For anyone considering Boak that isn’t scared off by his age here’s a little bit of a plus minus regarding some knowledge about him:
Travis Boak
(+) will definitely playing more midfield minutes this year. This is highlighted with Wingard and Polec leaving and Ebert now being pushed into a forward role (confirmed by the coaches at the members convention).
(+) very consistent scorer. Although he hasn’t had massive games in the last couple of years, his really bad games are few and far between (11 scores under 70 in his last 87 games)
(+) super durable. He has played 22, 21, 22, 22, 21 games in the last 5 seasons. Missed just 2 home and away games in his last 110.
(+) he was dealing with issues the last 2 years regarding a bad split with his long term girlfriend. There was a lot of rumours he was struggling mentally and the burden of the captaincy was having an effect on him (see Beams improvement when released from the captaincy and freed up). He has all that weight off of his shoulders now and no expectations regarding his role in the team and the team isn’t expect to do well this year.
(-) Doesn’t have a huge ceiling (8 scores 110+ in his last 3 seasons (65 games)).
(-) age is a worry. He is now 30 and although he is durable there are a lot of miles in his legs.
(-) Hasn’t performed as a premium in the last 3 years and it’s been 5 years since he averaged over 100.
(-) Port aren’t expecting to win many games this year. Although this can be a positive as the team often goes the opposite of what many people expect in the last 4-5 years.
If you’re looking for a reliable 85-95 scorer every week and are taking too many risks across other positions in your team then he looks like a good durable, consistent selection. There is upside with his move back into a more midfield orientated role and he did look very fit and score pretty well in JLT games as well.