My FWIW Ranking (of who we should get if available):
1 - McDonald (expect to be our no.1 KPF long term, allows McCartin to stay back) - unlikely to be available
2 - DGB / Phillips (can't really split these 2 - rationale below)
3 - Hollands (purely injury concerns, otherwise probably at no.2)
4 - Thilthorpe (arguments about in-between fwd/ruck, injury worries have lessened enthusiasm - still seems to be pretty highly rated)
Phillips sounds like he'd be a fantastic get. Within a few years, a combo of a near retirement Parker, along with Rowbottom, Hewett, and part-time Stephens, could have a good inside brigade ready for a flag attempt. Add to that however Blakey, Florent, Warner, Campbell, Gulden, Heeney contribute to mids. In preparation for some of the objections to my rationale for DGB, if we were to pick Phillips, keep McCartin down back and resolve our KPF issues some other way, I'd be fine with that.
DGB though, I'm still pretty happy with at our first pick. Yes, we need a KPF and probably good-gun inside mid for our next flag run. But I'm not as bullish on our key back stocks as others, especially with Aliir gone. Of players that are definite key backs and have played more than a handful of games there, we have Rampe (he'll probably not see our next flag)... Melican, Brand, maybe Gould. Melican can be very good, but even this year, showed he can also be very bad. Brand seemed solid in limited gametime, but wouldn't rate him as a lock. Gould, while I'm confident on him, remains to be seen whether he plays as a genuine 1-on-1 tall role. 'But McCartin' I hear you say - yes, he played very well in a few games, and he'd probably go on to be a great defender - but it's still only based on a few games, he was played down back when injuries required it, plus if he was able to play forward, it lessens our issues there (good contested grab, still quite young). I'd submit the same argument people are making about picking a KPF over a KPD at no.3, also applies somewhat when locking McCartin down back, when all signs point to him having a bright future up front too.
Basically, I think it all comes down to whether the club sees DGB as having the ability to go 1-on-1 when required, and relying on others e.g. Melican to have tighter defensive roles. Evidence suggests he can. And whether the clubs rates someone like Phillips over who we might get at 1st pick next year (with fewer key position stocks apparently, albeit who knows with the limited analysis this year).
1 - McDonald (expect to be our no.1 KPF long term, allows McCartin to stay back) - unlikely to be available
2 - DGB / Phillips (can't really split these 2 - rationale below)
3 - Hollands (purely injury concerns, otherwise probably at no.2)
4 - Thilthorpe (arguments about in-between fwd/ruck, injury worries have lessened enthusiasm - still seems to be pretty highly rated)
Phillips sounds like he'd be a fantastic get. Within a few years, a combo of a near retirement Parker, along with Rowbottom, Hewett, and part-time Stephens, could have a good inside brigade ready for a flag attempt. Add to that however Blakey, Florent, Warner, Campbell, Gulden, Heeney contribute to mids. In preparation for some of the objections to my rationale for DGB, if we were to pick Phillips, keep McCartin down back and resolve our KPF issues some other way, I'd be fine with that.
DGB though, I'm still pretty happy with at our first pick. Yes, we need a KPF and probably good-gun inside mid for our next flag run. But I'm not as bullish on our key back stocks as others, especially with Aliir gone. Of players that are definite key backs and have played more than a handful of games there, we have Rampe (he'll probably not see our next flag)... Melican, Brand, maybe Gould. Melican can be very good, but even this year, showed he can also be very bad. Brand seemed solid in limited gametime, but wouldn't rate him as a lock. Gould, while I'm confident on him, remains to be seen whether he plays as a genuine 1-on-1 tall role. 'But McCartin' I hear you say - yes, he played very well in a few games, and he'd probably go on to be a great defender - but it's still only based on a few games, he was played down back when injuries required it, plus if he was able to play forward, it lessens our issues there (good contested grab, still quite young). I'd submit the same argument people are making about picking a KPF over a KPD at no.3, also applies somewhat when locking McCartin down back, when all signs point to him having a bright future up front too.
Basically, I think it all comes down to whether the club sees DGB as having the ability to go 1-on-1 when required, and relying on others e.g. Melican to have tighter defensive roles. Evidence suggests he can. And whether the clubs rates someone like Phillips over who we might get at 1st pick next year (with fewer key position stocks apparently, albeit who knows with the limited analysis this year).
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