Of course we will continue to add talent, that happens every year. What I am saying is don’t dismiss the talent we have just because you don’t have the foresight to see what they can become. Every rebuilding list has an element of risk to it’s list but I believe we are in a fortunate position because the top end talent we have is in critical ares where it is far harder to identify and fill. An example of these players are Joe, Hurley, Fantasia, Merrett, McGrath and quite a few more.
Our foundations in my personal opinion are as strong as any and we still have talent on our list that is not even any where near its end development.
People always want to name big players and have all of these shiny toys that they think win flags but in my opinion whats more important is a gameplan that is not the same as everyone else’s and a development plan that can mold players into for-filling the roles within that structure. Most people didn’t consider Doggies list last year any where near it but they managed to win it on the back of a solid gameplan and more importantly a deep roster of very accomplished foot soldiers. I don’t think they have the most talented list but I do believe they had a lot of other elements that added up to “team success”.
It’s my opinion that we have quite a few of the important pieces in place and I also believe that the rest will fall into place very fast.
You name guys like Jobe, Hocking, Myers and Stanton as guys hard to replace but every team has to replace there stars eventually and I think we are in a very good place to do that.
You may not be able see whats coming but I will stand by what I believe and I think that we are much closer to success than what you can imagine! If a star midfielder was to be added then of course that would be great. But if it’s not I still believe that we have enough depth that we can start to have a crack at finals from next year and compete flags following that. And I haven’t dismissed finals this year either but I believe that because the club is clearly using this as development year, then that would be a bonus.
Huh? Since when was Kelly and Bags “young”? Even “ish”. And given there is lively debate of Dea vs. Gleason, whether Brown or Ambrose should be in the side, and expectation that McGrath will move into the midfield, this area is hardly settled.
That said, I definitely agree midfield is a priority, but if we could snag a good small/medium defender I’d jump at that too.
Hurls has got 5 years left minimum, Ambrose and gleeson are young. Yeah Kelly is old but we’ve got the KP set (you’d think) and the HBF. As good as bags is I don’t think it will be that hard to replace him.
Really? Do you remember Henry Slattery?
We haven’t exactly been a back pocket footy factory in our recent history. You only have to think back pre-Bagley and remember how much pain this position caused us. Bags has been and excellent player for us and great value.
That hardly seems to equate to “settled”. Anyway, as I said, I agree that midfield needs prioritising, but with the decent likelihood of McGrath, Kelly and Bags having a limited shelf life in defence, I think if we could get a good player at a good price that plays defence that would be great. It just shouldn’t detract from improving the midfield, which is the priority.
Ok don’t crucify me as I don’t get to watch or read as much about other teams but what’s the story with little Libba? I know he had some d1ckhead moments in the offseason but a young bloke winnng a flag is understandable. Is he a one trick pony or is he worth a look as someone who could help our clearance ability?
Genuine question…
Has been pretty ordinary when I’ve seen him either AFL or VFL this year
The question is whether he’s a good player with his head up his own ■■■■ or just a bloke who peaked at 21-22.
I had visions of a Hawks/Kennedy/Swans style outcome with us being the beneficiary. I was also drinking when I had those visions…
Thought I would pose the question
The extra cap $ floating around is going to make it difficult to pry players out of clubs IMHO. You are going to have to be incredibly targeted and offer some good coin, almost Boyd style.
