17th Premiership wrote:
Dow - IMO he has shown great signs of being able to get the ball and get out of heavy traffic against much bigger and stronger opponents in ways that most players can’t do. And he is fast which we need to complement the bigger midfielders we have or are looking to bring in. He needs to build more strength and fitness and become more consistent which is what I’ll be looking for. But he is doing better IMO than either Cerra or LDU who were the other contenders at his pick (some of those picked a bit later are looking pretty strong e.g. Tim Kelly but I think most clubs were looking at Dow, LDU and Cerra early on...)
I think you'll find the stats on LDU, Cerra & Dow say otherwise. As for potential on all three, the jury is still out.
Let's hope he can work on his disposals, size & strength over the summer. I'm still hoping he turns out to be like Judd, bursting from the packs hitting forwards on the chest or snagging goals from everywhere.
17th Premiership wrote:
Oh, and as for Eddie, I think he would be a great addition - he is the closest thing available to a Luke Hodge for us given the status he has amongst the fans and players, the relationship he has with the coach, his ability to mentor younger players and not to mention, his relatively modest goal kicking this year was still better than anything any of our forwards could muster...
This is where I fail to understand your logic. Unless I have missed some articles or other info about Eddies leadership qualities and mentoring of players.
Unlike Hodge, he has never been a premiership player, let alone four times. He has never been captain of a club and I can only find he has been in the leadership group once in 2017 at Adelaide. He's now 32, contracted for appx. $600k per year, would still cost us pick(s), also a spot on the list for players in a more needed age bracket and an absurd amount of money for what he will bring at the end of his career. And I just can't see any close comparisons or advantages for us in getting him in a Hodge like role. Other than a marketing ploy we would've been better off getting Roughead to coach the forward line.
Plus, I think people have forgotten that he'd 'allegedly' already signed with Adelaide 18 months before he left us (according to Trigg). And was most likely the reason he'd come off the back of 38, 42, 50, 48 goals per season to 27 in 2013 then back to 51, 63 & 75 for Adelaide. There has to be some truth there, surely. Yet you still want him back after his big FU to the club.