With a serious lack of depth I think we need to think out of the box.
I would like us to use the 2 experimental rookie positions for people who have not played football for 3 years e.g. Greenwood or Irish recruits.
If we are targeting Irish players then really should target the quick players who can play on the HBF. There is nothing to loose, other than money and we have enough of that.
A bit of a Hail Mary that. Not sure it has worked in the past for us. Plus, Greenwood is tied up at the Magpies....
I think it is going to be interesting to see what our recruiting strategy will be in the next 2 years. There will be the obvious players that will retire or we move on in the next couple of years (Johnson, Ibbo, D Pearce, Suban, Dawson, Z Clarke, Spurr, Ballas, Mundy, Sandi, Griffen probably some I have forgotten).
If Tabener is still on our list in 2 years then we have problems.
Hopefully we can trade on Sutcliffe and Sheridan and get some late round picks for them.
Fingers crossed for Bennell, A Pearce and Apeness (injury has made it impossible to rate his worth but give him the benefit) to make full recoveries and be playing uninterrupted. Darcy should be ready to take over the ruck duties by then.
Whilst they have been woeful the past 3 weeks I think McCarthy and Kersten will play and look better in a team that is structured and playing well. A proper KPF in the team may see better suited roles for these 2. Worse case, Kersten is depth.
That will leave a core of players from about 28 (Fyfe and S Hill I think will be the eldest) to 23-ish, with some significant holes on our list still to be filled.
Will we go to the draft as advertised and get young "best available" or "best fit" players with our early picks knowing that we may be waiting for 2 - 3 years before these guys can make an impact (refer Logue), in which time the older players on our list will probably be past it and looking to retire;
or
do we trade for experienced players to fill the holes with an age profile which will suit our squad in 2 years and in line with any crack at a flag we may think we have?
Interesting times.