Prediction Best 23, Round Zero 2026

[burner1]

Is hard to know how much impact the rule changes will have but reckon there’s a good chance our strategy will be based on breaking even in the clearences / limiting damage and then running teams off their feet.

Guys like Watson will be used as centre bounce specialists to give us some X factor.

Wouldn’t be surprised to see both butler and dalton (plus Finn if fit) in team and us playing only 3 talls up forward (given early season games are more open). We also have option of pushing weddle forward if needed.

We appear to have prioritised endurance (rather than speed) in our recent draftees so interesting to see what we have planned.

 

[bigbuddyboy]

I wouldn’t mind seeing cam get a few rotation off the hbf when Amon is on the wing or on the bench. Would help him got into the game a bit and use his delivery coming out of defence.

Obviously we need to him to be majority mid going forward, though

 

[Randy Campbell]

B: Hardwick Barrass Scrimshaw
HB: Sicily Battle Impey
C: Weddle Nash D'ambrosio
HF: Ginnivan Lewis Moore
F: Gunston Chol Watson
R: Reeves Newcombe Ward
INT: Meek Amon Macdonald Dear Mackenzie
EMG: Butler Morrison Maginness

 

[jaygee]

B: Hardwick Barrass Amon
HB: Sicily Battle Impey
C: Weddle Nash D'ambrosio
HF: Ginnivan Dear Moore
F: Gunston Chol Watson
R: Meek Newcombe Ward

Inter: Macdonald, Mackenzie, Butler, Scrimshaw, Maginness

A balanced side with heaps of run.

 

[Yardie]

Scrimmers multiple concussions didn't help with that, the back six looked a lot more solid when he came back in the 2nd half of the year.

I was one wondering if he should have come back into the team given the overall height of the backline. But he killed it.

 

[Yardie]

B: Hardwick Barrass Amon
HB: Sicily Battle Impey
C: Weddle Nash D'ambrosio
HF: Ginnivan Dear Moore
F: Gunston Chol Watson
R: Meek Newcombe Ward

Inter: Macdonald, Mackenzie, Butler, Scrimshaw, Maginness

A balanced side with heaps of run.

I think you swap Morrison with Finn.

 

[ahhhhhh]

B: Hardwick Barrass Amon
HB: Sicily Battle Impey
C: Weddle Nash D'ambrosio
HF: Ginnivan Dear Moore
F: Gunston Chol Watson
R: Meek Newcombe Ward

Inter: Macdonald, Mackenzie, Butler, Scrimshaw, Maginness

A balanced side with heaps of run.

You forgot Lewis.

 

[jaygee]

I think you swap Morrison with Finn.

Yeah I was tossing up between those two. Went with Finn for his tagging.

 

[Slainte]

B: Hardwick Barrass Amon
HB: Sicily Battle Impey
C: Weddle Nash D'ambrosio
HF: Ginnivan Dear Moore
F: Gunston Chol Watson
R: Meek Newcombe Ward

Inter: Macdonald, Mackenzie, Butler, Scrimshaw, Maginness

A balanced side with heaps of run.

No Lewis?

 

[jaygee]

You forgot Lewis.

No i Didn't. We have 8 talls in the team with everyone's teams. One has to go. You pick which one goes.

 

[To the Hawk]

Incredibly hard 23 to pick. Great position to be in.

We're in the inviable position of contending, but also with significant development ahead and a long window.

Not without challenges for the match committee to navigate this year. Getting Mraz into the side particularly.

We need to start well and losing Day complicates matters. For this reason the steady hand of Harry is a lock for mine. Especially given a number of likely changes to our midfield mix.

If Croc continues to impress and we see him as a significant part of the midfield mix, I originally thought just a rotation from half forward, Mackenzie might be impacted the most.

I think we need the hardness and defensive attitude of Butler or Finn. Especially as we will need Nash to be involved more offensively without Day and Worpel.

The best 23 will come down to team balance. Not all talls will play and some very good players will probably start at Box Hill.

 

[Brownbird]

This may be unpopular but our defence needs to lift a bit.

Despite being bolstered by barass and battle statistically they were only one goal per game less than the same defence with blank and frosty

would think it may mean that the mids at that time were overall better at keeping the footy outa there- there have been many games in these last 2 seasons where the defence were under alot of pressure and they kept us in it or enabled us to win when the mids were getting beaten as a group

 

[Slainte]

No i Didn't. We have 8 talls in the team with everyone's teams. One has to go. You pick which one goes.

I think that if they are all fit, Dear, Chol and Lewis can play together. Dear and Chol are very capable at ground level and Chol is a chase-down maestro. With the right positioning they would be a nightmare for most defences and make Gunston almost impossible to defend.

 

[Roddy]

No i Didn't. We have 8 talls in the team with everyone's teams. One has to go. You pick which one goes.

The question we need to ask here is that if we’re playing both Meeky and Noodle, do we need Chol? One of Mabs’s key advantages is his backup ruck work. But will we need him with two established rucks in the side?

And no, I’m FAR from anti-Cholly. I love the bloke, but I’m just thinking of team balance.

 

[peetoo]

I think that if they are all fit, Dear, Chol and Lewis can play together. Dear and Chol are very capable at ground level and Chol is a chase-down maestro. With the right positioning they would be a nightmare for most defences and make Gunston almost impossible to defend.

23 spots makes that easier. Injury niggles and team balance wil dictate the rest

 

[Da Game]

B: Hardwick Barrass Battle
HB: Impey Sicily Amon
C: Weddle Newcombe D’Ambrosio
HF: Moore Lewis Ginnivan
F: Dear Gunston Watson
R: Meek Nash Ward
I: Scrimshaw Mackenzie MacDonald Butler Chol

 

[Yardie]

Yeah I was tossing up between those two. Went with Finn for his tagging.

I too like Finn for his tagging and would like to let him get a chance in the middle. Morrison, though, seems to be one of the first magnets picked by Sam for his footy smarts and reliabilty.

 

[Yardie]

I think that if they are all fit, Dear, Chol and Lewis can play together. Dear and Chol are very capable at ground level and Chol is a chase-down maestro. With the right positioning they would be a nightmare for most defences and make Gunston almost impossible to defend.

Gunston's renaissance has put a spanner in the works me thinks. Which is a great problem to have. I reckon Dear was seen as the Gunston replacement before Lewis did his knee. With a transition over a couple of years with how Jack's back was going when he came back to us.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

The question we need to ask here is that if we’re playing both Meeky and Noodle, do we need Chol? One of Mabs’s key advantages is his backup ruck work. But will we need him with two established rucks in the side?

And no, I’m FAR from anti-Cholly. I love the bloke, but I’m just thinking of team balance.

Personally I think it's still one of Reeves/Meek and Chol.

I'm still doubtful we roll with both Meek and Reeves even with the extended bench.

We have one of the best back up rucks / key forwards in the league (I really rate Chols ruck work) so we really have no need for playing two full time rucks.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

Personally I think it's still one of Reeves/Meek and Chol.

I'm still doubtful we roll with both Meek and Reeves even with the extended bench.

We have one of the best back up rucks / key forwards in the league (I really rate Chols ruck work) so we really have no need for playing two full time rucks.

Yeah i see no need for it.

Meek - Bulk ruck work and can impact forward when resting occasionally.

Chol - Key forward with good forward pressure who can go in and impact as a 2nd ruck

Weddle - Won't take many but when you want a different look and to try and exploit some ruckmen can pinch hit from time to time.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Yeah i see no need for it.

Meek - Bulk ruck work and can impact forward when resting occasionally.

Chol - Key forward with good forward pressure who can go in and impact as a 2nd ruck

Weddle - Won't take many but when you want a different look and to try and exploit some ruckmen can pinch hit from time to time.

Yep it's a pretty good ruck combo as is.

Chol is one of the best leaping rucks in the league, I almost wish they threw him in the middle more often to mix it up a bit.

The only change I can see is Reeves taking Meeks spot as number 1 ruck but I still think Meek offers a lot more around the ground than Reeves (although by all reports Reeves has improved a lot in this area).

 

[kazzooka]

Personally I think it's still one of Reeves/Meek and Chol.

I'm still doubtful we roll with both Meek and Reeves even with the extended bench.

We have one of the best back up rucks / key forwards in the league (I really rate Chols ruck work) so we really have no need for playing two full time rucks.

Agree, Chol is too good to be left out of the side. As are Lewis, Dear and Gunston when performing. You can't play Meek and Reeves AND 4 tall forwards.

And if you want 3 tall forwards and 2 rucks, I think Chol should be one of those rucks.

 

[kazzooka]

Yep it's a pretty good ruck combo as is.

Chol is one of the best leaping rucks in the league, I almost wish they threw him in the middle more often to mix it up a bit.

The only change I can see is Reeves taking Meeks spot as number 1 ruck but I still think Meek offers a lot more around the ground than Reeves (although by all reports Reeves has improved a lot in this area).

The thinking with Reeves we may be able to trace to 2023. Whilst the previous off season we lost OMeara, Mitchell, Sheils and McEvoy everyone said our midfield was decimated and we will struggle to win any games.

Sam Mitchell rightly pointed out early that year that, whilst we weren't winning much, our midfield had improved with Reeves, Nash, Newcombe, Day and Worpel as the combination with Ward and Mackenzie getting opportunities too.

Reeves while not doing a lot around the ground his ruck work was a big reason our Midfield of all newbies was performing so well. He was 7th in the comp for hit outs despite sharing ruck duties with Meek most weeks whilst all the players above him were solo ruck most of the time.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

The thinking with Reeves we may be able to trace to 2023. Whilst the previous off season we lost OMeara, Mitchell, Sheils and McEvoy everyone said our midfield was decimated and we will struggle to win any games.

Sam Mitchell rightly pointed out early that year that, whilst we weren't winning much, our midfield had improved with Reeves, Nash, Newcombe, Day and Worpel as the combination with Ward and Mackenzie getting opportunities too.

Reeves while not doing a lot around the ground his ruck work was a big reason our Midfield of all newbies was performing so well. He was 7th in the comp for hit outs despite sharing ruck duties with Meek most weeks whilst all the players above him were solo ruck most of the time.

Ive never doubted Reeves ability to influence games with his tapwork. This is obviously his bread and butter.

But equally I believe their is a very strong correlation between that start of our strong run if form the last two years and Meek taking over as our number 1 ruck.

He brings a physical presence around the ground that I have never (as of yet) seen with Reeves.

 

[tommyk72]

I personally don’t see the utility in playing both rucks, unless Reeves is clearly the #1 and Meek the #2. The reason is simple: Reeves may struggle to run out a full game. Meek can, and with Chol as backup, that should be sufficient. In that setup, Meek can also be managed with extra rests across the season. If, however, the plan is for Reeves to be the primary ruck, then the calculation changes. He may need the second ruck to help us play out the games.

Regardless, I hope that Sam has already made up his mind. I think the Hardwick up forward experiment cost us games in the first half of the season. It cost us wins, continuity, and consistency, which may have made a difference to our ladder position, our run into the last game we lost, and eventually our premiership chances. I don't want us to be experimenting with this for 6-8 games to start the year, potentially losing some bankable Ws along the way. Particularly as we'll need at least 1-2 new pieces in the midfield to gel.

The more settled and consistent we are from Round 1, the better our chances this year.