With the regular season now unfortunately in its latter stages, we’re taking a look at how your club’s offseason acquisitions have fared thus far.
We looked at Adelaide through Fremantle in part 1, and now part 2 of this series looks at whether Geelong through North Melbourne’s offseason finds have been booms or busts.
Geelong Cats
Recruits: Mitch Clark (Melbourne), Rhys Stanley (St Kilda), Sam Blease (Melbourne), Cameron Delaney (North Melbourne)
Geelong’s biggest acquisition of the offseason was former Melbourne forward Mitch Clark. Calf injuries haven’t helped, and his highly-publicised struggle with clinical depression is something none of us can truly understand, but the big man hasn’t had the impact on the scoreboard the Cats have hoped.
He’s averaged a respectable 1.8 goals per game, but Geelong’s average score per match has slipped from 90 to 88 this season, which is even further away from the 103 points they averaged in 2013. The blame can’t be placed squarely on his shoulders, but he was brought in to reverse that downward trend – and that hasn’t happened. That said, they only gave up Travis Varcoe – a player who wanted out – to get him.
It’s been a similarly mixed bag for Geelong’s other recruits, with Rhys Stanley averaging a reasonable 16 hitouts and one goal a game before having his year cut short by a foot injury.
Delisted free agent Sam Blease has made just the one appearance, while injuries have prevented former North defender Cameron Delaney from making his Geelong debut.
Verdict: Geelong gave up little for their offseason recruits and the dividends have been similar. Time will tell whether a first-round pick was fair currency for Rhys Stanley, but for now Geelong’s offseason looks to have been harmless at best. 6/10.
Gold Coast Suns
Recruits: Nick Malceski (Sydney Swans), Andrew Raines (Brisbane Lions), Mitch Hallahan (Hawthorn)
One of the bigger signings of the offseason, premiership Swans defender Nick Malceski has struggled with injuries and form during his debut season at the Suns.
Ranked fourth in the competition for kicks last season, the rebound half-back is averaging six fewer kicks a match, and as such his disposal tally has fallen to 16 – his lowest since 2011.
He’ll be turning 31 next month; maybe Malceski is simply past his best?
Mitch Hallahan on the other hand has been averaging close to 20 disposals and five tackles a game, and at just 22 the former Hawk could have a lot to offer Gold Coast over the coming seasons.
Andrew Raines had his pre-season interrupted by a PCL injury, and has struggled to find form since – averaging his lowest disposal tally since his sophomre 2005 season.
Verdict: Gold Coast gave up a total of two third round draft picks last offseason, so while the results haven’t been great so far, it’s hard to be too critical. Let’s just hope Malceski’s contract doesn’t force any young talent out. 6/10.
GWS Giants
Recruits: Ryan Griffen (Western Bulldogs), Joel Patfull (Brisbane Lions)
Ryan Griffen’s inability so far to break games apart for GWS has been well documented. His current disposal average is his lowest since 2008, his current tackle average is his lowest since 2010, although he is on track to set a new career high in marks.
That said, Griffen’s presence has definitely allowed younger midfielders like Dylan Shiel and Adam Treloar to get off the chain more easily. Does that make him an incredibly expensive decoy? Maybe, but if I was the Giants coach I’d much prefer it was Griffen copping the hard tag than one of my developing youngsters.
Joel Patfull on the other hand has proven to be an extremely valuable addition to the GWS backline – as evidenced by their defensive struggles in his absence. Playing as the second key defender has taken pressure off Phil Davis, players like Nick Haynes have blossomed under his tutelage, and he could even have the luxury of playing as a third tall when Tim Mohr returns to the team next season.
Verdict: As embarrassing as it was to lose Tom Boyd after emphatically stating he wouldn’t be traded, GWS got more than fair compensation for a key forward they never really needed and made a superb addition to their back six for next to nothing. 8/10.
Hawthorn
Recruits: James Frawley (Melbourne), Jono O’Rourke (GWS Giants)
Winning your second premiership in a row and securing that season’s most coveted free agent makes for a pretty successful offseason. James Frawley has been held back by injuries for most of the season, but the Hawks have found themselves a superb key defender who will be ready to take over from Brian Lake when the veteran retires.
Jono O’Rourke struggled for game time at GWS, and while he’s only managed the one match for Hawthorn so far, he’s 21 years old and the Hawks gave up a draft pick they didn’t need to get him.
Verdict: Hawthorn gave up nothing but cash for Frawley, and just the one draft pick for O’Rourke. They’re a team with virtually no needs and so it’s hard to classify last offseason as anything but a successful one. 8/10.
Melbourne
Recruits: Heritier Lumumba (Collingwood), Jeff Garlett (Carlton), Ben Newton (Port Adelaide), Sam Frost (GWS Giants)
The full impact of last offseason won’t be felt for a while at Melbourne, but so far it looks like the Demons picked up some great young talent for peanuts.
Mitch Clark for Heritier Lumumba might not look like a good trade on paper, but Clark had retired from football prior to this trade, so the Demons really got a solid rebounding defender for free. Lumumba’s diposal tally is a little down from what it’s been over the last two seasons, but he’s currently averaging a career high in tackles – a great example to set for his younger teammates.
Melbourne gave up some cheap picks to secure the services of Jeff Garlett, and he too is averaging a career high in tackles in addition to kicking two goals a game. Work rate off the ball is something Carlton could never quite get from Garlett, so at 25 years of age this change in style could do him and his new team a world of good.
Sam Frost has had his season derailed by a toe injury, but at 21 years old still has plenty of upside. The key defender was a steal too, costing Melbourne one second-round draft pick and bringing two draft picks along with him.
Delisted free agent Ben Newton has been good for 15 disposals and a goal a game this season, which is decent yield for a player who cost you nothing. Like Frost, at just 22 he has plenty of room for improvement too.
Verdict: Melbourne gave up draft picks in the second, fourth and fifth rounds to secure two youngsters with serious potential, a livewire small forward who looks to be turning things around and a veteran defender with plenty to offer. That’s good. 8/10.
North Melbourne
Recruits: Shaun Higgins (Western Bulldogs), Jarrad Waite (Carlton)
North Melbourne’s season has been up and down so far, and while Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite haven’t turned this club from a finals contestant to a premiership contender, the only people in the world who thought they’d actually do that were the Kangaroos list managers.
Higgins has been more than solid for the Roos, making up for a slight dip in disposals by averaging a career high in goals, close to a career high in tackles and simply playing every game. At 27 years old he could still have something to offer if North find themselves up the ladder again soon.
Waite is on track to play his highest number of games since 2008, and at just under 14 touches, six marks and two goals a game he’s been doing enough to hold his spot in the side.
Verdict: Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite have performed to the footy world’s expectations so far; the problem being North Melbourne’s expectations looked to have unwisely been a lot higher.
North didn’t need to get more from their recruits; they needed to get more from their offseason. 6/10.
So there it is folks, the Cats, Suns, Giants, Hawks, Demons and Kangaroos’ recruits rated.
Were my ratings fair or foul? Drop a comment below, and stay tuned for the third and final part.
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