From what was said and transpired through the season it was a learning curve for Kyle (and the coaches too I suspect) for him to work on becoming the player the coaches wanted him to be.
He and the coaches should be confident he can indeed play in that role, and they can build upon this over the preseason and the years ahead to make him into a key player for us.
Problem with Francis is he has so much ability that he doesn’t know when to pull it back and do the stock standard option. Roger Federer suffered similar challenges at the beginining of his career. Just had too many shots at his disposal… I rate Francis’ kicking as good as anyone in the AFL. Won’t forget seeing the Richmond game where his deft chips, angled precise passes and then bullets cut the tigers apart. My mate (a Richmond supporter) suggested that he was somewhat of an artist… it’s for this reason that I’m confident that he becomes a better player than McGovern. A genius with ball in hand.
He has the ability to play the Hird role imo. Damaging on ball,and floating or resting forward n snagging a goal or two.
Now Im not saying as good as Hird,not at all.
But he can end up that big bodied 25 possession 1-2 goal a game player,like Hirdy was.