3 Players from your club to take you to that next level.

[Silvagnis]

What he said ...................

More speed, run and rotations like Mick and Judd mentioned last year. Need Thomas, Lucas, Everitt, Menzel and Docherty to take pressure off our guns and veterans. Troy is silk. Likes of Docherty, Everitt and Bootsma could allow us to release Walker or Simpson into the midfield or forwardline when we need fresh legs against the best sides. Better off with Docherty and Everitt in the mix than Joseph and Davies who weren't damaging players.

Except, what IS our next level?

Adding a younger mid in Hallahan plus McEvoy, Schoenmakers, Grimley and O'Brien shoring up your post-Franklin spine.

 

[Richo83]

In terms of players who need to step up and become elite, I'd say there's pressure on Vickery, Conca and Grimes to really step up. Most of the players in the first 22 are either established players or are progressing nicely. These three players hold the key to Richmond's improvement. Vickery improves, Riewoldt starts drawing less attention, Conca improves, he takes pressure away from Cotchin and Deledio, Grimes improves, Rance and Chaplin have an easier job. Hampson and Martin arguably belong in this group as well.

As for players who would improve Richmond's depth if they stepped up, Astbury, Griffiths and one of Dea or Batchelor, if those four click Richmond's depth at each end would improve much more.

 

[BM123]

Carlton:

• Bryce Gibbs - Still yet to live up to his potential, however with MM now playing him in the guts, there were great signs towards the end of last year when he was throwing himself into the pack and playing hard footy. If he keeps that up and improves, he'll rise to be one of the best in the competition
• Matthew Watson - Entering his third year with Carlton, a prodigious left boot on him, but still yet to nail down a Key Defensive role. If he can, that frees up Henderson and Waite to play exclusively forward and straightening the team out immensely, not to mention providing incredible drive with his outstanding ball delivery
• Chris Yarran - Has all the talent in the world, but hasn't yet quite developed the attitude that will take him and the Blues to greatness. If he really commits himself, and builds a tank, he can play anywhere and cut the opposition to ribbons, either by running from defense, through the middle, or a goal scoring small/mid forward.

Nailed it.

 

[theGav56]

Scott Gumbleton - He will take pressure of Pav, allowing the resting ruckmen to get the 3rd tall defender and Mayne to get the 4th. The ripple effect of him playing well is massive, he needs to play 15+ games and kick 30 plus goals this year.
Colin Sylvia - His skills set him apart, and I think the GF showed how important elite skills are these days. If he can pass the ball accurately to our forwards he is worth at least one goal a game.
Stephen Hill - Needs to take the next step to become an elite player, he showed hints last year that he was dealing with a tag better and now he needs to take the final step.

Hayden Crozier, Cameron Sutcliffe and Tom Sheridan all have the potential to break into the 22 and provide good depth. I wanted to mention each of them but at best I can only see them cementing their spot in the 22 and I doubt they will make a big difference come the finals.

Agree with Gumbleton and Hill. They can have massive impact for us. Sylvia I think will have an impact, but he plays in an area we have depth as you have shown by listing several players who could also have an impact. He will certainly be a decent addition given the interchange rules.

I would list Z Clarke as one who would have a bigger impact for us if he could take his game to another level. Specifically in the forward line where we could really benefit from having him marking everything that is not already being targeted to Pavlich and Gumbleton. But also if he can become a better ruckman and allow Sandilands to spend more time being the monster up forward that would be BIG for us.

 

[El Dubya]

For Geelong there we need Tom Hawkins and Dawson Simpson or Hamish McIntosh to be fit, that alone lifts our side considerably. The guys we really need to take another step are;
Nathan Vardy - We keep getting told he's a great talent, it's really time to deliver. He's had quite a bit of injury trouble, and will always need to be managed, but I want to see him start to break games apart and kick a couple of bags throughout the year.
Allen Christensen - This kid is a gun, but I really think for Geelong to be a premiership winning team he needs to be pushing for All Australian selection. He's potentially going to struggle to get going after some pre-season hip surgery, but I believe if he builds a bit more upper body strength and fitness he'll be averaging a goal a game and around 23 touches, with a fair chunk of Geelong's clearances.
George Horlin-Smith - Geelong needs to replace Joel Corey, like Corey Horlin-Smith has no flexibility, he can only play as a midfielder. He needs to step up in 2014 and grab that spot, get clearances, link up, and dleiver into the forward fifty. He's shown in patches that he can play at AFL level, he just needs to string together a run of good form, otherwise his time at Geelong may be coming to a close.

 

[Partridge]

From Geelong:

Dawson Simpson - we know what he is capable of doing; we just need him on the field consistently.
Shane Kersten - yet to debut in seniors but no doubting the ability of the 190 cm strapping young forward who is strong overhead and is a long kick
Alan Christensen - already a premiership player with 57 games to his credit, I hope...no expect...Bundy to elevate his game and become a mainstay in the midfield

1. Dawson Simpson - looked like a very good senior ruckman in 2013; we just need him out there a lot more.

2. George Horlin-Smith - in conjunction with above; one big weakness in our midfield is winning centre clearances. Hopefully this guy can help turn that around.

3. Nathan Vardy - tons of hype, tons of talent. Unfortunately very little actual output so far. Will get the chance to step forward massively in 2014 and hopefully can give Hawkins and the side a big dose of assistance.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Scott Gumbleton - He will take pressure of Pav, allowing the resting ruckmen to get the 3rd tall defender and Mayne to get the 4th...

Can't see Mayne getting the fourth. No chance of that happening.

Great list for GC. Lynch to me could easily become the next gun KP forward in the comp.

...

I'm a huge wrap for Lynch. Get aboard the Lynch train cause it's set to head off for 2014.

...

Jordan Roughead, had a very solid season for a young 200cm bloke after being moved to full back for the first time playing on the best forwards in the league, and even being a bit of a general down there. No one would have expected it but he looks like a natural down there and IMO has a heap of improvement left and is probably one of our best/most important young players. With an extra preseason behind him, more experience as a defender, an extra day a week with one of the greats in Scarlett, getting to that good stage of 23yo/~50 games and with hopefully a lot of overall improvement in the team he should stamp himself as one of the better up and coming key defenders in the league IMO.

...

Also a huge wrap for Roughhead. Very good hands and can be a very good contested mark KPD for the Dogs.

...
Nathan Vardy - We keep getting told he's a great talent, it's really time to deliver. He's had quite a bit of injury trouble, and will always need to be managed, but I want to see him start to break games apart and kick a couple of bags throughout the year.
....

Problem with Vardy is that he's too short to be a permanent first ruck and has never really played in the forward line on a regular basis so has an enormous learning curve ahead of him. There are very few junior ruckmen who transition into 2nd rucks but good forwards. He may become a role player for you similar to Brown at Collingwood but I don't believe he'll be more than that.

 

[go_the_dockers]

Can't see Mayne getting the fourth. No chance of that happening.

Pav, Gumbleton, Clarke then Mayne.

The taller defenders will take the taller forwards, leaving Mayne to get the 4th tall defender. You can not have a ruck men or Gumbleton getting manned up against a 190cm defender.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Pav, Gumbleton, Clarke then Mayne.

The taller defenders will take the taller forwards, leaving Mayne to get the 4th tall defender. You can not have a ruck men or Gumbleton getting manned up against a 190cm defender.

Mayne is too good a player to be getting the 4th tall. Understand what you're saying but Mayne is a very good player and just won't get pushed that far down the opposition pecking order.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Problem with Vardy is that he's too short to be a permanent first ruck and has never really played in the forward line on a regular basis so has an enormous learning curve ahead of him. There are very few junior ruckmen who transition into 2nd rucks but good forwards. He may become a role player for you similar to Brown at Collingwood but I don't believe he'll be more than that.

He looks a natural forward to me. I'd say the only reason he's played in the ruck as much as he has is because he debuted in the year the sub rule came in (so one of your forwards is usually obliged to do a bit of pinch-hitting at least) and he's been behind Hawkins, Podsiadly and - for his first season - Mooney. I don't see any reason why he couldn't succeed as a forward. Great set of hands, a beautiful mover and a very accurate kick. I don't know how much he played in the forward line before he was drafted, but he certainly has never looked like a fish out of water there at AFL level, as far as I'm concerned. He's looked quite comfortable there, he has all the attributes and the CHF spot in the first 18 is his to lose.

 

[telsor]

Dustin Martin - A very good player already, but needs to build the tank and impose himself on games more. Capable of being amoung the very best.

Tyrone Vickery - Young dual position player, so still has lot of upside. Will be playing more as a forward this year, so will hopefully settle and show more than the cameo's he's tempted us with thus far.

Brandon Ellis. Running machine with very good disposal and hard at it to boot. Could play anywhere, but seems best suited as a running linkup player. A step up to consistantly high numbers of quality disposals will make him extremely damaging.



One other, he doesn't really qualify, but at the same time all good clubs need players like this.....

Liam McBean. His position in the team is occupied, indeed, he's our 3rd choice FF, but still he's beating down the doors. Depth and pressure from below is what makes a truely great team.

 

[theGav56]

Mayne is too good a player to be getting the 4th tall. Understand what you're saying but Mayne is a very good player and just won't get pushed that far down the opposition pecking order.

If the cunning plan goes as...ermmm, planned then our forward line could be awkward for some sides. I think sides will need some depth to man us up. I don't think Mayne needs a genuine KPD to man up him though, whereas Gumleton, Pavlich and Clarke/Sandilands will. A speedy, medium defender is more the match-up for Mayne.

 

[mike123]

Clinton Young: Collingwood need some more outside run and Young needs to give us that.

Brodie Grundy: Ruck stocks are low and every team needs a good ruckman

Jessie White: Haven't had a good second ruck since Leigh Brown. He needs to play that role well. Kick 1.5 goals a game.

 

[mike123]

Travis Varcoe, Mitch Duncan and Nathan Vardy would be mine.

Varcoe to go from 'complete and utter liability' to 'very good player and occasional match-winner' like he was at the end of 2010 and for parts of 2011, would be nice.

Duncan has all the tools to be an A-grade midfielder and with a lot of the older players either retiring, slowing down, or playing different roles, we need another genuine AA-calibre player in there.

Vardy's pretty self-explanatory. He'll play CHF and might be a part-time ruckman, depending on whether the team goes with one of McIntosh/Simpson or both. Either way, Vardy needs to be a player that's kicking 1-2 goals every week and occasionally taking the load off Hawkins by kicking 4+.

That's a bit harsh, i thought he played some good games.

 

[nineteen eighty]

He looks a natural forward to me. I'd say the only reason he's played in the ruck as much as he has is because he debuted in the year the sub rule came in (so one of your forwards is usually obliged to do a bit of pinch-hitting at least) and he's been behind Hawkins, Podsiadly and - for his first season - Mooney. I don't see any reason why he couldn't succeed as a forward. Great set of hands, a beautiful mover and a very accurate kick. I don't know how much he played in the forward line before he was drafted, but he certainly has never looked like a fish out of water there at AFL level, as far as I'm concerned. He's looked quite comfortable there, he has all the attributes and the CHF spot in the first 18 is his to lose.

I agree re his hands. It's just that I know in his junior years up to being drafted he played primarily as a ruck. In my experience, very few of those guys make it as KPF's when they get to AFL level. I wish him all the best as I'm an old ruck myself and President of the ruck's fan club. Without us, those pretty boy mids would be nothing

 

[El Dubya]

That's a bit harsh, i thought he played some good games.

Not in 2013 he didn't, he just needs to recapture his 2011 form after a horror run of injuries.

 

[mike123]

Not in 2013 he didn't, he just needs to recapture his 2011 form after a horror run of injuries.

What about round one?

 

[Defacto]

lol were st kilda were a while away from that. 3 we need to step up this year:
1) Tom Hickey/Billy Longer: one of them has to take the ruck position by the horns,
2) Josh Bruce/Luke Delaney: at least one of them needs to lock down that KPD role. the other needs to show signs he can at a minimum,
3) Tom Lee: we need him to play a near full season and really imposing himself on the fwd line.

some others:
4) Rhys Stanley: make or break year IMO, need to own the resting ruck position or settle in somewhere, maybe down back
5) Seb Ross/Tom Curren/Josh Saunders/Jack Newnes: need them to step up and start to show partial consistency in the midfield. curren is the one most likely too and has a body good to go. ross/newnes/saunders need to be aiming to play more than 10 games and work on consistency.

 

[El Dubya]

What about round one?

Yeah that's true, but after he came back from injury in the latter half of the season he was terrible.

 

[mike123]

Yeah that's true, but after he came back from injury in the latter half of the season he was terrible.

He probably needed more VFL time to recapture form. I thought he was rushed in too early.

 

[MarkT2]

For the Pies:
Grundy - needs to hold down the ruck for most of the year. That is a clear area of improvement over 2013 when Jolly was injuried and Grundy was raw.
Seedsman - could be a very good midfielder with capacity to also play as an atacking back or goal kicking forward.
Sidebottom - needs to take control of Dale Thomas' wing spot. He has the running capacity and goal sense but just needs defend better when required and be more damaging more often when the opportunity presents. He's the talented quality player who's next level is top end. Needs a top 3 B&F type year.

Hard to narrow it to just 3. We also need Keeffe and Fasolo to fire to make up for the talent losses and improve.

 

[El Dubya]

He probably needed more VFL time to recapture form. I thought he was rushed in too early.

And because of the kind of guy he is, once he hits a form slump his confidence takes a beating and he really struggles to recover. Probably lacked a little aerobic fitness too.

 

[Daz]

Good to great (what I think the OP was asking): Ziebell, Cunnington, Black

Not bad to good: McKenzie, Tarrant, MacMillan

 

[mike123]

And because of the kind of guy he is, once he hits a form slump his confidence takes a beating and he really struggles to recover. Probably lacked a little aerobic fitness too.

All I've heard commentators say how Motlop and Varcoe have the tank to push up the field and an run back down on the fastbreak. If Varcoe lacked his tank than he lacked one of his weapons.

 

[Hodgepodge]

1. Hallahan - consistent competitive hard ball winning goal kicking midfielder.
2. Garlett - another quick small forward/ midfielder. We need more pace through the middle so hoping Garlett can provide that
3. Langford - explosive inside player and tagger. More speed through the middle, another tagging option.