First 22 in 2023

[BrizzyBandit]

No Rayner?

Doh!

 

[Lazza16]

Starc. Payne Andrews.
Kiddy Adams. Wilmont.

Andrews must play more a roaming defender role rather than being a "lock down" defender. This allows his intercept marking and ability to provide defensive cover to shine. Payne over Gardiner unlocks this. Gardiner may be better suited over Payne playing certain teams.

McCluggage. Neale. Ashcroft.
McInerney. Berry. Dunkly.

Ultimately a very strong and flexible core midfield. All players can play inside or outside as needed particularly Berry and Neale.
Much needed size being added with Dunkly taking some pressure off Berry's shoulders. Literally.

Lohmann. Hipwood. Baily
Cameron. Daniher. Gunston.

A very high scoring combination already with Gunston a short-term upgrade on McStay.

Looking for more speed with Lohmann over McCarthy and ultimately more consistency.

Interchange;
Rich, Zorko, Robertson McCarthy or AhChee

Reduced minutes for Rich and Zorko in their final season or two.
Both can play off halfback and provide high impact moments going forward.

Robertson provides ultimate midfield flexibility being able to play a wing, inside or tagging role.

McCarthy at his best is too good to leave out however Ah Chee could allow Starc to explore midfield role. More of a dream perhaps.

Noble on trade chat said Starc will never play midfield.

 

[Tom14]

Noble on trade chat said Starc will never play midfield.

Even if he could play mid he is far too valuable own back. He cleaned up so much crap this year.

 

[Dalions]

Noble on trade chat said Starc will never play midfield.

Did he give any particular reason (ie fitness)
Or just that he is too valuable down back?

 

[Lazza16]

Did he give any particular reason (ie fitness)
Or just that he is too valuable down back?

Basically an AA to be backman...why move him.

 

[Doc Hattori]

B: Gardner Andrews Rich
HB: Coleman Adams Starcevich
C: Berry Dunkley McCluggage
HF: Bailey Hipwood Rayner
F: Fort Gunston Cameron

R: McInerney Zorko Neale
I: Payne Wilmot McCarthy Ashcroft

Not in Side: Answerth, Daniher, AhChee, Roberston, Lyons, Prior, Lohmann, Tunsill, Mathieson

 

[M Malice]

B: Gardner Andrews Rich
HB: Coleman Adams Starcevich
C: Berry Dunkley McCluggage
HF: Bailey Hipwood Rayner
F: Fort Gunston Cameron

R: McInerney Zorko Neale
I: Payne Wilmot McCarthy Ashcroft

Not in Side: Answerth, Daniher, AhChee, Roberston, Lyons, Prior, Lohmann, Tunsill, Mathieson

My changes to your side would be >

Robertson for McCarthy.
Ah Chee for Rich.
Daniher for Fort.

I would love to get Lohmann in the side, the only possibility would be him in instead of Ah Chee with Zorko being the 7th defender.

 

[lionshine]

I want to see guys like Lohmann and Prior playing seniors even if that comes at the expense of players like Zorko, Ah Chee and McCarthy. I think youngsters like Lohmann and Prior can really raise the ceiling of our team.

 

[BigCat2]

I want to see guys like Lohmann and Prior playing seniors even if that comes at the expense of players like Zorko, Ah Chee and McCarthy. I think youngsters like Lohmann and Prior can really raise the ceiling of our team.

I think this will be the case next year. We will be adding more speedy players and guys who can run long and hard both ways. There will be more opportunities for the likes of Wilmot, Lohmann, Tunstill (as hinted at by Danny Daly), Prior and of course Dunkley and Ashcroft. Maybe even Jaspa Fletcher may be in the frame, depending on how he deals with the physicality side of things. Those at risk of missing out from our 2022 team would be likes of Lyons if he does not recover well from OP, Mathieson assuming he stays, Zorko/Rich potentially being rested for some games, Ah Chee/Answerth/McCarthy if they don't bring the consistency. Dev Robertson would need to continue building on his good finish to the year.

We've played a fairly similar game style the last 3.5 years, since the mid 2019 season bye. Our core has been to win the contest, surge forward and locking ball in forward half, territory game. We have sought to make tweaks here and there eg how much to look for the short corridor kick vs long down the line for the talls to bring the ball to ground, but have been fairly predictable otherwise.

I think we will need to evolve this pre-season. We are seeing teams finding different ways to score (eg from centre bounce, from clearance, from D50, from forward stoppages, from midfield intercepts). The best teams have multiple avenues to winning, and may need to lean more on certain aspects in games depending on opposition and how the game is unfolding. If we stick to our usual game plan, we can stay competitive by being tough to beat, taking care of low teams, but not having enough different strengths to throw at the top teams.

We've seen how other contenders operate. Sydney's pressure around the ball is manic; Collingwood's defensive running and coverage is fantastic; Melbourne's strengths are with defence and the contest (although they fell away this year); Geelong sets up so well both at the contest and behind the ball, so they either win the contest and have numbers around the ball to move forward, or lose the contest but intercept from opposition surge, and hurt them on the counter - it almost didnt matter whether they won or lost the clearance, as they got the ball back either way, no fluke why they dominated in the prelim and GF.

What should we do next year? No idea, as if I knew then I would be a coach, not posting on a forum! But we shouldn't abandon what we've done well, which is to be competitive at the contest. With Neale, Dunkley and friends, we should regularly break even or win that part of the ground. We do need to be better at defensive transition to affect more midfield intercepts - too many times this year we saw us trapping the ball in our F50 for a period, only for the ball to get out and end up the other end without us touching the ball - this much change. We also need to win more intercept marks and intercept possessions in D50 - our aim should be to free up Andrews or Adams who are our best intercept marks when playing well, causing opposition to hesitate going forward when they get the ball, to deny opposition that quick score on turnover. On the flipside, if we win the ball back in midfield and D50, we should be structured well enough and having enough guys working hard both ways to be options going forward when we win the ball back.

So in summary, win the ball and get it forward, defend better if opposition have the ball. Genius hey?

 

[M Malice]

I think this will be the case next year. We will be adding more speedy players and guys who can run long and hard both ways. There will be more opportunities for the likes of Wilmot, Lohmann, Tunstill (as hinted at by Danny Daly), Prior and of course Dunkley and Ashcroft. Maybe even Jaspa Fletcher may be in the frame, depending on how he deals with the physicality side of things. Those at risk of missing out from our 2022 team would be likes of Lyons if he does not recover well from OP, Mathieson assuming he stays, Zorko/Rich potentially being rested for some games, Ah Chee/Answerth/McCarthy if they don't bring the consistency. Dev Robertson would need to continue building on his good finish to the year.

We've played a fairly similar game style the last 3.5 years, since the mid 2019 season bye. Our core has been to win the contest, surge forward and locking ball in forward half, territory game. We have sought to make tweaks here and there eg how much to look for the short corridor kick vs long down the line for the talls to bring the ball to ground, but have been fairly predictable otherwise.

I think we will need to evolve this pre-season. We are seeing teams finding different ways to score (eg from centre bounce, from clearance, from D50, from forward stoppages, from midfield intercepts). The best teams have multiple avenues to winning, and may need to lean more on certain aspects in games depending on opposition and how the game is unfolding. If we stick to our usual game plan, we can stay competitive by being tough to beat, taking care of low teams, but not having enough different strengths to throw at the top teams.

We've seen how other contenders operate. Sydney's pressure around the ball is manic; Collingwood's defensive running and coverage is fantastic; Melbourne's strengths are with defence and the contest (although they fell away this year); Geelong sets up so well both at the contest and behind the ball, so they either win the contest and have numbers around the ball to move forward, or lose the contest but intercept from opposition surge, and hurt them on the counter - it almost didnt matter whether they won or lost the clearance, as they got the ball back either way, no fluke why they dominated in the prelim and GF.

What should we do next year? No idea, as if I knew then I would be a coach, not posting on a forum! But we shouldn't abandon what we've done well, which is to be competitive at the contest. With Neale, Dunkley and friends, we should regularly break even or win that part of the ground. We do need to be better at defensive transition to affect more midfield intercepts - too many times this year we saw us trapping the ball in our F50 for a period, only for the ball to get out and end up the other end without us touching the ball - this much change. We also need to win more intercept marks and intercept possessions in D50 - our aim should be to free up Andrews or Adams who are our best intercept marks when playing well, causing opposition to hesitate going forward when they get the ball, to deny opposition that quick score on turnover. On the flipside, if we win the ball back in midfield and D50, we should be structured well enough and having enough guys working hard both ways to be options going forward when we win the ball back.

So in summary, win the ball and get it forward, defend better if opposition have the ball. Genius hey?

Great post, my players under pressure to keep their spot from our nominal best 22 from this season(when fully fit) are almost the same as yours ie. Answerth, Rich, Lyons, McCarthy.

Lohmann, Madden, Michael, Prior to put enormous pressure on for spots, I have Wilmot and Robertson as current nominal best 22 players.

 

[davemc_lions]

in 2022 we all thought Robbo be overtaken
We kept going back to Robbo..
I would not mind doing what the cats did rest Zorko and Rich here and there.
I also do not think we should be playing guys like Lyons not 100%.
Although we need the kids to be really ready. Dunkley and Ashcroft you say 22
Fletcher will push another pre season into Prior, Lohaman, Wilmot and co
Who knows if another pre season be enough for Cockatoo.
Just hope we do drop players not 100% or out of form

 

[morsie]

I suspect that much of the problem is that no 1 picks are often high achievers who want to play for a contender or at the very least a team on the up.He has had a year at North and is clearly uni pressed.The argument that he is not the most pleasant of persons is irrelevant. Plenty of differing personalities in footy.
Matthews rover to Don Scott for years and they barely exchanged a word.

 

[Sproj]

You know, I was thinking that Dunkley obvious helps us contend more but also helps with the succession plan. Neale is the main guy now but 30. Dunkley is 26 and still should be in his prime for a while yet and helps to bridge the gap until Ashcroft takes over. This is really important for sustained periods at the top.

 

[briztoon]

You know, I was thinking that Dunkley obvious helps us contend more but also helps with the succession plan. Neale is the main guy now but 30. Dunkley is 26 and still should be in his prime for a while yet and helps to bridge the gap until Ashcroft takes over. This is really important for sustained periods at the top.

I think it was Noble on trade radio, he mentioned McCluggage as a potential future captain.

 

[morsie]

I suspect that much of the problem is that no 1 picks are often high achievers who want to play for a contender or at the very least a team on the up.He has had a year at North and is clearly uni pressed.The argument that he is not the most pleasant of persons is irrelevant. Plenty of differing personalities in footy.
Matthews rover to Don Scott for years and they barely exchanged a word.

Wrong thread obviously

 

[Berrygood]

Time to have a go. My assumptions are -- Gunston, Dunkley, Ashcroft and Fletchet are on the list.

Gardiner, Andrews, Starce
Coleman, (Adams/Payne), Rich.

Our best starting back 6 I believe. 3 of the 4 talls will always play. Form/injury will dictate which 3. Great spot to be in. Starce n Kiddy are certs, Rich needs to get a bit of his AA year form back otherwise Wilmot, Answerth, Prior could unseat him. Another good spot to be in.

McCluggage, Neale, Berry
Big O, Dunkley, (Lyons/Robertson).

That's our best starting midfield mix I think. If Lyons gets his groin right, gets fitter than he has ever been, I think he can hold his best 22 spot. Otherwise Devrob is in for me. He can easily rotate with Berry.

Bailey, Hippy, Rayner
Charlie, Daniher, McCarthy.

Zorko, Lohmann can slot in the sm fwd role as easily as those named. Another form battle there, also a good thing.

I/C Wilmot, Ashcroft, Zorko, (Fort/Gunston).

Bench depends on whether we go 2 ruck/2 tall or 1 ruck/3 tall. Gunston or Fort. Ashcroft will get a blooding first game, up to him then if he holds his spot. Zorko will have to work hard all year.

That's what I see as our best 22-25 players. All should feature heavily through out the season. Answerth, Prior, Lohmann, Ah Chee, Tunstill will pressure for a place in the 22 all year. Matho, Cockatoo, Lester, Fullerton are break glass in emergency/on the way out players but could play roles if disasters happen..

A good deep squad all round for next year I think. Could see some surprises if others spring fwd. Blake Coleman, Carter Michael, Fletcher, Lane, Smith. All could make the season theirs.

 

[lionshine]

Rumours of a 5 man bench next year which would make it pretty appealing to have both O and Fort in the side -

B Starcevich Andrews Payne
HB Rich Adams Coleman
C Berry Rayner McCluggage
HF Bailey Hipwood Zorko
F Cameron Daniher Gunston
R McInerney Neale Dunkley
I Fort Robertson Wilmot Ashcroft McCarthy

Zorko and Rich to be managed throughout the year much like Geelong did with their ageing stars this year with Lohmann and Prior to get a heap of games. Ah Chee will be in the 23-25 range all year and play a fair bit of footy and I'd love to see Kalin Lane, Carter Michael and Blake Coleman start to put pressure on Fort, Rich and McCarthy respectively later in the year. Lyons if he can get over his groin troubles to still be in the frame for best 22.

 

[On the quiet]

I want to see guys like Lohmann and Prior playing seniors even if that comes at the expense of players like Zorko, Ah Chee and McCarthy. I think youngsters like Lohmann and Prior can really raise the ceiling of our team.

agree with the above, although I do like Ah Chee. If Zorko moves back that probably impacts on consistent games for Wilmot I also want Payne playing consistently next year, but there is no way after Lions have signed Gardiner to a 3 or 4 year deal Gardiner is playing reserves, so unless Adams is finishing up, reckon Payne like some of the others mentioned above will likely be fringe players. Good for the club, but likely frustrating for the young individuals.

 

[Berrygood]

agree with the above, although I do like Ah Chee. If Zorko moves back that probably impacts on consistent games for Wilmot I also want Payne playing consistently next year, but there is no way after Lions have signed Gardiner to a 3 or 4 year deal Gardiner is playing reserves, so unless Adams is finishing up, reckon Payne like some of the others mentioned above will likely be fringe players. Good for the club, but likely frustrating for the young individuals.

Looking at our 4 tall defenders, Andrews, Gardiner, Adams, Payne, each has had injuries over the past 2-3yrs. 3 will always play depending on form n fitness. Payne will get plenty of opportunities, plenty of games. The unit of 4 will hold us in good stead for many years.

 

[On the quiet]

Looking at our 4 tall defenders, Andrews, Gardiner, Adams, Payne, each has had injuries over the past 2-3yrs. 3 will always play depending on form n fitness. Payne will get plenty of opportunities, plenty of games. The unit of 4 will hold us in good stead for many years.

Hopefully Payne is probably over his stress related injuries. Gardiner signing a multi-year contract arguably confident in his fitness, especially the shoulder. The concussion issue for Adams is a concern. However, IF he returns for 2023, then I think he will be offered another contract beyond 2023. That is a good situation from a clubs perspective having the four talls.

I was correct about Tom Berry, but wrong about Dev moving at the end of this season to seek an opportunity, but I cannot see Payne being happy being the 'backup' to the other three, and although contracted until 2024, perhaps end of 2023 seeks a trade, but still a lot of water to pass under the bridge.

 

[Dalions]

Hopefully Payne is probably over his stress related injuries. Gardiner signing a multi-year contract arguably confident in his fitness, especially the shoulder. The concussion issue for Adams is a concern. However, IF he returns for 2023, then I think he will be offered another contract beyond 2023. That is a good situation from a clubs perspective having the four talls.

I was correct about Tom Berry, but wrong about Dev moving at the end of this season to seek an opportunity, but I cannot see Payne being happy being the 'backup' to the other three, and although contracted until 2024, perhaps end of 2023 seeks a trade, but still a lot of water to pass under the bridge.

Payne played 12 games this year, including all 3 of the finals, it’s not like he isn’t getting games.
In all likelyhood next year will be something similar, but hopefully the coaching group will start to play a bit of a rotational policy with a few players and positions not only to rest the older players but to also give younger players games.

 

[nup]

Adams Andrews Starcevich
K.Coleman Ashcroft Gardiner
Berry Bailey McCluggage
Hipwood Rayner McCarthy
Daniher Cameron Gunston
McInerney Neale Dunkley
Ah Chee Zorko Fort Rich

 

[Sproj]

So I imagine when resting Zorko or Gunstan, Lohmann gets games, so he should get a few. He should also keep McCarthy on his toes. Who gets the games when Rich is rested given Wilmott will already be best 22? Fletcher? Prior?

Our side is stacked now.

 

[Nuggo]

I can see Dunkley being Captain after next year - perhaps shared with Zorko next year. Depends where Neale sits on the issue as well.

 

[Mighty Lions]

I can see Dunkley being Captain after next year - perhaps shared with Zorko next year. Depends where Neale sits on the issue as well.

I really hope Lachie leads our team out next year. Time for Zorko to step down.