List Mgmt. 2024 Best 21

[Callipygian]

I thought I'd have an early stab at our best 21/round 1 starting line up.

Note: Alexia Hamilton and Paige Sheppard are unavailable due to suspension for Round 1 but I'm not putting them in my best 21 anyway so it doesn't impact my selections.


FB: Tarrant, O'Sullivan
HB: Heads, McEvoy, McCarthy
C: Hurley, Gardiner, Beruldsen
HF: Smith, Davies, Molloy
FF: Privitelli C. Hamilton
FOL: Morphett, Ham, Kennedy
I/C: Grunden, Woodward, Collier, Steane, Lochland

EMG: Vale, A.Hamilton, Cooper

I reckon that is a decent team. Very strong midfield. Deeper than I expected with goal scoring options. We could do with bolstering our spine and possibly our defence generally.

I think my most controversial selections are O'Sullivan and Woodward. I'm a big fan of our Irish contingent and that includes O'Sullivan. Woodward is our most experienced and mature player and there is less depth in our back half so I'm giving her a spot. We haven't seen much of Collier yet but she's been training and I'm backing her to win a spot based mostly on inferring that we rated her when we recruited her and put in the inaugural leadership group. Grunden I'm selecting marginally ahead of Cooper although neither would surprise me. I hope at least one of them gets a guernsey as we look to bring fresh blood through.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I thought I'd have an early stab at our best 21/round 1 starting line up.

Note: Alexia Hamilton and Paige Sheppard are unavailable due to suspension for Round 1 but I'm not putting them in my best 21 anyway so it doesn't impact my selections.


FB: Tarrant, O'Sullivan
HB: Heads, McEvoy, McCarthy
C: Hurley, Gardiner, Beruldsen
HF: Smith, Davies, Molloy
FF: Privitelli C. Hamilton
FOL: Morphett, Ham, Kennedy
I/C: Grunden, Woodward, Collier, Steane, Lochland

EMG: Vale, A.Hamilton, Cooper

I reckon that is a decent team. Very strong midfield. Deeper than I expected with goal scoring options. We could do with bolstering our spine and possibly our defence generally.

I think my most controversial selections are O'Sullivan and Woodward. I'm a big fan of our Irish contingent and that includes O'Sullivan. Woodward is our most experienced and mature player and there is less depth in our back half so I'm giving her a spot. We haven't seen much of Collier yet but she's been training and I'm backing her to win a spot based mostly on inferring that we rated her when we recruited her and put in the inaugural leadership group. Grunden I'm selecting marginally ahead of Cooper although neither would surprise me. I hope at least one of them gets a guernsey as we look to bring fresh blood through.

I think we need some more height in the backline. Davies has been recruited as a tall defender (180cm) and IIRC she played there (and relief ruck) in VFLW. I was quite impressed with her attack on the contest and I think she should play in defence instead of McCarthy.
Beruldsen has mainly played forward so she could replace Davies and give us a bit more pace.
Steane has played a fair bit of wing and could slot in there.
McCarthy to the bench.
Same cattle but a bit better balance I think.

 

[Callipygian]

I think we need some more height in the backline. Davies has been recruited as a tall defender (180cm) and IIRC she played there (and relief ruck) in VFLW. I was quite impressed with her attack on the contest and I think she should play in defence instead of McCarthy.
Beruldsen has mainly played forward so she could replace Davies and give us a bit more pace.
Steane has played a fair bit of wing and could slot in there.
McCarthy to the bench.
Same cattle but a bit better balance I think.

I like your suggestion. I agree the backline would benefit from more height and your other proposed changes flow fairly well.

On the other hand, my recollection was that we played Davies not in defence but mostly as a forward-ruck during the VFLW games (where she excelled) and that was when we were already missing BT from the backline. With Privitelli also out, she and Smith were our two main tall targets in the forward line (when Davies wasn't rucking). She's also described as a 'keyforward' on the club website, for whatever that's worth. I guess it shows that she's versatile and so she may be moved around between and within games.

Separately, along with Beruldsen, I thought that McCarthy showed strong signs of breaking out during the VFLW games and that's why I'm keen to be naming her in the starting side.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I like your suggestion. I agree the backline would benefit from more height and your other proposed changes flow fairly well.

On the other hand, my recollection was that we played Davies not in defence but mostly as a forward-ruck during the VFLW games (where she excelled) and that was when we were already missing BT from the backline. With Privitelli also out, she and Smith were our two main tall targets in the forward line (when Davies wasn't rucking). She's also described as a 'keyforward' on the club website, for whatever that's worth. I guess it shows that she's versatile and so she may be moved around between and within games.

Separately, along with Beruldsen, I thought that McCarthy showed strong signs of breaking out during the VFLW games and that's why I'm keen to be naming her in the starting side.

Pretty sure Gowans plays 25 like Horse, not 20+5. Didn't McCarthy play forward? Little scrapper IIRC.
With Smith and Privitelli we have two decent marking targets, though Privitelli isn't tall. Molloy as a good medium so I would think we would want the other three (inc one on the bench) to be medium/small unless they're relieving in the ruck. Hamilton and Beruldsen. Hence McCarthy on the bench for the sixth forward in the rotation.
So mine would be:
Tarrant O'Sullivan
Heads Davies McEvoy
Hurley Gardiner Steane
Hamilton Smith Molloy
Privitelli Beruldsen
Morphett Ham Kennedy
IC: Collier, Grunden, Lochland, McCarthy, Woodward.
Might be a fit short of midfield on the bench but I have no better recommendation.

 

[Callipygian]

We're agreed on the 21 which is impressive! Let's see if the coaches see it the same way.

Collier and Lochland can play midfield. Also Molloy and McEvoy can rotate through the midfield. I think the midfield depth is fine. It's a pretty good team. Not quite flag contenders but definitely finals contenders and, you never know, maybe top 4. It's outside the best 21 that the quality drops away but we'll improve our depth each year going forward.

Interesting to look at the players outside the 21 and consider how they fit in. My personal takes as at today:

Cooper - promising rookie - should be around for a couple of years irrespective
Hillier - young recruit with potential as a medium sized rebounding/intercepting defender
Sheppard - handy depth - small mid - don't see her on our list in a couple of years
Sergeant-Wilson - young, hasn't broken out yet. Clearly the club saw something in her because she was the first player on our list and is an Academy graduate. Not sure what her future holds.
Mitchell - has height (183 cm) which we lack. Hasn't established herself at AFLW level and is about to turn 23.
Whelan - seasoned scrapper. Useful depth but likely to be overtaken and never establish herself in the senior team.
Vale - useful depth - I think her future is less predictable. Best case she establishes her self as a role player. Equally I could see her being superseded and replaced by young talent in the next couple of seasons.
Hausegger - promising rookie. Too soon to say more but I'm optimistic.
Szigeti - hard inside mid with great leadership who perhaps lacks versatility and perhaps doesn't have the class to make it at AFLW level
A. Hamilton - tall, experienced utility. 'Journeywoman'. I can see her remaining on our list and on the fringes of the senior side for a while to come. We just don't have enough KPP depth for a player like Lexi to be expendable.
Bullas - total mystery. I have no idea what to expect except that I hope we see some of her this season.

Of all those players there are none I am yet confident have a good future (like, say, Sheldrick, Roberts, Snell, Green in the men's). The closest I get are Cooper and Hausegger who are probably more on a par with the likes of Corey Warner and Caleb Mitchell in the men. Players like Whelan and Szigeti seem more comparable to players like Sam Gray

15

Sam Gray

Age

32

Ht

176cm

Wt

75kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.5

4star

K

9.1

4star

HB

8.4

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

3.4

5star

G

0.8

4star

D

10.8

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

5.8

3star

M

2.2

2star

T

2.4

3star

G

0.2

3star

D

12.8

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

6.0

4star

M

3.4

4star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.0

4star

or Kaiden Brand

2

Kaiden Brand

Age

30

Ht

198cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.6

3star

K

8.2

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.2

3star

MG

45.0

1star

D

9.0

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.5

3star

T

1.5

2star

MG

45.0

1star

D

13.0

4star

K

8.6

4star

HB

4.4

4star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.2

3star

(happily we don't really have any of those types of players on our men's list these days - Hamling would be the closest) - they can come into seniors and play a role but don't look like they will have a significant career at AFLW level.

Am I being too harsh? How do others see it?

 

[Kiama Chris]

We're agreed on the 21 which is impressive! Let's see if the coaches see it the same way.

Collier and Lochland can play midfield. Also Molloy and McEvoy can rotate through the midfield. I think the midfield depth is fine. It's a pretty good team. Not quite flag contenders but definitely finals contenders and, you never know, maybe top 4. It's outside the best 21 that the quality drops away but we'll improve our depth each year going forward.

Interesting to look at the players outside the 21 and consider how they fit in. My personal takes as at today:

Cooper - promising rookie - should be around for a couple of years irrespective
Hillier - young recruit with potential as a medium sized rebounding/intercepting defender
Sheppard - handy depth - small mid - don't see her on our list in a couple of years
Sergeant-Wilson - young, hasn't broken out yet. Clearly the club saw something in her because she was the first player on our list and is an Academy graduate. Not sure what her future holds.
Mitchell - has height (183 cm) which we lack. Hasn't established herself at AFLW level and is about to turn 23.
Whelan - seasoned scrapper. Useful depth but likely to be overtaken and never establish herself in the senior team.
Vale - useful depth - I think her future is less predictable. Best case she establishes her self as a role player. Equally I could see her being superseded and replaced by young talent in the next couple of seasons.
Hausegger - promising rookie. Too soon to say more but I'm optimistic.
Szigeti - hard inside mid with great leadership who perhaps lacks versatility and perhaps doesn't have the class to make it at AFLW level
A. Hamilton - tall, experienced utility. 'Journeywoman'. I can see her remaining on our list and on the fringes of the senior side for a while to come. We just don't have enough KPP depth for a player like Lexi to be expendable.
Bullas - total mystery. I have no idea what to expect except that I hope we see some of her this season.

Of all those players there are none I am yet confident have a good future (like, say, Sheldrick, Roberts, Snell, Green in the men's). The closest I get are Cooper and Hausegger who are probably more on a par with the likes of Corey Warner and Caleb Mitchell in the men. Players like Whelan and Szigeti seem more comparable to players like Sam Gray or Kaiden Brand (happily we don't really have any of those types of players on our men's list these days - Hamling would be the closest) - they can come into seniors and play a role but don't look like they will have a significant career at AFLW level.

Am I being too harsh? How do others see it?

Factors that I think are very different between men's and women's are age and fitness base.
The men almost all go through the same pathway, have the same physical and skills development so the major differences come from talent and effort. Predictable.
The women have often started from different points in age and athleticism. Tanya Kennedy is a good example. She has played low level Gaelic (park footy) and Sydney Aussie Rules and has entered AFLW at age of almost 29. She was only added to the list through an LTI. In just over a year she has become one of our first picked. Her fitness and skill has zoomed. Another is Ally Morphett. Wow!
It's really hard to predict where many of these players will be after two years in a professional environment. Not so much a matter of being harsh as perhaps being a bit too certain?