Opinion Jake Averillo has more to Offer.

[1967]

I wouldn’t think there’s a Bulldogs fan out there that doesn’t want to see Jake Averillo succeed, Bulldogs junior, has tried hard for us over arguably some of our toughest years, been on a coaching merry go round, plus he’s been moved all over the shop.

There’s a lot of comments mentioning he should play fullback after Potter put him there last season, he did have 2 decent games there but I also recall the trashing he got on TK here in the 9 games we lost under Potter.

Continually out of position.
Couldn’t organise the defence.
Was letting the ball bounce, which led to try’s scored against us.
Was shying away from contact & not getting involved.

Those that don’t have short memory’s would remember he was getting Flano hammered.

I don’t feel fullbacks his position and I’m not sure centre is either, while he’s doing ok at centre .. 98av run metres, 4 try assists, 2 try’s, 19 tackle breaks, 5 line breaks, which are pretty good stats, his defence can be a worry and he’s let a lot in.

Main reason I don’t feel he’s a centre is, I don’t think that’s the best position for someone with the amount of skills he has, I feel he’s got a lot more to offer the team.

I’ve watched him play a lot of footy so I was surprised to see he’s still only 22, personally I believe with his speed and passing game, he’s a running 6, I think with a lot more room & playing both sides he’d score a lot more try’s and set up a lot more for us with the 6 on his back, he’d also have a lot more defensive help around him.

Personally I’d like to see us go with ..

1 - Perham (attack the f***** ball and run harder)
6 - Averillo (use his speed & skills, give him a license to play free footy)
7 - Burton (manage them around the park with that big boot & run it)
9 - Mahoney (stay in your lane, distribute the ball well, run it more & trust your mates)

14 - Nu Brown / Reynolds …. I’d be fine with KO if we could bring him of the bench as X factor when we’re in front.

Replace Avo with Burns & give Skelton a run.

If the coaching staff put a lot of work into Burtons passing game and when we get Crichton, a spine of

1 Crichton
6 Averillo
7 Burton
9 Mahoney

Is pretty solid.

I believe Avo has a lot more to offer us.

 

[Shreksno1]

 

[King Gus]

Averillo has the talent to play a number of positions, if he can stop being lazy he will be a gun especially in the halves.

 

[belmore_utd]

Hope this isn't what CC was alluding to when he was talking about Averillo getting more ball lol.

 

[B-Train]

What about Oloapu? They didn't pay a transfer fee for him so he could sit in Reserves for a few seasons..

 

[Nasheed]

Nasheed here,
Can’t fault the thinking here

 

[Nasheed]

What about Oloapu? They didn't pay a transfer fee for him so he could sit in Reserves for a few seasons..

What’s a 100k transfer in the scheme of things?

 

[B-Train]

What’s a 100k transfer in the scheme of things?

Who knows what it actually was, but forget about the transfer fee, what if Oloapu is just better? Averillo seems like he'd be the perfect utility that can cover any backline or halves position off the bench in case there are injuries. He's a good squad player but has yet to master any one position. Yes he's been moved around a lot and shown a lot of nice glimpses of his talent but he also has just as many flaws in his game at each of those positions.

 

[dogwhisperer]

What about Oloapu? They didn't pay a transfer fee for him so he could sit in Reserves for a few seasons..

Agree, we bought him for the halves, but he's even got the potential to be a devastating ball playing lock backed up with that muscle in defense and great tackling technique. Back in the day Jimmy Dymock was an excellent lock and when he was called to ply 5/8th in Lambs absence we didn't skip a beat.

 

[eman & the Utai SLAM]

Yeah totally agree, TK bashes everyone, wait until KO has a bad game…TK wants to give every young gun a go until they have an ordinary half season.

Not sure if your post will age well BUT i remember he was named at 6 during the barret ball era so he got hammered accordingly and now with Flanagan being dropped we will see KO at 6 with Burton at 7.

He is 22, if we let Averillo a local junior with lots of skill, footwork and speed go only to pay overs for (insert name eg dominc young) there is no point developing players which is what Gus is trying to do.

Id remind everyone we have let go Meaney (very similar to Averillo), Reimis, Morgan Harper, Mbye, Cogger, Montoya and some others who are ALL still playing NRL. We can slam all our current players however if they stay for unders like $200k they are still better than going to market to buy $500k outside backs, think Corey Allen, Burns, Cotric…

We have had shit coaching and turmoil for 5-6 years and these players could have been better value for the dogs.

Crichton is coming to play 1.

Burton is a gun who CC will play at half.

Future halves partner could be Rajab

Lock is up for grabs and depends if CC chooses a Yeo type or a Murray type player. So thats RFM, Nu, Topine, maybe KO in the future as i hear he is big enough or one of our many forwards (can we give TPJ) a go?

I think Averillo is a 14.

 

[B-Train]

Agree, we bought him for the halves, but he's even got the potential to be a devastating ball playing lock backed up with that muscle in defense and great tackling technique. Back in the day Jimmy Dymock was an excellent lock and when he was called to ply 5/8th in Lambs absence we didn't skip a beat.

Maybe down the road that's an option. He'd have to have a few years in FG first and bulk up... He definitely has the frame and defence to one day make the transition if he wants to. I'd love for us to have another Travis Norton type lock one day. We've been struggling for years without a ball playing lock and the best teams all have someone who has good hands. For now though let's see how he develops in the halves. I'm excited to see him get a run this week, even if it's only off the bench..

 

[dogwhisperer]

Maybe down the road that's an option. He'd have to have a few years in FG first and bulk up... He definitely has the frame and defence to one day make the transition if he wants to. I'd love for us to have another Travis Norton type lock one day. We've been struggling for years without a ball playing lock and the best teams all have someone who has good hands. For now though let's see how he develops in the halves. I'm excited to see him get a run this week, even if it's only off the bench..

100%, but if people are going to bag the kid this year for having shockers then don't call for him to play FG. He definitely has a massive ceiling. He's still eligible to play SG Ball and he's very raw. I for one will not tolerate people bagging the kid, we have to be patient with him. But you know how it is on TK, there will always be idiots who will bring out the knives.

 

[amapusae]

Sorry, Centre or fullback is his best position.

 

[D.O.W.]

Players like Avo need a Melbourne Storm system, I guarantee he’d be a success down there.

I don’t want to give up on the kid, he’s talented but a) his leg is currently compromised, needs a 2-3 week break from the game b) his defensive reads and defence in general is not great, needs to improve if staying in the centres. Personally, I felt fb is his role, but he just wasn’t the same player when he returned from Covid, maybe the infection made him fatigue a lot quicker, he looked lacklustre for those weeks after returning.

best of luck to him, his chances with us are running out though.

 

[craigo]

Sorry, Centre or fullback is his best position.

In reserve grade team yeah ?

 

[seven07]

Maybe down the road that's an option. He'd have to have a few years in FG first and bulk up... He definitely has the frame and defence to one day make the transition if he wants to. I'd love for us to have another Travis Norton type lock one day. We've been struggling for years without a ball playing lock and the best teams all have someone who has good hands. For now though let's see how he develops in the halves. I'm excited to see him get a run this week, even if it's only off the bench..

Agree with you B-Train there is no way GUS would pay 500k unless they see him in the halves.

 

[SPEARTAKVIDREFS]

I wouldn’t think there’s a Bulldogs fan out there that doesn’t want to see Jake Averillo succeed, Bulldogs junior, has tried hard for us over arguably some of our toughest years, been on a coaching merry go round, plus he’s been moved all over the shop.

There’s a lot of comments mentioning he should play fullback after Potter put him there last season, he did have 2 decent games there but I also recall the trashing he got on TK here in the 9 games we lost under Potter.

Continually out of position.
Couldn’t organise the defence.
Was letting the ball bounce, which led to try’s scored against us.
Was shying away from contact & not getting involved.

Those that don’t have short memory’s would remember he was getting Flano hammered.

I don’t feel fullbacks his position and I’m not sure centre is either, while he’s doing ok at centre .. 98av run metres, 4 try assists, 2 try’s, 19 tackle breaks, 5 line breaks, which are pretty good stats, his defence can be a worry and he’s let a lot in.

Main reason I don’t feel he’s a centre is, I don’t think that’s the best position for someone with the amount of skills he has, I feel he’s got a lot more to offer the team.

I’ve watched him play a lot of footy so I was surprised to see he’s still only 22, personally I believe with his speed and passing game, he’s a running 6, I think with a lot more room & playing both sides he’d score a lot more try’s and set up a lot more for us with the 6 on his back, he’d also have a lot more defensive help around him.

Personally I’d like to see us go with ..

1 - Perham (attack the f***** ball and run harder)
6 - Averillo (use his speed & skills, give him a license to play free footy)
7 - Burton (manage them around the park with that big boot & run it)
9 - Mahoney (stay in your lane, distribute the ball well, run it more & trust your mates)

14 - Nu Brown / Reynolds …. I’d be fine with KO if we could bring him of the bench as X factor when we’re in front.

Replace Avo with Burns & give Skelton a run.

If the coaching staff put a lot of work into Burtons passing game and when we get Crichton, a spine of

1 Crichton
6 Averillo
7 Burton
9 Mahoney

Is pretty solid.

I believe Avo has a lot more to offer us.

Avo has had potential for the last couple of years but rarely looks dangerous even when he does run. He doesnt have that mongrel or determination to slay his opponents, do or die mentality and Im talking when hes got the ball in hand. His last try the exception. Just wish we'd see that from him more often than not.

I just dont know if this year under a new coach he hasnt had the opportunity to shine and build on his game because of the teams injuries.
Ciro should be fine tuning by now but instead he's stuck re-organising the team every bloody week with a poorer team as the season rolls on due to ongoing injuries.
How can the team gel, form combinations, work on set plays etc under these circumstances? Impossible for my mind.
And thats only the half of it. With the reshuffling he has to consider and make sure we are on point defensively (which I think hes done well with considering). Wouldnt be surprised if this is partly why Flano has lasted as long as he has.
So where does Avo fit in with all this? I dont know.
Your points on Avo for my mind are spot on. No to FB for me for those reasons. He isnt as safe under the highball as Perham either.
5/8? You make valid points.
My head still sais rocks and diamonds.
Anyways, for now Im good with whatever Ciraldo decides.

 

[Raysie]

I think most of the issues raised with Averillo at Fullback were things you'd expect to see without a proper off season in the position under this belt.

I think the majority of fans were in agreeance that he at least had earned himself first crack in the role pre-season.

 

[The_Chimpster]

He does have more to offer

Ciraldo clearly sees him as a centre so playing him the same position longer than a few rounds will definitely help.

See how he goes with a full season under his belt without being moved around the backline

 

[1967]

For all those saying what about Oloapu ?

What do you think Gus means when he says Karl’s the long game ?

The kids only just 18, he looks a very good one, but does everyone truely believe he’s ready for week in week out full time 1st grade playing 6, or is it just frustration to win?

We could use a 6 now that has speed, good footwork & a passing game, a seasoned 1st grader, Averillo would fit that position like a glove .. Avo is definitely not a 7, to much to think about, but I do think he’d be a very good 6 for us, the more time we can give KO in the lower grades the better he’ll get, bring him off the bench in 1st grade against easier opposition when the opportunities arise and ease him into first grade.

I don’t want to see KO become another Walker fatality down the track, KO should only be in 1st grade full time when they’re 100% certain he’s ready, not through necessity.

Meanwhile with a license to roam and play eyes up footy Averillo could carve up for us.