Past Will Hayward

[Kennedy Parker]

Will Hayward
Spritely Sydney Swans forward Will Hayward

19

Will Hayward

Age

27

Ht

186cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.6

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.8

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

9.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

4.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

G

0.7

4star

D

9.4

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.4

5star

G

1.4

5star

enjoyed a rocketing start to his career as he became the 11th-youngest player in the AFL era to reach 50 career goals in 2018. The 2016 draftee’s nippy pace and cunning goal awareness have made him a dangerous option in coach John Longmire’s forward line. A broken jaw and a persistent hip injury limited Hayward to just 12 goals in 13 senior games in 2019, but the South Australian is attacking the 2020 campaign on the back of his first full pre-season. Don’t be surprised if the exciting Swan finds himself on a wing this year.

Will Hayward

19

Will Hayward

Age

27

Ht

186cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.6

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.8

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

9.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

4.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

G

0.7

4star

D

9.4

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.4

5star

G

1.4

5star

DOB: 26 October 1998
DEBUT: 2017
DRAFT: #21, 2016 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: Walkerville (SA)/North Adelaide (SANFL)

Will Hayward | AFL

Follow Will Hayward's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[adam waite]

Will carried himself today like a player getting ready to sign an extension

He will attract lots of lucrative offers. But as was the case with Errol, he will stay at the club! The younger players are maturing fast and are really bonding together. There is belief that they can win a premiership!

 

[BumbaT]

After that tribute for Ollie Florent, it gives one confidence that he will sign.

 

[the hypnotoad]

that's what he can do, the headline stuff and the work ...
it's frustrating that he doesn't do the headline stuff all the time, but mostly he does the work

 

[ashep]

A lot of absolute drivel has been posted about Hayward over the years and in this very thread to the point you almost wouldn't blame him for taking the cash elsewhere where the fans might actually appreciate him.

Stood up in what will be one of the biggest games in our season and absolutely jammed it up more than a few clackers.

More than just today, he's been good this year, not that you'd know from the crowd who think the only job of a medium forward is to take speccies and kick bags.

He isn't perfect - few are - but he works his arse off and there's a reason he's got clubs lining up.

 

[The King!]

A lot of absolute drivel has been posted about Hayward over the years and in this very thread to the point you almost wouldn't blame him for taking the cash elsewhere where the fans might actually appreciate him.

Stood up in what will be one of the biggest games in our season and absolutely jammed it up more than a few clackers.

More than just today, he's been good this year, not that you'd know from the crowd who think the only job of a medium forward is to take speccies and kick bags.

His defensive work is underrated more than anything

 

[ashep]

His defensive work is underrated more than anything

Absolutely. He runs and runs and is happy to put his body on the line.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

A lot of absolute drivel has been posted about Hayward over the years and in this very thread to the point you almost wouldn't blame him for taking the cash elsewhere where the fans might actually appreciate him.

Stood up in what will be one of the biggest games in our season and absolutely jammed it up more than a few clackers.

More than just today, he's been good this year, not that you'd know from the crowd who think the only job of a medium forward is to take speccies and kick bags.

He isn't perfect - few are - but he works his arse off and there's a reason he's got clubs lining up.

Yep been garbage to read that crap about Hayward plays one of the most difficult positions.

 

[The King!]

Absolutely. He runs and runs and is happy to put his body on the line.

Also often shuts down other teams rebounding defenders

 

[ashep]

 

[DeathlyAccurate]

I’ll never understand the "if he could do that week in week out" crowd. If he was doing that he’d be kicking 60+ goals a year and we’d be paying him over a million dollars a year.

If you’re expecting that then sure, you’ll be pretty disappointed.

That’s not his role and Will is a selfless player. He’s a defensive medium sized forward who brings other players in to the game but can kick 1-2 goals himself as well as being a match-winner once in a while. That’s all we need from him and he’s doing it admirably. It’s also very evident that he loves this club and that goes a long way in my opinion.

Deserves a good contract. Upwards of 700k a year.

 

[Wheresbuddy]

Is rated best 22 and valuable member of our team by coaches and his peers.

Recognised as one of the best in his position by the media.

Is being chased by multiple clubs with big dollar offers.

Yet according to some, should've been replaced by HHK who is now running around with the Sandi dragons.

I sometimes wonder what game people are actually watching??????

 

[BloodySwan]

I’ll never understand the "if he could do that week in week out" crowd. If he was doing that he’d be kicking 60+ goals a year and we’d be paying him over a million dollars a year.

If you’re expecting that then sure, you’ll be pretty disappointed.

That’s not his role and Will is a selfless player. He’s a defensive medium sized forward who brings other players in to the game but can kick 1-2 goals himself as well as being a match-winner once in a while. That’s all we need from him and he’s doing it admirably. It’s also very evident that he loves this club and that goes a long way in my opinion.

Deserves a good contract. Upwards of 700k a year.

Ben Ronke kicked 7 and was immense against the Hawks.

No one is asking for Hayward to kick 4 every week, but he needs to contribute more to the team. The tackling was what set him apart today, he ran and charged hard. He did it last week too, he didn't do this before. Keep up the pressure and he shuts everyone up

 

[DeathlyAccurate]

Ben Ronke kicked 7 and was immense against the Hawks.

No one is asking for Hayward to kick 4 every week, but he needs to contribute more to the team. The tackling was what set him apart today, he ran and charged hard. He did it last week too, he didn't do this before. Keep up the pressure and he shuts everyone up

Stopped reading at Ben Ronke.

If you’re comparing the two then I can’t help you, sorry.


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[Wheresbuddy]

Ben Ronke kicked 7 and was immense against the Hawks.

No one is asking for Hayward to kick 4 every week, but he needs to contribute more to the team. The tackling was what set him apart today, he ran and charged hard. He did it last week too, he didn't do this before. Keep up the pressure and he shuts everyone up

Very few forwards play games like Hayward did yesterday every week. Look at Cameron and Hawkins last night. Or Oli Henry. Toby Greene yesterday. Fritsch has games where you barely even realise hes there. Even Papley. It is the nature of being a forward. You can't expect midfield like influence and numbers from forwards, especially mediums week in week out. Just baffles me as to the expectation and standard some of our supporters hold Willbur to.

BTW, anyone suggesting Parker to do Haywards job is kidding themselves. Parks can still extract a ball from a pack but once ball is free, he does not have the pace to go with the young guys anymore. No way he makes the rundown tackles on a speedy HB flanker, no disrespect intended to the great man.

 

[BloodySwan]

Very few forwards play games like Hayward did yesterday every week. Look at Cameron and Hawkins last night. Or Oli Henry. Toby Greene yesterday. Fritsch has games where you barely even realise hes there. Even Papley. It is the nature of being a forward. You can't expect midfield like influence and numbers from forwards, especially mediums week in week out. Just baffles me as to the expectation and standard some of our supporters hold Willbur to.

BTW, anyone suggesting Parker to do Haywards job is kidding themselves. Parks can still extract a ball from a pack but once ball is free, he does not have the pace to go with the young guys anymore. No way he makes the rundown tackles on a speedy HB flanker, no disrespect intended to the great man.

No one is saying Hayward needs to perform like that every week. In fact everyone is saying the opposite.

What everyone is highlighting is:
-1 good game does not make a season
-He needs to tackle (like he has been the last 2 weeks)
-Give it the rest of the season before claiming he is all that, because for others he hasn't shown enough over a season

 

[DeathlyAccurate]

Why do we have to wait for the entire season to play out for Hayward to prove himself to some hysterical naysayers when it only takes one average game for you all to flock in here and have him traded? At least keep the parameters consistent.


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[zyzzbruh]

No one is saying Hayward needs to perform like that every week. In fact everyone is saying the opposite.

What everyone is highlighting is:
-1 good game does not make a season
-He needs to tackle (like he has been the last 2 weeks)
-Give it the rest of the season before claiming he is all that, because for others he hasn't shown enough over a season

He's been doing it since he was getting a regular game 3 years ago... He's done it in every game this year and is having a mighty fine season.

If you want to judge him, go to the ground and watch him off the ball. Works his arse off all game. You're not noticing it and that's not a Wilbur problem, it's a you problem.

 

[the hypnotoad]

No one is saying Hayward needs to perform like that every week. In fact everyone is saying the opposite.

What everyone is highlighting is:
-1 good game does not make a season
-He needs to tackle (like he has been the last 2 weeks)
-Give it the rest of the season before claiming he is all that, because for others he hasn't shown enough over a season

if you think yesterday was his "one good game" you're not watching him, you're judging him by your hardened preconceptions
watch his work in the lead-up to his second goal, he does that sort of stuff a lot, but it's not always going to be rewarded

 

[Bloods86]

Stopped reading

I think this is part of the problem.

I certainly don't expect 3 to 4 goals every game from Will. Never remotely suggested it. I've never said he should be traded either (not everyone who has some critiques can be painted with the same brush).

I'll repeat myself again. His pressure, hustle and composure across the whole game was what made yesterday his best game in a fair while. This year has by no means been his quietest patch, but he has mostly popped up and gotten involved when the game is under control. Yesterday you could point to things he did in every quarter.

Everyone is allowed off quarters or quiet games, but in the past Will has strung too many together. If we see the effort and composure from yesterday, in most games, then yeah re-sign and pay up. But imo, that's not necessarily what we've seen after high impact games.

In any case, if he were to re-sign tomorrow I would be fine with that, it would probably mean we've paid less than waiting until later in the year for more offers to roll in / actual RFA attempts.

Of course, there are those who think he has no or little talent, they're wrong, his talent has always been undeniable.

 

[Bloods86]

He's been doing it since he was getting a regular game 3 years ago... He's done it in every game this year and is having a mighty fine season.

If you want to judge him, go to the ground and watch him off the ball. Works his arse off all game. You're not noticing it and that's not a Wilbur problem, it's a you problem.

To be fair, not all of us live in Sydney or Melbourne, so just going to the ground all the time isn't possible. He's been mixed in games I have gone to, but there's been some poor ones.

Hard running should be a basic expectation of any Swans player according to capacity. We also have to assess players on what their efforts and composure are when the ball is in the vicinity. Or how often they get into the vicinity of the ball. If Will isn't used a lot of the time, that's not necessarily his fault, but it does undercut the narrative some have of him being a consistent outlet. People will talk about poor delivery, but he has also flubbed relatively easy marks, shanked kicks. It's not simply a matter of people making everything up because they don't see it.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Putting a lot of us in our place. Looking to be his best performance

Hardly. Has a lot to make up for.

Hopefully the penny has dropped.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

If there was a stat for run down tackles from behind …

Will is #1.

 

[Bloods86]

If there was a stat for run down tackles from behind …

Will is #1.

We've seen a few recently that's for sure.

Maybe by a forward.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Is rated best 22 and valuable member of our team by coaches and his peers.

Recognised as one of the best in his position by the media.

Is being chased by multiple clubs with big dollar offers.

Yet according to some, should've been replaced by HHK who is now running around with the Sandi dragons.

I sometimes wonder what game people are actually watching??????

One swallow does not make a summer.

He is 16-28 B grader. That is ok. He has been prone to lack of composure and downright flaky at times.

After one very good game his fanfolk have totally lost the run of themselves.

 

[The King!]

If you’re expecting that then sure, you’ll be pretty disappointed.

And you also don't understand what his role is