Prediction Make the call

[mopsy]

I think Conca might make it from the back pocket. Liked the way he played and plenty of room for improvement from experience based on Freo game.

The back pocket suits his short straight kicking style and frees up options for his hand ball.

A big critic of Conca over the years. I have never thought he has enough good attributes to become a real good mid. but have always thought he would go alright in the back half with the play in front of him.
I wonder if its not too far into preseason to move Vlastuin out of the back half and into a midfield role and replace him with Conca down back..

 

[Rayzorwire]

Couldn't disagree more about Grimes. He's played something like 18 games in each of the past two years, I reckon he's over his chronic physical issues (touchwood).

Yeah, he's played, but he doesn't move like he used to when people were talking about him being a serious gun defender, does he? Kinda reminds me of the career trajectory of Thursfield, who was also spoken about in rapturous terms before the injuries came calling.

He's quick, a great kick, great spoil, defensively excellent, and versatile. IMO he's our second best tall(ish) defender, easily.

The "ish" part is the concern, IMO. He's not a genuine KPD's size and we've seldom played him in that role given other alternatives. So what is his role going to be long term? The third tall role in genuinely contending sides will go increasingly to ball-winners who can seriously rebound and break lines. I'm not sure any genuinely contending sides can really afford mid-size 'lockdown' defenders.

Versatility may well be his most useful asset (he does have others of course as you mention), but I'm not sure what he brings to the table is going to be enough long term.

Does he need the captaincy removed? Would the pressures of being an AFL captain, for someone who has clearly stated that football is not the be all and end all, be bringing him down? I think yes. Its no surprise that his best year in footy was the year before he became captain. I think next year, give the captaincy to Vlas or Jack and Cotch will be re-invigorated.

Beyond going back in time and fixing Hardwick's past jaw-dropping stupidity, I'm not sure we have a lot of options.

When you inherit a bloke who uses the ball like Cotchin once did, the last thing you do is turn him into an inside-mid punching bag who lacks support or protection, way too early in his career.

Hardwick, footballing genius that he is, thought getting a premiership midfield together was as simple as putting Cotchin and Martin in the middle, letting them "coach themselves" and the rest would take care of itself. For years he utterly rejected getting big-bodied, experienced inside players (even when we already had them on our list - e.g. Tuck - he completely undervalued their role) because his starry-eyed, clueless 'blueprint' ONLY involved precision ball users.

While the football reality he was completely ignorant of has forced him to backtrack a long way from that original position, the damage to Cotchin has been done. He resembles Luke Ball way more than the highly damaging, match-winning ball user he could have been.

Absolutely breaks my heart to have witnessed it, knowing in advance that's what the clueless fool was doing and where it was all going to end up.

 

[Charlie Pannam]

Agree batch should be worried - if anything it should drive up his competitiveness. I know injuries previously have limited him but I remember his first year and his kicking was sensational. Really gone off the boil

Batch has a massive question mark over his spot in our best 22 imo. He gives very little offensively and has been shown up a number of times defensively. Not quick enough to play on small/meduim forwards not tall enough to play the 3rd tall.
I really liked him when he first come on to the scene had courage and was a good intercept mark. Haven't seen that for a long time though.

 

[TheDyerLegacy]

All mine have been said so I'll stick my neck out with this one.

Break: Deledio. As in literally break. His body will say no more and he'll either not play many matches, or if he does, he won't play to the standard that we know him to.

I hope I'm wrong but I can just feel it in me bones.

Looks to be a correct call so far

 

[fanatigger]

Make: Drummond (kid can play. People are going to be astonished at what he can do if he gets a good run at it)
Break: Griffiths (not up to it)

I have high hopes for him as well, was shattered when he went down with a knee last year. He will be a good one.

 

[mcuzzy]

All mine have been said so I'll stick my neck out with this one.

Break: Deledio. As in literally break. His body will say no more and he'll either not play many matches, or if he does, he won't play to the standard that we know him to.

I hope I'm wrong but I can just feel it in me bones.

Missed the first 5 matches.

First game back promising, spent a lot of time in the midfield though.

Second game back, rumours that he won't play but he plays anyway. Had 8 handballs before he's forced into taking his first kick, his kicking action looked very lame. Spent a lot of the game looking very hesitant to kick the ball, opted for handball whenever he could. Looked absolutely cooked at times as he drifted in and out of the game. Still managed 18 touches and had a solid contribution to our decent performance before we faded out, but he looked too much like the Rd 1 2015 Lids rather than the Rd 7 2015 Lids.

He might go back on the boil, but if he's struggling to kick the footy every week or so then I reckon my prediction may be true. Fingers crossed he eases back into it like in the previous two seasons, I reckon he's physically worse now than he was then.

I think he needs to get his grouse undercut back too. Makes the matches much more worth watching.

 

[cairo tiger]

Yeah, he's played, but he doesn't move like he used to when people were talking about him being a serious gun defender, does he? Kinda reminds me of the career trajectory of Thursfield, who was also spoken about in rapturous terms before the injuries came calling.



The "ish" part is the concern, IMO. He's not a genuine KPD's size and we've seldom played him in that role given other alternatives. So what is his role going to be long term? The third tall role in genuinely contending sides will go increasingly to ball-winners who can seriously rebound and break lines. I'm not sure any genuinely contending sides can really afford mid-size 'lockdown' defenders.

Versatility may well be his most useful asset (he does have others of course as you mention), but I'm not sure what he brings to the table is going to be enough long term.



Beyond going back in time and fixing Hardwick's past jaw-dropping stupidity, I'm not sure we have a lot of options.

When you inherit a bloke who uses the ball like Cotchin once did, the last thing you do is turn him into an inside-mid punching bag who lacks support or protection, way too early in his career.

Hardwick, footballing genius that he is, thought getting a premiership midfield together was as simple as putting Cotchin and Martin in the middle, letting them "coach themselves" and the rest would take care of itself. For years he utterly rejected getting big-bodied, experienced inside players (even when we already had them on our list - e.g. Tuck - he completely undervalued their role) because his starry-eyed, clueless 'blueprint' ONLY involved precision ball users.

While the football reality he was completely ignorant of has forced him to backtrack a long way from that original position, the damage to Cotchin has been done. He resembles Luke Ball way more than the highly damaging, match-winning ball user he could have been.

Absolutely breaks my heart to have witnessed it, knowing in advance that's what the clueless fool was doing and where it was all going to end up.

thats true for sure but his blueprint involved precsion ball users- and he recruits duds like townsend and hunt who cannot kick.

he is clueless.

 

[mcuzzy]

All mine have been said so I'll stick my neck out with this one.

Break: Deledio. As in literally break. His body will say no more and he'll either not play many matches, or if he does, he won't play to the standard that we know him to.

I hope I'm wrong but I can just feel it in me bones.

^^^

He got a lot of the footy in the first half (19 touches?), but when it came to running he looked fairly cooked.

 

[Sassafras]

How is Townsend going (Seriously) got a future at AFL level?

 

[Brick Loosener]

Make: Lennon

Break: Griffiths

Reverse that.

 

[tunksy]

Make: griff lloyd

Break: supporters hearts

 

[NaturalDisaster]

Make:

1. Steven Morris. He had an All Australian worthy year in 2013 where he was rarely beaten by his direct opponent and he has stagnated as a player ever since Dimma mistakenly moved him to the forward line. Watch him displace Vlastuin from the side and become an AA back pocket. A real old school one-on-one defender who doesn't give an inch and will never die wondering.

2. Troy Chaplin. This bloke is an absolute jet on his day. Anyone that watched his game against Fremantle at the G last year would know how damaging he can be as a loose man. I expect him to play a swing man role this season and we will see him kick many clutch time goals. He's a natural born leader and will rise to the challenge in 2016.

3. Shaun Hampson. We all know ruckmen take longer to develop and this bloke is going to be a perfect example of it. After having an injury interrupted preseason I can see him coming out like a bull at a gate when he finally gets his opportunity. He won't have an AA season like Morris but he will be promoted into the leadership group at the conclusion of the year. Will average 35 hitouts and 5 contested marks in what can only be described as a beastly season.

Break:

1. Dustin Martin. Just does not have the mental capacity to sustain a professional AFL career. More off-field dramas will see his career spiral out of control. His problems can only be swept under the rug for so long. The fact he's gone from an inside bull with a raking boot to an outside pansy that cannot hit the side of the barn does not help.

2. Corey Ellis. Poor man's Jordan De Goey who looked AFL standard in patches last year and made everyone think we had the next Deledio/Pendlebury hybrid. One practice match into the season and there's already question marks hanging over his head (had five touches and played the full game). Another first round blunder to add to Richmond's history books.

3. Alex Rance. Overrated and gets a free ride because of his looks and reputation. Was ragdolled by Jesse Hogan (a first year player) and toweled up by Tex Walker. He seems to get absolutely monstered every time he finds himself in one-on-one contests and plays as if he's wearing rollerskates. Should be used as steak knives for the Michael Hurley trade.

nice troll, right on Hampson though :O and allllmost morris if he didn't get injury.

 

[Gosha]

nice troll, right on Hampson though :O and allllmost morris if he didn't get injury.

I'm happy for them. Shame about Morris. Hampson has been very handy for us this season. Always had a feeling he had a lot more to offer. Completely wrote off Morris and Chaplin though.

 

[Elgreedo]

Fascinating read. Really interesting to see how many predicted Townsend to make a huge impact. I'd never seen him play (if I had I hadn't noticed him), so didn't have any idea what to expect. Did those that pumped him up really know anything about him, or did they just assume he would solve our problems? He's really not much good.

Also noteworthy is the complete lack of confidence in Griffiths. I can't actually recall what my thoughts on him were at the start of the year, but wowsers this board didn't think much of him. Vickery gorn, Griff seemingly going ok. Been a stupid year.

 

[Charlie Pannam]

How is Townsend going (Seriously) got a future at AFL level?

I love his hardness but he doesn't get the ball much for an inside mid, even in the 2s he struggles to rack em up. I'm hoping he still has another gear, but not overly confident.

 

[Frustrated Tiger]

Certainly some interesting make / breaks when you read back.

 

[Sassafras]

I love his hardness but he doesn't get the ball much for an inside mid, even in the 2s he struggles to rack em up. I'm hoping he still has another gear, but not overly confident.

Yeah, looks like a good VFL, WAFL etc sort of player, but I was wondering if he had some future upside. Like you said, I thought maybe there could be another gear in him to keep going in some capacity.

 

[captain cotch 9]

Make: Jacob Townsend. Bloke is an animal. He will thrive under pressure. I can see him not only having an impact himself, but he will make our other midfielders increase by 5 - 10%.

Break: Ben Griffiths. Not good enough. Soft, goes missing way too often and a forward line with Jack, Ty and Lennon as the talls will finally start to function.

Sorry buddy....

 

[juss]

Pick one player who will make it and one who won't in 2016. Revisit at year end.

Make: McIntosh. Will be a beast on the wing with his size and running capacity. Expect a top 10 B&F finish.

Break: Conca. Will be a bust, disposal not good enough and wont ever be better than average.

Well both of these players havent played much due to injury, but I maintain that eventually these predictions will be proven right, although KMac might be a halfback instead of a wing

 

[Sassafras]

Sorry buddy....

It was all about having a guess and prediction, don't pull people on them, it will make people nervous to make future calls and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[TigerImposter]

Make: CEllis and Lennon
Break: Yarran and Conca

Pretty close as Corey showed enough and wAs hoping Lennon would overcome his glandular fever for games , then struck down with more injuries. Hopefully will see for late games .
The other two blokes meh meh tick tock.