List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion

[mattsmob]

He doesn’t want to play there. He wants to play half forward flank.

Maybe that’s why there’s a hold out on the contract. I like Cal but that’s not a great mindset to have when trying to win a premiership

 

[mpal6]

Alex Davies would be perfect to complement the next wave in terms of inside bull department. But he's looking for first 22 opportunities right now so he may not be suitable. More than likely he'll go to one of the melbourne clubs.

I think a cheap gap fill for inside bull would be Will Brodie

23

Will Brodie

Age

27

Ht

190cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.0

5star

K

8.2

3star

HB

10.8

5star

M

3.1

3star

T

4.9

5star

CL

4.1

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

4.0

1star

HB

10.0

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.0

2star

CL

3.0

4star

D

13.8

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

5.4

5star

CL

2.8

5star

. I'd ask the question for a 2-3 year contract and making it clear he'll be there to protect the younger brigade coming through.

 

[mattsmob]

I don't think we do have the depth to cover him up forward either at present.

He often spends the last 5 minutes of each quarter in the defensive half anyway, especially when it's close.

We’ve got more depth across half forward than we do small/mid defenders at the moment

 

[mattsmob]

Alex Davies would be perfect to complement the next wave in terms of inside bull department. But he's looking for first 22 opportunities right now so he may not be suitable. More than likely he'll go to one of the melbourne clubs.

I think a cheap gap fill for inside bull would be Will Brodie. I'd ask the question for a 2-3 year contract and making it clear he'll be there to protect the younger brigade coming through.

Do we really need an inside bull? Between Dunkley and Rayner there should be enough there. There’s not enough minutes to go around with the guys we already have plus Levi, Annable and maybe Fletcher going forward.

I personally don’t see the need for that kind of player

 

[rye]

ah chee was never more than serviceable as a full time defender, he is a much better forward who can play as the spare man late in quarters. i don't think its unreasonable to want to play the position that suits your strengths best.

 

[Nunez]

Maybe that’s why there’s a hold out on the contract. I like Cal but that’s not a great mindset to have when trying to win a premiership

Cal would 100% play any role the team needs him to play. Yes, he wants to play his forward role but he's a team man.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Alex Davies would be perfect to complement the next wave in terms of inside bull department. But he's looking for first 22 opportunities right now so he may not be suitable. More than likely he'll go to one of the melbourne clubs.

I think a cheap gap fill for inside bull would be Will Brodie. I'd ask the question for a 2-3 year contract and making it clear he'll be there to protect the younger brigade coming through.

Where's Dunkley going?

 

[briztoon]

Do we really need an inside bull? Between Dunkley and Rayner there should be enough there. There’s not enough minutes to go around with the guys we already have plus Levi, Annable and maybe Fletcher going forward.

I personally don’t see the need for that kind of player

Yes.

Dunkley plays as a defensive, lock down mid. He does not play play a see ball, get ball role.

None of Ashcroft, Ashcroft, Annable, Marshall or Fletcher are real in and under mids like prime time Neale was, or Matt Rowell is, or Dyson Sharp in this years draft is.

 

[mpal6]

Where's Dunkley going?

Dunkley's playing on opposition ball winners to stop them at the moment. It appears we need a bigger bodied ball winner to go in and under. I'd pay Will Brodie for that as he has consistently shown he has the bigger frame and can win the first possession under packs. He can bring our inside/outside mids like Ashcroft, McCluggage to play where they play best.

If you want Dunkley to play the in-and-under role then we need to bring Berry in as stopper releasing the wing to Marshall potentially. I'm fine with that too.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Dunkley's playing on opposition ball winners to stop them at the moment. It appears we need a bigger bodied ball winner to go in and under. I'd pay Will Brodie for that as he has consistently shown he has the bigger frame and can win the first possession under packs. He can bring our inside/outside mids like Ashcroft, McCluggage to play where they play best.

If you want Dunkley to play the in-and-under role then we need to bring Berry in as stopper releasing the wing to Marshall potentially. I'm fine with that too.

Yeah Will Brodie would make our midfield

One bad loss and we're reverting to picking up spuds

So who gets shifted out of the midfield? Are we retiring Neale?

 

[M Malice]

IF we were after an in and under beast mid I'm not a fan of Will Brodie

23

Will Brodie

Age

27

Ht

190cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.0

5star

K

8.2

3star

HB

10.8

5star

M

3.1

3star

T

4.9

5star

CL

4.1

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

4.0

1star

HB

10.0

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.0

2star

CL

3.0

4star

D

13.8

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

5.4

5star

CL

2.8

5star

... having a look through OOC players on footywire would any of these fit the description and be worth it? NO!

George Stevens(Cats)
James Worpel

29

James Worpel

Age

26

Ht

186cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.5

5star

K

12.2

5star

HB

11.3

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

4.5

5star

CL

5.1

5star

No current season stats available

D

15.6

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

9.4

5star

M

1.0

1star

T

3.2

5star

CL

1.8

4star

(Hawks)
Angus Sheldrick(Swans)

Can not see any of them getting a slot in our midfield, besides Neale at 32 years old our next oldest regular mid is Josh Dunkley

5

Josh Dunkley

Age

28

Ht

191cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.8

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

11.3

5star

M

4.3

4star

T

5.8

5star

CL

3.2

5star

D

20.7

5star

K

7.0

3star

HB

13.7

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

5.3

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

14.2

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

4.0

5star

CL

1.4

4star

(28) so no spot for them.
______________________________________________________

While looking through the OOC list I noticed KPF Isaac Keeler(21 years old, 198cm) from the Saints is OOC, I quite like the snippets I have seen of him. If OA falls through could be worth the question.

 

[mpal6]

Yeah Will Brodie would make our midfield

One bad loss and we're reverting to picking up spuds

So who gets shifted out of the midfield? Are we retiring Neale?

For the particular task we're after - to play inside bull - he's a good/cheap option. Neale's 32 turning 33 next May. You expect him to play first possession mid forever?

Gold Coast has Rowell and Anderson. In spite of that they played Davies in there to take the heat and do the crash n bash work. With Neale slowing down we need a stop gap in my view until our next wave of mids mature.

 

[mpal6]

IF we were after an in and under beast mid I'm not a fan of Will Brodie... having a look through OOC players on footywire would any of these fit the description and be worth it? NO!

George Stevens(Cats)
James Worpel(Hawks)
Angus Sheldrick(Swans)

Can not see any of them getting a slot in our midfield, besides Neale at 32 years old our next oldest regular mid is Josh Dunkley(28) so no spot for them.
______________________________________________________

While looking through the OOC list I noticed KPF Isaac Keeler(21 years old, 198cm) from the Saints is OOC, I quite liked the snippets I have seen of him. If OA falls through could be worth the question.

George Stevens(Cats) - too young, just like the rest of our midfield
James Worpel(Hawks) - Geelong are after him apparently. Would cost more.
Angus Sheldrick(Swans) - re-signed with Swans for 2 years

 

[Nathan Barley]

For the particular task we're after - to play inside bull - he's a good/cheap option. Neale's 32 turning 33 next May. You expect him to play first possession mid forever?

Gold Coast has Rowell and Anderson. In spite of that they played Davies in there to take the heat and do the crash n bash work. With Neale slowing down we need a stop gap in my view until our next wave of mids mature.

So yes. 1 game and extrapolating

We have a succession plan through the midfield and always have the option of Berry or Dev

We're also already compensating by becoming more of a turnover team and running off half back

But getting first hands on the footy or winning clearances hasn't been a consistent issue and has never been less important on winning.

 

[mpal6]

So yes. 1 game and extrapolating

We have a succession plan through the midfield and always have the option of Berry or Dev

We're also already compensating by becoming more of a turnover team and running off half back

But getting first hands on the footy or winning clearances hasn't been a consistent issue and has never been less important on winning.

So you want this to become a bigger problem and then start looking for answers mid-year next season. Got it.

Feel free to hold your position on this one, there is a problem to be addressed here one way or another - we need depth in the area of tall inside mids with big frame which we don't have currently.

 

[Nathan Barley]

So you want this to become a bigger problem and then start looking for answers mid-year next season. Got it.

Feel free to hold your position on this one, there is a problem to be addressed here one way or another - we need depth in the area of tall inside mids with big frame which we don't have currently.

Which other top teams have that depth?

 

[mpal6]

Which other top teams have that depth?

Lot of top teams are heading this direction.

Fremantle - Brayshaw, Serong, Jackson form the core. But added Hayden Young back from injury now who's a point of difference tall mid. They also rotated Matt Johnson at times through this area.
Adelaide - transitioned Dawson and Soligo to play more outside. Leaving the inside heavy lifting to Berry, Peatling
Hawks - Worpel, Newcombe cover inside. Their point of difference tall mid is Will Day
Geelong - struggling in this area, hence their interest in poaching Worpel from Hawks. They also drafted George Stevens who might fill this gap eventually but a bit too young at the moment.
Collingwood - added Ned long last season who's playing a lot more inside to win first possession. It releases a Nick Daicos for example to play more outside.

We have a lot of silk in the midfield like Ashcrofts, McCluggage but I feel we don't have grunt coming through in the form of tall mids yet. We can look at draft which again will put us 2-3 years behind or we get stop gaps.

Or the immediate thing we can do is release Dunkley to be see-ball get-ball first possession mid, Berry as the stopper and Neale to play outside. It's worth trying this re-shuffle as part of rotations, especially when things were not working like yesterday.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Lot of top teams are heading this direction.

Fremantle - Brayshaw, Serong, Jackson form the core. But added Hayden Young back from injury now who's a point of difference tall mid. They also rotated Matt Johnson at times through this area.
Adelaide - transitioned Dawson and Soligo to play more outside. Leaving the inside heavy lifting to Berry, Peatling
Hawks - Worpel, Newcombe cover inside. Their point of difference tall mid is Will Day
Geelong - struggling in this area, hence their interest in poaching Worpel from Hawks. They also drafted George Stevens who might fill this gap eventually but a bit too young at the moment.
Collingwood - added Ned long last season who's playing a lot more inside to win first possession. It releases a Nick Daicos for example to play more outside.

We have a lot of silk in the midfield like Ashcrofts, McCluggage but I feel we don't have grunt coming through in the form of tall mids yet. We can look at draft which again will put us 2-3 years behind or we get stop gaps.

Or the immediate thing we can do is release Dunkley to be see-ball get-ball first possession mid, Berry as the stopper and Neale to play outside. It's worth trying this re-shuffle as part of rotations, especially when things were not working like yesterday.

So no big bull inside mids

For context we are 5th for clearance differential but 11th for scores from clearances differential.

To me that says we’re getting our hands on it but it’s the transition out of clearances which is an issue

So adding a Brodie or a ‘big bull’ will not be helping this

The scores from clearances differential is pretty similar to the actual ladder with Carlton the only dud team that does it better

 

[Squizz89]

Lot of top teams are heading this direction.

Fremantle - Brayshaw, Serong, Jackson form the core. But added Hayden Young back from injury now who's a point of difference tall mid. They also rotated Matt Johnson at times through this area.
Adelaide - transitioned Dawson and Soligo to play more outside. Leaving the inside heavy lifting to Berry, Peatling
Hawks - Worpel, Newcombe cover inside. Their point of difference tall mid is Will Day
Geelong - struggling in this area, hence their interest in poaching Worpel from Hawks. They also drafted George Stevens who might fill this gap eventually but a bit too young at the moment.
Collingwood - added Ned long last season who's playing a lot more inside to win first possession. It releases a Nick Daicos for example to play more outside.

We have a lot of silk in the midfield like Ashcrofts, McCluggage but I feel we don't have grunt coming through in the form of tall mids yet. We can look at draft which again will put us 2-3 years behind or we get stop gaps.

Or the immediate thing we can do is release Dunkley to be see-ball get-ball first possession mid, Berry as the stopper and Neale to play outside. It's worth trying this re-shuffle as part of rotations, especially when things were not working like yesterday.

This is what I was thinking could be the option moving forward next year. Neale is past his prime now so we need to find that next number 1 clearance player for us. I actually think Dunks would be good in this role if he didn’t need to worry about the oppos best mid as his first priority.

Moving Jerry into the Dunkley role isn’t the worst shout either as he’s shown previously he too can win the ball but also keep tabs on the other teams best mid. Touch wood his body has been a lot more durable the last few years then early on, albeit out of the main contest, but unless we’re bringing in an outsider (highly unlikely) then I wouldn’t mind this idea.

 

[Section 5]

Posters have been asking for a bull inside mid for 5+ years now.
We have done fine without one. Would i like one from the list below yes, but we are likely to get Annable.
We won't have the capital to bring in a ready-made bull unless we lose Starcevich/Ah-Chee and do some player swap.
Even that probably won't be enough.
If the club wants one, they will just have to pick one from a late draft pick or wait till a free agent walks to us.
Maybe Rayner takes that final step in 2026 but that's unlikely. However, he is still used on occasions.

We also have other concerns to think about

Some considered bulls below.
Some may not be considered a bull but included because of their size.

Blues: Cripps
Dogs: Bont
Cats: Dangerfield
Crows: Dawson
Demons: Petracca
Dockers: Young
Giants: Green, Callaghan
Hawks: Newcombe, Nash
Roos: LDU
Pies, Long, De-Goey, Pendlebury, Crisp
Port: Wines
Saints: Steele, Macrae
Suns: Rowell, Anderson, Davies

 

[M Malice]

Our main priority should be to continue to bring in players with good decision making and disposal skills, then improve it through coaching to an A grade/elite level.. and running ability.

Players who can split the game open with their foot skills are huge eg. Zorko, Coleman, McCluggage, Dawson, Young, Daicos, Wanganeen-Milera, Callaghan.

 

[mpal6]

So no big bull inside mids

For context we are 5th for clearance differential but 11th for scores from clearances differential.

To me that says we’re getting our hands on it but it’s the transition out of clearances which is an issue

So adding a Brodie or a ‘big bull’ will not be helping this

The scores from clearances differential is pretty similar to the actual ladder with Carlton the only dud team that does it better

I believe the bolded bit is in part due to McCluggage playing more inside. He's our best bet in terms of a release player who can hit targets and use the ball wisely. WAshcroft is stepping up too but he's more a elite handball through traffic player than by foot. We need these two to be outside players than inside like Adelaide have done with Dawson and Soligo.

If we release those two to the roles where their return value is at it's highest for our team, then it'll open doors for grunt inside players who go to win first possession under packs.

 

[Nathan Barley]

I believe the bolded bit is in part due to McCluggage playing more inside. He's our best bet in terms of a release player who can hit targets and use the ball wisely. WAshcroft is stepping up too but he's more a elite handball through traffic player than by foot. We need these two to be outside players than inside like Adelaide have done with Dawson and Soligo.

If we release those two to the roles where their return value is at it's highest for our team, then it'll open doors for grunt inside players who go to win first possession under packs.

Hugh is averaging 1 less uncontested possession than last year, 1 more inside 50 and 5x as many goal assists

 

[M Malice]

Posters have been asking for a bull inside mid for 5+ years now.
We have done fine without one. Would i like one from the list below yes, but we are likely to get Annable.
We won't have the capital to bring in a ready-made bull unless we lose Starcevich/Ah-Chee and do some player swap.
Even that probably won't be enough.
If the club wants one, they will just have to pick one from a late draft pick or wait till a free agent walks to us.
Maybe Rayner takes that final step in 2026 but that's unlikely. However, he is still used on occasions.

We also have other concerns to think about

Some considered bulls below.
Some may not be considered a bull but included because of their size.

Blues: Cripps
Dogs: Bont
Cats: Dangerfield
Crows: Dawson
Demons: Petracca
Dockers: Young
Giants: Green, Callaghan
Hawks: Newcombe, Nash
Roos: LDU
Pies, Long, De-Goey, Pendlebury, Crisp
Port: Wines
Saints: Steele, Macrae
Suns: Rowell, Anderson, Davies

I thought Tom Bell, Jarrad Jansen and Cam Ellis-Yolmen solved that issue.

 

[mpal6]

Hugh is averaging 1 less uncontested possession than last year, 1 more inside 50 and 5x as many goal assists

Credit to him for maintaining a high ceiling. Doesn't change the fact his role this season is not an outside receiver and he's playing more inside. Seems to align with our poor transition game on the outside.