After some impressive games as a small defender last year, Paddy was one of our options to go back and cover for Shannon Hurn and Sam Butler, but he will miss with a quad injury.
It is in the midfield, however, where he has stood out in our first two games this season and I think he’s doing a lot of things right for a nine-game player.
When they’ve only played a handful of games they’re still adjusting to the tempo in terms of making the right decisions and knowing what may unfold in front of them, but Paddy’s work ethic, his desire and his hunger to do what we ask of him has been first class.
He ran through the midfield with Port’s Danyle Pearce on the weekend and I thought he did quite a good job.
Add to that his first half against the Lions in round one. Up to half time he had 17 possessions, had kicked a goal and was in the top couple of players on the ground.
His stats haven’t been huge in terms of possessions, tackles and goals, but I think he’s standing out by the way he attacks the ball and the player.
His tackles stick - he’s probably one of the best tacklers at the footy club - and he causes a lot of turnovers. That’s so important the way the game’s being played at the moment.
Everything you ask of Paddy he does and there are times when we want him to go out there as a hard tag.
However, there are other times when he’ll have to play his role in terms of our structure and he probably needs to work on that more offensive part of his game; linking up, putting his teammates in better positions and getting a few kicks inside 50m. So it’s a fine balance.
The other thing with Paddy is that intangible quality as a player when your teammates love playing with you.
It’s a bit like a Beau Waters. You know with Beau or an Adam Hunter type - those really team-orientated players that will just compete - their teammates love playing with them and running out there with them.
That’s an intangible with Pat, it’s not just what he delivers on the football field with his role, but he’s the sort of player that makes the teammate next to him feel a lot more comfortable and maybe stand a little bit taller.
We’ll certainly miss him against North Melbourne, but his first two games this season are worth noting.
