If I have to pick him or Cutler it’s Ham, but gee whiz what I’d do for a Brad Hill type or a winger that can run and hit a target or just give a point of difference.
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Thought he was decent. You can see those extra few kgs have made a difference to his game already.
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He wasn’t terrible but just comes across as jackson Merrett mkii
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Happy to give him a bit of time. Has definitely put a lot of work in off the field in putting on more size
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If we were going to send someone to the backline, surprised it was Cahill and not Ham.
Sure, he doesn’t seem a super defensive player (yet) but neither does Cahill. At least has a bit more pace and better skills
Thought I’d give a shoutout to Brayden Ham after the game.
While the odds are stacked against him making it, you’ve got to give him massive credit as the coaches clearly told him he needed to improve his contest work and he certainly has.
He’s clearly put on some size, and he’s hitting contests a lot harder and his tackling pressure has improved
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Agree but he still doesn’t find the pill enough nor is he particularly damaging or dangerous when he does
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I agree. At this stage I personally don’t see him making it. But credit where credits due, he’s put the work in and has clearly improved on his play from last year.
I’d say that so far, he the only player on our list who played games last year who’s shown any noticeable improvement from last year - maybe McGrath. Good on him for that.
Draper, Jones, lav? hepp and Smith too but due to fitness rather the development. Bryan is worth a mention too
How could I forget Draper lol.
I meant players who had played senior games, as we didn’t get to see the twos play last year so Bryan and Jones I didn’t count. Not sure if I’d include Lav as I thought he was playing well before he did his injury last year.
Btw I find it interesting that you say that Ham would not make it as he doesn’t get it enough nor does he hurt anyone with his disposal. That’s exactly how I’d sum up Guelfi, yet I see you are a big fan of his. I don’t see it with Guelfi at all
Once Perkins gets elevated, I see Ham in a 3-way battle with with Snelling and Guelfi as that hff/wing.
In terms of impact on the game I’d have Guelfi ahead of the other two based on his contested work, but I can’t see the coaches overlooking Snelling who provides a bit of what each of the other two does
I think guelfi’s pressure and contest are much better than hams. They’re both just role players though at this stage
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Ham’s got upside, IMHO.
Guelfi’s not really changed in his 3? years on the list.
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He’s got upside, but I’m just not sure where he fits on our team long term.
Long term I’d think we’d all want Langers and Cox to be our wingers with Merrett as the option when needed for rotations sake.
At half forward he can’t fit alongside Smith, Tippa and Snelling as you’d want someone with a bit more of a contested game who could also help out with mid rotations. Archie is also clearly coming in hot for one of those spots and we’ll clearly draft a midfielder with our top 5 pick at the end of the year, so you’d imagine they’d do a similar transition to Archie.
The only way I saw him playing long term was at half back, but they’ve clearly for whatever reason gone with Cahill instead.
I think Ham’s natural position would be back pocket/ half back -shut down small defender - speed, endurance, repeat efforts and also has the ability to carry the ball. I would be looking at seeing how Cahill progresses as well but if/when Ham drops to VFL I would solely play him in defence.
All of that is fairly reasonable for 2021, but I don’t think much of it it necessarily follows for the long term, at all.
How so?
Is Cox a wingman in 2023?
Is Snelling still on the list?
Smith (27yo now), Tippa (27yo) ?
Cahill - far from a proven quantity.
Perkins ditto, but with far higher wraps.
Etc etc.
There’s a lot of assumptions.
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Last year Ham averaged 10 disposals a game, he got 17 on the weekend. Shortened quarters I suppose is a factor but it’s still a step up.
Compared to Langford 19, parish 18, Sheil 17. It’s not a bad first up effort.
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It’s blitz. Everyone needs to be in the top 3, every game.
I’d like to see him left in. I don’t see an inside mid, but it’s an intriguing proposition.
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