Best 23 in 2025

[sr36]

Elliott is undoubtedly the more dangerous forward and has the ability to pinch-hit in the midfield (wasn’t great at this in my opinion). WHE has him covered for wing/defender though.

I suppose this is the benefit of having lots of versatile players in the team. We don’t need to carry players who are overall a bit weaker just because they play a required role (unless you’re a KPD).

WHE is really unique and I think they'll continue to find a spot for him as he just gives us so much flexibility in that he can play as a tall or as an outside runner. He gives us the sub option of subbing out a tall without forgoing a tall.

I think his best position is as the fat side flanker - fast, hard running and clean - It's a low stat role, but we just score when we do get it across to him in that role.

 

[timokane]

Who do we think can play as our permanent full back.
Who is our next new Nathan Murphy type of defender.
I think this is what we are lacking in spades.
To me Murphy was the key to alot of our success in 2022 and 2023.
Hope to see some players step up and play that much needed Murphy role down back.
Play tight and great for one on ones and in the contested footy.
Wins the ball and hard and tight and bit like a pin ball defender.
Love that bash and crash type and can tear down oppostition forward line and nails them on the re bound.
Kind of a defender that quickly turns defense into attack.
I think this is what Collingwood is lacking.
Also nice height down back.
Like to see our game style become more bash and crash.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

I actually think McCreery spot could be in jeopardy with the acquisition of Membrey.

We already have Schultz and Hill as pressure forwards. Elliott can do this too. Do we really need a 4th pressure forward? McCreery is behind those 3 as he doesn't hit the scoreboard. He is not a noted goalkicker.

Therefore should we want another marking player and goalscorer, McCreery could be pushed out by Membrey. McRae trialled him in midfield last season for stints but he didn't make an impact. He couldn't find the ball, its a new position that is clearly foreign to him.

I think even a player like Hoskin-Elliott could be preferred to McCreery as he can play any role. And with Lipinski, he just finished top 10 in Copeland. He is more consistent than McCreery.

 

[Exambolor]

I actually think McCreery spot could be in jeopardy with the acquisition of Membrey.

We already have Schultz and Hill as pressure forwards. Elliott can do this too. Do we really need a 4th pressure forward? McCreery is behind those 3 as he doesn't hit the scoreboard. He is not a noted goalkicker.

Therefore should we want another marking player and goalscorer, McCreery could be pushed out by Membrey. McRae trialled him in midfield last season for stints but he didn't make an impact. He couldn't find the ball, its a new position that is clearly foreign to him.

I think even a player like Hoskin-Elliott could be preferred to McCreery as he can play any role. And with Lipinski, he just finished top 10 in Copeland. He is more consistent than McCreery.

I feel like this is a common thing with Beau detractors. People only look at the stats sheet. What he brings to the team goes way beyond that, his pressure and pace around the ground is the best in this team. I wouldn't be dropping him.

 

[Exambolor]

Do we play two rucks this year? Cox is a really handy backup option to have for the ruck or to throw forward and disrupt defence setups. His stats alone don’t justify his selection among a pretty deep list, but his inclusion somehow just seems to make the team better. With the sub remaining, we can always sub on a runner for him or another tall late in the game if we are fortunate with no injuries. Without Cox, who should relieve Cameron?

Mitchell, Lipinski, WHE, Frampton/Dean, Membrey and even Sidey/Pendles are the other potential starters who have question marks over their place in our best side IMO. Hopefully Allan puts some pressure on those mids or perhaps Parker claims a spot down back and releases Crisp or Houston into more midfield time to improve the side.

What great problems to have!

We need someone to at least chop out. DC looked gassed at some points when he was solo rucking this year, he cant do it the whole game. McStay probably the best candidate to chop out, have him play the Daniher role, take fwd ruck contests and chop out in the middle. If we're playing all three of Checkers/Membrey and him that would be the best plan.

Remember he had a BOG performance in a final for Brisbane being the main ruck so he's got the chops for it.

 

[iGNITER]

I feel like this is a common thing with Beau detractors. People only look at the stats sheet. What he brings to the team goes way beyond that, his pressure and pace around the ground is the best in this team. I wouldn't be dropping him.

A lock for the best 22 for mine.
Multiple times this season I noticed opposition players panic/fumble when he is in the vicinity - his pace, pressure and attack at the contest are so valuable.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

I feel like this is a common thing with Beau detractors. People only look at the stats sheet. What he brings to the team goes way beyond that, his pressure and pace around the ground is the best in this team. I wouldn't be dropping him.

What else does McCreery do beside providing pressure, tackling and pace?

 

[jakson68]

What else does McCreery do beside providing pressure, tackling and pace?

There is pressure, then there is pressure.
When Beau hits you, you stay hit.
I have seen players second guess when he is close by, as he doesn't just restrain you, he tackles and tackles hard.

People get too caught up in numbers and stats.
It is the little things (sometimes unseen to the camera and stat sheet) that assist in making the larger, more noticeable acts, benefit the team.

 

[rdangelo]

Anyone who doesn't have Membery in their starting 23 team is delusional.

He's a lock

 

[Jen2310]

Anyone who doesn't have Membery in their starting 23 team is delusional.

He's a lock

for who?
You gotta take a forward out.
He's a third tall, which is what WHE plays.
Or you take out a ruck and have Mcstay 2nd ruck

 

[RobJD]

What else does McCreery do beside providing pressure, tackling and pace?

His pressure and attack on opponents provides a presence - a distraction for his opponents attack on the ball, effectively he poses a question to all opposition players whether they want to risk the consequences of getting near the ball. Some call it intimidation.

Like Bobby, when he has the ball, he knows how to use his pace to break defensive lines and provide forwards with either one out opportunities or a clear run at the ball. There's not many in that side that provide that game breaking ability and it's essential to scoring.

He's a lock in the best 22 for me.

 

[rdangelo]

for who?
You gotta take a forward out.
He's a third tall, which is what WHE plays.
Or you take out a ruck and have Mcstay 2nd ruck

First you need to remember a team rarely ever has its best 23 available, put that aside..

Our forward line will be:

Elliott Mihocek Membery
Hill McStay Schultz

Int: McCreery

Go tally up how many games those guys missed last season.

Membery kicked 30+ in 7 of 8 seasons he's played 12 seasons or more at 65% accuracy. He can also go back to play loose or plug a hole.

Regardless of injuries or not he will play.

 

[rdangelo]

First you need to remember a team rarely ever has its best 23 available, put that aside..

Our forward line will be:

Elliott Mihocek Membery
Hill McStay Schultz

Int: McCreery

Go tally up how many games those guys missed last season.

Membery kicked 30+ in 7 of 8 seasons he's played 12 seasons or more at 65% accuracy. He can also go back to play loose or plug a hole.

Regardless or injuries or not he will play.

Cox is the one who will miss out with Cameron and then McStay chipping in

 

[mocamagic]

Anyone who doesn't have Membery in their starting 23 team is delusional.

He's a lock

I'm one of those delusional ones

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

I actually think McCreery spot could be in jeopardy with the acquisition of Membrey.

We already have Schultz and Hill as pressure forwards. Elliott can do this too. Do we really need a 4th pressure forward? McCreery is behind those 3 as he doesn't hit the scoreboard. He is not a noted goalkicker.

Therefore should we want another marking player and goalscorer, McCreery could be pushed out by Membrey. McRae trialled him in midfield last season for stints but he didn't make an impact. He couldn't find the ball, its a new position that is clearly foreign to him.

I think even a player like Hoskin-Elliott could be preferred to McCreery as he can play any role. And with Lipinski, he just finished top 10 in Copeland. He is more consistent than McCreery.

Don't take this as a shot at you because it's not intended to be one, but McCreery's importance constantly being under sold is one of the more baffling behaviours of this board

McCreery is one of those players whose impact can't really be measured statistically

I honestly don't have the eloquence to describe it

He's way more crucial to this side than he's given credit for. He's one of those very rare players who may not bother the stat sheet, but his presence around a contest or loose ball causes nervousness for the opposition. The perfect example of what I'm referring to was the second game we played Carlton where both he and Saad were coming at a loose ball. Despite Saad being far closer to said ball, not only did Beau gain ground at a frightening rate, his impending arrival cause Saad to absolutely shit bricks and misread/fumble the incoming ball which Beau swooped on the ball and kicked inside 50 which led to a goal



I also think that he can be turned into a damaging half forward/mid or even a pure mid/tagger if they can get his tank up

 

[Jen2310]

Cox is the one who will miss out with Cameron and then McStay chipping in

Only way I can see it happening

 

[LuckyLee]

I reckon it’s a near certainty that Membrey plays from the start of the season, alongside McStay and Checkers.

If everyone is available, I think we’ll go with something like this.

FB: Howe, Frampton, Maynard
HB: Houston, Moore, Crisp
C: J.Daicos, DeGoey, Quaynor
HF: Schultz, Mihocek, Hill
FF: Elliott, McStay, Membrey
R: Cameron, N.Daicos, Mitchell
Int: Perryman, Allan, Pendlebury, McCreery, Hoskin-Elliott

I couldn’t find a spot for the likes of Sidebottom, Lipinski, Cox, Dean, Markov, McInnes, Macrae, Jaith, Sullivan, Long, Harrison, DiMattia, Johnston, etc.

I’d love to see Smit in particular dominate in the VFL and earn some games at AFL level in the middle of the season when we might rest a few of our older players to freshen them up.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

On the Beau discussion - No one is understating the value of Beau's defensive forward pressure, and his impact on the game through pressure acts, but he's taking up space in the forward line too, and there's an expected return in terms of goals from that.

Nobody would be happy with Beau McCreery playing 23 games in the forward line and kicking zero goals. I think everyone would be thrilled if he kicked 20 goals. So there's a number, somewhere in between those two figures, that is his pass mark.

He kicked 10 goals in 17 games last year, which is just 0.58 goals per game. I think it would be fair to want that number up around 0.8 at least, which would give him 18 goals in a full season, to be satisfied with his output. Lipinski kicked 18 goals last year and everyone seems fine with dropping him, even though the footy department had him 7th in the Copeland.

When you're trying to find spots in the side for: Mihocek, McStay, Elliott, Hill, Membrey, Hoskin-Elliott, Lipinski and McCreery in the side, it's not unreasonable to expect discussions to be around most of those guys and what their expected level of play is. These discussions are healthy - No one is calling Beau a dud.

 

[Jen2310]

I think we'll see IQ back in his natural HB position.
And seems Josh will spend time down in defence too, like last season.

 

[sr36]

On the Beau discussion - No one is understating the value of Beau's defensive forward pressure, and his impact on the game through pressure acts, but he's taking up space in the forward line too, and there's an expected return in terms of goals from that.

Nobody would be happy with Beau McCreery playing 23 games in the forward line and kicking zero goals. I think everyone would be thrilled if he kicked 20 goals. So there's a number, somewhere in between those two figures, that is his pass mark.

He kicked 10 goals in 17 games last year, which is just 0.58 goals per game. I think it would be fair to want that number up around 0.8 at least, which would give him 18 goals in a full season, to be satisfied with his output. Lipinski kicked 18 goals last year and everyone seems fine with dropping him, even though the footy department had him 7th in the Copeland.

When you're trying to find spots in the side for: Mihocek, McStay, Elliott, Hill, Membrey, Hoskin-Elliott, Lipinski and McCreery in the side, it's not unreasonable to expect discussions to be around most of those guys and what their expected level of play is. These discussions are healthy - No one is calling Beau a dud.

It's nearly impossible to statistically quantify the impact of pressure players - so many goals are from turnover. It's become clear that causing a turnover is as important to creating a lot of goals as the bloke who kicked the goal is. Beau doesn't get on the end of many, but he creates goals through causing turnovers and through breaking lines with those runs from the wing.

It's all a bit of a vibe when judging his importance/performance.

 

[Granit1962]

Interesting discussion if we assume all fit and all are playing well. We currently have 8 potentially first choice players for 7 positions, assuming one on the interchange - McStay, Mihocek, Membery, Cox as our key talks (despite Membery being only 188 cms). Then Shultz, Hill, Elliot, Mcreery as the pressure small/medium forwards.

They are all either to good or important to our structure to leave out, so one goes back.

Otherwise its Membery for me, all the others are proven in a Collingwood jumper and system. Cox will have a full preseason this year and expect will be more consistent in 2025. Also hopefully it is Smitt, Steene or Condon putting pressure on Cox, not a pure forward.

Mcreery’s consistency, pressure, ability to run through the middle along with his explosive pace makes him pretty untouchable. If I recall correctly we were a shadow of our truselves when both Mcreery and Shultz were out.

A good injury run, a stronger and better version of HH to make his way back by the end of 2025. Along with the reasonably realistic possibility of the emergence of Allan as a permanent best 22 player, will hopefully turn up the heat on selection committee further, and/or, provide a continuous level of high quality depth.

 

[LarryKinn]

I think we'll see IQ back in his natural HB position.
And seems Josh will spend time down in defence too, like last season.

With Houston and Perryman on board I would”ve expected Josh to go back to AA position on the wing,
Crisp,both the Daicos’, Pendles,Houston and Perryman can all rotate through HBF, wing and Midfield

 

[Jen2310]

With Houston and Perryman on board I would”ve expected Josh to go back to AA position on the wing,
Crisp,both the Daicos’, Pendles,Houston and Perryman can all rotate through HBF, wing and Midfield

We may see Josh interchange between wing and HB, maybe with Perryman (who has a good tank)?
Josh was training with the defenders this week, which got me thinking they still want to use him there.

Lippa will be predominant on the wing (been training sorely in the midfield), prob spend time forward, maybe interchange between him and crisp
We'll see a few players that will interchange between wing. HF. HB

 

[LarryKinn]

We may see Josh interchange between wing and HB, maybe with Perryman (who has a good tank)?
Josh was training with the defenders this week, which got me thinking they still want to use him there.

Lippa will be predominant on the wing (been training sorely in the midfield), prob spend time forward, maybe interchange between him and crisp
We'll see a few players that will interchange between wing. HF. HB

Very difficult to see a clear 23 for me
All of Lipinski, Sidebottom,Membry,McCreery,WHE,Cox (Dean/Frampton and to a lesser extent Allan vying for limited spots

 

[Jen2310]

Very difficult to see a clear 23 for me
All of Lipinski, Sidebottom,Membry,McCreery,WHE,Cox (Dean/Frampton and to a lesser extent Allan vying for limited spots

Will be very interesting to see he mix they go with.
We'll see more after christmas.