You just need to pick your team each week. Free agents will be available before Round 2.
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To take a free agent do you need to delist someone?
Yes unless you successfully apply for placing someone on the LTI list.
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In 3 seasons I have completely rebuilt my team with only 2 players remaining from the original team I inherited.
I’m really happy and the team is finally my own. It won’t be this year but my team is built for a sustained tilt at the flag.
Bring on the start of the year.
4 Likes
so free agents…how does that work?
Draft Review: The draft was weak and a big part of why I traded two top 10 picks away. I could have drafted Rachele but beyond the top few nothing excited me and I already had a set midfield unit. Marshall was worth the trade in picks and Berry. In saying that, very happy to get Newcombe at pick 23, basically a like for like replacement for Jarrod Berry that I lost in trade period. Surprised he lasted that long, as a young tough highly rated inside ball winner he’ll be a regular first starter at Hawthorn. Ian Hill also was taken with the thinking he’ll move to more wing time and increase his scoring power hopefully to the 60’s and upwards from there. Rampe and Tomlinson were taken next and both shore up the backline, and to be honest both will get lots of games for me this time as both as first cab off the rank incase of injuries, of which there are some already with Rivers and Bramble misisng the first few games. From there it was a mix of youth and experience, with youth in Ruscoe and Marshall, and experience in Johanisen and Brown. Switkowski is capable of a good 65 average and room to improve. Then there’s Stanley, who whilst we aren’t short of rucks, with an average of over 80 can be used in the utility position or as trade bait come mid year. Overall a weak draft but the club got what we wanted from it, covering holes and finding some more young talent.
Strengths: My midfield unit looks powerful. Walsh, Brayshaw, Mills, Smith, Cerra Rowell with Clark (whom I expect to get back status soon) all form a dream midfield and all should even get better. Newcombe developing in the two’s and Redden ready to step in with a near 100 average is good depth for my monster midfield bunch. Throw in my two brilliant rucks in O’Brien and Marshall and it’s one I think will win me many games for many years to come. Reeves and Stanley are capable backups too, with Reeves 50/50 for first dib ruck rights also. I think my backline is talented with Burton, Bonner, Rivers, Dale and Bramble all being the right fit age wise but will need to cover a few holes in the meantime. The list is primed to move into the top 8.
Improvements: My forwardline is lacking. I’m hoping Perkins takes the next step and Gresham was traded in to bolster a lacking defence. I traded Rotham away from an area I was stocked in down back to help the lagging forwardline.
B: Trent Rivers - Riley Bonner
HB: Bailey Dale - Ryan Burton - Lachlan Bramble
C: Sam Walsh - Adam Cerra - Andrew Brayshaw - Matthew Rowell
R: Reilly O’Brien - Callum Mills - Bailey Smith
HF: Jade Gresham - Rowan Marshall - Archie Perkins
F: Daniel Rioli - Ben Brown
Utility: Jordan Clark
Bench: Jai Newcombe (C) - Jack Henry (B) - Ned Reeves (R) - Ian Hill (F)
Reserves:
Jack Redden (C)
Rhys Stanley (R)
Dane Rampe (B)
Adam Tomlinson (B)
Trey Ruscoe (B)
Samuel Switkowski (F)
Todd Marshall (F)
Jason Johannisen (F)
Overall: I’ve worked very hard since I took over the list in 2019 to change the entire list. Not a single player remains from the original squad, having traded or drafted in the entire squad and inheriting a bottom few side. The plan was always to challenge for a premiership next year but I think I’m an outside chance this year.
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Good work Crazy. The man with a plan.
Hardest working/scheming trade time operator!
You are right your squad looks capable now.
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Looking very good
My side doesn’t look that good, but at this stage it was more about understanding what I have and what it means going forward.
Tbh my initial thought was that the previous coach of this squad was Ross Lyon. (Or perhaps LeBron James), it felt like I’d been left with an ageing list by a coach who didn’t have the appetite for the rebuild. Anyway, I identified very early that I needed more quality youth in defence, so did the deal with Crazy for Rotham. I felt that Gresham might come back and bite me, but he was a massive injury risk still. I probably didn’t want Narkle, but thought that there was a chance that he provided exactly the same as Gresham at the same age. Geelong have to back youth at some point don’t they. In hindsight though I probably didn’t think the shape of the list through enough, as taking the extra player meant I needed to cull both Naughton and Taylor. A smarter coach may have found a way to keep them. Still I thought there was a reasonable argument that I could find a sub 70 average in the draft, and although theoretically Taylor has plenty of improvement in him I didn’t rate him as a junior so felt he had to go. Naughton was a case of being leveraged I. Bulldogs forwards with JUH, so took the risk on the younger unproven player.
The draft I pushed hard on youth with 2 x18yos, a 19, 20, 2x21yo, 3 X 22yos and only Adams at 28, who I quite like if he can stay healthy. In terms of types I got too many interceptor types, which is probably down to playing too much supercoach, where those players score more highly. Still I like my draft haul quite a bit. There are a number of players who I think are primes to break out, as well as some quality youth. Fingers crossed.
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In simple terms we use UF to lodge claim once teams are named on Thursdays. So all players are restricted feee agents until midnight Thursday and then they become unrestricted free agents until the start of the AFL match on Friday night. Priority order is based off reverse ladder order from Round 1 and then you move back to the bottom after a successful pick. You need to delist a player to create a list spot unless replacing a player put onto the LTI list.
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You’ve done well for your first go and you’ve added some energy around here.
Boys are up and about.
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Need for Speed: draft review
I basically shot myself in the foot in the quest for flag glory last mid season trade period. Mainly in response to newly acquired arch rival @No_5 doing so also. Neither of us however got the cup. I bowed out in prelim for 2nd year running.
Given my trading I was only left with 7 live picks, all bar one (70) in triple digits & then a gift of the consolation of last 3 picks to the entire draft.
@Crazy_Bomber tried to work a trade for my 70 to give me back 3 earlyish 100’s picks but I couldn’t bare to not at least have one selection under 100. In hindsight I should have done it.
Given my shoddy draft hand and two gun mids in Cunnington & Sheed on LTI list (plus anti vax but eventually folding Jed Anderson being behind in his conditioning and unavailable early season) l knew I was going to have to rely on my current dual position CF/CB players to cover my my mids loss as I wasn’t going to be able to get any decent mids with my picks.
All I generally do is look at what was my most area of need in that moment and pick accordingly. I’m still in win now mode so they should be best 22 players where possible, like Ross “The Boss” Lyon I’m a coach generally thinking very little about the future.
Rd4. Pick 70 - Brody Mihocek (F). Was in my squad last year and back again. He’s a workhorse who gets involved up the ground. Pies under McRae with a far more attacking style than Bucks, play on/ move the ball fwd and kick to contests a lot. Should increase his scoring output.
Rd7. Pick 113 - Stefan Martin (R). Despite having both Gawn and Preuss I just didn’t feel comfortable as it appears Preuss isn’t going to take #1 spot he was brought to GWS for but more their fwd/ruck. So I had to sure up rucks - Stanley & Martin were the only two clear best 22 rucks left and I prayed one would make it through. Thankfully Stef did much to my relief after an anxious wait all day. May his injury woes be in the past & his high scoring ways return. Crucial to Dogs flag chances.
Rd7. Pick 124 - Taylor Walker (F). I broke away from my initial plans to ensure players there for rd1 which he won’t be given 3 games suspension still but I couldnt afford to let other coaches who’d essentially filled their squads already start to take more risks and nab him. Walker will be the man with the most to prove in 2022, out for redemption. Sloane has said he is training house down. Tex scored very well in 2021 and Crows should improve this year.
Rd8. Pick 140 - Lincoln McCarthy (F). Smart fwd, quality user. Robbie Gray esque. Lions would be a flag fancy and will be putting plenty of ball down his area of the ground.
Rd9. Pick 155 - Tom Barrass (B). I prob jumped a tad early on him but the defender pool was dwindling as far locked in best 22 players. I figure WC defence will be under the pump this year so he’ll be in the thick of it and scoring more. But also reports are they have been trialling him fwd as cover for Darling/Allen early in the year so I might get a dual position status player out of him which is always helpful.
Rd10. Pick 166 - Jack Newnes (C). At this stage I felt I needed to go after a mid and he was the highest average remaining player with some semblance of likely game time given he played 19 games for Blues in 2021. They have apparently been trialling him in defence over preseason as well. So with some added versatility to his game he should be in the mix even if not guaranteed best 22 (with the new recruits + Docherty returning), certainly one who’d be potentially picked should an inevitable injury occur. Another who may get dual position status if does come into side as a defender.
Rd11. Pick 174. Blake Howes (F) - With a reasonable level of comfort about my depth and confident I’d get what else I needed with final picks I went a kid that couldn’t leave on board any longer. This young lad was supposedly in EFC discussions as a first rounder (should we have traded down) and considered an absolute steal by Melb getting him at pick 39 in the ND. 190cm super athletic HFF/wing type who would be ready to play if opportunity arose in his first year. Might have to invest in a Bayley Fritsch voodoo doll.
Rd12. Pick 178. Steven Motlop (F). Also in my squad last year. Port will be challenging again and Raz will be injured continually + Rozee & Butters more mid time so he will keep getting his opportunities and certainly has his days where he is on fire and scores well.
Rd13. Pick 179. Michael Hibberd (B). One of my faves and rapt to see him get the flag last year and win best on ground in post flag celebrations. He’s still in their 22 so long as can stay on park.
Rd14. Pick 180. Adam Kennedy (C). Had to get another mid with decent job security. Whenever he isn’t injured Leon Cameron seems to play him and has trust he can do whatever job is needed on the ground.
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LTI replacements
Pick 185. Rhys Mathieson (C). I’m not too sure why he was still left, perhaps people just dislike him - I do - but I’ve looked past that. The Lions gave him a 2yr contract end of last year and when he comes into side is a competent player. With Cam Ellis Yolmen refusing to vax it prob leaves Rhys as the main go to depth option inside mid as required. Played 10 games in 2021. Might get more in 2022.
Pick 186. Will Gould (B). Been a long wait for his debut but it appears to be closing. Was one of the top rated junior key position defenders (who also got plenty of the footy) of his 2019 draft but stepping into AFL as only 190cm but also 95kg he didn’t have the height for talls nor physique/running capacity for mediums/smalls. Trimmed down and done a power of work over preseason for repeat sprints etc and pressing his claims in his 3rd yr, may not quite crack best 22 but like Mathieson he should be next cab off rank depth at the Swans.
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Overall I’m happy that despite my self inflicted ■■■■ sandwich draft hand I’ve still been able to conjure up a squad that should get me deep into finals again even if I have slower start to season waiting for the cavalry who are unavailable to return.
I might however be a little less active at mid season trade period this year though.
Best of luck to all the other coaches.
Bring on the season!
Best 18
B: Crisp, Ziebell, Short, Smith, Vlaustin
C: Oliver, Cunnington, Sheed, Shuey, Langford, Langdon
R: Gawn
F: Treloar, Anderson, Walker, Franklin, Elliot
U: Martin
Emer: Gunston, Duryea, Nash, Preuss
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Singapore Bombers Review:
@Come_Back_Hirdy would probably crying into his beer as he watches his carefully crafted team almost get burnt to the ground in a range of rookie errors…although I think the learnings the new recruiting team made this draft (including never again use the word ‘learnings’) will hold them in good stead for the future.
Rookie error 1 ditching Charlie Dixon thinking he was out for the season only to realise he was a chance for round 1. Re-drafted down the list so while he isn’t going to be the greatest scorer and is clearly getting on…I need someone to snag a few points up front
Rookie error 2 was not really getting too involved in the trading…found it hard to determine value best summed up by drafting Sam Taylor with my first pick to get a steady B into my list when I was then informed a 3rd round pick would have picked him up in the trade…look for @Crazy_Bomber like activity next year.
All in all the team was in pretty good shape before the draft so I hope to contend to some degree this year…future years will rely on a couple of this years draftees coming out of the woodwork with unexpected performance over the next couple of years though.
B: Jake Lloyd - Sam Taylor
HB: Lachie Whitfield - George Hewitt - Harry Cunningham
C: Touk Miller = Nat Fyfe - Matt Crouch - Tim Kelly
R: Tim English - Jay Caldwell - Liam Baker
HF: Lachie Weller - Jordan DeGoey - Harry Morrison
F: Charlie Dixon - Jack Darling
U: Nick Blakey
Bench: Oliver Florent - Luke McDonald - Tim O’Brien - Josh Schache
Running around in the VFL for the season (most likely) Sam Darcy, Mitch Owens, Jed McEntee and Jay Amiss…3 of the 3 need to become 2024 mainstays otherwise the mother of all rebuilds will be needed at the end of 2023
Very excited to get the season started
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Oooh, didn’t list my best 18
Here you go
J McGovern D Howard
J Lever M Adams J Rotham
R Laird O Wines B Fiorini
D Swallow D Prestia T Thomas
R Gray T Lynch B Ainsworth
T Green A Neal-Bullen
Naitanui Draper (U)
EMG
B Williams Ballard Petrucelle Narkle
2s
Foley D Stephens Ugle-Hagan Erasmus
Gibcus S De Koning J Serong Prior
Missing Toby for the first 3rd of the season will be a battle, but expecting quite a bit of football out of my bench and should see a few of the 2s have a run.
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you’ve picked him with an injury smooth, you won’t be able to LTI
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Correct. Drafted with a known injury.
I’ve also been yelling at myself demanding an LTI for Coleman, but I’ve obstinately refused on the same grounds.
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Saracens Draft Recap, 2022.
As reigning premier, we spent much of the offseason drunk. We have no regrets. Others may suggest that we were still drunk come Trade period, and even during the Draft. This theory may not be without merit.
However, as previously stated, we decided to let some big names go, switch things up a bit and return to a bit of a youth policy. This did not just apply to the draft, but also to our Keeper list. We will roll the dice with Byrnes, Flanders, Sholl , Rowbottom etc and attempt a new build towards top four.
Obviously, offloading some fine players gave us some early draft picks. In our estimation, this years draft crop in totality was somewhat tricky and a bit a flat. We would aim to meet needs with early kids, and get some coverage with others. At a strategic level, we didn’t quite get it right, as we’ll get to. In our defence (no pun, as you’ll see) , the ground shifted slightly for us mid draft and we were hamstrung (another no pun) a bit to correct for it.
Given that we are accepting that our outgoing players have probably knocked the edge off any Flag ambitions, we had a firm idea of backing positional needs as a priority, but with upside kids.
Selection 5. Josh Rachele . Having picks 5, 7, 9 introduced two difficulties. The immediate one was who was likely to get through to pick 5. The secondary one was how to view them tactically in terms of the order to take them. We had no expectations of Daicos, JHF or Ward. We were hoping for Rachele because of his forward eligibility , and then he performed extremely well across the preseason. The medium term management thinking here is that Rozee is highly likely to get Centre position this year, which will offset the likely end of Joel Selwood beyond this season, and Rachele can fill that forward role. In this way, the need to take a young C was somewhat negated. The real importance of this is that had Rachele gone at #4, I may well have taken my next selection at #5. I probably wasn’t beating on the same drum as most other coaches in this draft.
Selection #7. Nasiah Wanganeen Milera. With the forward in the pocket, we were looking for the backman. This kid is a bit of a rake, but his disposal will get him games early, imo. If he was a dedicated C, he wouldn’t have been as enticing. But the dual B/C suits our needs. Ratten is already hailing his kicking skills, and in a list that is a bit bland and overall similar, I can see them using Nasiah as a distributor out of defence. He didn’t get a stack of gametime against Essendon, but scored well and showed a willingness to tackle and chase without the footy. Of course he’s one for the future, but if i can find a good possession Back for the next few years, we’ll be well pleased. Gut feel was that he’d get through to this pick fairly comfortably , and very likely through to the next, but we thought our eventual pick 9 was even less likely to get snapped up. The other option here was Josh Sinn. Also back eligible and a viable choice. But what self respecting Essendon fan doesn’t want a Wanganeen? So, one18 yo forward and one 18yo back. Tick.
Selection 9. Nic Martin. The gasp that went around the drafting room at this pick, lol ! Have i done a Boekhorst!? Or a Langford? Actually, Langford may not be an inapt reference here. I saw Martin play in our intra club and he kicked four goals. But it was his running ability and a knack to get not only to the right spot, but to get two possessions in one passage that i noticed. It was “only” an intra, and it was “only” on Tom Hird, but it was there. He showed a bit in the Bulldogs practice match, and then put it on full display in a half against St Kilda. The kid’s only 20 years old and has had half a preseason. That was enough for me to take the pick. Can find the footy, take a grab and kick goals. In a draft where many kids have been off radar due to Covid , I couldn’t see why not to take him. I wasn’t sure he’d get to my next pick in the 20’s. The only fly in the ointment is that his official UF position wasn’t known at that stage. I was hoping for C/F . Not yet. In the event that he was gone, we were weighing up Erasmus or Sonsie. I think it was Ant that thought we’d left Blue Chip kids on the table. No doubt. But we’re hoping we also picked one here.
Selection 24. Keidan Coleman. Looking for kids with upside, the two we were viewing here were Newcombe and Coleman. Craze took Newcombe with the prior pick, so this became fairly straight forward. Or so we thought. Coleman is young, dual position and settling nicely into a running half back role. This is invaluable for building a FF backline. At the time of picking, info from Brisbane was of a minor hammy. This turned out not to be the case, which threw things awry a little later.
Selection 32. Ned Long. All the buzz at Hawthorn has been about Ward and Macdonald. And rightly so. But there are good reports about Ned Long too, and he looks a physically capable kid. We hadn’t taken a C kid, and he has some real promise down the track. In hindsight, with how things played out, we probably should have gone with Mac Andrew here.
Selection 36. Ben Paton. We hadn’t really twigged to Colemans injury severity as yet, but with doubts over Francis and Hall for round 1, we wanted a defender who would play. Paton was building his scoring before last years broken leg disaster, and we think he’ll be a useful plug and play option to cover some injuries.
Selection 38. Angus Sheldrick. Well, if you think you’re gonna rebuild you may as well go all the way. This kid is too good to leave this late in the draft. Went head to head with some of the better prospects and held his ground. I’m not sure he gets into Sydney’s side any time soon though. Which might make the end of year decisions a bit tricky. Happy with the pick in its own right, but we got a bit off course in the draft and it may have started here. Was meant to be the last kid we took. It wasn’t.
Selection 41. Blake Acres. We were looking to shore up some depth with the next two picks. Acres is a strange player, can score hundreds, can score poorly, and job security is never quite in concrete. But as a backup centre, we were happy to bring him back to the club.
Selection 42. Darcy Fort. It was around this point that we realised that Coleman was more of a problem than we realised, with 8 to 10 weeks on the sidelines looming. Which suggested a backman . But we also needed a Ruck. We’re a little uncertain about Fort’s weekly prospects, but he’ll be the main ruck if big Oscar goes down, and he’s backup for Lycett / 2MP in our squad. We thought we should grab him for the structure of the squad before someone else did.
Selection 94. Miller Bergman. We then had a long, long wait to our final pick. This , frankly, should have been a rank and file playing Defender. No question. Noah Answerth, Lewis Young, someone to fill a hole whilst Francis and Hall proved their fitness. It certainly wasn’t meant to be an unproven kid. But I couldn’t help myself. I watched the picks go and go and no-one took Bergman. I don’t think he’s a million miles off a game or two for North, a versatile utility who may become a very useful Defensive prospect. He likely doesn’t help me in round 1 though. That’s an issue. The other one i liked at this point of the draft was Brandon Walker. He may not have helped me in round 1 either. But the rebuild is certainly on with a 6th rookie selected, lol.
And that brings us to the side that will attempt to defend it’s 2021 Premiership. We’re not expecting it to. But when we set it all out, it’s quite an interesting thing to contemplate.
FB: A. Hall, R Tarrant, Darcy Byrne-Jones
HB: H Crozier , A Francis
C: J Selwood, J Rowbottom, J Berry
HF: J Stringer, P Wright, C Rozee
FF: K Pickett, D Moore
Foll : S Lycett, S Bolton, J Hopper, J Steele
Util: J Rachele
Bench: L Sholl, B Paton, D Fort, R Byrnes
Reserves:
B Acres.
N Wanganeen Milera
N Martin
M Bergman
K Coleman
S Flanders
N Long
A Sheldrick
In outright structure we didn’t quite get it right across the totality of the draft. We may have an issue in round 1 in the back half if Hall can’t get fit. But with a good run, that side can prove to be a genuine handful with reason to expect improvement from some in the 22, and a stack of kids to grow into 2023 and beyond. We might be pretty dangerous still. But not if we cop too many injuries. That long list of kids won’t be reliable depth. Probably took two too many.
Now, let the Flag be unfurled and then back to work we go.
6 Likes
Excitement Machines draft review:
After a pretty active trade period compared to previous years I wasn’t quite sure how to enter the draft, it was the first for a while without an early pick but I was ok with that. After a couple of years down the bottom it was apparent that it’s pretty tough to draft your way up the ladder so I decided to bring in some gun scorers that should hold their positions (Salem and Wingard) whilst hoping for natural improvement of my young mids in Simpkin, LDU, Anderson et al.
To that end I decided to go for a blend of youth and experience instead of previous years of just going for youth and I am pretty happy with the haul, with some decent keeper prospects in there and guys that should improve the scoring of the squad immediately.
Pick 22: Darcy Wilmot B
Was surprised he got this far down given the premium on running defenders in the comp and am hopeful he will get games throughout the season as they look to replace Grant Birchall. Looks to have a lot of talent and was the youngest player in the draft pool, one to stash away.
Pick 35: Mac Andrew
This will be the last I’ll say it in this review but was especially surprised that Andrew was available for me here given how valuable rucks are. Not sure if he will play much this year but happy to hold him for a while or keep as currency for trades down the track. Between him, Briggs and De Koning I’m hoping to lock in two decent rucks for the future
Pick 40: Curtis Taylor FC
Looked to step up a gear late last season and hoping for some more improvement this year, I think he could push a low 70s average and should hold F status for a long time. Potential keeper
Pick 54: Liam Stocker B
The blues clearly rate him and showed some good signs last season. I think they’ll back him in once he returns from injury and could be a long term option for our backline
Pick 56: Paul Seedsman C
A bit of a throw at the stumps here having had a few picks already but sadly the reports don’t sound good. Hopefully he can return to health, if so he will immediately boost the scoring power of my midfield. Was also an opportunity to have a gag at Bix’s expense after he took Phillips, who I had my eye on.
Pick 58: Luke Breust F
Was looking for forward line reinforcements here given a few of mine are out for r1. Should be a strong scorer and may have trade collateral mid season
Pick 76: Harry Himmelberg F
Again after some more depth in the forward line, not expecting huge scores but scores relatively consistently and has a few ways of getting into the game.
Pick 81: Dan Hannebery C
Another throw at the stumps here but will probably be selected in my side when fit (two games).
Pick 107: Callum Wilkie B
More back depth required here and as a best 22 60 point option he fits the bill. Hopefully doesn’t get too many games but should be reliable when called upon
Pick 148: Sam Butler FC
Had largely checked out of the draft at this point so I decided to go for a draftee that could get games this year. Early pick at the hawks who are looking to blood players and has dual position, was good enough for me here.
Best 22:
Harry Perryman, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Will Day
Christian Salem, Jeremy Howe
Marcus Bontempelli, Jy Simpkin, Zac Jones, LDU, Noah Anderson, Xavier Duursma
Jaidyn Stephenson, Zac Bailey, Chad Wingard
Dan McStay, Luke Breust
Tom De Koning
Paul Seedscan
Int: Curtis Taylor, Dan Hannebery, Liam Stocker, Callum Wilkie
Other: Darcy Wilmot, Caleb Poulter, Elijah Hollands, Mac Andrew, Kieran Briggs, Harry Himmelberg, Sam Butler
Hopefully I can push closer to the top 8 this year, the team looks a bit more balanced now and not as reliant on the improvement of young kids. Hopefully can have a few weeks of big scores, there’s certainly some potential there
5 Likes
Will do later this evening