#18 Lewis Hayes - thru 2026

Football Discussion Dustin Fletcher Hangar
61

I remember when Twomey was talking about him In his draft year mentioned he got thrown forward and into the ruck and won games off his own boot.

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62

Hope I’m off the mark but his “highlights” seem focused on him getting cheap intercept marks and knocking up junk sideways kicks. Also:

  • lacks endurance (couldn’t complete a time trial)
  • regularly double grabs his marks
  • rarely played on a direct opponent

Accomplished draft watchers tell me I’m crazy but struggling to be inspired by this pick. Will be stoked to be proven wrong. Good luck kid.

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63

Reid said in the video he wants to play FB/CHB. One would assume that’s where we’ll develop him.

64

Is there such thing as a cheap intercept mark though? They are huge in the modern game.

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65

What highlights are you watching? I’ve seen some ripper intercepts from him

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66

Majority of top AFL defenders these days are elite junior forwards who have a great natural craft but can’t replicate their junior footy form at the top level.

He will need to do more than just play off his man to suceed at AFL. Let alone his kicking appears to be pedestrian at best. Doesn’t look agressive enough to switch play with any conviction.

67

Fair call. As I mentioned elsewhere I think a lot will come down to development. If you can’t read the play you have no hope as a defender IMO. Aggressiveness and taking on play may very well come with time as he matures in our system (if we ever build one).

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To be fair his highlights reel posted on the club website is much better than some others I’ve seen.

Far from a huge sample size and if reports are accurate he’s been on club radars for many years so he’s clearly shown enough to warrant strong interest from multiple clubs.

70

Holy ■■■■ its from just one game. Check out his other highlights at least before spreading bullshit

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71

Thank you for posting this right before I posted my reply

72

Hardly spreading bullshit just my observations

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73

You watched some highlights from one of his NAB league games and used that to insinuate he’ll be a bust

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74

Read it again… said found it hard to see what was so special about his highlights reel. Plus not a good sign for a highly rated junior who can’t even complete a time trial at the draft combine.

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I read it again and from your list of negatives it sounds like you think he’ll be a bust

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Listing a players weaknesses doesn’t mean they’re an automatic write off but they’d better bring something special to compensate.

I openly admitted that I was hoping the flaws observed were not a true reflection of his game.

End of the day he’s a contracted Essendon player for at least 2 years and I’ll be hoping like everyone he can forge a long and successful career.

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By cheap I mean essentially kicked straight down his throat with no sign of a direct opponent.

78

I haven’t seen any footage of Reid playing forward, but he seems way too tentative to play as a tall forward. Gotta have some aggressiveness and swagger usually to be a successful tall forward.

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79

You could at least wait until he has one foot in the door before giving him the kybosh. Sheesh.

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Welcome to the Bombers Purple