Player Watch Hugh Bond - Signed to End of 2025

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Mutineer said:
Can't see why Hughey can't also be employed as a cooler in the midfield as well as on dangerous forwardds if one of the oppo mids is burning us. After all that's where he played all of his junior footy before the VC coaches used him as their "cooler" on the oppo's dangerous small/medium forwards at the Nationals which obviously caught our recruiters eyes..

I was told prior to the draft by a contact at the GWV Rebels we had interviewed Hugh several times and had interest which I shared with Jeffcrowe and Danger in Texas at the time.

Ryan Crowley of the Essendon Bombers Player Profile and AFL Stats

Ryan Crowley of the Essendon Bombers profile and AFL statistics.
www.footywire.com

Robert Shirley of the Adelaide Crows Player Profile and AFL Stats

Robert Shirley of the Adelaide Crows profile and AFL statistics.
www.footywire.com

Edward Curnow of the Carlton Blues Player Profile and AFL Stats

Edward Curnow of the Carlton Blues profile and AFL statistics.
www.footywire.com

Brett Kirk of the Sydney Swans Player Profile and AFL Stats

Brett Kirk of the Sydney Swans profile and AFL statistics.
www.footywire.com

Clinton Jones of the St Kilda Saints Player Profile and AFL Stats

Clinton Jones of the St Kilda Saints profile and AFL statistics.
www.footywire.com
Click to expand...

The question shouldn't be whether Hugh can be a cooler and then comparing him to Shirley, Crowley, Kirk, Jones and Curnow. 4/5 haven't played in 8+years and Curnow retired last year.

The question should be whether in the modern AFL being a "cooler" is worth a position in the best 22.
 

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AFC979810 said:
The question shouldn't be whether Hugh can be a cooler and then comparing him to Shirley, Crowley, Kirk, Jones and Curnow. 4/5 haven't played in 8+years and Curnow retired last year.

The question should be whether in the modern AFL being a "cooler" is worth a position in the best 22.
Click to expand...

This is what I find a bit intriguing about Bond.

It's not like when he came into the team he replaced our existing small lockdown defender and performed better than him. We basically created that role in the team for him.

Which begs the question: is he actually the best lockdown small defender we have, or is he the only lockdown small defender we tried in the season? Do we have anyone else that could play that role to the same level?

It's not an overly difficult position and doesn't require a heap of skill
 
www.theage.com.au

Who’s going? Who’s staying? A club-by-club guide to the AFL trade period

We have gone through each club to see what they might get up to in this year’s AFL trade period, and which players remain without a deal for the 2025 season.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au

"Brodie Smith activated a trigger to play on in 2025, while the club is in discussions with Hugh Bond. Elliott Himmelberg, who was linked with a move to the Giants last year, is holding off, but Will Hamill, Ned McHenry, Patrick Parnell and Lachlan Gollant face a wait to see what happens during the trade period. The Crows have Alex Neal-Bullen and potentially Jack Lukosius coming in, and are also keen to retain defender Mark Keane as the Magpies circle."
 
AFC979810 said:
The question shouldn't be whether Hugh can be a cooler and then comparing him to Shirley, Crowley, Kirk, Jones and Curnow. 4/5 haven't played in 8+years and Curnow retired last year.

The question should be whether in the modern AFL being a "cooler" is worth a position in the best 22.
Click to expand...
“Good teams don’t tag”, until this year, when they did again.

I think it is a valuable role, but it is not enough to just shut your opponent down. Good taggers of the past and present also get plenty of their own ball.

Ling, Kornes for example. Willem Drew can get the ball.
 
Hugh Bond or Brodie Smith.
If our list management team cant work that one out, we're stuffed
 
maxlilly said:
Hugh Bond or Brodie Smith.
If our list management team cant work that one out, we're stuffed
Click to expand...
Need to look toward the Future...
 

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I was surprised how well he went in the AFL side this season. I don't watch the SANFL and had read mostly negative stuff about him around here. So I was surprised when he actually got a call up, and even more surprised when he didn't look out of place at AFL level. Definitely worth another year.
 
jackster83 said:
He was a pleasant surprise when called up to the AFL side this year. Really like the way he attacks the ball at speed.
Click to expand...
He was unlucky to get a long time injury so it took awhile to work his way up the ranks. To me he always looked a solid defender in the SANFL. Not surprized he did good when he came in to AFL.
 
He’s no certainty to make it and it’s difficult to see him being a bona fide best 22 player when everyone is fit (note: lists being 100% healthy is pretty much never a thing), but one thing Bond has up his sleeve is the number of other players on our list who are a slim to no chance of being signed up for 2026 and beyond:

Walker
Smith
Strachan
Schoenberg
Hamill (if he’s even there in 2025)
Burgess (if he’s even there in 2025)
Gallagher

(In addition to Gollant, Himmelberg, McHenry and Parnell who are clearly already out the door)

Combine that with the massive injury clouds over the futures of both Milera and Pedlar, and throw in how completely cooked Laird, Jones and Murphy are at AFL level, and it’s looking like Bondy might go on to have a decent career at the club as a defensive stopper who can be given some very specific roles against damaging opponents.

Personally I’d keep these roles to small forwards who don’t possess lightning pace (Higgins was the absolute prime matchup for him) rather than sending Bond to elite mids, or some of the quickest blokes in the comp.

He has heart, tries his guts out and playing on him looks like a genuinely shit experience. They’re all big ticks.
 
huludicidal said:
He’s no certainty to make it and it’s difficult to see him being a bona fide best 22 player when everyone is fit (note: lists being 100% healthy is pretty much never a thing), but one thing Bond has up his sleeve is the number of other players on our list who are a slim to no chance of being signed up for 2026 and beyond:

Walker
Smith
Strachan
Schoenberg
Hamill (if he’s even there in 2025)
Burgess (if he’s even there in 2025)
Gallagher

(In addition to Gollant, Himmelberg, McHenry and Parnell who are clearly already out the door)

Combine that with the massive injury clouds over the futures of both Milera and Pedlar, and throw in how completely cooked Laird, Jones and Murphy are at AFL level, and it’s looking like Bondy might go on to have a decent career at the club as a defensive stopper who can be given some very specific roles against damaging opponents.

Personally I’d keep these roles to small forwards who don’t possess lightning pace (Higgins was the absolute prime matchup for him) rather than sending Bond to elite mids, or some of the quickest blokes in the comp.

He has heart, tries his guts out and playing on him looks like a genuinely shit experience. They’re all big ticks.
Click to expand...
Our backline all largely have that about them, albeit Keane has days where even I could play on him.
 

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Player Watch Hugh Bond - Signed to End of 2025

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