If AFL football was just about sending out your 22 best players, then Barlow would be a shoe-in. But you have to pick a balanced team, and Lyon has shown over the past two years that Barlow isn't an automatic selection. I can't read Lyon's mind, there is some evidence to suggest he doesn't think Barlow can play in the same midfield as Mundy, Fyfe, Neale and now Blakely.
If you can't get your best players on park at the same time, then you need to redress your squad balance. We have excess hard-but-slow ball winners. We have a lack of genuine speed and people who can take the game on with pace. I don't see how advocating for moving on Barlow and bringing in B Hill would make someone a hypocrite, especially given their age.
As for keeping Barlow as a stable pony, I reckon that's beneath him. He's a quality, competitive player stuck behind better players at his position. He'd hate being dropped to play at Peel. Given everything he's given to the club, I think that's unfair on him, and from the evidence this year he would be unhappy about it. Barlow's character is beyond question, but if he's going to be unhappy next year that will affect the squad, and the club should do their best to help him get somewhere he can play.
Personally, I don't rate B Hill as highly as others on here, but he provides some things we lack and I'm happy to be proven wrong. Getting a second round pick for Mayne would be a windfall, but I don't think it follows that giving that pick to Hawthorn represents a good deal simply because Hill could (potentially) contribute more than Mayne.
