Universal Love Welcome Pick #14 Eric Hipwood!

[xplo]

one of the other threads were discussing possible nick names for the new recruits. i was at a neafl game this year and the opposition kept calling him eric the eel. they meant those slippery suckers, is the spelling eel or ell?

I suspect they were referencing Eric the Eel, the Equatorial Guinean swimmer from the Sydney Olympics. Bloke took up swimming 8 months before the games, qualified on a wildcard and swam a time more than double that of the winner. Had never seen a 50m pool before the event. Trained in a lake.

 

[HowYouDoin]

one of the other threads were discussing possible nick names for the new recruits. i was at a neafl game this year and the opposition kept calling him eric the eel. they meant those slippery suckers, is the spelling eel or ell?

I'm just going to call him "woody"

 

[mpal6]

Was about to post the same thing. For mine he is over rated from what I've seen. I think his athletic ability is elite but his footy IQ is fairly average at best. Hopeful that he can improve this facet of his game. I just have this bad feeling that he will never reach his potential because he might struggle to put on size. Don't want a J.Grant but it's a possibility here.

I'll be stoked if he turns out like Tippett.
Height is already there, hopefully bulk comes along in the next few seasons.

 

[JAMES_B_101]

Was about to post the same thing. For mine he is over rated from what I've seen. I think his athletic ability is elite but his footy IQ is fairly average at best. Hopeful that he can improve this facet of his game. I just have this bad feeling that he will never reach his potential because he might struggle to put on size. Don't want a J.Grant but it's a possibility here.

Nobody can kick set shots as poorly as grant. Even grant's field kicking was poor. If Hipwood's very best is as good as Grant's very best and he can kick straight he will be a huge asset. Anyway, do people see this guy playing forward? back? Even developing as a ruck with his mobility/height? Seems like someone that is a project that can be developed in any part of the ground but needs to add size to his frame.

 

[Milux]

Nobody can kick set shots as poorly as grant. Even grant's field kicking was poor. If Hipwood's very best is as good as Grant's very best and he can kick straight he will be a huge asset. Anyway, do people see this guy playing forward? back? Even developing as a ruck with his mobility/height? Seems like someone that is a project that can be developed in any part of the ground but needs to add size to his frame.

To be fair i hope he turns out twice as good as Grant.

Leppa has talked about him as a forward in our draft wrap so i guess he is a forward.

 

[AFLQLD]

To be fair i hope he turns out twice as good as Grant.

Leppa has talked about him as a forward in our draft wrap so i guess he is a forward.

I tend to think he is going to be whatever we need him to be.

And I think he will thrive wherever he ends up on the field. In fact he could even be a player who has several careers within his career, changing roles as he develops and matures and the players around him develop and mature.

Glad he is ours.

 

[JAMES_B_101]

To be fair i hope he turns out twice as good as Grant.

Leppa has talked about him as a forward in our draft wrap so i guess he is a forward.

And so he should be, he is more skilled and taller. Grant was always a small fwd in a tall body. Hipwood is a genuine KPP. If the comparison was only build then I see Hipwood putting on a lot more size. He is somewhat like Darcy Moore. Hopefully he can be a good forward as he has the tools to be a hard matchup.

 

[Forward We Go]

I tend to think he is going to be whatever we need him to be.

And I think he will thrive wherever he ends up on the field. In fact he could even be a player who has several careers within his career, changing roles as he develops and matures and the players around him develop and mature.

Glad he is ours.

The thing I really like about him is that he has unique speed other 202cm guys don't. The challenge is to put some meat on his bones while not taking away that speed and agility. The key is finding that balance. A lot of comments in recent posts say he needs to bulk up but he can be a real asset as he is right now providing he plays away from his opponent. He reads the ball flight very well and can intercept/come over the top, then run away from his opponents once he has the ball in his possession. Very exciting as well as the other new boys. They all have great potential. I cant wait to see them all develop into regular first grade footballers. Just need to give them a bit of time.

 

[Fatcat08]

With modern zone defences speed is fast becoming one of the must have attributes for key defenders over pure strength. The ability to close space down quickly is at a premium.

 

[jackess]

With modern zone defences speed is fast becoming one of the must have attributes for key defenders over pure strength. The ability to close space down quickly is at a premium.

And with floating defences they can't be caught out if they have to cover on a small forward.