It seems an odd choice, as surely Hardwick would want someone who was going to have a long career in that role to grow into it as they become competitive?
Consistency over the season is where Rowell improves IMO. There was an issue around his K:H ratio a season and a bit ago and I think that's been addressed so now he just needs to drop sub 80 games that really hurt him. His highs are high but he's lows hurt.
I think volume is another area. Some mids take a while to find a high volume of ball, he averaged 21 disposals last year, and with some growth and improvement could jump to 25+ which would see a big scoring increase.
In JPKs first season with over 7 clearances a game, he had 22 disposals a game, for a 96 average. His clearances went up to 7.5, his disposals to 28 (mostly extra handballs), and he averaged 120.
Nick Watson is the exact same size as Caleb Daniel 😂
Phillips took a nice intercept mark before & a couple of spoils.
Newcombe has been underwhelming for mine, some poor kicks/ sloppy handballs. Hustwaite has looked the best hawks mid in my opinion - composed/clean/ makes good decisions.