Originally Posted by
Ludwig
That's a pretty harsh assessment of a player who came in 2nd in last year's B&F and is the likely winner this year. Also made the All Australian 40. I don't know how much more he could have done.
In his current role you wouldn't expect him to win much of his own ball or apply a lot of pressure as he's the one who we rely on to get free and be that link player, as you say. He's best suited for an outside player, but I think he would do just as well in the midfield or as a half forward.
He's improved every year and now that he's just about to turn 25 you might expect that he's just entering the best years of his career. I would think his manager is making similar arguments in his contract negotiations. There's always a player who feels he shouldn't be the one to take the hit for lesser teammates being overpaid.
Lloyd, McVeigh and COR all play similar roles and we have several players who could probably slot in, like Florent, Ling or Stoddart, but it would take a while until they reached Lloyd's level of proficiency in the role, if ever.
I think it would be a big loss if he were traded, but everyone is trade-able for the right price. If he's going to GC, we should get their pick 3, with perhaps Newman going as well in the deal. Remember, they gave up pick 2 for Lachie Weller, and Lloyd, based on performance, would seem to be the better player.
There probably are scenarios where a trade would make sense, but it's hard to assess until we see the final product of the trade season.
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