Best 22 in ‘22

[BangyBangy]

Would like to see Kiddy take over Birch's role. Think we improve as a team straight away if that happens. Was very happy with how Kiddy went in defence.

I was always a big fan of the assets that Birchall brought to the team. Too easy for teams to sit on Rich if we don't have another elite user by foot out of the backline. I think with another pre-season learning his role, Kiddy has all the skills required, plus has the capability to be a better defender too.

If we start playing Starce in the guts a little more, it opens up a spot for either Answerth or Madden on the bench depending on what mix we want in the backline.

 

[BangyBangy]

If Payne/Adams/Gardiner had strong preseasons I wouldn't mind playing Andrews forward/ruck

Lol. Imagine if Andrews became the ultimate swingman.

Just like that one trick that Worsfold always had up his sleeve when at West Coast.

Games in the balance, but we're struggling for goals.

..... Move Adam Hunter into the forward line......

 

[BuntonRules]

I think we move Payne back and use Andrews up Fwd in the Hippwood role, Andrews showed his strong marking ability against the dogs.

I would also test Starc in the midfield, with Coleman and Answorth coming back to cover him and Birch

Not so black and white. Have both do the preseason as swingman, and then play as required. Another asset, another bit of insurance.

 

[Berrygood]

Gardiner, Andrews, Starcevich
Coleman, Adams, Rich

McCluggage, Zorko, Robbo
Big O, Neale, Lyons

McCarthy, McStay, Bailey
Cameron, Daniher, Rayner

(fwd/ruck), J Berry, Cockatoo, Ah Chee/ Devrob/ Prior

Starting 18 I'm very happy with. That third tall fwd or fwd/ruck spot is a a tough one. I'm giving Hippy the year off, if it's a case of decreasing chances of reoccurrance the longer your given to heal then take the full year and a bit longer, come back next preseason stronger and more confident in the knee. We don't need to rush a long term talent back.

We do need to find a replacement for Hippy. That fwd or fwd/ruck area is really shallow in depth. Fullerton has been serviceable I guess but still a way off good, n Ballenden I think will be a good vfl player. With a preseason into him Jack Payne could offer more than Fullerton in that role but I'd much rather he hone his defensive skills, get a full injury free (knock wood) season into him, be it in the vfl or firsts, playing key defender. I think that's best long term. Nor do I think it's a good idea to play Andrews a a swingman or as a fwd. Don't rob Peter to pay Paul. It never works.

So what do we do, do we stick with Fullerton and hope he improves out of sight or do we have a crack at trade time? Do we look for a good kid that hasn't been getting a run elsewhere, someone that will make Hippy earn his spot back and will be great depth going fwd or do we look for an ageing player like Birchall or Hodge but a fwd for a yr or two? I'd rather a player that will make us better for longer.

I'll back Robbo to have one last red hot, body be damned, season next year then retire. He won't be giving his spot up without a fight. Whoever gets it will have earnt it. Devrob would be my pick.

Outside the fwd/ruck role, I think our depth is very very good. A good mix of experience/maturity (Matho, Lester, CEY, Ah Chee, Archie Smith

44

Archie Smith

Age

29

Ht

203cm

Wt

104kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.5

2star

K

2.6

1star

HB

6.9

4star

CL

2.1

4star

HO

14.4

5star

D

4.7

1star

K

1.7

1star

HB

3.0

2star

CL

2.0

4star

HO

11.3

5star

D

12.4

4star

K

3.4

2star

HB

9.0

5star

CL

3.0

5star

HO

17.8

5star

) and potential (Devrob, Prior, Madden, Payne, T Berry, Answerth). E Smith n Joyce aching for a shot. Let's hope the vfl season is a full one next year, and that the young players get a proper shot at developing. McFadyen, Carter Michael, Brock Smith, the new draftees need to get games.

Fix the Hippy hole, some natural improvement and we're top 4 again but this time we're deeper n better.

 

[BangyBangy]

I'd be expecting Sharp to be in strong calculation for starting 22. Fagan & the coaches must have seen something about him they really liked last pre-season to have him debut so early while he was still in grade 12. Not saying Fagan plays favorites but.....

 

[lionraven]

I'd be expecting Sharp to be in strong calculation for starting 22. Fagan & the coaches must have seen something about him they really liked last pre-season to have him debut so early while he was still in grade 12. Not saying Fagan plays favorites but.....

Someone with his running capacity could be anywhere from a Langdon type fat side winger to a Gaff type outside mid. I hope he can keep his running prowess and add some muscle to become a great inside outside mid like Macrae from the Dogs. Despite being so slight, he did not get physically embarrassed too much. A couple of years and a few kilos is what he needs

 

[Berrygood]

I'd be expecting Sharp to be in strong calculation for starting 22. Fagan & the coaches must have seen something about him they really liked last pre-season to have him debut so early while he was still in grade 12. Not saying Fagan plays favorites but.....

Yeah, there's a kid I forgot in my squad evaluation. I think for Sharp tho, he will need to get some football under his belt first. A pretty early season ending injury put his development and chances of best 22 back a year.

Like a lot of the young ones, it's going to be vital that a full and competitive vfl/2nd tier comp is played next season. I'd hate to see their development stalled again. Detrimental to them now and the club down the track. We draft some of these kids to get coaching and experience into them with an eye to replacing some of our ageing players. Sharpie, Tom Joyce, Mcfadyen, Blake Coleman, Henry Smith, Lois Lane, Brock Smith, Ely Smith (gee's we got a lot of Smiths), Carter Michael all need games and hard footy.

Just an aside re Mcfadyen, I reckon he can become a player like Stevie J. A cheeky mid/fwd, he likes to kick a goal, has a bit of size about him. Cruelled by injury early but showed a bit when he got back this year. I hope he has a big preseason and comes on nicely next year. I hope they all do actually.

 

[BangyBangy]

Yeah, there's a kid I forgot in my squad evaluation. I think for Sharp tho, he will need to get some football under his belt first. A pretty early season ending injury put his development and chances of best 22 back a year.

Eh? What is your reasoning for that? He had a ligament injury, all good now. All healed. Not like he had a Michael Voss, Michael Barlow, Nathan Brown leg break.

The coaching group pretty much slotted him straight in early this year. Can't see how being injured for a few months this year would prohibit him from starting 22 next year. His tank is clearly next level. I certainly wasn't expecting him to get a call up early in his first year, but the coaching staff saw enough football skills to warrant it.

 

[Berrygood]

Eh? What is your reasoning for that? He had a ligament injury, all good now. All healed. Not like he had a Michael Voss, Michael Barlow, Nathan Brown leg break.

The coaching group pretty much slotted him straight in early this year. Can't see how being injured for a few months this year would prohibit him from starting 22 next year. His tank is clearly next level. I certainly wasn't expecting him to get a call up early in his first year, but the coaching staff saw enough football skills to warrant it.

All I said was he'll have to get some games into him first, and some development he would have missed will need to be caught up. I don't think that's unreasonable. I never said he wouldn't get there. He may get there next year, he may not. Depends on what the coaching staff believe he needs to work on. He may already be in your best 22 but not in mine yet. You have your opinion, I have mine.

 

[Nunez]

All I said was he'll have to get some games into him first, and some development he would have missed will need to be caught up. I don't think that's unreasonable. I never said he wouldn't get there. He may get there next year, he may not. Depends on what the coaching staff believe he needs to work on. He may already be in your best 22 but not in mine yet. You have your opinion, I have mine.

Tbh I'm confident we were just ultra conservative with Harry given his age. He'll be fine for pre season and round one if he's good enough.

 

[cotter101]

Gardiner, Andrews, Coleman
Rich, Adams, Starcevich

Robinson Lyons McCluggage

McCarthy Daniher Zorko
Cameron McStay Rayner

Foll: Oscar, Neale, Bailey
INT: Berry, Robertson, Sharp and one of Answerth/Lester. The other, Medi Sub.

 

[BangyBangy]

Gardiner, Andrews, Coleman
Rich, Adams, Starcevich

Robinson Lyons McCluggage

McCarthy Daniher Zorko
Cameron McStay Rayner

Foll: Oscar, Neale, Bailey
INT: Berry, Robertson, Sharp and one of Answerth/Lester. The other, Medi Sub.

Like it Cotter. Touch wood we have a better run with injury next year because our best 22 is pretty solid.

No room there for Ah Chee, Prior or Madden, all of whom look pretty ok in our best 22 also.

Edit" Oh, and Fullarton. I like Fullarton.

Edit Edit: And Cockatoo. He'll be handy with another preseason.

 

[AFLQLD]

Gardiner, Andrews, Coleman
Rich, Adams, Starcevich

Robinson Lyons McCluggage

McCarthy Daniher Zorko
Cameron McStay Rayner

Foll: Oscar, Neale, Bailey
INT: Berry, Robertson, Sharp and one of Answerth/Lester. The other, Medi Sub.

every time I try to do the team in my head I keep finding myself torn by about four or five selections:

- a second ruck rather than using one of the forwards to give Oscar a rest.
- how many talls we can play forward. Two? Three? At least until Hipwo
- what do we do with Ah Chee and Cockatoo
- how we get games into Payne, Sharp, Prior and Madden.

each time I do it the team is slightly different.

 

[cotter101]

Like it Cotter. Touch wood we have a better run with injury next year because our best 22 is pretty solid.

No room there for Ah Chee, Prior or Madden, all of whom look pretty ok in our best 22 also.

Edit" Oh, and Fullarton. I like Fullarton.

Edit Edit: And Cockatoo. He'll be handy with another preseason.

I think we’re better off going shorter next season with Hipwood out or brining in someone else. I’m not writing Fullarton off but he isn’t ready.

Ah Chee I generally forgot about.
Bench spots up for grabs.

 

[Section 5]

Someone will break into the best 22 it always happens but i have no idea who coaches might have in mind
Also trade and draft to come
So for me at this super early stage

Gardiner, Andrews, Starcevich
Rich, Adams, Coleman

Robinson Bailey McCluggage

McCarthy Daniher (R/F ?) Zorko
Cameron McStay Payne (R/F ?)

Foll: Oscar, Neale, Lyons

INT: Rayner, J Berry, Lester then one of Cockatoo, Ah Chee, Prior, Robertson, Fullarton (R/F)

Next: Anyone ready to step up
Team very similar to most posted
Coleman has found his best position off HBF. Club just needs to resign him.

 

[mattsmob]

every time I try to do the team in my head I keep finding myself torn by about four or five selections:

- a second ruck rather than using one of the forwards to give Oscar a rest.
- how many talls we can play forward. Two? Three? At least until Hipwo
- what do we do with Ah Chee and Cockatoo
- how we get games into Payne, Sharp, Prior and Madden.

each time I do it the team is slightly different.

We've got a pretty good 24-25 players that genuinely deserve gametime, I'm most set on the defence.
Starcevich, Andrews, Gardiner
Rich, Adams, Coleman
Bench: Prior
I feel this gives us the best balance with 3 talls that have a good mix of intercept/defending and 4 smaller types with a mix of lockdown, run and carry and kicking skill out of the backline. A couple changes that could go either way are Gardiner/Payne and Prior/Ah Chee/Answerth.

 

[BangyBangy]

We've got a pretty good 24-25 players that genuinely deserve gametime, I'm most set on the defence.
Starcevich, Andrews, Gardiner
Rich, Adams, Coleman
Bench: Prior
I feel this gives us the best balance with 3 talls that have a good mix of intercept/defending and 4 smaller types with a mix of lockdown, run and carry and kicking skill out of the backline. A couple changes that could go either way are Gardiner/Payne and Prior/Ah Chee/Answerth.

Could argue for Prior, Madden or Answerth as a bench defender. Maybe two depending on how much time if any Starcevich plays in the midfield next year.

A lot to look forward to in terms of development of our younger players.

 

[mattsmob]

Could argue for Prior, Madden or Answerth as a bench defender. Maybe two depending on how much time if any Starcevich plays in the midfield next year.

A lot to look forward to in terms of development of our younger players.

I'm quite bullish on Prior and if it all goes right for him he could be a great all round half-back. In the juniors he was an intercepting/rebounding defender and already in the AFL he's shown his physicality and composure, fingers crossed everything is able to click for him.

 

[twhowler]

I think it's more relevant to think of the Best 22 as how many players we have now in each position who are at least decent players - i.e. not a weak link. The bottom 6 are usually pretty good in a flag side I have tried to leave out anyone I would be a bit worried about in a final.

For this exercise I will make Lester a forward given Hippy is out until at least the midway point. There are a few players who are Mid OR Forward so i've erred on where they would likely spend more minutes.

I am strongly of the view we need a re-jigged midifeld so my main move there is Starcevich in.

BEST 22 POTENTIAL

Key Backs: Andrews, Payne, Gardiner, Adams.
Small / Medium backs: Coleman, Rich, Answerth, Prior, Madden.
Ruck: Oscar
Mids: Lyons, Neale, Zorko, Robertson, Robinson, Starcevich, J Berry, McCluggage, Bailey.
Key Forwards: Daniher, McStay, Lester. (Hipwood once fit)
Small / Medium forwards: Cameron, McCarthy, Ah Chee, Cockatoo, Rayner.

So that's 27 players without Hipwood I would say are all very capable of being in our best side. That seems like a decent number - we can cover 5 injuries, although it depends who they happen to of course.

NOT BEST 22 NOW BUT HAVE SHOWN SOME SIGNS / DEPTH

Tom Berry, Tom Fullarton, Harry Sharp, Mathieson.

POSSIBLE BOLTERS FOR 2022

Kalin Lane, Henry Smith, Blake Coleman, McFadyen (injury held him back), first rounders from 2021.


I think the above is a squad that can challenge for the flag in 2022. The only players who possibly go downhill are Zorko and Robinson, and that could be a positive if it means a new-look midfield. Backline should be naturally better at defending without Birchall, and if the key pillars are fit will make a big difference. Forward line is still a threat as long as Daniher and McStay are out there. Rayner will help somewhat. We have plenty of options in midfield and some genuine quality - just need to get the mix right.

The obvious worry is if Oscar goes down. Only the coaching staff would know where Lane and Henry Smith are at. Suspect we will know how much confidence we have based on whether Archie gets another year.


The other key aspect to challenging in 2022 is our competitors. You would think Cats and Port a decent chance of dropping out of Top 4. Dogs will have no Bruce for most of the year at least and will they have Martin? Demons no reason to drop out.

Of the teams likely to get into top 4, Tigers some chance but very different team now, Swans a chance but can be hard to reproduce that rise, GWS defied expectations but still horribly inconsistent.

We should be confident of Top 4 again.

 

[jackess]

Been thinking about some alternate options

B: Gardiner Andrews Answerth
HB: Rich Adams KColeman
C: McCluggage Neale JBerry
HF: Rayner McStay McCarthy
FF: Cameron Daniher Zorko
Ruck: McInerney Lyons Bailey
Bench: Robertson, Ah Chee, Madden, Starcevich

Back 7: Andrews, Adams, Gardiner take the talls/marking forwards, Answerth lockdown small, Kiddy and Rich offer some run and Madden plays defensive/can offer run

Mids: Clug and Berry mostly on the wings, Neale and Lyons full time mids (maybe Lyons could rest a bit forward), Bailey getting more midfield time, Dev more of a defensive job, Zorko, Starcevich and Rayner relieve the mids and Ah Chee can play wing/half forward

Forwards: Joe goes back to rucking otherwise the structure remains much the same with Rayner and Linc playing as smaller marking targets and Zorko taking Cockys role for pressure and setting up goals

Not sure who Hipwood replaces but there will be other injuries

Unlucky; Robinson (could take Devs roles and put Berry on the ball), Fullarton, Lester, Cockatoo

 

[briztoon]

Been thinking about some alternate options

B: Gardiner Andrews Answerth
HB: Rich Adams KColeman
C: McCluggage Neale JBerry
HF: Rayner McStay McCarthy
FF: Cameron Daniher Zorko
Ruck: McInerney Lyons Bailey
Bench: Robertson, Ah Chee, Madden, Starcevich

Back 7: Andrews, Adams, Gardiner take the talls/marking forwards, Answerth lockdown small, Kiddy and Rich offer some run and Madden plays defensive/can offer run

Mids: Clug and Berry mostly on the wings, Neale and Lyons full time mids (maybe Lyons could rest a bit forward), Bailey getting more midfield time, Dev more of a defensive job, Zorko, Starcevich and Rayner relieve the mids and Ah Chee can play wing/half forward

Forwards: Joe goes back to rucking otherwise the structure remains much the same with Rayner and Linc playing as smaller marking targets and Zorko taking Cockys role for pressure and setting up goals

Not sure who Hipwood replaces but there will be other injuries

Unlucky; Robinson (could take Devs roles and put Berry on the ball), Fullarton, Lester, Cockatoo

It’s a small thing, and made me lol, but Rich doesn’t offer run.

 

[BangyBangy]

It’s a small thing, and made me lol, but Rich doesn’t offer run.

He can with sufficient motivation if that video from their WA trip was anything to go by.

 

[jackess]

It’s a small thing, and made me lol, but Rich doesn’t offer run.

He's not quick but he'd be leading our handball receives by quite a margin and you don't get those by standing still

 

[briztoon]

He's not quick but he'd be leading our handball receives by quite a margin and you don't get those by standing still

Yep, because Birchall fed him a crap load. Overlapping run to then kick it 60m is not the same as run and carry to break down defences.

 

[jackess]

Yep, because Birchall fed him a crap load. Overlapping run to then kick it 60m is not the same as run and carry to break down defences.

Ok. Let me know when the entire footy following population has conformed to your terminology