2016 Team

[swansrob]

AG I think Towers is also emerging and his efforts late in the year were super.

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I did put the cautionary mostly in there.

I'd certainly put Towers on that list ahead of Hewett - Hewett is yet to make a senior 22, let alone our best

[Scottee]

I'd certainly put Towers on that list ahead of Hewett - Hewett is yet to make a senior 22, let alone our best

Towers is 26 this year and Hewett has just turned 20. Bit of a hard comparison but you would expect more development from Hewett. On the other hand I think Towers has just needed to find his tempo and confidence. I think they will both make it.

[Conor_Dillon]

Hewett will definitely be a 10 year player in my opinion...I just really hope it's with us!

[wolftone57]

Hewett will definitely be a 10 year player in my opinion...I just really hope it's with us!

I hope he is with us too Connor. George has incredible potential.

I notice that the coaches have the players doing more skills based training this campaign. Last campaign that was a problem and wasn't concentrated on. but there has been a lot of mention in interviews about a more skills based approach (Kizza, Hannas, Parks). This is a good thing as when you take the foot off skills your foot doesn't work so well haha.

To win a premiership your skills need to be elite, not just good, elite. You don't win premierships with ordinary disposal. You don't win premierships if you can't handle finals pressure every game you play. You don't win premierships if you can't convert at least 60% and hopefully 70% of your forward entries into scores. You don't win premierships if you can't play in the wet.

But you do win premierships if you have the right attitude with a no prisoners taken approach. TOUGHER, HARDER, BETTER, BEST! SEE BALL GET BALL DELIVER BALL! ONE TEAM ONE MIND! DON'T 'WILL DO' DO! DEDICATION DETERMINATION DESTROY. I can remember these on the walls of our footy club as I entered the change-rooms for the first day of training. We won the premiership that year. I could no longer play but we ended up winning two divisions out of three and runner up in the third.

I hope 2016 will be a year when we consolidate our new team and look to the future. There are so many good young players that will come through between now and 2017. We may have lost Goodes, Shaw and Pykie but we have gained potential stars to replace them. I thought the forward line ungainly last season with Goodes, Tip, Bud and Sammy. I think with Goodsie retiring we have an opportunity to address that and make Sammy more a focal point. At the same time we bring in a mid size or small forward with wings.

Rhyce was by his own admission not in the best form and even though he ended the season on a strong note his 2015 was not probably his best. He slowed down and was injury affected. I think some youn player, maybe Jones, now has the opportunity to flower.

Pykie was injury prone and by his standards of 2014 not that great last season. A season to forget really. I am happy we have a new ruckman, who has at least some experience, to take his place and look forward to seeing Sinclair blossom. He has a great ruck coach, used to be called the ruck whisperer, so couldn't be in a better place. Out ruck stocks look pretty good actually. I'm a bit surprised Derrickx is still on the list but...

We have drafted really well and the draftees are proving pretty handy in the contested work apparently. can't wait to see them in the NAB.

I am hoping for a great year, we all hope that but I am also aware we are regenerating, not rebuilding as we haven't delisted hugely or had heaps of retirees, but bringing through a new generation. I think we can make the 4 but other than that...up to the universe.

[Ludwig]

At the same time we bring in a mid size or small forward with wings.

What a great idea. Would be very difficult to tackle. But may have trouble with the ball drop when taking set shots.

[dimelb]

What a great idea. Would be very difficult to tackle. But may have trouble with the ball drop when taking set shots.

[707]

Like I was at the start of last year, still worried about depth. I did an exercise to list players roughly in importance to us and saw how far I got before fringe players started to appear. Very worrying IMO, proven talent runs out mid teens. With only a handful of injuries we will be playing untried youngsters. Look how our finals series last year was killed by injuries and the need to play fringies. This year we have even less depth than last. Our season will be defined by injury list and the ability of raw kids to step up.

This list is just how they came into my head without strong analysis, it was to see when fringies first appeared rather than definitive rankings at the top.

1 Franklin
2 Kennedy
3 Hanners
4 Tippett
5 K Jack
6 Parker
7 McVeigh
8 Grundy
9 Richards
10 Smith
11 Rampe
12 Mitchell
13 Reid
14 McGlynn
15 Heeney
16 Lloyd
17 Cunningham
18 Sinclair
19 Rohan
20 Laidler then we get into fringe players who haven't been able to cement a senior berth in the past and need to lift.
21 Jones
22 Towers
23 B Jack
24 Talia then we get into 1/2 gamers and untried
25 Robinson
26 Rose

[Mug Punter]

Like I was at the start of last year, still worried about depth. I did an exercise to list players roughly in importance to us and saw how far I got before fringe players started to appear. Very worrying IMO, proven talent runs out mid teens. With only a handful of injuries we will be playing untried youngsters. Look how our finals series last year was killed by injuries and the need to play fringies. This year we have even less depth than last. Our season will be defined by injury list and the ability of raw kids to step up.

This list is just how they came into my head without strong analysis, it was to see when fringies first appeared rather than definitive rankings at the top.

1 Franklin
2 Kennedy
3 Hanners
4 Tippett
5 K Jack
6 Parker
7 McVeigh
8 Grundy
9 Richards
10 Smith
11 Rampe
12 Mitchell
13 Reid
14 McGlynn
15 Heeney
16 Lloyd
17 Cunningham
18 Sinclair
19 Rohan
20 Laidler then we get into fringe players who haven't been able to cement a senior berth in the past and need to lift.
21 Jones
22 Towers
23 B Jack
24 Talia then we get into 1/2 gamers and untried
25 Robinson
26 Rose

The 30 genuine senior player figure is one I really believe in so base don your assessment, which I largely agree with, we need an additional 4 players to step up. This will be critical to the season I think - I would name Mills, Hewett, Naismith and one of Davis, AA ,X or Toby as the potential four.

It really will be interesting to see how the season plays out

[graemed]

This list is just how they came into my head without strong analysis, it was to see when fringies first appeared rather than definitive rankings at the top.

1 Franklin
2 Kennedy
3 Hanners
4 Tippett
5 K Jack
6 Parker
7 McVeigh
8 Grundy
9 Richards
10 Smith
11 Rampe
12 Mitchell
13 Reid
14 McGlynn
15 Heeney
16 Lloyd
17 Cunningham
18 Sinclair
19 Rohan
20 Laidler then we get into fringe players who haven't been able to cement a senior berth in the past and need to lift.
21 Jones
22 Towers
23 B Jack
24 Talia then we get into 1/2 gamers and untried
25 Robinson
26 Rose

I am more optimistic about our list than some and whilst I concede that the injury riddle remains paramount in expectations being realised we need to reflect to before we pass judgement.

For example lets look at our losses pragmatically:
1. A Goodes - irreplaceable for experience, match hardness and unpredictability, but his best football was definitely behind him and unfortunately he would admit himself that chasing players was not his forte. He was also another tall in a forward line packed with talls, that Reid excluded, are not great o'head marks.
2. M. Pyke - great heart and iron will, refused to be beaten and fought to win the respect of the footballing community. Again looked past his best and was carrying injuries most of the time.
3. R Shaw - brilliant reader of the play and able to link with players, played a masterful role in 2012 premiership. Definitely under pressure to maintain place in team last year; his disposal skills were suspect and his loss of pace was noticeable and exploited.
4. C. Bird - a great worker, excellent in wet conditions and when given a role rarely failed. A genuine loss I feel hard bodies are in demand towards the end of the season but he was too one paced and his unglamorous style was overlooked for speed and youth.

If we look at the likely replacements:
1. Towers for Goodes/Rohan - underated effort in last years finals. Stood up when others fell by the wayside. Looks much stronger this year and more determined. Needs to work on his finishing skills.
2. Sinclair for Pyke - happy to have a replacement for Pyke and feel that neither Derrickx, Nankervis nor Naismith are able or ready to step up. So Sinclair must. A good forward ruckman but lacks the desire for heavy lifting and looked overawed last year. Could be our biggest issue for mine.
3. Jones for Shaw - great talent if he can correct his kicking or rather if can kick correctly to our players. Tough as they come may need help to cool jets occasionally otherwise can give away frees. Reads play well, excellent pace and cool under pressure.
4. Heeney for Bird - I realise that Heeeney is due to injury and he played an established player in seniors but he only played a handful of games and he played most of those up forward. Would like to see him more involved in midfield this year and maybe Mills or B Jack filling his role up forward.

[wolftone57]

I feel that unless Kizza can get his body right his days in the mids are numbered. He might just find himself playing under Tip/Sinclair, Sammy and occasionally Bud as a small forward. This is not an outrageous suggestion. In fact when he was carrying that rib injury he played a lot of footy on the forward line. I think he is a very dangerous player there as his pace and good ball reading are just the skills a small forward needs. The other problem he has is he is not a good deliverer of the ball on the run and he often just bangs the ball in willy nilly if he gets the clearance.

[Mug Punter]

I feel that unless Kizza can get his body right his days in the mids are numbered. He might just find himself playing under Tip/Sinclair, Sammy and occasionally Bud as a small forward. This is not an outrageous suggestion. In fact when he was carrying that rib injury he played a lot of footy on the forward line. I think he is a very dangerous player there as his pace and good ball reading are just the skills a small forward needs. The other problem he has is he is not a good deliverer of the ball on the run and he often just bangs the ball in willy nilly if he gets the clearance.

Kizza is a year to year proposition by my reckoning with his current deal finishing this season.

I'm not suggesting he's on the scrapheap as such but I can see him having a lesser roles from 2017 onwards

[707]

Is this the same K Jack that finished THIRD in the Bob Skilton Medal last year (2015). Boy some of you are hard markers.

I think KJ has all the skills to be a dangerous forward once his games are split with a bias to less mid/more fwd time. But that isn't 2016!

[Mug Punter]

Is this the same K Jack that finished THIRD in the Bob Skilton Medal last year (2015). Boy some of you are hard markers.

I think KJ has all the skills to be a dangerous forward once his games are split with a bias to less mid/more fwd time. But that isn't 2016!

Tough school I know.....

I know he was good last year but I just have a feeling he could fade quickly but perhaps as a small forward with bursts through the midfield and Heeney in the guts we can keep him going a few years past this one.

As an aside apart from Dean Towers, who I have an unhealthy fixation with, I see Keiran little bro as another potential wild card this year. We've got a good 6-8 players that have threatened to deliver but not quite had the opportunity or forced their way into the 22 (think BJ, Towers, Hewett, Davis, Sam, X, AA) and this will be a big year

[Benevolent Ert]

I did a similar analysis on BF, ranking the player solely on number of games played. Heeney was 26th on that list, but was bumped up to 24th when discounting Johnson who may not play again, and Derickx, who now looks to be about 5th in line for the ruck spot. In that order Jones and Heeney sit 23rd and 24th in line, but are both probably ahead of a couple of more experienced teammates. Behind Heeney with 14 games are a number of players with little to no experience, so it goes without saying that the injury list doesn't need to be too long before we need to start looking at unknown quantities.

I'll put Naismith, Nankervis (and Derickx) aside for the moment, because they are fairly position specific, and would only be called on to cover a ruckman, or maybe a key forward. Might as well throw X. Richards into that boat too.

That leaves Robinson and Rose as players outside the "24" who have even played a game.

So after a couple of injuries we start looking at untried players.
It's assumed that Mills is ready to slot in, and should play a number of games.
Who is next in line? Davis? Hewitt? Leonardis? Dawson? Hiscox?
Aliir is in the same boat as X. Richards, and at this stage Richards appears to be in front?
After that we are into the rookie list. If I recall we can nominated a couple of rookies to play through the year, so who is most likely? Newman and Melican?

Would love some insight into the pecking order of our untried players.

[Mug Punter]

I did a similar analysis on BF, ranking the player solely on number of games played. Heeney was 26th on that list, but was bumped up to 24th when discounting Johnson who may not play again, and Derickx, who now looks to be about 5th in line for the ruck spot. In that order Jones and Heeney sit 23rd and 24th in line, but are both probably ahead of a couple of more experienced teammates. Behind Heeney with 14 games are a number of players with little to no experience, so it goes without saying that the injury list doesn't need to be too long before we need to start looking at unknown quantities.

I'll put Naismith, Nankervis (and Derickx) aside for the moment, because they are fairly position specific, and would only be called on to cover a ruckman, or maybe a key forward. Might as well throw X. Richards into that boat too.

That leaves Robinson and Rose as players outside the "24" who have even played a game.

So after a couple of injuries we start looking at untried players.
It's assumed that Mills is ready to slot in, and should play a number of games.
Who is next in line? Davis? Hewitt? Leonardis? Dawson? Hiscox?
Aliir is in the same boat as X. Richards, and at this stage Richards appears to be in front?
After that we are into the rookie list. If I recall we can nominated a couple of rookies to play through the year, so who is most likely? Newman and Melican?

Would love some insight into the pecking order of our untried players.

We're looking 2-3 players short on depth on the face of it but given many of our young guns are in their third year in the system I think it could well happen that we get a good crop come through. I'd be thinking Abe Davis, Hewett and Naismith but young Leonardis might surprise