Ridley This
Team Captain
I want to address this as reasonably as I can:
Murphy could play for another 4 years at this rate
Lake, sure won't be around for the next run, but worth playing out his time here. Pretty sure we wouldn't get too much for him in any trade.
Hargrave is IMO a solid journyman who is overrate by many WB supportors. I'd be surprised if he plays next year, and even then it will be a limtied roll. Markovik or Austin will be adquite replacements.
Cross is playing some good footy atm, but he's on borrowed time. In a similar boat to Lake, but is also the perfect roll model for our younger mids.
Same goes for Morris, although depends alot on how he comes back from injury.
Austin (21 games) has been surprisingly good for a guy we basically pick off the scrap heap
Generally agree about Veszpremi.
Wood certainly end up a starting HBF. Howard is still an unknown. Tom Williams is a good/solid CHB when fit (which is never). Tutt has shown a bit as a pace small swingman
Boyd, agree, but will go long then Cross
Sherman, dispite his draw backs, adds a lot of much needed pace
Agree with almost all that.
Would rate Picken higher, but that's just me.
Liberatore continues to show unnatural composure for such a young play. I think he'll be a star (better then Wallis)
For a late draft pick, Tory Dickson has been unreal. 24 is not that old really. Ben Hudson was around 24 when Adelaide drafted him and he's still playing good footy at 33.
So what sort of bottoming out are you proposing?
We've been playing the kids all this year, and most of them look alright.
With 5 draft pick in rounds 1-3, there will be a natuall cull of some older blokes. Most Bulldogs will agree that will be Cross, Hargraves and Gilbee. Perhaps Gia, depending on how much value he can prove to us this year.
Lake, Morris, Cooney and Murphy will all serve continued value to the team, espcially when most teams are adopting this 'best 24/25' attitude of resting players across the season. They'll also hold together the fabric of the club, which is something Melbourne have torn to shreds with their 'bottoming out'.
Yes, we need a key foward to develope, but we've been needing that for 15 odd years. As said in many other posts here, we're working on that, but it's impossible to pick the result. We could also probably use another developing tall back, but we appear to have some serviable ones coming through.
How do you fix that balance? High picks can help, but they can just as easily do nothing for you. Melbourne are the obvious example here, but there are countless examples of teams sinking heaps of picks into tall that go nowhere. North supporters seem the complain that this has been their problem for years. Also I'm sick of chasing tall forwards from other clubs, as it's basicially never worked. Barry was ok, but too little too late.
In answer to you, and OP, all I will say is there is a nice organic rebuilding happening at the Dogs which is ticking along just fine. BMac appears to be doing a great job, and whilst some of our kids are being pretty overhyped, I'm pleased at the progression. For me, our last St Kilda game represents genuine short term pain, and I've been happy to see rather little of that this year.
Also OP, as much as it's nice that you have a vauge interst in the Dogs, you can take you're pitty and shove it.
Go follow the Pie/Swans/Patriots/Springboks or whatever other weird-ass combo you can come up with, because you clearly know little about our team.
Murphy could play for another 4 years at this rate
Lake, sure won't be around for the next run, but worth playing out his time here. Pretty sure we wouldn't get too much for him in any trade.
Hargrave is IMO a solid journyman who is overrate by many WB supportors. I'd be surprised if he plays next year, and even then it will be a limtied roll. Markovik or Austin will be adquite replacements.
Cross is playing some good footy atm, but he's on borrowed time. In a similar boat to Lake, but is also the perfect roll model for our younger mids.
Same goes for Morris, although depends alot on how he comes back from injury.
Austin (21 games) has been surprisingly good for a guy we basically pick off the scrap heap
Generally agree about Veszpremi.
Wood certainly end up a starting HBF. Howard is still an unknown. Tom Williams is a good/solid CHB when fit (which is never). Tutt has shown a bit as a pace small swingman
Skinner, agree
Boyd, agree, but will go long then Cross
Sherman, dispite his draw backs, adds a lot of much needed pace
Agree with almost all that.
Would rate Picken higher, but that's just me.
Liberatore continues to show unnatural composure for such a young play. I think he'll be a star (better then Wallis)
For a late draft pick, Tory Dickson has been unreal. 24 is not that old really. Ben Hudson was around 24 when Adelaide drafted him and he's still playing good footy at 33.
So what sort of bottoming out are you proposing?
We've been playing the kids all this year, and most of them look alright.
With 5 draft pick in rounds 1-3, there will be a natuall cull of some older blokes. Most Bulldogs will agree that will be Cross, Hargraves and Gilbee. Perhaps Gia, depending on how much value he can prove to us this year.
Lake, Morris, Cooney and Murphy will all serve continued value to the team, espcially when most teams are adopting this 'best 24/25' attitude of resting players across the season. They'll also hold together the fabric of the club, which is something Melbourne have torn to shreds with their 'bottoming out'.
Yes, we need a key foward to develope, but we've been needing that for 15 odd years. As said in many other posts here, we're working on that, but it's impossible to pick the result. We could also probably use another developing tall back, but we appear to have some serviable ones coming through.
How do you fix that balance? High picks can help, but they can just as easily do nothing for you. Melbourne are the obvious example here, but there are countless examples of teams sinking heaps of picks into tall that go nowhere. North supporters seem the complain that this has been their problem for years. Also I'm sick of chasing tall forwards from other clubs, as it's basicially never worked. Barry was ok, but too little too late.
In answer to you, and OP, all I will say is there is a nice organic rebuilding happening at the Dogs which is ticking along just fine. BMac appears to be doing a great job, and whilst some of our kids are being pretty overhyped, I'm pleased at the progression. For me, our last St Kilda game represents genuine short term pain, and I've been happy to see rather little of that this year.
Also OP, as much as it's nice that you have a vauge interst in the Dogs, you can take you're pitty and shove it.
Go follow the Pie/Swans/Patriots/Springboks or whatever other weird-ass combo you can come up with, because you clearly know little about our team.
