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Reading through the board this year and there are a lot of posters that seem to believe that our KPP stocks in particular KPF are quite barren, with not much talent to get excited about. However I don't believe that is actually the case. So lets break it down and have a look at what we have in hand and what we may need moving forward.
Established KPP
Jack Riewoldt - 34 year old in possibly his last season, currently holding down the number 1 KPF role after Lynchs injury, form has been up and down this year often reflecting the way the team has performed.
Tom Lynch - 30 year old with a couple more seasons left on his deal. Out injured with a broken foot at the moment with some reports that he may not return this year, as well as him having slimmed down a little bit to take some stress off his lower body for when he does return.
Robbie Tarrant - another 34 year old in possibly his last season, unfortunately a back injury has prevented him for playing more than a few minutes at VFL level this season. Likely to retire at seasons end.
Noah Balta - 23 year old with 76 games under his belt and has established himself as our prime KPD moving forward. About to enter the prime years of his career 24-27. Locked away for another couple of years having re-signed a few weeks back.
Fringe KPP
Tylar Young - 24 year old who was got an opportunity to play with our VFL team in 2022 and did enough to get himself picked up as a rookie in 2023. Came into the side in round 2 and barring injury has held his spot. Has one of the best 1-1 win % among KPD and comes across as a bit of mix between Astbury & Grimes as a defender, i.e. no fuss get the job done type. Played 10 games so far, should be around 20 games by seasons end.
Ben Miller - been around for 6 seasons now and has finally been able to start putting his hand up for a spot in the 22. Played 11 games in 2022 and 8 games so far in 2023 after spending 2020 & 2021 being trained up as a KPF/ruck. Turns 24 at the end of August and has got 20 games under his belt now. Should continue to get opportunity this year as a KPF who also does some ruck work.
Samson Ryan - 22 year old 206cm 104kg KPF/ruck with 14 games who has spent most of this season in the side as a ruck/forward filling the holes left by Lynch and Nankervis injuries. Hasn't really taken a game by the scruff just yet, but has shown glimpses of what he could become. Kicked 3 goals in his first game against the Crows as the 3rd option behind Jack and Lynch, then showed his ruck skill in games against Geelong and WCE. Many are suggesting he'll be a ruck, which I agree with, but with Nankervis & Soldo both having up to 5 years left, we could look to make Ryan a forward who rucks. At VFL level he kicked 30.20 playing that sort of role across 23 games in 2021/2022 seasons, which included 5 hauls of 3+ goals. Give him another 12-24 months in the gym to build up strength while playing 2nd fiddle to Lynch and he could be ready to take the number 1 KPF role from 2025 and beyond.
Josh Gibcus - 20 year old who played 18 games in his first year to establish himself as a KPD we could build around alongside Balta. Was ranked inside the top 15 for 1-1 defensive contests win % at 21.3 last year. When you look at a potential back 6 built around Balta Gibcus & Young it's a young and exciting group, that could become the next generations version of Rance Astbury & Grimes(not saying they'll be as good, but in terms of the structure they'll allow us to play). Has missed all of this year with a hamstring issue which is a slight concern, however has spent a lot of time around the group, even flying to interstate games even though not playing, which suggests he's spending time with Rutten in the background building an understanding of our systems and structures, which may lead to him being the on field leader when he returns.
Developing KPP
Bigoa Nyuon - 22 year old who has played the 1 AFL game so far, been at the club since 2019 rookie draft. Initially picked up as a KPD from the Saints Next Gen academy, Biggie has found himself moved up the ground to become another ruck/forward option. As some attributes that suggest he could be a handy tall utility that could play KPP at either end. Has a good leap, can mark and kicks the ball well, however he also has issues like Chol used to display where he seemingly doesn't like contact. Out of contract at seasons end so could find himself let go initially then re-drafted.
Kaelan Bradtke - 22 year old 195cm 95kg KPF, who was picked up as a SSP pick beating out Quinton Narkle for the final spot on our list at the time. Debut game at VFL level kicked 5 goals and then broke his hand which forced him our for a few weeks. Since returning hasn't quite hit the same highs but has kicked 13.11 in his 7 full games. For a kid that has come from playing bush footy and a couple of games for Sydney VFL side in 2022, he has shown that he has something to work it moving forward and should be retained as a rookie heading into 2024.
Jacob Bauer - 21 year old MSD pick from 2022 who had kicked 23.15 in his first 12 games at the club, before necessity forced him to be moved down back for the past 8 weeks, where he has also looked quite good at times. Similar height to Jack at 192cm, but still under 90kg Bauer is a more mobile KPP who uses his athleticism to good effect. Like Nyuon & Bradtke is out of contract at seasons end, but should be given another year to see if his develop can continue.
Current List Summary
When you break it down like this we actually have a good blend of KPPs with an even spread of established/fringe KPPs plus young development projects in the VFL. Obviously we're likely to see a couple of the established group depart with Jack & Tarrant moving on, but they'll be replaced by fringe types stepping up to fill the void in 2024.
What Do We Need?
This is where it gets interesting, as there is a school of thought that we need to go shopping and get ourselves a ready made option like Harry Himmelberg to slot straight into the 22. It does make sense to investigate the ready made market especially if we feel that we're a real shot of making a genuine push at a flag next year, however I personally don't see that being the case and feel that a player like HH isn't what we need, but rather we need to go a get a genuine long term replacement for Lynch.
If you look at how we've gone this year with an aging Riewoldt, that we could be better served by going with Lynch supported by the fringe players in 2024, which continues their development and put all our efforts into securing a genuine long term Lynch replacement at the end of 2024, there has been talk abut us watching Ben King at the Suns, while Todd Marshall & Mitch Georgiades at Port are 2 others that have got the attention of some supporters as possible targets. Any of the 3 would provide us with a good 7-10 years of service as our number 1 KPF.
Finally there is the idea that has been floated of trying to turn one of Balta or Gibcus into a KPF moving foward. Personally I'm not a fan of either of them being switched from the back line. As I mentioned above, if we can settle Balta Gibcus & Young into the key defensive roles our back line should be sorted for the next decade, especially with the likes of Banks & Brown who could come in to replace Vlastuin & Broad down the track.
Hopefully this breakdown not only gives fans a bit of a look at where things stand and what may unfold between now and the draft as we look to solidify our KPP stocks for the foreseeable future.
Established KPP
Jack Riewoldt - 34 year old in possibly his last season, currently holding down the number 1 KPF role after Lynchs injury, form has been up and down this year often reflecting the way the team has performed.
Tom Lynch - 30 year old with a couple more seasons left on his deal. Out injured with a broken foot at the moment with some reports that he may not return this year, as well as him having slimmed down a little bit to take some stress off his lower body for when he does return.
Robbie Tarrant - another 34 year old in possibly his last season, unfortunately a back injury has prevented him for playing more than a few minutes at VFL level this season. Likely to retire at seasons end.
Noah Balta - 23 year old with 76 games under his belt and has established himself as our prime KPD moving forward. About to enter the prime years of his career 24-27. Locked away for another couple of years having re-signed a few weeks back.
Fringe KPP
Tylar Young - 24 year old who was got an opportunity to play with our VFL team in 2022 and did enough to get himself picked up as a rookie in 2023. Came into the side in round 2 and barring injury has held his spot. Has one of the best 1-1 win % among KPD and comes across as a bit of mix between Astbury & Grimes as a defender, i.e. no fuss get the job done type. Played 10 games so far, should be around 20 games by seasons end.
Ben Miller - been around for 6 seasons now and has finally been able to start putting his hand up for a spot in the 22. Played 11 games in 2022 and 8 games so far in 2023 after spending 2020 & 2021 being trained up as a KPF/ruck. Turns 24 at the end of August and has got 20 games under his belt now. Should continue to get opportunity this year as a KPF who also does some ruck work.
Samson Ryan - 22 year old 206cm 104kg KPF/ruck with 14 games who has spent most of this season in the side as a ruck/forward filling the holes left by Lynch and Nankervis injuries. Hasn't really taken a game by the scruff just yet, but has shown glimpses of what he could become. Kicked 3 goals in his first game against the Crows as the 3rd option behind Jack and Lynch, then showed his ruck skill in games against Geelong and WCE. Many are suggesting he'll be a ruck, which I agree with, but with Nankervis & Soldo both having up to 5 years left, we could look to make Ryan a forward who rucks. At VFL level he kicked 30.20 playing that sort of role across 23 games in 2021/2022 seasons, which included 5 hauls of 3+ goals. Give him another 12-24 months in the gym to build up strength while playing 2nd fiddle to Lynch and he could be ready to take the number 1 KPF role from 2025 and beyond.
Josh Gibcus - 20 year old who played 18 games in his first year to establish himself as a KPD we could build around alongside Balta. Was ranked inside the top 15 for 1-1 defensive contests win % at 21.3 last year. When you look at a potential back 6 built around Balta Gibcus & Young it's a young and exciting group, that could become the next generations version of Rance Astbury & Grimes(not saying they'll be as good, but in terms of the structure they'll allow us to play). Has missed all of this year with a hamstring issue which is a slight concern, however has spent a lot of time around the group, even flying to interstate games even though not playing, which suggests he's spending time with Rutten in the background building an understanding of our systems and structures, which may lead to him being the on field leader when he returns.
Developing KPP
Bigoa Nyuon - 22 year old who has played the 1 AFL game so far, been at the club since 2019 rookie draft. Initially picked up as a KPD from the Saints Next Gen academy, Biggie has found himself moved up the ground to become another ruck/forward option. As some attributes that suggest he could be a handy tall utility that could play KPP at either end. Has a good leap, can mark and kicks the ball well, however he also has issues like Chol used to display where he seemingly doesn't like contact. Out of contract at seasons end so could find himself let go initially then re-drafted.
Kaelan Bradtke - 22 year old 195cm 95kg KPF, who was picked up as a SSP pick beating out Quinton Narkle for the final spot on our list at the time. Debut game at VFL level kicked 5 goals and then broke his hand which forced him our for a few weeks. Since returning hasn't quite hit the same highs but has kicked 13.11 in his 7 full games. For a kid that has come from playing bush footy and a couple of games for Sydney VFL side in 2022, he has shown that he has something to work it moving forward and should be retained as a rookie heading into 2024.
Jacob Bauer - 21 year old MSD pick from 2022 who had kicked 23.15 in his first 12 games at the club, before necessity forced him to be moved down back for the past 8 weeks, where he has also looked quite good at times. Similar height to Jack at 192cm, but still under 90kg Bauer is a more mobile KPP who uses his athleticism to good effect. Like Nyuon & Bradtke is out of contract at seasons end, but should be given another year to see if his develop can continue.
Current List Summary
When you break it down like this we actually have a good blend of KPPs with an even spread of established/fringe KPPs plus young development projects in the VFL. Obviously we're likely to see a couple of the established group depart with Jack & Tarrant moving on, but they'll be replaced by fringe types stepping up to fill the void in 2024.
What Do We Need?
This is where it gets interesting, as there is a school of thought that we need to go shopping and get ourselves a ready made option like Harry Himmelberg to slot straight into the 22. It does make sense to investigate the ready made market especially if we feel that we're a real shot of making a genuine push at a flag next year, however I personally don't see that being the case and feel that a player like HH isn't what we need, but rather we need to go a get a genuine long term replacement for Lynch.
If you look at how we've gone this year with an aging Riewoldt, that we could be better served by going with Lynch supported by the fringe players in 2024, which continues their development and put all our efforts into securing a genuine long term Lynch replacement at the end of 2024, there has been talk abut us watching Ben King at the Suns, while Todd Marshall & Mitch Georgiades at Port are 2 others that have got the attention of some supporters as possible targets. Any of the 3 would provide us with a good 7-10 years of service as our number 1 KPF.
Finally there is the idea that has been floated of trying to turn one of Balta or Gibcus into a KPF moving foward. Personally I'm not a fan of either of them being switched from the back line. As I mentioned above, if we can settle Balta Gibcus & Young into the key defensive roles our back line should be sorted for the next decade, especially with the likes of Banks & Brown who could come in to replace Vlastuin & Broad down the track.
Hopefully this breakdown not only gives fans a bit of a look at where things stand and what may unfold between now and the draft as we look to solidify our KPP stocks for the foreseeable future.
. I'm noticing a lot of goals getting kicked when he's the nearest defender too. So I consider him Garthwaite mk II right now.
fxxking Silvagni !
