07-11-2022, 06:26 AM
But that’s the thing: Hewett complements our other mids but maybe that wasn’t going to happen in Sydney as they developed younger mids. A similar thing was true of Brodie at Gold Coast. He’s a very capable in-and-under at Freo but what sort of opportunity could he have been given at Gold Coast when Matt Rowell was always going to given that role? Playing too many in-and-unders slows you down too much and you end up losing the ability to burst away from packs, rack up uncontested possessions and the defensive pressure the midfield applies drops. It would have been the same outcome at Carlton if we had taken Brodie in the draft. Playing both Brodie and Cripps at centre square bounces wouldn’t have been ideal. So it’s not whether a player is worthy in absolute terms, it’s whether he fits into your game plan.