Rolling Best 23

After the practice match it looks like we have some small forward options moving forward if Tippa doesnt get back. I’m thinking our 23 right now would look something like;-

Laverde Stewart Kelly
Heppell Ridley Redman
Langford Merrett McGrath
Perkins Jones Snelling
Stringer 2MP Smith

Draper Parish Caldwell

Bench: Guelfi Shiel Hind Cox
SUB: Wanga OR Martin (unless Tippa comes up)

I can’t remember when competition for spots was so deep

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Rolling 23 for next week + 7 extras

B: Kelly Stewart Laverde
Hb: Heppell Ridley McGrath
C: Langford Caldwell Cox
Hf: Perkins Jones Francis
F: Snelling Wright Smith
R: Draper Parish Merrett

Bench: Hind Redman Shiel Wanganeen
SUB: Hobbs
Emg: Guelfi, Baldwin, Waterman, Cutler, Bryan, Martin, Durham

Stringer (inj)

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i think i can get behind this line up. it’s a bit rough on hobbs but it seems more logical to pick him as the sub than tex.

hind is actually quite a flexible player, he can pinch hit forward if needs be but he’s also played good footy on the wing for the saints and he could do for us if required. we can thrown him and mcgrath around a bit as needed which i think makes naming essentially 7.5 defenders viable. i wonder if they’d experiment with hind as a pure small forward against the saints. i don’t think it’s his best spot but if they want to fit hobbs into the 22 that might be one way to do.

tex has shown enough pace, flair and skill to be legitimately in the conersation. that’s frankly remarkable and completely unexpected but he’ll still have to do a bit more against the saints to really earn his spot IMO.

stringer in the wings for francis i think but francis might just demand to hold his spot if he plays like he did in the last quarter against the dogs and that will create real headaches for the selectors. wright would really want to start clunking marks otherwise the selectors might just go back to cox as the back up ruck

very very interesting couple of weeks coming up

Really happy with what martin is going to add to the squad too, seems a player with plenty of poise, smarts and skills. he’s going to make and extremely valuable contribution in the vfl and press for selection through out the year.

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Love that we finally appear to have good depth in most areas of the field (small forwards excluded). Tall wingmen complementing our midget brigade nicely too. Only real weaknesses being the full forward and forward pocket positions.

Laverde, Stewart, Kelly
Redman, Ridley, Hind
Langford, Parish, Cox
Perkins, Jones, Shiel
Smith, 2MP, Snelling
Fol - Draper, Stringer, Merrett

Int- McGrath, Caldwell, Francis, Heppell
Sub: Guelfi/Wanganeen

Emg - Durham, Waterman, Cutler

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I love that there are 2 or 3 players i feel like would be playing every week at other teams atm but might not get a gig. Been a while.

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Certainly have some depth now - and lots of questions for selectors;-

McGrath great down back & Kelly a lockdown defender - where does that leave Redman?
2MP & Francis not setting the world on fire up forward - how long do we persist/do we have any other options?
Tippa out for a while - do we blood Wanga or even Martin early season?

Its super interesting how this evolves from week to week - right now I’ve got our 23 looking like;-

Laverde Stewart Kelly
Heppell Ridley McGrath
Langford Shiel Cox
Perkins Francis Snelling
Stringer Jones Smith

Draper Parish Merrett

Bench: Caldwell Guelfi Hind 2MP
SUB: Redman

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How about including emergencies and having a Best 26 thread?

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Compared to the other teams around the competition, including the Saints last night, we are fortunate to have come out more or less unscathed during our pre season matches.

Presuming Stringer and Kelly get up and there’s no training mishaps before round 1 then we will have only one player (Tippa) out of our best team not available for selection.

That’s a real positive.

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Now having played the Dogs & Saints, I think the only change I’d make would be to make either Martin or Guelfi the sub. Maybe Perkins on the field ahead of Shiel/Smith as well, but the actual 22 itself I’m happy with.

Smith lucky but gets first crack as a small forward ahead of Guelfi, Waterman & Ham for now. Hopefully Kelly is good to go, otherwise Cutler comes in. Ditto Francis/Baldwin.

Shame that we didn’t get to see a full game out of Tex at some level - he’ll get chances soon enough though.

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This would be my team, too.

Martin over Cox for mine at the moment. No need to rush Cox until he’s ready to contribute on a regular basis. Some VFL would give him the freedom to try a few different roles without added pressure.

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My 23 now would be;-

Ridley Stewart Laverde
Redman Francis Hind
McGrath Merrett Langford
Perkins Jones Snelling
2MP Baldwin Smith

Draper Parish Caldwell

Bench: Heppell Shiel Kelly Stringer
SUB: Martin

Guelfi & Cox stiff - both will play games this year

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