Prediction Who will finish higher - Western Bulldogs, Fremantle, Brisbane or St Kilda
- Thread starter VineyToClark
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That’s a cool story.
You think it’s even debatable?
27 y.o. banged up midfielder versus
23 y.o. key position forward and a 25 y.o 207cm ruck / forward.
I think it will be a line ball who delivers more in 2019, Conca or Hanneberry. How’s your players preseason going? Conca fit as *, hasn’t missed a session. First full preseason in half a decade. Now I’m not saying Conca is a gun, quite the opposite. But that’s the level you might get out of Hanneberry this year.
No way, a new recruit killing it in preseason. Stop the pressers.
Obviously our preseason is going great, as is 17 other clubs.
To even suggest Conca in the same breath as Hannebery is laughable.
How bout some sort of friendly bet on that? Some arbitrary measure like average super coach points per game for the year. A bonus for playing more games, say a 5 game differential gives you a 15% bonus...what you say?
In the past Hanneberry >>>> Conca. But I’m talking 2019 onwards.
16 other clubs.
Carlton certainly not having a great pre-season. That is something we can all agree on.
You judge players output on their SuperCoach scores?
As I said previously, Hannebery isn’t likely to get back to his old form, his leadership is something we lacked and that will be invaluable for our very young list.
Haha yeh cant really argue with that.
I don’t think you can compare, Hanners coming in is A LOT more valuable to our team then Conca is to yours.
What about Conca makes you think he’ll be a good player for you?
that wasnt my question
What? You're talking up Conca so I'm asking what about his game do you like and think will be good for your team?
I get that everyone (or at least most) who don't barrack for St Kilda- or perhaps Sydney) is hoping that Dan's body continues to trouble him, and that he won't play good footy again, but the fact is that he's only 27yo (about to turn 28), not 32 going-on 33, so only time will tell whether he's able to get his body going well again or not.
It's clear that he's had his share of injuries over the last two years (although he's still been able to play 38 games over that period), but according to him, he was finally injury-free for the last 6 weeks of the latest season (and was one of their best 3-4 in their final), and the fact he'd trimmed down by the start of our preseason suggests that he'd been able to do plenty of training (and maybe some dieting and so-on) during his break.
He was then so right-to-go (and keen to get out there), that he even joined in some of the training for those in their first-to-4th years, when he wasn't even required to, and then started training with the full squad when they resumed.
He then had a reportedly minor set-back on the eve of the Christmas break (hamstring tightness) and has been eased back into it since then, but he's now back to match-sim training and is said to have done much more this preseason than in his last two (and probably a lot more in his pre-preseason break).
So unless he has another setback before the season starts, he's likely to go into this coming season in much better shape than his last two, and as such, I don't see any reason why he won't be able to play at say even just 2017 levels- where he averaged 25 disposals, while playing injured.
If he stays relatively injury free he could easily surpass that and play somewhere between that and his AA/MVP best. Again, he's 27yo, not 32.
He'll probably not get back to his very best again, but unless his body really breaks down he'll hopefully be able to get back to at least B+ grade type footy again.
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Fremantle's midfield has to be a major concern for them. When you lose your second best midfielder, from a midfield that was already thin, I think it's a worry. Maybe players improve but it appears they'll be relying heavily on second year players like Cerra and Brayshaw and that's a concern. Conca is an ok player but nothing special. The forwards will be a big improvement but losing Neale is massive.
Hopefully for your sake that happens, it would be a career best year for him.
On top of losing Neale they've now lost Blakely for the start of the season and Stephen Hill is also struggling, so the two that Ross would probably have been relying on to step into Neale's shoes might not be avail for several weeks.
Who knows, maybe Bennell will finally be ready to play.
Who knows, maybe Bennell will finally be ready to play.
I actually don’t mind St.Kilda. I’d love if the ladder flipped. I’m sick of Hawks, Geelong, Sydney making finals every year. I’ve enjoyed Melbournes dash up the ladder and hope they stay there. Watching the bulldogs win a flag was great. Same with Richmond to be honest.
Our midfield on paper looks a concern. I agree it’s 1-2 years from being seasoned enough to truly compete, especially with the young talent in Brayshaw and Cerra. But we do have Fyfe, Mundy, Brad Hill, Ed Langdon. Two inside and two outside players who are genuine afl quality players. One arguably the best player in the comp. We may miss Lachie Neale, but we won’t miss his missed tackles. Teams often walk the ball out of our midfield, and the leaky end was often his player. It’s no surprise to hear he had the highest % of broken tackles in the top 50 clearances players in the AFL. Blakeley was set to take his role, and right at the age where he could explode. Alas we’ll need to wait probably 12 months to see his best form again. We have some B/C graders in Conca / Banfield / Colyer who could compliment the aforementioned 4, these have AFL ready physiques.
We’ve got two genuine elite AFL players in Stephen Hill and Harley Bennell who could play a role injuries permitting. If those two hit anywhere near their peak form our midfield will be anything but a weakness and could be a dynamic strength. Hill had surgery on his quad which restricted him the last 12 months and should be right by round 3. Bennell has done 3/4 of preseason sessions, the most in 4 years. But remains a long shot. Relying on these two is silly, but in the unlikely event both become available and in form, we’ll be laughing.
We may need to wait for Brayshaw and Cerra to be 3rd or 4th year players before we have a premiership quality midfield with enough A graders. By then Mundy will be gone but Blakeley will be mid 20s, Fyfe late 20s, B.Hill and E.Langdon also ripe. That’s where I see our true window. All our KP players will be mid to late 20’s as well which co-incides nicely. Hamling, A.Pearce, Hogan and Lobb is close to the best quartet we’ve had in our history.
If you throw in a handy free agent or trade into the fold for 2020, say Tim Kelly or Coniglio that might expedite the window.
If we don’t move up the ladder in 2019 I think Ross is shown the door IMO. Which may be a blessing in disguise. Whoever takes over the list in 2020 would be licking their lips with the age profile. Only noteable losses would be Sandilands and Mundy. Both of which have heir apparents.
Our rucks on face value look a bit shaky, but Sean Darcy, Rory Lobb, Scott Jones and Lloyd Meek is actually more depth than most clubs. The latter two are interesting and I think will show significant improvement in 2019.
Our midfield on paper looks a concern. I agree it’s 1-2 years from being seasoned enough to truly compete, especially with the young talent in Brayshaw and Cerra. But we do have Fyfe, Mundy, Brad Hill, Ed Langdon. Two inside and two outside players who are genuine afl quality players. One arguably the best player in the comp. We may miss Lachie Neale, but we won’t miss his missed tackles. Teams often walk the ball out of our midfield, and the leaky end was often his player. It’s no surprise to hear he had the highest % of broken tackles in the top 50 clearances players in the AFL. Blakeley was set to take his role, and right at the age where he could explode. Alas we’ll need to wait probably 12 months to see his best form again. We have some B/C graders in Conca / Banfield / Colyer who could compliment the aforementioned 4, these have AFL ready physiques.
We’ve got two genuine elite AFL players in Stephen Hill and Harley Bennell who could play a role injuries permitting. If those two hit anywhere near their peak form our midfield will be anything but a weakness and could be a dynamic strength. Hill had surgery on his quad which restricted him the last 12 months and should be right by round 3. Bennell has done 3/4 of preseason sessions, the most in 4 years. But remains a long shot. Relying on these two is silly, but in the unlikely event both become available and in form, we’ll be laughing.
We may need to wait for Brayshaw and Cerra to be 3rd or 4th year players before we have a premiership quality midfield with enough A graders. By then Mundy will be gone but Blakeley will be mid 20s, Fyfe late 20s, B.Hill and E.Langdon also ripe. That’s where I see our true window. All our KP players will be mid to late 20’s as well which co-incides nicely. Hamling, A.Pearce, Hogan and Lobb is close to the best quartet we’ve had in our history.
If you throw in a handy free agent or trade into the fold for 2020, say Tim Kelly or Coniglio that might expedite the window.
If we don’t move up the ladder in 2019 I think Ross is shown the door IMO. Which may be a blessing in disguise. Whoever takes over the list in 2020 would be licking their lips with the age profile. Only noteable losses would be Sandilands and Mundy. Both of which have heir apparents.
Our rucks on face value look a bit shaky, but Sean Darcy, Rory Lobb, Scott Jones and Lloyd Meek is actually more depth than most clubs. The latter two are interesting and I think will show significant improvement in 2019.
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Oh really?
May I remind you I didn't go to Wikipedia for this.....
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bastardization
Bastardize/Bastardizing
verb (used with object)
1. To lower the condition or worth, debase
2. To declare or prove to someone to be a bastard
3. (Australian meaning) To harass or humiliate as part of an initiation in a colledge or regiment.
Bastardization
noun
1. The act of Bastardizing
2. Australian
a. an Initiation of a ceremony in a school or military unit, especially one involving brutality
b. Brutality or bullying
Bastardize
Verb (tr)
1. To debase or Corrupt
2. To archaic to declare Illegitimate
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