Review Season 2024 Review

[Snuffaluphagus]

Totally agree. Our midfield lacks depth and I think also lacks pace and size. This is our biggest weakness and the midfield we have is nowhere near premiership quality.

JOM and Fyfe need to be replaced ASAP and various question marks over Sharp, NOD, Aish, Johnson and Raz. Could need as many as 3-4 more players in there.

It’s unfortunate all our 1st rounders are going to Rich for Bolton so we don’t have to pay part of his wages but such is Dockers life.

We have three mids in the AA squad and they are 24 or under. Jackson and Darcy have also made AA squads. Surely it's good enough and adding an AA mid/fwd makes it even better. I agree it needs a couple players to play support roles (Johnson/Ras/Noddy) but the top end is plenty good enough to win a flag.

 

[Dockeroo]

We have three mids in the AA squad and they are 24 or under. Jackson and Darcy have also made AA squads. Surely it's good enough and adding an AA mid/fwd makes it even better. I agree it needs a couple players to play support roles (Johnson/Ras/Noddy) but the top end is plenty good enough to win a flag.

Dont get me wrong here I love all 3 of our A grade mids (Andy Young and Caleb) but to me they are a tier below the truly A++ mids in the comp. The top tier superstars like Bont, Nick Daicos, Petracca, Heeney (this year), and in the last decade the likes of Fyfe, Danger, Dusty.

For me the only one of the 3 that has potential (and that’s all it is yet) to get close to the level of the above players is Young.

For example I would objectively have Butter and JHF above all our mids right now. That doesn’t mean they aren’t excellent players. But they aren’t quite walk-up future Hall of Famers. It’s hard to win a flag without one.
Bolton while class isn’t solving all our issues in the midfield either.

Last few weeks have really shown us how good Chad Warner would be in our mid group.
Maybe Young gets there, but that’s a risk waiting for that.
Erasmus and MJ are long shots to be premium midfielders of the comp but happy to keep them developing still.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Dont get me wrong here I love all 3 of our A grade mids (Andy Young and Caleb) but to me they are a tier below the truly A++ mids in the comp. The top tier superstars like Bont, Nick Daicos, Petracca, Heeney (this year), and in the last decade the likes of Fyfe, Danger, Dusty.

For me the only one of the 3 that has potential (and that’s all it is yet) to get close to the level of the above players is Young.

For example I would objectively have Butter and JHF above all our mids right now. That doesn’t mean they aren’t excellent players. But they aren’t quite walk-up future Hall of Famers. It’s hard to win a flag without one.
Bolton while class isn’t solving all our issues in the midfield either.

Last few weeks have really shown us how good Chad Warner would be in our mid group.
Maybe Young gets there, but that’s a risk waiting for that.
Erasmus and MJ are long shots to be premium midfielders of the comp but happy to keep them developing still.

You don't need to have a top 5 mid in the comp to have a premiership midfield. Serong, Brayshaw, Young, Bolton, Darcy, Jackson is objectively as good a group as anyone bar maybe Port (who I rate very highly). If you think so "objectively" on our talent then you should be cutting JL a lot more slack.

 

[Dockeroo]

You don't need to have a top 5 mid in the comp to have a premiership midfield. Serong, Brayshaw, Young, Bolton, Darcy, Jackson is objectively as good a group as anyone bar maybe Port (who I rate very highly). If you think so "objectively" on our talent then you should be cutting JL a lot more slack.

Maybe Bolton being added to that mix provides the lift it needs. Serong is one of my favs but man, 0.3 the last day with the game on the line is just the difference between him being a great player and a generational player. Sounds really harsh I know but the greats are judged differently (and Serong can be in that conversation to those are the standards we judge him by. Of course he’s a lot better than an average standard player.).

If there’s an area the midfield group were disappointing this year it’s the Darcy Jackson combo. The positive is there is potentially big improvement to come there. Andy and Caleb aren’t going to get much better than they already are.

I’m harsh on JL I know, but he does do a lot of good things too. I think he’s an average coach for afl. Not amazing, not terrible.
What was hard to stomach was the lack of ferocity and intent from several top billed players last weekend on our team. Some of them are young and might get a pass but looking at no-names like Jackson mead and Logan Evans zipping around the place, fully tuned into the pitch of the game, far more than most of our players was hard to watch.
There is also a poor streak of indiscipline that has crept into this side late in the season with repeated dumb 50s and overturned free kicks proving very very costly, some from very senior players too that should know better. That is not JL fault directly but it’s surely something he should be getting a handle on as head coach.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Maybe Bolton being added to that mix provides the lift it needs. Serong is one of my favs but man, 0.3 the last day with the game on the line is just the difference between him being a great player and a generational player. Sounds really harsh I know but the greats are judged differently (and Serong can be in that conversation to those are the standards we judge him by. Of course he’s a lot better than an average standard player.).

If there’s an area the midfield group were disappointing this year it’s the Darcy Jackson combo. The positive is there is potentially big improvement to come there. Andy and Caleb aren’t going to get much better than they already are.

I’m harsh on JL I know, but he does do a lot of good things too. I think he’s an average coach for afl. Not amazing, not terrible.
What was hard to stomach was the lack of ferocity and intent from several top billed players last weekend on our team. Some of them are young and might get a pass but looking at no-names like Jackson mead and Logan Evans zipping around the place, fully tuned into the pitch of the game, far more than most of our players was hard to watch.
There is also a poor streak of indiscipline that has crept into this side late in the season with repeated dumb 50s and overturned free kicks proving very very costly, some from very senior players too that should know better. That is not JL fault directly but it’s surely something he should be getting a handle on as head coach.

Serong also kept us in it against GWS the week before kicking 3 straight. As good as Daicos is, he's kicking at basically the same accuracy as Serong with shots on goal, just perspective needed on that Port game. Warner as good as he is disappeared for large parts of the year and I bet he doesnt make the final AA team as a result. We always overate our own buy when guys like Riley Beveridge even say repeatedly "best midfield group in the comp" it's good enough to win a flag.

It's on the coach to get them (particularly the rucks who I agree were disappointing this year) firing together but I wont agree that group is not good enough to be a premiership midfield. If it's not, we are ****ed

 

[dropbear101]

my point about the midfield wasn't about young, brayshaw and serong vs the opposition other best 3. we stack up well there.
its about rotation.

young, fyfe, johnson vs other midfield rotations isn't to our advantage.

 

[Sturty2Hurty]

Our midfield is good enough.

For example, would you take our current group or 2018 Eagles - Yeo, Shuey, Sheed, Masten, Redden and Scott Lycett

29

Scott Lycett

Age

31

Ht

203cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.6

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

6.3

4star

CL

2.6

4star

HO

19.0

5star

D

11.3

3star

K

5.7

2star

HB

5.7

3star

CL

4.2

5star

HO

24.7

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.6

4star

CL

0.4

3star

HO

5.0

5star

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Our midfield is good enough.

For example, would you take our current group or 2018 Eagles - Yeo, Shuey, Sheed, Masten, Redden and Scott Lycett

Or Geelong a few years later...

Hell, Pies last year wasnt full of world beaters (Daicos was still "just a 2nd year player" no matter how good)

 

[dropbear101]

Our midfield is good enough.

For example, would you take our current group or 2018 Eagles - Yeo, Shuey, Sheed, Masten, Redden and Scott Lycett

i agree. but its slightly different.

their outside mids were sheed (replacing gaffs role) and masten. there inside mids were yeo, shuey and redden with the tagger (can't remember his name). redden had won or come second in a BnF with brisbane and was no spud. the tagger performed his role well. thus west coast could go with better midfields.
I'm more concerned with our inside mid rotation. port bat 5 deep in the midfield with stars. GWS have 4-5. sydeney have 4-5 in gulden, worner, mills, papley and heeney,..etc.

we have 3. to use a basketball style thinking. what happens when jokic goes to the bench. we might match other midfields. but every quarter we will have 5-10 minutes where the most important part of the ground (around the ball). we are outmatched in talent. imo we become a premiership threat when johnson becomes a 20 disposal a game midfielder consistently. him or erasmus/odriscoll. or develop in a way that they don't get beaten. crowley and suban were no stars but nobody was beating them.

Darcy made such a difference this season i think because a good ruckmen nullifies an opposition clean clearances. thus nutralising the oppositon talent. as well as directing it in a way which hides our lack. as well as making it 4 stars.

 

[bushchook]

Totally agree. Our midfield lacks depth and I think also lacks pace and size.

Riley Bonner, 6'3" mid just delisted by Saints. Still only 27. Not a bad option for depth mid with some size.

 

[Joao]

Riley Bonner, 6'3" mid just delisted by Saints. Still only 27. Not a bad option for depth mid with some size.

He's a half back not a mid. Decent kick but afraid of contact.

 

[mattis117]

He's a half back not a mid. Decent kick but afraid of contact.

Don't rate his kicking myself. Not for the role he is playing.

 

[Joao]

Don't rate his kicking myself. Not for the role he is playing.

It's not great, but he has his days and does have penetration.

Absolutely zero interest though.

 

[GingerDocker]

If Riley Bonner

36

Riley Bonner

Age

27

Ht

190cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.2

4star

K

12.1

4star

HB

5.2

4star

M

4.3

4star

T

1.4

3star

MG

279.8

4star

D

12.3

3star

K

10.3

4star

HB

2.0

1star

M

3.5

3star

T

1.3

2star

MG

279.8

4star

D

21.4

5star

K

14.0

5star

HB

7.4

5star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.0

4star

is 6'3" I'm 10 inches laying down.

 

[Vimal Anand]

On SM-S918B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[yakamoto]

Young looks like becoming the explosive mid we have sorely needed. Would also like to see a player of the ilk of Rowbottom or Drew added to the midfield mix.
Could Johnson become that player? Or Erasmus.

 

[Dockeroo]

Young looks like becoming the explosive mid we have sorely needed. Would also like to see a player of the ilk of Rowbottom or Drew added to the midfield mix.
Could Johnson become that player? Or Erasmus.

Young is quality. Been a real positive this year.

Erasmus and MJ have a long way to go in my view. Not convinced by either at this point, three years into their development. Not sure either will ever be a premium mid so yeah maybe they should reinvent themselves as a tagger in the Drew mode

 

[DockerDerek]

Young is quality. Been a real positive this year.

Erasmus and MJ have a long way to go in my view. Not convinced by either at this point, three years into their development. Not sure either will ever be a premium mid so yeah maybe they should reinvent themselves as a tagger in the Drew mode

I tend to agree, particularly with MJ. His main attribute is still his strong body but despite his extended stint in the team doesn’t seem to have added any polish. He often still blazes away with ill-directed kicks.

I’ve defended Fyfe all year but after the weekend I’m more inclined to think we need to move past him. I felt sorry for Erasmus being benched so early in the Essendon game. Thought he was playing ok and he may offer something, but I haven’t seen anything yet to suggest it will be substantial.

One of the biggest problems is JL. Still hard to be that sure that he’s got what it takes, and if we were to replace him who with? The Eagles search suggests that the coaching recruitment pool may not be all that deep at the moment.

 

[theGav56]

If you handed our midfield to any coach in the competition they would be happy, but they still need to improve next year.

My issue is that we paid for a golden unicorn, but we play him as if he's a hack. Get him into positions' he can't be matched up on. Even simpler, play him where we are playing Fyfe.

 

[Lach72]

If you handed our midfield to any coach in the competition they would be happy, but they still need to improve next year.

My issue is that we paid for a golden unicorn, but we play him as if he's a hack. Get him into positions' he can't be matched up on. Even simpler, play him where we are playing Fyfe.

We need to slim him down. Get some mobility back

 

[wakojako]

Where will our natural growth come from next season to make us contenders?

1. Darcy: at the top of the list is Darcy. Everything has already been stated here but he is an AA ruckman when fit and a severe liability when he isn't. Darcy is on big money so we need to demand big standards from him.
2. Jackson: I've placed this guy at no.2 because he has the potential to tear games a part. Jacko had a disappointing year after a promising start to his season. Needs to improve his goal kicking accuracy but most importantly his contested marking. Also what happened to his ruck craft? If he realises his potential we will be a very very dominant side.
3. Amiss: has improved on last year but will need to recapture that goal kicking accuracy for us to make the big leap. Also needs to put on size, improve his tank and take more contested marks up the ground.
4. Johnson: Last player on the list is Johnson. People are underestimating the importance of having a midfield bull. A midfield without Fyfe will put the burden on our smaller stars. Johnson is Fyfe's replacement so he needs to pile on the kgs and improve his goal kicking.

 

[Patty_Moz]

We have three mids in the AA squad and they are 24 or under. Jackson and Darcy have also made AA squads. Surely it's good enough and adding an AA mid/fwd makes it even better. I agree it needs a couple players to play support roles (Johnson/Ras/Noddy) but the top end is plenty good enough to win a flag.

Agree on the top end being good enough but the support isn’t there. I’m not convinced Bolton will solve both our fwd and mid issues but he is a quality player. We definitely need at least 2 B graders out of NOD/Raz/MJ as there isn’t much after them.

Our midfield had an unprecedented year injury wise and yet even the mid tier midfields like Geel & Ess were able to get on top of us. Our 4th quarter fade-outs are a reflection of not enough contributors.

Our midfield is good enough.

For example, would you take our current group or 2018 Eagles - Yeo, Shuey, Sheed, Masten, Redden and Scott Lycett

This is the point. The Eagles lost 2x AA players and still had enough depth to cover. Honestly no one outside this board is rating JOM, Sharp, MJ better than Sheed, Masten, Redden.

 

[blue shark]

Young is quality. Been a real positive this year.

Erasmus and MJ have a long way to go in my view. Not convinced by either at this point, three years into their development. Not sure either will ever be a premium mid so yeah maybe they should reinvent themselves as a tagger in the Drew mode

Except Jlo doesn’t tag and we never see that preseason where the boys become men.
We see it individually like Treacy this year, Young, Serong previously.
Team is lacking that bullying, aggressive nature that creates pressure.
Even if Pickett came here and played his natural game he would miss more
games than at the Dees due to suspension.
Other clubs have QC’s to fight the charge, we would just bend over.
Until the club demands success and becomes ruthless, our only destination is
a club that pays well and demands little.

 

[go_the_dockers]

Where will our natural growth come from next season to make us contenders?

1. Darcy: at the top of the list is Darcy. Everything has already been stated here but he is an AA ruckman when fit and a severe liability when he isn't. Darcy is on big money so we need to demand big standards from him.
2. Jackson: I've placed this guy at no.2 because he has the potential to tear games a part. Jacko had a disappointing year after a promising start to his season. Needs to improve his goal kicking accuracy but most importantly his contested marking. Also what happened to his ruck craft? If he realises his potential we will be a very very dominant side.
3. Amiss: has improved on last year but will need to recapture that goal kicking accuracy for us to make the big leap. Also needs to put on size, improve his tank and take more contested marks up the ground.
4. Johnson: Last player on the list is Johnson. People are underestimating the importance of having a midfield bull. A midfield without Fyfe will put the burden on our smaller stars. Johnson is Fyfe's replacement so he needs to pile on the kgs and improve his goal kicking.

Serong, Brayshaw, Young still have some improvement left - all 25 and under. I don't think Young fitness is quite there to run out games.

Sharp should be better next year, after his first full year. I think he slowed a bit towards the end of the year.

NoD should be a lot better next year, if he gets a full pre season. He was great at the end of the year, off no pre season.

Chapman, Sturt are just pushing towards 100 games, I would expect some improvement in both of them especially if they get a full preseason.

The majority of the team is still under 25, and under 100 games played. I think most players improve until they reach 25 years old and 100 games.

 

[Dale147]