07-01-2022, 12:46 AM
St Kilda’s problem is that Hill is their star midfielder but the modern winger is a more blue collar role. Wingers are supposed to maintain width to provide defensive cover and outlets for the switch while running from D50 to F50 with metronome-like consistency. There’s a helluva lot of unrewarded running and, like Melbourne’s Langdon, they have to have insane endurance.
To capitalise on Hill’s talent, they’ve tried to bring him into the contest more. That’s not his strength and they surrender some of the strategic advantages of getting their wingers to keep their width. But that’s what happens when you have a Ferrari on a wing while the VWs are chugging around the ball. Hill would do very nicely in our team because we have an elite centre square crew and he could be left on a wing to provide flashes of brilliance when required.
LOB and Cottrell have the discipline and endurance to play their roles well and LOB matches Hill’s skill by foot.
St Kilda really need to get more out of Hill by running him as a high half-forward with stints in the centre square. If they play him as a high half-forward, he’d probably draw Saad and that will make him earn his paycheck. He’ll have to match Walsh’s output in that role for us, and that’s a high bar. Maybe they could run him as a rebounding HBF.
To capitalise on Hill’s talent, they’ve tried to bring him into the contest more. That’s not his strength and they surrender some of the strategic advantages of getting their wingers to keep their width. But that’s what happens when you have a Ferrari on a wing while the VWs are chugging around the ball. Hill would do very nicely in our team because we have an elite centre square crew and he could be left on a wing to provide flashes of brilliance when required.
LOB and Cottrell have the discipline and endurance to play their roles well and LOB matches Hill’s skill by foot.
St Kilda really need to get more out of Hill by running him as a high half-forward with stints in the centre square. If they play him as a high half-forward, he’d probably draw Saad and that will make him earn his paycheck. He’ll have to match Walsh’s output in that role for us, and that’s a high bar. Maybe they could run him as a rebounding HBF.