Is the Eagles list as bad as we thought?

[PerthBoy86]

I know we're up and about after 2 good wins - and it's only 2 wins - but it's undeniable we've shown major improvement from last year. Much has been made about how good Reid is, how he's inspired the group etc and that's part of it, but for the first time we haven't been absolutely savaged by injuries, and I think our list was never bottom 2 quality. We still have Yeo, Kelly and now Reid - a formidable trio - veterans playing well and some serious young talent. Ginbey is an absolute bull. I do think we're in a rebuild, no doubt, but there is a lot of media doomsaying that we'll be anchored to the bottom for years to come, Tasmania will compromise the draft etc. I always felt that was sensationalist exaggeration. Historically we've never been down long and tbh I feel its partly culture. We find a way to win and aren't down for long. I could be wrong and it could still happen, but is it that crazy we can at least be competitive the next few years? That we won't be bottom 4 for years to come?

 

[greatwhiteshark]

I know we're up and about after 2 good wins - and it's only 2 wins - but it's undeniable we've shown major improvement from last year. Much has been made about how good Reid is, how he's inspired the group etc and that's part of it, but for the first time we haven't been absolutely savaged by injuries, and I think our list was never bottom 2 quality. We still have Yeo, Kelly and now Reid - a formidable trio - veterans playing well and some serious young talent. Ginbey is an absolute bull. I do think we're in a rebuild, no doubt, but there is a lot of media doomsaying that we'll be anchored to the bottom for years to come, Tasmania will compromise the draft etc. I always felt that was sensationalist exaggeration. Historically we've never been down long and tbh I feel its partly culture. We find a way to win and aren't down for long. I could be wrong and it could still happen, but is it that crazy we can at least be competitive the next few years? That we won't be bottom 4 for years to come?

We kept getting injuries because we presented unfit to play at AFL level.

 

[Farang83150]

Thanks for putting the absolute mocker on us

 

[PhatBoy]

I know we're up and about after 2 good wins - and it's only 2 wins - but it's undeniable we've shown major improvement from last year. Much has been made about how good Reid is, how he's inspired the group etc and that's part of it, but for the first time we haven't been absolutely savaged by injuries, and I think our list was never bottom 2 quality. We still have Yeo, Kelly and now Reid - a formidable trio - veterans playing well and some serious young talent. Ginbey is an absolute bull. I do think we're in a rebuild, no doubt, but there is a lot of media doomsaying that we'll be anchored to the bottom for years to come, Tasmania will compromise the draft etc. I always felt that was sensationalist exaggeration. Historically we've never been down long and tbh I feel its partly culture. We find a way to win and aren't down for long. I could be wrong and it could still happen, but is it that crazy we can at least be competitive the next few years? That we won't be bottom 4 for years to come?

I made a post to this effect a few weeks ago - didnt all of this sort of start with the eagles just getting absolutely bollocked by injury and illness and just having to field a threadbare side that got on a losing trot that it simply has been unable to really break out of?

At no stage did I ever think it was a list anywhere near as bad as what it’s been showing. Not world beating, perhaps, but not the abysmal level that’s been on show for the last 40 games

 

[AFDogs]

I struggle to think of who your next gun players are going to be outside of Reid and maybe Ginbey.

You need more high draft picks I reckon.

 

[CoastersFlag No.5]

Thanks for putting the absolute mocker on us

Yes can we not? We have a long way to go. Our reserves did get done by 10 goals.

 

[ioppolo]

McGovern, Cripps, Yeo, Darling and potentially Barrass are gone in the next two years. That's going to be tough. Our young KPD stocks are unproven and perma injured. Cripps does more than people realise. Reid is ready made which will help the Yep transition. If Waterman can come of age and Oscar stays on the park that helps the Darling transition.

We're still carrying some dead wood and unknowns for now but there's been genuinely good signs the last few weeks for the first time in two years. Need to nail a couple more drafts or FA periods first.

 

[ioppolo]

I struggle to think of who your next gun players are going to be outside of Reid and maybe Ginbey.

You need more high draft picks I reckon.

Tim English.

 

[faible]

Tim English.

If you like ruckmen who aren't good at rucking, he's your guy

 

[Toump Ass]

Tim English.

Why would you want him? He is soft and looks like a baby giraffe.

 

[HugeJohnson]

Still have to find replacements for Kelly, Yeo, McGovern, Barrass, Darling, Cripps, Hunt and Sheed in the next 2-3 years which is the worry.
Reid is a superstar already which will ease the pain but I'm still not sold on the Eagles after 2 wins at home, one of those against a team widely considered bottom 4 material with a stack of injuries.

 

[ioppolo]

Why would you want him? He is soft and looks like a baby giraffe.

I don't, but his name has been getting floated around with coming home for years now.

 

[ioppolo]

Still have to find replacements for Kelly, Yeo, McGovern, Barrass, Darling, Cripps, Hunt and Sheed in the next 2-3 years which is the worry.
Reid is a superstar already which will ease the pain but I'm still not sold on the Eagles after 2 wins at home, one of those against a team widely considered bottom 4 material with a stack of injuries.

We're a better team without Sheed in it imo. It's a 50/50 split with supporters now that the GF heroics are well and truly in the rearview mirror.

 

[PerthBoy86]

Yeah its true we still have a lot of veterans retiring, and we need another KPF to support Oscar Allen

12

Oscar Allen

Age

25

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.6

3star

K

5.8

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.2

4star

. Will definitely need to draft well. Darling is not really up to it generally.

Im not saying we'll be playing finals or contending soon, merely questioning the narrative we'll be like Carlton or North, near the bottom for ages. If it happens it happens, but 2 years of this isn't a good reason to forecast that.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

We should have traded Yeo for a 3rd rounder though?

Big mistake

 

[Yippy Yi Yeo]

We kept getting injuries because we presented unfit to play at AFL level.

chicken or the egg

 

[JackOutback]

I struggle to think of who your next gun players are going to be outside of Reid and maybe Ginbey.

You need more high draft picks I reckon.

Elijah Hewitt has the potential to be very good. As does Noah Long, kid has insanely good vision. But we always need more good picks.

It's easy to get carried away by two good wins, the kids are young, so it's just as likely they'll all have some down games and we will get spanked again.That said, I never thought we had a bottom two list with guys like Yeo, Kelly, Allen, Gov and Barrass in the team, as well as Cripps, Ryan and a few others. Get the majority of the players on the field and we should be able to develop the youngsters properly and ease the transition back up the ladder.

 

[Yippy Yi Yeo]

I struggle to think of who your next gun players are going to be outside of Reid and maybe Ginbey.

You need more high draft picks I reckon.

Definitely need more high draft picks but there are quite a few young players starting to show they have what it takes. Hewett should be back post bye and is our 2nd most talented young player behind Reid, Noah Long and Brady Hough have been super consistent for their age, Hough in particular has just about shut down every gun small forward he's played on this season. Brockman, Chesser, Williams and Maric also all building nicely. Few guys in their mid 20's who are finally finding their place such as Waterman and Petruccelle, with Allen, Ryan and Flynn to still come back into the side as well.

 

[Mikevk123]

Definitely not. Injuries have smashed them.

They’ve got some decent talent coming through but need to add to that ASAP. Reid, Ginbey and Hewett look the goods so far.

 

[Osho]

I was bagging then on here a few weeks ago, espesh the coach who was celebrating failure, but the last couple of weeks, egg on face.

Pretty good footy they are playing, and they smashed through what we thought was a great defence.

Max props for the turnaround.

 

[wce4premiership]

Our best this year have probably been Yeo, Kelly and Gov.

All older players. How long do they stay fit? What happens when they retire?

The age bracket from 22-28 is seriously lacking in top end players, outside of Liam Ryan

1

Liam Ryan

Age

28

Ht

181cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.3

5star

D

9.9

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.6

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

there isn't much star power (O. Allen injured of course).

I'd say it's not a great list but they're adapting to a new gameplan and have some exciting youth, but so far we still rely on some key players playing well and staying fit to help the younger players develop.

2 wins are great, but it's baby steps and doesn't change how poor we have been, reflecting on it after two wins won't paint a proper picture.

 

[JackOutback]

Definitely need more high draft picks but there are quite a few young players starting to show they have what it takes. Hewett should be back post bye and is our 2nd most talented young player behind Reid, Noah Long and Brady Hough have been super consistent for their age, Hough in particular has just about shut down every gun small forward he's played on this season. Brockman, Chesser, Williams and Maric also all building nicely. Few guys in their mid 20's who are finally finding their place such as Waterman and Petruccelle, with Allen, Ryan and Flynn to still come back into the side as well.

Still missing players in that 22-26 age bracket that tend to give you the consistency you want. At the moment, its Bailey Williamns, Petruccelle, Waterman and not a lot else. Hopefully we can make a few canny trades to fill that gap.

 

[Yippy Yi Yeo]

Still missing players in that 22-26 age bracket that tend to give you the consistency you want. At the moment, its Bailey Williamns, Petruccelle, Waterman and not a lot else. Hopefully we can make a few canny trades to fill that gap.

Agreed, hopefully with the recent turn in form it'll be easier to convince a few quality guys over to come play.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

I struggle to think of who your next gun players are going to be outside of Reid and maybe Ginbey.

You need more high draft picks I reckon.

To be honest I think we need to grab 1 or 2 from other clubs too. Not just a high draft pick situation here. Unlike North we should be able to attract good free agents or young players. I also think we got 5 or so years to do that.

Outside of Reid Ginbey we got a fair few who will still here here in 3 years time who can be considered guns like Oscar Allen, Elliot Yeo, Tim Kelly, Tom Barass.

In the youngsters also we got positional guns like Hough, Long, B.Williams (backup ruck) who are great for the roles they play. I can see Hough being AA back pocket in his prime for example and a guy like B.Williams being best backup ruck in the league as well since his marking is really good nowadays.

I think we need 5+ more guns but feel like lets do that in the next 3 or so years and not well tomorrow like you are suggesting. If Hewett can be a gun, we can knick Chad Warner and Sam Taylor, we can get a surprise out of Johnston/A.Reid/Hall/Maric/Brockman and the like then its not that far off

 

[blueboy25]

To be honest I think we need to grab 1 or 2 from other clubs too. Not just a high draft pick situation here. Unlike North we should be able to attract good free agents or young players. I also think we got 5 or so years to do that.

Outside of Reid Ginbey we got a fair few who will still here here in 3 years time who can be considered guns like Oscar Allen, Elliot Yeo, Tim Kelly, Tom Barass.

In the youngsters also we got positional guns like Hough, Long, B.Williams (backup ruck) who are great for the roles they play. I can see Hough being AA back pocket in his prime for example and a guy like B.Williams being best backup ruck in the league as well since his marking is really good nowadays.

I think we need 5+ more guns but feel like lets do that in the next 3 or so years and not well tomorrow like you are suggesting. If Hewett can be a gun, we can knick Chad Warner and Sam Taylor, we can get a surprise out of Johnston/A.Reid/Hall/Maric/Brockman and the like then its not that far off

Barrass will be 32, Yeo will be 34 and Kelly will be 33, not sure if they can keep their level of form up at that age especially with your travel requirements