Simpson has got one thing right

[Miguel Sanchez]

Slight exaggeration, I should have worded that better: Those ones that the club is constantly reporting in the media that they will re-sign shortly.

Every article that pops up about a signing contains such and such is unsigned and they hope to re-sign soon eg. Smith in the Rosa article.

As a side note, I wonder if it would be possible to float Gaff for a midfielder of a different stature or speed.

Ah OK. I thought the fringe players being assessed were Hill, Wilson, Brennan, Smith, McGinnity (though he's probably already passed), and players who we're hopeful of re-signing were Gaff and Lycett.

Didn't see the mention of being hopeful that Smith would re-sign, I hope it was a misprint because he's one that should be out the door.

 

[Dark Sharks]

Depends on how much cutting we do at the end of the year, plus with Glass and Cox gone I just naturally thought we'd do worse.

Glass is a loss, but he was slowing down regardless. And Cox was no longer best 22 anyway.

I believe we'll be in for a tough year next year, but i'm not putting it down to those 2 retiring.

 

[ep2018]

Glass is a loss, but he was slowing down regardless. And Cox was no longer best 22 anyway.

I believe we'll be in for a tough year next year, but i'm not putting it down to those 2 retiring.

To add to what I said before I was thinking today at lunch that we will probably finish outside the bottom 6 this year and cop a harder draw next year, plus the teams around us all look to have improved, I'm having trouble seeing what improvement we've made. Though I would love to be wrong and we shoot up the ladder, just cant see it happening.

 

[Nuke Fremantle]

My judgement on Simpson will be based on how ruthless he is when it comes to list management at the end of this season. If he's been brainwashed into the usual WCE policy of totally overrrating our players then we really are stuffed. We'll end up with another spoon.

 

[SpaceClef]

My judgement on Simpson will be based on how ruthless he is when it comes to list management at the end of this season. If he's been brainwashed into the usual WCE policy of totally overrrating our players then we really are stuffed. We'll end up with another spoon.

Can't see him being that ruthless to be honest.

Would be hard to come in to a new club with high expectations that he turns the players they've pinned their hopes to into a competitive unit, only to delist a lot of them and run the risk of the recruiting staff failing again.

We're not going to win many games next year, and bringing in a whole heap of kids isn't going to help that in the short term, so he puts his career on the line somewhat by taking that risk. Obviously we all want him to be brazen, but I reckon it's more likely that he'll turn the list over incrementally. Unfortunately.

 

[Keys]

Can't see him being that ruthless to be honest.

Would be hard to come in to a new club with high expectations that he turns the players they've pinned their hopes to into a competitive unit, only to delist a lot of them and run the risk of the recruiting staff failing again.

We're not going to win many games next year, and bringing in a whole heap of kids isn't going to help that in the short term, so he puts his career on the line somewhat by taking that risk. Obviously we all want him to be brazen, but I reckon it's more likely that he'll turn the list over incrementally. Unfortunately.

I'd rather Simpson clear out deadwood and try our chances through the draft/trade period than persist with players who have haven't gotten us anywhere and aren't likely too

The club needs to back him to make the requisite decisions on our list and too bad if some people get their feelings hurt in the process

 

[Dark Sharks]

I'd rather Simpson clear out deadwood and try our chances through the draft/trade period than persist with players who have haven't gotten us anywhere and aren't likely too

The club needs to back him to make the requisite decisions on our list and too bad if some people get their feelings hurt in the process

Likewise.

But the club is too 'puss' and conservative to make too many drastic changes IMO, so i think it will be a slow process for Simmo.

I wish he could just go BAM and delist 10 players on our list, but realistically and also regrettably, Mcginnity will still be on the list next year.

 

[SpaceClef]

I'd rather Simpson clear out deadwood and try our chances through the draft/trade period than persist with players who have haven't gotten us anywhere and aren't likely too

The club needs to back him to make the requisite decisions on our list and too bad if some people get their feelings hurt in the process

Likewise.

But the club is too 'puss' and conservative to make too many drastic changes IMO, so i think it will be a slow process for Simmo.

I wish he could just go BAM and delist 10 players on our list, but realistically and also regrettably, Mcginnity will still be on the list next year.

I would rather it too, and most of us would.

If he was a 'proven' coach I reckon our club would back him to do it, but I can see him and the club going the conservative route.

 

[paran]

My impression is that Simpson hasn't adjusted enough to the playing list with his game plan, took a long time to address key issues (slow starts, stemming run alongs, goal kicking accuracy) that directly led to critical losses. He also seems to have carried guys in the seniors when injured (Masten, Gaff) which makes me question his list management. Darling, Naitanui, Masten and Shuey all going backwards doesn't auger well for Simmo. Him being the midfield caoch from Hawthorn, I haven't seen much improvement there, and his praising of Priddis while preaching versatility worries me.

On the plus side, he presents extremely well, has developed Brad Sheppard, overseen a rock slid defence and the move of LeCras up the ground looks good. Whispers in the background are the players are still adjusting to the game plan, so who knows. After a great start the rest of the season has been poor, so this off season will make or break Simmo.

 

[Daveoooo]

Curious as to why you think next year will be worse. I'm not going to go all rainbows and lollipops and suggest we can make finals but with another preseason to work on the game plan and Simpson with a better understanding of what he has at his disposal we should look to improve on this year

List changeover and new young players i suggest the same result will happen next year. Unless they pick up 1 or 2 experienced mids i can't see things changes quickly. Another reason things won't change quickly is they will play the same best 18 next year using the bench to bring in young players hopefully. Also masten, wellers and to many tall players in the forward line will cost them in not making big calls on the list. Hopefully wellers gets better but with his attitude i doubt it but he could surprise me.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

I can easily see him delisting quite a few.

 

[Falco]

I think Wilson, Brennan, A.Smith and possibly Hill are in the gun. Cox and Glass retiring so thats six players. Waters needs to consider his options too. Butler will be retained for depth, and so will McGinnity (unfortunately). Some strong decisions by Simpson would be great to see at the end of the year.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Him being the midfield caoch from Hawthorn, I haven't seen much improvement

Sometimes when you polish a turd you don't get a diamond, just a turd with less direction in life.

 

[paran]

Sometimes when you polish a turd you don't get a diamond, just a turd with less direction in life.

Didn't seem to be obvious to him in preseason and at the start of the season - that is the worry.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Didn't seem to be obvious to him in preseason and at the start of the season - that is the worry.

I'm reserving judgement until next year, after he's had an actual impact on our list during the off-season. At the moment, he is very much stuck with an overwhelmingly mediocre bunch.

 

[SpaceClef]

Curious as to why you think next year will be worse. I'm not going to go all rainbows and lollipops and suggest we can make finals but with another preseason to work on the game plan and Simpson with a better understanding of what he has at his disposal we should look to improve on this year

We've been somewhat lucky with injuries - imagine if Priddis or Macca missed large chunks of next year!

 

[SpaceClef]

I think our keys to improvement next year will hinge upon the development curves of Karpany, Sheed and Colledge.

If those three can have a cracker pre-season and make an impact, it will improve our side considerably.

We so desperately need some ground level class in the forwardline - Cripps and Smith are not the answer, and Hill plays tall. Someone with the ability to read the ball off a pack, scoop it up and navigate easily through traffic will generate an extra two goals a game out of our inside 50s. I'm not expecting anything from Newman, so Karpany's development is key.

Sheed obviously has a lot of improvement left in him, and if he and Colledge can stay fit and adapt to the pace of the midfield at AFL level, then we suddenly have two additional mids in our rotation. It starts to put pressure on Masten, Wellingham and Hutchings (and hopefully it keeps McGinnity out of the side). We can't forget that Colledge is still only 19 and has missed lots of footy in the past 2 years so he has quite a lot of upside still.

Then if we can do the right thing with our drafting this year (not keen on trading picks whatsoever) and bring in a kid that generates some true excitement, then that will lift the rest of the guys who have perhaps looked to regress somewhat. It happened with Gaff, Darling and Shuey in 2011. A couple of rising star nomination performances and all of a sudden battlers like Lynch and Nicoski look a million bucks.

 

[SpaceClef]

But in saying that, it will only be the start of a clear-out of mediocre players, and hopefully there are no more false dawns.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I think our keys to improvement next year will hinge upon the development curves of Karpany, Sheed and Colledge.

I wish I had your optimism. In my opinion Karpany is still about 2 years away from even debuting. Won't have any bearing on our efforts next year.

Feel free to bookmark.

 

[SpaceClef]

I wish I had your optimism. In my opinion Karpany is still about 2 years away from even debuting. Won't have any bearing on our efforts next year.

Feel free to bookmark.

Yeah you're probably right. I wasn't necessarily saying he will have an impact, but our improvement will only come from guys like him having an impact. We've almost got all we can out of a lot of our current 22.

 

[Joven]

I'd rather Simpson clear out deadwood and try our chances through the draft/trade period than persist with players who have haven't gotten us anywhere and aren't likely too

The club needs to back him to make the requisite decisions on our list and too bad if some people get their feelings hurt in the process

I think Simpson will clear out the deadwood. If you look at it from his perspective, he needs to be seen to be reshaping the group. If he doesn't, he will seem like he believes the playing group are fine (which implies the coaching group isn't). By turning the list over he is subtly implying that this years results are based on a substandard list that he was not responsible for. To me, this is good management practice (and self/career protection) as it will buy him more time.
My bet is he will turn over the list strongly this year, but am just unsure (as many have mentioned) whether he will pull the trigger mainly through the trade period or bring the "future" through the draft.

 

[dajesmac]

I wish I had your optimism. In my opinion Karpany is still about 2 years away from even debuting. Won't have any bearing on our efforts next year.

Feel free to bookmark.

Depends on how we go next year I reckon.

If we pancake it halfway through again then he might be given an opportunity toward the back end of the season.

 

[Avalor]

Simmo had a good win today. It all came together, and he is getting players to lift their intensity. Looks promising for next year.

 

[Biggie]

We didn't fold like last year.

That in itself is telling no?

 

[Broken_Chairs]

I wish he could just go BAM and delist 10 players on our list, but realistically and also regrettably, Mcginnity will still be on the list next year.

imo i'm totally fine with mcginnity being on the list as depth.