Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn: Pick 37, Henry Hustwaite - Debuts against the Dees!

[TDS7]

Showed a fair bit in the first intraclub. Would be expected to get at least a couple games this season.

General consensus was he was rated late first/early second in this years crop but slid all the way to 37. Any draft gurus know what traits or lack thereof could have caused this?

Davo-27 may be able to shed some light?

On top of what others have said, he is definitely a bit of a tweener. Solid as an intercept back but not brilliant, really good ball use but he's not a run-all-day accumulator or a blitz athlete. He's tall and inside-focused without being a contested bull. As far as AFL traits go he has a ton of them, but his limits as a midfielder were always there. He has a short, sharp, skillset that is tidy without being impactful. Similar to what we saw Ward pull off, the short kicks that move it forward but not the booming 60m bombs a la Sicily. That being said, I love the pickup. A floor raiser for any team that will be pivotal to unleash our more dynamic, game-winning mids. He plays well as a defensive mid, running with the best accumulator and using his reach to deflect what would normally be easy possessions, similar to Nash in our current lineup. He slid on upside, accumulation, and just the fact that most teams have their base midfield sorted for the next 3-5 seasons. I'm very happy we got him, but his sliding was not a massive shock.

 

[Alite]

I think most people had him around the early 2nd round, I think Cal liked him as a late 1st, I think he may have slid a bit after having some ordinary late season form, maybe ran out of petrol tickets and it saw him slide a little, but as were seeing he has some ability in tight and can pinch hit as an interceptor med/tall Def as well if needed.

Also slowish inside mids are out of favour with AFL clubs, but his height gives him an edge, just some thoughts on why he may have slid a little.

Davo-27 love your insights. As you know Henry grew a LOT taller at age 17... so he is yet to put muscle into his bigger body.

As good as he looks sliding around tackles and dishing off quality handballs in traffic, I hope we give him a lot of time to put on muscle.

Jack Watts was destroyed in his first AFL game and never recovered.

If Henry is to become our in-and-under mid distributor, we need to protect him until he can protect himself... including in the VFL. (I hope we have an enforcer in the VFL midfield - our kids are going to be tested. Let’s hope our boys in the VFL let the opposition know… if they hit one of our kids … our entire team will come to hit them).

That said, I am very happy we have Hustwaite on our list. If he becomes what we all see he could be, he fits a perfect niche in our team: a tall Sam Mitchell = 1st possession with quality ball use, great vision and side-step…speed of mind over speed of foot. A person who will set up our breakaway players.

And possibly he could, with his height, skills, and clear Footy IQ, become much more.

I’d be happy if Hustwaite spent the year at Box Hill. But if he plays with Hawthorn as an (my thoughts) under-muscled player… then the Hawks coaches must know his evasion skills and ability to take a hit is at AFL level….. (for mine… I’d give him time).

 

[Blackhawk42]

Also slowish inside mids are out of favour with AFL clubs, but his height gives him an edge, just some thoughts on why he may have slid a little.

And yet they've won the last two Brownlow medals. Go figure!

 

[burger09]

A late season ankle injury may have hindered his form also.

 

[lyger]

Davo-27 love your insights. As you know Henry grew a LOT taller at age 17... so he is yet to put muscle into his bigger body.

As good as he looks sliding around tackles and dishing off quality handballs in traffic, I hope we give him a lot of time to put on muscle.

Jack Watts was destroyed in his first AFL game and never recovered.

If Henry is to become our in-and-under mid distributor, we need to protect him until he can protect himself... including in the VFL. (I hope we have an enforcer in the VFL midfield - our kids are going to be tested. Let’s hope our boys in the VFL let the opposition know… if they hit one of our kids … our entire team will come to hit them).

That said, I am very happy we have Hustwaite on our list. If he becomes what we all see he could be, he fits a perfect niche in our team: a tall Sam Mitchell = 1st possession with quality ball use, great vision and side-step…speed of mind over speed of foot. A person who will set up our breakaway players.

And possibly he could, with his height, skills, and clear Footy IQ, become much more.

I’d be happy if Hustwaite spent the year at Box Hill. But if he plays with Hawthorn as an (my thoughts) under-muscled player… then the Hawks coaches must know his evasion skills and ability to take a hit is at AFL level….. (for mine… I’d give him time).

Expecting nothing less than the Bont v2

 

[peetoo]

Expecting nothing less than the Bont v2

Seeing as we wer robbed of the original (compo for loss of Buddy) bont

 

[burger09]

Showed glimpses of elite hands in traffic. Something most of his teammates did not. Promising signs.

 

[Gut Runner]

Was impressed with how he can take a grab last night. Definitely reads the play well and knows where to be.

Again, was good in traffic.

It was noticeable he lacks speed on the TV. Hopefully his reading of the play nullifies that.

 

[Books]

Expecting nothing less than the Bont v2

2023. Who is Henry Hustwaite?

2026. That's Henry Hustwaite. He is like the Bont.

2029. That's the Bont. He was like Henry Hustwaite.

2033. Who or what is the Bont?

 

[kirbatron]

Got something about him this kid

 

[RedmanWasHere]

2023. Who is Henry Hustwaite?

2026. That's Henry Hustwaite. He is like the Bont.

2029. That's the Bont. He was like Henry Hustwaite.

2033. Who or what is the Bont?

Henry Hustwaite's ages in those years vs Bont's.

2023: 19 vs 28.
2026: 22 vs 31.
2029: 25 vs 34.
2033: 29 vs 38.

 

[FB19]

2023. Who is Henry Hustwaite?

2026. That's Henry Hustwaite. He is like the Bont.

2029. That's the Bont. He was like Henry Hustwaite.

2033. Who or what is the Bont?

2029 that’s the bont starved of success moving to hawthorn to kick 30 goals and help win the hawks a flag, supporting the Brownlow medallist, Henry Hustwaite. Love your work Books!

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Got something about him this kid

He looks an AFL player the way he moves.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

He looks an AFL player the way he moves.

And that’s an underrated trait.

You can be an elite runner, elite vertical jump, etc but if you don’t have that innate balance, quick decision making, one touch handling and game sense you will struggle to make it.

Sam Mitchell was a great case in point. A short arse, couldn’t outrun his shadow nor jump over a pencil box but had supernatural levels of balance, lateral movement and an ability to process the game in his head quicker than everyone else.

 

[toomanysquibs]

And that’s an underrated trait.

You can be an elite runner, elite vertical jump, etc but if you don’t have that innate balance, quick decision making, one touch handling and game sense you will struggle to make it.

Sam Mitchell was a great case in point. A short arse, couldn’t outrun his shadow nor jump over a pencil box but had supernatural levels of balance, lateral movement and an ability to process the game in his head quicker than everyone else.

Pendles has made a career out of being tall, silky, agile with a next level footballing brain.

Not a bad thing for him to try and emulate

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Pendles has made a career out of being tall, silky, agile with a next level footballing brain.

Not a bad thing for him to try and emulate

I am hesitant to mention this, but does anyone know if Henry has a basketball background

Yes our own version of Pendleburry would be far from the worst outcome (no pressure on the kid at all)

 

[MrPremiership]

I am hesitant to mention this, but does anyone know if Henry has a basketball background

Yes our own version of Pendleburry would be far from the worst outcome (no pressure on the kid at all)

are there any young kids these days who DON'T play basketball at some stage? Massively growing sport locally

 

[Simon Crawshay]

are there any young kids these days who DON'T play basketball at some stage? Massively growing sport locally

I know its a cliche but I always thought playing basketball was a great help to my (admittedly limited) footy career. A lot of the skills in basketball (360 degree vision, quick hands, etc) are quite transferable to footy.

So many gun basketballers (Patty Mills, Ben Simmons, Josh Green, Josh Giddey) were elite junior AFL players, can't be just a coincidence.

 

[KermitJagger]

I know its a cliche but I always thought playing basketball was a great help to my (admittedly limited) footy career. A lot of the skills in basketball (360 degree vision, quick hands, etc) are quite transferable to footy.

So many gun basketballers (Patty Mills, Ben Simmons, Josh Green, Josh Giddey) were elite junior AFL players, can't be just a coincidence.

It is pretty much the only other sport with the same congestion and 360 degree movement and disposal, plus it's a far easier sport to juggle with AFL than other contact or outdoor sports. Back when I played basketball as a kid it was mainly evening games in a stadium, which didn't conflict with footy as much as rugby or soccer.

Most everyone who makes it in the AFL are gun footy players and cricket players, basketball is fast becoming that third sport and as a consequence pretty much every new facility being built has a court for the players.

 

[matey]

This kid has something about him especially in the composure stakes. There was one bit of play v Cats, he got the ball looked like he was going one way when a pussy was fast approaching about to tackle him but in one step/action quickly switched direction giving him some extra time, handballs to Scrim on his own who turned it over straight to a pussy and Huss just threw his head back in frustration! At 6 4’ 84kg still growing looks very promising as a tall mid.

 

[I got the outside word]

It is pretty much the only other sport with the same congestion and 360 degree movement and disposal, plus it's a far easier sport to juggle with AFL than other contact or outdoor sports. Back when I played basketball as a kid it was mainly evening games in a stadium, which didn't conflict with footy as much as rugby or soccer.

Most everyone who makes it in the AFL are gun footy players and cricket players, basketball is fast becoming that third sport and as a consequence pretty much every new facility being built has a court for the players.

A basketball background you say? Thinking about nominating?

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Henry Hustwaite (21 disposals, 7 clearances, 7 tackles)​

"Henry's clearance work was really impressive - he finished with seven clearances across the day which made him our number one clearance player for the game. I was really impressed with his work around the contest, which was really strong and exciting. He'll look to build a bit of continuity now."

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Seven tackles is impressive. Looking at him you'd think he is really slight and would struggle doing the hard things in the midfield, and being a smooth mover also doesn't help either.

 

[Gut Runner]

Yes I'm impressed, if he can add winning his own ball as a strength then he will open the play up for us very well.

He keeps showing something which is great.

 

[MrPremiership]

Is one I'm convinced will debut this year