Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn, Denver Grainger-Barras

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[Brishawk]

I want to have good feelings about DGB, but all I have is worry, and I need to get it off my chest:


Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

Time will tell, but i think it is going to be a long year of watching other club draftees go past him.

I tend to be a pessimist, but I have more worry than excitement.

Can we wait until he plays a few games before we write him off?

 

[Brant]

I want to have good feelings about DGB, but all I have is worry, and I need to get it off my chest:


Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

Time will tell, but i think it is going to be a long year of watching other club draftees go past him.

I tend to be a pessimist, but I have more worry than excitement.

Forward Pocket all day.

 

[Luv_our_club]

Forward Pocket all day.

Do you think his future is forward?

 

[Luv_our_club]

Can we wait until he plays a few games before we write him off?

Who wrote him off?

Can we discuss players?

 

[Brishawk]

Who wrote him off?

Can we discuss players?

It is pretty clear you don’t think he was a good selection and don’t see where he fits at AFL. You couldn’t bring yourself to note a single positive. Why should anyone take your post seriously if you won’t make an effort to assess him as a player instead of veil a condemnation of selecting him?

 

[rei154]

I want to have good feelings about DGB, but all I have is worry, and I need to get it off my chest:


Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Not an abundance of athleticism
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

Time will tell, but i think it is going to be a long year of watching other club draftees go past him.

I tend to be a pessimist, but I have more worry than excitement.

I'd say that he's actually incredibly athletic at his height, just very skinny (and small tank).
The things that I believe drew us to him with our first pick are his athletic ability to cover ground in bursts quickly, his ability to play on smalls and talls, his coordination with his hands, his incredibly footy brain.
I was a little apprehensive when we first drafted him too, but I think once he's had a little time to develop he's going to be an absolute jet (look at people like Weid/weitering).
I back him in to come good, but I also back him in to take a few years for it to occur too.

 

[eldorado]

Who wrote him off?

Can we discuss players?

I thought your post was about your worries, not DGB...

One of your worries was that he was ' a defender'

If that is the case, I'm not sure there is much any of us can do to assuage your worries, because he is, in fact, a defender.

 

[Luv_our_club]

It is pretty clear you don’t think he was a good selection and don’t see where he fits at AFL. You couldn’t bring yourself to note a single positive. Why should anyone take your post seriously if you won’t make an effort to assess him as a player instead of veil a condemnation of selecting him?

Here was me thinking this was a place to express my worry about a football matter related to the Hawthorn FC.

I was pretty clear in my post that the post was largely about me and my worries, based on some observations.


By you respond with exaggerations like "writing him off" and terms like "condemnation" - but that's your right

 

[Brant]

Do you think his future is forward?

I definitely do.

195cm, very mobile, reads the play extremely well & has a beautiful habit of actually holding his marks!

 

[Luv_our_club]

I thought your post was about your worries, not DGB...

One of your worries was that he was ' a defender'

If that is the case, I'm not sure there is much any of us can do to assuage your worries, because he is, in fact, a defender.

I don't mind defenders in the top 6, but it is definitely not a preference; for example Weitering I thought was def an obvious choice.

 

[Milkshaker]

Here was me thinking this was a place to express my worry about a football matter related to the Hawthorn FC.

I was pretty clear in my post that the post was largely about me and my worries, based on some observations.


By you respond with exaggerations like "writing him off" and terms like "condemnation" - but that's your right

Ignore them they do it to everyone. I get your post.

Be patient I reckon. FWIW a lot of us thought Will Day would not play for a few years given his age and size but he acquitted himself well which was a nice surprise.

 

[Luv_our_club]

I'd say that he's actually incredibly athletic at his height, just very skinny (and small tank).
The things that I believe drew us to him with our first pick are his athletic ability to cover ground in bursts quickly, his ability to play on smalls and talls, his coordination with his hands, his incredibly footy brain.
I was a little apprehensive when we first drafted him too, but I think once he's had a little time to develop he's going to be an absolute jet (look at people like Weid/weitering).
I back him in to come good, but I also back him in to take a few years for it to occur too.

That's my hope side too - just how you expressed it.

I think my biggest concern is his height, at pick 6, as a defender, without elite speed (he is closer to 190 than 200) - ut makes for an unusual combination and a lot of waiting to see how it turns out.

 

[Slysh]

That's my hope side too - just how you expressed it.

I think my biggest concern is his height, at pick 6, as a defender, without elite speed (he is closer to 190 than 200) - ut makes for an unusual combination and a lot of waiting to see how it turns out.

Look i shared the same concern half way through last year about his size but seeing more of him it quickly went away.

He has handled himself well on bigger bodies and i think his frame looks promising. I definitely think he has a frame that will develop well in 2-3 years.

I would not be surprised if his future was as a forward because he is capable but that just makes him an even more exciting prospect.

Elite hands, reads the ball as good as anyone in the air, good foot skills for his size, good below his knees for his height. The sky is the limit for him it is just a matter of applying himself and developing.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

not that tall

The rest of your reasoning aside because it’s way, way, way too early to be judging this kid as you have - not that tall? Give me a spell. He’s 195cm and still growing - that’s roughly in the same region as most FB and CHB across the league.

The rest - let’s give the kid a few games before we start dissecting him, hey?

 

[Davo-27]

That's my hope side too - just how you expressed it.

I think my biggest concern is his height, at pick 6, as a defender, without elite speed (he is closer to 190 than 200) - ut makes for an unusual combination and a lot of waiting to see how it turns out.

i think theres more upside than downside to his game, if all you saw was his half of footy against the Dogs then it might leave you with a few concerns, but then he backed it up by making Ugle-Hagan look average up to half time during the Box Hill game, he also has a proven track record playing in the WAFL for 2 years and is a classy intercept and dour defender, i think half a game where he didnt get a chance to impact the game much at all is hard to judge anything by imo.

 

[kirbatron]

I want to have good feelings about DGB, but all I have is worry, and I need to get it off my chest:


Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Not an abundance of athleticism
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

Time will tell, but i think it is going to be a long year of watching other club draftees go past him.

I tend to be a pessimist, but I have more worry than excitement.

what is your assessment based on?

 

[Endorphin Machine]

I want to have good feelings about DGB, but all I have is worry, and I need to get it off my chest:


Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Not an abundance of athleticism
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

Time will tell, but i think it is going to be a long year of watching other club draftees go past him.

I tend to be a pessimist, but I have more worry than excitement.

What is this? He hasnt played a ******* game yet.

 

[Soaring Hawk]

I would have taken him at pick 3. No concerns. His ability to read the ball in the air and nullify a tall forward is exceptional. We can build the backline around him in the future.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[PenAndPaper]

Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Not an abundance of athleticism
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

1. We need a key defender.
2. Key position defenders' kicking abilities aren't the number 1 priority. (He is a very good kick though anyway)
3. He is 195cm, he's key sized.
4. Most players that aren't mids in their first year have poor endurance, hell even half of the mids have poor endurance.
5. WA Draft Combine: Agility, 20m Sprint & vertical were all top 5. (2nd for Agility btw)
6. His core is significantly weaker than the players he is playing on, hence he is going to be pushed off the ball and lose his feet more.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I want to have good feelings about DGB, but all I have is worry, and I need to get it off my chest:


Worries:
a "defender",
long kick but not elite;
not that tall - looks 3rd tall size when standing next to opponents,
endurance looks a weakness, -
Not an abundance of athleticism
Often choses to not keep his feet
What type of elite player does he become? Sicily - Gibson? they are rare freaks who were never expected to become gun key defenders
Pick 6 is what hurts - even if he turns out to be a pick 20-40 type player. I just can't see the pay-off right now.

Time will tell, but i think it is going to be a long year of watching other club draftees go past him.

I tend to be a pessimist, but I have more worry than excitement.

Bloody hell.

 

[The German Hunter]

I like Denver cause he can football good

 

[Brant]

I like Denver cause he can football good

#unproven

 

[The German Hunter]

#unproven

#killjoy

 

[Hawk Dork]

#futurenormsmithmedalist

 

[Brant]

#killjoy

#sorryman