Some interesting /strange picks

Weaver

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Thread starter #51
Bentleigh said:
We, Tigers missed out on KKP early on the draft but we got some good KKP which are young. We now have a handful of good young KKP which should mature together, all under 20 yoa.
I think Richmond have been very smart. Roughead and Franklin might have been the 2 best key position players available THIS year but would not normally be top-5 options.

In contrast next year I think that Drum, Clark and Dowler will all be in the top-5 or so and I rate all of them better than the Hawks' pair. Richmond will surely have an early pick again next season and will able to get a genuine key position option then.
 

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GOALden Hawk

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#52
CyberKev said:
In fairness, we do have Dawson on the list and did get burnt by taking Loats and Campbell a few years back; although there is obviously a considerable difference in the potential inherent in these players and the likes of Meesen.

Taking the ruck issue out of the equation for now, do you perceive of Lewis as being surplus to need, as some are suggesting?

I've been of the view that four quality inside midfielders are required at the club, and we would have that now with Crawford, Mitchell, Hodge & Lewis (assuming the former continues to improve and the latter carries over his strong junior form).

I have, however, been arguing that Crawford would be best served by playing out his career predominantly as a dangerous floating forward, who can cover inside positions during injury crises. Ries could cover for Crawford as the extra rotatable insider for this season, but I don't see Ries as a sound long-term option because he appears to be limited with his kicking skills.

I would think that not only will Lewis be very much a required player, but we could probably do with another capable inside type as well (given I don't think Sewell is up to it).

Cheers,
Kevin
I think Dawson will end up been a full forward, not a ruckman. He'll never be strong enough to contest in the ruck and he showed good promise in the forward line for Box Hill this year.

I think Lewis is slightly different to Mitchell, Ries and Sewell (who I do rate) in that he isn't a pure centreman, more a flanker who can win hard contested footy (ie Dean Solomon). He is 6'1 and a good grab, something the others aren't.

I think pick 7 was a bit of a stretch and I think Meesen was a better option if we were recruiting on a needs basis, but Lewis will be a damn good footballer for us. I'd slot him in our best 22 now (on the bench) - he is ready to go.

A pacy midfielder at 7 would have been great, but the problem was after Tambling and Deledio disappeared there weren't too many left. It was a very weak draft for quick midfielders. So then you could come back to whether we should have drafted the quick midfielder at 2, but we'd be going in circles.

At the end of the day we got 5 very good kids and you'd expect at least 3 of them to be pivotal players in the future.
 

CyberKev

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#53
Weaver said:
I think Richmond have been very smart. Roughead and Franklin might have been the 2 best key position players available THIS year but would not normally be top-5 options.

In contrast next year I think that Drum, Clark and Dowler will all be in the top-5 or so and I rate all of them better than the Hawks' pair. Richmond will surely have an early pick again next season and will able to get a genuine key position option then.
Okay, but:

a) There is no guarantee that Richmond will finish bottom four next year and get access to one of these players (they probably also need 2).

b) Hawthorn (given its falling kpp stocks) was hardly in a position where it could wait another year on the off chance that it could access these players, where it still would have needed two of them.

c) Assuming that the 3 players you mention do go top 5, then there will be another 2 players who are gun midfield types. As per my comment on Richmond, there is no guarantee that Hawthorn will finish bottom four next year to get access to one of them. That being said, had Hawthorn got two gun midfielders who would most likely come on quickly, they may have fared better than expectations next season, leaving them out of the key pick zone and devoid of quality kpp options.

There's no doubting the risk associated with the Hawthorn approach, but the basic thinking behind it is very sound.
 

CyberKev

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#54
bluechampion said:
And, it must also be stated that Franklin isn't a KPP really - more of a huge wingman / half-forward. He has some pace (especially for his size) and may be used up the ground in an attacking Adam Goodes way.
I would've thought that given his size and marking capacity, that with extra meat on the frame, Franklin could comfortably have slotted-in as a mobile CHB. I realise Croad is playing effectively in this position, but I'd like to see Franklin's extra height having him fill the key role here, with Croad moved to a wing where his speed, marking capacity and long kicks would prove more than useful, especially when he would appear better placed to do the defensive work than most wingers.

In his previous life at Hawthorn he performed some fine cameos in a ruck roving capacity (so outside midfield shouldn't be a huge ask) and could fill in at CHB if required, and even switched with Franklin on occasion for impact.

The Croad to the wing notion hasn't been mentioned in any dispatches that I've heard, and I'll surely cop flack for suggesting it, but I like to think outside the square with these things.
 

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#55
GOALden Hawk said:
I think Lewis is slightly different to Mitchell, Ries and Sewell (who I do rate) in that he isn't a pure centreman, more a flanker who can win hard contested footy (ie Dean Solomon). He is 6'1 and a good grab, something the others aren't.
Its possible that I have been too hard on Sewell, given I haven't seen enough of him to write him off in toto.

If Lewis has good hands, good smarts, and can win the hard ball wouldn't he be able to handle the requirements of an inside midfield post?

I thought it may be possible to rotate Hodge and Lewis between centre and the half back flank?
 
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