AFL Player # 8: Ben "Goblin" Hobbs

[VelvetSledge]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 12, Schnitzengruben

 

[fairbump_playon]

I'm an Essendon supporter post round 24. I couldn't be any more relaxed.

Yep.. it’s knock off beers time, seasonally speaking

I note the sucks ups like Geelong are still in the office trying to impress the boss. They think they’re sooo good.

 

[BomberManU]

I'm dreading coming on here and seeing the thread title changed to 'has been told to explore his options', or similar. Would be a mistake, I think.

 

[joey_jo_jo]

Saying on Midwwek Tackle Pies might be interested.

If I was Hobbs I would jump at that!

Pies also interested in Peatling and Alex Davies according to afl.com.au, so they are probably throwing a couple of darts at young inside mids and seeing if one lands.

 

[faible]

This mix does sound good, but where are Parish and Shiel? The numbers just don’t add up

Shiel is a short-term thing, Parish will rotate through as well.

Hobbs is still 2-3 years off the same age as Durham and Caldwell with Tsatas another year behind, so you're talking about a 2026 / 2027 midfield group.

 

[ant555]

So far it is only Jay Clarke pushing the Hobbs trade wheel barrow.
Not sure the Pies have the draft picks to get something done and they are obviously the ones feeding Clarke the “made enquires “ line .
The whole situation is why having a bunch of blokes in the media sitting around talking crap about football is no better than having a wish list on BF.

 

[DonsRule]

So far it is only Jay Clarke pushing the Hobbs trade wheel barrow.
Not sure the Pies have the draft picks to get something done and they are obviously the ones feeding Clarke the “made enquires “ line .
The whole situation is why having a bunch of blokes in the media sitting around talking crap about football is no better than having a wish list on BF.

Cal did a little too a month or two ago. I think he was talking pretty generically other clubs had been keeping an eye on him and he was an option, probably I think suggesting more of Essendon felt they could move him on and get something better - this was also before his recall and playing VFL. From that it grew legs pretty quickly.

 

[ant555]

Cal did a little too a month or two ago. I think he was talking pretty generically other clubs had been keeping an eye on him and he was an option, probably I think suggesting more of Essendon felt they could move him on and get something better - this was also before his recall and playing VFL. From that it grew legs pretty quickly.

Yeah Cal mentioned it once . Jay brings it up every week as the out of favour Essendon midfielder.
His little sit around with others is basically the big footy trade thread with TV . Little in the way of facts and plenty of opinions based on google the stats page.
The only way he leaves is if Scott and co think he is expendable. If they want him they will not let him out of the last year of his contract.
There really was only two weeks of the season where he was “out of favour “.

 

[jannissary]

i think that hobbs is someone we should be hanging on to. he's got some quirks (ala not taking the first option) but he's the kind of player we need somewhere on the ground. someone who'll get physical, is a bit of a prick and so on. he just needs to work on his decision making. that's it.

 

[BrunoV]

I'd say he's probably worth similar to whatever we paid for Caldwell, similar stories. High pick inside mid who hadn't been playing for various reasons. We just need to pretend he's a required player like gws did.

True but it was us that paid what we paid for Caldwell.

More seriously, though, Caldwell has that run/dynamic burst which makes him a bit more than just inside grunt that gets delisted in spades.

 

[P Money]

So far it is only Jay Clarke pushing the Hobbs trade wheel barrow.
Not sure the Pies have the draft picks to get something done and they are obviously the ones feeding Clarke the “made enquires “ line .
The whole situation is why having a bunch of blokes in the media sitting around talking crap about football is no better than having a wish list on BF.

Out of interest what would you be interested in from the Pies for him?

 

[ant555]

Out of interest what would you be interested in from the Pies for him?

They do not have anything inside the top 20 in the draft. If I am moving him I want a pick in the 12 to 18 range. Do not want any of their reject midfielders. If they are interested in him for midfield then they rate him better than what they have .
Like I keep saying he is a player that has been best 23 every week he has been fully fit bar two weeks.

 

[jdstorm]

If Collingwood want an inside mid they can Have Parish for a future first.

 

[bombreys]

Shiel is a short-term thing, Parish will rotate through as well.

Hobbs is still 2-3 years off the same age as Durham and Caldwell with Tsatas another year behind, so you're talking about a 2026 / 2027 midfield group.

Not just nitpicking/picking an argument here, but we do still need to think about 2025 too.

Does Hobbs (or Tsatas) hang around for 2026/27 if he isn’t playing AFL/getting time in the middle in 2025? It’s a tough one

 

[ant555]

Not just nitpicking/picking an argument here, but we do still need to think about 2025 too.

Does Hobbs (or Tsatas) hang around for 2026/27 if he isn’t playing AFL/getting time in the middle in 2025? It’s a tough one

As far as 2025 goes why does it matter if we have Hobbs and Tsatas maybe not at AFL level for a full season ? You do not manage your list by trading out the young blokes who may or may not get opportunities.
If we go by your thinking Hayes and Bryan would not have signed.
Caldwell would have left as he was not getting midfield opportunity.
Parish would have asked for a trade in 2020.
The mix changes all the time. Why would Hobbs not be in the frame to be best 23 next year given he was this year every week he was fully fit bar two weeks.
Scott likes his hardness at the footy.

 

[faible]

Does Hobbs (or Tsatas) hang around for 2026/27 if he isn’t playing AFL/getting time in the middle in 2025? It’s a tough one

Yes, they're both contracted so we don't need to trade them in any way and can make longer term plans for their progression and development.

Hobbs is likely - though not guaranteed - to be reaching a point physically in 2025 where he's capable of playing AFL midfield, he's also shown to be passable playing out of the forward-line and has for the most part played whenever he's been fit.

Tsatas simply needs time, it might be 2025 when he's physically strong enough to do at AFL level what he's doing at VFL level, it might be 2026.

The job of the coaches is to show these guys where they're at and where they're going. They're both guys that could spend most of the next decade playing midfield at AFL level, I don't think it's 'tough' at all for them to understand that they're not guaranteed to be doing that so early in their career.

 

[jdstorm]

Given Daicos was the same draft as Hobbs I think he can feel justified in expecting opportunities same as Tsatas. They were high picks for a reason and are both far too good for VFL

 

[bombreys]

As far as 2025 goes why does it matter if we have Hobbs and Tsatas maybe not at AFL level for a full season ? You do not manage your list by trading out the young blokes who may or may not get opportunities.
If we go by your thinking Hayes and Bryan would not have signed.
Caldwell would have left as he was not getting midfield opportunity.
Parish would have asked for a trade in 2020.
The mix changes all the time. Why would Hobbs not be in the frame to be best 23 next year given he was this year every week he was fully fit bar two weeks.
Scott likes his hardness at the footy.

I'm not absolutely adamant on a trade for Hobbs at all - I just think he's probably the one we'd get the most value from, if we feel we have one/two too many mids.

I'd probably prefer to keep him, but I'd hope we'd look at a trade if it improved the balance of the list.

A lot depends on how we line up next year, I suppose. If Durham stays in the middle, as well as Shiel, it starts getting pretty crowded in there.

Let me ask you a hypothetical - say we have the same team available for Round 1 2025 as was available last week. Reid hurt, Hayes not ready.

Merrett, Shiel, Parish, Caldwell & Durham (& Perkins?) line up in the middle. That probably means Hobbs and Tsatas are either not getting a game, or are getting a game but not in the middle.

Say our backline reads something like FB: McGrath, McKay, Kelly HB: Redman, Weideman, Laverde

In that specific situation, in order to upgrade one of Kelly/Laverde/Weideman, would you then consider trading a Hobbs or a Tsatas? Or would you still rather keep them?

Purely hypothetical, let's pretend they've both agreed and there's a clear path to make it happen.

 

[bombreys]

Yes, they're both contracted so we don't need to trade them in any way and can make longer term plans for their progression and development.

Hobbs is likely - though not guaranteed - to be reaching a point physically in 2025 where he's capable of playing AFL midfield, he's also shown to be passable playing out of the forward-line and has for the most part played whenever he's been fit.

Tsatas simply needs time, it might be 2025 when he's physically strong enough to do at AFL level what he's doing at VFL level, it might be 2026.

The job of the coaches is to show these guys where they're at and where they're going. They're both guys that could spend most of the next decade playing midfield at AFL level, I don't think it's 'tough' at all for them to understand that they're not guaranteed to be doing that so early in their career.

We don't need to, but is there a situation where every body wins?

You are probably right. As long as they're okay with it and there's a path to it/an opportunity in the not so distant future.

One thing I do hope is that they are both considered ahead of Perkins. He's been given enough chances for mine. Send him to another spot (not midfield) or play him in the VFL.

 

[ghostdog]

CHF should be FF. Caddy is our CHF. Mobile. Runs at the footy. Takes marks and makes good decisions with the ball in hand but we are in the wrong thread to be talking this

Weights his kicks inside sweetly too.

 

[ghostdog]

Saying on Midwwek Tackle Pies might be interested.

If I was Hobbs I would jump at that!

So I wonder now if the reason Stringer's name has come up is because we've said Hobbs is a no, how about Jake?

 

[ant555]

I'm not absolutely adamant on a trade for Hobbs at all - I just think he's probably the one we'd get the most value from, if we feel we have one/two too many mids.

I'd probably prefer to keep him, but I'd hope we'd look at a trade if it improved the balance of the list.

A lot depends on how we line up next year, I suppose. If Durham stays in the middle, as well as Shiel, it starts getting pretty crowded in there.

Let me ask you a hypothetical - say we have the same team available for Round 1 2025 as was available last week. Reid hurt, Hayes not ready.

Merrett, Shiel, Parish, Caldwell & Durham (& Perkins?) line up in the middle. That probably means Hobbs and Tsatas are either not getting a game, or are getting a game but not in the middle.

Say our backline reads something like FB: McGrath, McKay, Kelly HB: Redman, Weideman, Laverde

In that specific situation, in order to upgrade one of Kelly/Laverde/Weideman, would you then consider trading a Hobbs or a Tsatas? Or would you still rather keep them?

Purely hypothetical, let's pretend they've both agreed and there's a clear path to make it happen.

Nothing ever stays the same so hypocritical is not really worth the conversation.
Durham was not in our midfield this time last year.
Someone will be injured.
The play is not trade the blokes under 22 simply because they have currency. You trade the one over 25 if you can. Why bother putting 3 years into Hobbs so you can trade him for another young mid that will take another 2 or 3 years.
You make the moves you can.
Who knows what the end of 2025 looks like.
If they do not rate him and let him look at other options then we are not getting first round anyway.

 

[fairbump_playon]

This games for kids stuff has been blown up by how incredibly developed a small handful of elite 18yo talents are

Comparing the journey for Hobbs and Hayes to the opportunities Daicos, Harley, Sheezel have had etc isn’t helpful

In my day (LOL) players earned their spot! Play some games out of position, show something, go back to the 2s, get harder, get fitter, get better, get ready to dominate when you’re a big boy.

I still believe this is the realistic (and reasonable) path for the majority. Part of the journey is being unsatisfied you aren’t playing 1s.

It’s meant to feel like that!

 

[jdstorm]

This games for kids stuff has been blown up by how incredibly developed a small handful of elite 18yo talents are

Comparing the journey for Hobbs and Hayes to the opportunities Daicos, Harley, Sheezel have had etc isn’t helpful

In my day (LOL) players earned their spot! Play some games out of position, show something, go back to the 2s, get harder, get fitter, get better, get ready to dominate when you’re a big boy.

I still believe this is the realistic (and reasonable) path for the majority. Part of the journey is being unsatisfied you aren’t playing 1s.

It’s meant to feel like that!

The issue is junior programs now are much better. Guys especially outside players are ready to go straight away.

Even guys like Fletcher and Wilmont at brisbane or Joel Fajita at the dogs (sorry about not knowing how to spell
Your last Name)

Inside players need a year or two and some protection before they hit their straps. But at this point it’s year 4. You’ve dominated VFL as a mid and been good at AFL level when given opportunities.

It’s time for more opposition

 

[Yoda_]

Yeah Cal mentioned it once . Jay brings it up every week as the out of favour Essendon midfielder.
His little sit around with others is basically the big footy trade thread with TV . Little in the way of facts and plenty of opinions based on google the stats page.
The only way he leaves is if Scott and co think he is expendable. If they want him they will not let him out of the last year of his contract.
There really was only two weeks of the season where he was “out of favour “.

Cal suggested something too off Tsatas a couple of weeks prior. Surprised that doesn't have more traction as Elijah struggled to get in at all, Hobbs at least made it back to the AFL by seasons end

 

[ant555]

Cal suggested something too off Tsatas a couple of weeks prior. Surprised that doesn't have more traction as Elijah struggled to get in at all, Hobbs at least made it back to the AFL by seasons end

Mybe the interest in Tsatas is not as strong. There would be a few clubs feeding the media as far as interest in Hobbs goes.