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OK - I have seen him play then. I saw the Swans play three times against Queenbeyan last season and do now recall him. His name obviously drew attention to him.
I confess I didn't come away from any of those games with a sense of "the Swans would be mad not to get this bloke". However, neither do I profess to be an expert at spotting how talent playing at a lower level will go at AFL level.
Whether or not the guy is a bit stiff not to have gained a rookie list spot, to claim that not picking him means that the Swans are doomed to failure for the next 10 years seems just a tad preposterous.
The Swans have probably had around 6 players a years on their rookie list since the concept was introduced, of whom two have established themselves as automatic selections within the senior team and another looks to be on track to do the same. Arguably you could exclude one of those first two from the argument (Kennelly) given the very unusual background / circumstances of his recruitment.
That just leaves Kirk and Bevan who look to be real rookie list "finds". The club has probably not gained more than 20 or so games in total from all other players promoted from their rookie list (Meiklejohn, Brockman and Bennett would account for most of them).
It will be great if one or more of our new recruits proves to be a good AFL player. And if one just provides a bit of depth in a key position for a couple of years (ie a Vogels or a Campbell), that is no bad thing either.
But if, and when, the Swans win their next premiership it is far more likely to be riding on the back of players like Hall, Goodes, McVeigh, Willoughby etc than coming down to a decision on whether to pick a Quade or a Hayes.
I confess I didn't come away from any of those games with a sense of "the Swans would be mad not to get this bloke". However, neither do I profess to be an expert at spotting how talent playing at a lower level will go at AFL level.
Whether or not the guy is a bit stiff not to have gained a rookie list spot, to claim that not picking him means that the Swans are doomed to failure for the next 10 years seems just a tad preposterous.
The Swans have probably had around 6 players a years on their rookie list since the concept was introduced, of whom two have established themselves as automatic selections within the senior team and another looks to be on track to do the same. Arguably you could exclude one of those first two from the argument (Kennelly) given the very unusual background / circumstances of his recruitment.
That just leaves Kirk and Bevan who look to be real rookie list "finds". The club has probably not gained more than 20 or so games in total from all other players promoted from their rookie list (Meiklejohn, Brockman and Bennett would account for most of them).
It will be great if one or more of our new recruits proves to be a good AFL player. And if one just provides a bit of depth in a key position for a couple of years (ie a Vogels or a Campbell), that is no bad thing either.
But if, and when, the Swans win their next premiership it is far more likely to be riding on the back of players like Hall, Goodes, McVeigh, Willoughby etc than coming down to a decision on whether to pick a Quade or a Hayes.
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