If you selected on VFL form then Ham gets it every time. I agree though that I’d like to see him get a run, but I really don’t think he’s bashed the door down
Can’t remember - but, did Sir James make a fool of Truck when they played or something?
To be fair on Truck, he wasn’t alone.
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i feel like its a hot take to say A or The Hird would offer anything at AFL level. both are pretty bog average VFL level talents
And it just wouldn’t do to replace any of our big average AFL players with them.
Ah yes, that’s exactly the reason why he’s not getting a game.
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He could play alongside Kobe Bewick
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I wouldn’t agree with you there. They get relatively similar stats but its how they get the ball and what they do with it that really puts them apart. Ham looks busy and quick but much like in the AFL, he loses too many contests, struggles to stick a tackle and his snaps at goal never look like going through. In contrast, Hird is usually at the bottom of packs or he ensures the ball doesn’t come out until the whistle blows when he is the tackler. Although he misses a lot of his snaps on goal, they are generally very close out of difficult situations. One of his strengths is an ability to get he ball to boot quickly and going in the right direction, which is something that is lacking in the AFL forward line. I like Ham, but he has reached a ceiling that I think Hird can well and truly rise above.
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In the matches where I have watched Tom Hird, he is definitely a guy who tries to win the footy and unlike Ham does not wait to recieve it from some-one else. He seems very competitive.
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the problem with this line of thinking ( and it’ not restricted to ham, it applies to cutler, smith etc) is, they are generally senior players who know how to win the ball, and they generally come back to vfl level and play midfield, hence they get alot of the ball, hence look like the obvious and always stand outs to get picked.
ham is generally played in the AFL as a HFF who gets it 10-15 times with little to no impact.
he probably wouldnt even replicate that at VFL level if he was required to play the same role.
neither have bashed the door down when a spot comes up, however ones played as a dedicated forward every week now, and ones a floating mid hybrid forward between the levels who doesn’t impact at afl level.
ham also isn’t getting better in that role, so I don’t understand why they keep persisting with him or cutler in specific roles that we already know they are not good at, on a continual basis at afl level.
I’d be picking either or hird but now moreso menzie before picking ham, they may actually surpass what ham produces at afl level.
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It’s a strange thing watching Tom play. He doesn’t appear to have much speed, but he isn’t slow. He looks like he would get knocked away easily but sticks tackles. He seems to spend a lot of time waiting off the pack yet somehow keeps getting up from the bottom of it. He doesn’t look particularly strong, but his tackles generally stick. He doesn’t look particuarly evasive, but he regularly disposes with time.
He does run to good places, he seems to read the play better every game. His disposal is generally very good to exellent but probably not quite elite. He can get ball to foot or hand pretty quickly and normally to advantage.
Everything is there, he has all the skills yet when you watch it almost seems like he is still a kid playing against men. Really strange to describe. I think some of it is the way he carries himself with that slightly hunched over look. Weird description I know, but those that have watched him will know what I mean.
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He’s the exact same type of player as Snelling.
Hird is a ‘team first’, ‘stick to structures’, and really focusses on one percent-ers.
@Paul_Cousins seems to be a big wrap for him, as he is a very team oriented player.
With Snelling missing out for most of the season, there was definitely a role there for Hird…. If we went down that path with selection.
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Should get games need to find out if he can play at the top level
Yeah it was a total fluff not giving him a senior game when Snelling was out and we had nothing forward (would have given a PR boost too)
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Sounds very Hird-like
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For whatever reason, Rutten and Co seem to have his papers stamped.
The fact they continually go back to Ham, in preference, clearly shows this.
You might just have described his old man in his early days…
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He had that ripper day out where he ended up with 27 & 2 goals - other than that, he’s had a few decent games but hasn’t really looked much better than many of our VFL listed guys IMO.
Remember, he’s also competing with Ham & Menzie (& Tex earlier in the year), so I can absolutely see why he hasn’t had an opportunity yet, as they’ve also been playing well at that level. Perkins will come back in next week, too.
Tbh, I just don’t see that elite trait you need at the top level if you’re weighing in at 76kg (although he is apparently very fit). He’s not especially quick, his disposal is solid without being elite, and he doesn’t find a lot of the ball or kick enough goals (8 from 13 games).
He does always give effort though, he does the team things, and has shown a few exciting glimpses this year that I don’t think we’d seen before. It’s been really fun watching him continue to improve and he’s come a long way, for sure.
If he can start stringing together a couple of dominant performances, I reckon he’ll get his opportunity. Hope he does as well - would be incredible if he ended up playing even just the one senior game. I reckon he’s still just a solid VFL player at this stage, though.
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Sorry @nickers but surely you can’t see these things in Ham, either, yet we still go back to that empty well.
If Hird gets moved on, so be it, but, to continually play a bloke that has demonstrated he isn’t up to it, is absurd.
I can’t see how Hird gets a senior game in what’s left of the season. I also can’t see him being added to the list if his time as rookie B can’t be extended for another season.
What I think is the best and most sensible outcome would be for his rookie B status to expire and him to be added to the VFL list to continue his development to see if he can improve enough to be redrafted as a rookie.
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