Player Watch #12: Lachie Hunter – one of our best value trades ever?

[mrmonkey]

Who gives a s**t. So does 50% of the league

Didn't our current captain once upon a time hit the piss and vomit on Scully?

 

[RandB]

Didn't our current captain once upon a time hit the piss and vomit on Scully?

I consider that community service.

 

[Simon_Says]

Elite pick up for essentially a packet of chips.

 

[Ando727]

Hated him playing for dogs, love him playing for dees.

Basically Steven May MkII.

 

[danster168]

Elite pick up for essentially a packet of chips.

no coincidence that he came cheap

 

[TiAn_]

Works very hard and applies defensive pressure, although not a great tackler, and doesn’t shirk contests. Agile but not fast. Great accumulator and hands, but tends to stop and wait when he takes a mark and is a slow and loopy kick over distance, so can be a transition killer. We’ve gradually shifted him to half forward where his creative chip kicking is useful and played others in the wing spots the last few years.

 

[X_box_X]

You guys have potentially picked up an absolute bargain here. Despite the rumours of his off field troubles, I am shattered to lose him.

I named my son after him when he was born in 2014. The day after he was born, Brendan McCartney 'resigned' as coach. He never really gave Lachie a chance.

The reason I named my son after him is because I saw something special in this kid. His football nous was impressive and I knew he'd make it as a player. And boy was I right. A premiership winning Best & Fairest winner blossomed in the second half of 2015 and he performed at a consistent very good level for the next six seasons. All he needed was a coach that gave him a chance, and Bevo was that man. You guys have the best coaching crew in the league so if anyone is going to get the best out of Lachie, it's Goodwin and co.

IMO, the Hunter we had in 2015 - 2021 is likely to be the same Hunter you guys get for the next few years. He has his troubles and demons (no pun intended) in 2022 but I consider that an aberration.

I wish him every success at your Club and I hope he turns things around and you can enjoy a fit, hardworking clever midfielder for a few seasons.

 

[pjfairbairn]

Now he's here, I'll get behind him.

 

[Angak]

Hunter is one of the smartest footballers around. Knows the wing role like the back of his hand. He has been training 4hrs everyday at a port Melbourne gym since the season ended.

I suspect he will on his best behavior for the 6-12 months of his contract after that good luck. He has a LOT of field issues.

 

[KickLongTackleHard]

Hunter is one of the smartest footballers around. Knows the wing role like the back of his hand. He has been training 4hrs everyday at a port Melbourne gym since the season ended.

I suspect he will on his best behavior for the 6-12 months of his contract after that good luck. He has a LOT of field issues.

What kind of issues?

 

[stEdy]

I'm sure the contract we have with him has some get-out clauses for us if he falls off the wagon

I like the strategy of taking some risks on some blokes with off-field issues when we are in our window - Goody himself has had his battles with addiction

Giving blokes second chances you can get that 12-24 month bounce in performance when they knuckle down to prove people wrong.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

I'm sure the contract we have with him has some get-out clauses for us if he falls off the wagon

I like the strategy of taking some risks on some blokes with off-field issues when we are in our window - Goody himself has had his battles with addiction

Giving blokes second chances you can get that 12-24 month bounce in performance when they knuckle down to prove people wrong.

100%, easily the best piece of business we've done in a trade trade period for a while imo coz he fills a need in our best 22 and if he doesnt play a single game its cost us a pick we likely wouldnt have used anyway.

 

[mrmonkey]

I'm sure the contract we have with him has some get-out clauses for us if he falls off the wagon

I like the strategy of taking some risks on some blokes with off-field issues when we are in our window - Goody himself has had his battles with addiction

Giving blokes second chances you can get that 12-24 month bounce in performance when they knuckle down to prove people wrong.

Yeah by the way it was being reported on Wednesday night was that Hunter was all chips in and was waiting for the green light from Melbourne. Sounds like Hunter was keener to get to Melbourne than what Melbourne was to get him.

Talking about second chances I was thinking about Harley Bennell the other day, if he was given another preseason he could have been a premiership player. Still glad to see him in red in blue.

 

[ABray10]

Don't care if he can only kick it 35m tops, he generally hits his targets. This is the best pickup we have made since Ed Langdon

15

Ed Langdon

Age

28

Ht

182cm

Wt

78kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.0

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

9.0

5star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.3

4star

CL

1.4

4star

D

20.3

5star

K

12.8

5star

HB

7.5

4star

M

4.5

4star

T

0.8

1star

CL

1.8

4star

D

13.0

4star

K

6.4

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.4

4star

CL

0.6

3star

, and if he is kicking it into our forward line at least we should see something different to long ball to a contest in the pocket every now and again.

 

[Lex22]

What kind of issues?

Nobody really knows for sure/haven’t elaborated on them on our board, which I guess is fair enough. He was picked late in the year, though.

Personally, I think the game has gone past him - he’s not overly quick and his disposal seemed to get worse (was never a strong point). Those slower accumulators on a wing…they just aren’t damaging enough. It’s been a few years now since his best footy.

Or he could just need a change….you haven’t given up much for the risk anyway.

 

[Crusty Demon]

Don't care if he can only kick it 35m tops, he generally hits his targets. This is the best pickup we have made since Ed Langdon, and if he is kicking it into our forward line at least we should see something different to long ball to a contest in the pocket every now and again.

Hmmm, based on his footy purely in 2022 I'm not convinced he gets a game ahead of JJ. Handy depth but I fear his best is well past him.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

 

[Topkent]

Them kicks inside 50 :0

 

[The Dr]

Them kicks inside 50 :0

If he wants to get a game, he needs to learn our brand and just bomb to a 1 v 3 in a pocket


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Scythe94]

If he wants to get a game, he needs to learn our brand and just bomb to a 1 v 3 in a pocket


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Can't wait for him to hit 10 targets inside 50 in Round 1 and then get dropped for JJ.

 

[Dory_77]

Can't wait for him to hit 10 targets inside 50 in Round 1 and then get dropped for JJ.

That wouldn't look like a Melbourne game. Needs some learnings of our DNA

 

[Bulldogs85]

Weird seeing him in another Jumper

 

[danster168]

Weird seeing him in another Jumper

can't stand having a ducker in our team. we've already got 1 or 2. Especially with the rule changes it doesn't help Hunters game.

 

[Scythe94]

can't stand having a ducker in our team. we've already got 1 or 2. Especially with the rule changes it doesn't help Hunters game.

He averages 1.1 free kicks per game for his career. Even if they were all for high contact (they obviously weren't), his career average for disposals per game drops from 23.4 to 22.3 if you take out every free kick he's ever received. Who cares lol

 

[00Stinger]

I actually agree with Danster for once

I hate this ducking, diving smug looking campaigner

But now he is our mug looking diving & ducking campaigner so I'll learn to love him