Have we seen the best of Adam Treloar already?
That was the questioned posed by SEN’s David King after the Western Bulldog was ruled out of Saturday night’s clash against St Kilda with a hamstring injury.
Having picked up 63 Brownlow votes across his five seasons and 94 games with Collingwood, Treloar has only mustered 13 votes from 40 games so far with the Dogs.
With his health now a concern having missed 20 games in the last three seasons, King pondered whether the 30-year-old’s best football was behind him, particularly as he’s begun to move away from a full-time on-ball role.
“I have (some concerns), he’s 30 years of age, he had a very limited pre-season,” King said on SEN Breakfast.
“They’re protective of this guy I understand, all of the conversation around him, whenever he has a hamstring or a calf, they always water it down at the start.
“They go, ‘Oh, we think it’s just a little one, there’s awareness there, it’s a cramp’, then all of the sudden he starts missing footy.
“He missed nine games in 2020, nine games in 2021, he only missed one game last year and I think he finished eighth in the best and fairest.
“I’m just concerned we’ve seen the best of Adam Treloar as a midfielder.
“They’re now starting to put him into other roles in the last couple of years.
“If he’s not to be the midfielder that the Dogs need him to be, they’ve already moved on from Hunter and already moved on from Dunkley, where to then?”
Given Treloar’s contract with the Bulldogs runs until the end of the 2025 season, Kane Cornes says the club are going to have to find a way to get the midfielder back to his best.
“They actually need him as a midfielder this year with the players they’ve lost,” Cornes said.
“He’s still got this year plus two more years on that massive deal I still think Collingwood are playing some of it for.
“They’re going to have to find a way … three seasons is a long time essentially.
“He’s a terrific finisher, I do like when he’s got the ball running inside 50, but that’s a watch as well.”
The club are yet to confirm if Treloar will miss any more football beyond this weekend.
The Bulldogs go in search of their first win of the season when they take on the Saints at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.