It took me an embarressingly long time to work it out, also.
lol sorry guys.
1 Like
Baguley hartley ambrose
Gleeson Hurley Goddard
Colyer Watson parish
Tippa Daniher Langford
Fantasia hooker Bellchambers
Smack Heppell merrett
Stanton McGrath zaharakis green
Thatās what I hope we see round 1. Stewart/belly take ya pick, they will probably go with Stewart but who knows. Thatās the best side I think we can go with round 1. I canāt find room for Kelly. Only way I can see him playing is if we only go Hurley and hartley down back and ambrose is left out. I think Goddard/Kelly/Stanton will all play similar roles this year and imo you canāt play them all for team balance
One things for sure, thatās fucken hard to pick, without even discussing laverde, howlett, hocking, luey, Francis etc
Itās damn good to be talking footy again. Itās been 4 years since weāve gone into round one with nothing hanging over our heads. Bring it on
Good choices but Iād swap one of your Parishes for a Zerrett 
1 Like
Yep my bad haha
https://discourse.bomberblitz.com/t/29-patrick-ambrose/1063/2294?u=scarey
For the backline Fletch believes in Ambrose, Hartley, Gleeson and Stants as well as Hurley and Bags. Kelly is also in reserve on the bench.
I suppose it is wise for him to only give established players ābestā status.
For the LOLz, from the AFLās latest game.
God knows what they were thinking when they then went on to script our swear filterā¦
| Score | |
| Dyson HeppellĀ | 85 |
| Brendon GoddardĀ | 84 |
| Jobe WatsonĀ | 84 |
| Cale HookerĀ | 82 |
| Michael HurleyĀ | 82 |
| Brent StantonĀ | 81 |
| David ZaharakisĀ | 81 |
| David MyersĀ | 80 |
| Heath HockingĀ | 79 |
| James KellyĀ | 79 |
| Zach MerrettĀ | 79 |
| Matthew LeuenbergerĀ | 78 |
| Tom BellchambersĀ | 78 |
| Travis ColyerĀ | 78 |
| Ben HowlettĀ | 77 |
| Joe DaniherĀ | 77 |
| Josh GreenĀ | 77 |
| Mark BaguleyĀ | 77 |
| Craig BirdĀ | 74 |
| James StewartĀ | 73 |
| Martin GleesonĀ | 73 |
| Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti | 72 |
| Darcy ParishĀ | 72 |
| Jayden LaverdeĀ | 72 |
| Kyle LangfordĀ | 72 |
| Matt DeaĀ | 72 |
| Orazio FantasiaĀ | 72 |
| Kobe MutchĀ | 71 |
| Mitch BrownĀ | 71 |
| Patrick AmbroseĀ | 71 |
| Shaun McKernanĀ | 71 |
| Aaron FrancisĀ | 70 |
| Alex MorganĀ | 70 |
| Jackson MerrettĀ | 70 |
| Andrew McGrathĀ | 69 |
| Ben McNieceĀ | 68 |
| Josh BegleyĀ | 68 |
| Mason RedmanĀ | 68 |
| Michael HartleyĀ | 68 |
| Dylan ClarkeĀ | 67 |
| Conor McKennaĀ | 66 |
| Jordan RidleyĀ | 66 |
| Jake LongĀ | 65 |
| Sam DraperĀ | 65 |
Bump. Half way point.
Whoās surprised? Bags, thought he was totally cooked. Donāt know how much he has left in the tank but he is earning his spot.
Whoās disappointed? Stanton, really thought heād return in good shape but he hasnāt adapted to the new role will at all. Id live to see him return to a wing in the second half of the year. Didnāt look likely to happen though
Whoās really pleased with their progress? McKenna Iād really hoped he push in to the 22 this year and picked him in a few of my best 22 iterations. Heās met my expectations and his progress has been rapid so far this year. Excited to see how it continues
Whoās exceeded expectations? McGrath, heās certainly exceeded mine. Wow, really, i got this one wrong. Canāt move him to a wing soon enough in my mind.
Big questions still to be resolved? Ruck. I was satisfied with luey to be honest, even if he wasnāt going to be a comp leading ruck but tbell has definitely now put his hand up. The 3rd tall forward also remains to be solved. Do we even want one? Do we give Stewart time? Do we just plug away with Francis. I think Francis should be playing back fwiw
Hooker? Well the fwd line is certainly working better but is it because of him? He is playing his role well and JD is finding more space but we are also defensively fragile. I guess the question is, will the forward line continue to work if he goes back. I think it is at least worth finding out the answer.
How much has your perception of the best 22 changed?
Still some questions to be answered, as marked below. Stanton is the one who had dropped out of mine, Stewart the one who has bobbed up but he is far from a lock at this point.
Bags Ambrose hurley
Kelly Hartley mckenna
Hepp Watson McGrath
Luey ? bj zerret
Tippa JD fanta
Stewart ? hooker green
Parish zaha colyer ? Langford
Like your effort.
I guess I find it a bit disappointing that we are still relying on Watson and BJ in the centre so muchā¦but I donāt feel that Zerrett/Heppell/Parish have shown enough to take over, let alone Langfordā¦anyway we all know this is the problem.
I rate Laverde as a HF, and still think he could push Stewart out, unless Stewart improves his contested marking as the taller option.
We could commit to Gleeson/perhaps Mcniece, in place of Kelly/Bags, and the backs/forwards would be settled to develop together for several years.
Iāll use your format @ivan
Whoās surprised? Goddard has really surprised me, been excellent when I thought he was on his way out. Ambrose has been wonderful, as opposed to just serviceable.
Whoās disappointed? Colyerā¦ heavens lad, what did you do to your kicking. Takes him from being a critical part of the team to being almost a liability. Fix it man. Hartleyā¦ just isnāt playing the way I thought he could play.
Whoās really pleased with their progress? Daniherā¦ Iām really really happy for the kid. From giraffe to one of the best forwards in the game. Doing well as 2nd ruck. Inline for an all-australian, and still getting better.
Whoās exceeded expectations? Sammy - shut the curtains - Draper 
Big questions still to be resolved? Clearance midfielders. I have a perception we are playing the older / slower / bigger blokes in the centre. Iām convinced our best clearance players are our younger / quicker / smaller blokes. Whether this perception is correct or not I donāt know. However I see it as our critical failing at present. We must fix the midfield.
Hooker? Forward. Critical. Must stay there. Ask Joe Daniher how to fix your kicking for goal because youāre as rubbish as he was last year 
How much has your perception of the best 22 changed? Iām still pretty close. I maintain that Langford is best 22 as a forward but is being taught a different roleā¦ so be it. Gleeson is the other that I had best 22 but hasnāt been getting regular games. For me his strengths and weaknesses are obvious and he really is just waiting for someone better to go past himā¦ hello Conor. Laverdeās injury is a shame and so he hasnāt really been able to prove one way or the other where he fits.
2 Likes
Year bj is a good call, surprised a few I think. Me included
Mitch Brown is a bit of a forgotten man atm. I thought he played better than Hartley before he was injured, although slightly different role.
Also not sure Stewart is a better forward than Brown. Brown had 37 scoring shots from 21 games last year vs Stewartās 7 in 5. Last years side was magnitudes worse. People may argue age and experience but brown is 26 and 40 games vs Stewart 23 and 22.
4 Likes
Yep. He played really well fwd, especially so when we had Jamar in square and JD out at CHF.
Would definitely be a consideration for 3rd tall fwd once he fit again. He has all of Stewart, Francis & Langford covered in that role.
Also able to swing him back as required and keep Hooker/JD forward structure.
1 Like
The other question I have is whether we are going to give bird a crack at a tagging role. Kelly baked us on the weekend. Iād like to see woosh at least try it. Seems unlikely too though.
My only comment is about Ivan.
Heās clearly a best 22 poster on this site, but he really needs to work on his auto-correct issues.
1 Like
Yeah Iven goes alright
2 Likes
Itās true. Itās because I post so much on my phone these days and donāt have time to proof read.
The other issue is I refuse to use the swipe keyboards that learn because I donāt want to upload all my key strokes to some company.
So, your stuck with my rubbish typing. Btw, if you like my posts I usually proof read and edit them.
Still, sometimes the hilarity is worth the embarrassment, particularly where fish are concerned.
End of 2017 best 22
Bags Hurley Ambrose
McKenna Hooker Gleeson
Heppell Watson McGrath
TBC Goddard Zerrett
Walla Joe Lav
Raz Francis Green
Parish Zaha Colyer Langford
Emerg: Myers Kelly Stewart
I was of the opinion with a big group of slow inside mids we would need to win a lot of clearenceās and contested ball to be a competitive team this year. I didnāt anticipate the improvement in our transition/attack from half back. Agree on Goddard, didnāt think he would be going this well and Iām particulary pleased with the McKenna/McGrath combination in the backline which was a worry preseason.
2 Likes
So many headaches
Ambrose, lav, bird chief among them, Stanton and Langford mounting cases. What a fabulous position to be in.
McGrath Ambrose hurley
Kelly Hartley gleeson
Bj Watson zaha
Tbell zerret bird
Tippa JD Hepp
Stewart hooker fanta
Myers mckenna ? ?
Emerg: lav Parish Bags colyer Stanton green Langford
Who gets the last two spots, does Hartley come out, am I crazy for even considering leaving out bags colyer and parish?
My thinking with bags is that we have multiple guys who can play the role (perhaps without his level of belligerence) but Hartley can play taller than either hurls or Rambo so offers a point of difference. Gleeson is probably a better interceptor and rebounder than bags, McGrath and McKenna better rebounders, Kelly a better general and all round player. All that said Bags has had a fantastic year. Itās such a tricky call.
Colyer has been a lock all year and offers exactly what our midfield needs but his fumbling is driving me totally bonkers.
Is trying to squeeze bird in a bridge to far? Has Myers locked away a spot? Do we need to have uncomfortable conversations about jobe or hepp or anyone else? The Green v lav v Stewart debate.
Is there a role for Stanton.
Aaaarrrgggghhhhhh. Some really tough and massive calls to make. Some player are going to be desperately unlucky in the run home but getting the right balance could be the difference between finals or not.
1 Like