I'm still a Ken Hinkley fan, but the one thing about him that shits me above all else is his willingness to give chance after chance after chance to midgets like Mitchell, Neade and Gray (at least that one briefly worked out but he seems to be reverting back to type now) and average mature-age depth players like O'Shea and Stewart coupled with his complete lack of willingness to provide the same extended opportunities to young talls. Butcher, Howard, Clurey, whoever. Even Mason Shaw back in 2014 when he was in form.
No team has 22 superstars. Every team is gonna have a few lesser lights to fill out those last few spots. Why the **** do we consistently fill those last spots with out of form midgets with little to no upside instead of using one or two of them to develop some young key position players, and offer sone desperately needed structural support to Lobbe/Dixon/Hombsch to boot?
Firstly, risk/reward. We play Kane Mitchell, there's a 90% chance he'll continue to be shit (risk) and a 10% chance he'll play at his peak level which is a short quick outside player with average skills (reward). We play John Butcher, there's a 90% chance he'll continue to be shit (risk) and a 10% chance he'll play at his peak level which is a contested marking beast key forward with superb athleticism for his height and excellent defensive pressure (reward). The risk is the same either way, but one reward is far more valuable than the other.
Secondly, you need to sink time into developing these guys. It's an unfortunate reality. Most KPP's take around 50-100 games before they reach their peak. It's probably already too late. Even if Ken wakes up tomorrow and decides "right, I've had it all wrong, from now on I'm gonna start playing young KPP's", by the time Dougal/Clurey/Austin etc are hitting their peak Boak/Gray/Hartlett/Dixon/Ryder etc will be past their best and nearing retirement.