Seems unlikely.
Ridley off to flyer as well so would have had very strong competition / we have someone to play that role.
Zaha > Lav
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Yep heād be the one Iād probably omit
Yeah, heāll be right.
Just a bit of fantasy, but be interesting who is looking best 22 in 2020 and beyond.
Round 1 2020 - 27 YO and under team (age at start of 2020 season)
B Gleeson Zerk McGrath
HB McKenna Francis Saad
C Ridley Heppell Merrett
HF Fantasia Daniher Stringer
F Walla Stewart/Gown Mosquito
R Draper Shiel Smith
I Parish Langford Jok Begley
Emerg: Guelfi Redman Laverde Ham Mynott
Mutch and Clarke could come on this year too. Or even Houlahan and Long.
And there are still Fletchers, Daveyās and NGA players from the Tiwi Islands and Calder, not to mention, plain old Dodoro specials on their way.
(Zakka, Hurley, Hooker, TBC and Smack still contracted too, but interesting to see what it will look like after they finish)
I think the future is bright.
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Interesting article, we have equal most under 180cm players (8), equal most 190- 199cm players (17) and only one less than equal most 200cm plus players (5), unsurprisingly we have the least number of 180 to 189cm players (12 less than North with just 16 versus their 28). Maybe that is why we kept Dea? While that is not a serious rationale, it may point to the fact that this isnāt the most important height demographic.
Hopefully that means our players will be either too tall or too fast for the opposition (not an awful idea).
How Bombers measure up in 2019
Nick Bowen for afl.com.au
Dec 1, 2018 10:19AM
BTV: Pre-season | Two-lap challenge
Physical Performance Manager Justin Crow takes us through the leading performers in The Hangarās two-lap challenge.
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At Essendon, it will be a case of the long and the short of it in 2019.
Having claimed former Fremantle ruckman Zac Clarke in the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) on Saturday, the Bombers will enter next season with 22 players 190cm or taller on their list, the equal-highest tally in the competition alongside Collingwood.
The addition of Clarke, 203cm, will also give them five players 200cm or taller, just one short of the League high of six held jointly by Carlton, Brisbane, Port Adelaide and St Kilda.
But if Essendon is well-placed to rule the air next season, it also has an arsenal of smalls itching to prey on any crumbs left by its giants.
The Bombers boast eight players who stand 179cm or shorter, equal first in the AFL alongside Fremantle. By comparison, reigning premier West Coast, Sydney and North Melbourne will each enter next season with just two players shorter than 180cm on their lists.
The newest member of the Bombersā small fleet is the aptly named Irving Mosquito, the 176cm goalsneak who was part of Hawthornās Next Generation Academy but landed at Tullamarine after the Hawks declined to match the Bombersā bid of pick No.38 in the NAB AFL Draft.
Day one.
@EssendonFC178 people are talking about this
The Donsā magic bag of small forwards was already well stocked with Orazio Fantasia (177cm) and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (171cm) but itās overflowing now that Mosquito is wearing the red and black.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Orazio Fantasia bring the x-factor to the Donsā forward line. (Photo: AFL Media)
The acquisition of Clarke will also give Essendon a back-up ruck option for Tom Bellchambers in the wake of Matthew Leuenbergerās retirement.
But where the Bombersā big-man stocks are concerned itās the virtual acquisition of Joe Daniher that has some pundits bullish about their top-four chances in 2019.
Daniher was sidelined after round seven last year with osteitis pubis and is not expected to resume full training until after Christmas .
But if the Bombers can get the 2017 All Australian fit and firing their attack will have the focal point it lacked for most of 2018 ā Mitch Brown was the leading goalscorer among the Bombersā key forwards last year with 18, way down on the career-high 65 Daniher kicked in 2017.
Winning the four-club race for Dylan Shiel during the NAB Trade Period will also make a big difference to Essendonās midfield.
But at 182cm, the former GWS star is not the inside beast ā think Patrick Cripps, Nat Fyfe or Dustin Martin ā the Dons have been crying out for.
After skipper Dyson Heppell (189cm), the members of Essendonās midfield core are all 180cm or shorter ā Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, David Zaharakis and Devon Smith (176cm).
Jake Stringerās first season at Tullamarine suggests the 192cm former Bulldog is a forward who can occasionally pinch-hit in the midfield.
And Andrew McGrath is a class act destined to eventually play on the ball, but at 178cm adds to the Donsā undersized midfield group.
Which makes David Myers and Kyle Langford, both 191cm, potentially important players for Essendon in 2019.
Myers was ranked joint first at the Bombers in 2018 for average clearances (4.9 a game, equal with Heppell) but injury troubles have meant he has played 20 games in a season just once in his career, in 2013.
Langford also took some significant strides this year, playing 16 games, including the last 14 straight.
Tall midfielder Kyle Langford looms as a vital cog in the Bombersā engine room in 2019. (Photo: AFL Media)
If the former No.17 draft pick continues his development in 2019 and Myers stays fit, the Bombers might finally have assembled the midfield that can carry them to their first finals win since 2004.
How teams stack up in 2019
Players 179cm or shorter
8 ā Essendon, Fremantle
7 ā Richmond
5 ā Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood
4 ā Carlton, Port Adelaide, St Kilda
3 ā Geelong, Gold Coast, GWS, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs
2 ā Sydney, West Coast, North Melbourne
180-189cm
28 - North Melbourne
26 ā Western Bulldogs
25 ā Sydney, Hawthorn, Gold Coast
24 ā Geelong, Melbourne, Port Adelaide, West Coast
23 ā GWS, St Kilda
22 ā Adelaide
20 ā Brisbane
19 ā Carlton, Collingwood, Richmond
18 ā Fremantle
16 ā Essendon
190-199cm
17 ā Collingwood, Essendon
16 ā West Coast
15 ā Carlton, GWS, Richmond, Sydney
14 ā Brisbane, Geelong, Hawthorn
13 ā Fremantle
12 ā Adelaide, Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide, St Kilda
11 ā Melbourne
9 ā North Melbourne
200cm+
6 ā Brisbane, Carlton, Port Adelaide, St Kilda
5 ā Adelaide, Collingwood, Fremantle, Gold Coast, North Melbourne, Essendon
4 ā Geelong, Sydney
3 ā GWS, Hawthorn, West Coast, Western Bulldogs
2 ā Melbourne, Richmond
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Iām in a lid off mood about jok soā¦
Saad Hurley Francis
McGrath hooker McKenna
Zaha hepp jok
Tbell Merrett Shiel
Smith JD Fanta
Tippa smack stringer
Langford parish gleesonā¦ Lav/Guelfi/Bags
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Lol.
Replace Jok with Myers and add Begley to the 3 maybe players down the bottom and i reckon youāre bang on.
Jok was in for a bit of fun more than anything else. He obviously has a long way to go to prove himself.
Sure, add bags to the list of maybes.
Myers, hmmm, not sure what he offers is right for team balance if we want to prioritise midfield exposure for Langford and parish. With Shiel coming into mix I think Myers increasingly becomes cover for hepp
Do you realize that David Zaharakis only played one game in the VFL in his first season before debuting for the senior team? In that game he had 30 possessions and 7 goals.
Laverde has been on the list for nearly five years and I donāt think heās ever had a game in the VFL that was as dominant as Zaharakisās first one.
Optimism is a wonderful drug but if you think that Laverde is anywhere near the player that Zaharakis is then youāre dreaming. Put Zaha in the VFL for a season and heād win the Liston by the length of the flemington straight
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thats the good stuff
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The difference between the VFL and AFL is the lenght of the flemington straight.
No use comparing the two when the difference is too great.
Zaha will play round 1 and most likely for the rest of the season.
Does he deserve it ā¦ no.
Does he deserve it over Laverde ā¦ yes
Would you i like to see Laverde play rather than Zaha ā¦ yes
Some A Grade fuckwittery happening right there.
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I think you restrained yourself well with that response
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And Laverde is going to surprise some this season. He has turned a bit of a corner in his personal life, and Iām hoping it may be a permanent one - meaning he will be all about footy - or at least, mainly about footy. Make no mistake - the talent is there.
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I would seriously love to see Laverde reach his potential.
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Except youād never know.
Potentially everyone has the potential to do even better.
So Iām afraid youāll be potentially always disappointed.
Iād settle for him becoming a consistently decent player with bursts of greatness.
With all these players that we canāt fit in the AFL team, does it mean our VFL team will go undefeated?
Elaborate? He never seemed like he was not taking footy fully seriously.
Sorry, I would rather not elaborate.
He has grown up a little.
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