Euan Aitken

[LINESPEED]

Euan Aitken: We're only getting stronger
St George Illawarra Dragons centre, Euan Aitken, says the players rising through the ranks are putting pressure on the first-grade side to perform better.

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/04/11/euan-aitken-were-only-getting-stronger/

Notice how the plodders in the team are all hitting the media to shore up the teamsheet

 

[Paddles]

Notice how the plodders in the team are all hitting the media to shore up the teamsheet

Ugh, yes. Also on the flip side management is increasingly wheeling out Lomax for press, community and marketing. I'm not sure what that is for - to make him feel like part of the squad in lieu of playing him properly? It is embarrassing.

It will also be embarrassing when he needs to be brought into the team, probably to cover an injury, and everyone on the outside will assume he has come from nowhere rather than having been stymied by a conservative set up.

 

[gitano]

Aitken outstanding yet again today.

Inconvenient for some on here.

 

[Wizardman]

I don't get the hate for him. He had his ups and downs last year but looks pretty darn consistent this year. I'd take him at the tigers in a heartbeat.

 

[BennyV]

I don't get the hate for him. He had his ups and downs last year but looks pretty darn consistent this year. I'd take him at the tigers in a heartbeat.

You’re welcome to him!

The issue is that he is an ordinary centre. He is strong and he’s not slow, but he isn’t agile with no acceleration or change of direction. He also has no ball skills whatsoever and has less footy IQ than the ball itself! In defence he is a strong tackler, but his defensive decision making operates at about 50% at best.

In summary, he’s a 1 trick pony who is good at tucking the ball under the arm and running hard. He escapes scrutiny because he is a Mary favourite and because he’s a local junior. We have a better option sitting on the bench for 70 minutes a game, while Aitken gets told he is in great form simply by not completely f**king up.

TL;DR - we at the Dragons have a low bar for success, so Aitken fits right in!

 

[ST Tangles 01]

Had a great game today
Defence was solid
They didn't throw much at us but we didn't let them

 

[gitano]

You’re welcome to him!

The issue is that he is an ordinary centre. He is strong and he’s not slow, but he isn’t agile with no acceleration or change of direction. He also has no ball skills whatsoever and has less footy IQ than the ball itself! In defence he is a strong tackler, but his defensive decision making operates at about 50% at best.

In summary, he’s a 1 trick pony who is good at tucking the ball under the arm and running hard. He escapes scrutiny because he is a Mary favourite and because he’s a local junior. We have a better option sitting on the bench for 70 minutes a game, while Aitken gets told he is in great form simply by not completely f**king up.

TL;DR - we at the Dragons have a low bar for success, so Aitken fits right in!

Your footy IQ failed to register a reading.

Maybe sit the next few plays out, if you know what I mean

 

[getsmarty]

Aitken outstanding yet again today.

Inconvenient for some on here.

Outstanding...that's a stretch...He was good against poor opposition .Lomax offers 4 times as much....hopefully we can keep them both.

 

[Kylez3]

I'm one of his harshest critics but Aitken has been mostly pretty solid so far this year. The right edge still does looks vulnerable and the best teams will show us how we are truly travelling.

 

[BennyV]

Your footy IQ failed to register a reading.

Maybe sit the next few plays out, if you know what I mean

I’d be interested to hear which part of my assessment was incorrect. But no doubt you won’t have a response!

 

[Gareth67]

Outstanding...that's a stretch...He was good against poor opposition .Lomax offers 4 times as much....hopefully we can keep them both.

Agree getsmarty, Lomax has class written all over him . Great speed of the mark , good perception in attack and the bonus is that the kid can also boot goals when required - cool as a cucumber.

 

[possm]

You’re welcome to him!

The issue is that he is an ordinary centre. He is strong and he’s not slow, but he isn’t agile with no acceleration or change of direction. He also has no ball skills whatsoever and has less footy IQ than the ball itself! In defence he is a strong tackler, but his defensive decision making operates at about 50% at best.

In summary, he’s a 1 trick pony who is good at tucking the ball under the arm and running hard. He escapes scrutiny because he is a Mary favourite and because he’s a local junior. We have a better option sitting on the bench for 70 minutes a game, while Aitken gets told he is in great form simply by not completely f**king up.

TL;DR - we at the Dragons have a low bar for success, so Aitken fits right in!

To me Aitken is the one who is more suitable to the utility role. His best feature is his trong running and straight on bruising defence. I don't think anyone on here denies this. Aitken's problems revolve around his bad reads in defence, his poor lateral defence, his passing game and his inability to take the high ball. He is not versatile as a backline player as he can't play in the fullback, wing, five-eighth or halfback position and as a centre he cannot setup his outside or inside man.

I have no doubt he could develop into a good utility player if used in the middle of the field.

 

[18to87]

To me Aitken is the one who is more suitable to the utility role. His best feature is his trong running and straight on bruising defence. I don't think anyone on here denies this. Aitken's problems revolve around his bad reads in defence, his poor lateral defence, his passing game and his inability to take the high ball. He is not versatile as a backline player as he can't play in the fullback, wing, five-eighth or halfback position and as a centre he cannot setup his outside or inside man.

I have no doubt he could develop into a good utility player if used in the middle of the field.

Exactly. Aitken has an 8/10 ceiling in the centres while Lomax may have a 10/10 ceiling.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Not a fan of him as a centre, but yesterday was one of his best games.

 

[RufusRex]

I thought yesterday was his best game of the season .. jsut more patience.

One thing in the game highlights why he will never be that top tier of centre.
McInnes and Hunt work a short side play and get the ball to aitken. He does his strong run and breaks the tackle .. at that point he has his arm free, ravalawa is in support and Okunbar is beaten.

The top tier centres in that situation ie the gasniers/mitchells - i would even go blokes like Lafai/Gidley get a try assist there or at minimum a line break assist.

A good game though ... just a highlight of his limitations ball in hand.

 

[The Damo]

I thought yesterday was his best game of the season .. jsut more patience.

One thing in the game highlights why he will never be that top tier of centre.
McInnes and Hunt work a short side play and get the ball to aitken. He does his strong run and breaks the tackle .. at that point he has his arm free, ravalawa is in support and Okunbar is beaten.

The top tier centres in that situation ie the gasniers/mitchells - i would even go blokes like Lafai/Gidley get a try assist there or at minimum a line break assist.

A good game though ... just a highlight of his limitations ball in hand.

Yep, he’d be so much more dangerous if he could offload. Not passing is one thing, but a guy with his ability to stand in and break tackles should be able to get the ball away. And he just doesn’t.

 

[slippery5]

I'm one of his harshest critics but Aitken has been mostly pretty solid so far this year. The right edge still does looks vulnerable and the best teams will show us how we are truly travelling.

When using words "Pretty solid" & "gets the job done" are exactly what we should be looking to improve on when desribing a player.

 

[j0nesy]

Yep, he’d be so much more dangerous if he could offload. Not passing is one thing, but a guy with his ability to stand in and break tackles should be able to get the ball away. And he just doesn’t.

I’m a fan of Aitken. But that’s my main gripe with him - he refuses to offload. He had a cracking game against the Dogs by the way.

 

[The Damo]

I’m a fan of Aitken. But that’s my main gripe with him - he refuses to offload. He had a cracking game against the Dogs by the way.

He did have really good game. Its Frustrating, I’m nowhere near as down on him as some, there’s things he does damn well, watching him drag multiple tacklers over the tryline is great, and he runs good lines and is a real competitor. He’ll probably never be a great ball player, but he has the tools to be a great offloader, and it’d make him a much more dangerous player if he developed it. I do think he’s got a higher ceiling than he’s shown but needs the coaching and structures to get there, and our current ones aren’t likely to do it.

 

[Ted bartolo]

It comes down to Mac Gregor not dropping anyone on form in the last 5 years for the benefit of the team.The only chance of Lomax getting a run is if Aitken Or Lafai get injured