Jeremy Brockie played at the point of the attack but his radar was off and he missed four good opportunities.
Tarek Elrich, Taylor Regan, Tiago, Byun Sung-hwan; Jobe Wheelhouse, Ruben Zadkovich; Ali Abbas; Marko Jesic, Jeremy Brockie, Ryan Griffiths.
Just noticed this comment from a pre-season game that Brockie "missed four good opportunities"- which unfortunately has been par-for-the-course for most of Jeremy's career since he left Nelson Suburbs as a teenager.
So, good to see his improved form this season.
Agree that Brockie is now a useful player- he's improved his game and become a much better player in recent years.
As someone living in Christchurch who grew up in Nelson, I've followed Jeremy's career since he was a teenager playing for Nelson Suburbs in the Mainland Premier League.
Previously he had many flaws such as being a very poor finisher (Leo Bertos level).
The impression was unfortunately created that Brockie was a capable goal-scorer and an out-and-out striker due to his fluke two goals on debut for the NZ Knights in the A-League and a couple in games after.
This gave a false impression because previously he had proved one of the worst finishers ever of all strikers in any Christchurch national league side in history.
Nelson team-mate Michael White turned out to be a more effective all-round player and goal-scorer for Canterbury Utd.
Brockie's senior club record and goals:
Note that he scored 0 goals in his debut season for Canterbury Utd in 15 games- despite often being used as an out-and-out striker (2 goals in 21 games in his Canterbury career). I well remember sitting with my mates and cringing at the open goals and many sitters he missed: "Oh no! Don't give it to Brockie!"
Seasoned obervers also noted he couldn't dribble and beat players- he'd just boot the ball up the sideline and chase it.
We found it incredible when he scored for the Knights in the A-League- however Sydney FC soon found this goal form was an aberration when they signed what they thought was a capable goal-scorer, only for Brockie to return to his previous mediocre level in this respect.
They had a raw talent- but not good enough for the A-League yet.
Before this season, Brockie had only scored one goal in his time at North Queensland Fury and twice for Newcastle last season, so his nine goals so far this season and greatly improved play are very positive.
However, Ricki Herbert has always preferred Leo Bertos for the Nix (and the All Whites), and as long as he does so, the chances of Brockie coming to the Nix remain slim.
Big Pete 65, Christchurch
