I’m sure the Tigers would be hoping that they can swing Balta forward at some stage, but surely that would only happen if Charlie and Harry have shockers or the Tigers see the game getting away from them and have to try something daring.
Grimes matches Charlie for height and weight but the fact is he’ll be 32 this year while Charlie is younger and rapidly improving. If the suggestions that Grimes might be aging out especially after his preseason was marred by a hamstring injury are true, Grimes will have his hands full. Spotting Harry 10cm, 14kg and 7 years makes it hard to see him taking Harry on regularly.
Balta might give away 12 cm to Harry but he matches him for bulk and is extremely athletic. No doubt Harry would prefer to see Balta up the other end. Tylar Young at 196cm is the tallest defender though he’s still 8cm short of Harry and he gives away 13 kg to him. To compete, he’ll need to rely on team defence, athleticism or defensive mastery. He’s hard to assess on the latter 2 criteria because he’s a mature age rookie pickup from Richmond VFL. He’s 24 but he didn’t start playing footy until 2019. Before that he played soccer and cricket. Maybe he is athletic, but could he have developed into a master defender in just 4 years (especially given he probably lost games in the middle of that due to Covid)? I call BS on that. He’d be up against one of the top key forwards in the AFL and I’m sure Harry will teach him a few lessons to help his development. He’d have his hands full with our 3rd tall, whether it be JSOS or TdK.
Of course, Tarrant may still get up and postpone Young’s debut but I’m sure Harry would enjoy that match up too, especially if Tarrant isn’t quite 100%.
Grimes matches Charlie for height and weight but the fact is he’ll be 32 this year while Charlie is younger and rapidly improving. If the suggestions that Grimes might be aging out especially after his preseason was marred by a hamstring injury are true, Grimes will have his hands full. Spotting Harry 10cm, 14kg and 7 years makes it hard to see him taking Harry on regularly.
Balta might give away 12 cm to Harry but he matches him for bulk and is extremely athletic. No doubt Harry would prefer to see Balta up the other end. Tylar Young at 196cm is the tallest defender though he’s still 8cm short of Harry and he gives away 13 kg to him. To compete, he’ll need to rely on team defence, athleticism or defensive mastery. He’s hard to assess on the latter 2 criteria because he’s a mature age rookie pickup from Richmond VFL. He’s 24 but he didn’t start playing footy until 2019. Before that he played soccer and cricket. Maybe he is athletic, but could he have developed into a master defender in just 4 years (especially given he probably lost games in the middle of that due to Covid)? I call BS on that. He’d be up against one of the top key forwards in the AFL and I’m sure Harry will teach him a few lessons to help his development. He’d have his hands full with our 3rd tall, whether it be JSOS or TdK.
Of course, Tarrant may still get up and postpone Young’s debut but I’m sure Harry would enjoy that match up too, especially if Tarrant isn’t quite 100%.