Prediction 2023 Best 22 Teams and discussion

[BigRang]

You heard the man jlo, do it

'His ability ... is elite': Gun Docker keen to see more of hulking forward

Fremantle forward Josh Treacy managed just four games last season but appears primed to make a big impact this year

www.afl.com.au

 

[gungho]

I've heard around the traps that Ethan Hughes

15

Ethan Hughes

Age

29

Ht

188cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.1

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

6.8

4star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

182.0

3star

D

10.6

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.6

2star

M

4.6

4star

T

0.9

2star

MG

133.1

2star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.4

4star

HB

7.4

5star

M

5.6

5star

T

2.8

5star

MG

185.8

4star

is going to be lining up on a wing in round 1. Love the guy but kind of crazy to think he would be our best player in that position.

 

[Big Animal]

not sure i agree either but trying to look on the positive, maybe with so many scores last year from running quick from turnovers, one wing that is very good defensively will be quite beneficial (to replace Acres who I believe was quite good 2 way - but the camera doesn't show a lot of on the telecast).

 

[E Shed]

I've heard around the traps that Ethan Hughes is going to be lining up on a wing in round 1. Love the guy but kind of crazy to think he would be our best player in that position.

Longmuir is obviously a fan of the role Acres played and Hughes is the closest we have to that. He's big, strong, athletic, can run all day and will not take a backward step. Acres defensive efforts in the back half of the ground were critical at times last year.
Hughes can probably replicate that part of it and can actually drop back to the half back role at times if needed.
Plus he's apparently a champion bloke to run out with, makes others walk taller etc.

Driz and Henry is a much sexier combo with Aish playing in the midfield but we're not going to get the defensive coverage Hughes can bring.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Longmuir is obviously a fan of the role Acres played and Hughes is the closest we have to that. He's big, strong, athletic, can run all day and will not take a backward step. Acres defensive efforts in the back half of the ground were critical at times last year.
Hughes can probably replicate that part of it and can actually drop back to the half back role at times if needed.
Plus he's apparently a champion bloke to run out with, makes others walk taller etc.

Driz and Henry is a much sexier combo with Aish playing in the midfield but we're not going to get the defensive coverage Hughes can bring.

If he's a fan of that role then why did we cheap out on Acres, by all accounts he wasnt asking for much. Just seems bizarre and stupid to push him out to play an inferior version of him on the wing

 

[Mags98]

If he's a fan of that role then why did we cheap out on Acres, by all accounts he wasnt asking for much. Just seems bizarre and stupid to push him out to play an inferior version of him on the wing

acres played one good season for us and still left a lot of room for improvement in his position, evidently he was asking for more than what the club felt comfortable forking out for him and probably see him getting overtaken sooner rather than later with the cattle we already have

i dont think that hughes will have that position all year anyway nor that hes an inferior version of acres

 

[E Shed]

If he's a fan of that role then why did we cheap out on Acres, by all accounts he wasnt asking for much. Just seems bizarre and stupid to push him out to play an inferior version of him on the wing

I have no idea of the internal machinations or how it all played out. My guess is Blake saw dollar signs and a longer contract. These guys have to cash in while they can. Plus he probably likes the idea of going back to Melbourne and playing big games at the G. Who wouldn't?

He's been a flaky player over the journey, perhaps Freo were trying to performance manage him to keep his motivation up and whose to say he won't revert back to cruise mode once he's played a few for Carlton?

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

acres played one good season for us and still left a lot of room for improvement in his position, evidently he was asking for more than what the club felt comfortable forking out for him and probably see him getting overtaken sooner rather than later with the cattle we already have

i dont think that hughes will have that position all year anyway nor that hes an inferior version of acres

I'm not sure how it can possibly be argued he's not clearly an inferior version of Acres on evidence. As a wing, he's a strong-bodied two way role player with questionable disposal / decision making. I understood if the club didnt value Acres and what he provides, i dont understand how Hughes becomes essentially best 22 doing the same thing. Seems counter-intuitive

 

[King Huskii]

I've heard around the traps that Ethan Hughes is going to be lining up on a wing in round 1. Love the guy but kind of crazy to think he would be our best player in that position.

He's not

I'd have Aish NOD and Henry before Hughes

Maybe NOD needs a few weeks to build fitness

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

I have no idea of the internal machinations or how it all played out. My guess is Blake saw dollar signs and a longer contract. These guys have to cash in while they can. Plus he probably likes the idea of going back to Melbourne and playing big games at the G. Who wouldn't?

He's been a flaky player over the journey, perhaps Freo were trying to performance manage him to keep his motivation up and whose to say he won't revert back to cruise mode once he's played a few for Carlton?

Without having confidence to cite figures / years, I'm sure it was known Acres didnt go to Carlton on much all things considered. Happy to look stupid on this one by the bye but feels like we've been a bit too cute on this. I am very weary of playing both Hughes and Banfield (who appear at worst to be close to best 25 players on the list) and having our ball movement severely hampered

 

[Mags98]

I'm not sure how it can possibly be argued he's not clearly an inferior version of Acres on evidence. As a wing, he's a strong-bodied two way role player with questionable disposal / decision making. I understood if the club didnt value Acres and what he provides, i dont understand how Hughes becomes essentially best 22 doing the same thing. Seems counter-intuitive

acres was pretty average for most of his time here and hughes has yet to play an afl game on the wing, ill give him a chance to show what hes got, same as the club has.

again hes not even guaranteed to be in for round 1, let alone best 22 for the season

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

acres was pretty average for most of his time here and hughes has yet to play an afl game on the wing, ill give him a chance to show what hes got, same as the club has.

again hes not even guaranteed to be in for round 1, let alone best 22 for the season

Hughes has definitely played an AFL game on a wing, off the top of my head, at least twice last year I believe. The results are as expected. Runs hard, provides a big body and strong contest, significantly slows down ball movement.

As always, more than happy for players to make me look stupid for my opinions

 

[Mags98]

Hughes has definitely played an AFL game on a wing, off the top of my head, at least twice last year I believe. The results are as expected. Runs hard, provides a big body and strong contest, significantly slows down ball movement.

As always, more than happy for players to make me look stupid for my opinions

Ill take your word on that, much of a muchness then with Acres of 2022

but if you remember Acres before then, bloke was piss weak and avoided contests all the time, regardless though dont see much of a difference between the two, granted ive been a hughes defender for a while

 

[gungho]

Ill take your word on that, much of a muchness then with Acres of 2022

but if you remember Acres before then, bloke was piss weak and avoided contests all the time, regardless though dont see much of a difference between the two, granted ive been a hughes defender for a while

Hughes is much harder at the contest than Acres but a limited player. He falls down with decision making and disposal. Maybe he's just there it nullify his opposition wing. Not quite sure what JL's got in mind to be honest.

 

[Mags98]

Hughes is much harder at the contest than Acres but a limited player. He falls down with decision making and disposal. Maybe he's just there it nullify his opposition wing. Not quite sure what JL's got in mind to be honest.

maybe allows clark and young to get forward and take more risks as hughes can drop back into that defensive role, or maybe hughes has just been that impressive in training

still hoping we see henry play as well though

 

[FreoRicci]

I've heard around the traps that Ethan Hughes is going to be lining up on a wing in round 1. Love the guy but kind of crazy to think he would be our best player in that position.

It's best available. Hilarious that Acres is deemed too expensive and the back up is now Hughes. That's just bad faith or saving money for the sake of looking cheap

 

[DQ 4EVER]

Without having confidence to cite figures / years, I'm sure it was known Acres didnt go to Carlton on much all things considered. Happy to look stupid on this one by the bye but feels like we've been a bit too cute on this. I am very weary of playing both Hughes and Banfield (who appear at worst to be close to best 25 players on the list) and having our ball movement severely hampered

You're tired already?
Season hasn't even started
(you wrote weary instead of wary)

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[FreoRicci]

He's not

I'd have Aish NOD and Henry before Hughes

Maybe NOD needs a few weeks to build fitness

NOD shouldn't play this week. The goal should be a fit full 2023, not coming in this week underdone on a hard Marvel Stadium surface.
Aish is getting more inside mid minutes. He's a defensive bull. Can drop back and help with slowing opposition down. Smart player

 

[FreoRicci]

Longmuir is obviously a fan of the role Acres played and Hughes is the closest we have to that. He's big, strong, athletic, can run all day and will not take a backward step. Acres defensive efforts in the back half of the ground were critical at times last year.
Hughes can probably replicate that part of it and can actually drop back to the half back role at times if needed.
Plus he's apparently a champion bloke to run out with, makes others walk taller etc.

Driz and Henry is a much sexier combo with Aish playing in the midfield but we're not going to get the defensive coverage Hughes can bring.

Think that what posters on here don't realise that point of making others stand taller. The players talk Ethan as a clubman, loyal guy on the field. His actions do really talk of his demeanour and willingness to go in hard. Quietly spoken person.
Acres was s**t canned in 2021, especially that nightmare against Geelong.

 

[mattis117]

Longmuir is obviously a fan of the role Acres played and Hughes is the closest we have to that. He's big, strong, athletic, can run all day and will not take a backward step. Acres defensive efforts in the back half of the ground were critical at times last year.
Hughes can probably replicate that part of it and can actually drop back to the half back role at times if needed.
Plus he's apparently a champion bloke to run out with, makes others walk taller etc.

Driz and Henry is a much sexier combo with Aish playing in the midfield but we're not going to get the defensive coverage Hughes can bring.

I kind of see that as the other way around... I think it will be pretty standard to have one attacking and defensive winger at all times unless game state requires otherwise.

 

[E Shed]

Hughes is much harder at the contest than Acres but a limited player. He falls down with decision making and disposal. Maybe he's just there it nullify his opposition wing. Not quite sure what JL's got in mind to be honest.

It scares me a little bit that he's maybe too defensively oriented. Obviously our defence is awesome but at times, particularly against the Blitzkrieg of Collingwood we just retreated into safety mode and had no answers.

There was a recent interview with Switta where he said he goes into the coaches offices often and has ideas for game plan strategies which he joked that JL always rejects because he's too defensive minded.

There were times last year, when our kick in strategies were just ridiculous. And we kept doing the same thing over and over again.
I want to see Young run out of the square, get a shepherd, take a bounce and then kick it past centre with players streaming forward.
I'll never understand why we don't try some more unconventional strategies for exiting defence.

JL has done a great job so far, last year was awesome for the most part and I'm looking forward to this year but I want to see more flair.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

It scares me a little bit that he's maybe too defensively oriented. Obviously our defence is awesome but at times, particularly against the Blitzkrieg of Collingwood we just retreated into safety mode and had no answers.

There was a recent interview with Switta where he said he goes into the coaches offices often and has ideas for game plan strategies which he joked that JL always rejects because he's too defensive minded.

There were times last year, when our kick in strategies were just ridiculous. And we kept doing the same thing over and over again.
I want to see Young run out of the square, get a shepherd, take a bounce and then kick it past centre with players streaming forward.
I'll never understand why we don't try some more unconventional strategies for exiting defence.

JL has done a great job so far, last year was awesome for the most part and I'm looking forward to this year but I want to see more flair.

Big test for mine with the team announced this week. Plenty of options to be aggressive with the players we take into the game and back ourselves. There are so many ways to be creative with this list that we should be making an effort to squeeze players with genuine forward talent (ie Sturt and Treacy) into the side.

 

[Scham]

Hughes is much harder at the contest than Acres but a limited player. He falls down with decision making and disposal. Maybe he's just there it nullify his opposition wing. Not quite sure what JL's got in mind to be honest.

I agree. I'd say its just that other options aren't quite ready yet. We'll see Hughes pushed out of the position sooner rather than later.

 

[Joao]

Hughes has definitely played an AFL game on a wing... The results are as expected. Runs hard, provides a big body and strong contest, significantly slows down ball movement.

So Acres?

I get your point but if I had to guess, Hughes is on half (or less) or what Acres asked for (however low that was), is a top bloke and a great backup in defence. I also think Acres athletic profile is what makes him appealing in the first place and Hughes is pretty close in that regard. It's not like Blake was a weapon with i50 delivery. Hughes probably won't accumulate like Acres but even if you only get 85% of what Acres was, that's a pretty good deal for your 9th best defender.

That and I suspect the long term 3 way wing rotation will be NOD, Henry/Williams/Some draftee and Aish anyway so probably didn't see enough value keeping Acres, especially considering he's 28 this year, played 1/2 a good season and is reasonably injury prone.

 

[DocT]

It scares me a little bit that he's maybe too defensively oriented. Obviously our defence is awesome but at times, particularly against the Blitzkrieg of Collingwood we just retreated into safety mode and had no answers.

There was a recent interview with Switta where he said he goes into the coaches offices often and has ideas for game plan strategies which he joked that JL always rejects because he's too defensive minded.

There were times last year, when our kick in strategies were just ridiculous. And we kept doing the same thing over and over again.
I want to see Young run out of the square, get a shepherd, take a bounce and then kick it past centre with players streaming forward.
I'll never understand why we don't try some more unconventional strategies for exiting defence.

JL has done a great job so far, last year was awesome for the most part and I'm looking forward to this year but I want to see more flair.

There were times last year, when our kick in strategies were just ridiculous. And we kept doing the same thing over and over again. This this this this this! Well said. I think Ryan was the one I noticed the most BUT surely he was just following orders?