Opinion The Evolution of Your Best 23 for 2025

[davesnothere]

Pretty sure SPP did his knee round 7 last year.

A big bodied forward/mid isn't going to be playing without his knee being given the correct amount of time for rehabilitation and recovery.

I'd spew if he's out there before mid April.

 

[RossFC]

Pretty sure SPP did his knee round 7 last year.

A big bodied forward/mid isn't going to be playing without his knee being given the correct amount of time for rehabilitation and recovery.

I'd spew if he's out there before mid April.

10 months is fine for an ACL return.

 

[RangaInTeal]

Pretty sure SPP did his knee round 7 last year.

A big bodied forward/mid isn't going to be playing without his knee being given the correct amount of time for rehabilitation and recovery.

I'd spew if he's out there before mid April.

Hearing you but it’s not 2004 anymore, knees are getting quicker and quicker. May miss the first month MAX.

 

[RangaInTeal]

Port Adelaide POWER - Round 1 vs Collingwood
F: Berry - Georgiades - Rioli
HF: Marshall - Lukosius - Rozee (C)
C: Burgoyne - Wines - Lorenz
HB: Evans - Aliir - Farrell
B: Bergman - Zerk-Thatcher - Jones
R: Sweet - Horne-Francis - Butters
INT: Drew - Byrne-Jones - Sinn - Richards
SUB: Boak
EMERG: Williams - Ratugolea - Finlayson - Burton

Port Adelaide MAGPIES - Round 1 vs ?
F: Barrett - Lord - Soldo
HF: McEntee - Finlayson - Anastasopoulos
C: Charleson - Moore (C) - Moraes
HB: McLennan - Walsh - Burton
B: Moss - Ratugolea - D.Williams
R: Visentini - Mead - Jackson
INT: Szust - Whitlock - Atkins - Cochrane
EMERG: Harris - Chamberlain - H.Williams - Weidemann - O'Reilly - Turner - Calvett - Carter - Launer - Pascoe - H.Ferrari - Roberts - Cheesman - O'Brien - Baldwin - Aldridge - Stevens - Brazel - Byrne - W.Ferrari - Cockatoo-Collins - Cooper - Gilchrist

 

[Coobk001]

End of draft

POWER
FF : Georgiades , Lukosius , Rioli
HF : Rozee , Marshall , SPP
C : Burgoyne , JHF , Berry
HB : Farrell , Aliir , Bergman
FB : Jones , BZT , L Evans
R : Sweet , Wines , Butters
INT : Sinn , Drew , Boak , DBJ
SUB : Richards

MAGPIES
FF : Soldo , Finlayson , Anastasopoulos
HF : McEntee , Lord , Moraes
C : Lorenz, N Moore , Atkins
HB : Mclennan, Burton, Williams
FB : R Burgoyne , Ratagolea , Walsh
R : Visentini , Mead , Jackson
INT : Barrett , Whitlock, Charleson, Cochrane, Last Spot (SSP/Rookie), Watkins, Francou, Moss, K Marshall

That Magpies side could win the flag. Hopefully we build it up even further.


Unconfirmed Magpies:
Lai
Szust
Short
Chamberlain
H.Williams
Weidemann
O'Reilly
Turner
Calvett
Carter
Launer
Pascoe
H.Ferrari
Roberts
Cheesman
O'Brien
Baldwin
Aldridge
Stevens
Brazel
Byrne
W.Ferrari
Cockatoo-Collins
Cooper
Gilchrist

 

[Peninsula Boy]

Updated after the Drafting Period.

Lukosius, Georgiades, Rioli
Richards, CHF, Powell-Pepper
Burgoyne, Rozee, Lorenz
Evans, Aliir, Farrell
Bergman, Zerk-Thatcher, Jones
Sweet, Horne-Francis, Butters

Drew, Sinn, Wines, Byrne-Jones - Berry

I have no spots for McEntee, Boak, Burton, Atkins but they are good backup.
Our main issue is CHF, 2nd ruck - Lord, Ratugolea, Finlayson, Whitlock
Joe Berry would have to be close to getting a game early.
Byrne- Jones could be superseded by others.

The forward line looks so much better from last year with several upgrades.
The backline is similar to last year and they all can play defensively.
The midfield is still one of the best with the Hornet looking to jet into the stratosphere this year.

We have a huge amount of talent on our team with Hinkley struggling against the better coaches of the league.

I'm excited to see what the new guys can do - Lukosius, Richards, Berry
Excited to see Powell-Pepper back.
Happy to see what the Hornet can do this year.
Excited to see the backline play defence.
Happy to see more goal kicking firepower in the forward line without losing defensive pressure.
I think guys who can finish off plays will help a lot in the forward line.
I hope we play less high press.
I really like our backline as it is defensive and athletic.
I'm hoping Sinn gets a good run at it and breaks lines from defence.
I think all of the young defenders have a chance to break out or improve on last year - Sinn, Jones, Evans, Farrell, Bergman
I personally don't think we'll miss Houston but I'm in the minority with that opinion.
Hopefully Rozee can get back to AA form.
I'm hoping to see Lorenz and his boot on the wing.
Jase could also kick it up a notch and I'm happy with him on the wing but I hope he gets some time in defence.
I'll be eyeing off Whitlock to see how he progresses as he is one of the guys if he goes well will impact the team whenever that will be.
Hopefully Sweet is settled with the midfield after a half year with them.
A slight worry if Aliir or Zerk goes down. I hope Walsh is trending upwards.

Koch said something correct and even though it was a bit diversionary at the time, he was right when he said our team is the youngest in the league. If you take out the outlier of Boak, we are quite young and most of our best players are on the young side and we have time on our side but also we should be striking now. Lets start the Dynasty early.

Overall, I would say that the team is exciting but the coaching is disenchanting.

 

[Addy23]

Updated after the Drafting Period.

Lukosius, Georgiades, Rioli
Richards, CHF, Powell-Pepper
Burgoyne, Rozee, Lorenz
Evans, Aliir, Farrell
Bergman, Zerk-Thatcher, Jones
Sweet, Horne-Francis, Butters

Drew, Sinn, Wines, Byrne-Jones - Berry

I have no spots for McEntee, Boak, Burton, Atkins but they are good backup.
Our main issue is CHF, 2nd ruck - Lord, Ratugolea, Finlayson, Whitlock
Joe Berry would have to be close to getting a game early.
Byrne- Jones could be superseded by others.

The forward line looks so much better from last year with several upgrades.
The backline is similar to last year and they all can play defensively.
The midfield is still one of the best with the Hornet looking to jet into the stratosphere this year.

We have a huge amount of talent on our team with Hinkley struggling against the better coaches of the league.

I'm excited to see what the new guys can do - Lukosius, Richards, Berry
Excited to see Powell-Pepper back.
Happy to see what the Hornet can do this year.
Excited to see the backline play defence.
Happy to see more goal kicking firepower in the forward line without losing defensive pressure.
I think guys who can finish off plays will help a lot in the forward line.
I hope we play less high press.
I really like our backline as it is defensive and athletic.
I'm hoping Sinn gets a good run at it and breaks lines from defence.
I think all of the young defenders have a chance to break out or improve on last year - Sinn, Jones, Evans, Farrell, Bergman
I personally don't think we'll miss Houston but I'm in the minority with that opinion.
Hopefully Rozee can get back to AA form.
I'm hoping to see Lorenz and his boot on the wing.
Jase could also kick it up a notch and I'm happy with him on the wing but I hope he gets some time in defence.
I'll be eyeing off Whitlock to see how he progresses as he is one of the guys if he goes well will impact the team whenever that will be.
Hopefully Sweet is settled with the midfield after a half year with them.
A slight worry if Aliir or Zerk goes down. I hope Walsh is trending upwards.

Koch said something correct and even though it was a bit diversionary at the time, he was right when he said our team is the youngest in the league. If you take out the outlier of Boak, we are quite young and most of our best players are on the young side and we have time on our side but also we should be striking now. Lets start the Dynasty early.

Overall, I would say that the team is exciting but the coaching is disenchanting.

Wasn't a fan of the Whitlock pick for a few reasons but was always of the opinion that any key forward we drafted should start.

Simply do not trust Esava, Finlayson or Lord. If Marshall is fit then I'd start him ahead of Whitlock but my assumption is that Marshall might not be fine. If that indeed is the case then just get games into Whitlock.

I also have a inkling that Richards might be on the wing and Berry might start up forward with Lorenz being out. I don't know if I agree with that move but just get a feeling that might happen.

 

[Peninsula Boy]

Wasn't a fan of the Whitlock pick for a few reasons but was always of the opinion that any key forward we drafted should start.
tsti
Simply do not trust Esava, Finlayson or Lord. If Marshall is fit then I'd start him ahead of Whitlock but my assumption is that Marshall might not be fine. If that indeed is the case then just get games into Whitlock.

I also have a inkling that Richards might be on the wing and Berry might start up forward with Lorenz being out. I don't know if I agree with that move but just get a feeling that might happen.

I know you weren't a fan of the Whitlock brothers but he's definitely got a huge skillset profile and his potential is super high. He marks the ball with a big leap and with his arms extended which will be very hard to defend if he gets consistency in that side of his game. He also has the running capacity of a mid which to me is super impressive at 198cm.

Yeah, that team is just how I would personally pick them.

Personally, I wouldn't start Whitlock early unless he's outstanding as he will need to put on some kgs.
I think the 3rd tall forward has to be able to play ruck so I don't have Marshall in there. I fear for Todd.
I don't trust any of them either but that's all we have. I hope Lord comes on.
I have no issue with Berry starting up forward.
I don't like the idea of Richards on the wing because he's never played there before. I'm happy to have him on the bench and playing forward. We've got to see what we have with him.
With Lorenz, he played pretty well at SANFL last year and has a great kick and I miss that on the wing with a bit of youthful exuberance. Boak will probably play a vanilla 22 odd games there and keep Lorenz out.

 

[Ports1870]

AFL

FB: Bergman | BZT | Jones
HB: Farrell | Aliir | Evans
C: Burgoyne | Wines | Boak
R: Sweet | Butters | Rozee
HF: JHF | Marshall | SPP
FF: Georgiades | Lukosius | Rioli
I: Sinn | Drew | DBJ | Berry
S: Richards

SANFL

FB: Moss | Ratugolea | Burton
HB: Williams | Walsh | Atkins
C: Moraes | Jackson | Lorenz
R: Visentini | Mead | Cochrane
HF: Finlayson | Lord | Barrett
FF: Soldo | Whitlock | McEntee
I: Anastasopoulous | Charleson | Moore | McLennan

 

[Imhotep]

Anyone putting Boak in the best 23 has lost the plot, go back and watch the Sydney final and ask yourself why you would want anyone who kills our chance to make a GF that hard any where near the team.

Honestly most disgusting decision to play on I've ever witnessed, I've lost so much respect for him as a person. He's the same level of selfishness as Hinkley to me, two complete failures only worried about their wallets.

 

[Addy23]

I don't like the idea of Richards on the wing because he's never played there before

He did play on the wing for Pies at times during games. Has an elite workrate. Not a specialist winger but at times he left his high half forward role and played wing. Hence why I think it's a chance although I don't know if I'd do it

 

[TeeKray]

Honestly most disgusting decision to play on I've ever witnessed, I've lost so much respect for him as a person. He's the same level of selfishness as Hinkley to me, two complete failures only worried about their wallets.

Travis Boak, the guy who could have headed home to be with his family and play for a much, much better club with a much, much better chance of winning a flag at literally any stage in his 18 year career. Very selfish guy.

 

[Imhotep]

Travis Boak, the guy who could have headed home to be with his family and play for a much, much better club with a much, much better chance of winning a flag at literally any stage in his 18 year career. Very selfish guy.

Funny I'm not talking about what he did over a decade ago, although let's be honest we probably paid him roughly twice what Geelong were offering back then anyway. No I'm talking about the last three years where he's essentially taken the piss to try and eke out some lasting legacy by getting to 400 games.

No premierships, no real personality to ride into the media and no other skills to get a comfy wage on. He's hanging on for dear life because he knows when his playing days are over there's nothing left for him. I'll love and respect Robbie Gray forever because he knew when to hang the boots up, unlike Boak who should have taken a good look at himself after the Sydney final and said who am I kidding, I'm done.

 

[RossFC]

Let's be honest we probably paid him roughly twice what Geelong were offering back then anyway.

I recall it was 600k vs 450k back in 2012.

 

[davesnothere]

Boak will start. Nothing more certain.

He’ll hold his spot until we start losing.

 

[Imhotep]

I recall it was 600k vs 450k back in 2012.

There were twenty players in the league getting over 700k in 2013 I can guarantee that Boak was one of those. With our list back then we didn't have anyone else to pay, he would have been closer to 800k

 

[Peninsula Boy]

He did play on the wing for Pies at times during games. Has an elite workrate. Not a specialist winger but at times he left his high half forward role and played wing. Hence why I think it's a chance although I don't know if I'd do it

We traded for him to play forward so I would prefer to see what he can do there before changing up his role.

Let the kid settle in.

 

[cosmicwinduptoy]

Funny I'm not talking about what he did over a decade ago, although let's be honest we probably paid him roughly twice what Geelong were offering back then anyway. No I'm talking about the last three years where he's essentially taken the piss to try and eke out some lasting legacy by getting to 400 games.

No premierships, no real personality to ride into the media and no other skills to get a comfy wage on. He's hanging on for dear life because he knows when his playing days are over there's nothing left for him. I'll love and respect Robbie Gray forever because he knew when to hang the boots up, unlike Boak who should have taken a good look at himself after the Sydney final and said who am I kidding, I'm done.

Which talented youngster was he keeping out of the side last year? His form was pretty good, and I bet it's just as good this year.

 

[Imhotep]

Which talented youngster was he keeping out of the side last year? His form was pretty good, and I bet it's just as good this year.

My issue is his signature for this season and I would play a myriad of players before him this season, Starting with but not limited to Lorenz, Sinn, Moreas, Richards, Anastasopoulos and SPP. See where I'm going with this is if he plays in the AFL side this year, he's absolutely taking the spot of a talented youngster and it was a genuinely disgusting and selfish decision to play on this year after his final performances.

 

[Addy23]

We traded for him to play forward so I would prefer to see what he can do there before changing up his role.

Let the kid settle in.

Like I said, idk if I agree with it. But I think there's a chance it happens because Ken does some weird stuff

 

[RangaInTeal]

Which talented youngster was he keeping out of the side last year? His form was pretty good, and I bet it's just as good this year.

His form will be good around 1-4, then everything will drop off for 3 weeks, someone will ask if he should be playing, he will have a blinder with some external heat, then play 3 bad games in a row, become the Sub and Mead or Jackson will come in and play well. He will play the last half of the year as our Sub and sail off into a hunky Rogers Sunset…

 

[Coobk001]

We traded for him to play forward so I would prefer to see what he can do there before changing up his role.

Let the kid settle in.

Think Berry is more likely to play wing than Richards.

 

[Powerade 08]

Travis Boak, the guy who could have headed home to be with his family and play for a much, much better club with a much, much better chance of winning a flag at literally any stage in his 18 year career. Very selfish guy.

Second only to Ken Hinkley in the save the club stakes.

 

[cosmicwinduptoy]

My issue is his signature for this season and I would play a myriad of players before him this season, Starting with but not limited to Lorenz, Sinn, Moreas, Richards, Anastasopoulos and SPP. See where I'm going with this is if he plays in the AFL side this year, he's absolutely taking the spot of a talented youngster and it was a genuinely disgusting and selfish decision to play on this year after his final performances.

You mentioned that he’s been taking the piss for the last three years, suggesting he shouldn’t even be on the list. SPP plays a different position, and I’d argue that Richards and Sinn do as well. The other three are still unproven. While I don’t know what happens behind closed doors, I assume that if one of the remaining three players has an exceptional preseason, they’ll earn a spot in the side for round one, possibly at the expense of Boak’s position. However, I believe having Travis still around at the club is likely having a positive effect on the younger players, contrary to what you’re suggesting. He sets a great example of training hard and maximizing talent, which is exactly the mindset I want the youngsters to adopt.

 

[Imhotep]

You mentioned that he’s been taking the piss for the last three years, suggesting he shouldn’t even be on the list. SPP plays a different position, and I’d argue that Richards and Sinn do as well. The other three are still unproven. While I don’t know what happens behind closed doors, I assume that if one of the remaining three players has an exceptional preseason, they’ll earn a spot in the side for round one, possibly at the expense of Boak’s position. However, I believe having Travis still around at the club is likely having a positive effect on the younger players, contrary to what you’re suggesting. He sets a great example of training hard and maximizing talent, which is exactly the mindset I want the youngsters to adopt.

Well I disagree with that, if all you needed was to train hard and maximize your talent sporting lists of all codes would be littered with 40 year olds. No you see you should be able to impact positively on the field of play. What you're describing is a coaches job. Go and watch the finals and tell me if you want Ken to be able to play him in another finals series, because that's what will happen Ken is risk averse hence why we've given 40 games to McEntee and Boak his last 60 games.