Team List Will depth be an issue in 2017?

[controlink]

Hi guys,

I've registered again, I was formely known as Jetts32, probably explains why I was MIA but kept forgetting password.

Anyways, it was quite obvious we didn't hunt senior players during the trade period and lost Mitchell, Nankervis and Richards. Not upset about the latter really. But Nankervis was perfect depth ruckman and Mitchell turned himself into a premier midfielder with great defensive efforts.

We ended up getting decent draft picks but we generally take a year or 2 to blood our draft picks unless they're Heeney or Mills.

Will depth be an issue in 2017? I've put together what I think is the best 22 (before delisted free agency period and national draft) but I found myself struggling with who would come in when some of our injury prone players are off the park.

FB: Smith, Grundy, Talia
HB: Jones, Aliir, Rampe
C: Mills, Hanners, Heeney
HF: Rohan, Buddy, Reid
FF: Papley, Tippett, K.Jack
Ruck: Naismith, Kennedy, Parker
I/C: Lloyd, Laidler, McVeigh, Towers.

Emergency: Sinclair, Hewett, Cunningham.

As you can see;
I've moved K.Jack into a mainly small forward roll, still pinch hitting in the midfield because we will be lacking small forwards and I do rate him down there.

McVeigh will be rotating midfield and halfback, only put him on the bench for that reason.

I've assumed Johnson may stay in the NEAFL for majority of the year, fingers crossed he can get back.

PROS:
Both Half Forward and Half Back lines are extremely mobile.

Midfield still strong, plus add the additions of Heeney, Mills and Lloyd for more midfield.

Good Spine.

If forward line can all stay fit, lots of fire power.

CONS:
Injury prone players such as Reid and Tippett will be hard to replace with minimum depth.

Little and inexperienced depth.

Still a lightly slower midfield.

BUT
I'm hoping Lloyd will really improve next year, I rate him highly and I'd love to see him take it to another level next year.

Same as the other young guys like Jones, Aliir and Papley.

Of course our Academy boys as well.

I still feel like we can get there next year but I think we will be relying heavily on a healthy list, which has been a rarity over the years.

What're your thoughts?

[Gator7]

Hello CI -
A couple of players you've missed, Dan Robinson was a regular until injured,club holds in very high regard
Nic Newman will be given every opportunity
Harry Marsh showed he is more than capable as well
Jordan Foote is another
Keep an eye on Jordan Dawson kid has serious game if he can get on the park,
One that needs and can step up is James Rose
Don't be surprised if our latest Irishman O'Riordan get a chance
Our depth took a bit of hit but not as bad as it seems on the surface
We also have a knack of grabbing mades in the draft
Go back this time last year and look at the names who played their 1st game for us this year, a few really stepped up, I expect the same 2017, that's how we roll.
How's the Tshirt business going?
I hear your dad is a legend [emoji57]


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[bungwahl]

Last season we had 7 newbies make their debuts and a few finished as locks in the team - Aliir, Mills, Papley.

We've got a couple of good draft picks this year so I expect we'll add a few more quality youngsters who could push for selection next year. I think our depth looks pretty solid!

[Auntie.Gerald]

I feel It was a bit of an outlier achievement last year by the dogs and swans

Ie the bloods had so many debutants that fired

I believe there is enough fortitude in these young guys to maintain that minimum 3% annual improvement in each of ur Indv KPIs

There was serious momentum as a team and with these range of injured players we hung in there and finished top of the table

I do think though that GWS will be such a tough match up for us and so to the Dogs

I think we can finish top4 and have plenty of depth

- - - Updated - - -

Re measuring depth

I while ago I read that AFL players from 18yrs to 25yrs of age are expected to increase their key stats by 3% pa to be a serious snr player

I tried to google this but couldn't find it

Is this true ?

[desredandwhite]

Compared to last year, I don't think we've lost that much in depth. We've turned unknowns into knowns, some quite good! Papley, Aliir, Mills. Others made their debuts and might be handy in the future - Marsh, Foote. As Gator7 says, there's still Robinson, Rose who can play, plus there's Brandon Jack who will hopefully turn his form around and feature again.

Due to losing Nankervis, Derickxs, Mitchell and McGlynn, I wouldn't be surprised if we picked up one or two mature VFL-level players to act as cover, along with the requisite 2-3 youngsters in the draft.

[Ludwig]

I wouldn't worry about experienced depth as our GF side age average was 8 months above GWS, 14 months more than the Bulldogs, and the same as Adelaide, our 3 main challengers. The Bulldogs showed that you can win the premiership with a young side.

We are on a good path freshening up the team and should continue to bring more youth in the seniors when possible. Rose and Newman should challenge for senior spots as they both had good years in the NEAFL. Dawson and O'Riordan should continue their development and hopefully press for selection as well. Jordan Foote only played one game, but looks set for more senior chances with Mitchell and McGlynn creating a couple vacancies.

With picks 9 and 19 in this year's draft we should expect a couple of high quality players to add to the mix, and there usually are others, like Papley, who surprise in their first year.

Three important players in Reid, Talia and AJ return from injury and even 2 out of 3 returning to form would make a tremendous difference to the quality of the side on the field. This is probably the biggest unknown going into the pre-season.

We already have a group of players in Heeney, Mills, Jones, Hewett and Lloyd that are natural on-ballers capable of high possession games, who have been playing on the outside due to the quality of our on-ball brigade. So we can add defenders, forwards and wingmen and allow these 5 to push for more midfield time. We don't have to find more inside mids in the draft, an area most clubs seem to be deficient.

[chalbilto]

As I have already posted the following in another thread. There has been a lot of opinions regarding the best 22 and a lot of pundits have Talia included in the starting lineup. In my opinion I can't see what he has done to justify his inclusion. He may well be in our best 22 but he has only played in pre-season last year and round 1 against the Pies who were thrashed by the Swans. Are supporters judging him on "potential"? Did he show that much in the pre-season? Or is he that "good" because Daniel is his brother?

[controlink]

I don't really rate some of the mentioned depth players but hopefully they can prove me wrong.

Haha how do you know my father?

- - - Updated - - -

Yes I'm rating Talia mainly on potential and our track record with making key defenders. We've done great in the passed. Richards, Grundy, Barry etc.

[Gator7]

I don't really rate some of the mentioned depth players but hopefully they can prove me wrong.

Haha how do you know my father?

- - - Updated - - -

Yes I'm rating Talia mainly on potential and our track record with making key defenders. We've done great in the passed. Richards, Grundy, Barry etc.

I have met your father Manys a time, great bloke,
As for our depth we'll be mighty fine, it's in our Blood, it's in our culture, blokes step up when needed,



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[bloodspirit]

I think our depth is better than it was a year ago but not as good as it was a month ago, which is a fair outcome and to be expected given over the course of a season your players necessarily become more experienced and able. Although we have lost some important depth, the development of our list plus the addition of the new draftees (including a couple of high picks who could be ready to play depending on who we select) will probably about balance this out.

As far as your 22 goes I think it's a fair effort. Where I would differ is as follows:

* I would have Hewett in ahead of Towers. He will be better after another pre-season and refreshed after an off-season.
* Personally I would leave Mills back and move Jones into the midfield ahead of Mills. Mills is still a young fella and can develop and harden his body a bit longer before being chucked in the guts full-time. Whereas Jones is a bit more mature and relishes the crash and bash as well as having a bit more pace than our other mids.
* I would tend also to select Newman or Marsh ahead of Laidler. I think Laidler is excellent depth for us but Marsh is a bit more mobile and Newman offers more rebound. Given that Reg (and Talia?) are more defensive/lockdown types I think a third one (in Laidler) is surplus to requirements.

As regards Lloyd, he has developed wonderfully and I'm not sure how much more upside he has in him. Hopefully he can keep up something like 3% p.a. but I think it is unrealistic to expect further quantum leaps (although they would certainly be welcome if he can produce them). If he can simply reproduce his 2016 form I think that will be fine.

[Ludwig]

I think our depth is better than it was a year ago but not as good as it was a month ago, which is a fair outcome and to be expected given over the course of a season your players necessarily become more experienced and able. Although we have lost some important depth, the development of our list plus the addition of the new draftees (including a couple of high picks who could be ready to play depending on who we select) will probably about balance this out.

As far as your 22 goes I think it's a fair effort. Where I would differ is as follows:

* I would have Hewett in ahead of Towers. He will be better after another pre-season and refreshed after an off-season.
* Personally I would leave Mills back and move Jones into the midfield ahead of Mills. Mills is still a young fella and can develop and harden his body a bit longer before being chucked in the guts full-time. Whereas Jones is a bit more mature and relishes the crash and bash as well as having a bit more pace than our other mids.
* I would tend also to select Newman or Marsh ahead of Laidler. I think Laidler is excellent depth for us but Marsh is a bit more mobile and Newman offers more rebound. Given that Reg (and Talia?) are more defensive/lockdown types I think a third one (in Laidler) is surplus to requirements.

As regards Lloyd, he has developed wonderfully and I'm not sure how much more upside he has in him. Hopefully he can keep up something like 3% p.a. but I think it is unrealistic to expect further quantum leaps (although they would certainly be welcome if he can produce them). If he can simply reproduce his 2016 form I think that will be fine.

Agree with all of this.

If there is upside to come with Lloyd it will be in his strength. He's a very willing tackler, but can struggle coming up against the more powerful players. If he can improve in this area he is very capable of playing as an inside midfielder. He reads the play well and has good hands. He also has a good split second evasive maneuver (ala Sam Mitchell) that lets him get a disposal away when under pressure.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Lloyd does his work prior to picking up the footy

great example of someone who sums up the options leading into the footy rather then "ball watching"

[bloodspirit]

If there is upside to come with Lloyd it will be in his strength. He's a very willing tackler, but can struggle coming up against the more powerful players. If he can improve in this area he is very capable of playing as an inside midfielder. He reads the play well and has good hands. He also has a good split second evasive maneuver (ala Sam Mitchell) that lets him get a disposal away when under pressure.

That, Ludwig, is some of the best close analysis I have ever seen you post. Great point on how his upside could come with strength. Glad we see eye to eye on the 2017 team so far!

[graemed]

Good summary but surprised Hewitt has been left off the list.
I know he has to improve on his finals performances but as a first year player showed plenty and his cool under pressure can be developed into real skills.