The List

[sprite]

No. 1 has to go for the group to move on.
Then there's the obvious - LRT (fun while it lasted), Ablett, Spida (big disappointment), Grundy.

Impressed by efforts of Richards, Crouch, Tadhg, Kirk. You can't shoot those who put their heart into it and have OK+ skills. Vez looks good.

ROK will return to form as will Bolton, Criag.

Bolton, Jude has been great, a few errors but still a big improver.

Agree with you on #1 and the others but would now include #17, injuries have robbed him of his impact.

[Robbo]

Hammo you said earlier Reg is a good ACT AFL player yourself.
Reg is a very ordinary footballer at best who was ordinary tonight at best , cheap easy kicks most of the night .

He aint a Forward either , apart from his Debut game he has given when has he provided anything that warrants a spot up there ?

Yes, he is a forward. He hasn't been given adequate game time down there to show what he can do.

[liz]

3 Jarrad McVeigh
6 Craig Bolton
9 Nick Malceski
13 Patrick Veszpremi
14 Craig Bird
15 Keiran Jack
16 Darren Jolly
19 Michael O'Loughlin
31 Brett Kirk
37 Adam Goodes
38 Brett Meredith

I've gone the other way. This is the list that I would like to think is non negotiable for 2009. The rest should be playing for their lives right now.

More interesting way of looking at things. Though if you're going to include an untried player like Meredith, Currie has to be seen as in the same boat.

I would also add Mattner to that group - firstly because he won't be going anywhere after just one year, but secondly because for work rate, intensity, tackling his efforts have been very very good all year, one of the few who can say that. His skills are mostly decent enough too - though he can play a few shockers in that department (like last night).

Kennelly's choice should be his, from my POV. He's clearly lost a yard of pace at the moment but don't see why he can't get that back with some rest and a pre-season. Can't fault his efforts in the last few weeks when everyone else has been being hammered. He's just not capable at the moment of breaking the lines like he used to.

Similarly with O'Keefe. If he wanted to leave (since we know his contract is up) we'd get something good for him at the trade table. But he's surely done enough that the choice is entirely his?

[Nico]

The following are the ones who should be on everybody's lips right now because they are the future.

Brennan, Barlow, Vesz, Bird, Jack, White, Laidlaw, Faulks, Thornton, Brabazon, Currie, Schmidt, Meredith, Smith, DOK, O'Dwyer, Orreal, Beckmans, Bruce, Terlich.

Like it or not a lot of these blokes must be playing next year. My eternal hope is a few of these emerge as stars.

[Robbo]

We need to draft a couple of quick midfielders asap. Then a quality KPP.

Hopefully in this year's draft they do something like this.

Round 1- Quick mid.
Round 2- Quality KPP.
Round 3- Quick mid.
Round 4- Best available.

And assuming we keep all of our draft picks, and we promote O'Dwyer and Smith, how many blokes would have to be delisted?

[swansrule100]

id get rid of

4 Ben Mathews
10 Peter Everitt
12 Nic Fosdike
21 Leo Barry
28 Jared Crouch
30 Lewis Roberts-Thomson


pressure would be on

hall
ablett
davis
grundy
playfair to produce


i would also be looking for trades, id even listen to very good offers for goodes or okeefe (very very very good offers)

[liz]

And assuming we keep all of our draft picks, and we promote O'Dwyer and Smith, how many blokes would have to be delisted?

Depends what you mean by "keep all our picks". There isn't really a limit on how many picks you can take in the ND - you can just keep going as long as you like. But clearly after a while the benefits stop paying off.

If they want to take 4 players in the ND, plus promote Smith and O'Dwyer, 6 spots need to be cleared. Leo could be one of those (since Kirk is eligible to replace him on the veterans list) but if MickyO decided to hang up the boots, the two of them together would only free up one senior spot (but would make room for one more rookie).

[lwjoyner]

I dont think Smith and ODwyer are good enough. just like a few of the others. Murphy will be elevated and we should have given White extended time in the seniors. Agree Grundy Playfair et al are not going to be premiership players with us. Everitt to old and Beeny has hang on long enough Most of the changes suggested earlier are needed not sure what is avaliable. Matbe we should be looking at Kerr goodness every one knows we need a speedy midifielder. We also need som strnght and height on the backline and hopefuuly someon like Hurley might still be available but we will probably go for a smallish player.

[Robbo]

So we need to get rid of at least 5 players from the senior list.

Mathews, Everitt and Davis will all probably go. The other two will be unlucky.

[liz]

So we need to get rid of at least 5 players from the senior list.

Mathews, Everitt and Davis will all probably go. The other two will be unlucky.

The general mood on the boards today seems to be that all but a handful will be lucky to stay!!

The right answer is somewhere in between.

[BSA5]

Playfair won't be going anywhere. Grundy did show a bit in the second half tonight and for the reasons you say I think he'll stay. Hope he's tried up forward though.

Disagree on LRT though. You say yourself he's doing just enough, well that isn't good enough I'm afraid. He's not up to AFL standard and with defenders now needing to be as much attacking players as defenders he's just lost out there.

Yes it is. He's just good enough. Give him another year. If we have a more promising youngster coming in, for example, Murphy, Faulks or White, then yeah, his time may be over. 2009 is his make or break year. But he has done enough in 2008 to stay on the list.

[Nico]

Yes, the list. I find it interesting that we have as a coach at our club, a man who is seen by many as one of the top full forwards to play the game. Yet we are not seeing any hint of a full forward being developed to take over after Hall and MOL hang up the boots.

To those 2's watchers, am I wrong or is there some work being done in the background. I find it also interesting that Longmire is not our forward coach.
You would think it would be a pet project of his to see if he can produce a top full forward. If it was me the challenge would be an inviting and juicy one.

[liz]

Yes, the list. I find it interesting that we have as a coach at our club, a man who is seen by many as one of the top full forwards to play the game. Yet we are not seeing any hint of a full forward being developed to take over after Hall and MOL hang up the boots.

To those 2's watchers, am I wrong or is there some work being done in the background. I find it also interesting that Longmire is not our forward coach.
You would think it would be a pet project of his to see if he can produce a top full forward. If it was me the challenge would be an inviting and juicy one.

Longmire was the forwards coach from 2005-6, a period during which Sydney was credited for having one of the most efficient forward lines at converting forward 50 entries into scoring shots, for its innovative forward set plays from stoppages (think Ball to Davis that fateful night, Ball to Monty a fortnight later), and for the work the forwards did for each other to block and create space. Hall has waxed about the role Longmire played in turning him into the forward he has become (when not injured, suspended or in therapy).

The move of Longmire firstly to the midfield coach and then to also take on the role of coaching co-ordinator may or may not have improved his all round coaching ability but it certainly seems to have been to the detriment of the team.

In terms of what is happening at reserves level, it all seems a bit random and inconsistent. To be fair, until this year teaching anyone to play a KP defensive role was nigh on impossible except when playing Queanbeyan, who at least have had a strong group of tall marking forwards for the last few years. Defence was where players got sent to have a rest.

This year has been different since our midfield has no longer been dominating each and every game. White looked like he was settling nicely into the FB role but then started getting sent forwards. When Reg returned from his mid-season foot injury he mostly played up forward, albeit with more of a roaming role than last year's role of parking himself in the goal square. Then he gets promoted to the senior team and has played exclusively in defence. Faulks and Murphy have been pretty much constantly used in defence. The key marking forward roles were being left to the likes of Davis (when he was unfit and before he was made to go back and play on a HBF), Beckmans, Vez and a variety of top-ups, like RBN. Brennan's occasionally been thrown down there but has been used more in defence. The rucks have all had their turn standing in the goal square.

Overall it certainly seems as if they've decided to make up for the last three years and focus on developing defenders, at the expense of a consistent forward line structure. Maybe over the pre-season they'll mix things up and switch players around for next year. I'd love to see Murphy tried at CHF where his love of crashing packs and sending bodies flying could create ample crumbing opportunities. Although his kicking style is, well, unorthodox, he loves to nab a goal or two and his kicking for goal is usually accurate, if not always pretty. Early in the season his marking wasn't good enough but he seems to be getting the hang of overhead marks now and his hands look big and pretty safe. If nothing else, it might get him out of his horrible habit of trying to bounce the ball whenever he gets it, and normally when he doesn't need to.

And I hope they send White back down to defence. His best attributes to my eyes seem to be his closing speed over just a few steps, his height, his excellent leap and good timing with a spoil. All great attributes for a backman, since it means he can play from behind and stands less risk of needing to use hands to hold position. He also has good straight line dash, perfect for rebounding the ball out of defence but isn't overly agile, meaning up forward he's not great at working in tight spaces. His marking is a mixed bag - sometimes very good but often relatively easy ones pop out - and he's not a good enough kick at goal to maximise a return from a smallish number of opportunities. So as a forward he seems to have limitations that are less significant for a FB.