Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn, James Worpel, pick #43 2017 - Peter Crimmins medalist 2019

[TheFourPillars]

He was tagging guthrie in that last qtr

 

[CobberRodgers]

He was tagging guthrie in that last qtr

Correct. Stick with it.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

He was tagging guthrie in that last qtr

How many touches did Guthrie rack up in the 4th ?

 

[Brishawk]

How many touches did Guthrie rack up in the 4th ?

11 to worpel’s 3 according to the AFL app

 

[TheFourPillars]

How many touches did Guthrie rack up in the 4th ?

too many

 

[HODGEYROAD]

11 to worpel’s 3 according to the AFL app

Yeah that's what I thought, never felt we slowed him down at any stage.

 

[KermitJagger]

11 to worpel’s 3 according to the AFL app

He's not a defensively minded midfielder. I'm sure if we start preparing Worpel to be that guy, he will do a serviceable job - but of course throwing him on the form guy on the field at the start of the last quarter with no prep wasn't gonna work.

I am worried about him though. He's really struggling to co-exist in a midfield containing Titch, and he can't find consistency outside of the midfield. Maybe Sam's commitments to the VFL side aren't allowing him the 1:1 development time he used to get?

 

[TheFourPillars]

I am liking the fact that Finn is being played as a defensive mid

 

[burner1]

Needs to go to box hill and learn some other roles. At this stage when he’s not no 1 mid he struggles and has lost all confidence which is impacting his skills/decision making. He’s keeping his spot on reputation not output this year.

 

[MrPremiership]

Starting to get concerned about him now. I hope he keeps playing and works through it.

I don't understand this nonsense about playing out of position or Titch and him not able to work together. The Dogs are full of midfielders but they all still manage to find the pill.

 

[burton5]

Starting to get concerned about him now. I hope he keeps playing and works through it.

I don't understand this nonsense about playing out of position or Titch and him not able to work together. The Dogs are full of midfielders but they all still manage to find the pill.

The difference is all of Smith, Bontempelli, Lipinski, Macrae, Treloar, Hunter etc. are more dynamic (inside/outside). It's more so that Worpel/Mitchell play very much inside and don't have the speed to explode out of the contest in the same way. I agree with elements of what you're saying though. Petracca/Oliver/Viney are inside bulls (albeit Oliver/Petracca more explosive) and manage to rotate through.

 

[MrPremiership]

The difference is all of Smith, Bontempelli, Lipinski, Macrae, Treloar, Hunter etc. are more dynamic (inside/outside). It's more so that Worpel/Mitchell play very much inside and don't have the speed to explode out of the contest in the same way. I agree with elements of what you're saying though. Petracca/Oliver/Viney are inside bulls (albeit Oliver/Petracca more explosive) and manage to rotate through.

The disappointing part is the coaching group has had 18 months or so to get the mids to gel better, and it isn't clicking yet

 

[TheFourPillars]

The disappointing part is the coaching group has had 18 months or so to get the mids to gel better, and it isn't clicking yet

They havent really mate last year you couldnt train as a team.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

The difference is all of Smith, Bontempelli, Lipinski, Macrae, Treloar, Hunter etc. are more dynamic (inside/outside). It's more so that Worpel/Mitchell play very much inside and don't have the speed to explode out of the contest in the same way. I agree with elements of what you're saying though. Petracca/Oliver/Viney are inside bulls (albeit Oliver/Petracca more explosive) and manage to rotate through.

Libba can only play one role. Dunkley is another contested bull when playing in the middle. They co-exist together.

Obviously it helps having Macrae, Treloar, Smith, Hunter and the Bont that can also play that outside role too. But they still manage to not get in each other's way.

Many teams have multiple primary hardball winners and make it work.

 

[burton5]

Libba can only play one role. Dunkley is another contested bull when playing in the middle. They co-exist together.

Obviously it helps having Macrae, Treloar, Smith, Hunter and the Bont that can also play that outside role too. But they still manage to not get in each other's way.

Many teams have multiple primary hardball winners and make it work.

Yeah I agree - I just think the concern is the lack of foot speed possessed by Worpel and Mitchell.

 

[MrPremiership]

They havent really mate last year you couldnt train as a team.

What about training as a small midfield group.

4th year on the list together...plenty of time to plan

 

[OnTheRocks]

The disappointing part is the coaching group has had 18 months or so to get the mids to gel better, and it isn't clicking yet

The gel got hobbled by a snapped leg

 

[theiaofseed]

What about training as a small midfield group.

4th year on the list together...plenty of time to plan

Had his Rookie and didn't play substantial minutes in the midfield, second year Mitchell broke his leg, third year covid and now we're just a few months into his 4th year(both dealing with injuries during the preseason) so no they haven't had 4 years together. It's stretching to say they've had one year together.

He's 3 games into his 4th year on the list, people need to chill

 

[Judd2Sewell]

What about training as a small midfield group.

4th year on the list together...plenty of time to plan

Yep, they have had plenty of time. There is still more time at least

 

[TheFourPillars]

What about training as a small midfield group.

4th year on the list together...plenty of time to plan

Not all the midfielders trained together thst would wipe out ure midfield if one of them caught the virus. Players were seperated so thst we could still field a side

 

[Brishawk]

What about training as a small midfield group.

4th year on the list together...plenty of time to plan

If one got Covid the we would have lost our whole midfield. Too much risk.

 

[Noel Gallagher]

A few excuses being made for him which I am not buying. He is not getting enough possessions - period!

17 possessions against Essendon - was pretty much invisible in the first half, 16 against Richmond and 16 against the cats. These a poor numbers for a starting midfielder who at this stage of his career should be averaging at least 25 + a game. Is he simply not able to cover enough ground due to a poor tank or is he getting ahead of himself after a brilliant second season?

I have no idea, but if he puts in another sub 20 possession game this weekend I would drop him to the 2's and bring in Cousins. Cousins is far from perfect but I am confident that his possession output, outside game and ability to hit the scoreboard would currently exceed Worpels....

 

[TheFourPillars]

A few excuses being made for him which I am not buying. He is not getting enough possessions - period!

17 possessions against Essendon - was pretty much invisible in the first half, 16 against Richmond and 16 against the cats. These a poor numbers for a starting midfielder who at this stage of his career should be averaging at least 25 + a game. Is he simply not able to cover enough ground due to a poor tank or is he getting ahead of himself after a brilliant second season?

I have no idea, but if he puts in another sub 20 possession game this weekend I would drop him to the 2's and bring in Cousins. Cousins is far from perfect but I am confident that his possession output, outside game and ability to hit the scoreboard would currently exceed Worpels....

Yes I think time is running short for Worps he needs to lift. He is trying hard but just seems to be haphazard with his kicking and looks a lot like Langford at the moment. Its sad to say but you can't hide the truth

 

[Judd2Sewell]

He's playing like a pick third round pick midfielder that has had question marks over his disposals.

Dropping him would be embarrassing for him, no doubt. Would he sulk or would he respond?

 

[On Topic]

Yes I think time is running short for Worps he needs to lift. He is trying hard but just seems to be haphazard with his kicking and looks a lot like Langford at the moment. Its sad to say but you can't hide the truth

He is definitely trying hard and you can see his disappointment after every mistake he makes. I have no doubt he will turn it around eventually but is simply out of form atm.