the problem with that line of thinking is, it starts of with the assertion that “they know” his limitations.
If they know them, then they roughly know what he is and what he will produce, and when your mantra is blue collar and you’ve just come off being belted in contested play the week before, bringing in anyone who doesn’t fit the mould of what you’re trying achieve raises some very major red flags.
the simple fact of it all is, brisbane know and will no doubt come out and try and absolutely bully us from the first bounce, and they’ve brought in one player who does absolutely 0 for that issue that’s coming (it’s not a ham thing, he is what he is, it’s a coaches and poor decision thing)
I said at time when Shiel first out we botched our emergencies as really this should have been Hobbs chance to come in. And aligning with want for contested players.
That said he wasn’t even brought in as emergency cover, Waterman was.
Hams inclusion really is just example of how thin/not ready our depth is for the smaller fwd options
but the coaches did drop Ham so he wasnt going to get 2-3 weeks. He is only in today with Shiel a late out.
So selection group see that last week was not acceptable from Ham. So bringing him in now strikes me as odd. What is most surprising to me is that we were smashed at contests last week, and we have a new guy who apparently is good at this yet we don’t get a look at him. I’m really surprised we didnt give Hobbs a go. I know he is a kid, and not played a game, but Ham is a known commodity at this stage, and frankly I think there is more upside in seeing what Hobbs might deliver vs what Ham will today
I guess im saying the coaches picking Ham -after yet another two injuries in a similar position - doesn’t necessarily mean they think he’s Brownlow material.
IIRC at the time Melbourne was flush for inside mids winning contested ball (Oliver, Viney, Jones, Harmes, Petracca) but had almost no one on the outside, so Ham would have fulfilled a need there.
We all hope he brings a performance which rebuts the negative perspective he enjoys. But if you are going to occupy a spot on the list and play regularly then there’s an implied obligation to turn up every time you run out. It’s not suit jacket buttons.
Unfortunately I just don’t see him working on our team, as his weaknesses of contested ball and panic kicking at times are weaknesses of the squad as a whole, so his issues only get magnified.
However, I always thought Ham had some AFL attributes and could actually suit a halfback role in a team already with strong contested players. Like Bowey at Melbourne and Baker in previous years at Richmond.