Your clubs 26 and under side

[Rich01]

Paul Puopolo 3 premierships. Garry Ablett Snr - 0.

To bring Ablett Snr into the discussion to devalue Daniel Rioli’s contribution to our flags is a high point for me. Particularly from a supporter who has never seen their club win one.

 

[cherrypie]

Ben Cunnington
Todd Goldstein
Robbie Tarrant
Jed Anderson
Jack Ziebell
Jarred Polec
Aidan Corr
Luke McDonald
Trent dumont
Shuan Atley

That’s 10 very experienced players that would be either locks or close to locks for starting 22. So close to half the team. Far from “none”.

They would be supported if needed by Aaron Hall, Josh Walker, Kayne Turner, Taylor Garner, Dom Tyson, Tom Campbell. So another 6 players that are very experienced but hopefully aren’t playing much footy in 2021.

Bit harsh on Josh Walker? I'd have him comfortably in your best 22 based on 2020

 

[WilloTree]

To bring Ablett Snr into the discussion to devalue Daniel Rioli’s contribution to our flags is a high point for me. Particularly from a supporter who has never seen their club win one.

woah, calm down there. I think you may have misunderstood the point.

 

[Rich01]

woah, calm down there. I think you may have misunderstood the point.

Please understand - I wasn’t meaning to offend.

To compare Ablett (Snr or Jnr) to Rioli though is ridiculous. No one is saying he’s of that quality.

Every team needs a pressure forward. Some misunderstand the importance of the position (mainly the uneducated in the game). You see a few of them on the last couple of pages of this thread.

Our flags are won on team contribution and he’s played his part in all of them.

Hopefully you will have a player such as Dan you need to defend on Bigfooty for being a contributor in three of Freos flags.

 

[Rich01]

He was also just pipped for the Neon Leon worst on ground medal. 1 kick for a gain of -4m

I’m sure Lenny would trade his 2010 drawn GF Normy for three flags in a heartbeat (had to look up who won that drawn GF Normy, it’s a bit of a forgotten piece of history already).

 

[the big lebowski]

Bit harsh on Josh Walker? I'd have him comfortably in your best 22 based on 2020

Probably fair. We did get Corr though.

He might be playing forward more than backline. Though I’m sure the club would prefer to start playing Comben. And the word is that we might play 2 rucks.

But you’re right he deserves games based on his 2020.

 

[Schulzenfest]

Paul Puopolo is a pretty adept comparison for Rioli actually.

Prime Puopolo was a significantly better footballer than Daniel Rioli is.

 

[#gosaintas]

I’m sure Lenny would trade his 2010 drawn GF Normy for three flags in a heartbeat (had to look up who won that drawn GF Normy, it’s a bit of a forgotten piece of history already).

Goddard deserved that medal I've always thought but yeah, what's a medal when you don't win

 

[RUNVS]

Goddard deserved that medal I've always thought but yeah, what's a medal when you don't win

I firmly believe LRT was robbed of the 2005 Norm Smith. If LRT had a bigger name and bigger profile he would have gotten it.

 

[Obeanie1]

I’m sure Lenny would trade his 2010 drawn GF Normy for three flags in a heartbeat (had to look up who won that drawn GF Normy, it’s a bit of a forgotten piece of history already).

And what has this got to do with D Rioli being a very lucky and fortunate triple premiership player?

It actually proves the point.....he has been very lucky.

 

[Obeanie1]

Youre comparing Rioli in the GF vs Higgins? How does that work for you?

How many times was Rioli dropped in 2020?

He had a pretty poor season.

You disagree?

 

[#gosaintas]

How many times was Rioli dropped in 2020?

He had a pretty poor season.

You disagree?

Plus worst on ground in the gf

 

[ZedNotZee]

FB: Paton (35) Howard (64) Wilkie (41)
HB: Long (34) Battle (40) Coffield (36)
C: Billings (126) Crouch (95) Jones (106)
HF: Gresham (92) Membrey (110) Sinclair (98)
FF: Higgins (43) King (18) Butler (64)
R: Marshall (52) Steele (97) Clark (47)
Int: Lonie (76) Dunstan (104) Bytel (3) Kent (91)

I’ve put games played in brackets to show that each player aside from Bytel has proven themselves to be at least serviceable at AFL level. I’m not saying each player will develop into a superstar because they’ve played at the highest level 30-odd times, but it does mean this side isn’t banking on players who are definitely tearing up the state leagues unlike any young player without any exposure at AFL level before him. I’ve been burned by the Tom Curren’s and Sam Dunell

Sam Dunell

Age

34

Ht

189cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.3

2star

K

5.5

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.7

4star

T

1.5

3star

CL

0.5

2star

No current season stats available

D

9.4

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.4

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.4

4star

CL

0.4

3star

’s of the world too many times.

In my opinion it’s one of the stronger sides out there but with a noticeable lack of tall depth – something we’ve tried to address in the recent draft with the admittedly-undersized Allison & Highmore (both 192cm). These two alongside the likes of Membrey (190cm), Battle (193cm) and Wilkie (191cm) mean we're well stocked in not-quite-tall talls.

A good question to have is where we see Marshall and Battle playing? In Marshall's case, it's a matter of whether he will be our number one ruck or a KPF/second ruck as he is now behind Ryder. We don't have any developing rucks on our list save for Alabakis, so it's far more likely he'll take the reigns as our number one ruck. For Battle, it again comes down to his height and the fact that his current best position of third forward is already occupied by Membrey. In 2019 he was a full-time defender, last year he was a swing-man, his versatility is a blessing and a curse.

Our midfield is almost at a crossroads, as if the likes of Clark and Bytel can develop as Saints fans hope and Gresham can transition into the midfield full-time, they could form a premiership-quality midfield with Steele and Crouch. That is a big if though, as we can look to Dunstan on the bench as a player Saints fans hoped would develop into a quality midfielder who is now handy depth at best.

I would cautiously say that 16 players are walk-up starts (for the Saints best 22, not every team, there's no Daniel Rioli

17

Daniel Rioli

Age

27

Ht

179cm

Wt

78kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.2

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

5.4

4star

M

2.7

3star

T

3.2

5star

MG

179.2

3star

D

8.1

2star

K

4.9

2star

HB

3.3

2star

M

2.0

2star

T

2.6

4star

MG

144.9

3star

D

9.0

3star

K

3.8

2star

HB

5.2

4star

M

0.8

1star

T

3.8

5star

MG

160.2

3star

in our squad after all) and we've got a very solid base, we just need more players to join Steele in taking that next step from solid into AA-quality.

 

[Instincts]

FB: Paton (35) Howard (64) Wilkie (41)
HB: Long (34) Battle (40) Coffield (36)
C: Billings (126) Crouch (95) Jones (106)
HF: Gresham (92) Membrey (110) Sinclair (98)
FF: Higgins (43) King (18) Butler (64)
R: Marshall (52) Steele (97) Clark (47)
Int: Lonie (76) Dunstan (104) Bytel (3) Kent (91)

Weird how a 26 and under side this impressive IMO is on the oldest list in the competition (yes it's older than Geelong's)

 

[ZedNotZee]

Weird how a 26 and under side this impressive IMO is on the oldest list in the competition (yes it's older than Geelong's)

It seems strange on paper but I'd say this is a feature, not a bug. Rightly or wrongly, Saints hierarchy looked at essentially the side I posted and decided it was primed for a sustained push at the ultimate glory. This meant we prioritised trading picks for players like Ryder (32), Hannebery (29), Hill (27), Crouch (26), Howard (24), Butler (24) and Higgins (21) in the last few years rather than investing in the draft (along with picking up McKernan & Frawley for depth).

As a result of these trades, we now only have 5 players on our list under 21 (Bytel, King, Byrnes, Connolly & Allison). To counter that, we also only have 7 players 29 or older with only three of those players (Ryder, Hannebery & Carlisle) what I would consider best 22.

Rather than continuing to add 3-4 18 year olds to our list each year, we've strengthened our core and backed in our 21-27 demographic to get us our second flag. Now it's just the small matter of actually winning the damn thing.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Anyone remember when these used to be 22 and under sides, then 23 and under and now its 26 and under

The Grandpa Rookie list sure as blown this number out alot

 

[Mat Mann]

Weird how a 26 and under side this impressive IMO is on the oldest list in the competition (yes it's older than Geelong's)

Ryder - 32
Geary - 32
Hanneberry -29
Roberton - 29
Carlisle - 28

add

Frawley - 32
McKernan - 30
Crouch - 26

minus bulk draft picks for 2 years
we have 1x18 yo and 2x19yo's
meant a lot of our list is in that age bracket

27 on the list between the age of 20 and 27

 

[Instincts]

It seems strange on paper but I'd say this is a feature, not a bug. Rightly or wrongly, Saints hierarchy looked at essentially the side I posted and decided it was primed for a sustained push at the ultimate glory. This meant we prioritised trading picks for players like Ryder (32), Hannebery (29), Hill (27), Crouch (26), Howard (24), Butler (24) and Higgins (21) in the last few years rather than investing in the draft (along with picking up McKernan & Frawley for depth).

As a result of these trades, we now only have 5 players on our list under 21 (Bytel, King, Byrnes, Connolly & Allison). To counter that, we also only have 7 players 29 or older with only three of those players (Ryder, Hannebery & Carlisle) what I would consider best 22.

Rather than continuing to add 3-4 18 year olds to our list each year, we've strengthened our core and backed in our 21-27 demographic to get us our second flag. Now it's just the small matter of actually winning the damn thing.

I'd say the list management has seemed, strange to me atleast but it's paying off really well so far, I thought at the end of 2019 the Saints should have hit the draft and not bring in what I thought were unrequired players, Ryder seemed the most unusual because Marshall did a really good job as a solo ruck but the mix between the two alternating between forward/ruck has worked really well.

I would be saying they'd be eyeing up a top 4 slot next year but the fixture has done you guys really rough.

 

[goodie23]

I'd say the list management has seemed, strange to me atleast but it's paying off really well so far, I thought at the end of 2019 the Saints should have hit the draft and not bring in what I thought were unrequired players, Ryder seemed the most unusual because Marshall did a really good job as a solo ruck but the mix between the two alternating between forward/ruck has worked really well.

I would be saying they'd be eyeing up a top 4 slot next year but the fixture has done you guys really rough.

With the benefit of hindsight, Ryder was a move ahead of time. Bringing him in helped with luring Hill but more importantly we got a playing coach to help Marshall improve in his weakest area - tapwork. Hopefully a couple of years of Ryder's tutelage can elevate Marshall to one of, if not the best rucks in the league.

 

[Rich01]

Plus worst on ground in the gf

Nah, he was a contributor in a flag.
That honour would go to Rohan, or Parfitt. Or Harry Taylor in his last game.

 

[owen87]

Nah, he was a contributor in a flag.
That honour would go to Rohan, or Parfitt. Or Harry Taylor in his last game.

Rohan was pretty bad. Rioli was marginally less bad.

But no one is writing essays defending Rohan.

 

[Rich01]

Rohan was pretty bad. Rioli was marginally less bad.

But no one is writing essays defending Rohan.

Whose writing essays?

 

[owen87]

Whose writing essays?

Have you missed the pages and pages of posts from a certain Richmond supporter telling everyone how good Rioli is?

 

[Meteoric Rise]

How many times was Rioli dropped in 2020?

He had a pretty poor season.

You disagree?

Rioli came back from the Covid break like a lot of our small forwards and wingers, in a bit of disarray. He was eventually left out for few matches.

Have a look at his performances from rd 11 onwards, without shooting the lights out, they were very decent, it was a really good block of form, and as is normal for Daniel Rioli, it was at the right end of the season.

So overall I would agree it wasn’t a great season from Rioli, but he has made a really good contribution in the end.

 

[#gosaintas]

Rioli came back from the Covid break like a lot of our small forwards and wingers, in a bit of disarray. He was eventually left out for few matches.

Have a look at his performances from rd 11 onwards, without shooting the lights out, they were very decent, it was a really good block of form, and as is normal for Daniel Rioli, it was at the right end of the season.

So overall I would agree it wasn’t a great season from Rioli, but he has made a really good contribution in the end.

That kick in the gf was a wonderful effort