Jimmae
Brownlow Medallist
- Thread starter
- #126
Now's as good a time as any to recap the changes we've just made to the list, and what that means for the 2019 AFLW side.
Alongside that, we might as well take a look at my predictions from early March.
Plane and Audley survived where I felt perhaps they shouldn't, but they have been soldiers for the footy club and deserve a crack as much as anyone.
Ultimately the talent drain didn't remove an as-yet key player aside from Hardiman, who I saw as a bit of an odd fit as the AFLW progresses athletically in 2019. Losing both her and Gillespie-Jones was a huge blow for our key defensive stocks given the age of Downie and the state of Davey coming into this season, but we've more than made up for that by targeting Van Dyk, Wilson, Edwards, Barden and Watt.
Gay was another disappointing loss, but Maddie Prespakis more than replaces her, with Barden as senior depth. Van Dyk and Edwards should directly replace Gillespie-Jones and Hardiman, with the possibility of Abbie McKay pitching in a little as needed. The most fortunate thing is that the depth players we retained from last season, should remain as such this season thanks to the quality of the mature-aged additions.
We're still lacking in elite pace from our smaller players in each area of the ground, but Emerson Woods presents as a long term option for that, and will likely see a fair bit of senior time having done so well for this year's VFLW premiers in Hawthorn. She's reasonably tall for a mid and basically reads like Simmo, right down to being a Carlton supporter.
Interestingly we've opted for another senior ruck in Watt, and this soldifies Downie's role in defence, while allowing Moody to rotate forward much more often.
We've still got 1 spot on the list, which by passing the draft means we have access to a signing period where we can sign an undrafted player from anywhere. The most glaring need we have is likely a genuine small forward to give some zip alongside the work Tayla and Darcy will be doing for us in 2019.
Right now the 22 projects like this:
FB: Pound, Van Dyk
HB: Stevens, Downie, Edwards
C: McKay, Prespakis, Harrington
HF: Vescio, Harris, Gee
FF: Moody, Loynes
R: Watt, Davey, S.Hosking
Int: Wilson, Barden, J.Hosking, Woods, <final signing>
Code-hopping rookies Dalton and Walker should inject pace and toughness, particularly Dalton, but I don't think they're directly available for selection unless we leave that list position open, or an LTI occurs.
Moving over to our depth for 2019, you can see that our defensive stocks will be covered by Brazzale, Kennedy and Hicks, while Audley, Lucas-Rodd and Plane will keep the midfield options ticking over. Webb will present as a forward/midfield option over time.
So another year rolls by, and pace is still a concern, but in reality there wasn't much more we could do to address this given the way the talent pool fell. Hopefully something bobs up nicely in the signing period, where we're only competing with Melbourne and Fremantle to sign talent from around the country. That naturally implies all three will be looking at everywhere but WA and Victoria for talent, save for those who nominated Geelong only.
Alongside that, we might as well take a look at my predictions from early March.
Sure enough, Keeping was sacked and we didn't get pick 1 despite finishing stone cold last. In my opinion, that's cost us Sophie Van De Heuvel, who has the skillset to be the AFLW's version of Judd if she can get her footy IQ up to scratch. She's a dual athlete with cricket being her other love, so perhaps that's a blessing in disguise given she racks up the runs in the T20 format.
Here I was hoping Hardiman, Hicks and Brazzale would have been enough bait for the Victorian clubs, but in the end North swooped on Hardiman and took Gillespie-Jones with her, decimating our senior defensive mix.
Plane and Audley survived where I felt perhaps they shouldn't, but they have been soldiers for the footy club and deserve a crack as much as anyone.
Obviously this side has a few more changes than what I was expecting, but I predicted Keryk, Grieve and Cochrane were on the chopping block. Another factor here is the changes to the list structure, that being a senior list of 28 (up from 26), and what was effectively the Cat A rookie list has been removed, resulting in one less listed player than what was possible last year.
Ultimately the talent drain didn't remove an as-yet key player aside from Hardiman, who I saw as a bit of an odd fit as the AFLW progresses athletically in 2019. Losing both her and Gillespie-Jones was a huge blow for our key defensive stocks given the age of Downie and the state of Davey coming into this season, but we've more than made up for that by targeting Van Dyk, Wilson, Edwards, Barden and Watt.
Gay was another disappointing loss, but Maddie Prespakis more than replaces her, with Barden as senior depth. Van Dyk and Edwards should directly replace Gillespie-Jones and Hardiman, with the possibility of Abbie McKay pitching in a little as needed. The most fortunate thing is that the depth players we retained from last season, should remain as such this season thanks to the quality of the mature-aged additions.
We're still lacking in elite pace from our smaller players in each area of the ground, but Emerson Woods presents as a long term option for that, and will likely see a fair bit of senior time having done so well for this year's VFLW premiers in Hawthorn. She's reasonably tall for a mid and basically reads like Simmo, right down to being a Carlton supporter.
Interestingly we've opted for another senior ruck in Watt, and this soldifies Downie's role in defence, while allowing Moody to rotate forward much more often.
We've still got 1 spot on the list, which by passing the draft means we have access to a signing period where we can sign an undrafted player from anywhere. The most glaring need we have is likely a genuine small forward to give some zip alongside the work Tayla and Darcy will be doing for us in 2019.
Right now the 22 projects like this:
FB: Pound, Van Dyk
HB: Stevens, Downie, Edwards
C: McKay, Prespakis, Harrington
HF: Vescio, Harris, Gee
FF: Moody, Loynes
R: Watt, Davey, S.Hosking
Int: Wilson, Barden, J.Hosking, Woods, <final signing>
Code-hopping rookies Dalton and Walker should inject pace and toughness, particularly Dalton, but I don't think they're directly available for selection unless we leave that list position open, or an LTI occurs.
Moving over to our depth for 2019, you can see that our defensive stocks will be covered by Brazzale, Kennedy and Hicks, while Audley, Lucas-Rodd and Plane will keep the midfield options ticking over. Webb will present as a forward/midfield option over time.
So another year rolls by, and pace is still a concern, but in reality there wasn't much more we could do to address this given the way the talent pool fell. Hopefully something bobs up nicely in the signing period, where we're only competing with Melbourne and Fremantle to sign talent from around the country. That naturally implies all three will be looking at everywhere but WA and Victoria for talent, save for those who nominated Geelong only.
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