Hunt is an athlete and not a footballer.   No defensive aspect to his game and doesn't relish a physical contest.   

 

He should've been cut last year.

12 hours ago, BAMF said:

After Goodwins first year we changed the game plan to move the ball quicker by foot rather than with run. Seeing Jayden running with the ball went against the plan as much as we (the supporters) loved it. To make it worse he would often run himself into trouble or kick long with little accuracy.

 

This reflects a shift in the AFL towards slow ball movement.

As any regular demonland poster probably knows, because i bang on about it all the time, the standard of commentary for both fox and 7 (7 is way worse) drives me nuts because it so bad and lacks any real insight.

But one commentator who i've actually thought recently is not too bad is Bartel. He made an interesting pit tin the Dogs game in the last quarter when he said that teams now often slow the ball movement down and chip it around. Said they call it defending with ball in hand.

The logic is that it allows them time to set up their defensive zone behind the ball to protect against a turnover when they do attack (which helter skelter, fast play on footy doesn't - as occurred at least twice to us in the giants game).

The dogs slowed the game right down in the last as the hawks were pushing, but with a four goal lead the risk reward ratio for a fast play was out of wack - ie attack risked giving up another goals to the hawks, whereas slowing it down and setting up their defensive zone reduced the risk of a goal on the counter AND kept the the ball out of the Hawks hands. 

Smart, albeit boring, footy. hunt's run and gun style i ill suited to this trend and his terrible field kicking means he is liability because the chip and hold approach breaks down with turnovers (often in dangerous spots). All of which means the forward line is the only spot he can play.

Another one of melbournes decent VFL players. Will play one good game at AFL level every 5 or so weeks. We have too many hunts on our list which is why we will continue to struggle.

5 minutes ago, dl4e said:

Another one of melbournes decent VFL players. Will play one good game at AFL level every 5 or so weeks. We have too many hunts on our list which is why we will continue to struggle.

And yet we're still in the Hunt (albeit with the odds stacked against us).

27 minutes ago, deegirl said:

Hunt is an athlete and not a footballer.   No defensive aspect to his game and doesn't relish a physical contest.   

 

He should've been cut last year.

That's nonsense! He is as brave as they come, almost kamikaze sometimes!

12 minutes ago, Loose Men Everywhere said:

That's nonsense! He is as brave as they come, almost kamikaze sometimes!

Agree. A big redeeming quality

1 hour ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

If he's willing to remain a fringe 22 player, I'd keep him.

He's got some great attributes - he's quick, tough and can kick a goal.

His field kicking restricts him from being used anywhere else, but we need as many quick small forwards as we can get.

I understand people seeing him as a Langdon type on the wing but Langdon has a pretty good footy IQ and maintains a high disposal efficiency by taking the easy option and out running his opponents to get low pressure opportunities. I'm not sure Jayden is capable of this.

The footy IQ is the main thing for Langdon and it's been brought up multiple times by commentators (ex AFL players), he holds structure and plays as a genuine winger. I haven't seen enough footy IQ from Hunt to prove he can do that, he gets sucked into the contests far too easily.  

13 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

He can't play defence.

When he was back there it was too much galloping and bombing with no plan.

He's not a great kick and not a great one-on-one defender.

He's got what it takes to be a decent small forward but he struggles to keep himself involved for four quarters. He's a good lead, a good mark, a good set shot, and last night showed a decent crumber. But he doesn't seem to be in the right spots enough and so goes missing for long periods.

The fact he's getting games right now when others aren't is a good sign for him, but I'm not confident of his long-term future with the club.

Tend to agree. He has people in all the positions that are ahead of him. Small back-smith, wing-langdon, small forward Spargo.

When we were running off HB into the centre bounce he may have been a good bet.

I'm not sure if he could play as a mid in bursts with the difference being his pace compared to our regulars. Unfortunately I think that Pickett would be ideal in that role too!

i think he has never had quite the same approach since he got knocked unconscious in the thriller against the crows

I like Hunt.

He's a good versatile squad/depth option and you need those - that factor may be important if lists are shrunk.

But agree with an earlier post in the thread, he may ask for a trade

 

 

1 hour ago, deegirl said:

Hunt is an athlete and not a footballer.   No defensive aspect to his game and doesn't relish a physical contest.   

 

He should've been cut last year.

Way off here mate, he's hard as nails IMO. Didn't you see him go back with the flight against Acres last weekend and get smashed.

In relation to the topic, is he another footballer on this list that Goodwin hasn't got the best out of? I'd love to hear what Paul Roos thinks of him.

I'd have no doubt in playing him in defence. That's where he's most suited IMO. He's kicking and decision making would need work, but his run off half back was valuable to our team. I also thought he defended pretty well as well.

He's not bad up forward just don't know if he has the football IQ to play there.

A real divergence of opinion here.

Just one thing to add into the mix.

In the year that Hunt had his first long VFL stint... was it 2017?.... I watched him closely and even at that level he could not replicate his run and carry.

 

49 minutes ago, Ham said:

The footy IQ is the main thing for Langdon and it's been brought up multiple times by commentators (ex AFL players), he holds structure and plays as a genuine winger. I haven't seen enough footy IQ from Hunt to prove he can do that, he gets sucked into the contests far too easily.  

Fair point

40 minutes ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

i think he has never had quite the same approach since he got knocked unconscious in the thriller against the crows

Sadly you have hit the nail squarely on the head .Friendly fire or not it was still a shocking incident and has never been beyond serviceable since .Doubt he has the lung capacity for the wing .Is quicker than Langdon but doesnt have the same cruising speed or endurance .Will be surprised if he is on the list next year .

1 hour ago, Ham said:

The footy IQ is the main thing for Langdon and it's been brought up multiple times by commentators (ex AFL players), he holds structure and plays as a genuine winger. I haven't seen enough footy IQ from Hunt to prove he can do that, he gets sucked into the contests far too easily.  

As @Hell Bentsaid, let him learn from Langdon - my feeling is that he is quick, but not overly fit

He can learn....are the coaches helping him?

I'm a big Hunt fan, but sadly he just doesn't get involved enough. He doesn't win enough of the footy, and when he does get it, he isn't damaging enough to command a spot in the 22.

You can have role players getting 10 disposals a game if they bring a unique attribute to the team. For Hunt it was his speed, but sadly he just doesn't get it enough to justify a position in the side, especially when we have Langdon now. 

I think we should try and trade him. He is good enough to play AFL but he might need a fresh start and a new position to get him going. 

 

Can we clone Langdon's football brain (and maybe endurance) and give it to Jayden?  Could be a weapon on the wing

10 hours ago, London Demon said:

I noticed his general lack of enthusiasm post game too. So maybe he wants out anyway.

Reading this thread I see I’m in a minority in wanting to keep him. I hope you are all right. I fear you’re not but we’ll see.

Looks like he’s lost interest In or just isn’t enjoying playing footy.

48 minutes ago, Jaded said:

I'm a big Hunt fan, but sadly he just doesn't get involved enough. He doesn't win enough of the footy, and when he does get it, he isn't damaging enough to command a spot in the 22.

You can have role players getting 10 disposals a game if they bring a unique attribute to the team. For Hunt it was his speed, but sadly he just doesn't get it enough to justify a position in the side, especially when we have Langdon now. 

I think we should try and trade him. He is good enough to play AFL but he might need a fresh start and a new position to get him going. 

 

And a kick in the pants from a harder coach.

Just now, Coq au vin said:

Looks like he’s lost interest In or just isn’t enjoying playing footy.

It's a strange year for the players, wouldn't read too much into body language. 

 

1 minute ago, roy11 said:

It's a strange year for the players, wouldn't read too much into body language. 

 

He’s looked like it for two years.

I think Jayden has a range of great qualities, not limited to

• Can kick a goal
• Is hard as (I could find a minimum 2 times a game, where if it is his turn to go, he goes hard'. 
• Can run quick in a straight line.

But... that's about it. As exciting as those attributes are when he displays them, his decision making AND ability to execute his foot skills let him down and impact on his and our consistency.

I loved 'Nippy' when he first broke out, and as someone alluded, the need to 'line break' is different to where it was in 2016 - when every team where trying to get the next Johannisen.

I happy to have him as depth - but the fact is, he doesn't have the stamina/tank as Langdon, or presumably - the FD don't rate his attributes enough to play him on a wing. That's why Oskar Baker played there the last few games and not Jayden.

If Jayden can get a contract elsewhere - there'd be sadness and it would be him looking out for himself, which is only a good thing.

 

 

16 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Backline philosophy has change since then though, just ask Sam Frost. Right or wrong, Goodwin decided our backline needed to be more dependable and safe, which does not suit Hunt, and definitely does not suit being told to go out there and just play with dare.

IMO the options are either he accepts his place as a forward who might play half the games at most; or he moves on to another team willing to offer him more opportunity.

I hope he stays, seems an absolutely ripping fella, obviously has the pace we need more of too, but I would also understand if he moved on to get more of a go elsewhere.

He is a very good kick for goal

2 hours ago, Loose Men Everywhere said:

That's nonsense! He is as brave as they come, almost kamikaze sometimes!

Disagree.  He's a repeat offender. 

2 hours ago, ErmieJones said:

Way off here mate, he's hard as nails IMO. Didn't you see him go back with the flight against Acres last weekend and get smashed.

In relation to the topic, is he another footballer on this list that Goodwin hasn't got the best out of? I'd love to hear what Paul Roos thinks of him.

I'd have no doubt in playing him in defence. That's where he's most suited IMO. He's kicking and decision making would need work, but his run off half back was valuable to our team. I also thought he defended pretty well as well.

He's not bad up forward just don't know if he has the football IQ to play there.

Hard as nails?  We'll disagree on that.

Hunt was not interested in playing the backline cause it meant being disciplined.  

Again - Hunt is an athlete and not a footballer.