Who is most impacted by that draft?

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?


Come on man, he was a pretty poxy forward/back/bit-parts-ruckman for 7 years, came here and went into the ruck and dominated. Of course we’re going to try and force him into being a forward again, it’s the only logical solution!

We’ll probably keep on playing Jerrett ahead of the new draftees.

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.

No doubt he has shown signs and glimpses. But he’s done that before at Adelaide before regressing terribly. He’s a confidence player. If he stuffs up once, he can spiral.

For me, he’s in the same boat as Laverde, Edwards and Fantasia who have all shown some very encouraging signs but are yet to establish themselves. If they get to play in the first handful of games, they could build on that and become staple best 22 players.
Be mindful that while all those players got some good gamete this season, we have Myers, Hocking, Watson, Colyer, Cooney, Leuenberger, Bellchambers, Craig Bird and Mitch Brown all challenging for their spots back in our ‘best 22’ taking the games left over from Melksham, Carlisle and to a lesser extent Chapman, O’Brien, Fletch and Steinberg. And that’s before we even begin considering games for Francis and Parish.

We have to find a way of getting our younger players games so that they can develop. I think Ants raised this as a problem in a thread previously shortly after the end of our season.
We have a lot of players who need 10 to 15 games before fully recognising where they fit into our team and how much scope for improvement is still in them.

who knows for sure yet, haven’t had a game as of yet under the new coach, so technically we don’t know who is getting a game cos of being a coaches pet or fav.

all we have to go by is who hird has as favs, which again no longer applies anymore, well hopefully.

TBell, when fit is probably a better tap ruckman than McKernan but TBell does not appear to be as mobile or agile as McKernan . Will be interesting selection problem for those 2 , because Leuenberger will definitely play 1st ruck when available. For me TBell will have to lift his game this pre-season, because I would pick McKernan ahead of him as a ruck/forward.

We'll probably keep on playing Jerrett ahead of the new draftees.
Surprising change of mind...
We'll probably keep on playing Jerrett ahead of the new draftees.
Surprising change of mind...

Oh yeh.

We'll probably keep on playing Jerrett ahead of the new draftees.

I think Francis probably pushes someone like Gleeson towards the midfield. It’s a big ask for an 18 year old to play tall at senior level, so he’ll probably play off a flank.

The KPP list looks much healthier, but the back or forward debate just got a new lease on life, so the likes of Hooker and Smack might be impacted.

If Parish and Francis play 25-30+ games between them, you’d think the likes of J Merrett, Gleeson, Fantasia, Edwards, Howlett and so on will feel the knock on effects if they don’t step up.

Longer term, it’s hard to say. Francis, Morgan and Redman all seem to have some flexibility positionally (as do Langford and Fantasia) so it’s a question of where they play their best footy over the next few years.

I see Fantasia as a walk-up-start, wing or half-back. He must play ahead of Cooney.

Francis will make it awkward for Gwilt and difficult for Pears, although I’m still inclined to want Hooker forward with Brown added to the KPD mix…Hartley later on. I’d like to see Francis given every opportunity from Round 1, like Parish. I think there’s an expectation that guys picked 1-6 don’t need time in the 2s.

A few guys who haven’t really produced or developed of late, like Ashby, Merrett (J) will struggle.

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?

I would put him in the centre square round one based on his late season form

I don’t even have to preface this with a “hindsight disclaimer” because I said it at the time, but last night’s draft solidified the Pears decision as unbelievable. He will never play for us again the poor bloke.

I don't even have to preface this with a "hindsight disclaimer" because I said it at the time, but last night's draft solidified the Pears decision as unbelievable. He will never play for us again the poor bloke.
Agree. Nor should he.

It would have been nice to be a bit more aggressive and delisted him and taken a wait and see approach as to whether Brown and Hartley would be available if that was our intention. Then rookie him if there is no one better or take a punt on another young tall defender.

I don't even have to preface this with a "hindsight disclaimer" because I said it at the time, but last night's draft solidified the Pears decision as unbelievable. He will never play for us again the poor bloke.
Agree. Nor should he.

It would have been nice to be a bit more aggressive and delisted him and taken a wait and see approach as to whether Brown and Hartley would be available if that was our intention. Then rookie him if there is no one better or take a punt on another young tall defender.

We coulda just let him sit there, nobody was ever going to pinch him off us as a DFA.
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)

Yeah good call… Zaka is a shadow of the player he was in the early part of the decade.

who knows for sure yet, haven't had a game as of yet under the new coach, so technically we don't know who is getting a game cos of being a coaches pet or fav.

all we have to go by is who hird has as favs, which again no longer applies anymore, well hopefully.

Or maybe, just maybe, our coaches have rated players differently to yourself.

Subject to dramatic realignment in attitude, I’d be running with Bellchambers as first ruck…

In the seconds.

Dempsey, Jerrett, Howlett, Gwilt, Ambrose… maybe even Cooney.

who knows for sure yet, haven't had a game as of yet under the new coach, so technically we don't know who is getting a game cos of being a coaches pet or fav.

all we have to go by is who hird has as favs, which again no longer applies anymore, well hopefully.

Or maybe, just maybe, our coaches have rated players differently to yourself.

3 out of our last 4 long term coaches have technically “rated players differently” to me, by peoples standards around here, where exactly has it gotten them the last 10 years ?

0 finals wins
3 we don’t want you to coach us anymore (whatever variant y ou want to run with, sacked decided to leave blah blah)

but no the main point was, people are basing their perception of who’s under pressure based on the previous coaching mantras.

No doubt worsfold will have his own favs come next year. So atm it’s pointless saying who is under pressure, cos they all should be, until they prove themselves to the new coach.

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)

Yeah good call… Zaka is a shadow of the player he was in the early part of the decade.


He’s had 1 ■■■■ year (along with about 25 mates last year… I might add). Still can’t see where people are sticking the pin in, I think people forget just how good his skills are, he’s a great mark for his size, good kick and he’s super creative and damaging.
That said, I’d be looking at him for forward line. His defensive pressure, while it can get shown up in midfield, is decent enough with the lower work rate required in the forward line.