Expectations for 2025

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Pretty much a carbon copy of this year is my expectation.
Can't see an improvement in the rucks/mids. Bit more from Reid, bit less from Yeo Kelly. Same ball going into defence and no Barrass to take some of the load.

The unknown is how the players take to the new coach and if the effort becomes more consistent and can follow what plans he wants to implement
 
Worst then last year. Kelly and Yeo aging fast.

Ugly scenes such as booing the players when they walk off the ground occuring.

I have a feeling 2025 will be a breaking point for many. Part because of our trade moves and also our lack of improvement for years.

Second last is locked. Norf to leap frog us with their young mids and people recruited this year
 
Worst then last year. Kelly and Yeo aging fast.

Ugly scenes such as booing the players when they walk off the ground occuring.

I have a feeling 2025 will be a breaking point for many. Part because of our trade moves and also our lack of improvement for years.

Second last is locked. Norf to leap frog us with their young mids and people recruited this year
If the players haven't been booed off during the last 3 years, I can't see it happening now TBH.
It's not in our supporters DNA and I'm glad it isn't.

We've seen improvement every year since 2022 so I'm not sure what you mean by "no improvement".

I realise Dev Robertson would've made us premiership favourites, but it wasn't to be.
 
One top 3 pick despite 3 years in the bottom 3 will never cease to piss me off.

First rounders since we last played finals have been a real mixed bag. Chesser a dud, Ginbey a dud in the guts but looks alright as a defender, Hewett dead, Reid a star, Pick 12.

It hasn't been great.

Better luck late in the draft with Hough, Long (although he's been played as a small forward who doesn't kick goals...), King Waterman, Jack Williams etc.

A lot riding on Reid, Hewett's feet transplant being successful, Gov and Yeo staying fit and what a new coach can bring.

We might climb to 4th last.
 
With the additions of Baker, Graham and Owies we replace the likes of Chesser, LEdwards, Trew, Culley, Brockman, etc. Improving the floor should get us over the line in games like North Melbourne and St Kilda. An extra 2 or 3 wins still has us in the bottom four so we could feasibly improve our results without improving our ladder position significantly which, let's face it, we need when we keep trading away top 3 picks.

I think we should measure 2025 in a similar manner to 2024 though - style and effort. The wheels fell off towards the end of this year and we replaced our coach so it is going to take time for a new style and standards to take effect. If we take on the game and see 18 players running in both directions, I think that would be a win. Wins and losses still don't matter in 2025 though I would like us to at least match our 2024 win tally. Given we didn't lose a game by 100 points this year, I think that is a reasonable expectation for next year as well.
 

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Worst then last year. Kelly and Yeo aging fast.

Ugly scenes such as booing the players when they walk off the ground occuring.

I have a feeling 2025 will be a breaking point for many. Part because of our trade moves and also our lack of improvement for years.

Second last is locked. Norf to leap frog us with their young mids and people recruited this year

Bloody hope it doesnt get to this. I reckon thats the most despicable thing the port fans have done (those that did it).
 
I am not expecting much change in fortunes for the 2025 season.

TB defecting will hurt whats scored against us and the three trade ins will improve our points for.

Ruck still looks a major weakness, it is and has been a concern for three seasons now.

A couple of new kids taken with picks 12 and 26, isn't going to make much of a difference.

  • What I am wanting / hoping to see however, is a change in game style and if I see that its a more direct faster paced game style, then I will consider that a step in the right direction.

  • A bonus would be to see more integrity at the selection table where poor form gets dropped and WAFL good form gets rewarded.

If the two items above are achieved I will consider the season a success.

My major concern is that we have three prime movers in Yeo, Kelly and Gov that are now all rather injury prone, if we were to have a couple of these players injured again for a chunk of the season, then things could get really ugly really quickly.

McQualter is in for a tough start to his coaching career, he starts from ground zero.

North will improve so we are a chance to finish bottom, that possibility will depend on how the Tuggers themselves are hit with injuries to their key players .

Expecting a bottom two finish....... get good draft picks..... trade and draft better at seasons end and then look forward to the slow haul up the ladder in the next few seasons.

We will have a heap of cap space going forward thats a positive, having to compete with Tasmania ravaging the trade and draft pool will be a negative.

So in Summary:

I am expecting heavy turbulence in flight for two more seasons, before we hit some clear air and better flying conditions.
 
Hoping we can get our percentage above 100%, and 8-10 wins.

But we need ginbey, hough, JWill, maric, hutch & Reid to take another step. Hewett to be fit.

Waterman to frank his breakout year.

Allen had a down year so needs to return to his best.

Flynn was a bust in his first year. Lets see what he can do.

Need oldies like gov, kelly & yeo to stay on the park.

Owies, graham & baker to hit the ground running.

Strength and conditioning to get it right.
 
Significantly different gameplan under the new coach. And one which we arguably don't have the ideal personel at this moment to execute, nor have we shown in recent seasons the fitness levels and manic mindset that the gameplan requires to be executed with any degree of competence. I expect a long teething period in this regard. McQualter will need time develop and draft the players who can play the way he wants and to change the mentality and fitness levels of the players currently on the list. The early results could be pretty bad.

We also had a pretty good run with both form and injury to our key (mostly older) players this year. No guarantee that that will continue.

I think it is more likely that people just stop going to games rather than boo the players. We are not club with a high proportion of low socio economic supporters and they are the kind of people who boo their own players. I am not totally sure the crowd numbers dropping off will happen next year. Some people have permanent rose coloured glasses on. But there is a breaking point eventually for everything.
 
I'm hoping for 8+ wins.

But I think the main thing is to minimise the thrashings. This season we had 10 losses of 50 points or more.

Let's get that under 6 please.
 

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Expectations for 2025

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