Preview 2012 - What we need to give the flag a shake?

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Don't agree with this. He's a great tagger but he doesn't have enough poise for an offensive mid. I'm happy with him shutting down the opposition's best mid and getting a few clearances. If he can bob up for a goal or two, even better.

He his much better suited to a run with rather than a full blown tagger. I.e Jack
 
Don't agree with this. He's a great tagger but he doesn't have enough poise for an offensive mid. I'm happy with him shutting down the opposition's best mid and getting a few clearances. If he can bob up for a goal or two, even better.

He's only 21. I see plenty of potential.
 

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Smith played 18 games in our H&A season. He's already in our best back six.

Sorry, but as he was fit and available but not chosen to play he was clearly rated behind Glass, Butler, Schofield, Waters, Adam Selwood, McKenzie and Hurn. Ergo, not considered in our best back six.
 
Three big areas:

1. disposal / decision making quality (Call it Class) particularly in the midfield (call it HBF- HFF)
2. Bigger bodied midfielders - Geelong crushed us
3. X factor forwards - either high quality crumbing or contested marks

The fix, Possibly ??

Darling forward and midfield - the next Pav?
NN Mid or forward - unique
Priddis improves kicking
S Sellwood steps up again
Lysett looks a potential big forward who can mark
Rosa gets stronger
Smith to the midfield? Right size and pace

Ohers vague hopes??

Mastern is small and has average disposal.
Swift is as for masten (tall but not strong). Show him the Gym
Can Ebert get stronger and take more marks, a prospect if he can
Strijk to step up and get well.
Shep has the disposal but needs to get more grunt and composure (Small but core looks to be developing)
Gaff if he can get stronger looks a real prospect. Core strength looks like a good foundation.

No idea - draft or trade unless we have a major individual transformation:
Crumber ala Garlett
 
Sorry, but as he was fit and available but not chosen to play he was clearly rated behind Glass, Butler, Schofield, Waters, Adam Selwood, McKenzie and Hurn. Ergo, not considered in our best back six.

One of the arguments over the past few days has been that Smith is in our best back six and should've been selected for finals ahead of someone like Adam Selwood or Waters.
 
Would love to see Smith develop into a Heath Shaw type rebounder. A lot of people including me wanted to see him put on the wing or in the middle so he could utilize his pace, but credit to the coaching staff who have been developing him as a defender. He was useless down back in 2010, showed heaps of potential in 2011 however.
 
We need a ready-made classy outside midfielder to compliment Kerr. Shuey is not quite there yet but he will get there and Priddis will always be a workhorse.

We need someone who is already on the verge of elite like Daniel Wells - who we were close to snaring last year.

I think that and small forward who will kick goals allowing LeCras to run through the middle. LeCras is a good user of the ball and I think he can be an asset in the midfield in short bursts.
 
then you know absolutely nothing about football.

What does Waters bring besides being a human wrecking ball?

I love Waters (probably more than anyone) but his efforts are wasted as he continually turns the ball over.

Would prefer someone who offers run and can kick the ball to our advantage.

38 disposals was a joke, it was as if Chris Scott was coaching for Waters to get the ball.
 
What does Waters bring besides being a human wrecking ball?

I love Waters (probably more than anyone) but his efforts are wasted as he continually turns the ball over.

Would prefer someone who offers run and can kick the ball to our advantage.

38 disposals was a joke, it was as if Chris Scott was coaching for Waters to get the ball.

I believe there is a real concern about the longevity of Waters, his elbow problems are far from being successfully resolved with yet another operation scheduled.
 
How about going after Kane Lucas - he doesn't look like getting in at the blues and could have the abilities we are looking for - he also the right age
http://www.carltonfc.com.au/season2009/2009news/newsarticle/tabid/4311/newsid/87602/default.aspx

“We picked Kane for his ball-reading ability in the middle, reading of the play and good use of the ball,” Hughes said.

“He’s smart in traffic and his athletic abilities give him the ability to play midfield rotation. He’s quick, with good agility, good spring, and is just an all-round good package for us.”

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/85530/default.aspx

Lucas impressed many scouts with his results in Wednesday morning's agility test but said that in his time at the AIS-AFL Academy it was his weakest area.

"My running ability is my strength – endurance and speed. I think I'm a natural ball-winner so moving forward this year has put a bit of versatility in my game so it has been a good learning curve."
 

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kane lucas and brad sheppard are very similiar players, add ash smith to the mix, along with butler and selwood you have 4 guys competing for 2 spots.
x/ glass/ x
schoefield/ mackenzie/ hurn
 
Would love to see a really dangerous forward running around. Neates shows some of it but not sure whether he will ever make it. Not Gerrick Weedon but the other indigenous footballer playing for Claremont in yesterdays grand final moved really well and had some speed, would love to see him get a gig on one of the lists (not sure whether he is a youngster or was over looked in previous years)

Get the feeling both Adam Selwood and Andrew Embley may be phased out as next years progresses. Hopefully Brad Sheppard can overcome the second year blues and break out next year, he certainly has potential to do so and we need him to.
 
It's not a case of Smith vs Waters, if we have them in the same side then no opposition player will have the balls to chase Smithy out of defense due to the overwhelming fear of being crunched by Beau :p

[youtube]9vGVOp6ZFCA[/youtube]
 
It's not a case of Smith vs Waters, if we have them in the same side then no opposition player will have the balls to chase Smithy out of defense due to the overwhelming fear of being crunched by Beau :p

[youtube]9vGVOp6ZFCA[/youtube]

Great Bump. :thumbsu:

However, the video also highlights the worst decision the club has ever made. Giving Matt Spangher Number 30. What a Disgrace. :thumbsdown:
 
Our next premiership will be based around:

Schofield Mackenzie Butler
Hurn Brown Smith
Rosa Priddis Gaff
LeCras Darling XXXX
Lycett Kennedy XXXX

NN S. Selwood Shuey

McGinnity XXXX XXXX XXXX

So IMO, we need to develop/trade for/draft the following:

- HFF: a player that can rotate through the midfield, take a good mark and kick accurately for goal. Ebert is a potential candidate for this position if he can perform at his best more often.

- FP: a genuinely quick crumber that can be a legitimate midfield rotation. Hayden Ballantyne is the exact type of player we need here.

Bench 1: a tall utility that can play forward and back. Perhaps Jordan Jones

Bench 2: a fast outside player with elite kicking. Brad Sheppard is a potential candidate.

Bench 3: Inside midfielder that can contribute forward as well. Koby Stevens is a candidate here.

Obviously, we'll still get service from Glass, Cox, Embley, Kerr, Nicoski and Lynch, but I don't think we can afford for them to be doing too much of the heavy lifting from now on.
 
Our next premiership will be based around:

Schofield Mackenzie Butler
Hurn Brown Smith
Rosa Priddis Gaff
LeCras Darling XXXX
Lycett Kennedy XXXX

NN S. Selwood Shuey

McGinnity XXXX XXXX XXXX

So IMO, we need to develop/trade for/draft the following:

- HFF: a player that can rotate through the midfield, take a good mark and kick accurately for goal. Ebert is a potential candidate for this position if he can perform at his best more often.

- FP: a genuinely quick crumber that can be a legitimate midfield rotation. Hayden Ballantyne is the exact type of player we need here.

Bench 1: a tall utility that can play forward and back. Perhaps Jordan Jones

Bench 2: a fast outside player with elite kicking. Brad Sheppard is a potential candidate.

Bench 3: Inside midfielder that can contribute forward as well. Koby Stevens is a candidate here.

Obviously, we'll still get service from Glass, Cox, Embley, Kerr, Nicoski and Lynch, but I don't think we can afford for them to be doing too much of the heavy lifting from now on.

I agree for the most part, but for some reason I doubt our team will be selected that way. Seniority usually trumps structure. I notice you don't have Adam Selwood or Beau Waters in the team - but I can't see both of them being dropped.

Would rather have more class in the midfield, too. McGinnity to go out for Masten. Priddis + S Selwood + McGinnity is overdoing it in my opinion.
 
I agree for the most part, but for some reason I doubt our team will be selected that way. Seniority usually trumps structure. I notice you don't have Adam Selwood or Beau Waters in the team - but I can't see both of them being dropped..

You're probably correct. Personally, I think we need more "class" in our backline.

Would rather have more class in the midfield, too. McGinnity to go out for Masten. Priddis + S Selwood + McGinnity is overdoing it in my opinion.

Fair enough, the more classy midfielders we can get the better. Masten will have to continue his improvement before I'd consider him a classy midfielder though.
 
This is a few random observations. Coming back to a thread that was up a few weeks ago regarding our premiership window, we need to look at the team as having 2 bites of the cherry.

The first is now while the older, senior players are still playing and second will be in a few years time after a mini-reboot and more games into the youngsters.

Looking at now, we need to look at those areas that we can improve immediately through the addition of a new player or rapid development of an existing player. For example, when addressing kicking efficiency out of the backline, this is where a Leon Davis would slot in well. Yes, he potentially keeps a youngster like Ash Smith out or, to look at it more positively, he moves on someone like Adam Selwood. Either way, Ash Smith learns from one of the best re-bounding defenders in the game, it eases some of the tagging pressure on Hurn as suddenly we have two elite options coming out of the backline. Smith and Schofield then take on run and gun roles or receivers of those kicks from Hurn and Davis.

In the centre, as has been mentioned, we need pace and class. We need fast, outside receivers hitting the area just outside the centre circle either for NicNat to tap cleanly to, or for Priddis and Kerr to handball to. We don't want Priddis's first option to swing to his right and slam it on the boot every bloody time. Those players need to be fast and able to stand up in a tackle, whether that's a role for Sheppard, Rosa or even Schofield on occasion. Or maybe Wellingham, who you'd argue is young enough to take part in both runs on the flag.

One of the existing youngsters needs to take on Kerr's role during the second swing at the flag, not necessarily crash and bash but reliable in traffic. Probably Scooter. I'd give Masten another year and hope for the best, but he needs to keep improving, even if it's only 5%. Likewise for Swift but he needs to improve 10-15%. Schuey needs to just keep being Schuey - he'll improve naturally. Seriously, 12 Brownlow votes in the first year - for the record, first year C.Judd = 0 votes.

The other thing to keep in mind is that we had a miraculous run with injury this year. To have a fair crack at the flag over an extended season, it's becoming obvious that (like Collingwood and Geelong) you need to be able to rest players and have confidence that the back-up team can do the job. We probably didn't do it this year because it was such an unusual year in terms of rapid progress and the club wasn't sure exactly how good this team was. next year, we need to be able to do like Hawthorn, send up a bunch of kids to beat the Gold Coast while resting the seniors.

I can see us potentially going back a rung or two on the ladder, unless we have another brilliant year with few injuries, but you'd expect Carlton to move up, the Pies to stay top 2, perhaps Geelong to finally start dropping away, Hawthorn to be thereabouts again, Dockers to not be that unlucky with injury again.
 
One of the arguments over the past few days has been that Smith is in our best back six and should've been selected for finals ahead of someone like Adam Selwood or Waters.

You could mount that argument, just as a number of different selections could be mounted.

Smith played well for most of the year, a time when both Waters and Butler were absent. He trailed off badly in his last few games before succumbing to a hamstring strain. He is clearly a better user of the ball than Waters or A Selwood, but whatever you think the fact is that the combined effort of Geelong's half forwards; Johnson, Varcoe and Duncan, was not great.

Whether Smith would have made any appreciable difference in the prelim is speculation. What is not speculation is that he has 7 defenders rated ahead of him by the match committee.

It's up to Smith now to demand a spot through a strong pre-season and a good NAB Cup showing.
 
man i just wrote a big-arse post and then i accidental clicked the 'back' button on my mouse and lost it all.

****.

5 minutes of my life i'll never get back.
 

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Preview 2012 - What we need to give the flag a shake?

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