I am a little worried about this guy. He is clearly a special talent, ie he can do the amazing things others can only dream about.  I don't buy the line that he's just "an athlete" , who is trying to play footy.  He's a natural footballer as well as an incredible athlete.  He's fast, brave, powerful kick, manic in his tackling, handles the footy like a basketball, etc etc, I could go on.  But no doubt his development as a consistent top notch AFL player has to an extent  stalled. And that's the problem actually. I suspect he is being so coached about the disciplined things he has to do that they are all buzzing around his head on game day,  and his natural ability is being strangled. Hence his struggles.  I am not blaming the coaches - its a difficult line to walk, make him do the team first things but without curbing what comes naturally. I'm confident he that he will, in the end, find his way out of his current slump, but he needs extra careful handling. We don't want to lose him. 

Once he learns how to kick he'll be back in the team.

He should be studying his teammate Michael Hibberd.

The art of how to be damaging off half back while also defending your man.

Unfortunately his kicking and decision making are poor, special talent for sure, hope he pulls through. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at another club next year.

  On 15/05/2018 at 17:50, SFebey said:

Unfortunately his kicking and decision making are poor, special talent for sure, hope he pulls through. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at another club next year.

That's crazy, bloke loves it at the Dee's. Came into the side and lit it up at a time we were struggling. I think he strikes me as a very unique individual and this is the first time he has had to deal with a form slump.

Can't wait to see him do what he does best, RUN. Let Lever, Jetta, Lewis and Hibberd worry about defending, you just attack.

He's out of favour with some.

Will be in another jumper in 19

  On 15/05/2018 at 15:39, WERRIDEE said:

Once he learns how to kick he'll be back in the team.

That's only one aspect.. He's not winning the footy enough. He's averaged 12 disposas over his 5 games this year, nowhere near enough for w rebounding defender & when 2 or 3 of those 12 are turnovers/ineffective he's a non factor in the side

Any ideas then on how to get him back to his best? His best makes him easily in our best 22 and our attack much more damaging.

And I love watching him tuck the ball under his arm and take off, that alone is worth the price of admission (membership)

  On 15/05/2018 at 21:40, small but forward said:

Any ideas then on how to get him back to his best? His best makes him easily in our best 22 and our attack much more damaging.

And I love watching him tuck the ball under his arm and take off, that alone is worth the price of admission (membership)

Play at Casey until it clicks again.  I love that he is not an automatic ‘in’, and he has to fight with a stronger roster to deserve his place.  

We lack real foot speed, which he brings, but he has to bring manic tackling, getting in the right positions and thoughtful delivery (not just banging it on the boot, which seems to be the flaw he needs to overcome at the moment).  Demonstrate this at Casey, and an opportunity in the firsts may open up.

  On 15/05/2018 at 21:21, beelzebub said:

He's out of favour with some.

Will be in another jumper in 19

Here we go with the hysterics again.

There was no issue with his kicking in 2016, not that I can remember anyway. Some of his brilliant bursts ended up in a few wonderful running goals from distance ( Adelaide game at the G a good example). He was a bit more hit and miss last year but in saying that his kicking didn’t really stand out as terrible. He was ranked  one of four “ Elites” in our team at the start of the year.

It’s his lack of involvement that’s the issue presently IMO, had a good start against Richmond then faded, he was ok against the Saints without getting too many possessions. He wasn’t the only one guilty of bombing the ball earlier this year. Didn’t we have the “ long bomb” thread up a few weeks ago? Was it purely instruction? 

The backline seems really settled now but i still believe he’s best 22.

Edited May 15, 20186 yr by Dee Zephyr

Hunt has the pace and heart to make us an even better team. Definitely in our best 22 when firing. Needs to sharpen disposal to get back in. A definite keeper 

Off season issues clearly having an effect.

He’s got some real X-factor about him but you need consistent traits to be able to fall back on. He still seems to bomb it long in no clear direction, but I’m not necessarily worried about him. He’s just having an off start to the year and I’m confident he will find his mojo again. 

Remember he also showed some serious talent when played forward. 

  On 15/05/2018 at 22:24, martin said:

Off season issues clearly having an effect.

?

  On 15/05/2018 at 22:24, martin said:

Off season issues clearly having an effect.

What issues?

Maybe they could trial him on a wing so he could use his pace and break lines rather than being too concerned about his direct opponent. I think he has X factor and genuine pace that is to some extent lacking in our side so he must find a way back into the team imo.

if he was to take on the wing role he would need to really work on his delivery inside 50 which I believe he is capable of doing successfully 

  On 15/05/2018 at 22:24, martin said:

Off season issues clearly having an effect.

As in he missed some of preseason due to back issues? He didn’t play for the first year or two of his career due to back injury from memory, so a recurrence that had to be managed would’ve definitely impacted his season.

I haven't watched his game closely this year, but I'm wondering, for those that have, are the opposition putting a lot more time in to him?  Effectively playing a defensive forward on him, which has seen him struggle to adjust?

Only a question.  As I said, I haven't been watching him that closely.

 

  On 15/05/2018 at 22:30, Sydee said:

Maybe they could trial him on a wing so he could use his pace and break lines rather than being too concerned about his direct opponent. I think he has X factor and genuine pace that is to some extent lacking in our side so he must find a way back into the team imo.

if he was to take on the wing role he would need to really work on his delivery inside 50 which I believe he is capable of doing successfully 

They trialled him on the wing in the first two games but he just didnt get enough of the pill

Whilst his kicking needs to improve, I think the biggest problem is that he is always kicking while under a lot of pressure.

A big part of that is he is very predictable with where he runs - always in straight line. For a player with his pace, he rarely has much space to execute his skills properly.

In short, he needs to develop a sidestep so that he can shake opponents off in close to then give himself space to break away from the opposition.

  On 15/05/2018 at 21:26, JV7 said:

That's only one aspect.. He's not winning the footy enough. He's averaged 12 disposas over his 5 games this year, nowhere near enough for w rebounding defender & when 2 or 3 of those 12 are turnovers/ineffective he's a non factor in the side

Agree. Another issue for him is that the high press the dees employ means less opportunity for him to use his key attribute - his pace and run - as there is less space. 

He needs to adapt and im sure he will. Smart kid and the club is now terrific at player development. 

It might be a good idea to trial him as a small forward pocket player. He is fast, can take a mark, can kick a goal and if he applies himself could be a good pressure act player. I can't him ever being an accurate user of the footy which is what you need to play off half back or on the wing delivering it into the forward 50.

He’s quick but at the moment he a) is not winning enough football and b) turns it over when he gets it

He is an “asset” for us and if traded I’d hope he’d probably be worth a late first or early second round pick, if there is actual demand for his services, which is probably way more than he is actually worth for a bloke who can’t make our side at the moment 

I’d like to see him continue to work on developing his game - he needs to force his way back into the side through weight of won ball and defensive pressure, neither of which he is doing at afl or vfl level at the moment 

  On 15/05/2018 at 22:51, Delusional Dee said:

It might be a good idea to trial him as a small forward pocket player. He is fast, can take a mark, can kick a goal and if he applies himself could be a good pressure act player. I can't him ever being an accurate user of the footy which is what you need to play off half back or on the wing delivering it into the forward 50.

Maybe. But he would still need to improve his kicking. Small forwarda have to take their chances.

One advantage of him playing forward  is he would have more opportunities to get out the back of oppos press and have space to run forward into.