AFL Player # 8: Ben "Goblin" Hobbs

[VelvetSledge]

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

 

[Runk]

Player most likely to break out for us next year would be a pretty interesting discussion.

100%

I genuinely feel much like Duz and Calders this year, we'll have another new name, perhaps two, to be talking about glowingly next year as well.

 

[jdstorm]

100%

I genuinely feel much like Duz and Calders this year, we'll have another new name, perhaps two, to be talking about glowingly next year as well.

Tsatas, Caddy and Kako the prime candidates

 

[Rick Ross]

Tsatas, Caddy and Kako the prime candidates

Big Cox is rising…

 

[jdstorm]

Big Cox is rising…

I’m personally more optimistic about Reid and Hayes right at this moment.

not sure what position Cox would even be playing to break out.

 

[windyhill]

Why did he not run in the sprint ? Late out ? Sub ?

 

[eth-dog]

Why did he not run in the sprint ? Late out ? Sub ?

Lost in the heats I'm guessing

 

[FlyingV]

Big Cox is rising…

I hope I’m wrong, but he’s the one I’m most worried about.

It’s all well and good to have a big cox, but you need to know how to use it

 

[MattyB3150]

Why did he not run in the sprint ? Late out ? Sub ?

We love putting in average leg speed players into the grandfinal sprints. Surely we try and win something on grand final day!

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Could honestly be a massive bolter next year (pardon the pace pun). You just never know.

He’d have to play for that to be the case.

And play where he was picked to play, in the midfield.

If these stats are right - I think they are - it shows exactly where he is.

Centre Bounce Attendances (2024)

Zach Merrett (23 matches) 521
Sam Durham (22) 305
Jye Caldwell (23) 300
Darcy Parish (12) 212
Jake Stringer (23) 204
Archie Perkins (18) 178
Dylan Shiel (9) 137
Will Setterfield (4) 70
Ben Hobbs (12) 21
Nic Martin (23) 11
Jade Gresham (22) 6
Elijah Tsatas (7) 0

Who is he displacing? Stringer and Shiel, sure - though even that’s up for debate.

But he’s behind Merrett, Durham, Caldwell, Parish, Perkins.

He’s not going anywhere as a 6th midfielder. He knows that and so does everybody else, hence a little bit of trade interest.

As for Tsatas, he doesn’t even get a look in.

We simply don’t have a spot for either of them.

People talk about trading Parish - that’s because he’s slipped behind Caldwell and Durham. But he’s a massive roadblock for Tsatas and Hobbs.

 

[ant555]

He’d have to play for that to be the case.

And play where he was picked to play, in the midfield.

If these stats are right - I think they are - it shows exactly where he is.

Centre Bounce Attendances (2024)

Zach Merrett (23 matches) 521
Sam Durham (22) 305
Jye Caldwell (23) 300
Darcy Parish (12) 212
Jake Stringer (23) 204
Archie Perkins (18) 178
Dylan Shiel (9) 137
Will Setterfield (4) 70
Ben Hobbs (12) 21
Nic Martin (23) 11
Jade Gresham (22) 6
Elijah Tsatas (7) 0

Who is he displacing? Stringer and Shiel, sure - though even that’s up for debate.

But he’s behind Merrett, Durham, Caldwell, Parish, Perkins.

He’s not going anywhere as a 6th midfielder. He knows that and so does everybody else, hence a little bit of trade interest.

As for Tsatas, he doesn’t even get a look in.

We simply don’t have a spot for either of them.

People talk about trading Parish - that’s because he’s slipped behind Caldwell and Durham. But he’s a massive roadblock for Tsatas and Hobbs.

Of course this is only the case if nothing changes. No one gets injured. Someone else gets moved to another position.
Would have have put Durham in as the leading player for center bounce attendances at the end of 2023 ?
Anything can happen.

 

[jdstorm]

He’d have to play for that to be the case.

And play where he was picked to play, in the midfield.

If these stats are right - I think they are - it shows exactly where he is.

Centre Bounce Attendances (2024)

Zach Merrett (23 matches) 521
Sam Durham (22) 305
Jye Caldwell (23) 300
Darcy Parish (12) 212
Jake Stringer (23) 204
Archie Perkins (18) 178
Dylan Shiel (9) 137
Will Setterfield (4) 70
Ben Hobbs (12) 21
Nic Martin (23) 11
Jade Gresham (22) 6
Elijah Tsatas (7) 0

Who is he displacing? Stringer and Shiel, sure - though even that’s up for debate.

But he’s behind Merrett, Durham, Caldwell, Parish, Perkins.

He’s not going anywhere as a 6th midfielder. He knows that and so does everybody else, hence a little bit of trade interest.

As for Tsatas, he doesn’t even get a look in.

We simply don’t have a spot for either of them.

People talk about trading Parish - that’s because he’s slipped behind Caldwell and Durham. But he’s a massive roadblock for Tsatas and Hobbs.

Tsatas a a non fun size midfielder is a walk up start. There’s a reason Stringer and Perkins got such a high number of CBAs despite having significant flaws. It’s their physicality.

Jake seems gone and Archie’s likely gone back to HHF with a more balanced list. So there’s 2 midfield spots availiable for stronger/bigger mids. Durham will get 1, Tsatas another and 1 more will be either Setters or a new player signed this offseason.

Only want to fit 2 fun size mids on the list so either 3 of Caldwell/Merrett/Parish/Hobbs/Sheil find secondary positions or they won’t be best 23 at Essendon next season

 

[ant555]

Merrett mentioned in his speech that maybe a positional change to get more midfield time for Caldwell and Hobbs.

 

[Yoda_]

Apparently has come back in tremendous nick

 

[faible]

People forget how young he is IMO.

Durham had a breakout season this year at ~ 23.

Hobbs is 21. Tsatas is 20.

I wouldn’t be expecting Hobbs to play a full season as an inside midfielder (which is his best position) at AFL level to a high standard.

If he can show glimpses of high level performance on the inside along with a sustained run with more minutes through the middle (since Stringer is gone and my guess is Perkins takes less CBAs) then that’s a big positive.

People have way too high an expectation as to how quickly young guys can take on genuine inside midfield minutes. Daicos is about as AFL ready as a young player has ever been and he’s struggled to transition to inside minutes despite walking in to the AFL system ready made on the outside.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

They are all just opinion of course but basically every one of the Essendon “2025 Best 23” teams you see in the media excludes Hobbs.

Seems most don’t see a place for him…

 

[fairbump_playon]

Needs a sprint coach.

He's a Joel Selwood in an era of transition footy. Needs to prove he can impact on the spread.

At his age, in the past he would have put on 5 kgs over summer and moved a bit closer to being a Nathan Jones / Ben Cunnington type. But that's not going to help these days.

 

[faible]

They are all just opinion of course but basically every one of the Essendon “2025 Best 23” teams you see in the media excludes Hobbs.

Seems most don’t see a place for him…

He's played most AFL games that he's been fit and available to play, they'll find a spot for him IMO

 

[Lore]

I don’t think a best 23 is really an accurate way of predicting inclusion on game day anyway. The typical FF HF C HB FB Int field placements aren’t really how the game is played or the team chosen anymore, and we won’t pick just one centre, a ruck rover and a rover to play those roles for 100 minutes. And a best 23 for one team won’t be directly comparable to another either, since teams select and form up differently.

Like you could have 1 tall, 2 medium and 5 small mid/forwards that rotate. Or 3 talls, 2 smalls and 3 rotating mid/fowards. Still takes 8 spots on the team sheet but it might mean Hobbs is named bench or FF even when he’s going to play 40% midfield minutes.

 

[eth-dog]

I think the problem is his lack of POD to Caldwell and Durham in particular, who are in a similar age range and simply better ATM.

 

[Jack Richards]

wouldn’t be expecting Hobbs to play a full season as an inside midfielder (which is his best position) at AFL level to a high standard

Agree. But I would argue that if we don't give him a chance (consistently) playing at his best position for extended times (and not 5 or 6 minutes here and there) how do we expect him to be a high standard player in that position?

Give him a couple of games where starts there or plays a quarter or 2 in that position only.

 

[faible]

Agree. But I would argue that if we don't give him a chance (consistently) playing at his best position for extended times (and not 5 or 6 minutes here and there) how do we expect him to be a high standard player in that position?

Give him a couple of games where starts there or plays a quarter or 2 in that position only.

Agree, give him genuine inside minutes but manage him such that he's not getting physically ground down by the end of the season.

 

[Jack Richards]

None of this:
"Ready made half back flanker who we see developing into a midfielder..." like Dodoro was hoping.