Yep
I just don’t think you can ever say never.
We certainly seem to bat down to 30 or 32 decent, ready-to-go players, and cover all roles, instead of 20 or 25 as we had in previous years.
But I’m not sure the bottom 8? or so of our list are any better than previous years.
They aren’t.
Taking it further, we aren’t getting low draft picks anytime soon. As such, our bottom end should weaken.
Dodoro will be trying to fill the gaps in our structure and take some high risk high reward picks. In general the odds are against him improving the list in the next 5 or so years.
Will be happily surprised if all three are with us after next trade period.
I’m sure Dodoro has been putting in the ground work on crows and port lists in case plan A fails.
WTF???
There’s some major upside in the list, both as individuals and in team cohesion. Not adding players isn’t a huge problem if the best 22 are all on an upwards trajectory. As the average age hits 25-27, the skills, strength and fitness of the side will be significantly better than when they were 22-24.
There are however, a few key position players who are older and/or who have shown to be a little susceptible to injury. Hooker, Hurley, Belly, McKernan, Joey… haven’t exactly been injury prone, but with some bad luck, we could easily find ourselves a KP or two short over the next few years.
Four to five years of preseasons needed with KPs to build up the strength they need to be ready for AFL - Ridley and Zerk still have some ways to go - Ridley may be more of a tall wingman anyhow.
The list is in great shape - no doubt. Just think we need to mitigate for worse case scenarios and recruit next year, a couple of KPs who are likely to be solid contributors sooner rather than later, (eg. Jok).
I want us taking key position players in the draft, but you are spot on that they won’t have a meaningful impact for a long time. We’re largely locked in to the KP players we have. If they stay fit we will probably do well, if they all break down we’ll struggle. The course is set, now we need to see how bumpy the road gets.
Fair enough - gotta back in the fitness guys to keep Belly, Hooker etc. playing the majority of games for another two to three years until we get that flag.
I wouldnt bet against dodoro having the list in better shape in the next 3-4 years.
Only old bloke potentially lose is Hooker, + Baguley and Dea probably gone this year
Then the Ins in the next four years
Hooker & Hurley replacements are Important
Ok I’ll bite, WTF are you chirping about now ?
I’ve been whiling away the time till season starts, watching our 2nd half of the season 2018. I’ve tried to do it as unbiased as possible, just studying how we’ve progressed, and what had changed. Here is what has stood out for me.
Firstly - Heppell & Smith were stand-outs all through. Genuine stars. How anyone could have been ragging on Hepp through that period baffles me. Absolute beast and without him, we wouldn’t have won half those games. Smith is a farking machine. The others that put in consistent A-grade performances (when they played) were Merret, Saad, Brown, Hooker, Fanta, Bags, Walla & Francis. These guys drove the bus and lead the way for the rest of the team.
We had a middle-group of players who performed well - keeping in mind I only watched our wins. Hurls, Zaka, Guelfi, McGrath, Belly, McNiece, Parish, Langers, Smack, Myers, McKennna & Dea.
Over all, Colyer & Goddard did not have great games in that period.
In round 9, we beat Geelong, surprisingly, after the loss to Carlton and followed it up with the win against GWS. But looked at without bias - we were a mess. The first half of the season was to me - chaotic. Players running around not knowing what to do or where to go. Scared to make a mistake, consistently taking the wrong options - almost bizarre stuff. Not even close to be a cohesive team.
There has been lots of talk about post loss to Carlton - the big chat, etc. But truth be told - we played pretty ■■■■ till the game against Sydney. Yes - we won games - Brisbane, West Coast, North, Gold Coast, Freo - but no - we were not ‘great’. At all. What changed was the effort level, and some kind of ‘belief’ that if we stuck to it, it would change. And it did - because by the Sydney game in Round 19, we became a well-oiled humming machine.
Now I remember the multitude of cries for coach-sackings, and game-plan wipings and all the carrying ons that went on. What those games leading up to Round 19 showed me, is that they plan was good. It took time - a lot longer time than everyone thought. But kudos to the coaching staff and leaders in the team for keeping the faith and sticking to it, because round 19 onwards, we were fluid, instinctive, knew where our teammate was going to be. We took the hard kicks, flowed play beautifully as it suited our team structure. The pieces fell into place.
The new guys - Saad, Smith & Stringer, being such important and key components of the plan took a while to fit in seamlessly. This year, we have Shiel as the new guy, but his specific role in the team will make it easier for the team to play to its capabilities, instead of warping it to a different shape. Freeing up Merret and McGrath is going to be epic.
I don’t know how Daniher & Gleeson are going to go with their injuries, and they are in my mind, extremely valuable players for us. But even if they do not work out - I am confident that we are in great shape. The bits that are starting to show wear have replacements in the wings, and the bulk of the team has natural improvement coming. We are at 10.30 and have a few years of great footy coming up.
No doubt the Sydney game was out best win. the way we absorbed their best and then blow them away after half time was very impressive.
Round 19 vs Sydney
IN: FRANCIS
Fixed
Um, I was surprised at the idea all 3 wouldn’t be with us next year…
Are you going to actually explain what this comment means?
It’s the standard old Blitz trope that every player drafted from South Australia wants to go back there ASAP.
You may need glasses my friend.
It’s not Ants that’s the problem here