Loves the jumper grab, been called for it a few times but he has been lucky quite a few times too. Seems to do it when he gets worried which he needs to get it out of his game, otherwise umpires will start to watch him and then he won’t be able to do it even at times when other players would get away with it.
He battles.
I wouldn’t put a line through him just yet though.
Why on earth would anybody put a line through him?
He played one bad game in four.
I’m in the minority here because I haven’t rated his season much and said he was an insta-out for Ambrose when fit. I got smashed for it a few weeks back.
That few weeks back was before the GWS / PA / Sydney games though, yeah? Did you rate those games?
Personally, I think he’s sparing Michael Hurley some considerable embarrassment this year.
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Yes, and:
GWS: Can’t remember that far back - too stupid
PA: KPB has good game in 12 goal drubbing (not his fault of course)
Sydney: Yep he was above average for sure.
As Hurley’s stint on Hipwwod showed.
Well, he kept Patton, Dixon and Buddy all goalless. That’s a fair effort by any standard.
Look, I’m hardly Lid Off on Hartley, but if you’ve ever watched any Key Defender develop, it’s pretty clear he’s on track to be a very, very solid one. Whether that means he’s in our best 22 in 2-3 years I’m not sure, but you don’t write off guys who can do total blanket jobs on dangerous key forwards because of a few jumper holds.
And personally, considering Hurley is now a running half back who shouldn’t really be near any guy who can mark, I’d play both Hartley and Ambrose when fit.
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My concern is that he’s a pure spoiler, doesn’t mark the footy nearly enough, doesn’t utilise his kicking at all (his biggest weapon IMO weirdly enough) and isn’t quick.
I’m hoping he works on most if not all of that, I think a few of those need to improve a fair bit for him to make it. Could well happen.
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Can’t really disagree with any of that. Why his amazing boot is so under utilised is a continuing mystery.
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I reckon he is worth persisting with but there is no way he keeps his spot once Ambrose is back (granted we don’t run with 3 talls)
That was just a horrible game by Hartley.
Buddy kicked 0.6. You need to remember that
I stand by my Zac Dawson comment.
The way I see it there are three primary roles that a KPD has these days, gone are the days that you could just pay attention to your man.
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Stopping a key forward. This is Hartley’s biggest strength. He really does have a nice spoil on him and positions himself well when the midfield is doing their job and applying pressure. That said, panics at times which leads to him grabbing his opponents jumper (Glad people on here have stopped being delusional about this, remember when the umps were against us when he kept scragging Hawkins?)
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Providing a link up option when switching the play from defence. He ‘could’ be an asset in this regard, as he has a nice long kick. But he never manages to get involved in this area. Perhaps it’s a team direction, but I’m pretty sceptical. He had 1 kick on the weekend, and 4 possessions total vs the Swans. You put up numbers like that, youd better have Chris Langford-esque stopping prowess (which he doesn’t).
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Setting up the press. This is SUCH an important part of modern football, and our press on the weekend was garbage. Look at the way Lonergan/Henderson do this for the Cats, the intercept marking effective KPDs provide allow for quick, repeated f50 entries, putting pressure on the opposition and tiring them out. Hartley took 1 intercept mark on the weekend (it was great to see), but it’s rarer than a Scott Lucas handball. He can’t be considereda good KPD until contributes in this area.
So can he improve in these areas? Maybe. Fundamentally, I think his problem is footspeed. He is scared of leaving his man, or playing in front, in case he gets caught out and his man gets a cheapie. So he tails around his opponent, and grabs them by the jumper if the ball comes in to high and fast.
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BBB, all these points re valid. He had been sent back to the VFL to work on these things, and was just starting to improve in these areas when Ambrose was injured. Unfortunately, he has reverted to 100% lockdown. Maybe that the role he is given now, but I dont think its what the coaches wantfrom him long term.
He’s also clearly a confidence player. You can just about see the gas hiss from his balloon the minute the first free-kick is paid against him, and he goes straight into lockdown mode So it’s a wheels-within-wheels effect. He seems scared-shitless to do anything vaguely resembling attack.
Not sure what happened during the off-season, but all flair has totally left his game.
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Second year blues.
I just hope he gets enough chance next season to come good. Because I believe he can he just has to iron out his brain and he’ll be fine.
This guy deserves a bit of a kudos after last nights effort.
Im not sure if they tried to expose Harts by dragging him out of the defensive 50 and up the ground but if it was a tactic it actually backfired because he was outmarking his opponent and had laser precision with his field kicking.
Well played Harts…
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He was brilliant. Got in front of his man, took crucial marks, and got involved in the link up play. Please continue.
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Good game, could have panicked after Bruce got him early in a contest, didn’t and worked into a solid game.
Really good game; was back to his strong marking, big spoiling and long kicking best. Well done Hearts.
There’s going to be some headaches in selection when Ambrose and Brown get fit, which is a good problem to have.
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