Opinion 2013 preseason best 22

[JunkyardDog33]

As our list stands at the moment:

FB: J.Hunt, Lonergan, Kelly
HB: Mackie, Taylor, Enright
C: Varcoe, Bartel, Duncan
HF: Johnson, Podsiadly, Motlop
FF: Menzel, Hawkins, Chapman
1R: West, Caddy, Selwood

INT: Vardy, Christensen, Stokes, Smedts

If we get McIntosh I think he'll be #1 ruck and push West out of the side. Vardy will keep his spot as 2nd ruck ahead of West. If Pods' form struggles then Vardy to play as a permanent forward and West to come in as 2nd ruck.

Would like to see regular games for Horlin-Smith, Kersten, Eardley (if elevated), Murdoch and Stringer.

 

[cynical]

FB Guthrie Lonners Enright
HB Brown Taylor Murdoch
C Varcoe Bartel Duncan
HF Johnson Vardy Christensen
F Menzel Hawkins Smedts
R Hmac Caddy Selwood
I West Kelly Mackie s Motlop

Too much depth, should have traded a few senior guys out in my opinion.

 

[year of the cat]

FB: J.Hunt, Lonergan, Guthrie
HF: Enright, Taylor, Mackie
C: Bartel, Duncan, Varcoe
HF: S.Johnson, Vardy, Menzel
FB: Chapman, Hawkins, Kersten

R: D.Simpson, Kelly, Selwood

I/C: West, Christensen, Caddy , T.Hunt.
Emerg: Murdoch, Motlop, Sheringham, Horlin-Smith

Bump

Just wanted to pat myself on the back with the Caddy inclusion!

 

[Cursed Cat]

I've given up trying to do a best 22 now. Impossible.

really, really hard !
Of course a lot depends on how we are travelling as to the composition of the team; if we are challenging for finals positions then we would back in the most experienced squad, if we are struggling then perhaps we could afford to give more responsibility over to the younger players.
The team I arrived at would be the best equipped to handle finals-type pressure, imo.
My hypothetical team for 2014 would look a lot different.

B :
J. Hunt - a borderline selection, but an experienced and battle-hardened big body who will be needed at the pointy end of the season, form permitting.
T. Lonergan - barring injury you can pencil Tom in as our key lock-down defender for the next 2-3 seasons at least; a key part of this team.
C. Guthrie - I'm a big fan, although I can totally understand the reservations of some Cats supporters; Guthrie is unobtrusive and not a big ball-winner at this stage, and he's made some mistakes in his short 20-game career. I think he will continue to improve steadily and will be given bigger jobs in 2013.

HB :
C. Enright - quite possibly Boris' last season, although a 3rd in the 2012 B&F count suggests otherwise. Regardless, he is quite obviously a big part of the side in 2013.
H. Taylor - see : T. Lonergan.
A. Mackie - has really matured as a player, understands his role in the team and what is expected of him and regularly delivers.

C :
T. Varcoe - I really hope we see Trav back to his best asap, just a superb player to watch, very effective, all class.
J. Selwood - the pivot.
J. Corey - I agonized over potentially leaving Smithy out, even though I expect him to play at least a dozen games next year (conservatively). I'm not positive he's in our best 22 any more though, but after much deliberation I selected him ahead of Taylor Hunt & George Horlin-Smith. I would really like to see Corey try his hand at a much more defensive midfield role next year; I was actually advocating the idea this time last year that he could potentially step into Cameron Ling's role. Taylor Hunt did a pretty good job last year. But if Corey is to be in the best 22, then I reckon he best serves the team in a more defensive role going forward.

HF :
S. Motlop - more or less replaces Matthew Stokes in the side in 2013, imo. Stokes has been a fine servant of the club, but I believe his opportunities will be diminished in '13. Motlop's mantra must be forward pressure.
He already has all the nous and flair to be a very effective small forward, but like most small forwards in the modern game he will be largely judged on his ability to lock the ball in to our forward 50. I reckon he could easily slot 40 goals in 2013.
J. Podsiadly - again, I have taken a somewhat conservative approach by selecting Pods ahead of Josh Walker or Nathan Vardy. Then again, perception is a funny thing; if Pods was only 19-20 then his 2012 form would be regarded as being extremely encouraging. I think he has one more season of AFL in him, hopefully he can stay fit and healthy and give a really good account of himself; anything above 35-40 goals would be great. He is a burly bloke too, and we need that in this increasingly youthful side.
S. Johnson - I expect him to play about %60 of his game time up forward in 2013; although I could be wide of the mark as he had a great season predominantly in the midfield in 2012. At any rate, he has developed into a welcome addition to the midfield rotations, rather than the loose cannon he once was when positioned anywhere backward of centre.
The Stevie J show will roll on in 2013; I've said it a hundred times; he is a unique footballer.

F :
P. Chapman - I expect 2013 to be Chappy's last stand, and he won't die wondering whether he could have gotten more out of himself on the footy field. He will spend more time up forward with the acquisition of Caddy and the development of a few others, and he has the experience and footy smarts to be a very dangerous small forward once again.
T. Hawkins - Hawkins will face increased scrutiny from opposition match committees in 2013 as they look for ways to minimize the big fella's impact. The team can't afford to become one-dimensional when going forward, fortunately we potentially have some very good alternatives in attack if they are utilized effectively.
J. Bartel - Jimmy is in a funny position, both figuratively and literally in this side; hopefully the reported foot injury is overcome and the spark can return to his game; he had his moments in 2012, particularly early on, hopefully he can produce that kind of form more consistently in 2013.

R :
T. West - I thought his hitouts-to-advantage improved as the season wore on (I have no statistical proof of this), he started to combine with Selwood & co. more effectively. I toyed with the idea of starting both Dawson Simpson and Orren Stephenson, who both have cases for increased opportunities in 2013, but West proved nothing if not durable this season, and he would have learned plenty.
M. Duncan - made some really big strides in the 2nd half of 2012, started to look like a genuine on-ball option and I have no hesitation in starting him in the centre square in 2013. Maturing into a pretty steely competitor.
J. Kelly - the gap between his best and worst games widened a bit in 2012 after a stellar 2011; however I have every confidence Kelly can produce consistently high-quality football next year.

I/C :
N. Vardy - if the body holds up, let's see what he's got in 2013; some don't like the idea of Vards being 'risked' or 'wasted' as a 2nd ruck; personally I reckon his actual ruckwork is promising and he should really aim to influence games like Nic Naitanui; a genuine option up forward and in the ruck.
A. Christensen - Bundy needs to improve his endurance and strength if he aspires to being the kind of footballer who plays the bulk of his time on-ball. He undoubtedly has the talent and the guts, he just needs to take the next step.
B. Smedts - a real toss of the coin between Billie and Daniel Menzel, with poor ol' Menz's knee woes unfortunately counting against him, despite having a few more runs on the board when it comes to actual on-field performance.
Smedts' forward pressure works in his favour too.

sub :
J. Caddy - probably won't be a walk-up start to the 22 as some might assume; we have a lot of young guys who have worked hard for their opportunities and who don't necessarily deserve to lose their spots in the 'queue'. He has a lot of promise and the physical tools to do the job required of him, and will learn plenty from Selwood & Kelly in particular.
Horlin-Smith might actually get first crack at a midfield spot next year, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[Moggy]

For round 1

B: Guthrie Lonergan JHunt
HB: Mackie Taylor Enright
C: Duncan Kelly Varcoe
HF: Menzel Pods Johnson
F: Chapman Hawkins Christensen
R: West Selwood Bartel

I/C: Vardy Corey Smedts
Sub: Stokes

Next in line: Motlop Stringer Caddy

 

[footscore]

B: Guthrie Lonergan Mackie
HB: Varcoe Taylor Enright
C: Bundy Kelly Caddy
HF: Bartel Pods Johnson
F: Chapman Hawkins Menzel
R: West Selwood Duncan

I/C: Vardy Corey Brown
Sub: Hyphen

Next in line: Motlop Stringer Hunt Smedts

 

[Moggy]

B: Guthrie Lonergan Mackie
HB: Varcoe Taylor Enright
C: Bundy Kelly Caddy
HF: Bartel Pods Johnson
F: Chapman Hawkins Menzel
R: West Selwood Duncan

I/C: Vardy Corey Brown
Sub: Hyphen

Next in line: Motlop Stringer Hunt Smedts

Hey, we got 17/18 starters the same, albeit in slightly different positions, and 2/3 interchange players.

I must know more than I thought I did

 

[David the Cat]

I am going with HMac and Rivers as being on our list....think the former is locked in, and got a feeling Rivers will be with us....so........

Rivers Lonergan J Hunt
Mackie Taylor Enright
Murdoch Selwood Varcoe
Smedts Vardy SJ
Menzel Hawkins Chapman
HMac Kelly Bartel

Int: Christensen West Corey Caddy (sub)

EMG Motlop Stringer Stokes Guthrie T Hunt

IF no Rivers, Mitch Brown to back pocket as third tall. All the named players to play multiple games through the season as we rotate our players so ready for finals. Only those in top form selected after Round 17.

 

[Moggy]

I am going with HMac and Rivers as being on our list....think the former is locked in, and got a feeling Rivers will be with us....so........

Rivers Lonergan J Hunt
Mackie Taylor Enright
Murdoch Selwood Varcoe
Smedts Vardy SJ
Menzel Hawkins Chapman
HMac Kelly Bartel

Int: Christensen West Corey Caddy (sub)

EMG Motlop Stringer Stokes Guthrie T Hunt

IF no Rivers, Mitch Brown to back pocket as third tall. All the named players to play multiple games through the season as we rotate our players so ready for finals. Only those in top form selected after Round 17.

No Duncan? Harsh on him, but, hypothetically at least, it does demonstrate how bloody strong that list is!

 

[bulletproof]

M Brown/Rivers Lonergan Guthrie
Murdoch Taylor Enright
Duncan Bartel Mackie
Varcoe Vardy Chistensen
Motlop Hawkins Johnson

Mcintosh Caddy Selwood

Chapman Menzel Taylor Hunt Smedts

EMG: Pods, West, Horlin-Smith, Walker, Stringer, D Simpson, Mcarthy

Josh Hunt, Stokes and Corey to be phased out.

 

[bulletproof]

Getting Bartel back to his midfield best is the single most important thing for our season. Hopefully he is fully fit and ready to go hunting the ball like the Brownlow medalist of 07 and not a luxury gap filler.

The depth and breadth of the squad is extraordinairy but finals are won with 5 class hard nosed midfielders.

 

[Sttew]

Not sure if this has been covered, but when can we reasonably expect Menzel back in the firsts? R1?

 

[thegerman]

Nah will be a while past that, injured himself mid to late in the season, so you'd assume 9 months after that at the very least.
With the issues he has had, they will not rush him at all.

 

[Belisarius]

I think that the MC have clearly shown their hand by selecting Smedts on many occasions in this season. I takefrom this they see him as being in the best 22 sooner or later. SoI think come the finals in 2013 yo will see him in the team.

The MC committe also seem to favour Guthrie as well.

If Caddy and HMac step - wow some hard selections to be made.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Not sure if this has been covered, but when can we reasonably expect Menzel back in the firsts? R1?

I wouldn't rush him I would like to see the club aim for a round 6/7 return

 

[Claude Balls]

There are only 4 players I think we can reasonably assume will play 18+ games next year (if fit), who didn't play against Freo. They are Varcoe, Menzel, Smedts, and I reckon also Guthrie. Perhaps Guthrie is a bit prospective but what the hell, I like him. Scarlett will retire, and to make way for the other 3, I'm predicting that Corey, J. Hunt and Stokes will struggle to hold their spots.

B: Guthrie - Lonergan - Mackie
HB: Enright - Taylor - T. Hunt
C: Duncan - Bartel - Varcoe
HF: Menzel - Pods - Stevie
F: Chapman - Hawkins - Smedts

Foll: West, Selwood, Kelly

Int. Vardy, Christensen, Caddy
Sub: Motlop

I'd love Mitch Brown to bang the door down and thrive as a third tall defender, and for Walker and or Kersten to earn a dozen games up forward. That's all a bit prospective for the purposes of this thread however.

I think this also shows our need to find another good inside midfielder. We all speak frequently of Kersten, Brown, Walker etc as good tall prospects, but we lack the midfield equivalent. I.e. a genuinely talented kid with two or three years under his belt who looks capable of becoming an A-grader.

Edited for Caddy's inclusion. The usual suspects will probably complain that he shouldn't automatically be ahead of GHS, Schroder et al, but... if he wasn't we wouldn't have given up the compo.

Murdoch out, Motlop to sub, Caddy to the bench.

As a side note I hope Murdoch earns his spot round 1 and keeps it.

 

[Vdubs]

I can not get the relative lack of love or respect for T. Hunt. Surely he is best 22 now. This is not Gillies I am querying.
I would like to see Brown take on a tall defensive sweeper role, he is fast enough, a good mark, and great kick. Scarlett out.
By finals time, if we are there, would hope we would have replaced Corey, Stokes, Pods maybe, and West with HMac, Vardy, Varcoe and Caddy.
Hoping Guthrie , Murdoch keep improving and are there.
I really want to see Simpson feature, but recruiting HMac will affect that.

 

[i_need_a_pencil]

It is actually scary how many AFL ready players we have on our list. It is at the point where those who deserve games might not get them, and that might come back and bite us at the end of the season with players looking for more game time. This would be acceptable if we are pushing strongly for a flag in the next couple of years, but in this time of transition, keeping these boarder-line 22 players is paramount.

With the returning Menzel, Vardy, Varcoe... inclusion of Caddy and possibly others... AND our VFL boader-line players like Murdoch, Horlin-Smith and Stringer, match committee will be tough!

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

It is actually scary how many AFL ready players we have on our list. It is at the point where those who deserve games might not get them, and that might come back and bite us at the end of the season with players looking for more game time. This would be acceptable if we are pushing strongly for a flag in the next couple of years, but in this time of transition, keeping these boarder-line 22 players is paramount.

With the returning Menzel, Vardy, Varcoe... inclusion of Caddy and possibly others... AND our VFL boader-line players like Murdoch, Horlin-Smith and Stringer, match committee will be tough!

That is true, but we will gradually see blokes like Corey, Enright, Chapman and Hunt become products of diminishing return. With that in mind the others are going to have to step up and start playing the leading roles....Duncan and Christensen are going to be crucial in 2013, if these guys are up and about we will be very dangerous.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Mackie Lonergan Guthrie
Murdoch Taylor Enright
Christensen Bartel Kelly
Varcoe Vardy Smedts
Motlop Hawkins Johnson

West Duncan Selwood

Chapman Menzel Taylor Hunt Caddy

Don't forget about Josh Cowan either, he will be playing senior footy next year, great talent.

EMG: Pods, Horlin-Smith, Walker, Burbury Stringer, D Simpson, Kersten, Mitch Brown, Cowan

Josh Hunt, Stokes and Corey to be phased out I agree, but they will still play between 10 and 15 games.

Dam that is a hell of a squad!

 

[sexyhunk]

strange how a lot posters put caddy straight, i dont think hes that ready made. 20 years old, bit different getting regular games at GC with their kids than Geelong.

B: corey enright - tom lonergan - cam guthrie
HB: rupert murdoch- harry taylor - andrew mackie
C: travis varcoe - allen christensen- mitch duncan
HF: paul chapman - johnny walker - dogger johnson
F: dan menzel - tom hawkins - nate dog
R: dawson simpson - joel selwood - jill kelly
I: joel corey - jim bartel - billie - stevie motlop

rotation: west, caddy, horlin-smith, kersten, stokes, t hunt, stringer

 

[David the Cat]

No Duncan? Harsh on him, but, hypothetically at least, it does demonstrate how bloody strong that list is!

LOL......How could I forget Mitch....how dumb is that!! ..its impossible to fit them all in...

We should have some sympathy for the MC who have to do this on a weekly basis!

 

[sarah.13]

B J.Hunt Lonergan Mackie
HB Enright Taylor T.Hunt
C Duncan Bartel Varcoe
HF Menzel Vardy S Johnsom
F Chapman Hawkins Christenson
R Simpson Kelly Selwood
Int. Guthrie West Stringer Motlop

 

[TheMenzelShow]

B : J.Hunt, Lonergan, Enright
HB : Mackie, Taylor, Rivers
C : Varcoe, Kelly, Christensen
HF : Johnson, Vardy, Bartel
F : Chapman, Hawkins, Menzel
R : McIntosh, Selwood, Duncan
I/C : Caddy, Motlop, T.Hunt, Stokes

McIntosh at his best is an elite ruckmen, unfortunately West will not reach that standard IMO.
McIntosh and Vardy could potentially be a very damaging combo, we got absolutely dominated in the hitouts this year which did no favors for our midfield.

Then my next thought is our starting 6 defenders, look at the experience and quality. I very much hope we get rivers as the obvious Scarlett replacement. Caddy is a huge bonus and could be anything.

With that starting 22 and importantly the inclusion of McIntosh + Rivers I believe we can go all the way.

 

[muttweed]

Don't agree with Vardy as a second ruck. I'd prefer him as a full-time CHF. He can be deadly there.