lamaros
29 May 2010, 16:44
Saw a Collingwood fan post an under 23s side for their team in regards to a dick measuring contest about the quality of young players at their side and I though, hmm, that's not that impressive, we have more young guys playing as key players than they do. I thought I'd demonstrate how young our side is in terms of keys players at the moment.
I decided to use 25 as a cut off point because I think most sides turn over a great amount of their list every 5-7 years, and wanted to show just how many players we currently have who loook like they could still be playing in that time. I think is shows that we have a pretty solid group allready and a good future coming up.
If we didn't draft or trade any new players, this could be our team in 3 years time:
B: H. Slattery Hooker Houli
HB: Dyson Pears Hocking
C: Dempsey Watson Jetta
HF: Monfries Gumby Zaka
F: Colyer Hurley Reimers
R: Ryder Stanton Myers
INT: Bellchambers Prismall Melksham Howlett
EMG: Daniher Lonergan Carlisle Hardingham Long Neagle T. Slattery Still
(the players in bold were 23 or under (and the italics 24) at the start of the year)
What improvements are needed to be made to that side to make us a premiership team?
Only Hille and Fletcher from our current side can be consider key players that will need to be replaced any time soon. McVeigh won't be here forever, but recent arguments on this board have shown that his position in the back pocket isn't going to be that undermanned without him. Welsh is in a similar position, with the gap between his good games and his bad ones meaning that his absence from the side in the past 4 weeks hasn't been missed all that much. Williams can't get into the side at the moment, so it's more a case of if he will ever become important to us, not when will he cease being so. Davey will be something of a loss, but there is Colyer in the wings. It's Winders and NLM that our midfield will probably miss the most, but given the pressure that is being put on for midfield spots now that Myers and Melksham are showing something, and given Winder's erratic start to this season, this is also an area that I think we shouldn't worry too much about.
On Hille and Fletcher though, where are the solutions?
Hille has shown this year that when he is up we are a better side, but how much longer can he go on? Will Laycock or Bellchambers be fit and effective enough to move into the team when Hille eventually leaves, or will Ryder have to pick up the slack himself? How many years do people think Hille has left in him anyhow? I would hope another 3-4 at least, given how fit he looks recently, but you never know when the end might come.
Fletcher isn't as much of a worry, with Pears and Hooker showing defensive ability down back, but we will need to gain another solid defender. I've put Houli in the side above only because he's played in our best 22 a bit and could possibly hold a BP position, but it's not especially likely. Do we have players in T. Slattery and Daniher who can step up in the next year or two?
I know this post is a bit all over the shop, but I guess the general thrust is:
It looks like we have a solid list at the moment for the next 5 years. Where do people think the biggest personnel changes will, or should, occur during that time, and what kind of players should we be looking to bring in to strengthen the team in that case?
I decided to use 25 as a cut off point because I think most sides turn over a great amount of their list every 5-7 years, and wanted to show just how many players we currently have who loook like they could still be playing in that time. I think is shows that we have a pretty solid group allready and a good future coming up.
If we didn't draft or trade any new players, this could be our team in 3 years time:
B: H. Slattery Hooker Houli
HB: Dyson Pears Hocking
C: Dempsey Watson Jetta
HF: Monfries Gumby Zaka
F: Colyer Hurley Reimers
R: Ryder Stanton Myers
INT: Bellchambers Prismall Melksham Howlett
EMG: Daniher Lonergan Carlisle Hardingham Long Neagle T. Slattery Still
(the players in bold were 23 or under (and the italics 24) at the start of the year)
What improvements are needed to be made to that side to make us a premiership team?
Only Hille and Fletcher from our current side can be consider key players that will need to be replaced any time soon. McVeigh won't be here forever, but recent arguments on this board have shown that his position in the back pocket isn't going to be that undermanned without him. Welsh is in a similar position, with the gap between his good games and his bad ones meaning that his absence from the side in the past 4 weeks hasn't been missed all that much. Williams can't get into the side at the moment, so it's more a case of if he will ever become important to us, not when will he cease being so. Davey will be something of a loss, but there is Colyer in the wings. It's Winders and NLM that our midfield will probably miss the most, but given the pressure that is being put on for midfield spots now that Myers and Melksham are showing something, and given Winder's erratic start to this season, this is also an area that I think we shouldn't worry too much about.
On Hille and Fletcher though, where are the solutions?
Hille has shown this year that when he is up we are a better side, but how much longer can he go on? Will Laycock or Bellchambers be fit and effective enough to move into the team when Hille eventually leaves, or will Ryder have to pick up the slack himself? How many years do people think Hille has left in him anyhow? I would hope another 3-4 at least, given how fit he looks recently, but you never know when the end might come.
Fletcher isn't as much of a worry, with Pears and Hooker showing defensive ability down back, but we will need to gain another solid defender. I've put Houli in the side above only because he's played in our best 22 a bit and could possibly hold a BP position, but it's not especially likely. Do we have players in T. Slattery and Daniher who can step up in the next year or two?
I know this post is a bit all over the shop, but I guess the general thrust is:
It looks like we have a solid list at the moment for the next 5 years. Where do people think the biggest personnel changes will, or should, occur during that time, and what kind of players should we be looking to bring in to strengthen the team in that case?