Prediction Round 1, 2025: Starting 23

[AsterixTheGaul]

wonder if it was to help protect Allens knee a bit? and the usual lack of conditioning coming back from an injury

How dare you accuse Simmo for selecting his credits team coming back straight to the AFL and getting fit/conditioned in the seniors

 

[Altum Volantes]

Hard to see Sheed playing much AFL in future with a fast game style, even if injuries to other players allow?

Depends if he can adapt to a new role - he’s always been a decent mark and kick (left foot only admittedly) - ‘fast’ game plans rely on moving the ball at speed, not just running.

Sheed’s hope would be that of a link man who can be in the right spots when required.

 

[THE A5]

Depends if he can adapt to a new role - he’s always been a decent mark and kick (left foot only admittedly) - ‘fast’ game plans rely on moving the ball at speed, not just running.

Sheed’s hope would be that of a link man who can be in the right spots when required.

He seems cooked. I’m a sheed fan but if it’s him or blooding a young mid in, then I’m picking a kid. Unless a few of the main senior mids are out. Perhaps if Kelly is inconsistent again, he should come in and send Tk to wafl

 

[Altum Volantes]

He seems cooked. I’m a sheed fan but if it’s him or blooding a young mid in, then I’m picking a kid. Unless a few of the main senior mids are out. Perhaps if Kelly is inconsistent again, he should come in and send Tk to wafl

He is up against it for sure but new coaches can often find something from a few of the older guys that wasn’t immediately obvious. So I guess we’ll see.

 

[Astro7]

Depends if he can adapt to a new role - he’s always been a decent mark and kick (left foot only admittedly) - ‘fast’ game plans rely on moving the ball at speed, not just running.

Sheed’s hope would be that of a link man who can be in the right spots when required.

For sure, but from recall he wasn't that quick of mind or efficient at fast clean effective disposals. Anything is possible with new coach, might get reinvented, but towards end of last season was drifting towards that least desired position of left right out?

 

[Scotland]

He seems cooked. I’m a sheed fan but if it’s him or blooding a young mid in, then I’m picking a kid. Unless a few of the main senior mids are out. Perhaps if Kelly is inconsistent again, he should come in and send Tk to wafl

Sheed turns 30 early in the year and has played 1, 15 and 8 games the last three years. He's in an awkward position because at his best he is/was our 4th or 5th best mid. He would want to be fit and firing heading into round 1 to give himself the best chance of starting the season in rather than out. If he ends up in the WAFL for an extended period I fear he will end up like Gaff where his papers are stamped.

 

[FKASC]

What’s wild is Ginbey is only 2-3cm shorter than Bazzo and Shanahan…

Really? Thought Ginbey was like 6-7 cm shorter

Edit - I didn’t realise he was 191 cm. Assumed he was like 187-188 cm for some reason

 

[6285sutto]

Sheed turns 30 early in the year and has played 1, 15 and 8 games the last three years. He's in an awkward position because at his best he is/was our 4th or 5th best mid. He would want to be fit and firing heading into round 1 to give himself the best chance of starting the season in rather than out. If he ends up in the WAFL for an extended period I fear he will end up like Gaff where his papers are stamped.

That isn't something you should be afraid of... Sheed's papers are already stamped

 

[bzparkes]

Really? Thought Ginbey was like 6-7 cm shorter

Edit - I didn’t realise he was 191 cm. Assumed he was like 187-188 cm for some reason

 

[Rowan18]

That isn't something you should be afraid of... Sheed's papers are already stamped

In my mind he's already retired. From what's been said about his foot, I can't see him being able to cover the ground quick enough to apply defensive pressure, which is what the new coach values.

 

[Scotland]

That isn't something you should be afraid of... Sheed's papers are already stamped

Sad way to go out for the guy that is my avatar. Unfortunately for guys like Sheed that have some limitations the end can come really quickly. I was convinced Gaff would be a 300 gamer and possibly games record holder, but once he stopped covering the ground as well as he did at his peak he really added nothing to the team.

Unfortunately we don't have a home game against Collingwood but if he can't get up due to injury you'd hope we still give him a good send off.

Looking at the contracts we have Kelly, Sheed, Hunt, Cripps, McGovern all 30 or older and out of contract at the end of the year. My guess is Sheed and Cripps finish up and the rest are year to year propositions. Kelly has been pretty good since joining but hasn't earned a 3 year deal post 30 like Yeo.

 

[Rowan18]

Sad way to go out for the guy that is my avatar. Unfortunately for guys like Sheed that have some limitations the end can come really quickly. I was convinced Gaff would be a 300 gamer and possibly games record holder, but once he stopped covering the ground as well as he did at his peak he really added nothing to the team.

Unfortunately we don't have a home game against Collingwood but if he can't get up due to injury you'd hope we still give him a good send off.

Looking at the contracts we have Kelly, Sheed, Hunt, Cripps, McGovern all 30 or older and out of contract at the end of the year. My guess is Sheed and Cripps finish up and the rest are year to year propositions. Kelly has been pretty good since joining but hasn't earned a 3 year deal post 30 like Yeo.

I think Gov has two years to run on his contract (25 and 26).

 

[stallon]

I think Gov has two years to run on his contract (25 and 26).

Gov is contracted to the end of 2025

 

[Boohemian]

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Hard to see Sheed playing much AFL in future with a fast game style, even if injuries to other players allow?

Calling it. Sheed won’t play another game for West Coast.

 

[WCE777]

B: COLE, H EDWARDS, HOUGH
HB: DUGGAN, GOV, L BAKER
C: GINBEY, KELLY, HUNT
HF: J GRAHAM, WATERMAN, CRIPPS
F: RYAN, ALLEN, OWIES
FOLL: B WILLIAMS, YEO, H REID
INT: J WILLIAMS, MARIC, HEWETT, HUTCH, CHESSER
Can see Duggan & Ginbey rotating of HB.
J Wiliams playing 2nd ruck and resting fwd when needed.
Maric rotating thru HB.
Graham, Hewett, Hutch rotating thru HF/MID.

 

[dinnaz]

B	Cole	Edwards	Bazzo
HB	Ginbey	McGovern	Hough
C	Duggan	Graham	Hunt
HF	Kelly	Waterman	Cripps
F	Ryan	Allen	Owies
FOLL	Flynn	Yeo	Reid
INT	B. Williams	Hewett	Baker
	Maric

It's the first time in about 7 years the team has actually been hard to pick We have depth and genuine competition for spots. I have picked as if we have 100% fitness but as usual I expect 10 players on the list to be unavailable or very far off it.

Medium defenders and wing is a hard spot to predict as we have about 6 guys who are all ok, but not standouts in either position.

Where does Baker fit? He's best 22 but doesn't command any one spot. I think his best use is off the bench through the midfield and then to plug any gaps as the match progresses.

• We can only play 1x of the Williams as they play the same position. B is the better fill in ruck so he gets the spot.
• Owies ahead of Long for the moment.
• Some guys just have to play league footy even out of position. Ginbey, Hewett may have to sit on the flanks when they can fit in and get some midfield exposure when opportunity arises.
• Maric is too good for WAFL and can plug a hole down either end. Perhaps we could even chuck him on a wing. If we prefer a midfielder then Sheed comes in.

 

[TheBudgies]

B	Cole	Edwards	Bazzo
HB	Ginbey	McGovern	Hough
C	Duggan	Graham	Hunt
HF	Kelly	Waterman	Cripps
F	Ryan	Allen	Owies
FOLL	Flynn	Yeo	Reid
INT	B. Williams	Hewett	Baker
	Maric

It's the first time in about 7 years the team has actually been hard to pick We have depth and genuine competition for spots. I have picked as if we have 100% fitness but as usual I expect 10 players on the list to be unavailable or very far off it.

Medium defenders and wing is a hard spot to predict as we have about 6 guys who are all ok, but not standouts in either position.

Where does Baker fit? He's best 22 but doesn't command any one spot. I think his best use is off the bench through the midfield and then to plug any gaps as the match progresses.

• We can only play 1x of the Williams as they play the same position. B is the better fill in ruck so he gets the spot.
• Owies ahead of Long for the moment.
• Some guys just have to play league footy even out of position. Ginbey, Hewett may have to sit on the flanks when they can fit in and get some midfield exposure when opportunity arises.
• Maric is too good for WAFL and can plug a hole down either end. Perhaps we could even chuck him on a wing. If we prefer a midfielder then Sheed comes in.

Sorry, did you just suggest Bailey Williams in the team instead of Jack Williams? Surely that's grounds for arrest?

 

[dinnaz]

Sorry, did you just suggest Bailey Williams in the team instead of Jack Williams? Surely that's grounds for arrest?

On balance.
He's the better backup ruck at the moment, No brainer.
Up forward we have Waterman & Allen and as maybe 5% of the decision: JW is more of a leading type which we have covered, while BW has that extra reach which is a different dynamic.

I'm plenty happy for JW to dominate the WAFL and grab the spot with two hands- I just don't think it's his time yet.

 

[We_The_West]

Tom Cole... BW... deserves a week's suspension from BF I say!

 

[stallon]

On balance.
He's the better backup ruck at the moment, No brainer.
Up forward we have Waterman & Allen and as maybe 5% of the decision: JW is more of a leading type which we have covered, while BW has that extra reach which is a different dynamic.

I'm plenty happy for JW to dominate the WAFL and grab the spot with two hands- I just don't think it's his time yet.

Usually you dont care how good that second ruck is at rucking, they just need to compete. What you want is a forward who can do the ruck.

Flynn if selected should be aiming at doing 80%+ of the ruck time, if hes not then hes not fit and shouldnt be in the squad.

That second ruck spot will therefore have to spend 80% of their time in the forward line, do we want Bailey Williams or Jack Williams as a tall forward alongside Allen and Waterman?
We really havent seen anything to suggest Bailey can be a good forward, but we have seen bits from Jack.

I disagree that Jack doesnt bring anything new to our forward line, hes physically bigger than Bailey who is more athletic. Plonk Jack at full forward and let our other forwards do their leading patterns

Its your best 22 but ye, clubs generally dont name 2 players for their ruck competency

 

[TheBudgies]

On balance.
He's the better backup ruck at the moment, No brainer.
Up forward we have Waterman & Allen and as maybe 5% of the decision: JW is more of a leading type which we have covered, while BW has that extra reach which is a different dynamic.

I'm plenty happy for JW to dominate the WAFL and grab the spot with two hands- I just don't think it's his time yet.

JW has nothing more to learn at WAFL level. He needs to play AFL. He could be one of our best players in a few years. To get there He needs consistency at AFL level. He needs to be playing every week while he shows he deserves it (training reports suggest he does). We just need him to be ok as 2nd ruck and make a contest. He absolutely does that.
In Contrast Bailey is marginally better in the ruck but way worse both around the ground and up forward.

 

[dinnaz]

Usually you dont care how good that second ruck is at rucking, they just need to compete. What you want is a forward who can do the ruck.

Flynn if selected should be aiming at doing 80%+ of the ruck time, if hes not then hes not fit and shouldnt be in the squad.

That second ruck spot will therefore have to spend 80% of their time in the forward line, do we want Bailey Williams or Jack Williams as a tall forward alongside Allen and Waterman?
We really havent seen anything to suggest Bailey can be a good forward, but we have seen bits from Jack.

I disagree that Jack doesnt bring anything new to our forward line, hes physically bigger than Bailey who is more athletic. Plonk Jack at full forward and let our other forwards do their leading patterns

Its your best 22 but ye, clubs generally dont name 2 players for their ruck competency

You'd be surprised at how something trivial like 10 or 20 hit outs gets inside a coaches head and causes selection blunders With Simmo gone maybe we don't name the 2 rucks but just about every week every team in the AFL does play the two to limited effect.

At the moment i'm pretty confident BW > JW pretty comfortably at everything bar set shots

I'm not worried about losing height when a KPF takes 5 minutes in the middle and i50 stoppages (All the best FF through history have been at most 190cm).
I'd still rather play a max of 6 legit talls. 3 KPD who are set, 2KPF- one who can pinch hit in the ruck & 1R.

We have Liam Ryan who is dynamite out of FF and H. Reid who is a handful 1 on 1 as well so in a perfect world we play neither and upgrade Flynn.

 

[dinnaz]

JW has nothing more to learn at WAFL level. He needs to play AFL. He could be one of our best players in a few years. To get there He needs consistency at AFL level. He needs to be playing every week while he shows he deserves it (training reports suggest he does). We just need him to be ok as 2nd ruck and make a contest. He absolutely does that.
In Contrast Bailey is marginally better in the ruck but way worse both around the ground and up forward.

Also Reid & Shanahan should turn out even better. I suspect someone is going to get sent to defence.

Don't get me wrong i'm a big fan of JW dating back to 2021 and think he will be the better fwd in the long run, but at the moment having kicked less than a goal a game he needs to double or triple that output to own the spot.

I'm thinking BW if played in the same position would be double JW output in R1. And until the door is being banged down leave it like this.

The weird question is that people think gifting games improves the team? I believe that a few games before you are ready is good in that it let you see where you need to reach.
JW has had that taste but surely having 6 or 7 shots and 20 disposals and dominating the game in the WAFL is better for experience than 5 disposals and 1 in the AFL?

 

[stallon]

You'd be surprised at how something trivial like 10 or 20 hit outs gets inside a coaches head and causes selection blunders With Simmo gone maybe we don't name the 2 rucks but just about every week every team in the AFL does play the two to limited effect.

At the moment i'm pretty confident BW > JW pretty comfortably at everything bar set shots

fair enough

I'm not worried about losing height when a KPF takes 5 minutes in the middle and i50 stoppages (All the best FF through history have been at most 190cm).
I'd still rather play a max of 6 legit talls. 3 KPD who are set, 2KPF- one who can pinch hit in the ruck & 1R.

im the same, unfortunately we have way too many tall forwards who are ready for afl haha. Edwards, Gov and Maric should be our 3 backs

We have Liam Ryan who is dynamite out of FF and H. Reid who is a handful 1 on 1 as well so in a perfect world we play neither and upgrade Flynn.

Yeah we should look to exploit that more.
IMO we should set up our forward line with Jack Williams(or Bailey) as the actual full forward, who spends time in the ruck. Waterman and Allen use their athleticism to move around the ground, providing marking options too to help make out less gifted kickers not look so bad.
When Flynn is on the bench, Jack or whoever our 2nd ruck is goes onball, and we leave Ryan or Reid or something at FF

So its either a 2nd ruck or a smaller player at FF, would be awkward for oppo to match up for sure

 

[TheBudgies]

Also Reid & Shanahan should turn out even better. I suspect someone is going to get sent to defence.

Don't get me wrong i'm a big fan of JW dating back to 2021 and think he will be the better fwd in the long run, but at the moment having kicked less than a goal a game he needs to double or triple that output to own the spot.

I'm thinking BW if played in the same position would be double JW output in R1. And until the door is being banged down leave it like this.

The weird question is that people think gifting games improves the team? I believe that a few games before you are ready is good in that it let you see where you need to reach.
JW has had that taste but surely having 6 or 7 shots and 20 disposals and dominating the game in the WAFL is better for experience than 5 disposals and 1 in the AFL?

He was playing as the 4th tall last year. Playing as 3rd/2nd Ruck tall would be great for him and us. We have a glut of talented tall forwards surely we try and maximise that advantage by having them in the team? A quick game up field also would benefit our KPF marking players. It's been lean pickings up forward for anyone not named Waterman.