after the 2008 grand final, i thought he had turned a corner. obviously just a great performance on the day. at the time when we drafted him, it was applauded. since he was picked at 3, the boy has talent, but just hasn't stepped up. 2005/2006 drafts really have killed us.
2009 was a write off. Rarely had a game without a couple of injuries resulting. We never had the depth to cope with that sort of bad run.
If you look at it carefully, I feel the sudden change in 2010 game plan affected almost all of our running players except for Hodge.
- Bateman had a new negating role which affected his run
- Sewell, injured early and struggled to hurt teams with his run/link
- Mitchell wasn't as effective (still good, but not at his best)
- Burgoyne was good but his interrupted pre season (knee) affected him.
- Rioli was very good but again, groin issues affected his midfield rotations.
- Young was coming back from injury and lacked usual hurt factor
- Our Rucks were one tall down. Affected our clearances.
- Lewis stagnated. Had some good games but didn't step up a gear.
Ellis also had his share of injuries. If our movement of the ball is significantly improved then I think Ellis will be very important. Through the middle and half forward, there's no one I'd prefer kicking to a leading forward than Ellis. He can weight his kicks with precision. I for one think he can reproduce what he did during the 2008 grand final or close to it. He's a smart run/link player.
Think how hard it is for players to scrap what they trained for over the summer and change a game plan after 7 games in 2010. The above listed players, in my mind did well, but nearly ALL of the side lacked in cohesion and good ball movement.
Ellis can line up to play on Saturday, but is a little short on match practice.
It was also revealed that he had hip problems right through 2010 and from memory, was one of the few players that needed post season surgery. In my view, he will very important this year. All of the players know their roles and given time, he will fit in and be very effective.
I may be wrong, but I see Ellis playing a very important run/link role for us in 2010. If we need good ball movement (as the club says), we need guys who can read the play and hit a target.