I've argued on behalf of Dutchy a number of times while he was still here and after he left. I think it's pretty obvious he would have had great value to the side both on and more importantly off field and it might have been a mistake to let him go.
One thing that contributed to his disposal by the footy club that I think is missed was his role in the Freo side. Under Harvey he spent many games as a kid in the middle, running with opponents to great effect. He limited their impact and provided great grunt work in and under, using his tough body, smart footy brain and quick hands to extract the ball before the oppositions stars.
When RL came on board he was thrown to a half forward flank as a lock down forward while Crowley had a reprieve as the tagger. While Crowley rightly received the accolades of stopping opposition players, I still believed Dutchy was a better man for the job and team structure.
Regardless of how it worked out, I still enjoy watching him play and beat the best players in the game. He has the pace to keep up with the stars on the outside but also the toughness and smarts to stop them on the inside which is rare for a tagger. Normally inside players like Cripps, Neale, Fyfe etc aren't tagged inside because they are too good at going and getting the ball themselves, it becomes a waste of a player. Dutchy is perfect for this and it's fantastic to watch him make a career out of it when the admin at the club couldn't see it.
