Prediction 2024 Round 1 Team

[catempire]

As much as I'd like Mannagh to start, role-wise one of Tuohy and MOC have to play.

Is there anything you’ve seen to suggest either is out of favour?

 

[FootyLad0]

It's a good take, but I'm going to guess that Dempsey has Mannagh well covered for endurance. He's regularly touted to be one of the fittest at the club.

Honestly wasn't sure if he had the endurance but i'll trust you on that. I'm happy to trial guys in multiple roles. Scotty likes players who can play more than 1 role so that fits his criteria for sure, thanks for giving me the heads up. Keen for Round 1

 

[calder_daddy]

I think Neale plays for one reason.
To help Stanley ruck

 

[Mr Meow]

Is there anything you’ve seen to suggest either is out of favour?

From a MC perspective, no. Same as Kolo. They are hard players to drop.

From my perspective:

Tuohy did decline a fair amount last season, even if he gradually improved from terrible back to decent. I'm one of the biggest Tuohy fans on here so it's not some pre existing bias against him. Anyway he had the back issue. He probably deserves another chance.

O'Connor I go back and forth on. Good role that Scott values, good attributes, sometimes good performance but frustrates a fair bit.

It's more that I expect Duncan to spend more time in defence this season ala 2022. I'm not sure we need two more half backs who can offer wing minutes. I accept it as a potential outcome but having both in likely sends Bowes out and I'd like to see him in the midfield mix. Then same for Dempsey and Clark as kids.

There's no perfect solution but I would rather Tuohy and O'Connor fight for one spot.

 

[FootyLad0]

I think Neale plays for one reason.
To help Stanley ruck

Over Conway? Surely not?

 

[FootyLad0]

Tuohy did decline a fair amount last season, even if he gradually improved from terrible back to decent. I'm one of the biggest Tuohy fans on here so it's not some pre existing bias against him. Anyway he had the back issue. He probably deserves another chance.

O'Connor I go back and forth on. Good role that Scott values, good attributes, sometimes good performance but frustrates a fair bit.

It's more that I expect Duncan to spend more time in defence this season ala 2022. I'm not sure we need two more half backs who can offer wing minutes. I accept it as a potential outcome but having both in likely sends Bowes out and I'd like to see him in the midfield mix. Then same for Dempsey and Clark as kids.

There's no perfect solution but I would rather Tuohy and O'Connor fight for one spot.

If we drop Bowes after the way he played this preseason then we aren't serious this year...

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Mannagh has played mid and wing as well as forward at VFL level. Definitely him, he's a utility.
Dempsey could do it as well as he's quick and agile.... but idk if he has the endurance running game for a wing and you need a bit of bulk (like what Mannagh has) to be a modern day mid, otherwise you have to be silky skilled like Neale or Merrett to be a smaller mid.

Dempsey is one of the top 5 distance runners at the club apparently

 

[FootyLad0]

Dempsey is one of the top 5 distance runners at the club apparently

Which is awesome, hope we trial him through a wing.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I think Neale plays for one reason.
To help Stanley ruck

I like Neale but not sure his ruck work is ever going to be the thing getting him a game

 

[Vdubs]

I think Neale plays for one reason.
To help Stanley ruck

Blicavs?

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Which is awesome, hope we trial him through a wing.

Yeah there's interviews with him from last year taking about how the coaches have been telling him to get on the bike and get around the ground more. I think he are still playing him in a role they know he can do and taking to branch it out during play. Same thing they did with Miers

 

[Footy Smarts]

Yeah I wouldn’t be shocked if we fast forwarded two years and both Dempsey and Mannagh were playing midfield minutes.

I will say Mannagh looks a little more nuggety though so even though I’ve hardly seen him play, I’d maybe have him in there before Dempsey.

Kinda hoping Mannagh gets a run through the middle soonish (would have liked to see it in the practice matches) because clearly we are stacked for forwards + we still have Rohan to come back… so if some of these half forwards can turn themselves into decent offensive mids it could be handy.

Thinking Miers could do it this year.

Then we still have Close, Mannagh, Dempsey, Stengle and Ollie Henry on the list as youngish half forward’s.

I think Ollie Henry is a locked in third forward type basically forever… but the others could possibly play further up the ground.

Dempsey and Mannagh would be my picks to do that long term.

One of Dempsey's best performances last year in the VFL was against Casey. They were easily better than us and Harmes was killing us in midfield while Dempsey was stuck in the forward line with the ball not coming in.

Second half Dempsey went head to head with Harmes and was the best player on the ground by miles. Finished with 32 touches but I reckon 25 were in the second half.

It'll take time but I fully expect him to end up playing plenty of midfield at AFL level eventually.

 

[you pick one]

I think Neale plays for one reason.
To help Stanley ruck

I think they will stick with Blitz first up but Neale will be stiff not to make the side he had a chance to kich 3plus goals against Essendon the one taken by Max playing on and dropped sitter of a mark in the square along with some inaccuracy (not sure how difficult kicking for goal wearing a shin guard is) sadly for him I reckon it sees Dempsey grab a spot (who played well also) and Neale just outside the 23.Any rucks out there with experience goal kicking in shin guards is it harder? obviously it takes time to adjust.Not sure he's a ruck anyway but the club appears to see something.

 

[moond0g]

My hopeful side that has at least some semblance of a chance

FB: Z.Guthrie SDK J.Henry
HB: Duncan Kolo Stewart

C: Blicavs Dangerfield Holmes
FOL: Stanley Bruhn Bowes

HF: Miers Cameron Close
FF: O.Henry Hawkins Stengle

IC: Atkins Clark Dempsey Tuohy Mannagh(sub)

Dempsey and Miers can alternate between half forward and wing. This naturally fits with when Holmes is switched to half back.

Atkins and Clark as the midfield bull rotations. Dangerfield across half forward when one of the forwards is rotated off makes sense, he actually was dangerous (pardon the pun) in that vicinity in 2023 at times. That would be one way to manage his midfield bursts, as well as maintaining the conservative time on ground minutes.

Blicavs can also float inside for secondary ruck or as a contested midfielder. But I suspect we'll need his hard running and defensive accountability on the wing, where he can also float back to cover our defenders and create outnumbers.

Bowes given a license to own a full time midfield gig (some wing minutes are compatible with this too, but no time in defence). This one is the iffy topic as that sub role sadly could be waiting for him.

As much as I'd like Mannagh to start, role-wise one of Tuohy and MOC have to play. And I accept both could but this wouldn't be my preference. There are pros and cons for playing either. This would leave Mannagh as a high impact sub who can create havoc around half forward and with the odd burst at stoppage.

I promise not to melt when there's a difference or two in the actual selected team.

I see both Tuohy and MOC getting picked. I'd guess Bowes to sub would be most likely, but perhaps also Dempsey or Clark. Not my preference, but what I can see happening.

Otherwise, that's about as good a guess as I've seen

 

[calder_daddy]

Over Conway? Surely not?

I like Neale but not sure his ruck work is ever going to be the thing getting him a game

Blicavs?

I still think for this game against the saints they go with Neale.

Just a hunch but I feel like they will start trying to protect Blitz as much as they can as a ruck.

Very similar mold to how Justin Koschitzke was for the saints

​

For now they won’t play Conway but considering how bad Stanley looked last week I don’t think it’s far off him getting the number 1 ruck mantle

 

[year of the cat]

I still think for this game against the saints they go with Neale.

Just a hunch but I feel like they will start trying to protect Blitz as much as they can as a ruck.

Very similar mold to how Justin Koschitzke was for the saints

​

For now they won’t play Conway but considering how bad Stanley looked last week I don’t think it’s far off him getting the number 1 ruck mantle

Thought Stanley looked quite good. Certainly won’t play AFL all year, but I can see him sharing it with Conway in almost a 50/50 split of games.

 

[catempire]

LOCKS

B: Stewart De Koning Z Guthrie
HB: Holmes J Henry 1
C: Blicavs Atkins Duncan
HF: Close Cameron Miers
F: Stengle Hawkins O Henry
R: Stanley Dangerfield 2
Int: O’Connor 3 4 5
Sub: 6

UNKNOWNS

1 - Starting 6th defender - Tuohy, Kolo, Bews
2 - Starting 3rd centre square mid - Bruhn, Bowes, Clark
3 - First interchange (defender) - Tuohy, Kolo, Bews
4 - First interchange (mid) - Bruhn, Bowes, Clark
5 - First interchange (forward) - Dempsey, Neale
6 - Sub - Bowes, Clark

I’d argue that Tuohy is just about a . Played 22 games last year and no sign he is out of favour at all. That leaves Kolo and Bews to fight out an interchange spot in slot —3—.

I think Bruhn is slightly ahead in the pecking order of Bowes and Clark. I’d say he’s likely to take the last starting mid spot. That leaves Bowes and Clark to jostle for the interchange/sub role.

I think Dempsey is clearly ahead of Neale for the forward interchange spot.

That gives me:

B: Stewart De Koning Z Guthrie
HB: Holmes J Henry Tuohy
C: Blicavs Atkins Duncan
HF: Close Cameron Miers
F: Stengle Hawkins O Henry
R: Stanley Dangerfield Bruhn
Int: O’Connor Kolo/Bews Bowes Dempsey
Sub: Clark

 

[year of the cat]

LOCKS

B: Stewart De Koning Z Guthrie
HB: Holmes J Henry 1
C: Blicavs Atkins Duncan
HF: Close Cameron Miers
F: Stengle Hawkins O Henry
R: Stanley Dangerfield 2
Int: O’Connor 3 4 5
Sub: 6

UNKNOWNS

1 - Starting 6th defender - Tuohy, Kolo, Bews
2 - Starting 3rd centre square mid - Bruhn, Bowes, Clark
3 - First interchange (defender) - Tuohy, Kolo, Bews
4 - First interchange (mid) - Bruhn, Bowes, Clark
5 - First interchange (forward) - Dempsey, Neale
6 - Sub - Bowes, Clark

I’d argue that Tuohy is just about a . Played 22 games last year and no sign he is out of favour at all. That leaves Kolo and Bews to fight out an interchange spot in slot —3—.

I think Bruhn is slightly ahead in the pecking order of Bowes and Clark. I’d say he’s likely to take the last starting mid spot. That leaves Bowes and Clark to jostle for the interchange/sub role.

I think Dempsey is clearly ahead of Neale for the forward interchange spot.

That gives me:

B: Stewart De Koning Z Guthrie
HB: Holmes J Henry Tuohy
C: Blicavs Atkins Duncan
HF: Close Cameron Miers
F: Stengle Hawkins O Henry
R: Stanley Dangerfield Bruhn
Int: O’Connor Kolo/Bews Bowes Dempsey
Sub: Clark

Could play Duncan on a HBF and include an extra mid (Clark) in the 22. Touhy as the sub - would be ideal as he’s versatile and can come on with tiring bodies and have an impact.

Edit - only change I’d make. Very tempted to play Mannagh but his lack of mins in the 2 practice matches is of some concern.

 

[bombersboy]

From a MC perspective, no. Same as Kolo. They are hard players to drop.

From my perspective:

Tuohy did decline a fair amount last season, even if he gradually improved from terrible back to decent. I'm one of the biggest Tuohy fans on here so it's not some pre existing bias against him. Anyway he had the back issue. He probably deserves another chance.

O'Connor I go back and forth on. Good role that Scott values, good attributes, sometimes good performance but frustrates a fair bit.

It's more that I expect Duncan to spend more time in defence this season ala 2022. I'm not sure we need two more half backs who can offer wing minutes. I accept it as a potential outcome but having both in likely sends Bowes out and I'd like to see him in the midfield mix. Then same for Dempsey and Clark as kids.

There's no perfect solution but I would rather Tuohy and O'Connor fight for one spot.

I think Tuohy played with injuries last year because we had so many other injured players who could not play. if he gets a clean run at it we may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[cats_09]

I’d argue that Tuohy is just about a . Played 22 games last year and no sign he is out of favour at all. That leaves Kolo and Bews to fight out an interchange spot in slot —3—.

I agree Tuohy will be a lock to start the season, but I think it'll depend on fitness & form as to what happens comes seasons end

He only played the 20 games last season - missed both clashes with Essendon & the last round against the Bulldogs. If our injury situation was different I wouldn't have been surprised if he missed more, especially early in the season when he was down on form & it was likely as a result of the back issue that kept him out of the first Essendon clash - from rounds 4 to 8, the 4 matches he played he averaged 13 disposals with a high of only 15, and just didn't look himself. Another patch like that may be hard for him to keep his spot if we've got guys in the VFL pushing for selection

 

[moond0g]

LOCKS

B: Stewart De Koning Z Guthrie
HB: Holmes J Henry 1
C: Blicavs Atkins Duncan
HF: Close Cameron Miers
F: Stengle Hawkins O Henry
R: Stanley Dangerfield 2
Int: O’Connor 3 4 5
Sub: 6

UNKNOWNS

1 - Starting 6th defender - Tuohy, Kolo, Bews
2 - Starting 3rd centre square mid - Bruhn, Bowes, Clark
3 - First interchange (defender) - Tuohy, Kolo, Bews
4 - First interchange (mid) - Bruhn, Bowes, Clark
5 - First interchange (forward) - Dempsey, Neale
6 - Sub - Bowes, Clark

I’d argue that Tuohy is just about a . Played 22 games last year and no sign he is out of favour at all. That leaves Kolo and Bews to fight out an interchange spot in slot —3—.

I think Bruhn is slightly ahead in the pecking order of Bowes and Clark. I’d say he’s likely to take the last starting mid spot. That leaves Bowes and Clark to jostle for the interchange/sub role.

I think Dempsey is clearly ahead of Neale for the forward interchange spot.

That gives me:

B: Stewart De Koning Z Guthrie
HB: Holmes J Henry Tuohy
C: Blicavs Atkins Duncan
HF: Close Cameron Miers
F: Stengle Hawkins O Henry
R: Stanley Dangerfield Bruhn
Int: O’Connor Kolo/Bews Bowes Dempsey
Sub: Clark

I agree 100% with the logic. I think you could also make the argument that Kolo is just as much a lock as anyone else, given he's basically never played VFL when fit, so he'll take the last spot on the bench.

I still have a feeling they might play Clark and make Bowes sub, too. But I hope they don't. I really want to see what Bowes has to offer as a midfielder.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I still think for this game against the saints they go with Neale.

Just a hunch but I feel like they will start trying to protect Blitz as much as they can as a ruck.

Very similar mold to how Justin Koschitzke was for the saints

​

For now they won’t play Conway but considering how bad Stanley looked last week I don’t think it’s far off him getting the number 1 ruck mantle

If they select him I'm fully on board the Neale bandwagon. I like him though and I wouldn't select him

 

[Mr Meow]

I see both Tuohy and MOC getting picked. I'd guess Bowes to sub would be most likely, but perhaps also Dempsey or Clark. Not my preference, but what I can see happening.

Otherwise, that's about as good a guess as I've seen

Yeah realistically this is what I see happening too. It was still a hopeful team, but one that was still possible.

Gotta get myself ready to see one of those 3 as sub, I guess.

 

[Mr Meow]

I agree 100% with the logic. I think you could also make the argument that Kolo is just as much a lock as anyone else, given he's basically never played VFL when fit, so he'll take the last spot on the bench.

I still have a feeling they might play Clark and make Bowes sub, too. But I hope they don't. I really want to see what Bowes has to offer as a midfielder.

I pretty much agree with catumpire that the MC have given no indication that Tuohy or MOC are out of favour.

But I absolutely agree with this, that Kolo is an even bigger lock from the clubs point of view.

Things can change but I suspect they would only pull the plug on him if concerned about the head injuries or something along those injury lines.

 

[numbwombat]

Thought Stanley looked quite good. Certainly won’t play AFL all year, but I can see him sharing it with Conway in almost a 50/50 split of games.

It’ll be interesting. Scott refused to play and then delisted Mark Blake on 99 games, and we’ve had two of the most mobile rucks in the game in Stanley and Blicavs (including Blitz rucking solo a fair bit circa 2013-2015, from memory).

History suggests Scott doesn’t rate tap ruckmen/winning ruck contests anywhere near as much as their contribution around the ground. I haven’t seen much VFL but Conway seemed strong in the ruck but not too impactful otherwise in the match sim (decent tackler though). I think he’ll need to get a bit of the ball or be effective forward or back to get many games this season, except forced changes from injury/management of Stanley tbh.