It was the dropped marks that point to total out-of-form, not the inability to get into the play too often (which was as much to do with our horrid ball use and lack of inside 50’s). He cost us goals at both ends, unfortunately.
But you have to keep sending him up. It’ll turn around with hard work.
Sure he stunk it up this week but he’s been very, very good as a forward this year. Especially when you consider he’s played about 20 games as a forward in his entire career.
Exactly.
Rance or no Rance, Hooker was terrible on Saturday night
Fourth in the AFL for contested marks at this point in the season, double Joey in this respect and by far the best contested mark in the team. He just needs to do more damage with these marks.
16 goals is on track for around 35, maybe 40 for the year. At this point he is close to Breust, N. Riewoldt, Roughhead, Stringer. This is by no means a poor performance overall, for the #2 tall forward.
Blitzers are very reactive and seem to ignore long- medium term trends and who any forward is playing on in each game. If Hooker plays badly as a forward for 3-4 weeks in a row, then question it.
I’ll admit there were more than a few occasions I thought Rance was actually pretty good.
He’s pretty good.
Shhhhh! This is no place for an honest assessment of an opposition player. He just got lucky…a lot of times.
Completely irrelevant. Apparently.
It’s the ‘where’ he’s dropping them that changed. He’s been creating good crumbs all year, deep in the forward line. v Richmond he was being kicked to 70-80 out, too far out to score, and where they set up all their numbers.
He was hunting the ball far higher up the park than he normally would - which can happen when you think your opponent has you covered.
Also happens when your midfield/half backs can’t get the ball past half way.
No, Hooker was way worse against Carlton.
Okay, seriously, he is not working down forward, even the two weeks prior against the eagles and cats. Move him back for a hartley type and bring in Franga, who can clunk them and has a good kick on him.
Raz Daniher Walla
Francis Stewart Green
And then down back:
McKenna Hooksy McGrath
Kelly Hurley Dea
Also rotating Bags through there
Who is playing where in that?
You might need to revise “he isn’t working as a forward thingy”
HFF: Raz
CHF: Joe
HFF: Walla
FP: Francis
FF: Stewart
FP: Green
HBF: McKenna
CHB: Hooker
HBF: McGrath
BP: Kelly
FB: Hurley
BP: Dea
Does anyone seriously think Francis would’ve done much better on Rance?
By all reports he struggled in the VFL.
Mindblowingly stupid to be thinking that Hooker back and leaving Stewart and Francis fwd is a better option
Can you imagine Francis playing on Rance? He’d be run off on every single time. Stewart isn’t exactly dominating as 3rd tall, so as the go to fwd he’d barely get near it.
Hooker is the best option we have fwd and he has been generally doing a very good job of it.
Him moving back and saving 1-2 goals a game more than Hartley is not going to be the difference in us winning games.
Him staying fwd and ensuring an even or winning contest to mark ball or get it to ground for our smalls is what we need from him.
All our fwds struggled. Why? We couldn’t get the ball down to them enough as defensive transition kept breaking down which meant we had minimal inside 50s. Woosh has said it. Parish has said it.
Fix the midfield/HBF … our fwd 6 including Hooker is very dangerous if we get it in there enough.
Francis is some sort of mythical messiah around here.
His talent is enormous, but he is nowhere near ready yet.
He, and we, will be given a taste from time to time this season, but that’s all it is - a taste.
Gary Lyon had a crack at Hooker this morning and Robbo again was preaching “Hooker back” in his tackle article. I agree he’s doing a reasonable job but surely we won’t persist with him forward next season the club needs to go and recruit a natural forward during the off season weather it be via a trade or Free Agency.
WE hope Cale Hooker doesn’t listen to breakfast radio.
If he does, then we hope he picks up what’s left of his ego and manages to stitch it together before next weekend.
Melbourne legend Garry Lyon and Bombers great Tim Watson tore strips off the Essendon star for a horrendous display in Saturday night’s loss to Richmond. The 28-year-old played up forward alongside Joe Daniher but registered only 11 disposals, just six of which were effective.
He kicked one behind for the match as the Tigers won 11.15 (81) to 10.6 (66) in the Dreamtime at the ‘G clash, while Daniher booted three majors to continue his red-hot form of late.
Hooker also dropped an easy mark in the dying stages of the fourth quarter, allowing Richmond ruckman Toby Nankervis to slot the goal that sealed victory.
Lyon said Hooker is failing to deliver what’s needed of a key position player, particularly after he signed a lucrative five-year deal in 2016 worth approximately $750,000 a season. That’s $3.75 million across half a decade.
“What in God’s name is Cale Hooker doing with his football?” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast. “A man who is on $800,000 a year. He is playing forward which may not be his preferred position but he is playing like he has no clue what he is doing.
“He dropped easy marks when it mattered most, his recovery as a forward is negligible, he can’t get back on a loose ball and he is a liability.”
Hooker has been ineffective up forward.
Hooker has been ineffective up forward.Source:News Corp Australia
Watson joined in the bash-a-thon, saying the former defender looks all at sea in the forward line.
“I have no idea what he is doing,” Watson said. “At the moment they need somebody forward and they believe they have got the bases covered in the backline.”
Watson says Essendon coach John Worsfold should give raw teenager Aaron Francis an opportunity to impress even though he may not be the finished product just yet.
“I believe there is a question mark about Aaron Francis’ endurance capabilities and his ability to get up and down the ground,” Watson said.
“Where Essendon is at right now, I would be playing this kid. Get games into him. He is going to be a player.
“Francis has been played at VFL level in the midfield and he is a natural footballer, he can find the ball as a midfielder. The advantage for Essendon is to play him as a tall.”
An All-Australian in 2014, Hooker missed the entire 2016 season as a result of the Essendon supplements saga and has kicked 16 goals in 10 games this season.
Five wins and five losses have put the Dons 11th on the ladder and their push towards the top eight doesn’t get any easier this weekend when they play a GWS team high on confidence after defeating West Coast in a thriller in Perth on Sunday.
Having posted the above, I strongly disagree.
He is doing fine forward, but had a shocker last week. Overall it’s the best forward line we’ve had in what seems like forever.
It is our midfield that needs fixing. Not the backline. Not the forwardline.
Gary Lyon had nfi how to be a human. Why not help your club instead of kicking it when it’s down the ride the hype train you leech.