0
0
Impact on the new club:
Hugh Greenwood will bring immediate support to an undersized midfield. He ranks elite as a clearance winner, in contested possessions, tackles, pressure acts and ground ball gets.
His ability to extract the ball will be of significant impact and support young guns like Jack Bowes, Brayden Fiorini, Touk Miller, Will Brodie and Ben Ainsworth. It’ll also help feed the ball out to the clubs new outside brigade in Brandon Ellis and the soon to be drafted, Noah Anderson.
In time one the Gold Coast Suns youngsters have kicked in he’ll need to become a depth player on the list. However, for the next 12-24 months, he should be firmly entrenched inside the best 22.
Impact on the old club:
The Crows don’t loose a best 22 player, but rather a ready-made AFL standard replacement should injuries strike.
At Adelaide, he found himself on the outer in 2019 after playing 22 games in 2018. His skills and frame as big body inside the midfield is something Adelaide is far from lacking. The Crows have plenty of ball winners with Matt Crouch, Brad Crouch and Rory Sloane taking the majority of inside midfield time.
His crucial other ability is to be a marking presence inside the forward line. During the trade period, Adelaide also moved on Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins and are attempting to rework the clubs attacking game plan and structure.
In the midfield as Chayce Jones, Jordan Galluci, Wayne Milera and even Bryce Gibbs are all seeking more significant opportunities under the new coach. Upfront Shane McAdam, Billy Frampton, Elliot Himmelberg and Ned McHenry are all looking to establish themselves inside the best 22.
Fantasy Summary:
The critical variable around Hugh’s potential fantasy value for 2020 is around if he gains forward status. If he’s a midfielder only, even at the Gold Coast, he’s not worth considering. However, if he gains forward status, then he needs to be discussed.
Throughout last season he picked up forward eligibility in Ultimate Footy and AFLFantasy. The reason he picked up forward status was for six weeks he played in the role vacated by an injury to Tom Lynch.
During rounds 12-17 he scored 41, 91, 83, 75 and 115 in AFLFantasy with an average of 81. In SuperCoach he scored 70, 90, 82, 102, 103 at an average of 89.
The scoring variation in this role was minimal in contrast to his career scores. In his 48 games of AFL, he’s averaged 80 in AFLFantasy and 85 in SuperCoach. If he can replicate an average in the mid-’80s across the formats, then he will likely be around the top 20 forwards across all competitions.
All this sounds great; however, I have a high level of concern around whether Hugh Greenwood can score enough to be a top 10 performer at his new club. The main reason being is his inability to win the uncontested ball.
He ranks below average for uncontested possessions. To score highly in fantasy footy playing as a midfielder you need a balance of contested and uncontested possessions. The exception to the rule is players like Patricks Cripps whose volume of ball-winning balance out anything lacking in his outside game.
If Hugh Greenwood is a forward and we lose the big names we anticipate, then in draft formats especially he’ll become highly owned and relevant. If he stays as a midfielder only then, he is just bench cover in drafts.
