AFL Player # 8: Ben "Goblin" Hobbs

[VelvetSledge]

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

 

[Snake Charmer]

Love Hobbs but the call to take Durham out of the middle for him is crazy. He’s our second or third best player all season.

 

[Tazdog]

So Hobbs was the correct pick at the time?

Who else should we have picked? We needed a young inside mid, Hobbs slid from around 6-8 to 13, and there was nobody else valuable. It was an excellent pick at the time. Seriously, who else should we have taken before him?

 

[Tazdog]

Love Hobbs but the call to take Durham out of the middle for him is crazy. He’s our second or third best player all season.

I think Duz playing the half forward/stoppages role suits the team better atm, hes still mega effective and good to have him closer to the fwd 50

But yes, he is also an incredible midfielder who can have my kids

 

[chambo00]

Who else should we have picked? We needed a young inside mid, Hobbs slid from around 6-8 to 13, and there was nobody else valuable. It was an excellent pick at the time. Seriously, who else should we have taken before him?

Have a look who was picked in the handful after Hobbs...

 

[eth-dog]

Have a look who was picked in the handful after Hobbs...

Rest of the first round:

Campbell Chesser. Meh, he's good but very similar type to Perkins who we drafted the year before
Leek Aleer. Good player but again, we went KPP heavy the year before.
Darcy Wilmot. Very good player, there's an argument to be made for him.
Tom Brown. Meh, another medium defender that we had a glut of.
Angus Sheldrick. An inferior version of Hobbs with go home risk.
JVR. See Leek Aleer
Kai Lohmann. See Campbell Chesser

 

[Mikevk123]

Rest of the first round:

Campbell Chesser. Meh, he's good but very similar type to Perkins who we drafted the year before
Leek Aleer. Good player but again, we went KPP heavy the year before.
Darcy Wilmot. Very good player, there's an argument to be made for him.
Tom Brown. Meh, another medium defender that we had a glut of.
Angus Sheldrick. An inferior version of Hobbs with go home risk.
JVR. See Leek Aleer
Kai Lohmann. See Campbell Chesser

Lohmann was drafted as a forward.

 

[Vindicater]

Love Hobbs but the call to take Durham out of the middle for him is crazy. He’s our second or third best player all season.

He was put of the main rotation last game. Still played there but was mostly half forward which I think suited him.

 

[Happyskeret]

Lohmann was drafted as a forward.

I remember at the time Lohmann was predicted to go around 30 but ended up getting picked up earlier.

 

[eth-dog]

Lohmann was drafted as a forward.

Half forward who could eventually push into the midfield. Sounds similar to Perkins to me.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

Just play him, get Parish out of the midfield rotation and give Hobbs a run with the young brigade.

 

[Howard Moon]

Rest of the first round:

Campbell Chesser. Meh, he's good but very similar type to Perkins who we drafted the year before
Leek Aleer. Good player but again, we went KPP heavy the year before.
Darcy Wilmot. Very good player, there's an argument to be made for him.
Tom Brown. Meh, another medium defender that we had a glut of.
Angus Sheldrick. An inferior version of Hobbs with go home risk.
JVR. See Leek Aleer
Kai Lohmann. See Campbell Chesser

I'm sorry but Sheldrick is in no way an inferior version of Hobbs, this will become evident next year.

 

[MiguelM]

Starting to think Hobbs is too slow at this level. Gets caught every time he gets the ball.

 

[Petrify]

Just play him, get Parish out of the midfield rotation and give Hobbs a run with the young brigade.

If Parish wasn't in the midfield rotation we would've lost by 10 goals.

Shiel is the one to remove but not because he's been bad but because he's probably leaving

 

[MiguelM]

Just play him, get Parish out of the midfield rotation and give Hobbs a run with the young brigade.

Hobbs didn't get near the ball.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Parish was AA in 2021.

Agree that Durham wasn't what he is now, but we had Merrett, Parish, Shiel, Caldwell (who was brought in to be an inside mid) and Perkins (drafted as a HF, but everyone knew he was going to be developed as a mid).

Look at the selections after Hobbs, a handful of them much more needed for our list build than another small mid.

Caldwell played 2 games in 2021 and had a significant injury history prior to arriving at the club. Shiel played a handful of games due to injury, and being an older player there was doubt over his longer term durability. Perkins was one year in and the jury was well and truly still out on him (just look at his progress as a midfielder this year).

Hobbs was absolutely the right call at the time.

 

[DERO]

He is not a small forward but neither is Menzie or Davey I guess.

 

[dank420_]

anyone got a gif of him shitting himself?

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

Hobbs didn't get near the ball.

Had 8 disposals in a half of footy playing forward. Davey, Gresh and Menzie had equal or less and played a full game.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

If Parish wasn't in the midfield rotation we would've lost by 10 goals.

Shiel is the one to remove but not because he's been bad but because he's probably leaving

Spare me. He’s a stat padder at best, has zero impact on the game and his disposal/decision making is shocking for what we are sold as a top end talent.

Shiel is twice the player Parish is.

 

[MiguelM]

Had 8 disposals in a half of footy playing forward. Davey, Gresh and Menzie had equal or less and played a full game.

Fair call. Maybe he takes one of their spots.

Forward seems to be his best spot. Gets caught too much in the midfield for mine.

 

[naraku]

Fair call. Maybe he takes one of their spots.

Forward seems to be his best spot. Gets caught too much in the midfield for mine.

He is not a bad kick for goal IIRC and if he can add pressure to the F50 then it's worth exploring.

 

[Bjchan13]

Was ok i thought. Would definitely keep him in for the final 2 games and give him the chance to try and find his feet at the level again.

 

[Efc1robbo]

Please stop pushing this guy as sub and as a forward. He is a midfielder. He will do the grunt work and defensive stuff that most of the other mids refuse to do

 

[hurlygurdy]

What's his trade value right now? I think he is clearly going to be a good mid but not sure it can happen with us. Just not the player we need. It would be nice if we could trade for a high pick player in a similar situation somewhere else?

 

[Skipper_]

What's his trade value right now? I think he is clearly going to be a good mid but not sure it can happen with us. Just not the player we need. It would be nice if we could trade for a high pick player in a similar situation somewhere else?

Probably nets us an early-mid second rounder. I don’t see how you fit him, Tsatas, Merrett, Parish, Durham and Caldwell into one midfield so I wouldn’t be opposed to it.