He is a clever player that can create a bit of time for himself and uses it intelligently. Obviously needs a big offseason to increase his running capacity. He def has the game for senior AFL just needs to do the work.
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Saad did ok for a newish young player. He was serviceable and will improve witth more experince ne exposure to AFL level. Give him a go!
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I actually disagree.
I think calling his game only serviceable is very harsh.
You must remember context here, its his 1st full game of football, and he was everywhere in the first half consistently providing an outlet option on the wing for us.
21 disposals 4 inside 50âs and goal is an excellent return for someone playing their 1st complete game of league footy.
He used the ball very well too.
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Honestly serviceable was my first thought but he had way more of it than I thought based on your post so yeah must persist, good game from the maturely aged kid
to be completely clear; even if it was an avg or bad game obviously have to persist anyway haha
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He has speed as a weapon that we really need. Other players e.g. #29 have played this year that have no weapons at all!
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Thanks TOP. I used serviceable as a positive so as not to be too extreme in defending him against the many critics who want him dropped. I think he did well and yes a little better than serviceable if that meant averaage. I think he has good future and agree he needs a bit of time in the AFL to show us his full value.
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I donât get it we have bog average players and some are harsh on this guy
Serviceable
21 touches and a goal
Is more then serviceable but then again this is blitz
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Leg speed and quality ball use.
In a team lacking both.
Itâs a no brainer to pump games into him
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He has a bit of a habit of letting oppo get close enough to smother, whether he is looking further afield assessing options and doesnt see how close they are getting ot what the reason is iâm not sure but have seen it happen a few times now
About the only possible thing you could fault him on though
Edit: other than running capacity type stuff which will come with time
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Maybe just lack of experience of playing with the big boys. Reckon players learn quickly about the tempo and pressure in the firsts.
He did that in the first half, several times in the second half he just stopped and propped. I was imploring him to move it forward. In fairness to him there werenât great options. Also thought he was on the dead wing and should have been used more. Solid game and should be given a few months to find his feet.
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ADW had a couple of handballs smothered too, will come in time
Some players just look better at this level and I think El-Hawli is one of them.
If you look at his contributions so far - he came on in a quarter against Port and was a big contributor to turning that game (I canât think of any Essendon sub having a bigger impact), he played 3 quarters against Melbourne for 17 touches and was tidy, came on late against WC and didnât get near it. First full game against Sydney and was a big reason for our hot start.
So really one quarter out of over two games where he hasnât impacted.
I want to see us let him make that wing role his own for the remainder of the year.
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Iâd actually noticed it in the vfl a couple of times, but I agree its not likely to be a long term issue
I almost entirely agree. However, ideally a great wingman is taller and can be strong overhead in terms of marking presence. Thatâs what theyâd see in wing version of JonesâŚ. Even though it only returning moderate results.
I think itâs not necessarily about heightâŚBut due historically to our smaller mids, height was needed more on the wing. With Perkins, Setterfield and Durham running around in midfield less of an issue than Merrett, Parish, Smith and McGrath.
What we need from wingers is - speed, good at contest and the spread, good decision makers and high footy IQ, know when to push back / push forward, plus good skills ball in hand so can keep possession. If they can push forward and kick a goal helps as well.
Durham and El-Hawli tick a lot of boxes.
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His first half was good but then tapperd off
If he can play well for the whole game against Dogs he would just about cemented his spot in the side
The week before against NM in the VFL, even though he only had 17 disposals, you can see how clever he is with his kicking.
Bringing the ball back into the corridor and opening up the ground for the recipient.
Very pleased we gave him a full game at AFL level.
Maybe Brad is learning ?
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A small thing but I thought we could have done a little more to really GET AROUND HIM and amp up the love and energy when he kicked his first AFL goal on the weekend. There was definitely some acknowledgement, not saying there wasnât but it was slightly ho hum.
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El Hawli is decent in the air for a small, he can get on shoulders too
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