Prediction 2017 Round 1 Best 22

[Greendogg]

I will be literally physically ill if Fiorini is left out of the Rd 1 side - IMO he already in the top 12 players at club.

I turned on to watch last night's game and they saw a replay of last 10 mins of the weekend's Brisbane game. Fiorini shot out a handball as quick as a flash under immense pressure and hit his target on point. The kid can use it by foot and is good in tight. I'm waiting for rd 1 team to come out before I see if I become physically ill - if named I'm dropping $50 on him for the rising star at $11.

Anyone close to OB needs to get around him for potential suicide watch if Fiorini is not picked and Matera is picked for round one!

 

[Corkie]

Update from Rocket:

Eade said the club would likely still go with two talls in the forward line and one ruckman following Day’s injury but would likely need to get creative if they lose another big man at either end of the ground.

The Suns could then bring in Jack Leslie or go with a smaller forward line that premiers Western Bulldogs used so successfully in 2016.

 

[OB11]

Anyone close to OB needs to get around him for potential suicide watch if Fiorini is not picked and Matera is picked for round one!

If that happens I will have to question not only my loyalty to the Suns, but the game of AFL, social justice and basically my whole belief system.

 

[eighties]

Yea Fiorini must be picked, we desperately need a solid accumulator with good disposal. Id play him round 1 ahead of Sexton or Lonergan, as these 2 have been good on occasion but go missing a hell of a lot too. I dont think Matera will be playing much senior footy this year, wont have a spot this year further up the ground as a linking player, and Ainsworth looks to have him covered as a small forward with better marking, speed and defensive pressure.


A.Saad ------- S.May ----- T.McKenzie
P. Hanley - R. Thompson - K.Kolodjashnij
M. Rosa ------ M.Barlow ----- A. Hall
J. Martin ------ T.Lynch ------J. Lyons
B.Ainsworth ---P.Wright ---- G. Ablett
J.Witts --------- T.Miller ----- D.Swallow
Interchange: J.Bowes, Ah Chee, B. Fiorini, Sexton / Lonergan / Lemmens

The last 2 spots are a lottery, I can see rocket playing Lemmens as he seems to love him.

 

[LynchysMob]

I'd have Grant in the team if he keeps that form up too. Wonder if Rocket is going to do for him what he did for McKenzie. Won't hold my breath but it would be a big bonus as he does have talent.

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[OB11]

I'd have Grant in the team if he keeps that form up too. Wonder if Rocket is going to do for him what he did for McKenzie. Won't hold my breath but it would be a big bonus as he does have talent.

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IF he keeps rolling like the 1st game he is definitely the type of player that we need

 

[SUNS]

If that happens I will have to question not only my loyalty to the Suns, but the game of AFL, social justice and basically my whole belief system.

OB stands for Oh Brayden?

 

[TJ Hendricks]

I love the look of Brodie and with a couple more good JLT games anything is possible, but I dont think so. Unlike Ainsworth and Bowes, there is alot of competition for spots in his position. We already have Swallow, Touk, Hall, Barlow, Sexton, and Lonergan as pure midfielders plus 4 or 5 others who will spend time there, and at the moment Brodie can't really play in another position at the highest level compared to some of these guys. And looking at many best 22 predictions, we already have the likes of Sexton, Lonergan, Fiorini fighting it out for 1 or 2 spots. So he is going to have to either demand a spot by his performances, or be given games because we get hit by injuries again (fingers crossed this isnt the case).

Also, because he has come in off the back of an interrupted 1st pre-season, we might look to take a slower approach and have him develop in the NEAFL for a bit. There is no need to rush him in, he is going to be a gun for us for many years to come (assuming he stays).

But in saying that I would love to see him manage 10 or so games throughout the season and gives us a peak at whats to come. There is a reason he was discussed as a possible #1 pick earlier last season.

This makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to hold myself back but I was just so impressed with his play. Our NEAFL side is gonna be a lot of fun to watch as well. Hopefully more of their games are on YouTube this year.

 

[Cochblocked]

OB stands for Oh Brayden?

Or Oh Brandon..

 

[Rockford]

They might be playing well enough to get games, but if we are any good we can't have too many 1st and 2nd year players in the team at once.

How many is too many? Doggies had McLean, Dunkley, Zaine Cordy and Caleb Daniel last season in their GF winning team and gave games to a couple other 1st and 2nd year players over the season too.

 

[Greendogg]

How many is too many? Doggies had McLean, Dunkley, Zaine Cordy and Caleb Daniel last season in their GF winning team and gave games to a couple other 1st and 2nd year players over the season too.

Agree with the sentiment here... if you're good enough you are old enough.. Bowes and Fiorini in particular seem to be wise beyond their years.. the baby bombers in 93 were special, no one had an answer to their youthful exuberance.
If I have 4 or 5 first or second year players in my team and Im weighing up between Ainsworth and Matera for the small fwd spot, im not going to pick Fish just because he is been in the system 7 years longer..
Fiorini, Bowes and Ainsworth are specials to each play 20 games.. I hope Brodie is too and Ah chee.. Wright, Miller and Saad are only 3rd year players but they are stars.. Im not picking Lonergan and Hallahan because they are older..

 

[Stroppy]

How many is too many? Doggies had McLean, Dunkley, Zaine Cordy and Caleb Daniel last season in their GF winning team and gave games to a couple other 1st and 2nd year players over the season too.

I think 3 youngsters in running positions in any one match would be fine assuming the rest of the team can cover the ground (Cordy played key position, which is a slightly different matter).

But under 20's just can't cover the ground all game like someone who has done 3 or 4 preseasons and played 50+ games. Repeat efforts are crucial to winning. Need a tank to do repeat efforts in every quarter, not just the first 2.

5 running players that are under 20 in any one match? Hard to win and you run the risk of putting too much running load onto the older players and making it harder to win the next week.

That happened to us last year. A lot of injuries, we played a lot of youngsters, we lost a lot of games, our fit older players were stuffed from having to run so much, our young players like Ah Chee and Joyce were cooked.

Being competitive is one thing, winning something else all together.

If you have a lot of injuries (like the Doggies actually did last year), you might have to play a lot of youngsters at once. But you would not want to. Rocket would hate it.


Bottom line for mine:

• if we pick our best 5 or 6 running youngsters early in the season in the same game b/c they give us a better chance of winning right now, our list is just not good enough to win many games.
• if we play 3 or 4 at once and rotate them through, and have a good chance at winning games, we finally have some good depth.

 

[winning]

Any news or guesses as to who are the 3 players omitted from playing list?

 

[Young_Guns]

If they can get through the whole season without breaking down or getting too fatigued and getting injured, then I dont have a problem with any of Bowes, Ainsworth, Fiorini, or Ah Chee getting 20+ games assuming form warrants it as they absolutely deserve it and won't be gifted games just for the sake of it.

The only one I dont think could is Brodie. He is coming in a bit underdone but we have seen that he is keen to just keep going and going and training and playing as much as he can which is great to see, but he might not know his limits especially as the year goes on and he is struggling but wants to keep pushing (like in his draft year when he was absolutely cooked by August and had to have some time off to recover). Plus it is a challenge for any first year kid to play a whole season in the guts, where Brodie will predominantly play, getting smashed by bigger, mature bodies week in, week out and I don't think any 18 year old could survive that (besides Omeara but he had an extra year of training under his belt). Hell, barely any of our mids of any age have survived playing out a full season recently.

Its not that having him in the side will make us too young and inexperienced, I just don't think he could physically play out an entire season, and he will most likely be managed and rested along the way as we normally do with our recruits when they are not stepping up to take the place of our injured players.

 

[LynchysMob]

If they can get through the whole season without breaking down or getting too fatigued and getting injured, then I dont have a problem with any of Bowes, Ainsworth, Fiorini, or Ah Chee getting 20+ games assuming form warrants it as they absolutely deserve it and won't be gifted games just for the sake of it.

The only one I dont think could is Brodie. He is coming in a bit underdone but we have seen that he is keen to just keep going and going and training and playing as much as he can and he might not know his limits especially as the year goes on and he is struggling but wants to keep pushing (like in his draft year when he was absolutely cooked by August and had to have some time off to recover). Plus it is a challenge for any first year kid to play a whole season in the guts, where Brodie will predominantly play, getting smashed by bigger, mature bodies week in, week out and I don't think any 18 year old could survive that (besides Omeara but he had an extra year of training under his belt). Hell, barely any of our mids of any age have survived playing out a full season recently.

Its not that having him in the side will make us too young and inexperienced, I just don't think he could physically play out an entire season, and he will most likely be managed and rested along the way as we normally do with our rookies when they are not stepping up to take the place of our injured players.

I agree. Love his work ethic and hardness but he doesn't know his limitations. He's gonna be a jet for us. Think he should be brought in for a couple games at a time when his form warrants but play mostly NEAFL. In three years or so we are going to have a serious player once he has stacked on 8kg or so.

We have really missed a midfielder in his ilk (189cm big bodied inside mid).

 

[Shai]

If they can get through the whole season without breaking down or getting too fatigued and getting injured, then I dont have a problem with any of Bowes, Ainsworth, Fiorini, or Ah Chee getting 20+ games assuming form warrants it as they absolutely deserve it and won't be gifted games just for the sake of it.

The only one I dont think could is Brodie. He is coming in a bit underdone but we have seen that he is keen to just keep going and going and training and playing as much as he can and he might not know his limits especially as the year goes on and he is struggling but wants to keep pushing (like in his draft year when he was absolutely cooked by August and had to have some time off to recover). Plus it is a challenge for any first year kid to play a whole season in the guts, where Brodie will predominantly play, getting smashed by bigger, mature bodies week in, week out and I don't think any 18 year old could survive that (besides Omeara but he had an extra year of training under his belt). Hell, barely any of our mids of any age have survived playing out a full season recently.

Its not that having him in the side will make us too young and inexperienced, I just don't think he could physically play out an entire season, and he will most likely be managed and rested along the way as we normally do with our rookies when they are not stepping up to take the place of our injured players.

Ideally, I don't want to see any of the 1st year guys playing so many games. 1/2 a season is what I would mostly be happy with, Fiorini and Ah Chee are somewhat more seasoned. Of the 2, Cal is likely to play 15-20.

You might want to rephrase that, Brodie is not a rookie in any1's terms but in saying that, you are correct with the fact that he goes very hard and may not know his limits as yet. From the horse's mouth (Rocket) he had an interrupted preseason, to even see him so early is a credit to both the physical/conditioning staff and himself.

In recent seasons we have not had any option other to play the younguns because of injury and even earlier, because that was the majority of the team. It hasn't seen too many players become elite, has it.?

 

[Corkie]

Rd1 after JLT2

B. Saad, May, Kolo
HB. Swallow, Thompson, Bowes
C. Sexton, Barlow, Rosa
HF. Ablett, Lynch, Martin
F. Ah Chee, Wright, Ainsworth

R. Witts/Currie, Hanley, Hall

Int: Lyons, Miller, Fiorini, *Lonergan

Emg: *Brodie, Leslie, Joyce


* Lonergan & Brodie fighting for that last spot in my opinion.

Unknown: Harbrow/McKenzie/Nicholls
(no match fitness yet)

 

[kreglze]

Rd1 after JLT2

B. Saad, May, Kolo
HB. Swallow, Thompson, Bowes
C. Sexton, Barlow, Rosa
HF. Ablett, Lynch, Martin
F. Ah Chee, Wright, Ainsworth

R. Witts/Currie, Hanley, Hall

Int: Lyons, Miller, Fiorini, *Lonergan

Emg: *Brodie, Leslie, Joyce


* Lonergan & Brodie fighting for that last spot in my opinion.

Unknown: Harbrow/McKenzie/Nicholls
(no match fitness yet)

Team looks pretty damn good on paper.

 

[LynchysMob]

How's that forward line? Holy *.

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[LynchysMob]

This is mine. Much of the same.

B: Saad, Thompson, Kolodjashnij
HB: Fiorini, May, Bowes
C: Hanley, Barlow, Rosa
HF: Ablett, Wright, Martin
F: Ainsworth, Lynch, Ah Chee

R: Witts, Miller, Hall

Int: Swallow, Sexton, Lonergan, Lyons

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[Greendogg]

This is mine. Much of the same.

B: Saad, Thompson, Kolodjashnij
HB: Fiorini, May, Bowes
C: Hanley, Barlow, Rosa
HF: Ablett, Wright, Martin
F: Ainsworth, Lynch, Ah Chee

R: Witts, Miller, Hall

Int: Swallow, Sexton, Lonergan, Lyons

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It's a great team! I hope Mckenzie plays against the bullies and stakes his claim. I reckon Brodie is pushing Lonergan. And to think we still have Rischa, Harbrow to come in.. I just hope we can gets some continuity going fwd.. The odd change or two from week to week instead of the usual 5 or 6..

 

[SandyToes]

No way TMac isn't playing round 1
Forget the ups and downs, the guy's a gun who basically held the backline together for us single handedly last year at times
Remember there was about 2 months when there was no May or Thompson

 

[Young_Guns]

No way TMac isn't playing round 1
Forget the ups and downs, the guy's a gun who basically held the backline together for us single handedly last year at times
Remember there was about 2 months when there was no May or Thompson

To be fair, Mckenzie only played the 6 games himself between a busted nose and other injuries, but yeah, assuming he his fit and ready he will be picked. Is our only real '3rd tall' down there at his height, (even though there is some debate whether he is really a 3rd tall or just a tall flanker) and his ability to clear the zone in a kick out will hopefully be more rewarding this year with more options to hit up the field and hopefully less opp. inside 50s.

 

[ajsars]

This is mine. Much of the same.

B: Saad, Thompson, Kolodjashnij
HB: Fiorini, May, Bowes
C: Hanley, Barlow, Rosa
HF: Ablett, Wright, Martin
F: Ainsworth, Lynch, Ah Chee

R: Witts, Miller, Hall

Int: Swallow, Sexton, Lonergan, Lyons

Very solid team! Would probably put Tmac on the back flank and have Fiorini replace Lonergan on the bench to rotate through the mids. Wright at FF and Lynch at CHF (thats how it normally is isnt it?)
Another one i think would be stiff to miss R1 is Brodie. Think he will become one of Rockets favs. Who misses though?
Does Leslie get a go given that Day is down? I think him or Tmac def have to play as that third tall.

 

[Yellow Feathers]

I think Brodie has done enough to play round 1. Make Lonergan earn his spot back!