Could captain a premiership side in the SANFL or WAFL……same as Hobbs
The recruitment of Baldwin was a gamble. Showed a lot at under 16 level then crueled with back to back knee recos. I, like most, wanted him to succeed. However it wasn’t the case for this high risk, high reward ssp selection.
He showed he was committed and tried to wring everything out of himself only to be let down by his body.
I have know doubt he will put in a determined effort to try get back on an AFL list and I wish him all the best.
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Baldwin makes May look like Carl Lewis.
Hard to make it at the elite level at Baldwin’s height if you don’t have elite athletic attributes, ie. Vertical leap, speed, agility etc.
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I’m not as big a fan of Hobbs as others on the site, but he’s going to have an AFL career for at least the next 7 years.
May not be with us.
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Feel really bad for the guy. He looked to have all the tools to be a good player but injuries just destroyed him
You can tell by the way he has rehabbed and prepared his body how committed he is
All the best Baldwin, I hope he kills it in the VFL and he gets another chance
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People just can’t let go, i am sure this thread will be going in 5 years time. He just was not good enough and this was proven by the fact that no other club showed any interest. A defender who could not hit a target is the just not going to make it in AFL. Move on people.
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Most of the VFL watchers in 2023 were lauding his kicking out of the backline.
I only went to 1 VFL game that year.
The Carlton game at Princess Park.
He went off late in the game due to a knock to the head.
Came back on all bandaged up around his forehead and soon after took a courageous contested mark.
He’s got terrific hands.
Recall the game well because Voss had an absolute stinker against a couple of park footballers, and Hunter was impressive in his VFL debut (?).
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He had a couple of elite skills; a great pair of hands and a very good kick, unfortunately a bit off with his kicking lately but it will return. Hope he stays with our vfl side, probably unlikely though
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You conveniently left off the “for his lack of mobility” part. Stephen May is far more athletic than Baldwin. Laverde is also a fringe player if we have our backs available, so no use comparing the two.
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Ok so you’re saying lack of mobility. What do you base that on?
His lack of mobility mostly.
He doesn’t have a big leap, nor is he exceptionally fast. He has great hands and is generally a nice kick. But if you want a KPD, he needs to be able to stay with the big boys.
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Nothing to substantiate it. I guess it’s just opinion.
I don’t think mobility was his problem. His injuries on the other hand …
It’s fair to say he’s a little robotic with his movements.
You’d definitely want more mobility at his height at AFL level.
Looks like he was working on it pre season '24, and then injury hit.
To be fair, that perfectly describes Lav- except for the good kick part
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It is hard to believe that people are still talking about the thing that happened yesterday.
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Stop living in the past dude.
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THey have been talking about it since he was delisted.
Would have been nice for Brad to give him a go in the back half of that year (was it '23?) when he was ready and rearing to go. Should have played a half a season and I think got 2 or 3 games. In his first game back (North?) he set the play up beautifully from behind the ball with his kicking.
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Did you watch any vfl games? Honestly?
His foot skills are generally very good. That is absolutely not the reason why he hasnt been playing.
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Does have a big leap, and knows how to mark the ball at its highest point.
His agility is below average though. Thats where his mobility lacks most.