Offseason Changes + Road to the 2021 Premiership

CM9000

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It doesn't take a scientist to understand that Liam Ryan has had challenges in his life, and those challenges saw him leave Geraldton, and also made clubs nervous enough to not pick him up in the draft before we did.

Liam Ryan is exactly what I am talking about when I say we have developed systems and supports at our club that can provide opportunities to those who wouldn't ordinarily get them.

It's actually bizarre for people to praise the club for taking a chance on Liam, and to praise Liam (rightfully so) for the hard work and good choices he has made to get where he is, and then simultaneously write off a guy like Elijah Taylor or Sydney Stack.

No doubt in my mind, the club has put a lot of effort and resources in place to help support Liam over the last 3 years, and look how far he has come. It's a great outcome for him personally, but also speaks to the capability the club has developed in terms of understanding and being able to respond to some of the challenging issues our players confront growing up and before they get drafted, especially the Indigenous boys.

Some folks walk in to footy clubs and need extra support and mentoring to help them with their personal development. We've built the capability and have the resources to that, we should continue to use them.

IMO, the post outlining Liam's background is a bit too graphic and detailed. There's a degree of privacy and dignity people are entitled to.

No one wants their dirty laundry aired out on the internet.

This. I’ve said it before, but the club should back itself in to get the best out of players like Sydney Stack and Elijah Taylor. I’d argue it’s reluctance on our part to bring in players that might have issues, but the club should back itself in with these things.
 

DanWCE

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Our support network for players who face difficulties/need straightening out are drying up though. Simmo himself said that with a 40% reduction in soft cap we will now have to reevaluate who we would have drafted because the off field structure of the club will be changing.
 

Doashuey

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The counter argument is a king's ransom wasn't paid for either of those players.
That's missing the point of the argument. The point being that class players that have come from other clubs (irrespective of how much they were paid) have struggled to fit in and play to the best of their potential in the first season in a new system. It is a common occurrence and it wouldn't matter if a bloke was paid 200k or 2M per season, the challenges are the same.
 
Sep 10, 2010
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That's missing the point of the argument.
It's not; the point is expectation. Just as the 1st overall pick has greater expectation than the 58th overall pick. Same goes for the guys you traded that much value for except unlike draftees you expect seasoned AFL players to give you what you paid straight away.

it wouldn't matter if a bloke was paid 200k or 2M per season
It would. You'd expect the 2mil player to be a gamer changer. Why else would you pay that much?

Let me ask you, did another high cost traded player in Patrick Dangerfield have a slow start after he went home in 2016, coupled with some mid-season games where he was barely sighted? No, he smashed it all year and won the ******* Brownlow.
 

ziad

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It's not; the point is expectation. Just as the 1st overall pick has greater expectation than the 58th overall pick. Same goes for the guys you traded that much value for except unlike draftees you expect seasoned AFL players to give you what you paid straight away.


It would. You'd expect the 2mil player to be a gamer changer. Why else would you pay that much?

Let me ask you, did another high cost traded player in Patrick Dangerfield have a slow start after he went home in 2016, coupled with some mid-season games where he was barely sighted? No, he smashed it all year and won the ******* Brownlow.
There are only a few factual problems here but go with it
 

Doashuey

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The original statement..
Agree, no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet.

I'm a big believer in giving new recruits (ie Tim Kelly) a first year with no expectations. Its rough to expect the same output he had at Geelong after coming in and training with the new club for what, 2-3months tops? Add to that covid restrictions, its hard to form a tight nit group and figure each other out.

Just look at Bradley Hill / Jack Steven as an equivalent move. They both looked lost but did warm up at the back end of the season. It takes time.


You missing the point..
It's not; the point is expectation. Just as the 1st overall pick has greater expectation than the 58th overall pick. Same goes for the guys you traded that much value for except unlike draftees you expect seasoned AFL players to give you what you paid straight away.


It would. You'd expect the 2mil player to be a gamer changer. Why else would you pay that much?

Let me ask you, did another high cost traded player in Patrick Dangerfield have a slow start after he went home in 2016, coupled with some mid-season games where he was barely sighted? No, he smashed it all year and won the ******* Brownlow.
Of course there are some players who swap clubs and smash it out of the park, but they are the exception not the rule. I cant really think of 1 player WC have traded that has had a great first year (Yeo, Redden, Wellingham etc), hence N4B making the statement that he understands that 1st year recruits take time to gel especially in a midfield and particularly given the interrupted year this year. He then went on to give examples of other quality recruits this year from other clubs that have followed a similar trajectory of starting slowly but getting better at the end of the season as they became accustomed to the new teammates and systems and you reckon its not the same because the clubs paid less. You missed the point.

Sure fans expectations might be higher but that doesn't take away from the reality that working into a new system takes time in most cases. TK will be a game changer as he has shown a couple of times this year. Next year he will become a more consistent game changer and we have him for 5 more years.
 
Sep 10, 2010
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You missing the point..
He literally wrote the point was no expectations and I provided a counter argument, which I also literally wrote, brought up again in the post you've quoted. Just because I don't agree and am arguing against the initial proposition does not mean I've missed the point.

I cant really think of 1 player WC have traded that has had a great first year (Yeo, Redden, Wellingham etc)
You're furthering the counter-argument. None of these players cost the club anywhere near the resources Kelly has, they are more similar to the 'rule' or that a best 22 midfielder generally costs a 1st round pick.

but they are the exception not the rule.
West Coast paid the exception for him in giving up their best bargaining chip for last off-season as well as this off-season. That exceptional value alone makes the acquisition of Kelly one of the highest priced trades in AFL history so to suggest there's no performance expectation on the player because of that is a bit disingenuous.

It's not a great analogy but you don't buy a 458 Italia and give it a pass when it performs like the BRZ you already had, until you've gone out and got it tuned. You want that car to fly as soon as it's in your hands. Or at least have it perform near as well as it did for the bloke you bought it off.

its not the same because the clubs paid less
Yep. The other clubs bought BRZs.

Next year he will become a more consistent game changer and we have him for 5 more years.
I don't disagree with this, but when you sell the farm for a guy you want all the years to be bangers.
 

javaguice

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Delete this, please. The only upside to sharing this information is to show us that you have contacts who might (or might not) know the Ryans. This is in no way helpful to the club or Liam. At best, this is a distraction that club supporters do not need, now or in the future.
Too right mate.
 

campaigner___

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This. I’ve said it before, but the club should back itself in to get the best out of players like Sydney Stack and Elijah Taylor. I’d argue it’s reluctance on our part to bring in players that might have issues, but the club should back itself in with these things.
I hope the club doesn't think of themselves as 'above' anyone and would use some of their resources to help someone with potential if available. If they can help turn someones' life around and stop him from hurting someone else (or himself) then I say do it. Yes he's a shitbag blah blah blah, but don't ignore the fact there's the possibility to help out a young kid here.

Also, with a shithouse draft hand these are the gambles the club needs to take to be less "risk adverse".
 

Neale4brownlow

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He literally wrote the point was no expectations and I provided a counter argument, which I also literally wrote, brought up again in the post you've quoted. Just because I don't agree and am arguing against the initial proposition does not mean I've missed the point.


You're furthering the counter-argument. None of these players cost the club anywhere near the resources Kelly has, they are more similar to the 'rule' or that a best 22 midfielder generally costs a 1st round pick.


West Coast paid the exception for him in giving up their best bargaining chip for last off-season as well as this off-season. That exceptional value alone makes the acquisition of Kelly one of the highest priced trades in AFL history so to suggest there's no performance expectation on the player because of that is a bit disingenuous.

It's not a great analogy but you don't buy a 458 Italia and give it a pass when it performs like the BRZ you already had, until you've gone out and got it tuned. You want that car to fly as soon as it's in your hands. Or at least have it perform near as well as it did for the bloke you bought it off.


Yep. The other clubs bought BRZs.


I don't disagree with this, but when you sell the farm for a guy you want all the years to be bangers.

It would have been nice for Kelly to dominate from the outset for us. That was the hope, but it didn't eventuate. Now we move on.

I don't think Dangerfield can be fair comparison. Kelly is elite but definitely not in the echelon of a Patrick Dangerfield.

2020 is as disruptive of a year to move clubs as any year in the history of the game.

- Covid restrictions preventing full squad training;
- The move to Queensland hub;
- Uprooting his family and moving back to Perth, only to move over to temporary accomodation in Qld;
- Playing in a brand new team of fresh faces with new game plans/strategies/player roles etc;

Any 2nd nature running paths or set plays he had gathered in his time with Geelong goes in the bin and starts again with the Eagles.

But the silver lining is Kelly already has runs on the board. He is elite. He will be good for us. The 2021 Eagles have massive upside in that regard.

2020 was a Mickey Mouse year and one I'm looking forward to putting in the rear view mirror (as a footy fan).

2021 I'll be on the T.Kelly criticism bandwagon - but I'm expecting a big year.
 
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I don't think Dangerfield can be fair comparison. Kelly is elite but definitely not in the echelon of a Patrick Dangerfield.
You're right, he'd not Dangerfield. But we paid a Dangerfield price.

Back on the theme of the thread, an off-season change I'd like to see is not paying through the nose to bring players to the club.
 

Doashuey

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He literally wrote the point was no expectations and I provided a counter argument, which I also literally wrote, brought up again in the post you've quoted. Just because I don't agree and am arguing against the initial proposition does not mean I've missed the point.


You're furthering the counter-argument. None of these players cost the club anywhere near the resources Kelly has, they are more similar to the 'rule' or that a best 22 midfielder generally costs a 1st round pick.


West Coast paid the exception for him in giving up their best bargaining chip for last off-season as well as this off-season. That exceptional value alone makes the acquisition of Kelly one of the highest priced trades in AFL history so to suggest there's no performance expectation on the player because of that is a bit disingenuous.

It's not a great analogy but you don't buy a 458 Italia and give it a pass when it performs like the BRZ you already had, until you've gone out and got it tuned. You want that car to fly as soon as it's in your hands. Or at least have it perform near as well as it did for the bloke you bought it off.


Yep. The other clubs bought BRZs.


I don't disagree with this, but when you sell the farm for a guy you want all the years to be bangers.

Just because someone is high calibre and a club chose to overcompensate another club it does not remove the challenges faced by that player adapting to a new system, just as other high calibre though cheaper players have experienced.
Your counter was the other 2 players that showed parallels were cheaper but fact is they face similar challenges. Maybe their ceiling is not as high but they all had similar struggles in comparison with their output of the pre pious season.
I tell you what though, the 2 picks that will end up being probably be low 20s this year after academy selections plus a couple in the 30s or 40s probavly won't have this output in the next 3 to 4 years-

Kelly's ranking at WC 2020..



#1 for Tackles
#1 for inside 50's
#1 for goal assists
#1 for Metres Gained

#2 for Disposals
#3 for Clearances
#3 for Score involvements
#3 for contested possessions

Not bad for a s**t season from a bloke getting to know a new system.
 

Neale4brownlow

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Just because someone is high calibre and a club chose to overcompensate another club it does not remove the challenges faced by that player adapting to a new system, just as other high calibre though cheaper players have experienced.
Your counter was the other 2 players that showed parallels were cheaper but fact is they face similar challenges. Maybe their ceiling is not as high but they all had similar struggles in comparison with their output of the pre pious season.
I tell you what though, the 2 picks that will end up being probably be low 20s this year after academy selections plus a couple in the 30s or 40s probavly won't have this output in the next 3 to 4 years-

Kelly's ranking at WC 2020..



#1 for Tackles
#1 for inside 50's
#1 for goal assists
#1 for Metres Gained

#2 for Disposals
#3 for Clearances
#3 for Score involvements
#3 for contested possessions

Not bad for a sh*t season from a bloke getting to know a new system.

Wow, those stats probably point the rocket at every other midfielder at the Eagles.
We can all agree Kelly didnt have a great year this year.

What the hell is everyone elses excuse.
 

Doashuey

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Wow, those stats probably point the rocket at every other midfielder at the Eagles.
We can all agree Kelly didnt have a great year this year.

What the hell is everyone elses excuse.
Yeah none of our mids were great and part of Kelly's dominance was he played all 18 games. We would be lucky to finish top8 without him so still not a bad start.
I saw somewhere also that his stats this year were almost identical to his 2019 stats when extrapolated to 20 min quarters, with the exception of goals which were well down on last year. I think we as a fan base have been a bit tough on him, he carried the midfield a bit this year as the stats show.
 

FreeTK

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Our support network for players who face difficulties/need straightening out are drying up though. Simmo himself said that with a 40% reduction in soft cap we will now have to reevaluate who we would have drafted because the off field structure of the club will be changing.

EDIT: A lot of the stuff I was talking to in my previous post aren't things that cost money or things that cost alot of money. It is relationships with local community, organisations etc. It's having the right people in the right roles that have an understanding of some of the issues some players are confronted with. It's having a club that is engaged in community from the top down. That stuff isn't necessarily spending money.

The 2021 footy department will be soft capped at 6.2 million.

There are exemption from the cap:

-Up to 200K for Indigenous and female staff for 2021 (up to 4 staff @ 50K each - we currently have 2 Indigenous staff Narkle and Bateman)
-minimum spend of 580K on mental health/wellbeing. A club can choose to spend an extra 200K (780K total spend) and it is outside the soft cap
- First 100K over the soft cap is taxed at on 75%.

If you put those three things together that is a potential 400K (+ 75K tax) in the cap (100K for Indig staff + 200K for mental health + willingness to pay75K tax to spend an extra 100K).

That would bring the entire footy dept spend up to 6.6million with a 75K tax bill to the AFL

Worth it if it means being able to allocate resources that allow us to recruit and support people like Liam Ryan.

Sources:
 
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xInfected_Virus

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What can we do for 2021?

This was another wasted season like 2016, 2017 and 2019. We looked like a top team at a dry Optus deck but go to crap in slippery conditions. Even if we beat the Pies in the EF, I don't see us beating the Cats at The Gabba as the Cats have gotten better ever since playing us and they were on TOP of Port for most of the game but inaccuracies killed them with Hawkins kicking 5 behinds lol. Even if we miraculously got past Geelong then we'll have to face Brisbane at The Gabba which I don't see us beating them.

Losing key players meant that the chances of winning another flag has gone to slim and the only reason why we were flag favourites mid way of the year was because we played those games at a dry Optus deck when we looked like a genuine top 2 side until we had to go another stint at the hub. No Yeo, Rioli, Venables and Cameron not regaining his fitness meant that we're going to the Prelim at the very best.

The JK phase out plan Brander dilemma.

With JK playing well to warrant another contract, what does Brander do? We already have Allen to step in as our FF as Darling is more of a second tall type and Brander was supposed to play the JK role when we drafted him but JK is playing longer than expected. When Geelong wanted Brander as part of the Kelly deal in 2018 we said a big fat NO that they didn't even consider him in 2019 but now if JK stays what does Brander do for us?

Some posters reckon that we don't play JK for away games but that doesn't help us at all as he's still important to our structure since he ALWAYS takes the oppo's best defender and can still be threatening. Allen will need more time to develop to be our main KPF in the future once JK retires and that'll give Brander even more opportunities in the forward line.

We could turn Brander into a lockdown KPD since Schoey retired. Yeah I know this sounds absurd but Brander has the pace to play on those athletic KPFs and has the height to go with them in the air. One on one ability and playing on gorilla types are questionable as it's been untested.

But there is a possible way to solve the JK Brander dilemma.

We cut JK's TOG down to around 75% as this can preserve his body more but also rest him a bit in games so he can have a bit more energy to provide forward pressure. We can also cut Darling's TOG down to 85% as well to preserve him too and give that slight energy boost. Allen spends 25% in the ruck. In total, Brander plays 65% of the game as a KPF while spending the other 15-20% on the wing and the rest on the bench.


Must need of a plan B.

Our kick mark game is good enough to beat ANY team in Optus on a DRY day. However what happens if it's slippery? We go down the line and hope our talls mark it but if it goes to ground then oppo will have crumbers ready and kill us on the rebound. If we do go down the line we need small forwards and our mids crumbing or have our talls spoil it to the boundary line where we can have a stoppage.

Dylan82 should come up what plan B should be though.

Improve on our around the ground stoppage clearances.

We're one of the best centre bounce teams in the comp in large thanks to Nic Nat but our stoppage clearances leave much to be desired. Strong contested ball and clearance teams (not us) beat us in around the ground stoppages as they shark Nic Nat's taps at will. We just cannot seem to hold a tackle so the oppo can get an easy clearance from us.

Under Mitchell our stoppage plan was to STOP the oppo from winning the clearances and any clearance we won was a BONUS. Now we set up our stoppages like win or bust so if we win, we normally score but if we lose they normally score and that's not sustainable. We need to be more defensive during stoppages and allow Nic Nat to bring the ball to them or clears it himself rather than going after the footy. It's like cricket on letting the ball come to you rather than going after the ball. Also we need that odd set play to make use of Nic Nat's tap accuracy.


We need a proper tackling and midfield coach. We also must improve our ground ball gets.

Too many times this season, the oppo breaks tackles from us with ease, heck even Norf broke the most tackles against us which is very damning considering they're bottom 2. How did we allow Greenwood to get past three of our players? Because they can't lay a goddamn tackle to save their lives. Tackling is more of technique as Cameron who looks small can lay a crunching tackle that sticks unlike most players in our team. Our players need to learn to look at the hips because too many times they get sidestepped so easily. We're literally one of the WORST tackling teams in the comp and we're also trash at ground ball gets which will cost us big during the H&A season or in finals.

It's clear that Van Berlo is a downgrade on Mitchell so we should be going after Don Pyke as our midfield coach as he's had a good record coaching Adelaide and he's a good tactician too. We should also bring Priddis or a former rugby union player as our tackling coach and teach the boys a choke tackle where you pin the oppo's arms so they don't get that free handball away. Would also like to see Woosha comeback as an assistant coach as he can provide inspiration and motivation to the boys to get them hungry again. The coaches better drill our guys to put their head down and go and win the footy at ALL costs regardless if we give a free but ideally we don't give a free though.


The medical team needs a review.

How did we allow Shuey to continue playing when he done his hammy again? We should've sat him out so he'll either miss a week at worst or play the following game. The big one is why was Yeo allowed or required to do heavy training which flared up his OP which caused him to miss out the rest of the year therefore costing us the season. Maybe there should be a review on why our players kept getting injured late in the season but that's most likely because we had to play 5 games in 19 days which can't be good for the body. We'll need to be managing player workloads for the season so we don't have an injury crisis.


We need leg speed in our midfield.

During our losses, teams with fast leg speed in their midfield killed us on the spread and they're quick enough to run two ways as well and block off any options when we kick mark. Even the Pies killed us on the transition during our EF loss. Petch has that leg speed but doesn't look like an AFL standard player as he barely chases and only quick with ball in hand and his disposals are messy as. Kelly, Sheed, Redden and maybe even Gaff don't posses fast leg speed although they have the class and polish but are too slow to run the other way like the 2017 team with Mitchell and Priddis.


We need small forwards who can crumb to step up and we need to also improve our forward pressure.

Ever since losing Rioli and Venables meant that we lose tackling pressure, flair and crumbing ability. No Rioli meant that we didn't have the crumbing ability and flair needed in our F50 so we have to rely on Ryan to pick up on the slack which he's been great at since he won AA. No Venables meant that we lost tackling pressure and crumbing ability and he does those selfless things very well. Too many times oppo teams have been able to rebound out of our F50 with ease due to Dicky McGeezaks forward pressure.

We may not have Venables next year so we'll need Cameron to perform consistently and provide that tackling pressure and crumbing ability that Venables did if he isn't available next year as he's one head knock away from retirement. Since we most likely won't have Rioli for a while, I reckon Jetta should play as that small forward as he can crumb, tackle, pressure and he's one of the best kicks in the competition and can provide the flair and creativity that Rioli did. We can also rotate Shuey, Sheed and Kelly there too. Would also love to see Jones play as well as he can stick that tackle and pressure as well.

The other small forwards needs to contribute more goals.

Our main forwards are getting the job done.
  • JK has kicked 34 goals.
  • Darling has kicked 30 goals.
  • Allen has kicked 18 goals.
  • Ryan has kicked 26 goals.
This is what our other small forwards are contributing. To be fair some of them didn't play a lot this season.
  • Cripps has kicked 9 goals but he's an important part of our team but he'll need to be more consistent in 2021 with his pressure and goalkicking. Did have to miss some games to see the birth of his child.
  • Petch has kicked only two goals but he did spent most of the season injured and didn't play any WAFL due to injury. However he's been poor in his past three games with his radar being off but maybe he hasn't got his touch back.
  • Cameron only kicked 2 goals but he's coming of the same injury that Yeo has now and wasn't playing at full fitness but he's a real weapon at his best. Has barley played this season though.
  • AhChee only kicked 6 goals playing mainly as a forward which he should've kicked more but goes missing too often. Would like to see him spend more midfield minutes.
  • Reid, only kicked the one goal in a small sample size and he shows some glimpses of talent but can he perform well on a consistent basis though is the question.
  • Jones has looked good in this two games but injuries have hampered him this season.
  • Waterman has been important for us with his link up play and work rate and he kicked 9 goals. In his last four matches it seemed like he was playing more higher and playing as that extra tall defender. Can go missing at times though.


Barrass and McGovern need to stop going after the SAME ball and we need Rotham or Edwards to be our new lockdown KPD since Schoey retired.

Too many times this season Barrass and Gov go after the same ball which if they don't mark, the oppo forward crumbs it and goals (see Richmond game). Both Gov and Barrass are attacking style defenders so they lack accountability on their opponents and hoping the oppo rushes the kick so they can intercept. The problem about that is when the oppo get it clear from congestion and kill is on the spread, all of a sudden Barrass and Gov get exposed when the ball comes in quick. Gov is actually one of the best one on one defenders in the comp so he's not the problem when it comes to one on one, the problem is Barrass. Barrass's one on one ability is suspect as Cox managed to kick three goals in a few minutes, gave a way free kicks to Tom Lynch and Charlie Dixon gave him a bath that Schoey had to be switched on him. He operates best when he's running and jumping at the ball, not on a one on one wrestle.

Also Barrass will need to get even stronger at the core if he's going to hold more strongly in a one on one wrestle against the likes of Dixon, Hawkins and Lynch. He'll also need to develop the nous to know when to leave his man and impact a contest or stay on his man like Hurn and Harris Andrews does because they are times when he can get caught in no mans land of neither zoning off nor playing on his man. Time for him to develop the ability to also shut down his man while still being attacking.

As I said plenty of times, the EF match against the Pies was lost in the selection table when Schoey and Jetta weren't selected. We needed a third KPD to free up Gov and Barrass as they played a lot better together whenever Schoey was in the team as they knew Schoey would be on their man so they can zone off and intercept. So we need Rotham to be that lock down KPD on the oppo's best key forward (ideally in athletic type as he maybe a bit small for those gorillas), that's where Edwards comes in. Edwards will need to be developed as a lockdown KPD on gorilla types as he does have the height and size to play on them.


No holidaying please.

Well thanks to coronavirus restrictions, players cannot travel interstate let alone around the globe, instead we need to be working hard, improving our tanks especially for Waterman and Nelson. We have to spend the whole pre season training practicing with a WET footy for rainy and dewy conditions, practicing plan B, playing in wet weather or dewy conditions, tackling with a PROPER tackling coach, putting our heads down at the footy at ANY costs, getting to the footy FIRST, kicking set shots while FATIGUED, have OPEN training to simulate crowd conditions, develop players to play a solid role, review the medical team and learn what happened in 2020. We also have to work out on being more defensive with that odd set play during stoppages and winning a clearance is a bonus.


EVERYONE needs to show hunger.

It's no coincidence that Nic Nat, Sheppard, Gaff (40 man AA team) and Ryan were named in the AA team. Well Ryan's seems to be the only premiership player who shows hunger and Nic Nat, Sheppard and Gaff also show that hunger after missing out on a flag in 2018. We seem to play much better as the underdogs as everyone tends to play with hunger and motivation so hopefully we're underdogs next year so our players can feel tht hunger for that second premiership medal.


Kelly needs to be more consistent.

Tim Kelly has been great statistically this year but he hasn't had that match winning impact in some games of the season. We'll need him to stand up more often if we're gonna have a shot at the flag next year. In the EF, no one else stood up when Kelly got a hard tag from Greenwood therefore forcing Collingwood to make a change.

What my best 22 team should look like in 2021.

B: Sheppard, Barrass, Hurn
HB: Rotham, McGovern, Nelson
C: Sheed, Shuey, Gaff
HF: Cripps, Darling, Jetta
F: Ryan, Kennedy, Allen
R: Nic Nat, Kelly, Yeo
I/C: Duggan, Brander, Cameron, Redden

Rotating in the side: Waterman, Cole or Watson (yeah we can give Hurn, Nelson and Duggan a rest), XON, Hutch could come in should we need a hard TAG, Hickey (when Nic Nat needs a rest), Williams OR Vardy (to rest either Nic Nat, JK, Darling and Allen), AhChee, Edwards (to rest one of our KPDs) and Jones (to rest one of our small forwards).

Not AFL Standard atm (although some of them may make the jump to AFL standard): Petch, Ainsworth, Brayshaw, Foley and Reid.

Very harsh that I left Cole and Waterman out sorry about that. Nelson and Duggan can be part of the midfield rotations as they both provide hardness we desperately need around the footy alongside Yeo. We may have to rotate between Nelson, Cole and Duggan on a weekly basis and we may also have to rotate between Redden, Waterman, Cameron and Brander depending on the match ups. They probably won't play in every game but they'll still get a good number of games in. Depending on the situation we can always rest one of our gun players during the year to give someone an opportunity at AFL level.


I may make a part 2 of this post soon.
 

Doashuey

Premiership Player
Sep 13, 2017
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TL;DR but seeing Jetta in the run on side and no Waterman in 2021 tells me the post may be working on some strange assumptions. He is finished.
 

DanWCE

Brownlow Medallist
Apr 2, 2015
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EDIT: A lot of the stuff I was talking to in my previous post aren't things that cost money or things that cost alot of money. It is relationships with local community, organisations etc. It's having the right people in the right roles that have an understanding of some of the issues some players are confronted with. It's having a club that is engaged in community from the top down. That stuff isn't necessarily spending money.

The 2021 footy department will be soft capped at 6.2 million.

There are exemption from the cap:

-Up to 200K for Indigenous and female staff for 2021 (up to 4 staff @ 50K each - we currently have 2 Indigenous staff Narkle and Bateman)
-minimum spend of 580K on mental health/wellbeing. A club can choose to spend an extra 200K (780K total spend) and it is outside the soft cap
- First 100K over the soft cap is taxed at on 75%.

If you put those three things together that is a potential 400K (+ 75K tax) in the cap (100K for Indig staff + 200K for mental health + willingness to pay75K tax to spend an extra 100K).

That would bring the entire footy dept spend up to 6.6million with a 75K tax bill to the AFL

Worth it if it means being able to allocate resources that allow us to recruit and support people like Liam Ryan.

Sources:

I see where you're coming from. I'm not stating it as my opinion that we couldn't afford to take a risk on some players as we won't have a decent welfare dept, that's essentially what Adam Simpson has come out himself and said. I suspect it's a barb to the AFL to either allow the welfare dept to operate entirely outside the cap or to lift the soft cap, but his comments must be taken with some merit.

In any case I'm not keen on Taylor and think if he wants to find his way onto an AFL list after the Swans give him the boot, he will need to show his dedication to bettering himself and his game and push for another shot.
 
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