Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Lloyd Meek

[Brishawk]

I think we are getting this guy on the upward part of the curve. Will add that physical ruckman that can compete at ground level. Perfect complement with reeves.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

10 clubs wanted him. He’s no slouch.

 

[Hawked Wings]

Huge future I feel. Meek and Reeves, we have our ruck combo for the next 6-7 years

 

[TylerDurden]

10 clubs wanted him. He’s no slouch.

Sam had been tracking him for years.

 

[Tomohawks]

Huge future I feel. Meek and Reeves, we have our ruck combo for the next 6-7 years

Plus add Ramsden to that (who'll end up mostly forward) and Lynch who is no slouch if he can get up and running. This is no area we'll need to address for a long time. We're on track in so many ways.

 

[Dewnior]

The only redeeming feature about Free is that we got Meek from them, and they regularly allow us to enjoy finals wins.

2010 excluded

 

[MrPremiership]

10 clubs wanted him. He’s no slouch.

yeah, but how big are his hands?

 

[Wobbly Punt]

Hi Hawkers, I just thought I'd come in and potentially add something to your offseason musings with regard to Lloyd Meek. I admit I haven't read the thread so may be going over old ground but thought I'd drop in anyway. Apologies if someone from Freo has been in and I'm repeating any of it and I'm sorry that I can't tell you how big his hands are .

As a main ruck you'll be getting a very big and very strong unit who will surprise you at ground level with his impact in contested ground ball situations. On numerous occasions Meek not only held his own against Nic Nat but handily beat him when this was a strength of NN. This occurred mostly before Nic Nat consumed a years worth of donuts and was still a mobile and damaging force on the field. Lloyd beat NN in the ruck duel more often than he lost (small sample size alert) even though he would lose the bulk of the hitouts. At the same time, Meek was also able to break even or sometimes even better when up against some of the bigger units in the game, this is less surprising seeing he was up against Darcy in daily training sessions. Yes Meek got beat on occasions in games but what young ruck doesn't get his arse handed to him on occasions.

Honestly, there is not a big gap between Darcy and Meek in my view. Meek isn't as strong in the air and isn't the same physical presence Darcy is but he also has had a fraction of the opportunities Darcy has had. Lloyd has the tools, just not the time. Seriously, the Darcy/Meek gap is not huge. If you add to the mix I firmly believe Darcy is a top 3 ruck in the league, top 5 at worst, it's easy to believe you may have grabbed a top 10 ruck already and therefore the price is pretty handy for you, very handy if I'm right.

Right now I truly think you'd be better off having Meek over Pittonet, Witts, Hickey, Preuss, Nic Nat, Stanley and even Goldy due to either the age or the skills of any of those options. I'd also take him over Draper and Lycett myself but admit there's arguments those guys are ahead of Lloyd.

He's a very hard worker, a top shelf human (according to a few guys I know who know him well - I have no direct knowledge of that) and he's already shown he can be a great team mate in what was a difficult situation personally for him at Freo. Even as he leaves he's done it with a lot of class. I'd be surprised if he was anything but a great team mate for your guys when/if he becomes a mainstay in your team. He's super popular with his old team mates which to me is also a good sign and not something all of the guys who left us this year can lay claim too.

He's not a contested marking beast but he doesn't get outmarked often either. He provides a great contest and knows how to use that big rig he's got to make it harder for others to secure a grab. He won't take mark of the year but he won't get on any posters as the stepladder either.

He comes across as a very nice guy and he's certainly no Preuss in terms of his level of mongrel but he won't shirk a contest, has no issue backing back in to a pack and his effort levels will never disappoint.

The biggest trouble for Lloyd at Freo wasn't that he couldn't play as well as Sean Darcy, it was that he was the same type of player as Darcy. As good as Darcy is, 2 of them in a team isn't going to work. Here then lies Lloyd's biggest query and something he mentions he's worked hard on in the AFL article today. Right now, he's just not good up front. Lobb has plenty of faults but he was streets ahead of Lloyd as a forward so there just wasn't a spot for Lloyd in our B22. Asking Lloyd to be a RUC/FWD or FWD/RUC for you guys will be a big ask at the minute. He's a RUC, a good one.

He's shown some glimpses of being dangerous at WAFL level up front, including games where he's bagged 3 snags, but he's not shown anything close to being dangerous as a resting FWD at AFL level. It could come to him but I honestly don't see it as being in the near future. He's not great marking on a lead, nor does he show much nous about when and where to head to be dangerous (both of which can be taught to some extent). Whilst his ground game as a ruck is very good, this hasn't translated in to being good enough when the pill hits the grass up front or with his defensive pressure.

He can also struggle a bit with centre bounce ruck taps in terms of getting first hand to it. He may not get that first hitout so the real surgeons in that area might expose him from time to time. I think this deficiency may be the reason he has developed one of his real strengths which is the follow-up at stoppages. Around the ground he's fine but this is something he'll need to work on as it can lead to goals when exposed at centre bounces. That's my main knock on him as first ruck.

All the above says to me Lloyd will rise or fall for you based on how Mitchell uses him. If he's the main ruck and spells on the bench with minimal time up forward then I truly believe you've got a real gem in Meek. He could be very well complemented by Reeves or Lynch if they can be dangerous up front for you and spell Lloyd that way. However, if Mitchell sees Reeves or Lynch as the main ruckman and plays Lloyd as his #2 and expects good returns up forward then I'd worry. It's not impossible he gets there, I just think he has more value immediately and long term as a R1.

I know of noone who supports Freo or who is involved at the Club who doesn't hope Lloyd has a long career with you. I hope he smashes it for you and becomes the 3rd d best ruck in the game in 3 years - hopefully just behind Darcy and Jackson

Oh the one last thing I'll add for Fantasy Heads is he's unlikely to be a scorer for you. Even if he comes in this year and takes your R1 for 22 games, he's not ever going to be a big scorer in my humble opinion.

All the best to you all Folks.

 

[Noel Gallagher]

Hi Hawkers, I just thought I'd come in and potentially add something to your offseason musings with regard to Lloyd Meek. I admit I haven't read the thread so may be going over old ground but thought I'd drop in anyway. Apologies if someone from Freo has been in and I'm repeating any of it and I'm sorry that I can't tell you how big his hands are .

As a main ruck you'll be getting a very big and very strong unit who will surprise you at ground level with his impact in contested ground ball situations. On numerous occasions Meek not only held his own against Nic Nat but handily beat him and this was a strength of NN. This occurred mostly before Nic Nat consumed a years worth of donuts and was still a mobile and damaging force on the field. Lloyd beat NN in the ruck duel more often than he lost even though he would lose the bulk of the hitouts. At the same time, Meek was also able to break even or sometimes even better when up against some of the bigger units in the game, this is less surprising seeing he was up against Darcy in daily training sessions. Yes Meek got beat on occasions in games but what young ruck doesn't get his arse handed to him on occasions.

Honestly, there is not a big gap between Darcy and Meek in my view. Meek isn't as strong in the air and isn't the same physical presence Darcy is but he also has had a fraction of the opportunities Darcy has had. Lloyd has the tools, just not the time. Seriously, the Darcy/Meek gap is not huge. If you add to the mix I firmly believe Darcy is a top 3 ruck in the league, top 5 at worst, it's easy to believe you may have grabbed a top 10 ruck already and therefore the price is pretty handy for you, very handy if I'm right.

Right now I truly think you'd be better off having Meek over Pittonet, Witts, Hickey, Preuss, Nic Nat, Stanley and even Goldy due to either age or skill. I'd also take him over Draper and Lycett myself but admit there's arguments those guys are ahead of Lloyd.

He's a very hard worker, a top shelf human (according to a few guys I know who know him well - I have no direct knowledge of that) and he's already shown he can be a great team mate in what was a difficult situation personally for him at Freo. Even as he leaves he's done it with a lot of class. I'd be surprised if he was anything but a great team mate for your guys when/if he becomes a mainstay in your team. He's super popular with his old team mates which to me is also a good sign and not something all of the guys who left us this year can lay claim too.

He's not a contested marking beast but he doesn't get outmarked often either. He provides a great contest and knows how to use that big rig he's got to make it harder for others to secure a grab. He won't take mark of the year but he won't get on any posters as the stepladder either.

He comes across as a very nice guy and he's certainly no Preuss in terms of his level of mongrel but he won't shirk a contest, has no issue backing back in to a pack and his effort levels will never disappoint.

The biggest trouble for Lloyd at Freo wasn't that he couldn't play as well as Sean Darcy, it was that he was the same type of player as Darcy. As good as Darcy is, 2 of them in a team isn't going to work. Here then lies Lloyd's biggest query and something he mentions he's worked hard on in the AFL article today. Right now, he's just not good up front. Lobb has plenty of faults but he was streets ahead of Lloyd as a forward so there just wasn't a spot for Lloyd in our B22. Asking Lloyd to be a RUC/FWD or FWD/RUC for you guys will be a big ask at the minute. He's a RUC, a good one.

He's shown some glimpses of being dangerous at WAFL level up front, including games where he's bagged 3 snags, but he's not shown anything close to being dangerous as a resting FWD at AFL level. It could come to him but I honestly don't see it as being in the near future. He's not great marking on a lead, nor does he show much nous about when and where to head to be dangerous (both of which can be taught to some extent). Whilst his ground game as a ruck is very good, this hasn't translated in to being good enough when the pill hits the grass up front or with his defensive pressure.

He can also struggle a bit with centre bounce ruck taps in terms of getting first hand to it. He may not get that first hitout so the real surgeons in that area might expose him from time to time. I think this deficiency may be the reason he has developed one of his real strengths which is the follow-up at stoppages. Around the ground he's fine but this is something he'll need to work on as it can lead to goals when exposed at centre bounces. That's my main knock on him as first ruck.

All the above says to me Lloyd will rise or fall for you based on how Mitchell uses him. If he's the main ruck and spells on the bench with minimal time up forward then I truly believe you've got a real gem in Meek. He could be very well complemented by Reeves or Lynch if they can be dangerous up front for you and spell Lloyd that way. However, if Mitchell sees Reeves or Lynch as the main ruckman and plays Lloyd as his #2 and expects good returns up forward then I'd worry. It's not impossible he gets there, I just think he has more value immediately and long term as a R1.

I know of noone who supports Freo or who is involved at the Club who doesn't hope Lloyd has a long career with you. I hope he smashes it for you and becomes the 3rd d best ruck in the game in 3 years - hopefully just behind Darcy and Jackson

Oh the one last thing I'll add for Fantasy Heads is he's unlikely to be a scorer for you. Even if he comes in this year and takes your R1 for 22 games, he's not ever going to be a big scorer in my humble opinion.

All the best to you all Folks.

Best summary I have read on Meek. Cheers mate

 

[Accipiter]

Hi Hawkers, I just thought I'd come in and potentially add something to your offseason musings with regard to Lloyd Meek. I admit I haven't read the thread so may be going over old ground but thought I'd drop in anyway. Apologies if someone from Freo has been in and I'm repeating any of it and I'm sorry that I can't tell you how big his hands are .

As a main ruck you'll be getting a very big and very strong unit who will surprise you at ground level with his impact in contested ground ball situations. On numerous occasions Meek not only held his own against Nic Nat but handily beat him and this was a strength of NN. This occurred mostly before Nic Nat consumed a years worth of donuts and was still a mobile and damaging force on the field. Lloyd beat NN in the ruck duel more often than he lost even though he would lose the bulk of the hitouts. At the same time, Meek was also able to break even or sometimes even better when up against some of the bigger units in the game, this is less surprising seeing he was up against Darcy in daily training sessions. Yes Meek got beat on occasions in games but what young ruck doesn't get his arse handed to him on occasions.

Honestly, there is not a big gap between Darcy and Meek in my view. Meek isn't as strong in the air and isn't the same physical presence Darcy is but he also has had a fraction of the opportunities Darcy has had. Lloyd has the tools, just not the time. Seriously, the Darcy/Meek gap is not huge. If you add to the mix I firmly believe Darcy is a top 3 ruck in the league, top 5 at worst, it's easy to believe you may have grabbed a top 10 ruck already and therefore the price is pretty handy for you, very handy if I'm right.

Right now I truly think you'd be better off having Meek over Pittonet, Witts, Hickey, Preuss, Nic Nat, Stanley and even Goldy due to either age or skill. I'd also take him over Draper and Lycett myself but admit there's arguments those guys are ahead of Lloyd.

He's a very hard worker, a top shelf human (according to a few guys I know who know him well - I have no direct knowledge of that) and he's already shown he can be a great team mate in what was a difficult situation personally for him at Freo. Even as he leaves he's done it with a lot of class. I'd be surprised if he was anything but a great team mate for your guys when/if he becomes a mainstay in your team. He's super popular with his old team mates which to me is also a good sign and not something all of the guys who left us this year can lay claim too.

He's not a contested marking beast but he doesn't get outmarked often either. He provides a great contest and knows how to use that big rig he's got to make it harder for others to secure a grab. He won't take mark of the year but he won't get on any posters as the stepladder either.

He comes across as a very nice guy and he's certainly no Preuss in terms of his level of mongrel but he won't shirk a contest, has no issue backing back in to a pack and his effort levels will never disappoint.

The biggest trouble for Lloyd at Freo wasn't that he couldn't play as well as Sean Darcy, it was that he was the same type of player as Darcy. As good as Darcy is, 2 of them in a team isn't going to work. Here then lies Lloyd's biggest query and something he mentions he's worked hard on in the AFL article today. Right now, he's just not good up front. Lobb has plenty of faults but he was streets ahead of Lloyd as a forward so there just wasn't a spot for Lloyd in our B22. Asking Lloyd to be a RUC/FWD or FWD/RUC for you guys will be a big ask at the minute. He's a RUC, a good one.

He's shown some glimpses of being dangerous at WAFL level up front, including games where he's bagged 3 snags, but he's not shown anything close to being dangerous as a resting FWD at AFL level. It could come to him but I honestly don't see it as being in the near future. He's not great marking on a lead, nor does he show much nous about when and where to head to be dangerous (both of which can be taught to some extent). Whilst his ground game as a ruck is very good, this hasn't translated in to being good enough when the pill hits the grass up front or with his defensive pressure.

He can also struggle a bit with centre bounce ruck taps in terms of getting first hand to it. He may not get that first hitout so the real surgeons in that area might expose him from time to time. I think this deficiency may be the reason he has developed one of his real strengths which is the follow-up at stoppages. Around the ground he's fine but this is something he'll need to work on as it can lead to goals when exposed at centre bounces. That's my main knock on him as first ruck.

All the above says to me Lloyd will rise or fall for you based on how Mitchell uses him. If he's the main ruck and spells on the bench with minimal time up forward then I truly believe you've got a real gem in Meek. He could be very well complemented by Reeves or Lynch if they can be dangerous up front for you and spell Lloyd that way. However, if Mitchell sees Reeves or Lynch as the main ruckman and plays Lloyd as his #2 and expects good returns up forward then I'd worry. It's not impossible he gets there, I just think he has more value immediately and long term as a R1.

I know of noone who supports Freo or who is involved at the Club who doesn't hope Lloyd has a long career with you. I hope he smashes it for you and becomes the 3rd d best ruck in the game in 3 years - hopefully just behind Darcy and Jackson

Oh the one last thing I'll add for Fantasy Heads is he's unlikely to be a scorer for you. Even if he comes in this year and takes your R1 for 22 games, he's not ever going to be a big scorer in my humble opinion.

All the best to you all Folks.

Thanks Wobbly Punt, gave some insights that I wasn't aware of and changed my thinking a little.

Good luck to you and your Dockers ...

 

[Steven Tyler]

I was not keen on the Meek trade for anything other than a 3rd rounder as I thought it would disrupt the 2nd and 3rd critical ND drafts (2021, 2022 and 2023). Topiary said that no-one was saying that we would trade more than 3rd rounder.

I felt Reeves and Lynch could hold down the ruck duties for a year with Ramma developing and I had hoped we could snag Esava … which, as it turned out, was possible.

The deal that was done for Meek is impossible to de-construct… the overs and unders for JOM, Meek and the rest of it… I have no clue. Overall, it seemed OK.

What I do know is, everyone who has seen Meek up close loves him as a quality ruck that follows up like a midfielder.

And he is a nice young man… which is a common theme in our recruiting.

Like everyone else I am concerned for Lynch. That last concussion was innocuous. It seemed like a glancing blow. If he gets concussed a few more times then he needs to consider the rest of his life over his football career = He should wear head gear.
So we need coverage.

And while Reeves‘ potential seems high, he is still raw.

So I get it. Meek is a strong contender for our long-term 1st ruck, but more importantly, he is low risk (unlike our other 3 ruckmen).

But I greatly want a ruckman who can consistently take a pack mark as Big Boy did for us and Gawn does for the Dees. If Meek can use his size and mobility to mark consistently in a pack… I will be a full convert to the Lloyd-Meek-Fan-Club.

Esava is trash, we went no-where near him

We are already winning

 

[WireHawk]

As long as he's no Lloyd Braun, I'll be happy!

 

[MrPremiership]

The floated 5 sub rule would have been perfect for him. Could have played him as a pure ruck, then bench

Still think he has what it takes to make it, just needs opportunity

 

[TylerDurden]

10 clubs wanted him and he chose us. Got the feeling he takes the 1st centre bounce of the season.

 

[matey]

In the physicality stakes looks like he can match it with any big man. We haven’t had that for a while around the drop of the ball. With the likes of Newk, Nash, Finn, Moore, Worps rolling through the middle it should keep us in good stead fighting hard to get first hands on the footy

 

[theiaofseed]

10 clubs wanted him and he chose us. Got the feeling he takes the 1st centre bounce of the season.

But he's just a WAFL seconds player

 

[JZedd]

I

But he's just a WAFL seconds player

Is this supposed to be a joke???

 

[JZedd]

The Fremantle-listed ruckman played 15 games for the Thunder this season, averaging nearly 18-possessions and 32 hit-outs.

No wonder he won Peel Thunder's best and fairest. Those stats are pretty darn impressive.

 

[threesixpio]

Hi Hawkers, I just thought I'd come in and potentially add something to your offseason musings with regard to Lloyd Meek. I admit I haven't read the thread so may be going over old ground but thought I'd drop in anyway. Apologies if someone from Freo has been in and I'm repeating any of it and I'm sorry that I can't tell you how big his hands are .

As a main ruck you'll be getting a very big and very strong unit who will surprise you at ground level with his impact in contested ground ball situations. On numerous occasions Meek not only held his own against Nic Nat but handily beat him when this was a strength of NN. This occurred mostly before Nic Nat consumed a years worth of donuts and was still a mobile and damaging force on the field. Lloyd beat NN in the ruck duel more often than he lost (small sample size alert) even though he would lose the bulk of the hitouts. At the same time, Meek was also able to break even or sometimes even better when up against some of the bigger units in the game, this is less surprising seeing he was up against Darcy in daily training sessions. Yes Meek got beat on occasions in games but what young ruck doesn't get his arse handed to him on occasions.

Honestly, there is not a big gap between Darcy and Meek in my view. Meek isn't as strong in the air and isn't the same physical presence Darcy is but he also has had a fraction of the opportunities Darcy has had. Lloyd has the tools, just not the time. Seriously, the Darcy/Meek gap is not huge. If you add to the mix I firmly believe Darcy is a top 3 ruck in the league, top 5 at worst, it's easy to believe you may have grabbed a top 10 ruck already and therefore the price is pretty handy for you, very handy if I'm right.

Right now I truly think you'd be better off having Meek over Pittonet, Witts, Hickey, Preuss, Nic Nat, Stanley and even Goldy due to either the age or the skills of any of those options. I'd also take him over Draper and Lycett myself but admit there's arguments those guys are ahead of Lloyd.

He's a very hard worker, a top shelf human (according to a few guys I know who know him well - I have no direct knowledge of that) and he's already shown he can be a great team mate in what was a difficult situation personally for him at Freo. Even as he leaves he's done it with a lot of class. I'd be surprised if he was anything but a great team mate for your guys when/if he becomes a mainstay in your team. He's super popular with his old team mates which to me is also a good sign and not something all of the guys who left us this year can lay claim too.

He's not a contested marking beast but he doesn't get outmarked often either. He provides a great contest and knows how to use that big rig he's got to make it harder for others to secure a grab. He won't take mark of the year but he won't get on any posters as the stepladder either.

He comes across as a very nice guy and he's certainly no Preuss in terms of his level of mongrel but he won't shirk a contest, has no issue backing back in to a pack and his effort levels will never disappoint.

The biggest trouble for Lloyd at Freo wasn't that he couldn't play as well as Sean Darcy, it was that he was the same type of player as Darcy. As good as Darcy is, 2 of them in a team isn't going to work. Here then lies Lloyd's biggest query and something he mentions he's worked hard on in the AFL article today. Right now, he's just not good up front. Lobb has plenty of faults but he was streets ahead of Lloyd as a forward so there just wasn't a spot for Lloyd in our B22. Asking Lloyd to be a RUC/FWD or FWD/RUC for you guys will be a big ask at the minute. He's a RUC, a good one.

He's shown some glimpses of being dangerous at WAFL level up front, including games where he's bagged 3 snags, but he's not shown anything close to being dangerous as a resting FWD at AFL level. It could come to him but I honestly don't see it as being in the near future. He's not great marking on a lead, nor does he show much nous about when and where to head to be dangerous (both of which can be taught to some extent). Whilst his ground game as a ruck is very good, this hasn't translated in to being good enough when the pill hits the grass up front or with his defensive pressure.

He can also struggle a bit with centre bounce ruck taps in terms of getting first hand to it. He may not get that first hitout so the real surgeons in that area might expose him from time to time. I think this deficiency may be the reason he has developed one of his real strengths which is the follow-up at stoppages. Around the ground he's fine but this is something he'll need to work on as it can lead to goals when exposed at centre bounces. That's my main knock on him as first ruck.

All the above says to me Lloyd will rise or fall for you based on how Mitchell uses him. If he's the main ruck and spells on the bench with minimal time up forward then I truly believe you've got a real gem in Meek. He could be very well complemented by Reeves or Lynch if they can be dangerous up front for you and spell Lloyd that way. However, if Mitchell sees Reeves or Lynch as the main ruckman and plays Lloyd as his #2 and expects good returns up forward then I'd worry. It's not impossible he gets there, I just think he has more value immediately and long term as a R1.

I know of noone who supports Freo or who is involved at the Club who doesn't hope Lloyd has a long career with you. I hope he smashes it for you and becomes the 3rd d best ruck in the game in 3 years - hopefully just behind Darcy and Jackson

Oh the one last thing I'll add for Fantasy Heads is he's unlikely to be a scorer for you. Even if he comes in this year and takes your R1 for 22 games, he's not ever going to be a big scorer in my humble opinion.

All the best to you all Folks.

Freo posters are winning Bigfooty in this thread. Awesome write up

 

[Yardie]

I
Is this supposed to be a joke???

It should have been in orange font.

 

[xmarksthespot]

Freo posters are winning Bigfooty in this thread. Awesome write up

Anyone who was at the 2013 grand final knows how great Freo supporters can be. Not surprised it translates to BigFooty!

 

[Roddy]

Reading that he's working on his forward craft brought joy to my heart. We need our new Haley....

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Hi Hawkers, I just thought I'd come in and potentially add something to your offseason musings with regard to Lloyd Meek. I admit I haven't read the thread so may be going over old ground but thought I'd drop in anyway. Apologies if someone from Freo has been in and I'm repeating any of it and I'm sorry that I can't tell you how big his hands are .

As a main ruck you'll be getting a very big and very strong unit who will surprise you at ground level with his impact in contested ground ball situations. On numerous occasions Meek not only held his own against Nic Nat but handily beat him when this was a strength of NN. This occurred mostly before Nic Nat consumed a years worth of donuts and was still a mobile and damaging force on the field. Lloyd beat NN in the ruck duel more often than he lost (small sample size alert) even though he would lose the bulk of the hitouts. At the same time, Meek was also able to break even or sometimes even better when up against some of the bigger units in the game, this is less surprising seeing he was up against Darcy in daily training sessions. Yes Meek got beat on occasions in games but what young ruck doesn't get his arse handed to him on occasions.

Honestly, there is not a big gap between Darcy and Meek in my view. Meek isn't as strong in the air and isn't the same physical presence Darcy is but he also has had a fraction of the opportunities Darcy has had. Lloyd has the tools, just not the time. Seriously, the Darcy/Meek gap is not huge. If you add to the mix I firmly believe Darcy is a top 3 ruck in the league, top 5 at worst, it's easy to believe you may have grabbed a top 10 ruck already and therefore the price is pretty handy for you, very handy if I'm right.

Right now I truly think you'd be better off having Meek over Pittonet, Witts, Hickey, Preuss, Nic Nat, Stanley and even Goldy due to either the age or the skills of any of those options. I'd also take him over Draper and Lycett myself but admit there's arguments those guys are ahead of Lloyd.

He's a very hard worker, a top shelf human (according to a few guys I know who know him well - I have no direct knowledge of that) and he's already shown he can be a great team mate in what was a difficult situation personally for him at Freo. Even as he leaves he's done it with a lot of class. I'd be surprised if he was anything but a great team mate for your guys when/if he becomes a mainstay in your team. He's super popular with his old team mates which to me is also a good sign and not something all of the guys who left us this year can lay claim too.

He's not a contested marking beast but he doesn't get outmarked often either. He provides a great contest and knows how to use that big rig he's got to make it harder for others to secure a grab. He won't take mark of the year but he won't get on any posters as the stepladder either.

He comes across as a very nice guy and he's certainly no Preuss in terms of his level of mongrel but he won't shirk a contest, has no issue backing back in to a pack and his effort levels will never disappoint.

The biggest trouble for Lloyd at Freo wasn't that he couldn't play as well as Sean Darcy, it was that he was the same type of player as Darcy. As good as Darcy is, 2 of them in a team isn't going to work. Here then lies Lloyd's biggest query and something he mentions he's worked hard on in the AFL article today. Right now, he's just not good up front. Lobb has plenty of faults but he was streets ahead of Lloyd as a forward so there just wasn't a spot for Lloyd in our B22. Asking Lloyd to be a RUC/FWD or FWD/RUC for you guys will be a big ask at the minute. He's a RUC, a good one.

He's shown some glimpses of being dangerous at WAFL level up front, including games where he's bagged 3 snags, but he's not shown anything close to being dangerous as a resting FWD at AFL level. It could come to him but I honestly don't see it as being in the near future. He's not great marking on a lead, nor does he show much nous about when and where to head to be dangerous (both of which can be taught to some extent). Whilst his ground game as a ruck is very good, this hasn't translated in to being good enough when the pill hits the grass up front or with his defensive pressure.

He can also struggle a bit with centre bounce ruck taps in terms of getting first hand to it. He may not get that first hitout so the real surgeons in that area might expose him from time to time. I think this deficiency may be the reason he has developed one of his real strengths which is the follow-up at stoppages. Around the ground he's fine but this is something he'll need to work on as it can lead to goals when exposed at centre bounces. That's my main knock on him as first ruck.

All the above says to me Lloyd will rise or fall for you based on how Mitchell uses him. If he's the main ruck and spells on the bench with minimal time up forward then I truly believe you've got a real gem in Meek. He could be very well complemented by Reeves or Lynch if they can be dangerous up front for you and spell Lloyd that way. However, if Mitchell sees Reeves or Lynch as the main ruckman and plays Lloyd as his #2 and expects good returns up forward then I'd worry. It's not impossible he gets there, I just think he has more value immediately and long term as a R1.

I know of noone who supports Freo or who is involved at the Club who doesn't hope Lloyd has a long career with you. I hope he smashes it for you and becomes the 3rd d best ruck in the game in 3 years - hopefully just behind Darcy and Jackson

Oh the one last thing I'll add for Fantasy Heads is he's unlikely to be a scorer for you. Even if he comes in this year and takes your R1 for 22 games, he's not ever going to be a big scorer in my humble opinion.

All the best to you all Folks.

Great write up

I understand your point about how a Darcy / Meek combo couldn't work due to them being too similar.

What makes me think that Meeks will do well at the Hawks is that big noodle (Reeves) has shown some suprisingly adept skills in the forward line (snapping crumbling goals no less) so I think a combo of Meeks as the number 1 ruck rotating to the bench with Reeves as a combo ruck/forward could work quite well.

The question to me is how Lynch fits into this picture? It's very unfortunate that Max had so many untimely injuries past year as he had a real opportunity to claim a permanent ruck position but couldn't get onto the field.

 

[threesixpio]

Great write up

I understand your point about how a Darcy / Meek combo couldn't work due to them being too similar.

What makes me think that Meeks will do well at the Hawks is that big noodle (Reeves) has shown some suprisingly adept skills in the forward line (snapping crumbling goals no less) so I think a combo of Meeks as the number 1 ruck rotating to the bench with Reeves as a combo ruck/forward could work quite well.

The question to me is how Lynch fits into this picture? It's very unfortunate that Max had so many untimely injuries past year as he had a real opportunity to claim a permanent ruck position but couldn't get onto the field.

Three rucks on the list works fine. Ceglar got a number of games in our threepeat years despite being behind Hale and Bailey/BB. Lynch may be fine to be this type of team player.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Three rucks on the list works fine. Ceglar got a number of games in our threepeat years despite being behind Hale and Bailey/BB. Lynch may be fine to be this type of team player.

From what I have seen so far though I think its fair to say that Ceglar was a better/more talented player than Lynch at the same age.

That's why Cegs played as many games as he did, he was actually a good to very good player (on his day) whereas I haven't seen the same ability from Lynch yet (I admit last year didn't give a great sample size for comparison).

But we definetly need Lynch as a backup ruck because we all saw what happened last year when you run out of rucks (you are up that creek without a paddle).