I don't understand why some players on our team earn reputations for being the reason the team is doing badly. As an attempt to understand I looked at three players who are in the spotlight this season for different reasons. S Hill - much loved fan favorite, D Pearce - much maligned escaped goat and B Hill - much debated pick up by Freo in the trade period.
I have used from 2016 goals, tackles, disposals and marks as the four areas of comparison for no reason other than I think they are important for a mid field player.
The results are interesting:
S Hill - G 4, T 81, D 522, M 63
D Pearce - G 4, T 57, D 479, M 83
B Hill - G 11, T 51, D 348, M 61
These results alone show that S Hill would appear to be better than the other two at getting the ball close in. But it is only in the last three seasons when S Hill has been used in a more defensive role, that he has accumulated above 300 plus disposals a season. D Pearce has had above 400 plus disposals in every season he has played bar 2 (his rookie year and one year at Port 300 plus). B Hill like his older brother at the same age currently averages 300 plus disposals a season. One thing all three plyers have in common is they are durable, they have not missed a lot of games through injury.
In our GF year S Hill kicked 12 goals, D Pearce kicked 10 and B Hill kicked 18. I think having all three players at Freo is a good thing. Having the Hills in the centre, Crozier and D Peace in the backline and Walters, Yarran and Bennell drifting forward gives us something we have not had for a long time, skill and pace to burn on every line.