Declan Hamilton - the forgotten Recruit - Can he make it

[bornadog]

Well Declan is the last man standing from the last two drafts. He seems to be getting more and more of the ball in the VFL. He is competing against a lot of players the same size and for the same positions.

Will he debut this year?

[Happy Days]

Well Declan is the last man standing from the last two drafts. He seems to be getting more and more of the ball in the VFL. He is competing against a lot of players the same size and for the same positions.

Will he debut this year?

I would have played him before Williams based on the 60 minutes of VFL I've watched this year. He's getting better; a LOT less nervous with the ball now and uses it pretty well. Still needs to get more of it though, a negative that will only get greater at the next level up.

[lemmon]

I think he'll be trialled at some point. Think he could bring some of the things we see in Bailey Dale to the side in terms of ball use

[Cyberdoggie]

Like Dale, Williams and Lynch will need to develop physically a lot more, I think that is impeding his ability and confidence. He tends to play a more outside game possibly for that reason.

Stats on the weekend against Port Melbourne: 24 disposals (13 kicks, 11 hb), 10 Handball receives, and 8 uncontested marks.
Good efficiency though. Only 4 ineffective.

[soupman]

I think we will see him a couple of times this year. I think based on last year Beveridge is keen on seeing what/if a player can offer at the top level before making a call on whether or not to retain them, even if they aren't necessarily in the best form to earn selection.

The only player on our list under Beveridge who was never given that opportunity was Fuller who looked completely out of his depth at VFL level, something that doesn't apply to Declan.

[bornadog]

To me, 2017 is make or break for young Declan.

[Hot_Doggies]

To me, 2017 is make or break for young Declan.

Are u auditioning for the channel Seven special comments role ?

[bulldogtragic]

Are u auditioning for the channel Seven special comments role ?

Eh, Lingy?

[bornadog]

Are u auditioning for the channel Seven special comments role ?

Ha ha, very funny.

I think if he can't play senior football next year, it may be goodbye. He will be 21 at the start of the season.

[bulldogtragic]

Ha ha, very funny.

I think if he can't play senior football next year, it may be goodbye. He will be 21 at the start of the season.

If he hasn't cracked a game in three years (he's the only player not to play in the two years of Bevo), then he's heavy odds on to go.

[Raw Toast]

I think the club always knew that Declan was going to need a bit more time to develop, but that he could be pretty special if given that time. He seems to have improved quite a bit in his 2nd season and I'm pretty optimistic - the quality seems to be there, and we can afford to be relatively patient with him at the moment.

The last couple of drafts could be seen as a vote in confidence in the 2014 crop, and some independent observers still think Hamilton will be one of the best that we got in that draft.

[GVGjr]

I think the club always knew that Declan was going to need a bit more time to develop, but that he could be pretty special if given that time. He seems to have improved quite a bit in his 2nd season and I'm pretty optimistic - the quality seems to be there, and we can afford to be relatively patient with him at the moment.

The last couple of drafts could be seen as a vote in confidence in the 2014 crop, and some independent observers still think Hamilton will be one of the best that we got in that draft.

Out of the 6 draftees that year, Hamilton came to us already having played senior football for Port Adelaide so I would have thought that he might have been a bit more advanced than the other players and certainly not trailing behind.

The problem is that he doesn't get as much as much of the ball as Webb and he doesn't have the speed of Dale. McLean and Daniel have exceeded expectations and it's no shame to be behind them in the order. Cordy of course doesn't compete with him for a spot.
He's handy around the goals but as a junior player I think his best strength was the way he delivered into the forward line and I don't think we are seeing that now.
He also needs to add a bit of strength to his play.

[kruder]

Just average in all facets of the game for mine. The odds are heavily stacked against him making it at the dogs all things considered.

[Smads57]

I have watched Hamilton over the last two years in the VFL. He did improve this year over his first year, but for mine, he is still some way off AFL level. I note a previous comment around him being good at delivering the ball into the forward line - this was not apparent this year, but in many games this year, the VFL forward line was non existent with no-one to kick it too, which may not have helped Deccy if ball delivery into this area of the ground was his speciality.

[Twodogs]

Out of the 6 draftees that year, Hamilton came to us already having played senior football for Port Adelaide so I would have thought that he might have been a bit more advanced than the other players and certainly not trailing behind.

The problem is that he doesn't get as much as much of the ball as Webb and he doesn't have the speed of Dale. McLean and Daniel have exceeded expectations and it's no shame to be behind them in the order. Cordy of course doesn't compete with him for a spot.
He's handy around the goals but as a junior player I think his best strength was the way he delivered into the forward line and I don't think we are seeing that now.
He also needs to add a bit of strength to his play.

In that case are we playing him to deep at Footscray then? He spends a lot of game time within 30 metres of goal.