We'll be better than the Suns

[Ellie Aquitaine]

i'm not really sure what's going on with gws's rookie list, as it seems they've only got 1, but if you disregard our rookie listed players that are a bit older, the top half of both our lists are quite similar in terms of players & experience.

Thanks. That was interesting.

I think we don't have many rookies because we have an extended list. Some of the players who would be rookies at other clubs have senior spots. Not sure why Schulz is a rookie though.

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

. Not sure why Schulz is a rookie though.

Because he still has the negatives.

 

[BarryAglett]

Over on the Crows board someone showed a comparison between the Suns same time last year and the Giants so far this year. Scarily similar.

The aim this year was to win 8-10 games. Next year to make finals. (Last years aim was to win 4-6)
From that perspective, we are half way to the 10 game total. Obviously, we'd love to achieve more, but from a developmental POV, anything else is a bonus.

 

[_GT_]

Over on the Crows board someone showed a comparison between the Suns same time last year and the Giants so far this year. Scarily similar.

The aim this year was to win 8-10 games. Next year to make finals. (Last years aim was to win 4-6)
From that perspective, we are half way to the 10 game total. Obviously, we'd love to achieve more, but from a developmental POV, anything else is a bonus.

The similarities hide the differences between the lists at the same stage. For the Suns, they were yet to hit the GAJ shoulder dislocation that occurred mid-season. We now know that to an extent, the brilliance of GAJ was papering over some cracks in the coaching and list at the Suns.

The concern we have in relation to this is how much do we rely on one player. Mummy is the obvious name that comes to mind. I'd argue we would indeed dip in performance if he goes down. However, we would not fall apart in the same way. I think LC is a great young coach, and infinitely better than Bluey. However, he is still rally learning the craft. So, I expect he'll still get out coached occasionally, or struggle with circumstances he hasn't seen before. Our list though is in great shape. We just need to shake the minor injurt curse dogging the backline!!

 

[BarryAglett]

I was going to mention the Gaz@Suns = Mummy@GWS connection but was superstitious considering what happened to Gaz last year. Mummy is often the first phase of the contest and excels for us at that. Gaz would win his own ball, run hard and often boot 2-3 goals which could be the difference between winning and losing (hence all the MVPs). Giants have about 5 players doing that role with no overreliance on an individual.

I didn't think Bluey was a bad coach at the time, but it's interesting that Rocket is forced to send fifth year players to the NEAFL to learn to play defence. That puts even the Dees ahead of them. Look at the Swans who can afford to have Tom Mitchell spend a year in the NEAFL to learn defensive running. And us with Steele, Hampton, Pickett, Ahern, etc - that's pretty scary depth.

 

[_GT_]

I didn't think Bluey was too bad either, but going with a young, untried coach with a very young side was not the best path. In hindsight, our approach of and experienced team of Sheeds and Choco working on developing the young guys though game time and different roles was the way to go. We might have had a slow start when it comes to results, but I think we're coming on quicker than the Sun's now due the early pain we sucked up.

 

[BarryAglett]

.... We might have had a slow start when it comes to results, but I think we're coming on quicker than the Sun's now due the early pain we sucked up.

oh, and what pain it was..!