Player Watch #17: James Stewart - Groin injury, not running yet. couple of weeks once he starts running - 23/4

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Killer_Mike

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Exactly what we need from him. May be our most important player structurally.
I agree.

Hooker isn't getting any younger and his work in tandem with Joe is an excellent combo.

Keeps working on his contested marking and we have somebody to fill a key position for the next ten years.
 

blitzer

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Nice play from him tonight. He actually was racking up the contested touches.

I can see why the coaches really like this current forward line structure with him as the 3rd tall. Its producing good results for us.
 

Kakkle

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Suggest you read it again. He's about our 15th best player but makes out forward line that much better. Sucks defenders away from Joe and Hooksy and creates space for Tippa and Raz.


I get what you mean. It's not entirely a coincidence that we've averaged 19 more points since his inclusion into the side.
 

Towno78

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Have been critical of his past month. Was excellent last night. Kept on presenting.
He and Hooker were so important in that first half.
Hope to see more of the same.
 

BrunoV

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Loved his game against Port for all of the obvious reasons.

He's not just a great athlete but he also seems to have a really good feel for "midfield craft" in congestion (as has been mentioned above). He was often the player cleanly picking up the ball off the ground, firing off a handball, blocking and then sprinting ahead of the ball to be the next option in the chain of possession. His pressure at ground level was top notch as was his overall work rate.

Not saying that he could or should be considered a midfielder at any stage but it was a clear demonstration that his height is completely irrelevant to any discussion about a lack of mobility in our forwardline. He's got all of our forwards other than Fantasia covered for mobility. I reckon that he's a better overal runner than Tippa (more powerful over 30-100m with better endurance).

Just want to see him clunk some big marks while in the forward 50 and take more of a turn in the ruck and he'll have shown more than we could expect of a player we traded for a pick in the 70s.

A permanent spot in the side is his to lose and I'm certainly hoping that he can take the opportunity. As far as I am concerned the ideal forward set-up includes three talls as long as it is mobile enough - the combination of Daniher, Hooker and Stewart is certainly mobile enough.

As a half-forward work horse who is 198cm and dangerous enough to command a quality opponent when close to goal he provides a unique point of difference for our forward line.
 
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