Prediction Round 1, 2025: Starting 23

[mat11]

If I had control of the team, then yeah he would probably be in there as a midfield rotation going between half back and the midfield. His spot to lose.

Yeo, Tk, Reid, Hewett, Duggan and Graham is probably plenty of mids in the b22. Chesser shot himself in the foot by having a poor year last year with the addition of Graham and Hutch he's coming from along way back

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[stallon]

Yeo, Tk, Reid, Hewett, Duggan and Graham is probably plenty of mids in the b22. Chesser shot himself in the foot by having a poor year last year with the addition of Graham and Hutch he's coming from along way back

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I wouldnt have TK in there if I had total control, TK would be playing off half forward.
Chesser would be taking his spot.

Id give Chesser a rotation with Yeo probably, go between defence and midfield

Chesser would hold the spot until someone in the WAFL passes him, but he would start with it.
Id give him every chance in non wing roles to prove himself this year, because if he cant show anyhting in ball chasing roles this year itd be time for him to either reinvent himself as a lockdown player or to be delisted/traded

 

[Grahame]

We should start every season intending to make finals (and win the premiership) and thus select the best 22. Starting a season with any other mindset is anathema.
If you have 2 players close to being on par then there's room to preference youth.

Don't disagree with your general principle but when you're as far back as we are I would modify that to say we want the fastest route to winning the premiership.

But our stage of development involves 1. plenty of young and/or untested players; 2. whose positions aren't necessarily clear; and 3. with a new coach (game plan). To that end I'm not quite so fussed about wins (although important for morale) but I'd rather hope we increase our percentage - meaning not only more wins but also less blowouts.

And, a big one is making sure the Beagles are at least competitive. Not only so the fringe players actually get some real development – but also so that it is possible to drop any underperforming but highly paid 'stars'. Recently, dropping an established player to what was at times almost a WAFL reserves team would have been just too much for the MC to contemplate.

 

[Jez1974]

If I had control of the team, then yeah he would probably be in there as a midfield rotation going between half back and the midfield. His spot to lose.

I am glad it's Mcwal

If I had control of the team, then yeah he would probably be in there as a midfield rotation going between half back and the midfield. His spot to lose.

Not many if any on here have selected him!
Totally agree. Hope the new coach agrees with Schofield

 

[Jez1974]

Yeo, Tk, Reid, Hewett, Duggan and Graham is probably plenty of mids in the b22. Chesser shot himself in the foot by having a poor year last year with the addition of Graham and Hutch he's coming from along way back

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Agree. He will probs be gone next year if the new draftees show something which they look like doing

 

[WCE777]

Agree. He will probs be gone next year if the new draftees show something which they look like doing

Agree Chesser will need an excellent year to get another contract.
Going to need 6-7 list spots if all goes to plan.
Warner x 2, best mid with WC 1st pick, Curtin, 2-3 FS/NGA prospects.
Depending on Cripps season he is more likely to get a short extension than players that haven't proven themselves to be quality players.
I have Jamieson, Sheed, Petch, Rawlinson, Livingstone, Chesser as most likely to not get contracts or traded for picks and Cripps either retire or short term contract depending on his season
Petch, Chesser, Sheed can be replaced by Cory Warner.

 

[Elite Pete]

Give Chesser a start in the magoos in the midfield and see what he can bring. He looked decent in there late last year.

AFL 6 rotating mids
Yeo/Hewett
Duggan/Graham
Harley/Kelly

WAFL
Chesser/Sheed/Hall/Hutchinson/Gross and a bit of Allan.

2025 AFL
Hough - Edwards - Maric
Ginbey - Gov - Baker
Hunt - Duggan - Dewar
Ryan - Allen - Hewett (M)
Owies - Waterman - Cripps
Flynn - Reid - Yeo

Bench- Cole (B) - Kelly (M/F) - Graham (M) - J Williams (F/R)
Sub: Long

2nd Ruck JWill - Graham - Kelly/Hewett

EMG Hutchinson - B Williams - Allan

Beagles
Grego - Jamieson - Bazzo
Johnston - Barnett - Allan
Davis - Chesser - Petrucelle
Gross - A Reid - Brockman
Champion - Shanahan - Hutchinson
B Williams - Sheed - Hall

Bench - Livingstone - Rawlinson - Brock

2nd R- Barnett/Livingstone - Gross - Hutchinson/Allan

 

[Dom sheed pocket]

I wouldnt have TK in there if I had total control, TK would be playing off half forward.
Chesser would be taking his spot.

Id give Chesser a rotation with Yeo probably, go between defence and midfield

Chesser would hold the spot until someone in the WAFL passes him, but he would start with it.
Id give him every chance in non wing roles to prove himself this year, because if he cant show anyhting in ball chasing roles this year itd be time for him to either reinvent himself as a lockdown player or to be delisted/traded

I’m a chesser fan but I do think he needs to earn his stripes now. He got a lot of easy treatment early cos he was our first youg mid we had drafted in top 20 since 2014 (crazy!)

There’s real competition for spots now between young mids. Chesser hasn’t shown enough to suggest he should have first crack over a Hall for example.

There’s a chance he would be one player who might benefit the most from minis game style (and a change in coach in general) but unless he gets 25+ and plays out of his skin jn the pre season games he should start in the WAFL.

 

[stallon]

I’m a chesser fan but I do think he needs to earn his stripes now. He got a lot of easy treatment early cos he was our first youg mid we had drafted in top 20 since 2014 (crazy!)

There’s real competition for spots now between young mids. Chesser hasn’t shown enough to suggest he should have first crack over a Hall for example.

There’s a chance he would be one player who might benefit the most from minis game style (and a change in coach in general) but unless he gets 25+ and plays out of his skin jn the pre season games he should start in the WAFL.

Main reason I have him before Hall is that Chesser to me fits a similar mould to Kelly who he would be replacing as an outside leaning mid. It'd keep the CBA structure relatively consistent, Hall is just a different sort of player.

Chesser is quick and has a decent kick on him, better than most of our mids. If we could get him the ball on the outside of stoppages running forward he could be pretty potent.

I dont care how hes been so far, id give him a go first, and if it doesnt work then by round 3 or 4 hes out. We have 5 other mids plus TK in the squad so its not like he would have huge responsibility

 

[Dom sheed pocket]

Main reason I have him before Hall is that Chesser to me fits a similar mould to Kelly who he would be replacing as an outside leaning mid. It'd keep the CBA structure relatively consistent, Hall is just a different sort of player.

Chesser is quick and has a decent kick on him, better than most of our mids. If we could get him the ball on the outside of stoppages running forward he could be pretty potent.

I dont care how hes been so far, id give him a go first, and if it doesnt work then by round 3 or 4 hes out. We have 5 other mids plus TK in the squad so its not like he would have huge responsibility

There’s nothing chesser has offered so far that hall couldn’t offfer. Hall can play outside and is a good link up player.

In theory Chesser does have great speed, endurance, has a kick that can gain ot of metres but at this stage chesser is just a theoretical proposition.

We really need to see it first.

EDIT: I feel like we have tried the whole let’s give him some games to get a taste of the level and see what he ca do. Playing AFL when you’re not quite there yet can also be a bad thing and destroy your confidence.

I’d rather tell him to play WAFL as an inside midfielder, go out there and go after it and try to build his confidence. He just needs to find it more. Get 25+ a few weeks in a row. He’s really still making up lost ground from 2-3 years of little to no footy from 2020-2023.

I remember he looked good in pre season games playing as a mid in the be team and looked good playing thst role in WAFL. I just think throwing him in the deep end isn’t going to be good for him.

Mini coming on board could be the making of him.

 

[stallon]

There’s nothing chesser has offered so far that hall couldn’t offfer. Hall can play outside and is a good link up player.

Disagree, Hall doesnt offer the pace Chesser does, or the kick. Different players.

In theory Chesser does have great speed, endurance, has a kick that can gain ot of metres but at this stage chesser is just a theoretical proposition.

We really need to see it first.

As I said I dont care, if I had control id put him in there round 1, and if hes not showing anything at all id move him back to the WAFL in round 3 or 4

EDIT: I feel like we have tried the whole let’s give him some games to get a taste of the level and see what he ca do. Playing AFL when you’re not quite there yet can also be a bad thing and destroy your confidence.

Hes been sat out on a wing which is clearly not his position. When hes got the ball hes generally looked fine, he just needs to get it. If someones handballing it out to him at stoppages he cant avoid it.

I’d rather tell him to play WAFL as an inside midfielder, go out there and go after it and try to build his confidence. He just needs to find it more. Get 25+ a few weeks in a row. He’s really still making up lost ground from 2-3 years of little to no footy from 2020-2023.

I remember he looked good in pre season games playing as a mid in the be team and looked good playing thst role in WAFL. I just think throwing him in the deep end isn’t going to be good for him.

Mini coming on board could be the making of him.

 

[Dom sheed pocket]

Disagree, Hall doesnt offer the pace Chesser does, or the kick. Different players.

As I said I dont care, if I had control id put him in there round 1, and if hes not showing anything at all id move him back to the WAFL in round 3 or 4

Hes been sat out on a wing which is clearly not his position. When hes got the ball hes generally looked fine, he just needs to get it. If someones handballing it out to him at stoppages he cant avoid it.

We’re basically saying the exact same thing when it comes to chesser with the difference being how to get the best out of him.

Let’s see how the pre season games go I guess and we’ll get a better idea of where he is at with his game.

 

[Barrybran]

I see where you're coming from, and there's a good chance Cole is in the team R1 like you said.

My view is completely subjective, I just see more value of picking a young player and developing them as a back pocket/HBF vs. picking a 28 yr old small defender who won't be in our next premiership push.

If we had never selected and backed in Hough during his first and second years then he wouldn't have developed into the gun player he is now. Are we prepared to risk getting 10-20 games into the next young talent for the sake of picking Cole?

We are going to need senior players playing for the Beagles, being that on field coach and helping develop the youth and teach them the game plan. The Beagles has regularly been a bunch of raw 18-20 yr olds getting flogged each week, and we can all say that the addition of Sheed, Gaff, Flynn and Darling into the WAFL side last year saw a huge shift culturally and competitively.

We are going to need some senior players marshalling the Beagles defence - how good would it be seeing Cole mentoring young Luca Grego and helping Chesser/Allan/Johnston develop into a HBF or Barnett as a CHB.

With Baker, Maric, Ginbey, Hough, Duggan and Hunt all fit, I don't see Cole making them team unless Hough or Baker is injured.

The difference between Hough's first year and this year is that our 2022 AFL team was a shambles and our WAFL team was even worse. There is no pressure to blood the kids. In fact, there is merit to having them build together at WAFL level. Their opportunities will come over the next couple of seasons.

It's not unreasonable to think that all of Gov, Yeo, Kelly, Cole, Hunt and Cripps are gone in the next two years with the possibility of Ryan, Duggan and Owies not being there in three years. Then you've got Oscar's contact situation this year. That's nearly half of our best 23 that could be turned over in three years when the bulk of our list are between 21-24.