Welcome to Hawthorn Pick 22: Kieran Lovell

[Rioli magic]

The most immediate role we are going to have in the AFL side is the small forward role. Not long until Poppy/Cyril unfortunately call time, so the best place to be if you want to ease into AFL footy in the team is as a small forward. I suspect the aim is to do the transition from forward to mid like they tried with Breust, that never really came off. Just have to see if he can bring the skill and intensity.

When did this happen? I cannot recall Breust playing the majority of any game as a midfielder?

I remember him being one of the best forwards in the league from his second season, after an extremely impressive 30 goals in his first year!

Did we really try and fail to turn him into a midfielder?

 

[Davo-27]

im surprised we went for Lovell with Tucker, Partington, Clarke, Cole, Bonner, Mathieson and Balic available, but obviously the Hawks see more in him than i do, lets all hope he becomes a competitive centreman.....

well not looking good so far past davo-27
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[Blaze Storm]

When did this happen? I cannot recall Breust playing the majority of any game as a midfielder?

I remember him being one of the best forwards in the league from his second season, after an extremely impressive 30 goals in his first year!

Did we really try and fail to turn him into a midfielder?

Clarko put him in every once and a while through the last couple of years, but he keeps getting caught HTB. I recall a similar plan with Lewis when he started out.

 

[threesixpio]

Clarko put him in every once and a while through the last couple of years, but he keeps getting caught HTB. I recall a similar plan with Lewis when he started out.

Re Lewis - interesting observation

 

[Rioli magic]

Clarko put him in every once and a while through the last couple of years, but he keeps getting caught HTB. I recall a similar plan with Lewis when he started out.

I took that as more just part of the relief/rotations and being an extra body we can put through there - throw something different at the opposition but I have never thought we actually wanted to turn him into a midfielder. If anything I looked at it as a positive rather than a negative...

I always thought Lewis was underrated in his first few years. He has an great football brain, and for a pudgy slow kid never had any trouble finding space or the football. I never had any doubts on Lewis as a footballer from day 1, and also loved the fact he had/has a good amount of campaigner in him.

 

[Blaze Storm]

I took that as more just part of the relief/rotations and being an extra body we can put through there - throw something different at the opposition but I have never thought we actually wanted to turn him into a midfielder. If anything I looked at it as a positive rather than a negative...

I always thought Lewis was underrated in his first few years. He has an great football brain, and for a pudgy slow kid never had any trouble finding space or the football. I never had any doubts on Lewis as a footballer from day 1, and also loved the fact he had/has a good amount of campaigner in him.

My point being that if we wanted to have the option of playing someone out of their ideal position to fill needs, it's probably a good idea for them to be able to fill the needs. Clarko likes flexible players, and if you can't contribute outside of your one position, you're going to need to be the best at it. Lovell is not in our top inside mids, therefore, it's a good idea to play another role with a similar skill set.

 

[Mojo]

I took that as more just part of the relief/rotations and being an extra body we can put through there - throw something different at the opposition but I have never thought we actually wanted to turn him into a midfielder. If anything I looked at it as a positive rather than a negative...

I always thought Lewis was underrated in his first few years. He has an great football brain, and for a pudgy slow kid never had any trouble finding space or the football. I never had any doubts on Lewis as a footballer from day 1, and also loved the fact he had/has a good amount of campaigner in him.

I think that's exactly what it was. Diversity is Clarkson's mantra.

 

[bumsonseats]

The senior side is crying out for a ball winning hff that kicks goals and runs through the middle. If good enough that is probably his spot which is why him playing hff makes sense.

To small and disposal questionable to be a HFF.
I always thought 187cm was the perfect height for a HFF......add a bit of dash and a good kick and you got the perfect HFF

 

[Roger Rogerson]

He has had a really poor run with injury. Let's see how the rest of his year pans out.

 

[HawthornHawk]

Did hear from a pretty reliable source down here that the club weren't super impressed with his attitude last year.

Hopefully he has turned the corner.

Not happy with his attitude? For virtually the whole season he was either recovering from a dislocated shoulder or playing with pain from the dislocated shoulder

 

[Jake_09]

Not happy with his attitude? For virtually the whole season he was either recovering from a dislocated shoulder or playing with pain from the dislocated shoulder

They may not have been happy with his attitude towards his recovery

 

[RIOLINWITPUNCHS]

To small and disposal questionable to be a HFF.
I always thought 187cm was the perfect height for a HFF......add a bit of dash and a good kick and you got the perfect HFF

This guy is exactly the type you are talking about.
Would love him at the hawks.

 

[KermitJagger]

well not looking good so far past davo-27
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

To be fair none of the listed players have set the world on fire.

 

[OnceKicked50]

The senior side is crying out for a ball winning hff that kicks goals and runs through the middle. If good enough that is probably his spot which is why him playing hff makes sense.

Spot on. None of our best mids (Mitchell, O'Meara and Shiels) are capable of pushing forward to great effect. All three are primarily inside mids and all three spend a significant amount of game time in the middle.

We are not looking to compliment our midfield group with another inside mid. If Lovell, Cousins and/or O'Rourke are going to make it they are going to have to impact away from the middle perhaps 50/60% of game time.

I think in time, Impey may become that player you mentioned Brishawk. But, in modern footy you want multiple of these guys.

 

[Changa10]

Not happy with his attitude? For virtually the whole season he was either recovering from a dislocated shoulder or playing with pain from the dislocated shoulder

I think it was more to do with how he went about his recovery. I get the impression he could have looked after himself a bit better than he did. He's young and coming from a small country town remember, so adjusting to AFL life isn't always the easiest for these kids.

 

[HairyO]

When did this happen? I cannot recall Breust playing the majority of any game as a midfielder?

I remember him being one of the best forwards in the league from his second season, after an extremely impressive 30 goals in his first year!

Did we really try and fail to turn him into a midfielder?

2015 GF he played mostly in the middle in the 1st quarter and had 9 possessions.

Then drifted more forward as the game went on.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

Will probably end up getting delisted. Another great pick

 

[play2win]

it took hodge/lewis a few years to embrace the program and the professionalism to be elite afl players. lovell has both the time and the tools to still make it.

 

[eldorado]

I like the way his body hardened up (Ooooh, matron!) in his second year, after he looked a bit stocky and rounded in his draft year. That seemed to indicate he was on track until his shoulder.

He's still young. Unless he is ******* up badly behind the scenes, I can't see him being delisted

 

[MrPremiership]

No chance he is getting delisted. He's uncontracted for 2019 so potentially a trade, but that's a LONG way off from here. Still expecting him to get a couple of games this year.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Will probably end up getting delisted. Another great pick

???

 

[Davo23]

Spot on. None of our best mids (Mitchell, O'Meara and Shiels) are capable of pushing forward to great effect. All three are primarily inside mids and all three spend a significant amount of game time in the middle.

We are not looking to compliment our midfield group with another inside mid. If Lovell, Cousins and/or O'Rourke are going to make it they are going to have to impact away from the middle perhaps 50/60% of game time.

I think in time, Impey may become that player you mentioned Brishawk. But, in modern footy you want multiple of these guys.

We have speedy midfield wingers, Smith & Henderson who go forward and kick goals.

In the threepeat era, it was Smith and Hill.

It's the balance of inside and outside midfielders which is needed.

 

[KermitJagger]

We have speedy midfield wingers, Smith & Henderson who go forward and kick goals.

In the threepeat era, it was Smith and Hill.

It's the balance of inside and outside midfielders which is needed.

Plus, O'Meara will be able to go forward once he's completely back playing how he wants to be playing.

 

[Burtman]

We have Ollie who seems highly rated and mosquito coming through, small forwards impact straight away so both will be ready by the time poppy and cyril finish up, small forwards are the least of our worries. We need more mids. With teams clamping Mitchell we look fairly poor through the midfield atm

 

[OnceKicked50]

We have speedy midfield wingers, Smith & Henderson who go forward and kick goals.

In the threepeat era, it was Smith and Hill.

It's the balance of inside and outside midfielders which is needed.

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say.

Mitchell, O'Meara and Shiels rarely play forward, or back for that matter. They all spend a majority of game time in the middle. As a result, there isn't a great % of midfield minutes left.

Smith and Henderson play almost exclusively off the wings, so there isn't many minutes available there either.

Be it Lovell, Cousins or O'Rourke to break into the best 22 they are going to have to be able to play a position such as high half-forward. But, they need to be able to impact in that position as well. Think Mundy, Ziebell, Petracca and Degoey who would all be perhaps a 50/50 split midfield to forward.

During our premiership era Mitchell, Lewis and Shiels still took a good % of the midfield minutes with Hodge and Burgoyne splitting time between midfield and back.

Lovell needs to demonstrate he can be more then an inside mid as if not, it's hard to see how he fits into the best 22.