Preview 2025 Goodbye (To 2026) New; Preseason Discussion

[EskimoPAFC]

=CONCAT(current_year," Goodbye (To ",current_year+1,") New; Preseason Discussion")

 

[Doctor Feel]

Wonder if we will announce supplementals on return to full training

 

[RangaInTeal]

Wonder if we will announce supplementals on return to full training

Watched the hyphenated lad run last night at The Paddocks, kid has a tank on him, can cover some ground. Shame he can’t kick, absolutely piss blasted the pill everywhere. Will not be on our List in 2026, unfortunately.

 

[Acemanjam]

Watched the hyphenated lad run last night at The Paddocks, kid has a tank on him, can cover some ground. Shame he can’t kick, absolutely piss blasted the pill everywhere. Will not be on our List in 2026, unfortunately.

Surprised about his kicking. From the vision I've seen previously, he seems a decent kick. Hopefully just an off day?

 

[PJ Power]

Watched the hyphenated lad run last night at The Paddocks, kid has a tank on him, can cover some ground. Shame he can’t kick, absolutely piss blasted the pill everywhere. Will not be on our List in 2026, unfortunately.

As much as I want to add young quality to our midfield, I think we have a more pressing need to identify and develop a disciplined, lockdown small or hybrid defender. I'm therefore hoping that Balyn O'Brien wins one of the SSP spots, with the other earned by Stephenson. These two guys could have the greatest impact on our list - O'Brien in the longer term and Stephenson in the immediate to mid-term.

High-quality young midfielders should be available in upcoming drafts in the form of Salopek and potentially Rodan next year, while both Cochrane and Pilot could be developed into big-bodied, athletic "unicorn" mids if we can cover our tall forward needs with Georgiades, Whitlock and Lukosius.

 

[Addy23]

Wonder if we will announce supplementals on return to full training

Don't think it'll be announced straight after when training resumes.

Stephenson has one spot covered for sure based on what I know.

The other (which imo is between the 2 BOBs) still has some water to go under the bridge. If I were to guess now I'd say Oudshoorn-Bennier is more AFL ready than O'Brien. There's also a thought that it might be easier to walk O'Brien to MSD and pick him there if injury strikes instead of Oudshoorn-Bennier.

 

[PJ Power]

Don't think it'll be announced straight after when training resumes.

Stephenson has one spot covered for sure based on what I know.

The other (which imo is between the 2 BOBs) still has some water to go under the bridge. If I were to guess now I'd say Oudshoorn-Bennier is more AFL ready than O'Brien. There's also a thought that it might be easier to walk O'Brien to MSD and pick him there if injury strikes instead of Oudshoorn-Bennier.

Do you know if they've been impressed so far with either or both, or would they be selecting one of them just because we have an available list spot?

Similarly, any inside word on how impressive Stephenson has been?

 

[Addy23]

Do you know if they've been impressed so far with either or both, or would they be selecting one of them just because we have an available list spot?

Similarly, any inside word on how impressive Stephenson has been?

I'll cover the Stephenson question first cause it's easier. I believe the club's biggest question coming into the SSP period was how committed he is and whether he ticks all the necessary behavioral/attitude boxes that he previously failed at North. He claims he was a loose cannon at North cause they were bad and the culture was poor. So far the club couldn't be more impressed with his work ethic and commitment and he's ticked all the boxes. From club's pov, his skills and class were not really in question. Saying that, I don't think they'll announce his signing this week because they want to max out the period and see if he lapses somewhere. Which I think is the smart thing to do given he's not really going to go anywhere else.

As for BOB1 (Oudshoorn-Bennier) and BOB2 (O'Brien), Port were surprised there was no interest in BOB1. They had done a lot of work on him and were prepared to use a pick if they got any wind of another club taking him. But once they got that draft Intel on the night, they decided to include him in the SSP trials and get more vision of him and how he adapts in the AFL environment. So far, they've been impressed with his professionalism as an 18 year old. Football wise, his kicking has been a stand-out but given he came in a little later than the others, there's still a fair bit to evaluate.

BOB2 is the type our list needs, lockdown defender that just works his backside off to make sure his direct opponent doesn't get 1 on him. That has been somewhat evident at training so far but given his size (or lack thereof for now against bigger forwards) he has had the odd occassion where he's beaten. Of course that's something that the club expects given his age and rawness. The thought here is that he could do with a bit of time in SANFL league, which he appeared in towards the end of the season. His ball use has been average at best, though I don't think we expect a lockdown defender to be kicking it at 80% efficiency.

For all 3, so far there's been greater focus on evaluating individual skills and athletic profile. The next few weeks there'll be a shift in focus, as will be for the whole squad, where they will be evaluated in terms of how they fit Carr's tactics.

On balance, if I were to guess, Stephenson and BOB1 are likely to be our SSP selections. I think there's a need for both BOBs on our list tbf as BOB1, from my year of following the draft prospects, is a beautiful kick and decision maker. While BOB2 is the lockdown defender everyone is screaming for. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them end up on the list eventually, with one of them joining via MSD or next year's draft

 

[Marat]

I'll cover the Stephenson question first cause it's easier. I believe the club's biggest question coming into the SSP period was how committed he is and whether he ticks all the necessary behavioral/attitude boxes that he previously failed at North. He claims he was a loose cannon at North cause they were bad and the culture was poor. So far the club couldn't be more impressed with his work ethic and commitment and he's ticked all the boxes. From club's pov, his skills and class were not really in question. Saying that, I don't think they'll announce his signing this week because they want to max out the period and see if he lapses somewhere. Which I think is the smart thing to do given he's not really going to go anywhere else.

As for BOB1 (Oudshoorn-Bennier) and BOB2 (O'Brien), Port were surprised there was no interest in BOB1. They had done a lot of work on him and were prepared to use a pick if they got any wind of another club taking him. But once they got that draft Intel on the night, they decided to include him in the SSP trials and get more vision of him and how he adapts in the AFL environment. So far, they've been impressed with his professionalism as an 18 year old. Football wise, his kicking has been a stand-out but given he came in a little later than the others, there's still a fair bit to evaluate.

BOB2 is the type our list needs, lockdown defender that just works his backside off to make sure his direct opponent doesn't get 1 on him. That has been somewhat evident at training so far but given his size (or lack thereof for now against bigger forwards) he has had the odd occassion where he's beaten. Of course that's something that the club expects given his age and rawness. The thought here is that he could do with a bit of time in SANFL league, which he appeared in towards the end of the season. His ball use has been average at best, though I don't think we expect a lockdown defender to be kicking it at 80% efficiency.

For all 3, so far there's been greater focus on evaluating individual skills and athletic profile. The next few weeks there'll be a shift in focus, as will be for the whole squad, where they will be evaluated in terms of how they fit Carr's tactics.

On balance, if I were to guess, Stephenson and BOB1 are likely to be our SSP selections. I think there's a need for both BOBs on our list tbf as BOB1, from my year of following the draft prospects, is a beautiful kick and decision maker. While BOB2 is the lockdown defender everyone is screaming for. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them end up on the list eventually, with one of them joining via MSD or next year's draft

PJ asks a good question and then we get this quality answer full of nuance and insight - why I keep reading this board. Thanks Addy!

 

[PJ Power]

PJ asks a good question and then we get this quality answer full of nuance and insight - why I keep reading this board. Thanks Addy!

Exactly the level of detailed nuance that I was hoping for and Addy delivered.

 

[crafty_bernardo]

I'm not too enthused by he says his attitude was poor due to the culture and North were bad. So what if there's a rough patch at Port and results aren't what we expected. Will he just revert back to that same attitude?

 

[PJ Power]

I'm not too enthused by he says his attitude was poor due to the culture and North were bad. So what if there's a rough patch at Port and results aren't what we expected. Will he just revert back to that same attitude?

Probably. Still worth a 1 y contract though rather than leaving the spot vacant.

 

[StueyDaDew]

I'll cover the Stephenson question first cause it's easier. I believe the club's biggest question coming into the SSP period was how committed he is and whether he ticks all the necessary behavioral/attitude boxes that he previously failed at North. He claims he was a loose cannon at North cause they were bad and the culture was poor. So far the club couldn't be more impressed with his work ethic and commitment and he's ticked all the boxes. From club's pov, his skills and class were not really in question. Saying that, I don't think they'll announce his signing this week because they want to max out the period and see if he lapses somewhere. Which I think is the smart thing to do given he's not really going to go anywhere else.

As for BOB1 (Oudshoorn-Bennier) and BOB2 (O'Brien), Port were surprised there was no interest in BOB1. They had done a lot of work on him and were prepared to use a pick if they got any wind of another club taking him. But once they got that draft Intel on the night, they decided to include him in the SSP trials and get more vision of him and how he adapts in the AFL environment. So far, they've been impressed with his professionalism as an 18 year old. Football wise, his kicking has been a stand-out but given he came in a little later than the others, there's still a fair bit to evaluate.

BOB2 is the type our list needs, lockdown defender that just works his backside off to make sure his direct opponent doesn't get 1 on him. That has been somewhat evident at training so far but given his size (or lack thereof for now against bigger forwards) he has had the odd occassion where he's beaten. Of course that's something that the club expects given his age and rawness. The thought here is that he could do with a bit of time in SANFL league, which he appeared in towards the end of the season. His ball use has been average at best, though I don't think we expect a lockdown defender to be kicking it at 80% efficiency.

For all 3, so far there's been greater focus on evaluating individual skills and athletic profile. The next few weeks there'll be a shift in focus, as will be for the whole squad, where they will be evaluated in terms of how they fit Carr's tactics.

On balance, if I were to guess, Stephenson and BOB1 are likely to be our SSP selections. I think there's a need for both BOBs on our list tbf as BOB1, from my year of following the draft prospects, is a beautiful kick and decision maker. While BOB2 is the lockdown defender everyone is screaming for. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them end up on the list eventually, with one of them joining via MSD or next year's draft

Interesting take on the Stephenson North culture thing.
Include another player for their retrospective fans to boo.

 

[Addy23]

I'm not too enthused by he says his attitude was poor due to the culture and North were bad. So what if there's a rough patch at Port and results aren't what we expected. Will he just revert back to that same attitude?

I take more comfort in the fact that he reached out to Port and Carlton and asked if he could have a SSP trial spot.

That tells me he's determined to try make it work. I'd imagine he'll be first on a 1 year deal and we won't give him big contract extensions in terms of years from there on and it'd probably be limited to 3 years max if he proves his worth.

In his defence, I think the way he was treated at North, he felt like he was targeted by coaches a bit quite unnecessarily

 

[Cosmicwinduptoy24]

I'm not too enthused by he says his attitude was poor due to the culture and North were bad. So what if there's a rough patch at Port and results aren't what we expected. Will he just revert back to that same attitude?

By that logic we shouldn't have taken JHF.

 

[crafty_bernardo]

By that logic we shouldn't have taken JHF.

Fair enough but JHF hasn't had past indiscretions like gambling on their own games.

 

[Duck Farmer]

On balance, if I were to guess, Stephenson and BOB1 are likely to be our SSP selections. I think there's a need for both BOBs on our list tbf as BOB1, from my year of following the draft prospects, is a beautiful kick and decision maker. While BOB2 is the lockdown defender everyone is screaming for. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them end up on the list eventually, with one of them joining via MSD or next year's draft

So you're saying we should be getting our two bob's worth?

 

[Ford Fairlane]

As I posted in the Stephenson thread, all of his past indiscretions smack of immaturity. There's nothing malicious or criminal about his mistakes, just the actions of a kid who didn't think through consequences.

From the reports from posters who have followed his post-AFL journey, he has matured, he cracked down and took on a leadership role at the local footy level. He's reached out for another shot at the AFL, moved interstate, made himself AFL fit before getting here, and has fitted into his new surroundings.

He's done everything to earn another shot and deserves that chance. Talent was never the issue.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Even if he has matured, is now the second coming of [PLAYERCARD]Travis Boak[/PLAYERCARD] on the training track etc, its still a concern he was never the same player after breaking his hip. Its not a common injury so would be interested if any other players have suffered similar and comeback the same player?

 

[malcheski]

Even if he has matured, is now the second coming of Travis Boak on the training track etc, its still a concern he was never the same player after breaking his hip. Its not a common injury so would be interested if any other players have suffered similar and comeback the same player?

This only matters if you are paying a premium for his services.

His current ability (post injury) is streets ahead of any other player on our list in that medium-small forward role. The fact he comes for free means it's a no-brainer all around.

 

[tribey]

The club has a therapy dog now.

 

[Launchpad McQuack]

The club has a therapy dog now.

The trauma of Hinkley remains.

 

[Nelso]

The club has a therapy dog now.

If Donuts was still around it would be racing at Angle Park tonight.

 

[TazD]

The club has a therapy dog now.

I await the level headed discourse around this.

 

[Schulzenfest]

I await the level headed discourse around this.

WHY ARE THEY GOING TO THERAPY WHEN THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON FOOTY FARKEN