2021 and beyond

[Flukey!]

So, a fairly disappointing 2020 comes to a conclusion.
What a weird year it has been.

While we only saw 5 wins, for some reason i feel like we are not miles away from being competitive again.

I am still optimistic that Patton, Lewis and Timmy can form the nucleus of a powerful forward 6.
Our back 6 is solid with a number of options available to us.
Day, Moore and Greaves all look good and each brings something to the side.

I think we are deficient in the centre and at clearances which we consistently get beaten at.
Hopefully that gets strengthened over the off season. I just know Clarko and Wrighty will have a plan.

I am looking forward to 2021 and to see the rise up the ladder again.

 

[Flukey!]

So, a fairly disappointing 2020 comes to a conclusion.
What a weird year it has been.

While we only saw 5 wins, for some reason i feel like we are not miles away from being competitive again.

I am still optimistic that Patton, Lewis and Timmy can form the nucleus of a powerful forward 6.
Our back 6 is solid with a number of options available to us.
Day, Moore and Greaves all look good and each brings something to the side.

I think we are deficient in the centre and at clearances which we consistently get beaten at.
Hopefully that gets strengthened over the off season. I just know Clarko and Wrighty will have a plan.

I am looking forward to 2021 and to see the rise up the ladder again.

 

[rei154]

I'm also relatively positive about next year- the fact that we only had two players play every game I think show's how disrupted our season has been from a continuity point of view.
Sic not being in hurts us next year badly, but I think if we can be proactive again in the recruitment space in the off season I can see us pushing for the eight.
Big positive for me this year was Mitchell coming back and putting in the efforts he did. I can see him taking another step forward in 2021, hopefully we can get a bit of cohesion/continuity next year through the middle and I think he'll look closer to his 2018 form.
A lot to look forward to!

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I think 2020 is a really hard year to decipher for a number of reasons.

Our first month we looked great, then hub life hit us and we went to absolute s**t. Whether we were always going to be as s**t as this, or whether we just did not handle all the travel and challenges and dropped our bundle is what is a bit unknown at this stage.

Regardless, 2020 was rubbish.

I’m looking forward to what we do during the trade and draft periods and hopeful that some of the footy we saw in patches over the last month or two can be replicated with more consistency in 2021 if we can have more stability during the season, because we did have some good moments in amongst the losses where our ball movement was quite attacking.

Some more flair around the ball, a fitter Tom and Jars, further development from Day, Worpel, Scrim, Lewis, Finnigess and Greeva and maybe we double our win tally in 2021.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Couldn’t possibly get much worse

2020 saw us uncompetitive for games, and then the cherry on top was the acl to our best defender

Bringing in elite young talent is required if we are to compete at the highest level

 

[RoughysMullet]

I’m cautiously optimistic particularly about 2021.. when the heat was on we were exposed pretty badly through the midfield this season.. you can’t ignore it...

We really need to turn that around to be competitive next season. And I’m not sure how we’ll do it with the current personal..
I don’t think the mix in the midfield is great at the moment- they haven’t yet clicked and are beaten far too easily without resistance- we need to be better defensively at the clearances to stop opposition just walking it out of the middle and giving it to their forwards on a platter..

The foot skills of our mids are a real concern aswell with the game plan Clarko is trying to execute - we no longer have the luxury of Hodge, Lewis, Mitchell’s ball use. If you are slightly off by foot - you’re exposed badly the other way and JOM, T.Mitchell and Worpel + others have all had kicking issues at certain stages..

The ruck situation is becoming a real issue aswell with McEvoy aging and Ceglar beaten all year- too often we are giving the opposition easy first use of the footy..

The forward line mix although not getting great supply is still up in the air- do we roll with Patton, Lewis and O’Brien + Gunston?? We’ll need to work out the best mix and most likely one of them is squeezed out..
Another issue- can we find a small forward to provide that forward pressure we are desperately lacking?? Too easily the opposition seems to take the ball out of our forward line and down the other end.

Defense is looking reasonably settled although Sicily’s leadership will really be missed particularly as Stratton will be gone. We’ll be quite young down back and this might lead to Frawley getting another season to help settle things. We’ll have to find his replacement at full back quickly though- he is aging and will be another year older and slower in 2021..

A lot to work on but with such difficult circumstances this season it was beyond tough...

Having said all that, I wouldn’t be surprised at all with a few changes to personal/gameplan and presumably an easier fixture with some games back in Melbourne we could be back up and about before you know it.. then again it could go the other way and we could be in for a tough year if we don’t fix some of these issues..

Whether we’ll ever be a premiership chance again under this current regime, well that’s another story..

 

[WWSD]

Smith will be a big loss if he leaves. Not having Henderson either for most of this year hurt our outside run.

Some players are destined to play new roles next year.

With Stratton retiring and Sicily out injured, Greaves has a chance to cement his spot in the back six.

A big pre-season for Jiath and he could push for a spot in the best 22 as well, which would then hopefully allow Hardwick to play up forward more often.

Day is certain to move onto the wing.

Moore could play as that utility type role all over the ground. Assuming of course he isn’t delisted!

Patton and Lewis staying injury free will significantly improve the forward-line structure.

Impey and Worpel back as well is an added bonus.

Hopefully 2021 is the year we finally get to see Walker and Koschitzke play at AFL level.


B: Greaves, Frawley, Hardwick

HB: Scrimshaw, Frost, Impey

C: Day, Mitchell, Smith

HF: Gunston, Lewis, Burgoyne

F: Breust, Patton, Wingard

R: McEvoy, O’Meara, Worpel

INT: Scully, Cousins, Shiels, Pick 4*

 

[Davo-27]

Positives

We will have a much more settled season in 2021 not living and playing in hubs
We found a couple of good AFL quality players in Day and Greaves (Scrimshaw also stepping up)
The club seems like it intends on keeping pick 4 (in the open draft)
Impey and Tom Mitchell hopefully will be 100% and back to their best
Frost has been a good addition


Negatives

Sicily ACL
our ruck and midfield not performing to a competitive level and has been an issue since 2016
Age demographic of good players on list is too high for level of performance over 4 seasons
Lack of trusted core players
Lack of Leadership within the group (players you would go to war with)
Lack of aggression from the squad
A tired and over used tactic of bombing into our forward line

 

[TylerDurden]

Heaps to do with the list.

Our rucks worry me.
Our fwd line needs a ton of work.

Our midfield is a work in progress.

This off season is just massive. No other way to look at it.

 

[killerspud]

I think 2021 will see massive changes. With list sizes reduced and many players from all clubs being let go I think we will see alot of new faces. They'll be plenty of recent draftees let go and our recruiting staff will know about the ones we initially wanted so watch for alot of movement in (and out) I can see us taking 3 or 4 in the draft but then getting another 5 from outside. And while I want a free agent as much as the next guy I think we have to temper that desire with not paying huge amounts - eg Zac Williams is a really really good footballer but 1million a year is not a sound move in these times.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.

I haven’t listened to SEN all year but put it on for a short time this morning. It was interesting listening to Gerard Whately this morning with his commentary on the bottom 10

Hawks - Horrid season - didn’t like hub life, made no secret they didn’t like hub life, didn’t like Sydney hub at all and hated life in the Barossa. Yesterday was a fitting tribute for two premiership players but we aren't really going to know where they are at until next season

Essendon, Melbourne, north and GWS got slammed but surprisingly he just wasn’t ready to write us or the coach off as a bad season

This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

 

[PT Bar None]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.
This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

I've had a pretty s**t 2020 myself and the toys have spent a fair percentage of the time outside of the cot. And the reality is, I've not much to complain about. So it's hard to look down my nose at the team for doing the same thing.

I'm a little anxious that we don't yet know about 2021 list sizes. I oscillate between "the longer this takes, the more likely the AFLPA is holding ground and list numbers will be comparable, albeit with different categories" to "the longer this takes, the more likely the announcement will be a slash and burn of list sizes".

Like for example Moore vs Henderson. Full list maybe you can keep both. Small reduction, only keep one, and looking forward you can't keep the older guy over the younger one. Larger reduction and both get cut. And maybe Moore bobs up elsewhere and we all say ****.

I think we've got plenty to work on, and some glaring deficiencies. But not as far off it as we looked at times this year. I hope anyway. But gee, I don't want to see another high cost trade this year. More Worpels and Days please.

 

[Fetnarr]

My hopes for next year are:

1) Walker steps up and becomes the small forward we have been crying out for.
2) someone puts their hand up to own a wing (Smith patrols the other for another couple of seasons). The guys most likely are Day and Moore but I’d be open to see Gunston or Jaeger take it on. Scully plays 2s, harsh but he just has not impressed me in his 2 years here so far.
3) we play one Ruck (McEvoy) and he plays in the defensive half while Patton or Lewis or ToB ruck in the front half
4) kosi steps up and holds down CHB
5) we stack our back end with good ball users (Day, Scrimshaw, Hardwick, Greaves, Hartley etc)
6) wingard spends more time in the guts
7) Worpel, Omeara and Mitchell learn to play other positions
8) we draft a quick, highly skilled mid
9) Lewis and Patton develop a solid understanding of each other’s games
10) Impey returns to half back to provide some much needed run and carry
11) Frawley and Hendo retire
12) we delist/trade out one, all or some of Nash, Glass, Howe, Golds, Brooksby, Hanrahan, Scully, Morrison, ToB, Ross

That’ll do


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.



This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

yeah i'd say the problems we already had were compounded by our reaction to the hubs, especially our leadership void.

though contrary to Whateley's comments sic said that most of the players didn't mind the NSW hub in terms of living there, it was adelaide that was meant to be awful

i get the feeling a lot of them (especially senior players) were either just pissed with the situation overall or found it really hard to give a * or be mtoivated being away from home etc. even if the living conditions were fun

i dont think we're gonna suddenly be a top 8 side and there are lots of holes but i also highly doubt we'll be as uncompetitive as we were this year.

 

[Mercy Seat]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.



This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

There's gotta be some truth to this, and I've heard similar. We were 3 from 4, coming off a really strong finish last year, only for it all to hit the fan as soon as we hit the road.

I genuinely think that the "massive changes" many are expecting may need to be tempered a bit. Definitely will be some delistings and new young talent, but I wouldn't be surprised if the club's philosophy is that this year was in part an aberration, rather than signs of a completely broken list.

 

[Kanga Commando]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.



This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

I agree 100%.
I hope our end of season review looks at the reasons why some clubs have done better than us in the hub..

 

[Delecate Des]

This year Mitchell, Impey, Lewis, Patton and to a lesser extent Howe all returned from serious injuries. Hopefully a full preseason with a recovered Worpel our list will be more settled and injury free in 2021. A return to full 20 min quarters on the G would not go astray!!

Our defence showed that if the mids apply pressure, they can contain most oppo forward lines. Missing Sic for a year is crapola!! I reckon barring Bigboy retiring over the summer the experiment will continue??? Our forward line contains 3 AA in Gunston, Breust and Wingard. I have thrown Dimma forward as the small forward mainly due to the development of Greaves and Day!!! Which leaves our mid field as the problem child! Mind you one that contains a brownlow medalist and one of our youngest ever B&F winners. Maybe a change in personnel by more mid field time for a fit Impey, an electric Wingard or a new approach with Day, Finn or on the outside Moore? Ruck depth is a critical issue with Reeves while sounding promising still a ways off.

Greaves - Frawley - McEvoy

Scrimshaw - Frost - Day

Smith - Mitchell - O'Meara with Ceglar and Worpel rounding out our current mids

Gunston - Lewis - Bruest

Wingard- Patton - Hardwick

Interchange you could throw a net over Scully, Shiels, Cuz, Impey, Silk, TOB, Howe, Moore or Finn etc!!!

Obviously, the above is based on our current list without knowing who we pick up via draft or trade? Plenty of work still to be done with Frawley, Silk, Bigboy and Smith to be replaced next year. Fun to watch how it plays out hopefully with out COVID screwing everything!

Sides like Port, Doggies and Aints have shown fortunes can change quickly with clever trading and drafting.

Also important to note, we haven't been beaten on the MCG since Jul 2019!!!

 

[The hands of stone]

We are not the 4th worst side in it , although we played like it .

Us not liking or evolving to hub life sent us from a well drilled , coached and most times hard to beat side to well what we saw this season .
Problem is we wont know until next season the actually effect.

We need top end talent , we have a good crew of 'foot soilders' but lack that clean ball use , decision making and athleticism and power of the best sides.

Huge draft coming up . Got to nail it .
Can see us rebounding back to being very competitive next season , can also see us being bottom 4-6.
Its a tight comp with small margins required to drop quickly or improve.

Fascinating draft ,trade and 2021 coming up.

 

[Flukey!]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.



This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

Great message. I hadnt heard that before.

 

[Come back Cyril]

I feel like 2021 could be anything.

While 3 - 1 with wins over Richmond and Brisbane seemed to flatter our list, I certainly feel like the 10 games after that weren't fully reflective either.

One thing I noticed was that we moved the ball much more quickly and with better system at times in the last month. Quick play on into the corridor as soon as the ball was turned over and then spread. The Gold Coast game was the epitome of that and we obviously looked great (we consistently seemed to hold our positions, provide an option, and know where our release players were). But Gold Coast pressure was non existent. I would still like us to persist with this game style, even though we may struggle at times against great pressure teams while we perfect it. Hopefully some longer quarters will mean it clicks as teams tire.

I thought we had a lot of important players well below their best for large parts of the year. Titch (admirable recovery but a fair way off 2019), Impey (never really got a go at it), Sheils (his worst year by far), Worpel (although he got better), Hardwick (thought he was pretty poor this year), Scully (dreadful at the beginning of the year, thought he was better his last few games), Lewis (uncompetitive/poor at the beginning of the year - last five quarters his best for the year), Ceglar and Wingard (although I think this is partly due to his role in a poor team). That's a lot of scope for improvement, particularly if we can move the ball more quickly/cleanly.

The inside midfield is my major concern. On paper it looks competitive (Titch, JOM, Sheils, Worpel, Cousins is not terrible) but we have been smashed in clearances, particularly centre clearances all year. At times we allowed very clean ball out of the middle and could not clear packs ourselves at all. I really hope this is a structural issue that we can fix.

All in all, a very disappointing year, but not without hope going forward - I really hope VFL is back next year as it will be critical for the development of our younger players.

 

[Hodginator]

 

[Gralin]

Quoting across OTC from the autopsy thread.



This was somewhat backed up by Burgoyne on SEN with his comments

It seems we may have just sooked it up and thrown in the towel once we were sent to NSW. I’d love to know more.

Can we leave the sooking comments to Barrett?

We went into the hubs a week earlier than every other Vic club, it was meant to be for 32 days and turned into the rest of the season

For whatever reason they didn't get their families with them until we went to Barossa, probably because they didn't take them with them to begin with and then the club had to arrange for the families to Quarantine separately so they could meet up when it was safe

I don't think we planned well for that, we weren't the only club to struggle in hubs but by the time we might have come to terms with it our season was over.

At that point you'd just want to go home, being stuck on the road for work when you don't want to be there is s**t without corona being around and keeping you from doing anything. They were isolated from everyone else, may as well have been in stage 4 in Vic the whole year with how their movements were limited.

I know thats all players and all clubs to varying degrees but it's not like we were the only club to under peform this year

 

[Flukey!]

The inside midfield is my major concern. On paper it looks competitive (Titch, JOM, Sheils, Worpel, Cousins is not terrible) but we have been smashed in clearances, particularly centre clearances all year. At times we allowed very clean ball out of the middle and could not clear packs ourselves at all. I really hope this is a structural issue that we can fix.

This.
I wonder in part if that is a Cegs issue because we seem to have the quality mids but still get smashed in this area.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

This.
I wonder in part if that is a Cegs issue because we seem to have the quality mids but still get smashed in this area.

Cegs was our no 1 ruck in 2014 for majority of the year and we still won nearly every game even with missing Sitch etc. for long periods. Good tap rucks are great but they don't make it so your mids get/don't get smashed on their own. I can't remember the last time we really had a dominant ruckman. I always thought McEvoy was solid in the ruck but his real benefit was his toughness and skill around the ground.

Look at the way we played Sandilands in the 13 GF, or NicNat in 15. Smart midfielders and good coaching trumps good tap ruckmen every day of the week. Our midfield issues extended far beyond Ceglar this year — I think he was a symptom more than anything.

The main problem I saw was defensive — we were completely unable to stop good mids from going on runs, which I think had a lot to do with Worps adjusting to his new role, Titch still trying to find his touch and Shiels having an up and down year.

 

[Buzz Hawk]

s**t season, I'd give us C-

Given at the start of the season many had us in the 8, some even ludicrously contending for the flag (hello Geddy), there's no question the season has been a waste.
We'll look back at this blighted, *ed season and perhaps rue a missed opportunity of sneaking a flag in a season where so many compromises had to made and where so many clubs didn't have their eyes fully on the ball. It's why a club like Port are going hell for leather this year I would say, sneak one in when a few aren't fully focussed. It may be an asterisked season but in 100 years it will be still be marked as a premiership winning one for whoever salutes.
Hub life was never going to agree with our mature list.
Some bright spots with the youth, especially Day of course. Not much else to write home about, very few of our players can actually say they improved this year.
Going forward? Further development of the kids and for dogs sake please develop a more attractive, higher scoring game plan.
I'd rather lose by 20 scoring 100 than lose by 10 scoring 40...if you know what I mean.
Such is life.