Strategy 2025 | Let's Construct Our Best 22 | Part 4: Interchange

FootyGuy13 · Feb 21, 2026

Results from Part Three:

1| Jacob van Rooyen (92.1%)
1| Latrelle Pickett (92.1%)
3| Bayley Fritsch (89.5%)
4| Brody Mihocek (84.2%)
5| Kade Chandler (76.3%)
6| Matthew Jefferson (39.5%)
---------------------------------
7| Jake Melksham (28.9%)
8| Jai Culley (26.3%)

Luker Kentfield, Thomas Matthews, Shane McAdam, Ed Langdon, Tom Sparrow, Ricky Mentha, Aidan Johnson, Christian Salem, Jack Viney, Koltyn Tholstrup, Bailey Laurie, Max Heath, Harry Sharp, Kalani White, Jack Henderson (<10%).

Hopefully I've configured the forward line correctly, I don't think Jefferson or LPickett should go near the half-forward line for the time being, Fritsch is better half-flank option with Chandler than Mihocek or JvR, with JvR getting the Full Forward spot for now. Realistically, Mihocek, JvR and Jefferson would be swapping positions based on context.

Now is the time to vote for those players you think should've been picked to be on the field but somehow got missed, and now we have FIVE votes to give out!

Part 4 is looking at the Interchange:
INT: Interchange | Interchange | Interchange | Interchange | Interchange

E: Emergency | Emergency | Emergency

Please vote for the five players you'd want to fill those positions. Voting ends Feb 28th.

Framework: We are pretending that everyone on the list is fit, uninjured and unsuspended, the only thing holding players back being age and inexperience. This isn't a Round 1 team either, just the Best 22 team against a random opponent in random weather conditions in a random round.

Happy Voting! :smallfooty:

Daemon · Feb 22, 2026

This was hard. I just tried to go with what I thought would be a good mix for rotations.
Langdon (no brainer), Heath, AMW, Tmac, Melky

Headless · Feb 22, 2026

Throw a blanket over about ten of these options, I reckon. Tough choice.

Dory_77 · Feb 22, 2026

Agree this is tough. Went Culley, Heath, Tholstrup, Howes, Langdon. Gives a decent mix of height/speed/run/grunt, but plenty of reasonable options could go through.

Bluelegs · Feb 23, 2026

Went with

Salem, Culley, Langdon, Melksham, Heath

If it were up to me I'd drop Jefferson from the team and have Melksham start.

Then it would be a lucky dip of Tholstrup, Howes, Taylor and Sparrow for the final spot on the bench.

yulong · Feb 23, 2026

Our centre line looks awful. Hope they prove me wrong.

Won't be popular but we need Langdon, *Viney, Salem. The rest to cover fatigue in young blokes or specific needs / known niggles aches or pains

Daemon · Feb 23, 2026

I'm perplexed that Langdon is on the bench. He's an automatic selection on the wing for me.

I'm not going to change my vote but I realized I overlooked Culley.

FootyBot13 · Thursday at 7:00 PM

Daemon said:
I'm perplexed that Langdon is on the bench. He's an automatic selection on the wing for me.

Langdon missed out by 1 vote against Rivers for the 6th midfield spot. Easily could've been Rivers missing out, getting a spot in defense and it being Lever getting the most votes in this poll.

Bluelegs said:
If it were up to me I'd drop Jefferson from the team and have Melksham start.

Oh, the fun of having the Forwards vote always line-up with the intraclub match.

Always one random that has a one-year cameo in this.

Dancing Potato · Saturday at 12:16 PM

Jefferson making it into this best 23 is hilarious.

Demon Attack · Saturday at 1:19 PM

Yep that forwards poll was a few days early. Sweet trick for the Magician to be preserved for eternity in the Best 23 of 2026

Meds · 2026-03-01T12:47:11+1100

Headless said:
Throw a blanket over about ten of these options, I reckon. Tough choice.

That would make it hard for them to play football

FootyGuy13 · 2026-03-01T22:30:21+1100

And here is the Melbourne BigFooty Board's pre-2026 Beast 23 team:
FB: Jake Bowey | Harrison Petty | Jake Lever
HB: Xavier Lindsay | Daniel Turner | Changkuoth Jiath
C: Harvey Langford | Jack Steele | Caleb Windsor
HF: Bayley Fritsch | Brody Mihocek | Kade Chandler
FF: Matthew Jefferson | Jacob van Rooyen | Latrelle Pickett
R: Max Gawn | Kysaiah Pickett | Trent Rivers
INT: Ed Langdon | Jai Culley | Koltyn Tholstrup | Jake Melksham | Max Heath

E: Jack Viney | Blake Howes | Christian Salem | Tom McDonald

IN FROM 2025: Jack Steele, Changkuoth Jiath, Latrelle Pickett, Brody Mihocek, Matthew Jefferson, Jai Culley, Jake Melksham, Max Heath
OUT FROM 2025: Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Judd McVee, Jack Viney, Steven May, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Harry Sharp, Blake Howes (sub)

A record-breaking seven changes for the 2025 team becomes a record-breaking EIGHT changes for the 2026 team. In fact, let's compare this team to the 2024 team...

IN FROM 2024: Jack Steele, Harvey Langford, Daniel Turner, Xavier Lindsay, Changkuoth Jiath, Brody Mihocek, Matthew Jefferson, Latrelle Pickett, Jai Culley, Koltyn Tholstrup, Jake Melksham, Max Heath
OUT FROM 2024: Jack Viney, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Steven May, Adam Tomlinson, Judd McVee, Alex Neal-Bullen, Shane McAdam, Jack Billings, Tom Sparrow, Christian Salem, Lachie Hunter (sub)

12 changes from 2 years ago. That's half the team that's been giving the boot in that time and I'm sure there's going to be plenty more now that the team is in an official rebuild. I reckon that most people would re-arrange this team to thier personal liking and I'd like to see how you guys would make up the team using these 23 players.

Apart from the obvious name sticking out in the forward-line, it's a pretty alright team to go with. Though, I guess that's to be expected before the season, a mixture of those who were the best for the team last season and the people that we expect or hope will do well this season. The bench seems to be a bit forward-heavy, but it's not like we've had a set forwardline since the Grand Final, and as always there's pretty much a 0% chance of this team ever being fielded even if the coach tried to make it true

So thank you to anyone who voted because that's where the fun of these threads comes from.

Demon Attack · 2026-03-01T22:47:29+1100

I think it is a perfectly cromulent team.

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Strategy 2025 | Let's Construct Our Best 22 | Part 4: Interchange

Which five players should fill the bench positions in a pre-2026 Best 23?

#1 Steven May

#3 Christian Salem

#7 Jack Viney

#12 Koltyn Tholstrup

#13 Jai Culley

#15 Ed Langdon

#16 Bailey Laurie

#18 Jake Melksham

#19 Xavier Taylor

#20 Thomas Matthews

#22 Blake Howes

#23 Shane McAdam

#25 Tom McDonald

#26 Jed Adams

#27 Max Heath

#29 Tom Campbell

#30 Harry Sharp

#32 Tom Sparrow

#34 Kalani White

#38 Oscar Berry

#39 Ricky Mentha

#40 Riley Onley

#42 Aidan Johnson

#43 Jack Henderson

#44 Luker Kentfield

#45 Andy Moniz-Wakefield

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