McKenna is not an elite kick. He can make elite kicks but they are mixed in with howlers, which mostly will come back as goals in the AFL. Add his lack off defensive accountability and he is still too much of a liability. He may make it but still needs to play mostly in the VFL.
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.
FFS he wonât be traded as he has speed and only young. Ridley is a tall player and not a flanker.
McKenna is not an elite kick. He can make elite kicks but they are mixed in with howlers, which mostly will come back as goals in the AFL. Add his lack off defensive accountability and he is still too much of a liability. He may make it but still needs to play mostly in the VFL.
Fairly accurate summary at present IMO.
I like the type of player he is and he would be of really great value to us off half back if he refines his craft a bit more.
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldnât be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.
Is Ridley a flanker or more a 3rd tall type?
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.FFS he wonât be traded as he has speed and only young. Ridley is a tall player and not a flanker.
He would be a tempting prospect for alot of clubs who are not as blessed as us for running defenders. He is in his last year of being a Category B Rookie and if by the end of the year, he is not getting regular game time, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere for more time in the seniors. its not that far a stretch of the imagination to think Connor might feel more valuable elsewhere. For what its worth, i think Jerrett could be in the same boat
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.
I keep unintentionally forgetting that Morgan exists.
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.FFS he wonât be traded as he has speed and only young. Ridley is a tall player and not a flanker.
He would be a tempting prospect for alot of clubs who are not as blessed as us for running defenders. He is in his last year of being a Category B Rookie and if by the end of the year, he is not getting regular game time, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere for more time in the seniors. its not that far a stretch of the imagination to think Connor might feel more valuable elsewhere. For what its worth, i think Jerrett could be in the same boat
On what planet are we blessed with running defenders? Our most proven running defender is Gleeson and he, like the rest, comes with a massive question mark.
The fact we are trialling Jerrett down back (rather than up forward where he is a proven, if not altogether amazing, contributor) highlights how deficient we are in this area. .
Maybe not blessed, but we have enough to keep us in good stead, we havent even tried Morgs and Stants in that position yet.
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.FFS he wonât be traded as he has speed and only young. Ridley is a tall player and not a flanker.
He would be a tempting prospect for alot of clubs who are not as blessed as us for running defenders. He is in his last year of being a Category B Rookie and if by the end of the year, he is not getting regular game time, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere for more time in the seniors. its not that far a stretch of the imagination to think Connor might feel more valuable elsewhere. For what its worth, i think Jerrett could be in the same boat
On what planet are we blessed with running defenders? Our most proven running defender is Gleeson and he, like the rest, comes with a massive question mark.
The fact we are trialling Jerrett down back (rather than up forward where he is a proven, if not altogether amazing, contributor) highlights how deficient we are in this area. .
Agree 100% mate. It is a an area of concern for us. We donât measure up well against a lot of sides in this area at the moment. Hopefully Andy McGrath can contribute for us a bit in this area in the next few years but not tough to rely on a first year player to step up straight away and make a huge difference for us.
Myers and bellchambers out potentially makes this easier
B: Baguley, Ambrose, McGrath
HB: Kelly Hurley Goddard
C: Zaharakis, Watson, Colyer
HF: Parish Daniher, Tippa
F: Fantasia, Hooker, Green
Foll: Leuenberger, D Heppell, Z Merrett
Bench: Hocking, Stanton, Gleeson, Langford
EMG: Howlett, Laverde, Dea
We probably need langford in for a bit more height, though i have him as still fringe best 22.
Going with the old veteran backline - Baguley, Kelly, Goddard. Defensive positioning and smarts beats speed IMO, bulldogs similar - Boyd, Murphy.
If bellchambers fit i would play 2 rucks and him forward.
I dont think McKernan or Stewart are up to it yet. but if Leuy needs a spell might need to bring one of them in.
Relief ruck - Daniher / Ambrose
Good side, itâs what Iâd go with but Iâd have Hartley in there somehow. I think Langford/McGrath spots could be taken by dea/laverde but it probably depends on who puts their hand up with form.
Myers and bellchambers out potentially makes this easierB: Baguley, Ambrose, McGrath
HB: Kelly Hurley Goddard
C: Zaharakis, Watson, Colyer
HF: Parish Daniher, Tippa
F: Fantasia, Hooker, Green
Foll: Leuenberger, D Heppell, Z Merrett
Bench: Hocking, Stanton, Gleeson, LangfordEMG: Howlett, Laverde, Dea
We probably need langford in for a bit more height, though i have him as still fringe best 22.
Going with the old veteran backline - Baguley, Kelly, Goddard. Defensive positioning and smarts beats speed IMO, bulldogs similar - Boyd, Murphy.If bellchambers fit i would play 2 rucks and him forward.
I dont think McKernan or Stewart are up to it yet. but if Leuy needs a spell might need to bring one of them in.
Relief ruck - Daniher / Ambrose
Great team Houli, thatâs pretty much mine right now too. Swap Colyer with Parish and maybe Hartley in for someone to add extra height to the backline but right now he is injured so we will wait and see if he performs over next 2 games.
Wouldnât it be great to have Ryder back as that 2nd ruck. Such a versatile player who could play all over the ground and not cost us much defensive mobility at ground level. Quality tap work, perfect 3rd tall forward plus could do a role down back if the opposition were using a 3 prong tall forward line.
Myers and bellchambers out potentially makes this easierI think the round 1 team will be pretty close to this.B: Baguley, Ambrose, McGrath
HB: Kelly Hurley Goddard
C: Zaharakis, Watson, Colyer
HF: Parish Daniher, Tippa
F: Fantasia, Hooker, Green
Foll: Leuenberger, D Heppell, Z Merrett
Bench: Hocking, Stanton, Gleeson, LangfordEMG: Howlett, Laverde, Dea
We probably need langford in for a bit more height, though i have him as still fringe best 22.
Going with the old veteran backline - Baguley, Kelly, Goddard. Defensive positioning and smarts beats speed IMO, bulldogs similar - Boyd, Murphy.If bellchambers fit i would play 2 rucks and him forward.
I dont think McKernan or Stewart are up to it yet. but if Leuy needs a spell might need to bring one of them in.
Relief ruck - Daniher / Ambrose
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.FFS he wonât be traded as he has speed and only young. Ridley is a tall player and not a flanker.
He would be a tempting prospect for alot of clubs who are not as blessed as us for running defenders. He is in his last year of being a Category B Rookie and if by the end of the year, he is not getting regular game time, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere for more time in the seniors. its not that far a stretch of the imagination to think Connor might feel more valuable elsewhere. For what its worth, i think Jerrett could be in the same boat
Conor McKenna was elevated to the senior list. Not sure of his contract status, but he is no longer a Rookie !
He is one of our more attacking defenders along with Tippa when he was a defender and it seems Marty has been asked to be more attacking. According to Champion Data Conor kicked as many goals as he conceded in 2016, by continually pushing forward with run and carry. In addition, McKenna is said to be an OK man on man defender. I dont know what role they defined for him, but I was not âover impressedâ with his defensive work. but the stats say it is not âbadâ .
Whilst he may not line up in round 1 as best 22, he is on the cusp of selection if we need to add speed and aggression off half back.
Lets see how he goes on Sunday.
Myers and bellchambers out potentially makes this easierI think the round 1 team will be pretty close to this.B: Baguley, Ambrose, McGrath
HB: Kelly Hurley Goddard
C: Zaharakis, Watson, Colyer
HF: Parish Daniher, Tippa
F: Fantasia, Hooker, Green
Foll: Leuenberger, D Heppell, Z Merrett
Bench: Hocking, Stanton, Gleeson, LangfordEMG: Howlett, Laverde, Dea
We probably need langford in for a bit more height, though i have him as still fringe best 22.
Going with the old veteran backline - Baguley, Kelly, Goddard. Defensive positioning and smarts beats speed IMO, bulldogs similar - Boyd, Murphy.If bellchambers fit i would play 2 rucks and him forward.
I dont think McKernan or Stewart are up to it yet. but if Leuy needs a spell might need to bring one of them in.
Relief ruck - Daniher / Ambrose
TBell is already doing âagilityâ work, so he might be ready for JLT3. But I really dont think that is enough of a hit out for him to get enough match fitness to play Round 1 tbh, given that he has been seen as a bit of a Galapagos Tortoise in past seasons he has to prove he can move around the ground and run out a game .
Continually people arenât picking 3 tall defenders in their sides.
Hawks will have Roughead, Vickery (f/r) and
Gunston.
Hurley, Hartley and Ambrose will play.
Edit. Who plays on Rioli, Poppy and Bruest is the big question though.
Baguley and Kelly are certainties IMO, then itâs out of Gleeson, Dea, McGrath or McKenna.
Might not get too much of a look in with Mcgrath on the list. Theyll want to pump as many games as possible into Andy for media while Connor will also have to compete with the other half back flankers like Stants, Morgan, Ridley and Jerrett. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him traded at the end of the year. Which would be a shame, but theres just so much competition for spots. Especially in the backline.FFS he wonât be traded as he has speed and only young. Ridley is a tall player and not a flanker.
He would be a tempting prospect for alot of clubs who are not as blessed as us for running defenders. He is in his last year of being a Category B Rookie and if by the end of the year, he is not getting regular game time, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere for more time in the seniors. its not that far a stretch of the imagination to think Connor might feel more valuable elsewhere. For what its worth, i think Jerrett could be in the same boat
Conor McKenna was elevated to the senior list. Not sure of his contract status, but he is no longer a Rookie !
He is one of our more attacking defenders along with Tippa when he was a defender and it seems Marty has been asked to be more attacking. According to Champion Data Conor kicked as many goals as he conceded in 2016, by continually pushing forward with run and carry. In addition, McKenna is said to be an OK man on man defender. I dont know what role they defined for him, but I was not âover impressedâ with his defensive work. but the stats say it is not âbadâ .
Whilst he may not line up in round 1 as best 22, he is on the cusp of selection if we need to add speed and aggression off half back.
Lets see how he goes on Sunday.
Where are these stats coming from?
Myers and bellchambers out potentially makes this easierB: Baguley, Ambrose, Hartley
HB: Kelly, Hurley, Gleeson
C: Zaharakis, Watson, Parish
HF: Colyer, Daniher, Tippa
F: Fantasia, Hooker, Green
Foll: Leuenberger, D Heppell, Z Merrett
Bench: Hocking, Stanton, Goddard, LangfordEMG: McGrath, Howlett, Dea
We probably need langford in for a bit more height, though i have him as still fringe best 22.
Going with the old veteran backline - Baguley, Kelly, Goddard. Defensive positioning and smarts beats speed IMO, bulldogs similar - Boyd, Murphy.If bellchambers fit i would play 2 rucks and him forward.
I dont think McKernan or Stewart are up to it yet. but if Leuy needs a spell might need to bring one of them in.
Relief ruck - Daniher / Ambrose
This is getting very close to a consensus rd 1 best 22 - Myers had been a divisive presence which sadly is no longer an issue. Assuming his injury/form is ok, I would bring Hartley in for more height in the backline - likely for McGrath. A couple of other changes in position as shown above.
Dea vs Bags is a toss of a coin for me, but I think for team balance Bags stays (ie, i think Bags is more suited to the smallest forward).
Belly is an interesting one - I would want to see a full recovery from his injury and consistent/solid form in the twos for a period before bringing him in.
Hope to see each of McGrath, Francis, Laverde pushing to come into that team in the early rounds, and all of Stewart, Redman, Morgan, Ridley, Begley, Long, McKenna, McNeice, Mutch and Clarke showing solid form in the VFL over a period of time with a potential for games in the back half of the year.
Howlett, Bird, Brown and McKernan are very useful depth players (as Myers will be upon return from injury) - I wouldnât be surprised (or disappointed) to see Howlett in particular playing early on. I rate him as a small-medium marking forward.
Myers and bellchambers out potentially makes this easierB: Baguley, Ambrose, Hartley
HB: Kelly, Hurley, Gleeson
C: Zaharakis, Watson, Parish
HF: Colyer, Daniher, Tippa
F: Fantasia, Hooker, Green
Foll: Leuenberger, D Heppell, Z Merrett
Bench: Hocking, Stanton, Goddard, LangfordEMG: McGrath, Howlett, Dea
We probably need langford in for a bit more height, though i have him as still fringe best 22.
Going with the old veteran backline - Baguley, Kelly, Goddard. Defensive positioning and smarts beats speed IMO, bulldogs similar - Boyd, Murphy.If bellchambers fit i would play 2 rucks and him forward.
I dont think McKernan or Stewart are up to it yet. but if Leuy needs a spell might need to bring one of them in.
Relief ruck - Daniher / AmbroseThis is getting very close to a consensus rd 1 best 22 - Myers had been a divisive presence which sadly is no longer an issue. Assuming his injury/form is ok, I would bring Hartley in for more height in the backline - likely for McGrath. A couple of other changes in position as shown above.
Dea vs Bags is a toss of a coin for me, but I think for team balance Bags stays (ie, i think Bags is more suited to the smallest forward).
Belly is an interesting one - I would want to see a full recovery from his injury and consistent/solid form in the twos for a period before bringing him in.
Hope to see each of McGrath, Francis, Laverde pushing to come into that team in the early rounds, and all of Stewart, Redman, Morgan, Ridley, Begley, Long, McKenna, McNeice, Mutch and Clarke showing solid form in the VFL over a period of time with a potential for games in the back half of the year.
Howlett, Bird, Brown and McKernan are very useful depth players (as Myers will be upon return from injury) - I wouldnât be surprised (or disappointed) to see Howlett in particular playing early on. I rate him as a small-medium marking forward.
With those suggested changed, that would also be my team. Hartley, Ambrose and Hurley are locks in defence IMO.