting to derail my own thread but could he be one of the players in the Dunks not professional excuse.

On the other hand Buku has a great physique.

[hujsh]

On the other hand Buku has a great physique.

That's Buku? Looks in ripping shape. Hope he makes it even more seeing he's clearly putting in the work

[Vred]

On the other hand Buku has a great physique.

Buku actually makes Zaine look really bad.. Maybe we see a Buku breakout next year?

Zaine in the first half of 2020 played some excellent games, seemed to drop of a bit towards the end of the season.

[comrade]

That's a terrible look.

I was going to ask if he's maybe a bit like Hargrave who was played on the talls early and struggled before becoming a solid defender of the smalls but... not if that's how he's turning up...

I sent the photo to my brother who battles in the 2s in the Geelong Football League, and he reckons most amateurs getting round that league are in better nick than Zaine.

[FrediKanoute]

That's a terrible look.

I was going to ask if he's maybe a bit like Hargrave who was played on the talls early and struggled before becoming a solid defender of the smalls but... not if that's how he's turning up...

Hargrave is who he reminds me of and like Shaggy he has a lot of misses before nailing his role. Zaine will get better. Before his pec injury he was probably our best defender. Can't play him and Gardner IMO

[Rocket Science]

Who the hell's looking at that poolside snap with any measure of shock? Zaine's had the same physique for 5 years.

Stop playing him as a key defender because we're forced to and he'll bleed for us in the best possible way.

[comrade]

Who the hell's looking at that poolside snap with any measure of shock? Zaine's had the same physique for 5 years.

Stop playing him as a key defender because we're forced to and he'll bleed for us in the best possible way.

In what role? Can’t kick, doesn’t mark, doesn’t rebound. Yeah, he’s ‘tough’ but what else does he have to his game?

[Go_Dogs]

In what role? Can’t kick, doesn’t mark, doesn’t rebound. Yeah, he’s ‘tough’ but what else does he have to his game?

He probably takes over from Wood eventually as that third tall who has limited offensive impact. The problem at the moment is we have too many players doing that role.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

He probably takes over from Wood eventually as that third tall who has limited offensive impact. The problem at the moment is we have too many players doing that role.

Wood has (did have?) great athletiscm. Zaine is the opposite. It's almost as if the game has passed him unfortunately. The "talls" he can play on are now far too quick for him. I just don't see where we can play him. He'll continue to get games for us unfortunately because our key defender stocks are so thin but that's to our detriment.

[GVGjr]

Wood has (did have?) great athletiscm. Zaine is the opposite. It's almost as if the game has passed him unfortunately. The "talls" he can play on are now far too quick for him. I just don't see where we can play him. He'll continue to get games for us unfortunately because our key defender stocks are so thin but that's to our detriment.

He probably should be playing the role Bruce is. He makes a contest, he can play in the ruck and when you look at 2016 he can kick a goal when played forward

[soupman]

There is a role for him if he becomes that aggressive, versatile defender he looked like becoming early.

His last two seasons have been pretty crap though. I think he has lost something like the most one on ones out of everybody in the league in that time period and has had multiple moments where he has been caught out of position. If he is going to be a good player we need to be able to rely on him to be practically unbeatable and to have a positive impact on those around him. Atm he is heavily failing at the first and hasn't been able to lend as much support to others as i would like. He is currently playing like a medium defender that can't rebound and keeps being asked to play on guys too big for him.


He may be best 22 but thats only because the guys he is competing with for his spot are Ryan Gardner, Lewis Young and Easton Wood.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

He probably should be playing the role Bruce is. He makes a contest, he can play in the ruck and when you look at 2016 he can kick a goal when played forward

Yeah he could do that role for sure. However that should be a true ruckmans role. Any other player and it's a waste of a position. It was disappointing that is what became the role of Josh Bruce. If that is a pass mark for him again in 2021 we won't make progress.

[azabob]

He probably should be playing the role Bruce is. He makes a contest, he can play in the ruck and when you look at 2016 he can kick a goal when played forward

Why would you want to replicate what worked in 2016? It wasn’t like we won the flag or anything...

[GVGjr]

Why would you want to replicate what worked in 2016? It wasn’t like we won the flag or anything...

I think he could have done a better job over the season than Bruce did. At least Cordy would be picked on merit