Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn: Pick 23, Sam Butler

[Pinoy Hawk]

Sam Butler interview in Talking Hawks.

Sam Butler Interview by Talking Hawks

Sam Butler joins the Talking Hawks podcast to discuss the takeaways from the game against Melbourne, the catalyst to the 5 goal blitz in the third quarter and how Punky is assisting the young small forwards in their development. Player sponsor experience...

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[TDS7]

Sam Butler interview in Talking Hawks.

Sam Butler Interview by Talking Hawks

Sam Butler joins the Talking Hawks podcast to discuss the takeaways from the game against Melbourne, the catalyst to the 5 goal blitz in the third quarter and how Punky is assisting the young small forwards in their development. Player sponsor experience...

podcasters.spotify.com

The guy loves his golf ay.

Good to hear him speak about the forward structure and craft. As a few have noted he looks more natural as a midfielder than a forward, but it's the drive and diligence to know what to work on and build on your craft that makes good players great. It'll take some time to get used to AFL pacing (as we've seen a few times), but the more time you spend in the water the easier it is to feel the currents. The one thing he'll always do is fight hard and put pressure on, and thats invaluable for a young side lest we turn into Essendon of a few years ago with players having no love for the contest.

 

[The Chad and I]

That was just his 11th game.
He had 14 disposals, 10 of them contested. Had 5 score involvements and 3 marks inside 50.
Contested everything in his area. Only Langdon ran more(KMs) than him today.
He had 3 efforts before getting the ball in Frenchy's hands for his first.

He was arguably our best small forward for the day I thought.

He's a mid who pushes forward, not a forward rotating through the midfield occasionally.

 

[Topiary]

The guy loves his golf ay.

Good to hear him speak about the forward structure and craft. As a few have noted he looks more natural as a midfielder than a forward, but it's the drive and diligence to know what to work on and build on your craft that makes good players great. It'll take some time to get used to AFL pacing (as we've seen a few times), but the more time you spend in the water the easier it is to feel the currents. The one thing he'll always do is fight hard and put pressure on, and thats invaluable for a young side lest we turn into Essendon of a few years ago with players having no love for the contest.

Lovely and competitive guy is what I am told.

I hope he makes it, but I have my doubts.

 

[MasterSamurai]

Lovely and competitive guy is what I am told.

I hope he makes it, but I have my doubts.

Gee tops, with respect as we all have a keen eye on all things Hawthorn, but you seem quite sure that this kid will struggle to get to the next level. Now, the naked eye test is as important as the numbers so I DO respect your opinion but I'm surprised with the little fanfare the kids getting from you. Having said that, I'm still worried about where CMac will fit in going Frwd too, so we all have our opinions.

 

[Brishawk]

That was just his 11th game.
He had 14 disposals, 10 of them contested. Had 5 score involvements and 3 marks inside 50.
Contested everything in his area. Only Langdon ran more(KMs) than him today.
He had 3 efforts before getting the ball in Frenchy's hands for his first.

He was arguably our best small forward for the day I thought.

Just having another think on these numbers. Covering the second most distance on the field and only having 4 uncontested possessions is alarming! Needs to find more uncontested ball. The good news is he cracks in hard when it’s in his area. If he can learn to get free of his opponent and be receiving the ball without having to win a contest he will be much more dangerous. Something like a 20d 1g player would be great. We probably need to play him at afl level to find out if he can adapt. Let’s see what he can do this week against a lessor opposition.

 

[toomanysquibs]

Just having another think on these numbers. Covering the second most distance on the field and only having 4 uncontested possessions is alarming! Needs to find more uncontested ball. The good news is he cracks in hard when it’s in his area. If he can learn to get free of his opponent and be receiving the ball without having to win a contest he will be much more dangerous. Something like a 20d 1g player would be great. We probably need to play him at afl level to find out if he can adapt. Let’s see what he can do this week against a lessor opposition.

I think sometimes you can be in good places to receive the ball, but your teammates are looking for someone else. Wouldn't be the first guy to run a lot to make space only to get passed over for a senior player.

I'm still pretty certain he's going to make it. Has a crazy amount of power for his size, has raw athletic talent, and is a goal kicker. The fact that he has this kind of endurance only adds something more to his game.

Was drafted as a midfielder I thought, with big wraps from our current captain and standout athletic testing. If he'd played 50-70 games and those numbers were playing on repeat I think we'd be wondering where he was headed. But with so few games under his belt, it's impossible to judge on what you're going to get.

Plenty of guys have blossomed even in this current team, and gone from injury prone to a robust beast (Day - was telling the things Breust said in his recent interview, that he hadn't worked out how to take a hit and was getting injured early on), or have gone from looking borderline vanilla at AFL level outside of great running power to absolute star (Moore).

 

[Brishawk]

I think sometimes you can be in good places to receive the ball, but your teammates are looking for someone else. Wouldn't be the first guy to run a lot to make space only to get passed over for a senior player.

I'm still pretty certain he's going to make it. Has a crazy amount of power for his size, has raw athletic talent, and is a goal kicker. The fact that he has this kind of endurance only adds something more to his game.

Was drafted as a midfielder I thought, with big wraps from our current captain and standout athletic testing. If he'd played 50-70 games and those numbers were playing on repeat I think we'd be wondering where he was headed. But with so few games under his belt, it's impossible to judge on what you're going to get.

Plenty of guys have blossomed even in this current team, and gone from injury prone to a robust beast (Day - was telling the things Breust said in his recent interview, that he hadn't worked out how to take a hit and was getting injured early on), or have gone from looking borderline vanilla at AFL level outside of great running power to absolute star (Moore).

It was career high stats in a number of categories so he is trending the right way

It’s sounds like he put in a lot of work with his fitness in preseason as last year he looked like he struggled in that part and we played him low minutes when he did play. That is a great sign so plenty of reasons to think he will work through it. Team mates adjusting to him is also a great point.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

I think sometimes you can be in good places to receive the ball, but your teammates are looking for someone else. Wouldn't be the first guy to run a lot to make space only to get passed over for a senior player.

I'm still pretty certain he's going to make it. Has a crazy amount of power for his size, has raw athletic talent, and is a goal kicker. The fact that he has this kind of endurance only adds something more to his game.

Was drafted as a midfielder I thought, with big wraps from our current captain and standout athletic testing. If he'd played 50-70 games and those numbers were playing on repeat I think we'd be wondering where he was headed. But with so few games under his belt, it's impossible to judge on what you're going to get.

Plenty of guys have blossomed even in this current team, and gone from injury prone to a robust beast (Day - was telling the things Breust said in his recent interview, that he hadn't worked out how to take a hit and was getting injured early on), or have gone from looking borderline vanilla at AFL level outside of great running power to absolute star (Moore).

as a fantasy player i cant tell you how many times i see the bloke that i've got in my team be wide open in an extremley dangerous position, only to get ignored for a long kick down the line or a turnover. so this is, infuriatingly, all too real

 

[toomanysquibs]

It was career high stats in a number of categories so he is trending the right way

It’s sounds like he put in a lot of work with his fitness in preseason as last year he looked like he struggled in that part and we played him low minutes when he did play. That is a great sign so plenty of reasons to think he will work through it. Team mates adjusting to him is also a great point.

I'm sorry Bris, I have should have responded to some of the earlier posts in the thread that were critical, and not just the uncontested ball observation.

Definitely good points there, he's played his best game, was just bamboozled a bit by some of the earlier posters here and thought it was a good opportunity to state the reasons why many of us believe he will make it.

 

[Brishawk]

Another career best game. Made some strides in finding space and continued to do the hard stuff.

 

[TDS7]

His hands in tight have given us multiple goals these past two games. He just never gives up and wills the footy into the hands of his teammates. Chad's gotta be nervous after that performance.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

He works hard.

 

[MasterSamurai]

Keep him in! The type of player that once he has a couple of career best games, I don't think he'll look back.

 

[HappyHawk_1]

Had the most tackles inside 50 (5), the most goal assists (3) and the equal 2nd-most score involvements (9) on the ground today.

With the hard work rate and those efforts - he has to be locked into the side. Can’t be relegated to the sub.

 

[cryptor]

Exactly what we've been missing. Just kept moving and providing an option inside 50. Created space and brought others into the game.

 

[Scooter_1968]

Had the most tackles inside 50 (5), the most goal assists (3) and the equal 2nd-most score involvements (9) on the ground today.

With the hard work rate and those efforts - he has to be locked into the side. Can’t be relegated to the sub.

I honestly can't see how he looses his spot to Chad when he recovers from his injury

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[jenniferHAWKinS]

Tracking nicely, some nice stuff in tight today. His first 2 or 3 steps once gaining possession (separation from your opponent) needs to intensify. Has a burst of speed and needs to utilise it.

 

[jiphoc]

His test will be once teams start to put attention into him. Seems to do his own thing at AFL level currently (although with Brockman going they way he is he may not get attention for a while to come).

Players like him developing into being in the midfield rotation is also what we need and what we are missing at present. Hopefully this comes with time.

 

[SSSSSS]

Keeps his feet and stays involved in the contest. He created two goals just from pure will today.

 

[naysayer]

Had the most tackles inside 50 (5), the most goal assists (3) and the equal 2nd-most score involvements (9) on the ground today.

With the hard work rate and those efforts - he has to be locked into the side. Can’t be relegated to the sub.

Was a great game by Sam, his pressure was outstanding. The run down tackle on the half-back flank put his spot beyond doubt. But geez, with Ward, CJ, DGB, Ramsden and Scrimshaw hovering in the aisles we're going to have some tough selection calls over the course of the season.

 

[kirbatron]

hes a real pest & its a bit messy when he is around the ball.. id like to see him release quicker.. doesn't look quite atuned to the pace of afl just yet but keep him in hes a player I think

edit - his running numbers are surprising you don't notice it at the game

 

[hawkguru]

Coming along nicely what I like most is his ability to stay involved in the contest with 2nd and 3rd efforts! It's still only his 2nd game of the season so will only continue to improve as he gets more games under his belt

 

[KermitJagger]

Another career best game. Made some strides in finding space and continued to do the hard stuff.

Had a pretty good run down tackle too eh

 

[Hodgey 15]

This is no criticism of Kosi at all but would of love to see him hand off to Butler instead of kicking that goal. Would of been nice reward for his efforts.

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