Hawthorn's recruitment of Richmond big man Ty Vickery surprised many fans last year, with the 26-year-old so far failing to live up to his potential in his eight years in the AFL system.
Vickery was selected by Richmond with pick No.8 in the 2008 National Draft. He has played 119 games in eight seasons, kicking 158 goals playing primarily as a forward.
The Hawks hope he can fill the void left by David Hale, who retired in 2015, playing as a forward who can pinch hit in the ruck.
However, former Tigers' assistant Mark Williams, who worked with Vickery at Richmond, says his aerobic fitness the biggest thing holding him back from being a star and could hinder his impact playing as a ruckman at Hawthorn.
“When it comes to running around the ground, that’s where Ty struggles. His aerobic running ability is the No. 1 thing that holds him back,” Williams said on SEN radio on Tuesday.
“John Vickery, his dad, who’s an ex-player at Collingwood and a fitness guru, you’d imagine he’s been working on that for a long, long time.
“I’m thinking that Ty tries really, really hard ... Typically people can improve their aerobic fitness a lot better than their speed. Ty has, but he’s certainly not elite — and that’s probably his downside.”
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