Opinion Are we really that much poorer with the 2017 retirements?

[Hap Hapablap]

Just been consistently reading the large range of articles, posts from other board members and listening to various podcasts and such and people are constantly rating us to finish bottom 10, some even bottom 4

frankly I don't mind being rated as an underdog. but the fact is I don't think we're much poorer by the losses of priddis and mitchell considering they werent actually helping us win games last season.

with the return of kennedy and nic nat shortly as well as a hungrier bunch of kids surely things will change.

only concern I have is if the older squad members to flatline during games. otherwise it doesnt look as bad as it is

thoughts?

 

[kaiserchief13]

Naitanui back = Priddis and Mitchell in 2017.

If the likes of Sheed, Redden and Venables can improve I think Eagles can be better, especially with the additions of Rioli and Ryan

 

[BeornJ]

Losing 2 brownlow players will hurt.

Our contested ball numbers were already down and will probably free fall even further.

I wouldn't be surprised if we became the worst contested ball team in the comp.

I'm excited for the youngsters but there will be a rub of pain coming up

 

[Feeling Groovy]

I am not sure how it will translate to ladder position given how even the competition is and NN and JK are somewhat unknowns at this stage, but those two aside, I don't think we are much worse off in terms of competitiveness due to the retirements. What we lose in contested ball winning and experience, we will hopefully make up for in speed and running both ways. There will likely be some teething problems with the midfield though having been so reliant on Priddis for so long and we are still very light on in the midfield. NN could compensate for this but that is an unknown.

 

[mattyc75]

Im not overly optimistic for the year ahead.sure everyone is saying priddis and mitchell didnt help us win games but they got the ball.and we havent done much to improve in the area of our greatest need.the midfield.i dont see anyone stepping up this year to really fill the hole left by priddis
How naitanui comes back is a mystery.kennedy will miss the first few games.vardy is out for a while.lycett is injury prone.
I like some of our youngsters and think some can have an impact(ryan.rioli) but i dont think it will be enough this year
Hopefully im wrong
Overall i think the retirements of priddis and mitchell will hurt as we havent to anyone waiting in the wings to step up.
Nota fan of redden and not sure if sheedhas another level

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[Bestbird]

Depends on the Rucks. Second tier midfielders and players with little AFL experience performing. The second Jlt performance has me a bit worried

 

[EagleJack42]

If we win Round 1 watch out. Granted I feel Sydney are a touch vulnerable at the moment but beating Sydney at any stage is always a triumph because they are such a champion football club. Will go a long, long way to boosting our confidence and if somehow we are 2-0 at Round 3 when Kennedy returns then I feel all bets are off in terms of trying to predict our year.

 

[Eastern Rangers]

At the coal face we've lacked class and out midfield brigade could be more dynamic and unpredictable by seasons end. But i'm still a little worried about the bulk work that has been lost especially early on in the season. If Naitanui is playing at anywhere near his best then we should be more attacking.

 

[Quinz]

Forward line looks our biggest worry to me. LeCras on the slide, Cripps stagnating, Hill gone, Darling not stepping up and Kennedy injured. Rioli, Waterman, Venables and Ryan are so raw I think our scoring power is really going to struggle.

But we have to hammer forward defence and inside 50 tackles, because I still think we're going to get torched on the rebound like we did against Freo otherwise.

 

[Biggie]

Contested ball is gonna kill us.

Swans will teach us a lesson in this area on Sunday I'm afraid

 

[FKASC]

Losing 2 brownlow players will hurt.

Our contested ball numbers were already down and will probably free fall even further.

I wouldn't be surprised if we became the worst contested ball team in the comp.

I'm excited for the youngsters but there will be a rub of pain coming up

This. And not even from losing Mitchell. Priddis did a lot more heavy lifting than we gave him credit for and this idea that Naitanui will cancel it out is pretty odd

 

[jesterwester]

Yes & No.

Yes because I think the contested ball will hurt us in the short term; even on our worst midfield days Pridda would always be fighting and scrapping away. Redden is good at that, but Priddis was an elite on the inside. Mitchells ability and experience was an asset last year even if we didn’t see him at his best; he still offset the loss of NicNat. You don’t replace midfielders like him and Mitchell in a hurry.

But at the same time, I’ve felt we’ve not had the chance to fully assess the midfield crop we have because they’ve always been behind at least one of those two. Shuey gets the chance to lead our midfield group and I’m excited by that. Redden gets his chance to really nail down an inside spot consistently- he’s been our best trainer this preseason. And here’s hoping that Sheed & Duggan build on the back end of last year and have breakout years. So if these guys step up then I don’t think we will find that much ourselves much worse off, especially if NN regains something resembling full fitness later this year.

We also get the chance to fast-track some guys through the middle if they can take the chance- Ainswerth comes highly regarded, DV has shown some nice glimpses. Partington & Mutimer stand on the outside but really could be in the mix this year with some consistent performances. So in the long term it certainly won’t be so bad if these guys do come on.

Supply will continually be the issue; more so than our forward line- I think we have the talent to convert our opportunities- we just need the midfield to get the ball in there. Ive always thought even a half fit NN makes us a 5 goal better side- mostly because of the stacking nature of his ruckwork. I hope to be proven right.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

We also get the chance to fast-track some guys through the middle if they can take the chance- Ainswerth comes highly regarded, DV has shown some nice glimpses. Partington & Mutimer stand on the outside but really could be in the mix this year with some consistent performances. So in the long term it certainly won’t be so bad if these guys do come on.

This is a bit dire for me. Ainsworth was projected as a later pick, so not that highly regarded. Mutimer is a possible delisting this year/next. Partington is scrappy in possession and small for a mid. Venables is a flanker at this stage, with questions over his durability.

A very interesting year. Who knows, hopefully they may surprise.

 

[ChampRevesby]

Contested ball is gonna kill us.

Swans will teach us a lesson in this area on Sunday I'm afraid

Going to be a hard lesson all year. We will also fall down a bit up forward. As long as people are tempering their expectations it might be a fun year watching the kids run around.

 

[jesterwester]

This is a bit dire for me. Ainsworth was projected as a later pick, so not that highly regarded. Mutimer is a possible delisting this year/next. Partington is scrappy in possession and small for a mid. Venables is a flanker at this stage, with questions over his durability.

A very interesting year. Who knows, hopefully they may surprise.

Given the way our list sits- we are going to know either way quickly enough I think.

I see DV in a similar pathway to Shuey- but it was his 3rd year before he really got going after some bad luck with injury.

I will admit I was surprised with the Ainswerth pick, but since he’s come to the club I’m intrigued by how he develops. Same with Petrucelle, who I had forgotten earlier. He could be something special.

 

[kranky al]

The best game of footy we played all year was against the doggies.

No mitchell

No priddis.

 

[ShaunWCEFC]

The best game of footy we played all year was against the doggies.

No mitchell

No priddis.

Sam Mitchell played in that game.

 

[CM9000]

I'm honestly very confused about all these pundits predicting a fall for us.

It seems that this view is entirely based on the fact that our contested ball has decreased badly since 2015. From the outside, it looks like a downward trend, but it isn't that black and white.

Going off this article, we went from 2nd in CPs to 17th two years later. So, why was that?

2016 was a down year, pure and simple. There's no other way to put it.

However, our CPD in 2017 wasn't a natural progression from last season, it was a result of poor decision making, the decline of Priddis and a lack of Nic. Off the back of having the slowest midfield in the comp, we had to launch all our attacks from D50 (one of the stats that was actually better then 2015) to compensate for the middle. Our biggest strength (hitouts) became a weakness, and a declining Priddis only exacerbated the problem.

We went from competing in the centre to losing it every week. Add in an MC that won't drop players (which would've improved our form) and you have a recipe for disaster.

We have lost nothing from 2017 that we can't replace. We only have to replace the output of Priddis, and Shuey has it covered.

Add in the fact we'll be regaining ruck dominance and there is no reason that we won't, at the very least, be able to compete in the middle.

 

[WCEswift]

I'm honestly very confused about all these pundits predicting a fall for us.

It seems that this view is entirely based on the fact that our contested ball has decreased badly since 2015. From the outside, it looks like a downward trend, but it isn't that black and white.

Going off this article, we went from 2nd in CPs to 17th two years later. So, why was that?

2016 was a down year, pure and simple. There's no other way to put it.

However, our CPD in 2017 wasn't a natural progression from last season, it was a result of poor decision making, the decline of Priddis and a lack of Nic. Off the back of having the slowest midfield in the comp, we had to launch all our attacks from D50 (one of the stats that was actually better then 2015) to compensate for the middle. Our biggest strength (hitouts) became a weakness, and a declining Priddis only exacerbated the problem.

We went from competing in the centre to losing it every week. Add in an MC that won't drop players (which would've improved our form) and you have a recipe for disaster.

We have lost nothing from 2017 that we can't replace. We only have to replace the output of Priddis, and Shuey has it covered.

Add in the fact we'll be regaining ruck dominance and there is no reason that we won't, at the very least, be able to compete in the middle.

Last time i remember a game without mitchell and priddis in the midfield for us was the 2015 qualifying final... turned out ok

 

[kranky al]

Sam Mitchell played in that game.

My mistook

25 possies too

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

Less depth obviously, but at least we'll be forced to debut more players and give opportunities to the inexperienced players, which will hopefully be good for our future development.

 

[squashface]

I still believe that Mitchell could have gone around again and he would have been good.

 

[Eaglespur]

on another note, i am super unconvinced by Duggans ability to be a contributing mid.

Ps. For anyone who cares Avishka is taking some time off BF.

 

[mattyc75]

I still believe that Mitchell could have gone around again and he would have been good.

He got a few possessions but i remember watching him and thing that hes similar to priddis in that he handballs to players under pressure a lot

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[mattyc75]

We have lost nothing from 2017 that we can't replace. We only have to replace the output of Priddis, and Shuey has it covered.

So shueys good for 45+ possessions this year?? Giddyup!!

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