Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn, Denver Grainger-Barras

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[Judd2Sewell]

There is a good argument that the improvement and development in the Seniors should actually buy him more time .

We shouldn't feel the need to rush a top 10 pick into a solid performing team .

Get him back to full fitness and give him opportunity in a better team that isn't under seige like we have been in most of his senior games .

We look like we have struck absolute gold last draft .........again this should give DGB more time, not the opposite.

He has a year on his contract and knows the gameplan, so that works in his favor.

But he may still want to leave at the end of the season for his own sake. Right now he would be behind Sicily, Scrimshaw, Weddle (who may move further afield), Serong and Phillips for a spot on our half-back line.

Who knows where McCabe will be after a full preseason.

Plus it seems like we are interested in Battle too.

He may see a clearer run into a first team role at West Coast. Their depth is limited, with McGovern (32), Barrass, Edwards, Bazzo and Hough (only 191cm) being the only KPD on their list. They really need some more depth there.

I think he has more potential than all of our defenders outside of Sicily and McCabe. But if he's seven deep on the depth chart then he may never get the chance to realise it.

He would need a solid run of games to establish himself, but would likely be coming into the side as one of the last picked. He may yo-yo in and out without getting a clear run at it (look at Serong and Phillips, both played well but are out of the side the next week).

 

[TylerDurden]

Would take a miracle to turn this around in the time left.

On borrowed time now.

 

[Harper_Hawk]

Would take a miracle to turn this around in the time left.

On borrowed time now.

I think we’ll see another crack at the big time before years end. Expect time at Box Hill though. We’ll undoubtedly have injuries that will open the door for him as will with Ward.


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[The Golden Glenferrie]

I'd love to see him back in the ones at some point with a close to full strength side.

I think an easy kill will do him wonders. He seems to always play when BH are getting smashed or Hawks are getting smashed.

 

[Slysh]

Several Hawthorn listed players in that side.....don't see any posts on their threads.......

Yes I watch BHH games. Also had the good fortune of being up in Gold Coast to watch taht VFL thumping

Positivity is fine. Writing off players coming back from lng term injuries in a game where the side loses by 14 goals is next level stupidity....where perhaps some posters don't know limits

Non one is writing him off because of one game and you know that, it is the fact he hasn't looked up to the level at AFL level and struggled to even separate himself at VFL level at any stage.

 

[Rocket72]

I think we’ll see another crack at the big time before years end. Expect time at Box Hill though. We’ll undoubtedly have injuries that will open the door for him as will with Ward.


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Gunston will get another rest or two, and Deer too you’d think. Last year DGB looked solid a few times forward in the VFL. We look much better with three talls, maybe that’s his in?

 

[Slainte]

Several Hawthorn listed players in that side.....don't see any posts on their threads.......

Yes I watch BHH games. Also had the good fortune of being up in Gold Coast to watch taht VFL thumping

Positivity is fine. Writing off players coming back from lng term injuries in a game where the side loses by 14 goals is next level stupidity....where perhaps some posters don't know limits

No-one is writing him off on the basis of his uninspiring post injury games. This is his fourth season with us, so we have had a pretty good look at him. He has not been able to secure a regular spot at either end of the ground and appears to be below AFL standard in his aerobic capacity. Most worrying, his aerobic capacity does not seem to have significantly improved. His field kicking is above average but he does not get enough of the ball for it to be a weapon. We have Serong and Phillips battling to get a game, McCabe yet to debut and Blanck to return. There is not much room for tall defenders. At the other end he has Dear and probably Ramsden ahead of him.

He has the rest of the season to show something and I would not be averse to another year but time is clearly running out unless the coaches are seeing something that the rest of us are missing.

 

[Slainte]

He has a year on his contract and knows the gameplan, so that works in his favor.

But he may still want to leave at the end of the season for his own sake. Right now he would be behind Sicily, Scrimshaw, Weddle (who may move further afield), Serong and Phillips for a spot on our half-back line.

Who knows where McCabe will be after a full preseason.

Plus it seems like we are interested in Battle too.

He may see a clearer run into a first team role at West Coast. Their depth is limited, with McGovern (32), Barrass, Edwards, Bazzo and Hough (only 191cm) being the only KPD on their list. They really need some more depth there.

I think he has more potential than all of our defenders outside of Sicily and McCabe. But if he's seven deep on the depth chart then he may never get the chance to realise it.

He would need a solid run of games to establish himself, but would likely be coming into the side as one of the last picked. He may yo-yo in and out without getting a clear run at it (look at Serong and Phillips, both played well but are out of the side the next week).

DGB has more potential than Weddle? Weddle is already playing a level above DGB at his best and he is only in his second season.

 

[Tasmaniac2]

If coaching/medical staff can't find a magic fix for his low performing cardio system then nothing else is going to matter.

Sadly cannot run out 4 quarters of football, at VFL level.

Presumably it's not Denver being lazy, so either find a medical fix (not suggesting anything PED wise) for his Cardio issue or it's not going to happen.

Amazing such a glaring weakness wasn't known from his underage footy or any type of athletic testing.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

I'd love to start to see DGB dominate at VFL level soon.

When Scrimshaw was dropped down to VFL level last year he always looked a couple of levels above adjust as CJ did in his hitout earlier this year. Even Bramble always looked a level above at VFL and he has some obvious flaws in his game.

If you are struggling to make an impact at VFL level I can't see how you can make the jump to AFL given the gap between the two is as big as it's ever been.

If coaching/medical staff can't find a magic fix for his low performing cardio system then nothing else is going to matter.

Sadly cannot run out 4 quarters of football, at VFL level.

Presumably it's not Denver being lazy, so either find a medical fix (not suggesting anything PED wise) for his Cardio issue or it's not going to happen.

Amazing such a glaring weakness wasn't known from his underage footy or any type of athletic testing.

Yeh it's interesting isn't it.

The one thing every player needs to have to play any level of Aussie Rules footy (from AFL down to D grade Ammos) is a base level aerobic capacity (the base level obviously differs depending on the quality of the league you are playing in).

And you'd think it would be the easiest thing to test for as well compared to other physical attributes like flexibility, strength, reaction time, etc.

He was playing SANFL (Swan Districts) as well in his junior years which you'd think would require a pretty high level of fitness?

Must be super frustrating for DGB and the Hawks fitness staff.

 

[Ka Norkers]

wow, no wonder the recruiters were confused, seems he was playing for a WA team in a SA footy comp.

 

[triangulation_squared]

Not sure what has gone wrong here. May have found it hard moving interstate. Def has the role models in Frosty and Sic to learn how to be elite. Potentially read the press and assumed it would all happen for him. Hopefully a rookie list spot opens up and he can hit his straps in the brown and gold. Dylan Moore

13

Dylan Moore

Age

24

Ht

177cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.9

3star

K

5.1

2star

HB

6.7

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.9

4star

G

0.3

3star

No current season stats available

D

12.2

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

6.2

4star

M

5.4

5star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

was nearly cut from memory and is one of our best.

 

[TassieGrown]

wow, no wonder the recruiters were confused, seems he was playing for a WA team in a SA footy comp.

Makes you wonder if we grabbed the wrong DBG

 

[CHUBBSS]

If coaching/medical staff can't find a magic fix for his low performing cardio system then nothing else is going to matter.

Sadly cannot run out 4 quarters of football, at VFL level.

Presumably it's not Denver being lazy, so either find a medical fix (not suggesting anything PED wise) for his Cardio issue or it's not going to happen.

Amazing such a glaring weakness wasn't known from his underage footy or any type of athletic testing.

Club should just make him run marathons for the rest of the year, I joke but it would probably be more practical to build his base

 

[mustang]

I think we’ll see another crack at the big time before years end. Expect time at Box Hill though. We’ll undoubtedly have injuries that will open the door for him as will with Ward.


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Best game in the seniors was as a forward

 

[Simon Crawshay]

wow, no wonder the recruiters were confused, seems he was playing for a WA team in a SA footy comp.

Ooopsie!

 

[The German Hunter]

Why is DGB been written off after a couple games at Box Hill after returning from long term injury?
It's almost like some are in a hurry to be proven "right" about him.

On SM-S906E using BigFooty.com mobile app

I’m assuming it’s because he’s a red head?

 

[earthworms]

He should get another year but unfortunately he seems like a lost cause. Chol, Lewis, Ramsden, Dear all above him in the tall fwd pecking order. Blanck, Phillips and Serong above him in defender pecking order, McCabe after a few rounds in the VFL would probably get a spot over him as a promising young key defender. As much as I want DGB to succeed, the best he should get is a year extension because he’s still young.

 

[The Chad and I]

Luke Brennan

Luke Brennan

Age

39

Ht

186cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.5

3star

K

5.6

2star

HB

4.9

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.5

3star

No current season stats available

D

9.2

3star

K

5.2

2star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

0.8

3star

gave us better service.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

He should get another year but unfortunately he seems like a lost cause. Chol, Lewis, Ramsden, Dear all above him in the tall fwd pecking order. Blanck, Phillips and Serong above him in defender pecking order, McCabe after a few rounds in the VFL would probably get a spot over him as a promising young key defender. As much as I want DGB to succeed, the best he should get is a year extension because he’s still young.

That injury came at the absolute worst time for his career to be honest.

You'd say that this year is the most important of his career to date and he has missed half the season with injury and who knows how long it will take him to build the fitness base to be challenging for a senior spot again.

As you say the problem is that if your development stagnates (as his has) other players quickly go ahead of you on the pecking list.

In saying all that I think the club will give him one more year on minimum coin, they have invested a lot in him so they will give him every chance to make it (although their patience will run out eventually).

 

[scrim reaper]

Realistically his best position is the Sicily/Stewart/Lever kind of role where he is given free reign to read the ball in flight and impact as an interceptor. The problem is he was never going to win that position from Sicily and you can't really have more than one of them in the same backline.

We then forced him to learn how to become a Frost/Blanck type stopper, and he doesn't have the pace or the tank to go with leading forwards, and he doesn't have the strength to go with the big boys.

That said if I was North, Richmond, or WCE I would be open to taking a punt on him and seeing if he can figure it out, call me naive but I genuinely feel like he's the type where he would actually go ok if you gave him a full year in Sicily's role, that's just obviously not going to happen at Hawthorn.

 

[Rocket72]

Not sure what has gone wrong here. May have found it hard moving interstate. Def has the role models in Frosty and Sic to learn how to be elite. Potentially read the press and assumed it would all happen for him. Hopefully a rookie list spot opens up and he can hit his straps in the brown and gold. Dylan Moore was nearly cut from memory and is one of our best.

Dylan moore had elite fitness and had shown he was well above VFL standard, including in finals. I think a better comparison would be to Sam Grimley, so maybe DGB will end up at the bombers.

 

[parsons nose]

He is the anti-dear. He is very late to pick up the ball in flight and finds himself out of position accordingly.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

DGB has more potential than Weddle? Weddle is already playing a level above DGB at his best and he is only in his second season.

Whoops, I should have qualified that by saying I think Weddle will end up playing on a wing or further afield - in my head I was comparing him to the other tall defenders.

 

[Tomohawks]

The first time I saw him live was against the blues a couple of years ago and he was everywhere spoiling, intercepting and kicking it well. At the time I thought we have a real good one here. What happened, as it appears he will be lucky to be on the list at the end of the year?