I have identified 4 players who I believe are facing career defining seasons – make or break if you will.
Player 1 – Will Langford
Coming into his 6th season with the Hawks, Will has displayed he belongs at the top level and for evidence, look no further than his final 6 weeks of the 2014 season and in particular his 3 finals that year. But as we know in the AFL, you can’t afford to live on past glories and Will has dropped right off the pace the past 2 season whether it be through form or fitness.
We all accept his skills and in particular his disposal by foot needs work, however, with both Sammy and Jordie moving on, the opportunity presents itself for Will to once again cement a permanent spot in the side and become that influential player we have all witnessed. You can never question his commitment but decision making and disposal need to be his key areas of focus. With the 2 departures mentioned, if he is unable to solidify a spot in our best side, his time at the Hawks may come to an abrupt end. Personally however, I expect him to have a big pre-season and really hit the ground running in 2017 and become a solid contributor week in and week as we push for another finals series.
Player 2 – Tim O’Brien
A second round draft pick from 2012, TOB is entering his 5th season at the club. Whilst he has shown glimpses when given an opportunity in the seniors, he struggles terribly with consistency and staying involved in the game. The concern for me is when playing at Box Hill, it is yet to really dominate a game over 4 quarters which is what you want to see from a young KPP demanding a spot in the seniors. Gathering 10-12 possessions at the lower level isn’t going to cut it in the seniors. TOB has great athleticism, is a good set shot for goal and can both create a contest and take a grab – but he really needs to be involved for much longer periods of the game. And without stating the obvious, needs to put on some size. Whereas I am bullish about Will, I have nowhere near as much confidence in Tim as the glimpses he has shown have been too few and far apart. In saying that, with Rough due to miss the first part of the season, there is certainly an opportunity there for the talking if he really wants it.
Player 3 – Jonathan O’Rourke
Having been drafted at No 2 in the same 2012 draft as TOB, JOR has certainly failed to live up to his lofty billing both at the Giants and in his time with us and the clock is quickly ticking. For me, the frustration with JOR is whenever he wins possession his first option is to look for a handball. When he was drafted his bio noted the he had speed to break away from stoppages and possessed his pin point field kicking. If these are his attributes, why isn’t he using them?? It’s great to look to dish of the handball and bring team mates into the game, but why not use your pace and use your kicking skills to break play open? In his limited appearances, he also needs to find a way to win more of the ball as being a midfielder at AFL level winning 13-15 possession is not going to cut it.
I know he has had some injuries but again, with 2 stalwarts in Mitchell and Lewis moving on and our lack of depth in the midfield highlighted during this season’s final series, improvement from a player such as JOR is critical to our future success. JOR – your time is NOW!
Player 4 – Dallas Willsmore
A rookie selection in 2017 Dallas enters his 3rd year on the list and 2nd on the senior list after his upgrading. While a touch slow, Dallas has the physical attributes to make it at senior level, height, size, good hands and a lovely left peg. The knock on him for mind, is his lack of physicality.
He started last season at Box Hill on fire playing off the half back line and regularly gather 25-30 touches with a high efficiency rating. While his form dropped off in the 2nd half of the year, the concern for me why we he couldn’t get a game when he was in form and we had an extensive injury list at the time? What were the coaches demanding of him that he wasn’t delivering? With another pre-season under his belt and spots up for grabs, Dallas needs to take every opportunity that comes his way to show he deserves his place on the list and finally make his senior debut. I hope this is a Suckers situation repeating itself – if you remember we had him on the rookie list for 3 years before upgrading him and him making his debut and then went on to become a 2 time premiership player. A lot of similarities in terms of how they both play.
Player 1 – Will Langford
Coming into his 6th season with the Hawks, Will has displayed he belongs at the top level and for evidence, look no further than his final 6 weeks of the 2014 season and in particular his 3 finals that year. But as we know in the AFL, you can’t afford to live on past glories and Will has dropped right off the pace the past 2 season whether it be through form or fitness.
We all accept his skills and in particular his disposal by foot needs work, however, with both Sammy and Jordie moving on, the opportunity presents itself for Will to once again cement a permanent spot in the side and become that influential player we have all witnessed. You can never question his commitment but decision making and disposal need to be his key areas of focus. With the 2 departures mentioned, if he is unable to solidify a spot in our best side, his time at the Hawks may come to an abrupt end. Personally however, I expect him to have a big pre-season and really hit the ground running in 2017 and become a solid contributor week in and week as we push for another finals series.
Player 2 – Tim O’Brien
A second round draft pick from 2012, TOB is entering his 5th season at the club. Whilst he has shown glimpses when given an opportunity in the seniors, he struggles terribly with consistency and staying involved in the game. The concern for me is when playing at Box Hill, it is yet to really dominate a game over 4 quarters which is what you want to see from a young KPP demanding a spot in the seniors. Gathering 10-12 possessions at the lower level isn’t going to cut it in the seniors. TOB has great athleticism, is a good set shot for goal and can both create a contest and take a grab – but he really needs to be involved for much longer periods of the game. And without stating the obvious, needs to put on some size. Whereas I am bullish about Will, I have nowhere near as much confidence in Tim as the glimpses he has shown have been too few and far apart. In saying that, with Rough due to miss the first part of the season, there is certainly an opportunity there for the talking if he really wants it.
Player 3 – Jonathan O’Rourke
Having been drafted at No 2 in the same 2012 draft as TOB, JOR has certainly failed to live up to his lofty billing both at the Giants and in his time with us and the clock is quickly ticking. For me, the frustration with JOR is whenever he wins possession his first option is to look for a handball. When he was drafted his bio noted the he had speed to break away from stoppages and possessed his pin point field kicking. If these are his attributes, why isn’t he using them?? It’s great to look to dish of the handball and bring team mates into the game, but why not use your pace and use your kicking skills to break play open? In his limited appearances, he also needs to find a way to win more of the ball as being a midfielder at AFL level winning 13-15 possession is not going to cut it.
I know he has had some injuries but again, with 2 stalwarts in Mitchell and Lewis moving on and our lack of depth in the midfield highlighted during this season’s final series, improvement from a player such as JOR is critical to our future success. JOR – your time is NOW!
Player 4 – Dallas Willsmore
A rookie selection in 2017 Dallas enters his 3rd year on the list and 2nd on the senior list after his upgrading. While a touch slow, Dallas has the physical attributes to make it at senior level, height, size, good hands and a lovely left peg. The knock on him for mind, is his lack of physicality.
He started last season at Box Hill on fire playing off the half back line and regularly gather 25-30 touches with a high efficiency rating. While his form dropped off in the 2nd half of the year, the concern for me why we he couldn’t get a game when he was in form and we had an extensive injury list at the time? What were the coaches demanding of him that he wasn’t delivering? With another pre-season under his belt and spots up for grabs, Dallas needs to take every opportunity that comes his way to show he deserves his place on the list and finally make his senior debut. I hope this is a Suckers situation repeating itself – if you remember we had him on the rookie list for 3 years before upgrading him and him making his debut and then went on to become a 2 time premiership player. A lot of similarities in terms of how they both play.
