Rumour GFC 2021 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists... Part II

[Art Vandelay_]

Thankfully it isn't just the fan base anymore, but the ceo and recruiters are moving there too. It's time to shift and needs senior games into young players. Smith is a fuphy.
Dahlhaus, Higgins, Rohan, Menegola,
Even Selwood, Stanley and Tuohy need spells

Bigfooty: the only place where it is better to be young and shit than old and good.

 

[Turbocat]

Window is jan to march and yes clubs can have anyone train with them now just cant sign them til jan. I assume we will hear after christmas if we have anyone training with us. I agree we might leave the spot open til mid season which allows us half a year to see nab league/vfl form etc.

As the list is locked for another 12 months bar the one rookie position... thats what interests me in this thread.


.... do we have the right to sign anyone who has been passed over in either drafts? So we could arrange, 3 players we like to train with us if the players were willing, perhaps as VFL options and if we really like someone add them?

 

[Hamingja]

The hbf and smaller lockdown types I think we're fine for.

We need those players to have footskills, which Stewart aside they don't. Using a high pick on someone that can defend AND use the footy would be a big priority for me moving forward.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

We need those players to have footskills, which Stewart aside they don't. Using a high pick on someone that can defend AND use the footy would be a big priority for me moving forward.

Yeah maybe but I wouldn't want to put it all on the kicker. With the new mids we have drafted they all seem to be decent overhead marks for their size and athletically gifted runners so maybe having mids that can create better options is part of it. Also pushing new mids in might move MOC permanently to hbf and he is a decent kick in my opinion. Stevens also.

 

[Big little cat]

Yeah maybe but I wouldn't want to put it all on the kicker. With the new mids we have drafted they all seem to be decent overhead marks for their size and athletically gifted runners so maybe having mids that can create better options is part of it. Also pushing new mids in might move MOC permanently to hbf and he is a decent kick in my opinion. Stevens also.

You would have to think the club has circled a few players for this last list spot? For example, they possibly have spoken with Matt Ling or Schlensog etc

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Very poor post. But it is to be expected, so much arrogance has seeped into this fanbase that making finals every year is now something to clench fists and rage at. Some clubs make finals 1-2 times a decade and we’re ungrateful at doing it annually. We have one of the worst sets of fans in the country.

Smith was one of our better players and someone is wanting him moved aside for a 0 gamer. fu** that. That’s what caught my attention and ire. Like big whoop for wanting to see Stevens.

We are an amazing Club - we have defied gravity and stayed in Finals for such a long period in this era of AFL equalisation.
We have come close at times since 2011 but even us rusted on Cats fans have to admit we have been Finals under performers.

Clearly it’s now time for a change else we will be the definition of insanity.
IMHO we need to freshen the team by introducing more youth to address our ageing profile and we need a game plan change to quicker ball movement.
The game plan needs to happen now in training and the list profile changes can be more gradual based on performance- but 2022 will see the morphing of this side hopefully into a genuine contender in 3-5 years.
I like what we’ve done at the draft- a genuine ruck and athletic , tough mids who are good ball users and seemingly good at the contest.
Celglar as a back up now ruck and Stengle as a goal kicking small forward are also good strategic moves.
I’m prepared for less home and away wins but if that puts games into kids who will be our next era I’m ok with that

 

[Pure_Ownage]

What? We aren’t going to play Smith till he’s 39?! And wheel Higgins out onto the ground in a wheelchair to play?

No ones suggesting 39 but smith on form is still in our top 6 or 7 players as hawkins is and i doubt anyone is suggesting to drop the latter. I want youth in too but you do it by dropping your bottom 6 in the 22 older guys (ie dahlhaus higgins rohan plus stanley or ceglar if they dont perform etc) not your top half dozen players. Thats no recipe for success.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

As the list is locked for another 12 months bar the one rookie position... thats what interests me in this thread.


.... do we have the right to sign anyone who has been passed over in either drafts? So we could arrange, 3 players we like to train with us if the players were willing, perhaps as VFL options and if we really like someone add them?

We can sign anyone to our vfl list so long as that list isnt full which it isnt.
Our last afl rookie spot can be filled in the SSP period 9th jan-10th march if we dont fill it by then we cant fill it til the MSD on 1st june.
As far as i know anyone who nominated for the draft and was passed over is eligible for the MSD can be added to our last rookie spot but im not 1000% sure on that.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

We need those players to have footskills, which Stewart aside they don't. Using a high pick on someone that can defend AND use the footy would be a big priority for me moving forward.

Stewart does have run and carry and footskills as does tuohy when we use him in that role as does henry which is why if we could find another kpd to free henry up we would have a really damaging back half runner. Long term it will be interesting to see if knevitt starts in that role at vfl level. I did find it interesting that we used duncan more off half back late in finals and i wonder if we do that more.

 

[Down at K Park]

Very poor post. But it is to be expected, so much arrogance has seeped into this fanbase that making finals every year is now something to clench fists and rage at. Some clubs make finals 1-2 times a decade and we’re ungrateful at doing it annually. We have one of the worst sets of fans in the country.

Smith was one of our better players and someone is wanting him moved aside for a 0 gamer. fu** that. That’s what caught my attention and ire. Like big whoop for wanting to see Stevens.

Poor post lol.

More salt than the dead sea.

It’s such a shame that steve hocking wants to move forward, must suck for the rusted on “i love being humiliated in finals” crew.

 

[Larry Donohue]

Bigfooty: the only place where it is better to be young and sh*t than old and good.

Point missed entirely. And by the way, I love Smith's role in the team. Particularly if he passes it on to a younger player in a couple of years.
When the pressure is on though, a number of our players are shown to not be "old and good"

 

[Strange Cat]

Point missed entirely. And by the way, I love Smith's role in the team. Particularly if he passes it on to a younger player in a couple of years.
When the pressure is on though, a number of our players are shown to not be "old and good"

I’m starting to think it’s more the midfield than the people around the ground that you can lay the blame on personally

 

[Down at K Park]

Point missed entirely. And by the way, I love Smith's role in the team. Particularly if he passes it on to a younger player in a couple of years.
When the pressure is on though, a number of our players are shown to not be "old and good"

I love how they insinuate that we want the club to ditch all the old players, and play young ones. It’s not about that at all, it’s about replacing certain players with youngsters with more room for improvement. It might be 2 or 3 players, or it might be 5 or 6. It’s not about throwing the baby out with the bathwater and starting from zero.

Ironically it’s the same strategy that their lord and saviour chris scott used in 2011, when he brought in duncan, menzel, christenson etc.

 

[Strange Cat]

If we can use the kids for a sustained period and rest the older players for hopefully another finals tilt we will be in a better place , the problem over the last few years has been that the midfield had been too tired by finals and get absolutely slaughtered when they need to be able to stand up .

 

[Shadow89]

Big Footy: the only place where a guy who finished 4th in our B+F at his first season at the club, and played like he was a decade younger than a lot of our 'oldies', can be shitcanned and put up for replacement - in a spot where we don't have any young kids to replace him in anyway.

All of Dahl, Higgins, Menegola, Kolo, Atkins, Miers, Rohan, Sav, Tuohy and even Sel, should be talked about before Smith - in regards to dropping more experienced players for new blood.

He didn't miss a beat last season, provided something we sorely needed, and was the 4th best player at our club for the season - according to the coaches.

Also, as I said before, we only have Holmes as a possible young winger (I think he'll be an inside mid anyway)...and there's two wing spots. Even if we wanted to play Holmes there, we still need someone on the other wing too.

This is what people forget when they talk about dropping players and replacing them - they have to actually be able to play that position that they're being thrust into. Hell, look what happened with Clark. Was lost at sea on the wing and up forward.

Either way, Smith has one year left, and we can reassess then. Until someone actually puts their hand up for that winger role, or we draft one, then what's the point in putting a kid there for the sake of it? It won't help the team, and it'll just hurt the kid's development like it did with Clark.

We can have all of Willis, Neale, Kroeger, Stephens, SDK, Stengle, Evans, Simpson, Knevitt etc. get games next year, and we can do that by moving our senior players around - so that the young players can play in the positions they were drafted for..

For example, in any one game we could do this (I tried explaining something similar to this in another thread but I'll try being clearer this time so there's no drama):

Dropped from Best 22:

Kolo, Atkins, Menegola, Miers, Rohan, Stanley/Ceglar

Rested (only play max 14 games next year): Sel, Tuohy


Spots available: 8


B: O'Connor, SDK, Henry
HB: Stewart, Blics, Bews
C: I. Smith, C. Stephens, Holmes
FO: Ceglar/Stanley, Guth, Parfitt
HF: Dunc, J. Cameron, Danger
F: Close, Hawk, Stengle
INT: Willis (mid/half fwd), Kroeger (mid/half back), Knevitt (3rd tall/inside mid), Neale (2nd ruck/full forward)
Med sub: Simpson

EMG: Stanley/Ceglar/Sav, Menegola/Higgins, Kolo/Atkins/Stevens, Miers/Evans/Rohan

************************

Now this is a very extreme example of how this would work - and there's no chance in hell that it will happen -, but, there is plenty of scope to 'blood' players in their correct positions, without just dropping every player over the age of 26 - like some on BF think is the only way to transition a list.

Smith is still a very good player, and unless we have someone come through, in both wing spots to displace him, then it's highly unnecessary to drop him just for the sake of blooding kids - when there's so many other positions we can do that in, with kids who actually play those positions.

 

[Down at K Park]

So we are clear i have never mentioned smith as being one in the gun. He had a great year. I’d be looking at rohan, kolo, higgins, bews, moc, dahl, stanley etc. The rest should be based on form. If they aren’t in form, replace them too.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

I’m starting to think it’s more the midfield than the people around the ground that you can lay the blame on personally

Bingo. Been that way for 4-5 years.
Whenever we lose a big final the midfield has gone missing.

Yet the rhetoric on here is about bews, Kolo, Blicavs, Henry, Hawkins, Rohan et al being the issue. Nonsense

 

[Two Planks]

Herald Sun say cats are unlikely to invite anybody to train over the summer and are more likely to wait until mid season draft to fill last list spot.

 

[Down at K Park]

Herald Sun say cats are unlikely to invite anybody to train over the summer and are more likely to wait until mid season draft to fill last list spot.

I think that’s a better approach having that flexibility for injury coverage. Especially if those injuries are from players who play a particular position.

 

[Shadow89]

Herald Sun say cats are unlikely to invite anybody to train over the summer and are more likely to wait until mid season draft to fill last list spot.

...this is interesting...suggests to me that they're really going all in with SDK this season - as there'll be no competition besides Kolo for that other key defensive post.

If he wants it, and he's good enough - it's his

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I love how they insinuate that we want the club to ditch all the old players, and play young ones. It’s not about that at all, it’s about replacing certain players with youngsters with more room for improvement. It might be 2 or 3 players, or it might be 5 or 6. It’s not about throwing the baby out with the bathwater and starting from zero.

Ironically it’s the same strategy that their lord and saviour chris scott used in 2011, when he brought in duncan, menzel, christenson etc.

Agreed but if you remember in 2011-12 we replaced the older players whose performance was starting to wane such as mooney milburn and then byrnes not those who were old but still performing very well (chapman ling enright ottens scarlett etc etc). The equivalents in 2022 would be (performance on the wane) guys like dahlhaus rohan higgins and maybe stanley and tuohy not guys like hawkins and smith who are clearly still ib our top 6 players despite being our oldest. This is the point.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Herald Sun say cats are unlikely to invite anybody to train over the summer and are more likely to wait until mid season draft to fill last list spot.

Its a calculated gamble..its better in the sense you get half a year of form to pick a kid out of nab league or someone from your vfl team rather than having to pick them now without seeing form. The only issue is if you lose blitz in round 4 to a 2 month injury you cant bring in a replacement til mid season so for those 2 months we would have to restructure. But i think a lot of clubs will hold a rookie spot open til mid season and i can see why.

 

[Sire of Claude]

Smith is obviously best 22 and I'm one of those who want significant change. Smith is well ahead of Atkins, Bews, Kolo, Higgins, Dal and Parfitt.

I see Lewis Rayson will train with the Suns - I liked him. Blayne Oloughlin, Ferres, and Josh Browne would be excellent rookies, given it now seems, as suggested above, the selectors might go with Sam DeK, as they should.

 

[Strange Cat]

Smith isn’t the issue of this list , the midfield is clearly the weakest area in the finals

 

[Turbocat]

Herald Sun say cats are unlikely to invite anybody to train over the summer and are more likely to wait until mid season draft to fill last list spot.

It probably has its advantages, if we consider that a number of players taken last year were players missed that developed and would have been taken in the 2021 draft. Add that so many have missed games due to covid.