Who is most impacted by that draft?

Football Discussion Dustin Fletcher Hangar
1

Thought it would be interesting to have a bit of a think about how the new draftees impact the current list and work out who’s going to be working harder this preseason to keep their spot. New coach as well.

Parish will put immediate pressure on for a role in the midfield rotation. Jobe, Hocking, Stanton, Goddard, Zach Merrett, Colyer and Heppell are walk up starts which leaves guys like Myers, Howlett, J Merrett and Laverde looking over their shoulders you’d think.

Francis will have a few guys worried but I think the guys with the most concerns will be Marty Gleeson and Tayter. He won’t displace Hurley, Hibberd, Hooker or Baguley but those last two spots in the back six are really up for grabs. Mitch Brown places added pressure on Gwilt and Hartley will be a guy who’s nipping at the heels as well.

Up forward Joey is pretty safe but we have five roles to fill around him. Ambrose probably gets first crack at the third forward role and McKernan, Hooker or TBC will be the second tall. Dempsey, Shredwards, Cooney, Langford and Merrett are some of the guys who have played up there but none have really staked a claim for a walk up start. This is probably the weakest part of our team but unless they are planning on trying Francis on a flank I don’t see any of the new draftees putting a great deal of pressure on in their first year. Mitch Brown has shown he can play forward and the SA boy might play a couple of games. Yestin, you’d think, would have a fair bit of work to do but might come in for a cameo.

I really don’t know what that rd 1 forward line looks like tbh, still don’t know where we are getting our goals from outside of JD.

Ruck depth pretty much hasn’t changed, TBC, McKernan and Luenberger are all talented but also all have their weaknesses / durability concerns.

Who do you think will be sweating the most?

2

Edwards.

Got Eades/Redman on the list now, and unless the boy ups the ante and becomes more consistent, he may find his flashes of brilliance don’t get him a gig.

3

  • Gwilt and Pears have some serious competition for that third tall role in defence with Francis now in the picture. Adding Brown and Hartley pretty much ends Steinberg’s chances, too.

  • Morgan puts a bit of pressure on Gleeson and Ashby, although the latter was already under the pump heading into 2016.

  • J Merrett has mostly been played forward so I’d say that he may be feeling the pressure (along with Edwards and Ambrose) with the arrival of Eade and Redman. With another pre-season under the belts of Langord and Laverde, it’ll be interesting to see what our preferred forward setup is this year. Brown could be used up that end of the ground, too.

  • The arrival of Bird and now Parish will probably mean less opportunities for Howlett, although we really needed to develop some more depth here anyway.

4

It might be worth keeping in mind that players like Edwards, Fantasia, Gleeson, Ashby, Merretts etc may have new expectations/roles in 2016 (either in 1s or 2s).

They don’t always stay flankers forever.

5

Dare I say Ambrose? The addition of Redman, Eades and Brown gives us more options of various sizes up forward, combined with Langford and Laverde, Ambrose will need a big 2016

6

Steinberg. Not a chance of getting picked up by us after we took Brown and Hartley. Pears is going to struggle to get a look in at senior level, or another contract.

7
- Gwilt and Pears have some serious competition for that third tall role in defence with Francis now in the picture. Adding Brown and Hartley pretty much ends Steinberg's chances, too.

I would have thought being delisted ended Steinys chances.

8

Bird - makes it difficult for Howlett

Brown / Hartley / Francis - makes it hard for Gwilt, but he was fringe anyway
Alternatively I can see us pushing some of the older midfielders back into the two up-for-grab spots in defense to free up spots for speed through the middle. Goddard and Stanton maybe. - makes it difficult for Gleeson who played 22 games last year and even Fantasia who had a good end of the season.

Edwards and Jerrett are interesting. Both have something, but neither have cemented their spot. Laverde and Langford coming into their second year may push them out of the starting 18. And then perhaps Parish or Francis get the interchange spots pushing them out of the 22.

TBC is in real danger of losing his spot, but that was due to trade, not the draft.

Ambrose and Cooney I don’t really have a spot for in the first place. But who knows, maybe Ambrose may still get a role. And Cooney might pull his finger out and pretend to care.

9

Does Zaharakis still play for us?

10

Squad depth is important as well, you don’t want a talent drop-off from the fringe of the 22 down, because a lack of competition for spots can cause complacency. Looking at the team now from the bottom 6 of the best 22 until maybe 28-29 there isn’t a lot separating those players. With a clear run with injury, selection will be challenging for the Match Committee, and hopefully a strong VFL team being put out every week. I’d say the likes of Myers and Hocking are in our best team, look how much their absences hurt us in 2015. Players like Howlett will feel the heat more, and also with Melksham gone there is a spot open there, be it for an experienced recruit like Bird or one of the new kids. Cooney is another who will be under threat, an older players with a new coach coming in, he may not necessarily be guaranteed a game, particularly if Edwards can string some consistency together, Langford emerges, Colyer stays fit, Fantasia builds on his solid finish to 2015 and Redman/Eades surprise early on. I can’t wait to see the boys in action and to see what a fresh approach, plus some new faces, can bring for us.

11
Thought it would be interesting to have a bit of a think about how the new draftees impact the current list and work out who's going to be working harder this preseason to keep their spot. New coach as well.

Parish will put immediate pressure on for a role in the midfield rotation. Jobe, Hocking, Stanton, Goddard, Zach Merrett, Colyer and Heppell are walk up starts which leaves guys like Myers, Howlett, J Merrett and Laverde looking over their shoulders you’d think.

Francis will have a few guys worried but I think the guys with the most concerns will be Marty Gleeson and Tayter. He won’t displace Hurley, Hibberd, Hooker or Baguley but those last two spots in the back six are really up for grabs. Mitch Brown places added pressure on Gwilt and Hartley will be a guy who’s nipping at the heels as well.

Up forward Joey is pretty safe but we have five roles to fill around him. Ambrose probably gets first crack at the third forward role and McKernan, Hooker or TBC will be the second tall. Dempsey, Shredwards, Cooney, Langford and Merrett are some of the guys who have played up there but none have really staked a claim for a walk up start. This is probably the weakest part of our team but unless they are planning on trying Francis on a flank I don’t see any of the new draftees putting a great deal of pressure on in their first year. Mitch Brown has shown he can play forward and the SA boy might play a couple of games. Yestin, you’d think, would have a fair bit of work to do but might come in for a cameo.

I really don’t know what that rd 1 forward line looks like tbh, still don’t know where we are getting our goals from outside of JD.

Ruck depth pretty much hasn’t changed, TBC, McKernan and Luenberger are all talented but also all have their weaknesses / durability concerns.

Who do you think will be sweating the most?

that David Zaharakis did even rate a mention in your list tells you exactly who parish will be putting pressure on. Don’t really see why cooney would be getting games either unless he is in irresistible form and Dempsey will likewise have to have an outstanding preseason to push past laverde, lanford, fanta in my eyes.

Bird and Berger also should be mentioned in this conversation. Tbell and howlett most directly in the gun for those two.

francis just starts at 3rd tall, get games into him. Gwilt is ■■■■■■ good insurance

my rd 1 team probably looks something like this right now

bags hurls francis
hibb hooker gleeson

stanton hepp laverde
berger hocking zerret

colyer smack langford
jobe JD Bird

BJ Myers fanta ???(toss a coin - zaka, coon, demps, parish, edwards, ambrose, mckenna, howlett)

12

Apart from the ones already mentioned…
Gleeson. With Francis I think his certainty in team selections is probably halved. You could argue that Parish also eliminates any chance of him being pushed up to the wing as well. I like Gleeson, but he could find himself in the reserves more often than the last few years.
Dempsey. With Brown most likely playing forward, Bellchambers playing as a resting ruck and JD the key forward, I think a forward spot will be split between Dempsey and Edwards across the season.
Ambrose and Jerrett should both have to earn their games rather than gifted it due to lack of options.

Outside of our ‘best 22’ I think Kommer will also be worried. With Bird, Eades and Morgan, his spot on the list is more suspect than it was this season.
I also will name McKernan. He got a 1 year contract and we got Brown and Luenberger. The only games he plays is as a ruckman should Luenberger or Bellchambers break down. While that’s likely, I think McKernan would have hoped for at least 10 games as either a forward or a ruckman. I think 10 games is the most he can expect now.
Guilt and Pears are pretty much depth / list cloggers now.

13
Apart from the ones already mentioned... Gleeson. With Francis I think his certainty in team selections is probably halved. You could argue that Parish also eliminates any chance of him being pushed up to the wing as well. I like Gleeson, but he could find himself in the reserves more often than the last few years. Dempsey. With Brown most likely playing forward, Bellchambers playing as a resting ruck and JD the key forward, I think a forward spot will be split between Dempsey and Edwards across the season. Ambrose and Jerrett should both have to earn their games rather than gifted it due to lack of options.

Outside of our ‘best 22’ I think Kommer will also be worried. With Bird, Eades and Morgan, his spot on the list is more suspect than it was this season.
I also will name McKernan. He got a 1 year contract and we got Brown and Luenberger. The only games he plays is as a ruckman should Luenberger or Bellchambers break down. While that’s likely, I think McKernan would have hoped for at least 10 games as either a forward or a ruckman. I think 10 games is the most he can expect now.
Guilt and Pears are pretty much depth / list cloggers now.

I actually don’t mind the fact we have 5-6 options for that 3rd tall defensive spot. Law of averages will say that 1 or 2 of Gwilt, Pears, Brown, Hartley or Francis will break in and nail it. Gwilt is most likely in his final AFL season, Pears has rarely been fit over the past 3-4 years, Brown and Hartley come in as ready-made players in terms of age and build, and Francis is an elite talent. At 191cm I don’t see AF as an AFL 3rd tall size-wise but as a sweeping half-back or a genuine ultility who covers all roles from half-back to half-forward.

14
Does Zaharakis still play for us?

Yeah but he’s carrying an injury, probably.

15

I find the attitude towards McKernan quite strange. I liked what the lad brought this year. Did well in the Nobby (8th) and Crichton (10th) off the back of only 9 games. His last 3 games of the season were very good. Good agility for a big man. A bit undersized for a ruck, but ok for a back-up.

Why don’t people like him as the 2nd ruckman?

16
I find the attitude towards McKernan quite strange. I liked what the lad brought this year. Did well in the Nobby (8th) and Crichton (10th) off the back of only 9 games. His last 3 games of the season were very good. Good agility for a big man. A bit undersized for a ruck, but ok for a back-up.

Why don’t people like him as the 2nd ruckman?

In my opinion…
He played his best footy when he was a full time ruckman.
I think he can be okay as a forward target, but I think he is likely to get into a form slump and be sent back to the reserves as has been the case his whole career as a forward.

Considering his best form was as a ruckman, it’s pretty fair to say that Leuenberger and Bellchambers are ahead of him. Bellchambers is arguable, but we played him injured for a few months before giving McKernan a chance, so it has to count for something.

Also, given the age of our list, the club handed him a one year contract shows that there is some doubt as to whether he is a sustainable part of the team.

17

Blitz.

18

can someone post a gif of that bit of play against norf in rd 6 (???) in the first quarter where smack led up to the flank for the ball turned and played on and hit jobe on the tit. Also some gifs of his numerous great snap goals particularly the one from the boundary in the vfl semi final. boy can play and now has his head right and is a great competitor. He’s 25 and just needs opportunities now.

We don’t need him to be the best key forward in the comp just a genuine threat and a relief ruck.

He is clearly the best option for 2nd ruck in my mind and if we want to play a small forward line with multiple mid sized lead up options i think he is the best option for 2nd ruck 2nd tall forward.

19
Francis will have a few guys worried but I think the guys with the most concerns will be Marty Gleeson and Tayter. He won't displace Hurley, Hibberd, Hooker or Baguley but those last two spots in the back six are really up for grabs. Mitch Brown places added pressure on Gwilt and Hartley will be a guy who's nipping at the heels as well.
Pears is putting Pears under pressure, never mind anyone else. Miles off a spot, nothing's changed there, and I think Brown and Hartley will play more as key defenders rather than the floater role that Pears gets.

Don’t really see pushes Gleeson. Morgan eventually, Redman probably ends up on one flank or another, but both look a few years off it just yet.

Only 6 guys are named as defenders but we generally pick 3 big guys, Bags and 2-4 rebounders - by the end of the year it was Pig/Glees/Raz filling those roles and I think that’s what we go with in 2016.

20
Steinberg. Not a chance of getting picked up by us after we took Brown and Hartley. Pears is going to struggle to get a look in at senior level, or another contract.
Yup. I thought the door was open just a sliver, but he's been replaced and (hopefully) improved on now. I hope we keep him on in the VFL if he doesn't get picked up.