I’m always reluctant to compare players early in their careers, but there has been so much interest in this second-year pair. There were some eyebrows raised when Fremantle selected Hill with pick No.3 ahead of the other local boy, and Rich obviously went on to win the Rising Star award in his debut season with the Brisbane Lions. No doubt both are going to be outstanding players, and I love the qualities of each, but who would I select with the benefit of 12 months? Hill. He appears to be the perfect modern midfielder and has been so important for Fremantle in the first seven games of the season.
Fremantle’s recruiting
Every club has had some disaster stories, but poor recruiting has seriously handicapped Fremantle for years. Champion players Andrew McLeod, Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas were passed over in Fremantle’s infancy, the club instead trading for the likes of Tony Delaney (28 games for Fremantle), Chris Groom (seven) and Todd Ridley (21). It’s early days, but football manager Chris Bond, head recruiter Brad Lloyd and coach Mark Harvey have recruited exceptionally well and they seem to have a really clear strategy to get games into their young players. No doubt they’re being rewarded for it. Hill, Hayden Ballantyne, Nick Suban, Anthony Morabito and Nat Fyfe have all come from the last two national drafts, while Greg Broughton and Michael Barlow are success stories from the rookie list. They’ve all made an immediate impact.
Dean Laidley at Port Adelaide
Surrounding yourself with people who are clearly never going to challenge you is a mistake that I think some coaches have made. I’ve always though the best coaches are comfortable in their own skin so I admire a senior coach who is prepared to get someone in who could potentially take his job. Kevin Sheedy used to always say, “I’ll always go and get the best available person, because it’ll enhance me and keep me rejuvenated”. Mark Williams, Mark Harvey and Mark Thompson are all former Sheedy assistants who graduated to senior coaching ranks. At Port Adelaide, Dean Laidley’s strategic and analytical strengths really seem to complement Choco and I think he’s been a real factor in their close wins over Essendon, Adelaide and St Kilda.
The Cattery
The Cats have won 19 games in a row at Skilled Stadium in what is now the only genuine home ground advantage in Victoria. There appears to be a thought growing in the footy community that Geelong’s dominance may be sliding, but their win on the weekend was a sharp reminder of how hungry and talented they still are. One thing I’ve underestimated is the defensive hunger their gun midfielders have. Their four leading tacklers on the weekend were Gary Ablett, Paul Chapman, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood. They clearly value pressure and showed that against the Swans, out-tackling a gun defensive side 86-65.
Josh Kennedy is a star
The young Eagle was impressive on the weekend, kicking six goals and taking his season tally to 23. His kicking action and accuracy is a real feature. He takes contested marks and has really good aerobic capacity. At 22 and as a key forward, he has a lot of upside. Looking back at the Carlton deal, wouldn’t the Blues have loved to have been able to get Chris Judd and keep Kennedy, particularly as they dropped Lachie Henderson for Monday night’s clash with St Kilda.
Tom Scully
Watching the way Scully was able to run out the final quarter on Friday night was extraordinary for a first-year player. He had the ability to cover more ground late in a hard-fought game than anyone on the field. It was really exciting and his stats from his first seven games make an interesting comparison with Judd.
| Scully | Judd | |
| Disposal | 21.9 | 15.1 |
| Contested poss. | 6.7 | 8 |
| Uncont. poss. | 15.1 | 7.6 |
| Marks | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| Clearances | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| Tackles | 3 | 2.6 |
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
