Nice. I like the effort at ranking by position, though it would be interesting to see what, if anything changes, if you rank players across more than one position.Every offseason I find myself cranking out these lists out like Tibetan prayers, hoping that one day we'll actually see our Best 22 in the same side. My attempt includes player rankings at each position to try and and justify my selections. But mostly I've tried to go with how I see the club rating our players at their preferred positions.
PLAYER RANKING BY POSITION
TALL BACKS
Notes: While Hamling was once our #1 FB, a couple of years out of the game have seen others go past him. There would be very little between Logue and Chapman but both players are pretty versatile, so I was happy putting both in my best 22 ahead of more medium defenders.
- Alex Pearce*
- Brennan Cox*
- Griffin Logue*
- Heath Chapman*
- Joel Hamling
SMALL / MEDIUM DEFENDERS
Notes: I felt compelled to slot Jordan Clark on a HBF given everything said by himself and the club about this being his “best position”. Also, I don’t mean to be so harsh on Wilson but I suspect the club was less than impressed with some of his defensive lapses in 2021. The club probably rates Hughes over Walker but I’m suspect to a little wishful thinking, opting for x-factor over reliability.
- Luke Ryan*
- Hayden Young*
- Jordan Clark*
- Brandon Walker
- Ethan Hughes
- Nathan Wilson
MIDS (CENTRES / FOLLOWERS)
Notes: Top 5 are pretty clear-cut though I could be convinced to switch spots for Brayshaw and Serong. After that it’s pure speculation as to how I see the club ranking our players, starting with a bit of optimism that Johnson goes past Crowden and co by the time we need to access that level of our depth chart.
- Nathan Fyfe*
- David Mundy*
- Caleb Serong*
- Andrew Brayshaw*
- Darcy Tucker
- Matthew Johnson
- Mitch Crowden
- Will Brodie
- Connor Blakely
- Joel Western
- Luke Valente
WINGS
Notes: Yeah, yeah, wings are mids too, but I thought it was worth noting the position separately as we’d want at least 2 genuine wings playing in any given game with support provided from the other mids and flankers. In terms of the wing rankings, I think Freddy went past Aish last year, but of course Aish had the more consistent season. I’ve also taken the club at it’s word to put Henry in this group.
- Michael Frederick*
- James Aish*
- Liam Henry*
- Nathan O’Driscoll
- Blake Acres
- Karl Worner
SMALL / MEDIUM FORWARD
Notes: I surprised myself with Colyer ranked at #3 but I think the club really rates the speed he brings to the game. Sturt’s behind Erasmus and Switta as I feel the injuries have set him back.
- Michael Walters*
- Lachie Shultz*
- Travis Colyer*
- Neil Erasmus*
- Sam Switkowski
- Sam Sturt
TALL FORWARDS
Notes: While I have Lobb as our #3 forward, realistically he’d probably be selected ahead of Treacy as he’s also our #2 ruck.
- Matthew Taberner*
- Josh Treacy*
- Rory Lobb*
- Jye Amiss
RUCKS
Notes: Not a lot to say here other than Benning’s versatility forward could see him preferred over Lloyd down the track.
- Sean Darcy*
- Lloyd Meek
- Eric Benning
*BEST 22:
Logue Pearce Ryan
Clark Cox Young
Freddy Mundy Aish
Darcy Fyfe Serong
Colyer Taberner Walters
Shultz Treacy Lobb
Int: Chapman, Brayshaw, Henry, Erasmus
One immediate change I'd suggest is Brayshaw starting centre and Mundy on the bench. That seemed to be the favoured approach last season, IIRC, and as evergreen as he is, Mundy's a year older nonetheless.
I also find it hard to imagine the club leaving Switta out of a Rd1 22 if he's fit and coming off a full pre-season. Often injured, to be sure, but he had a sensational start last year, and then did some nice work as an impact mid towards the end. I have no idea who makes way for him, though. I would say Erasmus, except he offers a real point of difference from the others. Coin flip between Colyer and Henry, maybe?