Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn, Denver Grainger-Barras

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[Gut Runner]

We need a spoil counter.

All I want to see right now is shutting down his direct opponent and the occasional spoil into the stands to help a team mate.

 

[fairdinks]

Thought he was good yesterday.

Agree. He just looks a bit more confident in his role. He has plenty of ability and will be released once he has learned a bit more craft. With our current defensive set up, he does not need to be getting more disposals as long as he is stopping his opponent and creating a bit of havoc.

He has that crazy courage and mad agro and I love it. Imagine him in a year or two and 5 to 10kgs heavier...scary.

 

[Slysh]

* me we have some miserable people on this board. He has a lot of work to do but I think he looks better each time I’ve seen him. Is very rough around the edges but anyone who expected anything different when we drafted him was mistaken.

He will look a completely different player in 50 games

 

[MillerHawk]

Maybe I am easy to please but keeping his opponent goalless and not giving away a free was a welcome improvement. I get he is a high draft pick and people are expecting him to be a world beater sooner rather than later but he is (currently) punching above his weight class. Keep in mind that he isn't going to show all his attributes in a single game, consistently. That takes time to produce. As a whole, he has shown the following at AFL level:

1. Tidy disposal
2. Intercept marking/spoiling
3. Smart decision maker
4. Desperation/defensive acts

Keep in mind, these were his strengths he showed during his draft year. All of which has translated into AFL games. Big signs that he will make it. However, playing at AFL level has introduced the following:

1. Inconsistency
2. Nervousness which leads to free kicks being paid against him

He has things he needs to work on and needs to learn how to use his body better. He is the modern day key defender though. We all know KPP take a lot of time to put it together. Once his natural strengths are consistently being produced and he has eliminated the silly free kicks from his game, he'll be a gun.

This exactly. DGB was watching Box Hill today and I was suprised at just how slight he is. Give him another couple of pre-seasons and we’ll have a different prospect on our hands. Newk on the other hand is proper big…

 

[Judd2Sewell]

He's going to be an elite defender. Right now he's focussing on shutting down his opponent, and he's doing it well.

We know his true strengths are intercepting and being an aggressive defender, which is something we have to look forward to. But for now he's playing his role and doing the basics first.

 

[MrPremiership]

The biggest issue is he’s not yet big enough.
You compare him to blanck, and blanck is quite imposing whereas DGB isn’t…yet.
We keep asking him to take big job when he’s not yet there physically.
Good learning and the strength will come

In fairness to DGB, he's 18 months younger than Blanck. I'm sure he'll be a bigger unit after another 2 more pre-seasons

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

Far from the finished product and has the occasional brain fade, but we need his type of aggressive defender. Definitely needs to put on some bulk but I love that he is an annoying pest and hits the opposition body hard

 

[TheFourPillars]

DGB's issue are physical atm an immature body and building his tank. He is gaining valuable experience we r definitely trying to fast track him and he was adequate defensively yesterday. It will be interesting selection this week

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Do you log in exclusively to be intolerably negative?

Rhetorical question.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

I just pray he isn't one of those players that can't put on muscle.

 

[Slainte]

I just pray he isn't one of those players that can't put on muscle.

Tuck never put on muscle - stop worrying about it.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

Tuck never put on muscle - stop worrying about it.

Different positions, although Tuck was before my time so harder for me to comment. I just feel if DGB can't put on size he won't reach elite level defender status.

 

[Sixpence]

Different positions, although Tuck was before my time so harder for me to comment. I just feel if DGB can't put on size he won't reach elite level defender status.

Dustin Fletcher never put on size.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

Dustin Fletcher never put on size.

That is a good example, he was top quality from the get go from memory though wasn't he ?

 

[Slainte]

Different positions, although Tuck was before my time so harder for me to comment. I just feel if DGB can't put on size he won't reach elite level defender status.

Try Jake Lever then. Same height as DBG, six years older and just 4kg heavier. Lever is the kind of player DGB will become.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Try Jake Lever then. Same height as DBG, six years older and just 4kg heavier. Lever is the kind of player DGB will become.

TBH, I'd want more than that from a "top-5" pick.

Lever is handy, but there's a similar player at most clubs. He can't play tight, is easily outbodied, and his skills are good, but not exceptional. If he can't get loose to play 3rd man intercepter, he's just a solid player.

 

[KermitJagger]

TBH, I'd want more than that from a "top-5" pick.

Lever is handy, but there's a similar player at most clubs. He can't play tight, is easily outbodied, and his skills are good, but not exceptional. If he can't get loose to play 3rd man intercepter, he's just a solid player.

Melbourne gave up 2 first round picks for Lever. People overrate the draft, in an average year you're likely to get less than a handful of genuine stars and in a comparatively weak draft like Denver's you might get one or two. I'd be happy to get a player like Lever at almost any pick.

 

[Dewnior]

With 6 games to go in the season is it worth throwing Denver forward for a couple of the games to see how he goes?

The last 6 games should be used to trial things in games and with the emergence of Blanck to partner up with Sicily and potentially Frost to take the opposition’s key forwards could Denver be a potential partner up forward to Lewis?

Too early. If DGB is to go forward one day I'd prefer he spends as much time down back as possible so he can watch and learn how the good forwards go about it.

 

[Pinoy Hawk]

 

[theiaofseed]

Same body tone ten years later.

 

[burner1]

Kept Goldstein and CCJ as the resting ruck duo goalless.

Couldn't give a stuff how many possies he has it if he can keep big blokes off the scoresheet that's a win.

Clearly the coaching staff didnt rate his performance given DGB was omitted this week.

 

[Brishawk]

That is a good example, he was top quality from the get go from memory though wasn't he ?

Played in a premiership while doing vce from memory. Bloody *

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Disappointing to see him be dropped after a solid performance.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

Disappointing to see him be dropped after a solid performance.

surprised me too but not being at the ground i suppose the coaches saw some stuff they didn't like that most of us missed

 

[Mercy Seat]

That is a good example, he was top quality from the get go from memory though wasn't he ?

Was very good. But different times back then and fletch basically never left 30m from goal.