Hamill, King and Croad???

[Rik E Boy]

It seems to me that certain teams need certain players that are crucial for them to succeed. St Kilda without Aaron Hamill are a rabble. Hamill fights to keep the ball inside the forward 50 and is a real barometer of the side. The Saints will be without Hamill for possibly 4-6 weeks and during that period have a string of tough games (OK, they've got Carlton this week but after that they've got Kangaroos, Melbourne and Adelaide).

For Geelong it's the big Cat Steven King. He went down early against the Hawks and we got pumped by Graham and Everitt. For the next three weeks we couldn't win a clearance and this was despite the fact we actually did well in terms of hitouts against the mediocre Jolly and Chambers in Sydney. King comes back and the Cats are back in the winning circle.

Could it be that for the emerging Hawks that Trent Croad of a similar ilk? Croad played a blinder against the Cats this season and is arguably playing the best football of his career, or at least since his stellar 2001 season. The Hawks went to Brisbane without Croad and came back home without the points as the limping Lions won in a canter. It could be that is Croad who has arrived and not the Hawks as a whole, at least not this year anyhow.

Of course there are other key players..Lloyd for Essendon (and perhaps Brogan for Port?) for starters. They looked absolutely 5hite yesterday. The worst ever Essendon side I have ever seen.

regards,

REB

[MatteeG]

I agree with the Croad analogy REB- and I love seeing the bombers at the bottom!