Following struggles with form and fitness throughout the first half of the campaign, inside midfielder Daniel Howe responded with a strong back end to the year. Renowned as coach Alastair Clarkson's go-to tagger, a positional switch to half back in round 18 demonstrated his flexibility, though after a fantasy ton in his first game in that new role he averaged a measly 54 in the last four weeks. Regarded as pivotal to the Hawks' hopes twelve months ago, Howe will aim to re-establish himself in the midfield unit, which appears to be the only scenario where he is startable despite earning back eligibility in fantasy. Rarely a dominant ball winner since debut in 2015, there are much more promising options than Howe to fill out your squad... unless he returns to the centre.
Where Howe went and why
Following struggles with form and fitness throughout the first half of the campaign, inside midfielder Daniel Howe responded with a strong back end to the year. Renowned as coach Alastair Clarkson's go-to tagger, a positional switch to half back in round 18 demonstrated his flexibility, though after a fantasy ton in his first game in that new role he averaged a measly 54 in the last four weeks. Regarded as pivotal to the Hawks' hopes twelve months ago, Howe will aim to re-establish himself in the midfield unit, which appears to be the only scenario where he is startable despite earning back eligibility in fantasy. Rarely a dominant ball winner since debut in 2015, there are much more promising options than Howe to fill out your squad... unless he returns to the centre.
Howe now brown & gold cow
Entering his fifth season on the senior list, Daniel Howe role is now largely as a defensive-minded midfielder, often tasked with tagging an opposition on-baller. Every good tagger tries to hurt his opponent the other way, and Howe has improved his disposal, tackle and goal output every year. This development was stalled in round 18, suspended for the last five games after a deliberate tripping incident. Directly affected by the Tom Mitchell leg break, Howe will be relied upon to increase his offensive output once more. The Hawk reached career high 26 disposals during the most recent campaign and has shown an ability to be effective at clearances, a strong suit of his injured teammate. He may be worthy of a very late draft selection with some upside if he impresses on your watchlist.
Spaniel Howe's role
One of a number of magnets that Alaistair Clarkson threw around in 2017, Daniel Howe moved from half back to inside midfield tagger halfway through the year. This role change enabled a number of high quality performances, including a 26-touch, eight-tackle performance against Collingwood in round 15. His contested rate rose by six points to 40%, and he added three handballs with one extra centre clearance per game. With Clarkson now heavily reliant on the next generation to take the reins, expect to see an increase in Howe’s midfield minutes. His development will depend largely on whether he can improve his running capacity. If Jaeger O'Meara can play a greater role this season, there may even be an opportunity for Howe to build his outside skill set. While improvement appears likely, as a midfield-only option the youngster will be available in the free agent pool.
