Review Match Simulation Pies v GWS Friday 20 Feb 11.00am Bundoora

[Robroy22]

Not getting the full gist of this current wave of doubt but are people really questioning whether Charlie has the goods or not? Based on half a practice match?

Just go to training and watch him and Buller closely. One has great hands, the other drops sitters....one leads straight....the other leads in circles. One kicks straight, the other's iffy.

I'm in the camp that Westy's a 10 year forward. He should be playing and it should be out of the square, not as the Checkers replacement. He led at the ball on the weekend....it just got kicked, left/right and over his head. Let him lead to the Daicos brothers and Lipinski and see if he gets it.

People thinking Buller is the FF have got it structurally wrong. Buller is the Cox Replacement.....and only a slightly more mobile one with shakier hands at that. Mc Stay and Membrey need to replace Mihocek's input for a year or two and Westy needs to be played as a key forward where his strengths really lie.

 

[Peters_Nuts]

Not getting the full gist of this current wave of doubt but are people really questioning whether Charlie has the goods or not? Based on half a practice match?

Just go to training and watch him and Buller closely. One has great hands, the other drops sitters....one leads straight....the other leads in circles. One kicks straight, the other's iffy.

I'm in the camp that Westy's a 10 year forward. He should be playing and it should be out of the square, not as the Checkers replacement. He led at the ball on the weekend....it just got kicked, left/right and over his head. Let him lead to the Daicos brothers and Lipinski and see if he gets it.

People thinking Buller is the FF have got it structurally wrong. Buller is the Cox Replacement.....and only a slightly more mobile one with shakier hands at that. Mc Stay and Membrey need to replace Mihocek's input for a year or two and Westy needs to be played as a key forward where his strengths really lie.

I'll join you in this camp. If people have the will power, re-watch out opening half against North when West was playing.

He was leading really well and should've had a few marks i50 if it wasn't for Elliott and Mihocek cutting him off (thanks to the 4 x tall forward forward line).

I know VFL form can be a trap, though leading contested marks pre injury and kicking accurately are great signs for a first year player.

 

[Apex36]

Allan played just like that against Melb in the last game of 24 when both Teams had checked out. He’s never repeated it in the real stuff. He’s in his 4th season. I’ll cop him making me eat my words but by now he should be well entrenched in the seniors if he was tracking how we need him to.

Even if he does improve is he going to be that A grade talent that we desperately need? When we say “make it” what do we mean?

Do we mean an A grade mid?
A lipinski, Ned long level mid?

We desperately need A grade talent in the under 25’s, I’m just not sold on Allan reaching that level.

My standards on the kids are going up a notch as I’m looking at all our A graders and they all bar Nick are the wrong side of 30

He played well vs Melb but I’d argue he didn’t play like he did last week. I’ve never seen him use his burst speed out of stoppages like that, even in the VFL before now, and it’s something I’ve been praying for. If he continues to play like that he’ll find himself playing seniors more often than not by mid season.

 

[Apex36]

Our saviour

Those Joe-the-goose goals in preseason intra-club games were truly a sight to behold.

 

[ksardog]

COD was talking about big guys taking time. If Gallop is bigger then he should take longer was my point. We’d have one of the weakest KPF lines ups in the comp, no reason west can’t push onto it if he’s good enough. Like you said he’s not some 200+ skinny rake like McCarthy.

I have high hopes for him after his vfl games

i get that, but even before you mentioning that, i've always felt West height was somewhat deceptive, when looking at him in isolation, he doesnt look that big, but when other players next to him, then he looks imposing.

have high hopes for him as well, should really be pressuring Membrey for that 3rd tall role during the year.

we really need one , if not a couple of these younger tall players to really take the next step and be a permanent fixture
McInnes West and Steene seem the best placed to do that

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Ty Gallop, pick 42 in wests draft played finals for Brisbane, kicked 3 against us in the prelim. Same size as West.

I don’t know think it’s unrealistic at all to expect him to be pushing for playing regular games.

He played 6 games in 2025

Charlie played 1 and got a long term injury in that 1 game

Charlie has McStay, Buller/Mihocek and Membrey in front of him and also had Cox last year

Ty had...how many experienced keys keeping him out? Even then, I think injury was the main thing that got him games most of the season

Just not sure it's really a like for like scenario. Even having said all that, I reckon Charlie would have got a few more games last year had he not been injured

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Amazing insight, it's like Houston being underwhelming af for whole of last year never happened.

Absolutely no doubt he didn't live up to the enormous hype he came i with

But I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt on the whole "struggled with the system" talk given he barely touched the ball all year. Feels like to me like that would be the number 1 system of not understanding a system

IT also didn't help that we efeectively put Josh in the role we recruited Houston for

 

[sr36]

Not getting the full gist of this current wave of doubt but are people really questioning whether Charlie has the goods or not? Based on half a practice match?

Just go to training and watch him and Buller closely. One has great hands, the other drops sitters....one leads straight....the other leads in circles. One kicks straight, the other's iffy.

I'm in the camp that Westy's a 10 year forward. He should be playing and it should be out of the square, not as the Checkers replacement. He led at the ball on the weekend....it just got kicked, left/right and over his head. Let him lead to the Daicos brothers and Lipinski and see if he gets it.

People thinking Buller is the FF have got it structurally wrong. Buller is the Cox Replacement.....and only a slightly more mobile one with shakier hands at that. Mc Stay and Membrey need to replace Mihocek's input for a year or two and Westy needs to be played as a key forward where his strengths really lie.

Yeah, I tend to view West as likely to be the long term replacement for what Elliott was giving us last year. Clearly much bigger than Jamie - but leading at the footy from the goal square, which Elliott did most commonly for us last year. West is going to have the advantage of being bigger when the ball is bombed on his head - wouldn't expect him to be as smart or as clean on the lead as Jamie for a fair while though.

 

[Gone Critical]

West as a TALL doesn’t fit your 2/3 season theory - so I think that your original premise he must impact this season seems a little disingenuous.

I have no problem with him building in the VFL all year, he has plenty of time to prove himself.

I think we can agree to disagree. Its not as strong as small mediums but playing early for KPP still seems to correlate strongly with how their career goes.

I am not saying West must but that his future is much stronger if he does. If West is has the ability to become our next very good KPF he is very likely to play a good bit of senior footy in 26

 

[bulldogs201616]

Sorry to intrude. Just wondering how much game time did Dan Houston

9

Dan Houston

Age

28

Ht

186cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.2

5star

K

11.8

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

3.0

5star

MG

289.2

4star

D

17.6

4star

K

11.6

4star

HB

6.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

3.4

4star

MG

319.9

5star

D

16.6

4star

K

12.4

5star

HB

4.2

4star

M

7.0

5star

T

2.6

4star

MG

279.8

5star

have against the Giants? Thanks in advance.

 

[manicpie]

Sorry to intrude. Just wondering how much game time did Dan Houston have against the Giants? Thanks in advance.

He played all game and was average, would you like him

 

[Gone Critical]

Interesting in this thread how we also see development and potential differently. I am strongly in the camp of the more you see early the better and the "late developers" are relatively rare.

I could use the most extreme example of an early pay-off. Nick Daicos. He came with more expectation than any one at Collingwood has in my time. Bucks the only comparison.

However what did he do? He smashed the expectation out of the ground. I defy anyone, and I accept we all had lofty hopes, to say they expected the outcome we got when he was drafted. A freak of nature.

If he is the benchmark then I think this still holds true down the line. We did a deal for Jamie but he was just another draftee when he started. As soon as we saw him season 1 , he played 15 that year, 52 in his 1st 3, we knew we had hit a jackpot. Same for Sidey, same for Pendles, same for DeG, same for Moore, same for Maynard etc etc. Howe (pick 33) did it at Melb, Schultz (57) did it at Freo, Houston (rookie draft) did it at PA. Etc etc.

So that's my hope and want for our current kids. Post Nick's year we haven't got anyone who has really stamped themselves yet from the year 2-4. I reckon West is most likely. Would love to see 1 or 2 or be greedy 3 of Anderson, Pridable and Swadling get a good number of games in 26 and go straight past the other youngsters because to me that's the best sign we have someone special.

 

[Peters_Nuts]

Interesting in this thread how we also see development and potential differently. I am strongly in the camp of the more you see early the better and the "late developers" are relatively rare.

I could use the most extreme example of an early pay-off. Nick Daicos. He came with more expectation than any one at Collingwood has in my time. Bucks the only comparison.

However what did he do? He smashed the expectation out of the ground. I defy anyone, and I accept we all had lofty hopes, to say they expected the outcome we got when he was drafted. A freak of nature.

If he is the benchmark then I think this still holds true down the line. We did a deal for Jamie but he was just another draftee when he started. As soon as we saw him season 1 , he played 15 that year, 52 in his 1st 3, we knew we had hit a jackpot. Same for Sidey, same for Pendles, same for DeG, same for Moore, same for Maynard etc etc. Howe (pick 33) did it at Melb, Schultz (57) did it at Freo, Houston (rookie draft) did it at PA. Etc etc.

So that's my hope and want for our current kids. Post Nick's year we haven't got anyone who has really stamped themselves yet from the year 2-4. I reckon West is most likely. Would love to see 1 or 2 or be greedy 3 of Anderson, Pridable and Swadling get a good number of games in 26 and go straight past the other youngsters because to me that's the best sign we have someone special.

And the 5 on the bench means we should be giving games to our kids.

Pending injuries, I want to see Anderson and Prindable getting games over someone like Sullivan.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

However what did he do? He smashed the expectation out of the ground. I defy anyone, and I accept we all had lofty hopes, to say they expected the outcome we got when he was drafted. A freak of nature.

The only reason I knew this was coming from Nick is because I've got somewhat of a 7 degrees of separation situation going with him and an uncle of his uncle has been telling me about the boys since long before they started playing

 

[Fruit]

I'll join you in this camp. If people have the will power, re-watch out opening half against North when West was playing.

He was leading really well and should've had a few marks i50 if it wasn't for Elliott and Mihocek cutting him off (thanks to the 4 x tall forward forward line).

I know VFL form can be a trap, though leading contested marks pre injury and kicking accurately are great signs for a first year player.

West has a special ability to find space to lead into. Must have to do with his work off the ball before delivery. I think he will be better coming out of the square with lots of room in front of him.

 

[WanderingDude]

Interesting in this thread how we also see development and potential differently. I am strongly in the camp of the more you see early the better and the "late developers" are relatively rare.

I could use the most extreme example of an early pay-off. Nick Daicos. He came with more expectation than any one at Collingwood has in my time. Bucks the only comparison.

However what did he do? He smashed the expectation out of the ground. I defy anyone, and I accept we all had lofty hopes, to say they expected the outcome we got when he was drafted. A freak of nature.

If he is the benchmark then I think this still holds true down the line. We did a deal for Jamie but he was just another draftee when he started. As soon as we saw him season 1 , he played 15 that year, 52 in his 1st 3, we knew we had hit a jackpot. Same for Sidey, same for Pendles, same for DeG, same for Moore, same for Maynard etc etc. Howe (pick 33) did it at Melb, Schultz (57) did it at Freo, Houston (rookie draft) did it at PA. Etc etc.

So that's my hope and want for our current kids. Post Nick's year we haven't got anyone who has really stamped themselves yet from the year 2-4. I reckon West is most likely. Would love to see 1 or 2 or be greedy 3 of Anderson, Pridable and Swadling get a good number of games in 26 and go straight past the other youngsters because to me that's the best sign we have someone special.

In this current “refresh” how many players do we need from youngsters? HH, Long and Steele seem to be picked when available. Allan and Reef appear to be ready for a block of games. Buller was recruited to replace Checkers, I expect to play early. Steene a Cox replacement will get games. That is a large group without many games. The team is lacking in need order Nicks wingman, KPB, Bobby xfactor-pace and KPF.

 

[Jen2310]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/preseason-intel-every-afl-clubs-lessons-and-question-marks-after-the-unofficial-practice-matches/news-story/09e9498dfe824f1eef32fac40014e92a

 

[domus]

Not getting the full gist of this current wave of doubt but are people really questioning whether Charlie has the goods or not? Based on half a practice match?

Just go to training and watch him and Buller closely. One has great hands, the other drops sitters....one leads straight....the other leads in circles. One kicks straight, the other's iffy.

I'm in the camp that Westy's a 10 year forward. He should be playing and it should be out of the square, not as the Checkers replacement. He led at the ball on the weekend....it just got kicked, left/right and over his head. Let him lead to the Daicos brothers and Lipinski and see if he gets it.

People thinking Buller is the FF have got it structurally wrong. Buller is the Cox Replacement.....and only a slightly more mobile one with shakier hands at that. Mc Stay and Membrey need to replace Mihocek's input for a year or two and Westy needs to be played as a key forward where his strengths really lie.

He had good hands in the few games he played for Sydney. I don't think we would have been so invested in him if he is as fumbly as you suggest.

 

[ANewDawn]

He had good hands in the few games he played for Sydney. I don't think we would have been so invested in him if he is as fumbly as you suggest.

He would want to have good hands because he can look a bit awkward at ground level. On my limited observation of course.

 

[sr36]

I think we can agree to disagree. Its not as strong as small mediums but playing early for KPP still seems to correlate strongly with how their career goes.

I am not saying West must but that his future is much stronger if he does. If West is has the ability to become our next very good KPF he is very likely to play a good bit of senior footy in 26

Lots of push back, but ultimately, it's just common sense that the longer it takes you to be getting regular games or be best 23, the less likely it is that you'll be a top 10 player at a club. The only real debate is at what age does it become really bloody unlikely. I say age rather than years at the club as confining it to those drafted at 18 does make it about age. And we'll never know if Checkers or Mannagh were ready earlier than they showed they were ready - they didn't get that opportunity.

 

[UltraEgo]

Just to illustrate the point above I looked at Brissies 2025 flag team..

5 players in that team would classify as KPPs. All were later draft picks, all played early.

Andrews, pick 72, 36 games 1st 2 seasons
Lester, pick 28, 22 games 1st 2 seasons
Forte, pick 22, 25 games 1st 2 seasons
Morris, pick 31, 45 games 1st 2 seasons
Gallop, pick 42 , 6 games season 1 in a premiership team.

And surprise surprise the elite player, Andrews, and the potential elite Morris play more than the good solid 200 gamers. Lions have destroyed it with this recruiting.

Run through lists of players any way you want and you will keep seeing the theme good players play early.

I want West to be a player like those above so I want him playing plenty this year.

T Cloke took until his 3rd year (2007)

 

[sr36]

T Cloke took until his 3rd year (2007)

What? He played 15 games in each of his first two years at the club (I suspect he had an injury year 2 that stopped him playing every game) and won the BNF in his 3rd.

 

[Gone Critical]

My hope for West is he becomes our best forward since Trav. If so we should see a lot of him in 26.

 

[manicpie]

My hope for West is he becomes our best forward since Trav. If so we should see a lot of him in 26.

Not seeing much with West yet. Would need a big performance against norf. I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and say Howes looks more likely. That should rattle a few cages but it's my view

 

[sr36]

Not seeing much with West yet. Would need a big performance against norf. I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and say Howes looks more likely. That should rattle a few cages but it's my view

cage rattled.

bring it on