As much as i agree with the sentiment that he was incredibly poor at times again the Lions, I dont think he will be dropped and agree with it. We dropped him last year before the Pies game & I really thought we missed his running, spacing and grunt work. The thing is with Ellis for all his flaws when he is 'off', when he is on at about even 70%, his flaws seem to disappear. His body work becomes a strength, his possession becomes reliable etc.
As that game was swining in the 2nd against the Lions, one of the big turning points was our boys started running & Ellis & Lambert led that. Ellis was in our top 5 for meters gained. He also spent more time on the ground than nearly everyone, at 92%. Pretty positive he would have been top 5 for distance covered as well. When our players run without expectation of reward - we win and dominate.
For all his flaws when he is on the ground we tend to play better as he runs and commits to the gameplan 100%. I am not sure what the stats is, but i cant imagine that ouw w/l ration with him in or out of the side to show any glaring proof that we are a worse side with him in.
Moving forward I think he will leave and get paid somewhere and we will get a good compo pick for him & I do believe we can replace him with a more potent version. But i think he will play every game until then