If we ditch Hunter or Voss without giving them a proper shot just to free up spots for average mid agers from other teams I’ll be dirty as.
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He has continually found ways to kick goals at all levels in 2023, including the two games for Essendon in the VFL despite having no time to work out forward running patterns. That shows a high level of natural craft. These are the players you invest time into to see if you can get them right physically.
I’d much rather these sort of players rather than the solid citizens.
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If some other team picks them up and they become even average AFL players, then I’ll be annoyed.
But if no one else bothers, and they become career WAFL, VFL players, I’m not too worried at all.
It’ll take a few years to work out which one they are.
Our tall stocks are diabolical, to not give it a go would be short sighted.
Why not trial Voss as a back and Hunter as the leading ff this pre season, our preferred line up is stale as and won’t take us fwd.
What Scott decides to do will tell us a lot.
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I don’t see it that way. Whether they become AFL players at some other team makes no difference. Opportunities for players are difficult. If you’ve been on another list and immediately delisted that also affects your future opportunities. Just because they don’t make it elsewhere doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have made it with Essendon.
Right now we have a clear need for forward craft and size. Both Voss and Hunter can absolutely be part of our future set up. And both clearly need time to develop/get fit. The problem is with small lists and in Essendon’s case a list which is full of developing/injured types it becomes harder to keep guys who aren’t ready to play. Or at least that’s the view of Vozzo and Scott who seem to want to load up on old guys because they’re a free opportunity to improve our list, but who seem to not care about the fact that the improvement via that path has a ceiling, and the cost is the loss of opportunity to find players with a higher ceiling.
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2MP
LANGFORD
VOSS
HUNTER
MENZIES
2 more smalls
Can this work?
Pretty tall, aggressive and dangerous.
Do we have dangerous smalls.
I wouldnt have Hunter near AFL, given fragile body for a while - Stringer & Draper not certainties early season too. Plus Wanganeen delayed with foot, and likely Jayden Davey wont be thrown straight into it. Plus Jones recovering from surgery on ankle.
From the fit guys I would pick
hf: Perkins VOSS Gresham/Guelfi
f: Menzie Langford Wright
And VOSS doesnt even have a contract.
VFL
hf: A Davey(rotate on ball) Weideman Cootee
f: Wanganeen Hunter J Davey
Prefer to go after a fast dangerous small forward over Gresham. Unfortunate Lohmann signed with Lions
If Hunter dominated after 3 VFL games / practice matches would bring him in though. Seems to be able to step up and kick goals at higher levels.
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I wonder if they put Hunter through the train-on SSP process. Means they only have to sign him later if they’re happy with his injury recovery next year.
We wouldn’t be eligible for him SSP again if delisted, unless he got around to the following years intake IIRC
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Menzie, there is no s.
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Can D’Ambrosio be a dangerous small forward?Seems like that’s his only go if he’s going to make it.
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you wonder a bit what happenned to Massimo this year, perenially the sub, hard to build form etc.
Former recruiter praises D’Ambrosio, questions why he was overlooked (sen.com.au)
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Defensively poor I’d say is the reason, both in contest and overhead
As we’ve seen with Noble who eventually lost his spot despite playing most games for Pies
Massimo has a good attacking side to his game, albeit still has some rank turnovers by foot but had a lot of work to do defensively and VFL place to improve that side of game
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Why not? I remember Tom Philips being a chance for SSP last pre season. Or maybe I’m remembering wrong.
D’ambrosio is a very similar player to Gresham.
You can’t take back your own player in that next intake
Other clubs could pick him DFA/SSP. We can’t.
At least that’s what I recall from looking over when Walla scenario was being played out
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Correct. Well, specifically, we can’t unless he nominates for the draft first. So if he nominated for the draft and nobody took him, then we could SSP him.
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No. Hes dead.
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I highly doubt it…
That would be kind of difficult… 
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