Will Steven Tiller still be at the club in 2011?

[GVGjr]

Along the lines of the Mitch Hahn thread and poll.

Do you think there is a spot for Stephen Tiller on the list next season?

If he is kept on what role will he play?

[The Pie Man]

I voted no to the question 'will he still be at the club' but I actually think he deserves another year to challenge the likes of Shaggy for a spot. Robbed of any continuity to really challenge since a promising 08 finals series.

[The Coon Dog]

Yes, I think he can play & if he gets his body right he could be handy as a sub, given he can play both forward & back.

[GVGjr]

Yes, I think he can play & if he gets his body right he could be handy as a sub, given he can play both forward & back.

Has been used up forward much in the last 2 years even at Williamstown?
I sort of think we have given up on that for Tiller.

He adds depth but I guess it comes down to if we think he is ahead of Markovic, Mulligan and Boumann.

[Desipura]

Has been used up forward much in the last 2 years even at Williamstown?
I sort of think we have given up on that for Tiller.

He adds depth but I guess it comes down to if we think he is ahead of Markovic, Mulligan and Boumann.

If Hargrave copped an injury, I would rather play Tiller then Mulligan or Boumann. At least Tiller has shown he can play a role within the team.
Mulligan is a kpp and Boumann is neither kpp or HBF.

[GVGjr]

If Hargrave copped an injury, I would rather play Tiller then Mulligan or Boumann. At least Tiller has shown he can play a role within the team.
Mulligan is a kpp and Boumann is neither kpp or HBF.

I think we have guys like Wood who can play the position and play above his height along with Murphy. With Sherman, Gilbee, Wood, Murphy and even Ward all capable of playing a back flankers role I'm less concerned at our mid sized depth for the back line.

Is it still worth keeping Tiller on just as a depth player? If he's in the best 30 then perhaps that is OK but I'm sure that he is. Won't be too disappointed if we keep him but I think he would be lucky to hold his spot.

[Desipura]

I think we have guys like Wood who can play the position and play above his height along with Murphy. With Sherman, Gilbee, Wood, Murphy and even Ward all capable of playing a back flankers role I'm less concerned at our mid sized depth for the back line.

Is it still worth keeping Tiller on just as a depth player? If he's in the best 30 then perhaps that is OK but I'm sure that he is. Won't be too disappointed if we keep him but I think he would be lucky to hold his spot.
A good question you ask. The same question I had why we kept Hahn & Eagle and recruited Markovic, all depth players if someone gets injured.

[Cyberdoggie]

If you don't move players on that have been there long enough then the younger players never get there go.

If we keep players like Hahn, they seem to get opportunities above younger players, whether it be at Williamstown seniors or at the dogs. The point is that they are taking someone elses spot. If they are not in our long term plans and are only there for a depth or "just in case" scenario then the club aren't recruiting strongly enough.

If either of these two play next year then we clearly have no depth.

[LostDoggy]

I voted no.

[Mantis]

If either of these two play next year then we clearly have no depth.

We really have no cover for Morris or Hargrave (as mid-sized defenders and not to mention Lake & Williams) so we probably need to keep one of Tiller or Hahn on and with Tiller being 5 or 6 years younger and with room to improve he should be the one picked.

[bornadog]

Has been used up forward much in the last 2 years even at Williamstown?
I sort of think we have given up on that for Tiller.

He adds depth but I guess it comes down to if we think he is ahead of Markovic, Mulligan and Boumann.

You can't compare Tiller to those three. They are genuine talls, whereas at best Tiller is a HBF or HFF. I vote yes as a back up to Shaggy and Morris as all are around the same height. However, I don't think Tiller can play on smalls.

[GVGjr]

You can't compare Tiller to those three. They are genuine talls, whereas at best Tiller is a HBF or HFF. I vote yes as a back up to Shaggy and Morris as all are around the same height. However, I don't think Tiller can play on smalls.

The main point that most have said about maintaining Tiller, even though he really hasn't been able to get onto the park for a couple of years, is he is the only player that can back-up Morris or Hargrave.
If this is such a priority it really makes me wonder why we didn't go after Faulks with more vigor.

[bornadog]

The main point that most have said about maintaining Tiller, even though he really hasn't been able to get onto the park for a couple of years, is he is the only player that can back-up Morris or Hargrave.
If this is such a priority it really makes me wonder why we didn't go after Faulks with more vigor.

Maybe we can't see him in any other role. Could he get himself right to be in our best 22, I would then vote a no.

[GVGjr]

Maybe we can't see him in any other role. Could he get himself right to be in our best 22, I would then vote a no.

Here is the thing. If Markovic is only there to back-up Williams and Lake and is very unlikely to get a game at any other time and Tiller is the same for Morris and Hargrave then I suppose we could have kept Callan on to back-up Wood and Gilbee. Where do you draw the line?
We probably lack a back-up to Jones and Grant so do we keep Hahn on for that reason?

TCD mentioned that Tiller might be a good sub player because of his ability to play both as a defender or a forward and that is the best argument I have read so far for his retention.
I get the logic of why people see some value in him but typically for a player that has had to work through as many set backs as Tiller has when you actually need him there is a chance he will be injured anyway.

[Bulldog4life]

I would keep Tiller for 2 reasons 1/because of his versatility 2/ injuries ruined 2010 for him and hopefully with a full pre season behind him he could show marked improvement.

[LostDoggy]

I'd prefer to keep him over Boumann, Mulligan and Markovic if we want defensive cover .

[LostDoggy]

You can't compare Tiller to those three. They are genuine talls, whereas at best Tiller is a HBF or HFF. I vote yes as a back up to Shaggy and Morris as all are around the same height. However, I don't think Tiller can play on smalls.
Maybe as a 3rd tall in defensive? He beats all the 3 talls previously named for talent.

[Mofra]

I'd prefer to keep him over Boumann, Mulligan and Markovic if we want defensive cover .
Tiller has performed at AFL level so he would have those three covered IMO.
He is taller than Shaggy & Morris and has genuine mongrel. I'd keep him for one more year.

[mighty_west]

Maybe as a 3rd tall in defensive? He beats all the 3 talls previously named for talent.

Tiller beats Markovic for pace, he beats Boumann for attitude & work ethic & beats Mulligan for talent & footy smarts.

No problems what so ever to be kept as back up.

[GVGjr]

Tiller beats Markovic for pace, he beats Boumann for attitude & work ethic & beats Mulligan for talent & footy smarts.

No problems what so ever to be kept as back up.


I get when you mean but you could also have a look at it this way:
Boumann is quicker and more athletic making him ideal to play as a 3rd tall defender and Markovic can play on the big guys that Tiller would really struggle against.


The big question is can we keep him on the park?

[mighty_west]

I get when you mean but you could also have a look at it this way:
Boumann is quicker and more athletic making him ideal to play as a 3rd tall defender and Markovic can play on the big guys that Tiller would really struggle against.


The big question is can we keep him on the park?

Well you would hope Tills had a relatively injury free season, aside from that, i don't see a point in keeping Markovic for instance, unless the MC decide to keep him in mind to do a similar job to say Presti at Collingwood, from most reports he does have smarts, but just lacks the pace to make it at the higher level, and if say Williams or Lake or Morris go down, at least Tiller has proven himself, obviously the backline would be scrambled to make up the best match up's as possible, so Tiller wouldn't necessarily play on Lakes man or Tommy's man etc.

Morris can play tall, so Tiller would come in as that 3rd or 4th defender anyway.

In regards to Boumann, does he seem to have that next gear to lift in intensity, grunt, workrate required? if not, he is worthless despite his height.

[LostDoggy]

As a 'tweener without a defined role Tiller is essentially Everitt with more mongrel but less talent. I think GVG's point about his injury-proneness is a very sound one -- the last thing you need your depth to be is injured.

And I've flogged the Faulks point to death in a different thread so I won't here -- suffice to say he would have been a good, cheap and fit back-up to a whole range of defensive options that we seem to have almost 4 or 5 'depth' guys covering at the moment. In any case, from a purely footballing sense I would vote to keep (a fit) Tiller and Markovic, and drop the other three -- if Boumann and Mulligan aren't going to make it we may as well rookie a couple of new potentials and Markovic would be the best back-up of the lot anyway -- if we chose to keep one of the two it would be Boumann before Mulligan, at least he has some closing speed and may be able to do a job. Hahn's cooked (as a player, no question he's been a wonderful servant, and would be great to keep him on in some capacity if we can afford it).

[chef]

Yes, I think he can play & if he gets his body right he could be handy as a sub, given he can play both forward & back.

I agree with this. I hope we keep him.

[ledge]

Apart from injury he has never done a thing wrong when called upon.
Been reliable and shown he can shine in AFL.
If he has no injuries next year and Rocket plays him in the seniors I do think he could actually hold a spot, not in a particular position but just moved around to help team structure against different teams.

[mjp]

If the best we can come up with as a reason to keep him involves the word 'IF' then he should not get another year.

He has had 5 years to remove the 'IF' from the front of his name and hasn't been able to do it - he is what he is, an injury-prone tweener who had a couple of good games but only in the sense that as a young player he wasn't horrible...his overall impact was never really that big. After the 2008 finals I remember thinking that he might be an OK half-back, but I never thought 'Wow, am I glad we drafted Steve Tiller - he will be a fixture in the side for the next 10 years'.

[Cyberdoggie]

If the best we can come up with as a reason to keep him involves the word 'IF' then he should not get another year.

He has had 5 years to remove the 'IF' from the front of his name and hasn't been able to do it - he is what he is, an injury-prone tweener who had a couple of good games but only in the sense that as a young player he wasn't horrible...his overall impact was never really that big. After the 2008 finals I remember thinking that he might be an OK half-back, but I never thought 'Wow, am I glad we drafted Steve Tiller - he will be a fixture in the side for the next 10 years'.

That is Tiller in a nutshell!

[aker39]

'Wow, am I glad we drafted Steve Tiller - he will be a fixture in the side for the next 10 years'.

Which 22 players can you say that about.

[Cyberdoggie]

We really have no cover for Morris or Hargrave (as mid-sized defenders and not to mention Lake & Williams) so we probably need to keep one of Tiller or Hahn on and with Tiller being 5 or 6 years younger and with room to improve he should be the one picked.

If that's the case then i guess our recruiters have failed to find suitable replacements in recent years.

Instead we have topped up repeatedly with backup players like Markovic and Tiller, and persisted with Boumann and Mulligan.

I doubt we will find much in the way of replacements with the draft picks we have this year either.

If it came down to choosing Markovic or Tiller, i'd probably pick Markovic i guess.
Only because he's slightly taller and is stronger in the air and would be more suitable to filling in one of Morris, Williams, lake's roles in an emergency. i can't see Tiller doing that any better. If it's to cover for a smaller option then i'd look to fill the role with other options such as Murphy etc.

[mjp]

Which 22 players can you say that about.

OK.

Lake.
Gilbee.
Hargrave.
Harbrow (now sadly departed but he would have been).
Ward.
Williams.
Morris.
Grant.
Gia.
Hall (though not 10 years of course).
Hahn.
Hudson.
Cooney
Griffen.
Cross.
Boyd.

There is 16 without trying....

[AndrewP6]

OK.

Lake.
Gilbee.
Hargrave.
Harbrow (now sadly departed but he would have been).
Ward.
Williams.
Morris.
Grant.
Gia.
Hall (though not 10 years of course).
Hahn.
Hudson.
Cooney
Griffen.
Cross.
Boyd.

There is 16 without trying....

Ten years for all these?

[lemmon]

Could he potentally play as a defensive half forward, Mcqualter/Rooke type role? Isnt afraid to crash and bash and might be a touch dangerous with his little bit of height.

[hujsh]

Ten years for all these?

Not starting now. He means he at one stage thought they'd be around ten+ years

[AndrewP6]

Not starting now. He means he at one stage thought they'd be around ten+ years

Phew... food obviously taking my concentration away...can't multitask! :)

[FrediKanoute]

The question was "Will S Tiller still be at the club in 2011?", not "Should S Tiller be at the club in 2011". In answer to the question asked I said no. As to whether he should be there in 2011 I'd go with MJP and say no....he is a different kettle of fish to Hahn. Hahn is cooked, but after 180+ games of quality service. Tiller is cooked after 5 seasons of questions.

[Go_Dogs]

I don't mind Tiller and think he can offer us something, however if he's retained and doesn't have a great year that would be seen as a bad mistake - therefore I tend to think he'll be moved on as it's the 'safer' option for our longer term list management - but I wouldn't be disappointed if he were retained.

[LostDoggy]

Hasn't played since Rd 11, 2009.

I know he had injury troubles but I would look at giving a kid a chance ahead of him..can't see his spot being retained.

P.S Yes ill get rid of that awful avatar when I can be bothered ;)

[Ovatheboarder]

A fine line between keeping players on as" top ups or coverage" and giving the kids a go at it with an eye a bit further down the track...

So as the lists have to be finalised today as i understand it, when will we see this or where can we access it??

[LostDoggy]

If I was coach he would be staying and getting a game ahead of Hargrave.

[Sockeye Salmon]

If I was coach he would be staying and getting a game ahead of Hargrave.

Then let's all thank Christ you're not the coach

[hujsh]

Then let's all thank Christ you're not the coach

amen

[LostDoggy]

If I was coach he would be staying and getting a game ahead of Hargrave.

Is this a joke?

[BulldogBelle]

I had Steven Tillers back until I saw him happy and jovial after the shocking loss to the bullants, no emotional involvement.

[GVGjr]

Based on the list on AFL.com it looks like Tiller has survived.
Lets hope he can put his injury concerns behind him.

[bornadog]

Based on the list on AFL.com it looks like Tiller has survived.
Lets hope he can put his injury concerns behind him.

Based on the Herald Sun article on Hahn, Tiller has been delisted.

[Throughandthrough]

Is playing SANFL next season.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Is playing SANFL next season.

Best move for both him and the club

He needs to be playing in the senior team of whatever club he is at so that he can get some enjoyment out of it

I hope he does well

[LostDoggy]

I hope he does well too, and wish it could have worked out better for him with the doggies. Good luck Steve!

[Sockeye Salmon]

Is playing SANFL next season.

For Wests?

[Mofra]

A shame, thought he could have offered us something but overall if the club is becoming more ruthless it may well benefit us in the long term.

[The Underdog]

A shame, thought he could have offered us something but overall if the club is becoming more ruthless it may well benefit us in the long term.

Probably the only offseason call I've disagreed with. I thought a fit Tiller gave us better back-up than a Markovic or Mulligan would. Sure he'd only be a fringe 22 player but at least he had some runs on the board at senior level. Came out of contract at the wrong time it would seem.

[Throughandthrough]

For Wests?


Presumably, i read it somewhere, can't reacall which club it is.


NB Nathan Eagleton still hasn't signed with anyone, is supposedly shopping himself anywhere and everywhere.

[ledge]

I believe Stephen did not want to play with us anyway, was happy to go home, so I would call it a mutual delisting.

[EasternWest]

I believe Stephen did not want to play with us anyway, was happy to go home, so I would call it a mutual delisting.

Hard to believe this is true. He may not have wanted to play at the Dogs, but I reckon he would have said it was preferable to be there than at a SANFL side.

[ledge]

Hard to believe this is true. He may not have wanted to play at the Dogs, but I reckon he would have said it was preferable to be there than at a SANFL side.

He was homesick. the club looked at trading but no one was interested.
He just wanted to go home, he is very happy now.

[EasternWest]

He was homesick. the club looked at trading but no one was interested.
He just wanted to go home, he is very happy now.

Sorry, Ledge. I didn't mean that to sound like I was having a plug at you. I guess it's hard for me as a no talent never was to see wanting to play at a SANFL preferable to being on an AFL list.

[Throughandthrough]

Sorry, Ledge. I didn't mean that to sound like I was having a plug at you. I guess it's hard for me as a no talent never was to see wanting to play at a SANFL preferable to being on an AFL list.


There's been a few.

If you get bored, look up Garry McIntosh, Barrie Robran & Ken Farmer

[Sockeye Salmon]

There's been a few.

If you get bored, look up Garry McIntosh, Barrie Robran & Ken Farmer

When I looked them up, all it said was Graeme Hick

[Throughandthrough]

When I looked them up, all it said was Graeme Hick

Thats funny, I looked up Sockeye Salmon and all it said was ignorant.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Thats funny, I looked up Sockeye Salmon and all it said was ignorant.

Every country town in Australia has blokes who coulda, shoulda, woulda but didn't.

Graham Cornes, Rick Davies, Russel Ebert ...



Interesting you went the man so early, as well.

[w3design]

Looks like I need a new avatar and username.

[EasternWest]

Looks like I need a new avatar and username.

There's always room on the DFA train.

[LostDoggy]

Looks like I need a new avatar and username.

You could stupefy by becoming Hooperfied.
;)

[GVGjr]

Looks like I need a new avatar and username.

Send me a PM if you want to make the change.

[bornadog]

Looks like I need a new avatar and username.

Hillerific - can cover two Hills.

[LostDoggy]

Looks like I need a new avatar and username.

Rookie draft yet...

[w3design]

Send me a PM if you want to make the change.



I'll do that, I've changed my name on every other site I post on already.

[chef]

It's a bit strange that he was the only player in the draft to put a price on his head, yet wasn't picked up.

[EasternWest]

I'll do that, I've changed my name on every other site I post on already.

You've saddened Dylan.

[Greystache]

You've saddened Dylan.

Dylan doesn't get sad, he gets even!

[EasternWest]

Dylan doesn't get sad, he gets even!

I lol'd. :D

[w3design]

Apologies to Dylan.