Sydney's Youngsters

[franky_mojojo]

Sydney have one of the oldest lists in the AFL, and there doesn't seem to be all that much young talent comeing through compared to a lot of other teams, who is gonna stand up in the next few years and become a quality player?

[Sanecow]

I don't see the Swan's average age of 53.6 being an impediment to back-to-back Premierships.

[franky_mojojo]

lol, but i cant see any of their cuurent batch of youngsters standing up and taking the next step.

[Ryan Bomford]

Originally posted by franky_mojojo
lol, but i cant see any of their cuurent batch of youngsters standing up and taking the next step.

Maybe a good topic for the off-season, post delistings, retirements, drafts?

[Sanecow]

I think the average age of the list will fall next year with Nicks, Maxfield, Ball out (and a ? over Schauble). Three of these are already being covered. Doyle needing to stand up for Ball is the biggest issue IMHO.

[liz]

The average age of our squad is about 1 year older than the average age of the youngest. The difference is around 22.5 years to 23.5 years.

So what?

No point having a young list if it is filled with duds. You just recycle them every couple of years and find some new, even younger duds, just so that you can remain as the "youngest squad".

We have some decent youngsters being developed gradually. Whether they will become stars or not is far too hard to tell.

[Sanecow]

Is there an online article or source for the avg AFL list ages somewhere?

[franky_mojojo]

allthestats.com

the reason i ask is because there have been a few retirements this year which means some younger players will need to take the next step and i was wondering who they will be.

[ugg]

I'm not sure about online, but in the AFL Record 2005 book they have the averages and all they're very similar across all clubs.

Our average age will drop next year with the retirements of Ball and Nicks, and maybe Maxfield.

[satchmopugdog]

Schmidt and Willoughby will surely get a chance next year. Yjey could be the bee's knees.

[Go Swannies]

Saintsational talks about who should get premiership medallions. RWO looks at rebuilding. Do we simply swap threads when the Swans win on Friday?

[franky_mojojo]

Originally posted by satchmopugdog
Schmidt and Willoughby will surely get a chance next year. Yjey could be the bee's knees.

what position do they play?

[Charlie]

Originally posted by franky_mojojo
allthestats.com

the reason i ask is because there have been a few retirements this year which means some younger players will need to take the next step and i was wondering who they will be.

McVeigh (20), Willoughby (19), Schneider (21), Ablett (22), Buchanan (22), Moore (18), Schmidt (19) and Malceski (20) have all played less than 60 games, and will all be competing for midfield spots through the course of next year. In that group, there's three established senior players, two Sheahan medallists, a top five draft pick and a couple of blokes that the club were surprised to be able to get at the picks they got.

Dempster (21), Roberts-Thomson (22) and Bevan (20) have all had reasonable exposure in defence. Matthew Davis (19) is a speculative pick who should debut next year if his selection comes off. Grundy (19 I think) should come off the rookie list, and I suppose some might still hold hope for Powell (21) who could get another year. Our prospects in defence aren't that deep, but with only Schauble likely to retire within the next three years, it's not too much of a problem.

The club hasn't really looked to picking up young forwards, with only Vogels (21) in the mix. But with Hall, O'Loughlin, Davis, O'Keefe and Goodes... I doubt that we're in any trouble. We have Erickson (19-20) and Shaw (18) coming through in the ruck.

Obviously, not all of these players are going to turn into players for us. But we don't need all of them too. In fact, after the expected modest clean-out this year, I would think that only Williams (and Schauble if he doesn't go this year) will retire before the 2009 season. Our medium term situation looks perfectly fine, and seeing as how Roos has been planning for us to peak in 2005 and in medium-term after that, all is as it should be.

[franky_mojojo]

Originally posted by Charlie
McVeigh (20), Willoughby (19), Schneider (21), Ablett (22), Buchanan (22), Moore (18), Schmidt (19) and Malceski (20) have all played less than 60 games, and will all be competing for midfield spots through the course of next year. In that group, there's three established senior players, two Sheahan medallists, a top five draft pick and a couple of blokes that the club were surprised to be able to get at the picks they got.

was wondering who u think has the biggest upside out of Willoughby, Moore, Schmidt and Malceski and I know nothing about these players.

[Deledio Fan]

Malceski, hands down. Definitely has what it takes to be a quality midfielder.

Who do you think they are grooming to be the next great outside midfielder? If you guys have seen him play you can see what he can add to the Swannies.