- Jun 23, 2008
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Currently the Sydney Swans sit 5th on the ladder by percentage. Most would assume they'll rally over the next couple of weeks, finish top four, and maybe win a final or two, before bowing out in either Week Two (Semis) or Three (Prelims), and that'll be about "correct weight" for them, given how they've gone during the year.
Leaving aside "where they're at" in 2015, where do they go in 2016 and beyond? Assumedly, Adam Goodes (35 years old) and Rhyce Shaw (34 in October) are in line for retirement, regardless of how the season ends, and Alex Johnson (23-year-old, 193cm defender from the 2012 Premiership side) isn't expected to play again until 2017. That would leave the remaining players on their list looking something like this:
Best 22
B: Jeremy Laidler - Ted Richards - Nick Smith
HB: Dane Rampe - Heath Grundy - Jarrad McVeigh
C: Daniel Hannebery - Luke Parker - Lewis Jetta
HF: Gary Rohan - Sam Reid - Ben McGlynn
F: Isaac Heeney - Lance Franklin - Kurt Tippett
R: Mike Pyke - Josh Kennedy - Kieren Jack
I: Dean Towers - Tom Mitchell - Craig Bird - Toby Nankervis
Reserves
B: Lewis Melican - Xavier Richards - Zac Jones
HB: Nick Newman - Aliir Aliir - Jordan Foote
C: Lloyd Perris - Daniel Robinson - Jake Lloyd
HF: Brandon Jack - Abaina Davis - Jack Hiscox
F: Harry Cunningham - Sean McLaren - James Rose
R: Tom Derickx - Harrison Marsh - George Hewett
I: Sam Naismith
Obviously from there you're going to have probably 5-6 de-listings and some new draftees coming in and so forth. That best 22 has five players who'll be 30 or over in 2016 (Richards, Pyke, McVeigh, McGlynn and Grundy), and a few others (Franklin, Tippett and Jack) will be 29, and assumedly at their absolute peak before (if you think of a player's "prime" generally being between the ages of 25-29) age does begin to catch up with them. They're all capable of good football for a number of years yet, but they need all of these guys fit and firing and having no age or injury-related drop offs to remain contenders. They'll still have other stars and good players with a fair chunk of their prime to be played (Hannebery, Kennedy, Smith, Jetta, Reid), but they'll need them to "stay up" and also need a few of those guys from that reserves group (particularly on the defensive side IMO) to make a name for themselves next year at least.
How do the Swans manage things going forward? What are their greatest areas of need? Should they make major changes, just slowly transition towards a new era, or milk this current group of veterans for all they're worth before bottoming out? The trade/free agency restrictions, and the Buddy deal (still another seven years to go after 2015) are further wrinkles and hurdles to overcome. It all makes for interesting times on the harbour. What does BigFooty think?
Leaving aside "where they're at" in 2015, where do they go in 2016 and beyond? Assumedly, Adam Goodes (35 years old) and Rhyce Shaw (34 in October) are in line for retirement, regardless of how the season ends, and Alex Johnson (23-year-old, 193cm defender from the 2012 Premiership side) isn't expected to play again until 2017. That would leave the remaining players on their list looking something like this:
Best 22
B: Jeremy Laidler - Ted Richards - Nick Smith
HB: Dane Rampe - Heath Grundy - Jarrad McVeigh
C: Daniel Hannebery - Luke Parker - Lewis Jetta
HF: Gary Rohan - Sam Reid - Ben McGlynn
F: Isaac Heeney - Lance Franklin - Kurt Tippett
R: Mike Pyke - Josh Kennedy - Kieren Jack
I: Dean Towers - Tom Mitchell - Craig Bird - Toby Nankervis
Reserves
B: Lewis Melican - Xavier Richards - Zac Jones
HB: Nick Newman - Aliir Aliir - Jordan Foote
C: Lloyd Perris - Daniel Robinson - Jake Lloyd
HF: Brandon Jack - Abaina Davis - Jack Hiscox
F: Harry Cunningham - Sean McLaren - James Rose
R: Tom Derickx - Harrison Marsh - George Hewett
I: Sam Naismith
Obviously from there you're going to have probably 5-6 de-listings and some new draftees coming in and so forth. That best 22 has five players who'll be 30 or over in 2016 (Richards, Pyke, McVeigh, McGlynn and Grundy), and a few others (Franklin, Tippett and Jack) will be 29, and assumedly at their absolute peak before (if you think of a player's "prime" generally being between the ages of 25-29) age does begin to catch up with them. They're all capable of good football for a number of years yet, but they need all of these guys fit and firing and having no age or injury-related drop offs to remain contenders. They'll still have other stars and good players with a fair chunk of their prime to be played (Hannebery, Kennedy, Smith, Jetta, Reid), but they'll need them to "stay up" and also need a few of those guys from that reserves group (particularly on the defensive side IMO) to make a name for themselves next year at least.
How do the Swans manage things going forward? What are their greatest areas of need? Should they make major changes, just slowly transition towards a new era, or milk this current group of veterans for all they're worth before bottoming out? The trade/free agency restrictions, and the Buddy deal (still another seven years to go after 2015) are further wrinkles and hurdles to overcome. It all makes for interesting times on the harbour. What does BigFooty think?