Analysis 2023 - Best 22

[mtooler]

Would love to see Roberts and Dheldrick force their way into our best 22 this year.

 

[RUNVS]

Would love to see Roberts and Dheldrick force their way into our best 22 this year.

I read that as Derickx for some reason and my first thought was "he isn't still on our list is he"

 

[Dubsforsam1]

Having both Parker and Heeney up forward would be very dangerous for opposition clubs. Both are very strong marks for their size.

Don't forget Hayward also

 

[the hypnotoad]

It was funny watching the reaction of many posters on here immediately after the draft. Lots were underwhelmed by our draft haul. We did not get any of the big phantom draft names so many were unimpressed.
I liken it to popular songs. They play them to death on the radio and you soon get sick of them because they are really not that good. It is those other less played songs that become your lifelong favorites. You listen to them and they have great lyrics or riffs but something captures you.

I like the look of the list now. Sure there are some deficiencies around KPF and ruck, but we have a good set of draft picks next year to fix that. What I really like is that there is very few players that are not either
a) Pressing for selection, or
b) Youth with potential

The retired and delisted players were largely aging, or not best 22 or retiring. They are gone now. The list is very much refreshed.

Lots on here posting about who will debut next year. The underwhelmed are now full of hope!!

beautifully put

 

[Kapers]

Can people explain to me why we are so bullish on a second-year mid who spent most of last year injured?

I'm as hopeful for Sheldrick as anyone, but I highly doubt he's going to make a difference next year. He might get more games, but people are talking like he's going to come in and be a consistent mid at 19, which doesn't happen.

 

[caesar88]

Can people explain to me why we are so bullish on a second-year mid who spent most of last year injured?

I'm as hopeful for Sheldrick as anyone, but I highly doubt he's going to make a difference next year. He might get more games, but people are talking like he's going to come in and be a consistent mid at 19, which doesn't happen.

Agreed. Even if Parker does spend more time forward to open a space for Sheldrick, between Mills, Rowbottom, Warner and probably Papley, any midfield opportunities Sheldrick does get aren't going to be substantial enough to actually make a difference to our midfield.

I think we need to get better at winning that first ball and winning clean clearances. The guys who are gonna have the biggest say in how we go in those areas will be the guys who are actually in the midfield the most. That's just not gonna be Sheldrick at this stage.

Personally I think it's a combination of Shiny New Toy Syndrome (it's always rampant in the days and weeks immediately after the draft...), the case of which was brought on by our GF belting in the midfield. That midfield failed us, so therefore something HAS to change..

In reality, that midfield ARE the shiny new toys! Mills, Rowbottom & Warner are all 25 or under, and have played just over a season together as a midfield. If we've already lost faith in them to the extent that we so badly need someone else in there, then they aren't the players we think they are or are going to be. Their performance in the next few years is what we'll live or die by. Everyone else is peripheral for the foreseeable future.

(I will say though that getting rid of Papley from the midfield would change a LOT.)

 

[Millky95]

Agreed. Even if Parker does spend more time forward to open a space for Sheldrick, between Mills, Rowbottom, Warner and probably Papley, any midfield opportunities Sheldrick does get aren't going to be substantial enough to actually make a difference to our midfield.

I think we need to get better at winning that first ball and winning clean clearances. The guys who are gonna have the biggest say in how we go in those areas will be the guys who are actually in the midfield the most. That's just not gonna be Sheldrick at this stage.

Personally I think it's a combination of Shiny New Toy Syndrome (it's always rampant in the days and weeks immediately after the draft...), the case of which was brought on by our GF belting in the midfield. That midfield failed us, so therefore something HAS to change..

In reality, that midfield ARE the shiny new toys! Mills, Rowbottom & Warner are all 25 or under, and have played just over a season together as a midfield. If we've already lost faith in them to the extent that we so badly need someone else in there, then they aren't the players we think they are or are going to be. Their performance in the next few years is what we'll live or die by. Everyone else is peripheral for the foreseeable future.

(I will say though that getting rid of Papley from the midfield would change a LOT.)

Keep Papley forward and Ladhams would go a long way to fixing it

I'd give JMac more CBAs than Papley next year

 

[Wolftone]

Agreed. Even if Parker does spend more time forward to open a space for Sheldrick, between Mills, Rowbottom, Warner and probably Papley, any midfield opportunities Sheldrick does get aren't going to be substantial enough to actually make a difference to our midfield.

I think we need to get better at winning that first ball and winning clean clearances. The guys who are gonna have the biggest say in how we go in those areas will be the guys who are actually in the midfield the most. That's just not gonna be Sheldrick at this stage.

Personally I think it's a combination of Shiny New Toy Syndrome (it's always rampant in the days and weeks immediately after the draft...), the case of which was brought on by our GF belting in the midfield. That midfield failed us, so therefore something HAS to change..

In reality, that midfield ARE the shiny new toys! Mills, Rowbottom & Warner are all 25 or under, and have played just over a season together as a midfield. If we've already lost faith in them to the extent that we so badly need someone else in there, then they aren't the players we think they are or are going to be. Their performance in the next few years is what we'll live or die by. Everyone else is peripheral for the foreseeable future.

(I will say though that getting rid of Papley from the midfield would change a LOT.)

Getting rid of Papley from the mids would be a huge mistake. In fact I think he needs to go there more often. He knows how to win ball & dish off. I think we drafted 2 small forwards because they want to use him in mids more often.

Interesting what we drafted. We did actually draft for need if Paps does get more mid time. We drafted a Rookie ruck. A Rookie CHB/FB who can be a lỗ g time lick down defender. We got Lloyd mk 2. This was a pretty interesting draft. Who are they wanting to free up? When Lloyd played further up the ground in one final he was very damaging. Blakey is, also very damaging up the ground, on a wing for Instance.

People who don't think Gould has got it and has no leadership ability are kidding themselves. He has been doing an apprenticeship. Reg even came back to give him some pointers. So did Teddy. He has been learning how to play the shut down role on Full Forwards and medium dangerous forwards. He has done it pretty well too. A good FB or two way defender can take a while. Teddy took years, so did Reg. Leo had to learn how to defend too.



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[Punts]

Parker can’t move forward unless someone takes his slack ffs watch the game

 

[TheMase]

We could go a more contested mix Juzzy will have to earn it no excuses, Sheldrick could steal his spot

But sounds like it's all injury related so we'll have a new Juzzy which is exciting

To be fair his best game in 2022 was when he told Horse to put him in the middle (centre square), was phenomenal in the last quarter (14 disposals, 7 contested, 4 marks, 3 clearances, 2i50 and 3r50).

I’d love to see more of it.

 

[RilesMacca]

FB: Ramps, Tom Mac, Fox

HB: Lloyd, Paddy Mac, Liz

C: Juzzy, Mills, Stephens

HF: Heeney, Reid, Hayward

FF: Clarke, Buddy, Papley

Fol: Hickey, Parker, Warner

Int: Rowbottom, Florent, Gulden, McDonald

tactical sub: Campbell

Its hard to see many changes compared to the side in the back half of last season. I feel this above is roughy the best 22 at the moment, and remember this is prior to the full squad preseason, so we/the players are yet to see if there are any standout players.

Reid and Clarke would be the ones closest to being out of the side. I feel that Francis is a small chance to debut early on if he can find his sweet spot. I'm one of the few that is sticking fat with Ladhams, his best is good and he's a good chance to start too. Might get thrown into the reserves to get his match fitness (and discipline) up.

I'm not on the Sheldrick bandwagon as much as many others are on him blossoming early on, Gussy showed some real nice glimpses, but he spent half of last season out with injury, and I feel that he will probably motor on in the 2s for the first few rounds and see how his form goes from there.

If I have to go for a surprise round 1 debut, it would have to be Konstanty. Just seems like a really coachable player, that will able to learn and adopt our forward pressure scheme quickly. He looks to be pretty charismatic as well, so will probably bond with the group really well.

 

[SSwans2011]

HHK has the intangible quality of footy smarts, vision and uses the ball beautifully.

IIRC you said something similar about Paddy last year, so looking forward to a huge 2023 from Hugo.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Can people explain to me why we are so bullish on a second-year mid who spent most of last year injured?

I'm as hopeful for Sheldrick as anyone, but I highly doubt he's going to make a difference next year. He might get more games, but people are talking like he's going to come in and be a consistent mid at 19, which doesn't happen.

Primarily because he’s the type that could help address our biggest weakness - hard ball gets and clearances. I think people underestimate how important JPK was to the team in that regard.

Sure, he’s probably a few seasons off entering “prime years” , but he was selected for Round 1 last year (albeit as a forward) & the club has already noted him as the “player to watch out for”.

I could be wrong - it could be Roberts - but I sense opportunity for a fast-tracked inside mid.

 

[caesar88]

Timely reminder that midfield rotations have consequences. For every player who has their midfield rotations increased, someone else has to have theirs decreased. That's just an indisputable truth. You can't have 5-6 guys all enjoying 50%+ CBAs, which I sometimes think this board wishes it could have, given there's always a bounty of players we want to see given more midfield time, but when it's time to name names for who should be given less midfield time... crickets.

 

[SSwans2011]

You can't have 5-6 guys all enjoying 50%+ CBAs, which I sometimes think this board wishes it could have

Imagine the advantage we would have if we did this anyway, though!

 

[caesar88]

Imagine the advantage we would have if we did this anyway, though!

I'd just pick five Callum Mills' and rotate them accordingly to give each of them a rest. Guaranteed three-peat!

 

[rustycrate]

I'd just pick five Callum Mills' and rotate them accordingly to give each of them a rest. Guaranteed three-peat!

I'd just pick five Angus Sheldrick' and rotate them accordingly to give each of them a rest. Guaranteed five-peat!

 

[RUNVS]

Timely reminder that midfield rotations have consequences. For every player who has their midfield rotations increased, someone else has to have theirs decreased. That's just an indisputable truth. You can't have 5-6 guys all enjoying 50%+ CBAs, which I sometimes think this board wishes it could have, given there's always a bounty of players we want to see given more midfield time, but when it's time to name names for who should be given less midfield time... crickets.

Unless you have a team that entirely plays in the midfield.

 

[Maximumlnsanity]

Timely reminder that midfield rotations have consequences. For every player who has their midfield rotations increased, someone else has to have theirs decreased. That's just an indisputable truth. You can't have 5-6 guys all enjoying 50%+ CBAs, which I sometimes think this board wishes it could have, given there's always a bounty of players we want to see given more midfield time, but when it's time to name names for who should be given less midfield time... crickets.

Papley and Heeney down to a solid 0%. That's my solution for the CBA conundrum

 

[Wolftone]

Parker can’t move forward unless someone takes his slack ffs watch the game

I don't agree with you. I think Paps can take his place. Parker forward. When he went forward because he was having a, dog of a day last year he kicked 5 goals. Think of how dangerous he could be. He marks the ball like a big man, is impossible one on one, can shark a pack and he kicks goals

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[RedBloodBlackSwan]

I'd divide the list into four categories:

Could Murder Horse's Cat and They'd Still Be In the Team
Nick Blakey, Ollie Florent, Robbie Fox, Buddy Franklin, Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, Jake Lloyd, Paddy McCartin, Tom McCartin, Callum Mills, Tom Papley, Luke Parker, Dane Rampe, James Rowbottom, Chad Warner

Would Have to Murder Horse's Cat to Not Be In the Team
Will Hayward, Tom Hickey, Justin McInerney

Could Get Acquitted of Murdering Horse's Cat Depending On Strength of the Prosecution's Case
Joel Amartey, Braeden Campbell, Ryan Clarke, Harry Cunningham, Aaron Francis, Will Gould, Jacob Konstanty, Peter Ladhams, Logan McDonald, Hayden McLean, Lewis Melican, Sam Reid, Angus Sheldrick, Dylan Stephens, Sam Wicks

Would Have to Revive Horse's Murdered Cat to Be In the Team
Will Edwards, Hugo Hall-Kahan, Jaiden Magor, Lachie McAndrew, Caleb Mitchell, Cameron Owen, Lachie Rankin, Matty Roberts, Marc Sheather, Cooper Vickery, Corey Warner

I can account for this list being 100% accurate with respect to Haywood, given that he is Horse’s pet (I admit I am taking the liberty of assuming Haywood is his cat).

I’m a bit worried about how many players might take Haywood out though, although good to see that a lot of fringe players are willing to step in and revive him. That speaks a lot to team spirit, given that Haywood is ahead of them in the pecking order.

 

[Neverwas]

Personally, I can’t ever see McLean being an A (or B+) grade forward. He just doesn’t have the physical attributes.

However - the more I consider what Mike Pyke did for us, the more I do ponder whether McLean could become that ruck who takes the much need grab on the wing.

They’re not dissimilar to my eye. Pyke had 3cm on McLean - but they’re both powerful units with a good tank & a very good contested mark.

Pyke was 204cm and had sensational speed and agility for his size. McLean is 197cm comparatively slow with good marking ability, excellent kick , big tank and average speed with poor agility.
They are nothing alike.

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[ScottBo]

I hate to be that guy and not singling anyone out as the mistake is more common than Horse selecting injured players in GFs, but it's Hayward not Haywood. If he has a secret moonlighting gig and Haywood is his pr0n name, then play on.

I'll get to dangling modifiers next week.

 

[hairy biker]

Fox & Stephens leading in the time-trialists, which is nothing new, but maybe the first time Dylan has bested Robbie?
Kept his endurance but looks to have bulked up as well.

Of more concern is that Amartey is one of the 3 blokes that have seemingly been lapped.
Beatson gave him a clip during the trade period along the lines of he has had some niggles, club still has hope for him, but needs to start to perform to the expected level on a consistent basis.
He's been on our list since Nov 2017, he shouldn't be lapping with a ruckman and KPP new to our list.

Maybe he's had some off-season setbacks, but this is a regular occurrence and perhaps, given Beatson's crack, which is unusual, an indication of the club's frustration with him?
And of course not selected for the GF when I certainly thought he was a better fit than McLean.

 

[Callipygian]

I don't think Amartey is ever going to be a good time trialler. The tall guys in general are not as good in the time trial - seemingly the taller they are, the slower they are. Even factoring that in, Amartey is still not great - far behind McLean and beaten by McAndrew.

There were two other guys lapped: the third one with Amartey and McAndrew is Edwards, then a bit further back you can see young Cam Owen slogging on and coming last.