Blake Ayshford

[hybrid_tiger]

There was a thread here a few weeks ago discussing him - can't find it now, but can someone tell me what anyone sees in this guy?

He is a meat and potatoes style of player with no class. Not a great defender at this stage, about as dangerous as a wet mop in attack.

Am I missing something?

 

[Vic Mackey]

Has without doubt been the biggest dissappintment of the year. Last year he was strong in defence and went quiet well in attack. I don't know what happened to him in the off season but this year he has been terrible from round 1. Daniela is a far, far better option and I'd even give brown a run before him.

 

[Magpies Forever]

I reckon the coaching staff have done their wonders on him. He is just quiet in almost every game. Nothing happens- he assists a lot with try assists etc but there seems to be no individual spark anymore. He was never goig to be a superstar but he was solid enough to keep his place. Now, I dunno. I agree at present, Daniela offers more spark.

 

[westie]

I was wondering last night if he had the ability to put on weight and become a lock or such. The problem is... even if he did, he still wouldn't be good enough for us.

 

[Tigers_are_Pro]

He's hard to bring down and hasn't been tooo bad.

He's line ball with Daniela atm.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Daniela offers far more in attack than Ayshford.

 

[innsaneink]

He is frustrating at times, but he's another work in progress, I see potential in him, he often gets hlf thru the line, some more bulk, work on his footwork and passing and he will be a very good player in a year or two

 

[BuffaloRules]

Has gone backwards this year.

 

[moller]

Been average, not convinced.
Still, has had some good moments so I'd probably persevere as there's no one else screaming out to be picked there.

 

[Perth Tiger]

I still think he has some potential, remember this is his second full year in first grade. The second year of most players career is generally one of their worst for a number of reasons so I still have hope for him.

 

[jasonl]

Average at best. Niether a power centre or fast and elusive hole runner. Tends to get crowded towards the sideline too often for his winger to be effective.

Reasonable ball skills and big enough for the game but lacks mongrel and is in no way feared by the opposition.

Could probably benefit from a different type of 5/8 (a Scott Hill for example). Benji's structure (what little there is of it) all takes place left. The right hand side is a dog's breakfast and has consistently been ignored for years.

It's a pity that TNT got injured. Lote would have been forced onto the right wing which in turn would have necessitated reassesment.

Nonetheless, Sheens has huge wraps on Ashford so expect to see him in the 3 for some time yet.

 

[ucantseeme]

I think you are being way too harsh.

Ayshford is a class centre. He often beats the first defendor and is very hard to bring down. Similar to Justin Hodges in attack but without the fend or offload. The halves should make an effort to send more ball his way, because he only seems to get it coming out of trouble not in the 20m attacking zone.

He is light years ahead of Dean Collis who had massive wraps from all and sundry on this board when at the Tigers.

Ayshford always seems to manage to get his nose through the defensive line so if he works on an offload with his winger he will be invaluable.

 

[Sunshine Coast Tiger]

I still like the look of him. He often gets through the line and has good ball skills. He has been let down a number of times this year by his outside winger being out of postion or too slow to keep up (no prizes for guessing who).

Would love to see him with TNT outside him.

 

[R2Coupe]

Finau, would do well outside of Ayshford. Finau has the pace to take advantage of Ayshford's play.

 

[jasonl]

I think you are being way too harsh.

Ayshford is a class centre. He often beats the first defendor and is very hard to bring down. Similar to Justin Hodges in attack but without the fend or offload. The halves should make an effort to send more ball his way, because he only seems to get it coming out of trouble not in the 20m attacking zone.

He is light years ahead of Dean Collis who had massive wraps from all and sundry on this board when at the Tigers.

Ayshford always seems to manage to get his nose through the defensive line so if he works on an offload with his winger he will be invaluable.

You're seriously comparing Blake Ashford to Justin Hodges?

Are you high?

Go back and watch the tapes.

As to Collis, with the right management and injury free he could have been a superstar. More talent in one hand than Blake could ever dream of.

Ashford is another passenger in a team that will be badly exposed come finals time. Watch the St George game carefully. It might provide some insights.

 

[ShanghaiCharlie]

You're seriously comparing Blake Ashford to Justin Hodges?

Are you high?

Go back and watch the tapes.

As to Collis, with the right management and injury free he could have been a superstar. More talent in one hand than Blake could ever dream of.

Ashford is another passenger in a team that will be badly exposed come finals time. Watch the St George game carefully. It might provide some insights.

Watch his game the week before that and you'd be singing a different tune. First class display.

 

[Reek_Havoc]

Aysh rarely does any mistakes. You can't say the same for others in our backline.
2nd year syndrome maybe? Could have lost abit of pace since his injury. See in the next couple of weeks how he performs, Daniela and Ryan right on his heel.

 

[gronkathon]

You answered your own question with the next three lines.

That kind of stuff is not our go

 

[Tiger Hawk]

Brown good under the high ball? May have missed something but he let a few slip through earlier in the year.

That said, he sh*ts all over Fitzhenry.

As for Ayshford, he's a very workman-like player who may develop into a solid first grader. Won't do much that will wow you but if he works hard would be a valuable squad member. His yards after contact when running the ball is solid for his size, and his work-rate is top notch. Doesn't have the footwork at this stage for centre and I'm not sure you can really "learn" that. Isn't big or strong enough to be a line-running centre either, but that could change both with some application and some decent service from those inside him. Seems destined for the pack but will likely need to add a good 10kg to his frame to make the transition.

 

[madunit]

Brown is not safe defending kicks, nor is he reliable.

Daniela is the same, which is why he plays at centre and not on the wing. If he could catch consistently, he'd be a good winger.

Fitzhenry, while being useless, is a safe level of uselessness across the park, as opposed to huge advantages and huge disadvantages that the other players have vying for his position.