2006 best 22

[swans05]

what does everyone think our team will look like next year i reckon
B: C.Bolton L.Barry B.Mathews
HB: T.Kennelly L.Roberts-Thomson J.Crouch
C: P.Williams J.Bolton N.Fosdike
HF: R.O'Keefe B.Hall A.Goodes
F: N.Davis M.O'Loughlin A.Buchanan
R: D.Jolly B.Kirk L.Ablett
INT: N.Malceski S.Dempster A.Schneider P.Chambers
EMG: P.Bevan L.Vogels J.McVeigh

any thoughts?

[punter257]

yeah looks pretty good to me

probably have doyle ahead of chambers if fit
richards may be a chance but i cant see who he would replace in that starting 22

[strange]

I would definitely like to see vogels as part of the 22 next year. With Micky O getting older i think he should be groomed as our next key forward. Also, a fit doyle would also be a great inclusion, certainly ahead of chambers.

[Charlie]

These are fun.

Actually, the only difference between mine and the OP's is Chambers out, Doyle in... and Richards and Dempster will be battling it out through the pre-season for the last spot if we have a full list in round one.

[Rob-bloods]

If we play taller, Richards could move Crouch up the ground and Schneids and Malceski will then be under pressure.

What about your thoughts on Willoughby and Schmidt you reserves watchers?

[Snowy]

If you expend a 1st-rounder on Richards, surely you expect him to be in the best 22?

[jude_boltons_babe]

i thought Ben Mathews was getting delisted

[hammo]

It's going to be competitive for spots which is a really good thing.

Injuries of course are always the wildcard but I think we have enough depth now to cover most positions, with the possible exception of a couple of C.Bolton / Barry / LRT going down at once.

I have no doubt Roos will be keen to give plenty of time in the seniors to Willoughby, Shmidt, Malcleski, Moore and Vogels in 2006.

Some of them have been on the list for a few years now and its time to see if they can step up.

This year's philosophy of if you play well in the ressies you will be given a game will probably continue.

Re: Willoughby and Shmidt, Roos must be delibrately holding them back as they've been in the system for a while. Hopefully they'll turn out to be really good players for us.

[Tuesday]

We need Voges on the field, so at this stage I would be listing him on the interchange as part of our regular lineup. Though who to bump? Good question...

Nonetheless, Voges injects some height and strength in to the side and provides another goalkicking option off the bench. Plus, there's always the option of utilising him as a defender should we find ourselves in a sticky situation.

[dimelb]

Would any other team have the enviable problem of whom to select to the degree we do?
I agree with Doyle for Chambers if fit, and the pressure is on Bevan and McVeigh to step up - I suspect an aerobically fit Moore would be ahead of them.

[Go Swannies]

Originally posted by dimelb
Would any other team have the enviable problem of whom to select to the degree we do?
I agree with Doyle for Chambers if fit, and the pressure is on Bevan and McVeigh to step up - I suspect an aerobically fit Moore would be ahead of them.

A couple of years ago I posted that I thought our team was better than others thought it was and one sensible response was that the first 18 were strong but we lacked depth of other teams. We now seem to have judiciously covered that so we do have general depth so that injuries may not be the catastrophe they were in 2004.

[Nico]

Jarrod Moore is a gun. He will be in our best 22 next year.

With a big pre season under the belt we should start seeing the talent of our next star midfielder.

[Bleed Red Blood]

Buchanen out of the forward six - Should be a permanent midfielder.

Williams should play on a half back flank as he winds down, with stints through the middle to give more midfield opportunity to those who will be replacing him soon.

[swans05]

lets face it our best 22 is gonna have 30 players in it

[liz]

I reckon there are 14 automatic selections - something weird would have to happen for them to fall from grace.

Hall, Davis, Mathews, O'Keefe, Bolton, Williams, Jolly, Kennelly, Magic, Barry, Bolton, Crouch, Kirk, Goodes.

Then throw in another 4 players, who are close to being automatic selections but probably need to back it up with another year (or last two months) like 2005:

LRT, Ablett, Buchanan, Fossie

That's our starting 18. No surprise that they all played in the GF. Not much imagination required.

The other four spots could probably be taken by almost any player on the list - with the possible exception of Erikson (still very skinny). Some appear to be ahead of others at the moment, but a good pre-season and early season form could easily change the order.

As with last year, we look to have very good bottom end depth - even with the 5 retirements. But the same vulnerabilities exist at the top end of the list, particularly amongst the talls.