I wouldn’t say Stewart’s form has been incredible but it has certainly been very good. He has put on a lot of size in the upper body and is now holding his own or winning a lot more one on one contests which was a weakness of his.
His problem isn’t his own form just that Smack has been even better.
As far as dropping Daniher for either of them that’s not even in the ballpark if Daniher is fit. Neither of them are anywhere near Daniher’s best although I’m hoping Smack can close the gap a bit more
McKernan is well ahead of Stewart. I don’t think Stewart will get a game this season until there’s an injury or serious form slump from someone ahead of him (i.e, Daniher, McKernan, Brown).
McKernan I think is our most valuable “second tall forward” option due to his ability to give Bellchambers a hand in the ruck. I’d be surprised if we used Daniher in that role at the moment. The issue of whether to include a third tall forward is a bit of a tricky one if Stringer’s going to spend a lot of time forward as well (though I’d love to see him predominantly in the midfield). Brown was hugely valuable last year but we’d want to think carefully before choosing to run a forward line with four talls. They all offer something different, which helps, and Brown and Stringer especially are not your conventional tall forward types.
Hooker was such a valuable partner to Daniher because of his contested marking. Smack is the only other player on our list capable of the same and is why I’d have him in front of Brown/Stewart.
But as importantly, Smack is the only one who can ruck, which puts any debate on the topic immediately to bed. TBell isn’t fit enough or durable enough to play the minutes on ball that someone like Gawn can. He needs a solid foil and anyone who thinks that’s going to be Daniher this year needs their head read. And I don’t ever want to see Stringer rucking again.
The thing that I take from that interview reading between the lines is he has been told he will be part of the starting lineup with Daniher this year in the forward line as most of us have expected
Gee, Smack’s stock value has risen on here over the pre season. On his day he’s fantastic, and I hope he fulfills his potential but gee, his track record over a decade is no different. For me he’s still only a valuable back up and if he starts this year and we see more of his inconsistent output, we should dispense with this idea he is the answer.
whats the saying??… Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
at the end of the day, the club brought him in as a rookie backup ruckman. weve gotten some great mileage out of him to the point where he is contesting for best 22. thats a damn good outcome for a delisted rookie. if he doesent perform, than Stewart or Brown get a chance. weve got plenty of options up forward.
If that’s the case then it’s up to him to handle the expectations that come with first dibs. Unlike the start of the last season, this year should provide him the confidence and excitement to cement his spot in the side. Also means at training he knows the stuff he is doing is for an immediate purpose. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it. His aggression at training suggests he is eager to make an impact.
Smack was a legitimately dangerous forward in 2018. He’s a fierce competitor, always at a minimum will bring the ball to ground. A solid contested mark and decent shot for goal. The best thing is he’s able to crumb goals, has that freakish x-factor ability that few talls have.
Add in Daniher, you’ve got 2 talls that can do some awesome things.
