Perkins and Cox are busts. Reid a slight chance. The sooner we move on from the 2020 cohort the better.
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Team Mgmt. 2025 Forward Line
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Why is Archie Perkins a bust?
elaborate with common sense and evidence and we can pick holes in the rose coloured distorted view you have of him.
ant555
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Yeah he’s a pretty prototypical 3rd tall. Issue is so is Langford but they both deserve to play so gonna have some square peg round hole stuff to work out.
My 2c:
Reid: If he can stay injury free has the capacity to be our best defender since Fletcher. We saw it last year, albeit briefly.
Cox: He is running out of time. Still no concrete position. Positive training progression but I worry about game day readiness. I would honestly rotate him out of the goalsquare with 2MP. Looked dangerous kicking 3 against GC there. Unfortunately 1 concussion from retirement IMO.
Perkins: Probably last chance to prove himself next season with us or needs to look elsewhere. Has the tools but second guesses himself all the time. Loses confidence easily. Will be interesting to see how he goes under McGrath. Needs the mental shackles released.
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Archer May would be a major game changer if he can turn into that physically imposing focal point. Looks a great shape but can he take big contested marks? You want him to be a more mobile Hooker. Haven’t seen the mitts yet so can only speculate really.
Can’t see Liam McMahon making it myself, don’t think he has enough tricks to get separation once teams put work into him. He does have innate goal sense so I guess we will see.
I think a mature Caddy can be a second tall, though will play 3rd tall well too, depending on who they have around him.
Jeremy Cameron isn’t really a 3rd tall. Yes he gets up the ground but it was the Hawkins / Cameron show.
Can’t see Liam McMahon making it myself, don’t think he has enough tricks to get separation once teams put work into him. He does have innate goal sense so I guess we will see.
I think a mature Caddy can be a second tall, though will play 3rd tall well too, depending on who they have around him.
Jeremy Cameron isn’t really a 3rd tall. Yes he gets up the ground but it was the Hawkins / Cameron show.
Our forward line is still definitely a work in progress but at least in 2026 we will have a few more exiting options..We dont really have a stay at home pack mark type full forward - 2MP is probably the closest thing but he will be required in the ruck 1st half of the season at least while Bryan is out so I think we will go with Archie May. He seems to have upside is big and strong and has a link to Dermie so thats good enough for me! I'd park Langford alongside him and probably Guelfi gets the nod early doors in the forward pocket - but Merrett will spend time forward also.
Our half forward line will likely be super inexperienced with Robey, Caddy & Kako featuring but again there is lots of potential upside there. I cant fit Perkins in - and until he shows some really strong form I'd play him in the two's. So right now I have our round 1 forward line as ;-
Robey Caddy Kako
Langford May (2MP) Guelfi (Merrett)
Also - I really like Edwards as a player and both him and McMahon will get their chance at some stage if May doesn't produce
Our half forward line will likely be super inexperienced with Robey, Caddy & Kako featuring but again there is lots of potential upside there. I cant fit Perkins in - and until he shows some really strong form I'd play him in the two's. So right now I have our round 1 forward line as ;-
Robey Caddy Kako
Langford May (2MP) Guelfi (Merrett)
Also - I really like Edwards as a player and both him and McMahon will get their chance at some stage if May doesn't produce
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Hell yes.
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Where we're at for me:
Key forwards: Nate Caddy, Peter Wright (ruc), Liam McMahon, Archer May (with Cox, Jones and Gerreyn hopefully trialled in defence)
Medium forwards: Kyle Langford, Tom Edwards, Archie Perkins, Archer Day-Wicks, Sullivan Robey (mid)
Small forwards: Rhys Unwin, Jade Gresham, Isaac Kako, Hussein El Achkar, Matt Guelfi
Too many "medium" forwards in this group for me. Admittedly I see Robey playing midfield but we're big and slow there. Admittedly the other 4 are chances of not being here in 2027 (Langford possibly via trade if wants to chase a flag, the other three through delisting), but we're a bit too big and slow up front for my liking. Assuming we're running a 7 man forward line:
Matt Guelfi - Nate Caddy - Rhys Unwin
Isaac Kako - Peter Wright - Kyle Langford
Archie Perkins
VFL:
Jade Gresham - Liam McMahon - Archer Day-Wicks
Hussein El Achkar - Archer May - Tom Edwards
Sullivan Robey (but playing mid first)
The small forwards are the issue for me. None you can expect a 30 goal season from this season, and pressure wise none are outstanding.
Key forwards: Nate Caddy, Peter Wright (ruc), Liam McMahon, Archer May (with Cox, Jones and Gerreyn hopefully trialled in defence)
Medium forwards: Kyle Langford, Tom Edwards, Archie Perkins, Archer Day-Wicks, Sullivan Robey (mid)
Small forwards: Rhys Unwin, Jade Gresham, Isaac Kako, Hussein El Achkar, Matt Guelfi
Too many "medium" forwards in this group for me. Admittedly I see Robey playing midfield but we're big and slow there. Admittedly the other 4 are chances of not being here in 2027 (Langford possibly via trade if wants to chase a flag, the other three through delisting), but we're a bit too big and slow up front for my liking. Assuming we're running a 7 man forward line:
Matt Guelfi - Nate Caddy - Rhys Unwin
Isaac Kako - Peter Wright - Kyle Langford
Archie Perkins
VFL:
Jade Gresham - Liam McMahon - Archer Day-Wicks
Hussein El Achkar - Archer May - Tom Edwards
Sullivan Robey (but playing mid first)
The small forwards are the issue for me. None you can expect a 30 goal season from this season, and pressure wise none are outstanding.
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Think we're likely to see some mids used forward as well. Durham, Sharp, Parish, even Zc himself I can see playing fwd more.
I agree that we're probably a mid <> small fwd to many on the list.
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Think I’ve seen posters say Zac is playing a lot of HHF this preseason and is our main user going inside 50
makes sense from a team balance perspective for our Mid/forward to be a small given our abundance of small mids and medium forwards
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