Strategy Best 23, Post Draft edition for Season 2025 (updated)

[foxdog50]

I'm all on Neale... I fully will be supporting him in 2025 season... But his still has ???? question marks too his game..
The bad thing is we really don't have any KPF coming through unless they may see what Edwards will be like as a KPF.
I really hope Neale can take the next step in taking those pack marks, kicking those goals he should do..
Let's hope the unknown works out to be good

 

[dazbroncos]

If Neale can hold into 50% more if the gettable makes he’s dropped his output goes way up IMO. He’s doing a lot right for an under 30 gamer otherwise

Go Catters

 

[catswhiskers]

I'm all on Neale... I fully will be supporting him in 2025 season... But his still has ???? question marks too his game..
The bad thing is we really don't have any KPF coming through unless they may see what Edwards will be like as a KPF.
I really hope Neale can take the next step in taking those pack marks, kicking those goals he should do..
Let's hope the unknown works out to be good

Hawkins kicked the majority of his goals from marks on leads and body strength, winning postion to take the mark. His work on loose balls was good for a big man.

Neale is a very good kick, like Hawk and lead ups won't be an issue. Neale is in the gym, so his ability to use body strength improves.

Neale is also far more mobile than Hawkins, which should work well with Henry and Cameron.

Nothing is certain, but he is giving himself every chance.

Pack marks would be cream on the cake.

 

[Heckler]

Neale is a little soft he needs harden up.
Understand the need to control his domain
Develop a hunger for contested ball
Ensure he is involved in every long F50 entry
Must focus on the use of body strength
Improve his ability to guard the drop zone
Learn the art of the nudge under the ball.
Prevent defender intercept marking
Bring his small teammates into the game

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Now the drafting is done
Afl
B: Kolo Henry Stewart
Hb: humphries Sdk zuthrie
C: Holmes Dempsey Miers
R: Conway Dangerfield Smith
HF: Close Cameron Mannagh
F: Stengle Neale OHenry
Int: Blicavs Atkins Bruhn Bowes Knevitt (sub)

I think we need to get games into knevitt as much as possible (ditto clark)
Conway will be picked if fit if not I think sdk will go there
Most of the rest of the side picks itself but blitz and atkins/Bowes vulnerable if you want to make change

Clark and Ted plus Guthrie (he's probably cooked anyway) plus Martin (if fit) and
Mullin and oconnor are your small/med defender depth
General small/med fwd depth us good
Stanley is your ruck depth beyond that it has to be sdk as the other rucks aren't ready
Not sure who the kpf depth backup is probably no one ditto if kpd gets injured (osullivan I suppose but he's raw).
The guys we drafted this year need time so it's really guys like oconnor Clark clohesy etc plus Martin coming in if we need depth.

Vfl
B: Bews Osullivan oconnor
HB: Hofmann Burke mullin
C: Martin Clohesy Duncan
HF: KMF Edwards Wiltshire
F: Retschko Molier Polkinghorne
R: Pike Clark Stevens
Int: CGuthrie Ivisic plus Stanley when he plays

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Now the drafting is done
Afl
B: Kolo Henry Stewart
Hb: humphries Sdk zuthrie
C: Holmes Dempsey Miers
R: Conway Dangerfield Smith
HF: Close Cameron Mannagh
F: Stengle Neale OHenry
Int: Blicavs Atkins Bruhn Bowes Knevitt (sub)

I think we need to get games into knevitt as much as possible (ditto clark)
Conway will be picked if fit if not I think sdk will go there
Most of the rest of the side picks itself but blitz and atkins/Bowes vulnerable if you want to make change

Clark and Ted plus Guthrie (he's probably cooked anyway) plus Martin (if fit) and
Mullin and oconnor are your small/med defender depth
General small/med fwd depth us good
Stanley is your ruck depth beyond that it has to be sdk as the other rucks aren't ready
Not sure who the kpf depth backup is probably no one ditto if kpd gets injured (osullivan I suppose but he's raw).
The guys we drafted this year need time so it's really guys like oconnor Clark clohesy etc plus Martin coming in if we need depth.

Vfl
B: Bews Osullivan oconnor
HB: Hofmann Burke mullin
C: Martin Clohesy Duncan
HF: KMF Edwards Wiltshire
F: Retschko Molier Polkinghorne
R: Pike Clark Stevens
Int: CGuthrie Ivisic plus Stanley when he plays

You have Dempsey moving inside next year?

 

[Pure_Ownage]

You have Dempsey moving inside next year?

I'm not sure whether it will be inside or more a roaming wing role but id like to see us move him up the field because of his running power yes.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I'm not sure whether it will be inside or more a roaming wing role but id like to see us move him up the field because of his running power yes.

Yeah I get you, was just curious with you naming him in the centre square, although it's all academic anyway particularly with how we name sides on Thursdays.

I suspect he'll consolidate his wing/half forward role for another year, and then after adding a bit more size over the next 12-24 months he'll start to move inside a bit more.

Connor Rozee would be the blueprint there.

 

[year of the cat]

B: Humphries, SDK, Kolo
HB: Stewart, J.Henry, Z.Guthrie
C: Dempsey, Smith, Miers
HF: Close, Cameron, Mannagh
F: Stengle, Neale, O.Henry

Foll: Conway, Dangerfield, Holmes

Int: Bruhn, Blicavs, Clark, Bowes

Sub: Martin

 

[Mr Meow]

There's a reasonable chance people will be disappointed by Duncan playing about as many games as Tuohy did in 2024.

If Bowes is a permanent half back and excels in the role it could change. Otherwise expect plenty of Duncan in 2025.

 

[PeasFC]

There's a reasonable chance people will be disappointed by Duncan playing about as many games as Tuohy did in 2024.

If Bowes is a permanent half back and excels in the role it could change. Otherwise expect plenty of Duncan in 2025.

Not sure we'd be disappointed, when fit he clearly still best 22.
Offers amazing leadership, still an incredibly good user.

Will just require a balance of those more senior types week in week out - ideally we see some of the younger types push them out but duncan having a good pre-season and playing 18+ games is a good thing.

 

[PeasFC]

The questions that will make or break us in 25... Would love to hear your thoughts

Top End Talent having top end seasons.
We only had 3 players in the All Australian Squad Last year. Holmes, Stengle & Cameron.
Those 3 if fit will go close again but can we add to that group.

Bailey Smith

3

Bailey Smith

Age

24

Ht

185cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

8.5

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.8

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

19.8

5star

K

9.6

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.2

4star

CL

3.2

4star

D

14.8

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

1.6

4star

is the most obvious candidate.
Can SDK stay fit and build in his 22' season. Is this as a ruck?
Stewart, Zuthrie, Miers and maybe even Oli Henry are the others that I could see standing out in their positions.
Bruhn won't break into midfielder considerations but I'm hopefully he can start to seriously impact games.

Turning promise into best 22.
Last year Dempsey, Neale, Humphries & Mannagh showed they are best 22 players. All four will be important this year and hopefully have another level to go to. Who are this years candidates?

Conway: How many games can he play? What sort of pre-season can he put together. This will be huge, either way.
Mullin: what level can he get to? What's his best position?
Knevitt: Can he push out a bowes or duncan type?
Clarke & Clohesy: Should be pushing atkins
COS: excited about his future prospects and hopeful about what he can add as soon as next year.

Injury & Decline in Output.

We had a decent run last year. This will obviously be hugely important again.
Last year Conway, SDK, Blicavs, Hawkins, Guthrie, MOC & Rohan probably had disappointing years.
Even though we only got 16 games out of Danger, his output was elite as always.

I guess the biggest worry going into 25 is our lack of key position depth. Smith & Holmes, with improvement from Bruhn should mitigate our over-reliance on patty but there is no getting around our reliance on Cameron and our other keys.

New roles:
Last year Dempsey made one wing his - can knevitt or humphries take the other?
Where does Stewart train over the preseason?
SDK - KPD, Ruck, KPF?

Game Plan:
We improved our ground ball and post clearance game last year. Our ball movement was faster too. Neale gave us a more mobile look up forward. I wonder what bringing Smith in does to our look around the ball. I imagine he wants to play inside. Does this affect how we deploy holmes or do they start as our Ace & King on ball.

 

[Mr Meow]

Not sure we'd be disappointed, when fit he clearly still best 22.
Offers amazing leadership, still an incredibly good user.

Will just require a balance of those more senior types week in week out - ideally we see some of the younger types push them out but duncan having a good pre-season and playing 18+ games is a good thing.

I agree.

The majority on here would say otherwise though, I feel.

 

[Gunf]

Regarding our older guys 30+

Duncan should be playing at most 2 out of every 3 games and by the end of the year hopefully he is pushed out.
Danger realistically we would be happy if he plays 15+ games with all finals included
Blics depending on his role you would think we should start phasing him out of the heavy duty roles in favour of others (we kinda did that last year)
Cameron as long as he stays fit should remain one of our best players
Stewart same as Cameron
Guthrie who really knows at this point.. I would be happy if he comes back fit and contributes at this point i am not expecting anything else.
Bews backup for me
Stanley probably plays under 15 games and is used mainly to keep the other rucks from taking to much load


Ill chuck a few 29 year olds here as well

Atkins to remain a bull for the next 2 years or so with younger players hopefully starting to replace him
Martin I still think he was recruited for a particular role or as a Rohan type player we hope to get 10-15 games out of
Kolo was our best defender last year and i seem him again being very good

 

[PeasFC]

Regarding our older guys 30+

Duncan should be playing at most 2 out of every 3 games and by the end of the year hopefully he is pushed out.
Danger realistically we would be happy if he plays 15+ games with all finals included
Blics depending on his role you would think we should start phasing him out of the heavy duty roles in favour of others (we kinda did that last year)
Cameron as long as he stays fit should remain one of our best players
Stewart same as Cameron
Guthrie who really knows at this point.. I would be happy if he comes back fit and contributes at this point i am not expecting anything else.
Bews backup for me
Stanley probably plays under 15 games and is used mainly to keep the other rucks from taking to much load


Ill chuck a few 29 year olds here as well

Atkins to remain a bull for the next 2 years or so with younger players hopefully starting to replace him
Martin I still think he was recruited for a particular role or as a Rohan type player we hope to get 10-15 games out of
Kolo was our best defender last year and i seem him again being very good

Love all of this.

Blicavs is the super interesting one - he carried an injury all year last year. I wonder how we try to use him. Still offers so much versatility. Could he play on a wing, get behind the ball and be a marking option on the way out. Or could we settle him back, looking to use SDK in the ruck more or even forward. I feel like settling him in defence sets us up for having the maximum amount of coverage if a key position player was to be injured.

 

[Gunf]

Out of the ins i only really see Smith as 100% best 22 although Martin could come in depending on form and structure

The rest are wait and see but hopefully they all show signs and alert the coaches.

 

[Footy Smarts]

View attachment 2173638

Out of the ins i only really see Smith as 100% best 22 although Martin could come in depending on form and structure

The rest are wait and see but hopefully they all show signs and alert the coaches.

It's almost zero chance that any of the others are best 22 this year with them all being young kids and late draftees.

 

[Lana]

View attachment 2173638

Out of the ins i only really see Smith as 100% best 22 although Martin could come in depending on form and structure

The rest are wait and see but hopefully they all show signs and alert the coaches.

We're not crying out for depth that much

 

[Turbocat]

I think Duncan and Stanley will be the two under most threat… and Smith as the obvious new member of the best 22

The start of the year will probably be different from the end of the year.

Duncans role just get shuffled … maybe Bowes spends more time back… but with his talents Martin would be very capable.

We push games into the mids we have had for a few years and see if they can soap the dishes and get it done.

Conway comes in and plays if he is fit. Probably given some relief in game from SDK and Neale. It will get tricky if Conways bad luck continues. Do we then go to Stanley and SDK… and COS gets some games.

Id expect Mullins to be a regular… and then who is the speculative one who may get a go.

I will be interested to see how long it takes to get Hofmann into the side if his speed is stand out preseason. Getting a game into a young guy on talent, perhaps a game or two as sub would not surprise. Maybe game3 against the saints on the fast hard surface of docklands.. Would that be a bit cheeky? Maybe.

 

[Mr Meow]

FB: Zuthrie SDK Kolo
HB: Stewart J.Henry Humphries

C: Dempsey Dangerfield Bowes
FOL: Conway Smith Holmes

HF: Miers Cameron Mannagh
FF: O.Henry Neale Stengle

IC: Bruhn Close Blicavs Duncan Martin(sub)

I don't think we need drastic changes as far as ins/outs. Smith is the big in, straight to midfield. Neale/Henry have already replaced Hawkins/Rohan, Mannagh and Dempsey just need to keep building, hopefully Conway's body lets him play closer to a full season. I see Martin as a useful sub option if he's in good health.

There will likely be a surprise or two as there are most seasons.

More interesting is positions and roles. Does Danger spend a bit more time at half forward? How do we use Blicavs? Will Holmes become a full time midfielder? Where will Bowes actually settle/excel consistently in the team? Will Stewart return to being a permanent defender, or remain a midfield option?

There are many possibilities and that's where the 10-15% extra between being a potential top 4 side or battling for last place in the 8 will come down to.

Mullin I had in my original team but somehow forgot about Humphries. The plan would be for him to overtake Duncan if he keeps improving, although they have very different skill sets. I kept Duncan because we have lost Tuohy and I expect Holmes to be in midfield more.

Clark would have to replace: Blicavs (falls off a cliff), Bruhn (direct competition), Martin (sub role but trying to push into the best 22) or Mullin (Holmes remains at half back).

Edit: just realised I missed Atkins. His spot is up for grabs but probably no more than Blicavs, SDK, Duncan, Bowes, Conway or Bruhn. Form/fitness lines and structural preferences are going to determine who gets the nod from that group.

 

[BORIS332]

Ones:



Twos:

 

[geelong_crazy26]

From the folks at Superfooty/Herald Sun

View attachment 2146644

Alot of disrespect for clark. He will be a rnd 1 srarter

 

[geelong_crazy26]

If Neale can hold into 50% more if the gettable makes he’s dropped his output goes way up IMO. He’s doing a lot right for an under 30 gamer otherwise

Go Catters

Currently, he is a terrible mark overhead but he impressed in the first final, was pretty average in the prelim.

40 goals would be the aim in 2025.

 

[Gazza Greatness]

FB: Zuthrie SDK Kolo
HB: Stewart J.Henry Humphries

C: Dempsey Dangerfield Bowes
FOL: Conway Smith Holmes

HF: Miers Cameron Mannagh
FF: O.Henry Neale Stengle

IC: Bruhn Close Blicavs Duncan Martin(sub)

I don't think we need drastic changes as far as ins/outs. Smith is the big in, straight to midfield. Neale/Henry have already replaced Hawkins/Rohan, Mannagh and Dempsey just need to keep building, hopefully Conway's body lets him play closer to a full season. I see Martin as a useful sub option if he's in good health.

There will likely be a surprise or two as there are most seasons.

More interesting is positions and roles. Does Danger spend a bit more time at half forward? How do we use Blicavs? Will Holmes become a full time midfielder? Where will Bowes actually settle/excel consistently in the team? Will Stewart return to being a permanent defender, or remain a midfield option?

There are many possibilities and that's where the 10-15% extra between being a potential top 4 side or battling for last place in the 8 will come down to.

Mullin I had in my original team but somehow forgot about Humphries. The plan would be for him to overtake Duncan if he keeps improving, although they have very different skill sets. I kept Duncan because we have lost Tuohy and I expect Holmes to be in midfield more.

Clark would have to replace: Blicavs (falls off a cliff), Bruhn (direct competition), Martin (sub role but trying to push into the best 22) or Mullin (Holmes remains at half back).

Edit: just realised I missed Atkins. His spot is up for grabs but probably no more than Blicavs, SDK, Duncan, Bowes, Conway or Bruhn. Form/fitness lines and structural preferences are going to determine who gets the nod from that group.

I think the safest option when picking the side is to have a revolving interchange bench of 5 to 6 players which will cover injuries, poor form, etc which pretty much is what you have done Mr Meow, so all good there. But it does appear by season half way point something has to give for guys like Mullin and co to push hard for selection. I can remember around round 7 or 8 this year that we were making a big mistake not playing Shannon Neale, and I stated as much at the time, yet by seasons end the forward spot in the side was his. I feel very much the same but even more-so for Connor O'Sullivan for 2025 season as that kid is far to good a footballer to spending another year in the ressies, so something has to give there too but how I not sure. Then we have Mitch Duncan, Tom Atkins, Cam Guthrie with Clark and other youngsters pressing, so it'll sure make for interesting times and an interesting pre-season if all stay healthy. On second thoughts I might need to make the interchange bench to 7, 8 or even 9 for greater options, so as not to upset anyone, so hopefully happy days ahead.

Footnote - We were only a Max Holmes injury away from probably winning the 2024 Premiership Cup, so we've already got a bloody good side, so it does make for interesting and fun times ahead in 2025 with a bit of optimism to go with it.

 

[Mr Meow]

I think the safest option is to pick the side but have a revolving interchange bench of 5 to 6 players which will cover injuries, poor form, etc which pretty much is what you have done Mr Meow, so all good there. But it does appear by season half way point something has to give for guys like Mullin and co to push hard for selection. I can remember around round 7 or 8 this year that we were making a big mistake not playing Shannon Neale, and I stated as much at the time, yet by seasons end the forward spot in the side was his. I feel very much the same but even more-so for Connor O'Sullivan for 2025 season as that kid is far to good a footballer to spending another year in the ressies, so something has to give there too but how I not sure. Then we have Mitch Duncan, Tom Atkins, Cam Guthrie with Clark and other youngsters pressing, so it'll sure make for interesting times and an interesting pre-season if all stay healthy. On second thoughts I might need to make the interchange bench to 7, 8 or even 9 for greater options, so as not to upset anyone, so hopefully happy days ahead.

Footnote - We were only a Max Holmes injury away from probably winning the 2024 Premiership Cup, so we've already got a bloody good side, so it does make for interesting and fun times ahead in 2025 with a bit of optimism to go with it.

Yep, it's quite clear you need a squad of 30 competent prospects at least to ride out a season and contend. Injuries and rests will give just about everyone a fair crack at it. Improvement from our sub 25 year olds will be an important factor, just as it was in 2024.