Collingwood's Rolling Best 22

[ThexderX]

Marley is in a poor patch of form. But it wasn't that long ago that he was almost AA from a back pocket. At his best he is a high possession winning, line breaking back pocket that brings mongrel and doesn't lose a contest. People remember that form and potential.

I don't necessarily disagree with your comments, but that was a long time ago in footy terms and he has shown very little for an extended period of time.

I personally think his decision making and skills are weak.

I hope he can rediscover his early career potential, but it has to be soon because he will get left behind.

 

[DAWESOME!!]

The other option of course is that it could free Howe up to play forward again...especially if Scharenberg is also available.

I still haven't given up on this concept as he is that mid-size type everyone wants.

Can't see any we'd try to swap Howe and White's roles, when the absolute best we might hope for is that they would play as well as they currently are. How has found his role. White is playing well. Leave them be.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

Some good rolling going on here.

 

[DaVe86]

I don't necessarily disagree with your comments, but that was a long time ago in footy terms and he has shown very little for an extended period of time.

I personally think his decision making and skills are weak.

I hope he can rediscover his early career potential, but it has to be soon because he will get left behind.

Williams is definitely the player most vulnerable in my rolling 22. The issue is that Smith is currently taking his spot in the side right now, and I still have Williams above Smith because he can defend better.

The guys who will challenge Williams are Ramsey and Scharenberg, but both are coming off knee reco's so I'm hesitant to put them in just yet.

The other option I toy with is to send Adams into the back pocket and promote Aish into my senior side, or even Broomhead for that speed and class.

That's probably the way I am leaning right now, but need Aish to put a few more games together, and Broomhead to prove he can cut it at AFL level.

I really like Adams as a back pocket because he is as aggressive as Marley, but has better skills and leadership.

 

[DaVe86]

Can't see any we'd try to swap Howe and White's roles, when the absolute best we might hope for is that they would play as well as they currently are. How has found his role. White is playing well. Leave them be.

Yeah I doubt White and Howe would swap, but if Scharenberg comes in then it might allow Howe to go forward again. As I said, I haven't given up hope on Howe cutting it as a forward because I reckon he is a goal-kicker. For now though, Howe is playing terrific football as a defender, so I wouldn't go messing with it short term.

 

[ThePhantom777]

Yeah I doubt White and Howe would swap, but if Scharenberg comes in then it might allow Howe to go forward again. As I said, I haven't given up hope on Howe cutting it as a forward because I reckon he is a goal-kicker. For now though, Howe is playing terrific football as a defender, so I wouldn't go messing with it short term.

Seen Howe float down a few times looking for a goal!

 

[DaVe86]

Seen Howe float down a few times looking for a goal!

Yeah but his kicking at goal has been horrendous. Clearly hasn't been practicing at training. He was a good kick for goal at Melbourne by memory, but never consistent in the role. Even at Melbourne, his most consistent footy came as a defender.

 

[DWil6]

Yeah but his kicking at goal has been horrendous. Clearly hasn't been practicing at training. He was a good kick for goal at Melbourne by memory, but never consistent in the role. Even at Melbourne, his most consistent footy came as a defender.

It's pretty crazy to think he wouldn't have a good goal accuracy given his elite passing from the backline. It's not like he always plays it safe with his kick outs.

 

[Shaneprice97]

FB. Jon Marsh, Nathan Brown, Jeremy Howe
HB. Ben Sincair, Ben Reid, Marley Williams.

Marsh i would love for him to have a full season averaging around 14-16 disposals per game with 5-6 marks a game. Brown to keep on shutting down the big forwards. Reid to keep doing exactly what hes doing right now, hes the best CHB in the game, no key defender can kick better than him. And for Williams, Sinclair and Howe to average around the 17-21 disposals per game mark.

Likes of Maynard, Langdon, Ramsay and Scharenberg all worthy of a spot in this backline, 2 of which will probably get a spot on the backline. Even Smith whos averaging over 20 disposals per game is my 8th inline for a small defender spot. Sinclair gets a spot based on his last month, if he can replicate or have form close to that over 25 games, hes in for a huge 2017, if he drops off, Ramsay, then Langdon are my next in lines.

C: Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury, Jack Crisp.
Ruck: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar.
Its hard to ask for Sidebottom and Pendlebury to improve, and to be frank they probably wont improve because they are at such a high level right now, but they just gotta keep averaging around that 26-30 disposal per game mark which i expect from then anyway. Maybe i coukd ask Pendlebury to have a Brownlow medal worthy season, and Sidebottom to get an AA spot?
Treloar has been absolutely massive for us this season, if he can have the exact same season next year it will be huge, Kicking can be improved and i expect it will, hes our second or 3rd best player (Reid and him fighting for 2nd or 3rd). Taylor Adams, gun, one of my favorite players and is rated very high internally and externally, his kicking has improved rapidly, he has speed and no one can argue his love for the club and his toughness on the field, barring injury, expecting a 25-30 disposal per game average from him playing through the guts and down back, i see a bit of Sam Mitchell in him, just faster than Sam and obviously not as good as kick (but everyone knows how good same is). And now i come to Crisp, Crisp isnt poor this year, he just isnt as good. If Crisp has a breakout year, his improvement along with our other 4 mids can jump our midfield in that top 2-3 category, perhaps number 1 in the league. If Crisp can jump his numbers up and average 25 disposals per game along with a goal a game he will be huge, i mean massively huge. Now when i think about it, Grundy is the one we should be praying puts it all together in 2017. After his massive month, Grundy could be heading for a massive 2017, AA candidate. Is it to much to ask Grundy to average 20 disposals per game, 5 marks and 25-30 hitouts per game? Thats what i really really want from him, and him and cox combined id like about 45 hitouts per game. Crisp and Grundy improving could make our midfield scary good.

HF: Travis Varcoe, Travis Cloke, Jamie Elliot
F: Alex Fasolo, Darcy Moore, Mason Cox.

Travis Varcoe i hope can replicate is 2015 in 2017, thats what i want from our very reliable leader.

As for the others. Goals per game wise, in 25 games i want the boys to kick this many.
Travis Cloke: 50 goals (2.0 per game).
Jamie Elliot: 50 goals (2.0 per game).
Alex Fasolo: 50 goals (2.0 per game).
Darcy Moore: 38 goals (1.5 per game).
Mason Cox: 25 goals (1.0 per game along with 15 hitouts a game)
Contested marking, im not sure what to expect from the boys. Juries out on whether Fasolo and Elliot can work together, they could be huge together or they could flop together. Its really only been 1 or the other of them in the forwardline since 2011, so im interested to see how they gel. I know individually they can kick 50 in a season.

Bench: not sure who to add. Swanny if he sticks around, 2 of Maynard, Langdon and Sharenberg i guess. Greenwood too. Not quite sure.

And the last position is for Jesse White.
I see a role for big Jess in 2017, as a wingman. Jesse gets a spot on the wing if he can average around these numbers, 15-18 disposals per game, 6-8 marks per game providing a target for us around the ground. If jesse can have these numbers, kick the occasional goal (maybe about 18-20 in 25 games, not fussy if he doesnt kick that many, as long as he does his wingman work), provide a contested marking target around the ground, provide long leads, provide intercept marking when down back and overall just insert some energy into the game with his athleticism he gets a game every week for me.

My opinions, we really do have some quality talent, just need players to not get injured and hit form.

 

[DaVe86]

Jessie White to the wing is an interesting concept. I just don't think he has the 2 way running capacity to do it. It would allow us to play the extra tall.

I would love Darcy Moore to have a big pre-season and bulk up enough to play as a back-up ruck. At 201cm, he will surely have a role in this area long term...but I don't want to expose him too soon.

If he can play this back up ruck role, then it opens up a few options, such as going shorter up forward with Howe playing 3rd tall...or alternatively Crocker as a mid-sizer.

 

[THATSGOLD]

Maynard and Cloke are now not in the best rolling 22.

 

[DaVe86]

Maynard and Cloke are now not in the best rolling 22.

They are in mine.

Maynard in particular has been terrific this year and has improved every week. Had a down game on Friday night, as did the majority of the side.

 

[surfer1]

Williams is definitely the player most vulnerable in my rolling 22. The issue is that Smith is currently taking his spot in the side right now, and I still have Williams above Smith because he can defend better.

The guys who will challenge Williams are Ramsey and Scharenberg, but both are coming off knee reco's so I'm hesitant to put them in just yet.

The other option I toy with is to send Adams into the back pocket and promote Aish into my senior side, or even Broomhead for that speed and class.

That's probably the way I am leaning right now, but need Aish to put a few more games together, and Broomhead to prove he can cut it at AFL level.

I really like Adams as a back pocket because he is as aggressive as Marley, but has better skills and leadership.

On the Smith v Williams. I agree that Williams can defend better but at the moment his error count is way to big so if it's a rolling team Smith is more dependable than Williams at the moment. same with Greenwood, sure he kicked acouple of goals but some of his silly frees cost us at crucial times on a regular basis

 

[DaVe86]

On the Smith v Williams. I agree that Williams can defend better but at the moment his error count is way to big so if it's a rolling team Smith is more dependable than Williams at the moment. same with Greenwood, sure he kicked acouple of goals but some of his silly frees cost us at crucial times on a regular basis

I am very close to dropping Williams and Greenwood out of the side for Aish and Smith. Ramsey is ultimately the one I think that will break back in next year.

They hold their spot short term, as I'm not one to make rash decisions based on one bad game. I think Greenwood has done some nice jobs for us this year. But their spots are definitely up for grabs right now.

I'm a bit undecided on Smith. He is a nice player, but not sure of his hurt factor just yet. I don't think he overly improves the side that much. I'd like to see him take the game on a bit more, or win it closer to goal as he has a booming kick.

 

[DaVe86]

After the weekend, I have elected to make one change to our rolling 22.

Greenwood comes out for James Aish. I think we saw that Crisp can do the run with roles quite well, and Aish just adds a bit of polish and a lot more upside.

The other players under threat right now:

De Goey - I think Wills was terrific on the weekend and adds a huge body into the midfield. De Goey is still not ready for midfield, and I think that if we have a full side, he is not in our best forwards either. The kid will be an absolute gun, make no mistake, but I am talking the current best 22, not the future best 22.

Williams - To be honest, I think Josh Smith has done enough to overtake him already. Williams hangs on just because I still think he is our best back pocket. But his form has to turn around. Maynard is doing decent jobs on small forwards, and we have Sinclair as well.

 

[4#Didak#4]

After the weekend, I have elected to make one change to our rolling 22.

Greenwood comes out for James Aish. I think we saw that Crisp can do the run with roles quite well, and Aish just adds a bit of polish and a lot more upside.

The other players under threat right now:

De Goey - I think Wills was terrific on the weekend and adds a huge body into the midfield. De Goey is still not ready for midfield, and I think that if we have a full side, he is not in our best forwards either. The kid will be an absolute gun, make no mistake, but I am talking the current best 22, not the future best 22.

Williams - To be honest, I think Josh Smith has done enough to overtake him already. Williams hangs on just because I still think he is our best back pocket. But his form has to turn around. Maynard is doing decent jobs on small forwards, and we have Sinclair as well.

Williams is a concern. I don't think he is in our best back line anymore when you consider the options we have sitting on sidelines. He is not defending well, providing good rebound, undisciplined, poor in the air and constantly burning the ball.

Smith has shown great continual improvement and is a great find and Maynard is also improving every game which is all you can ask.

With Williams I think the best thing to do with him is move him up the field and get him hunting. He needs to look at Varcoe's intent and replicate that. Williams can have a similar impact, he is a hard nut reasonably quick who will hurt you if he catches you and early in his career thats exactly what he was doing. He was always more of a mid than a defender, its now time to release him, unmuzzle him and tell him to hunt some ball carriers.

 

[TradeDraft]

I say Aish has to come into the Best 22 after his last 3 Games and I agree he add Class that Greenwood does clearly does not have

 

[Aishofhearts]

Williams Reid Brown
Sinclair Howe Smith

Grundy Treloar Adams
Varcoe De Goey Crisp

Fasolo White Pendlebury
Moore Cloke Sidebottom

Aish Blair Greenwood Maynard

U/A
Broomhead Langdon Elliott Swan Ramsay Scharenberg Thomas Keeffe

 

[Horaceg]

Maynard and Cloke are now not in the best rolling 22.

My money is on Maynard being around in the B&W for a long time. Kid is still only 19 but he will need to hold his spot when, Shaz and Rammer are running again, also has Langdon and a few others quite capable in the back half.

 

[DaVe86]

I think the only reason Williams is clawing onto his spot is because I want a genuine lock down back pocket, and he adds some dash as well. But his skills are very poor and he is out of form. His last quarter last week saved him because he was out of my side at 3 quarter time. I thought the whole side lifted in the last quarter.

Josh Smith is likely to come into my side very shortly though.

Having said all that, I want either Scharenberg or Ramsey to take that position long term.

 

[THATSGOLD]

Williams Reid Brown
Sinclair Howe Smith

Grundy Treloar Adams
Varcoe De Goey Crisp

Fasolo White Pendlebury
Moore Cloke Sidebottom

Aish Blair Greenwood Maynard

U/A
Broomhead Langdon Elliott Swan Ramsay Scharenberg Thomas Keeffe

If Swan isn't there he should retire. Degoey isn't in the best rolling 22.

 

[Aishofhearts]

If Swan isn't there he should retire. Degoey isn't in the best rolling 22.

I'm assuming he will considering the financial situation, his injury, and did I perceive just a small drop off in speed this year and a few uncustomary fumbles with age?

As for De Goey Wills and Phillips are certainly coming hard on his heels but the Goo has some credits in the bank.

 

[THATSGOLD]

Best rolling 22.

Smith Brown Ramsay
Sinclair Reid Howe
Varcoe Adams Sidebottom
Fasolo White Greenwood
Cox Moore Elliott

Grundy Pendlebury Treloar

Swan Maynard Crisp Aish

No room for the likes of Cloke Williams Langdon Blair who when they last played were out of form.

 

[THATSGOLD]

I'm assuming he will considering the financial situation, his injury, and did I perceive just a small drop off in speed this year and a few uncustomary fumbles with age?

As for De Goey Wills and Phillips are certainly coming hard on his heels but the Goo has some credits in the bank.

Fair enough I haven't quite written him off from the best 22 yet very hard to tell based on his 1 minute of football this season. Finished off 2015 ok.

 

[Quicky]

Using the formula above I would probably go:

FB: Marsh ~ Brown ~ Ramsay
HB: Howe ~ Reid ~ Sinclair
C: Sidebottom ~ Swan ~ Treloar
Foll: Grundy ~ Adams ~ Pendlebury
HF: Fasolo ~ Cloke ~ Varcoe
FF: Elliott ~ Cox ~ Moore
I/C: Crisp, DeGoey, Aish, Langdon

I found it really hard to pick the defence. Getting the right combination of defensive qualities with foot skills is difficult with Marsh and Williams poor users of the footy. Also, I would love to see us find a quality forward pocket to release Varcoe back into the midfield more often to add to our outside run. He can be used as a utility to provide energy where needed.

Whats apparent is that we have the bones of a good footy team there. We need to keep our list fit. We need our veterans to stay on board. We need another quality trade and draft year. And we could turn it around quicker than is predicted.

I have some changes to make to my team. Smith has well and truly earned best 22 honours. He wins so much footy, and importantly uses it well. I think he adds composure to the team through his ball use. Scharenberg comes out, he can earn his stripes in the twos first.

I also think White is in the best form he has been in during his time at the Pies. He is kicking goals, adds energy and a big body at the contest, and is rucking well. While he maintains that form, he should maintain his place in the side. I like it that he is a mobile tall option, who can move behind the ball freeing up Howe to shift forward if needed for a spark.