Opinion 2024 and Beyond

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Reid AFL Stats Comparison

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Reid AFL Stats Comparison.

www.footywire.com

Statistically Sam Reid was pretty much on par with JUH in 2012, nine months younger than JUH is now, but having already played one more game, a premiership. At the end of 2012 Sam Reid was positioned as our future key forward alongside Kurt Tippet. In mid 2013, at the same age as JUH is now, it all fell apart for Sam. 20:20 hindsight tells us Sam then suffered from other injuries, with long periods of absence. That lack of consistency meant he was never able to reach his full potential.

After beginning his career as a young prodigy, Sam's struggles began when he was still 21, in mid 2013 to be exact. He suffered a series of recurring quad injuries, which eventually ruled him out of the rest of the season. I suspect Sam missing half of that season was a big reason we went after Buddy.

At the beginning of 2014, with Buddy secured, Horse sought to re-cast Reid in the role of a utility, who could play equally well at both ends. Trouble was though, when fit and firing Reid remained a natural key forward and so was the obvious choice to fill any hole in the forward line. Reid was similarly lined up for a utility role in 2022, but Paddy Mac filled the 2nd key defender role and Reid ended up filling forward and ruck roles. I don't believe we'd have made it to the 2022 GF without Reid. Nor could we have won it without a fully fit Reid. That point was reinforced in 2023 when we really could have used Reid to fill any of a half dozen roles.

At this point in his career there is no guarantee that JUH won't follow the same path as Reid, though I hope he doesn't. But it reminds us what happens when we rely too heavily on one player.

Reid's journey has been a tough one, a journey of resilience and determination. He was once touted as a future champion forward but instead he has had to play every role thrown at him, an odd-jobber, a jack of all trades and master of none. I hope Sam brings up his 200th this year. He deserves it after giving his heart and soul to our team and helping to build the team we have today. He needs 19 more games in 2024, just one more than he played in 2022.

Can Sam find a spot as a key forward? I wouldn't be surprised to see him training as a key defender, but it may come down to injuries. He's Mr Fixit.

lol.. have read versions of this so many times. Jewelsbon …plse, insert flog the dead horse,gif!

 

[RUNVS]

Part of me feels bad but I am watching 2 hours of an adult beating up a toddler right now in Sydney vs West Coast in 2023.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Part of me feels bad but I am watching 2 hours of an adult beating up a toddler right now in Sydney vs West Coast in 2023.

It shows what we were capable of when allowed to do what we want.

 

[RUNVS]

It shows what we were capable of when allowed to do what we want.

Surprisingly hard on Kayo to find the older games of the AFL season. The user interface isn't the most intuitive.

 

[Wolfgang West]

I think Ugle-Hagan is going to be a brilliant footballer, but really don't think we need (or could afford) both him and Logan.

Surprised people are even concerned about a KPF when we have Logan ? That’s if you go by the hype put on the lad by a large majority here.

 

[Wolfgang West]

Have no fear once that horse has gone to the great equine pastures in the sky he will no doubt find another.

 

[tombomb]

Surprised people are even concerned about a KPF when we have Logan ? That’s if you go by the hype put on the lad by a large majority here.

I am not concerned about KPF, I just think JUH is the best young player in the comp out of contract (aside from Gulden).

He plays for a weird team with a weird coach and they have a number of very expensive players out of contract.

And we have the draft capital to make a decent offer if he did want to come to us.

So I would put the odds at about 1000-1. But still fun to talk about.

 

[mtooler]

Nup.

Way too prone to declaring that we’ll piss it in ….. ultimate mock.

I dont know about that, both seem to be able to break games apart to me.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

It shows what we were capable of when allowed to do what we want.

That was a ridiculous we had time to fumble a few times without a Eagles player in the frame.

 

[Kiama Chris]

That was a ridiculous we had time to fumble a few times without a Eagles player in the frame.

They were just shattered.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Have no fear once that horse has gone to the great equine pastures in the sky he will no doubt find another.

lol..


another Floggo on the must defend Reid bandwagon.

Same school as it is essential we play a medium half forward who can’t kick straight

And that school is diverse enough to support the niche view our best mid does not need to win clearances.

 

[tombomb]

lol..


another Floggo on the must defend Reid bandwagon.

Same school as it is essential we play a medium half forward who can’t kick straight

And that school is diverse enough to support the niche view our best mid does not need to win clearances.

Now Gulden is no good.

Is there anyone on our list who can play?

Or do we just wind the thing up and focus on the women's team?

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Now Gulden is no good.

Is there anyone on our list who can play?

Or do we just wind the thing up and focus on the women's team?

lol… was referring to Rowy as supposedly our best inside mid.

Gulden is at Mt Olympus heights.

 

[RUNVS]

lol… was referring to Rowy as supposedly our best inside mid.

Gulden is at Mt Olympus heights.

By world standards Olympus isn't that tall.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

By world standards Olympus isn't that tall.

not in mythology

 

[Millky95]

By world standards Olympus isn't that tall.

Maybe he meant the one on Mars

Olympus Mons - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Bloods86]

lol… was referring to Rowy as supposedly our best inside mid.

Gulden is at Mt Olympus heights.

Who has said Rowy is our best inside mid? And who says he doesn't win clearances? Keeping in mind he's 23 and the roles he's given, go look at the clearance average company he keeps, there's some big names around his mark.

Not that it'll make any difference.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Who has said Rowy is our best inside mid? And who says he doesn't win clearances? Keeping in mind he's 23 and the roles he's given, go look at the clearance average company he keeps, there's some big names around his mark.

Not that it'll make any difference.

Been a fan of Rowy since NEAFL days. Not much wrong with the kid. 250 gamer.

 

[Membling]

Just cause we all like facts...

In 2023, Rowy was in the top 25 for total clearances and top 40 for average clearances, at 109 and 4.74 repectively.

Only Luke Parker

26

Luke Parker

Age

33

Ht

183cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.8

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.8

5star

D

22.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

9.9

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

5.0

5star

CL

5.5

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

11.4

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

8.0

5star

CL

5.2

5star

was ahead of him

 

[Bloods86]

Just cause we all like facts...

In 2023, Rowy was in the top 25 for total clearances and top 40 for average clearances, at 109 and 4.74 repectively.

Only Luke Parker

26

Luke Parker

Age

33

Ht

183cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.8

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.8

5star

D

22.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

9.9

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

5.0

5star

CL

5.5

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

11.4

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

8.0

5star

CL

5.2

5star

was ahead of him

In terms of averages, just under the likes of Dunkley, Viney, Mitchell, ahead of the likes of Steele, Merrett, Butters, Brayshaw, Kelly.

 

[GoTheSwannies]

JUH has the talent but I dont think he has the temperament to be a true champion player, seems kinda fragile mentally.

I'd never trust JUH with the #1 key forward role, would be a decent #2. In the right environment with the right supporting cast, he could do a good job, but will never be the main man, so the $$$ would have to be right if we were to have a crack, and I think he'd be more costly than he's worth.

 

[Wolfgang West]

lol..


another Floggo on the must defend Reid bandwagon.

Same school as it is essential we play a medium half forward who can’t kick straight

And that school is diverse enough to support the niche view our best mid does not need to win clearances.

If your constant flogging of some individuals had at least a little merit maybe it could be taken seriously. The needle in your HMV has seriously broken your Engelbert Humperdink record.

 

[Punts]

Reid will play if fit

Probably first picked KPF yo be honest

Still a better player than amerty, McDonald and McLean imo

 

[Millky95]

Reid will play if fit

Probably first picked KPF yo be honest

Still a better player than amerty, McDonald and McLean imo

Picked as the back up to Grundy. His best role imo

 

[RubbaDuck]

He was brilliant in a few games last year.

Exceptional athleticism and reads the play well, I think the hype is justified.

I read that and thought you were referring to Amartey!! He kicked three bags of four goals. In 50%, 58% and 75% game time respectively. When Amartey's hot he's smoking. If he can build the fitness to play more games and stay on the park longer he could be one of the most exciting young key forwards in the AFL.

-----------------------------

I think our three key forwards are underestimated as a whole. They're all capable of turning a game, they all made big leaps forward in 2023 and they've all got the potential to become much better.

Most teams can contain an excellent key forward or even two excellent key forwards. Few teams can contain three very good key forwards who can each kick a bag if left unchecked.

Buddy and Reid in 2022 made a great combination of two mature key forwards who stretched the defences of some teams, especially when another young tall or a medium tall (like Heeney) were firing.

2023 v. 2022 was a big leap for our young key forwards. With another pre-season and no Buddy in 2024 we should expect even more from our relatively young tall forwards.

McLean more than doubled his games in 2023, though his goal/game dropped off a little (1.2 to 0.9) as he played much more ruck time. The inclusion of Grundy + Ladhams and Reid as backups should mean McLean can get back to doing what he does best, owning the goal square.

McDonald - More games at almost twice the goals/game. Much more impact. More marks inside 50, more contest marks, more involvement across the board. At the same age McDonald kicked more goals/game (1.6 v. 1.5) than JUH in 2023 and was on par in most other stats. He's also a better ball user - all our forwards are. MacDonald is going to get even better. IMHO keeping him should be our number one priority.

Amartey - 1.3 goals/game is almost twice that of his 2022 average. He also played many more games in 2023 (15 v. 6 ). Amartey just needs to play more % game time. Had he played the same % as JUH (60.5 v. 83.5) he could have averaged 1.8 goals/game.

If the leap from 2022 to 2023 is an indication of their potential, our key fowards will be bloody hard to defend against in 2024. Not only are all three contributing much more around the ground but they have the potential to one day be kicking three or even four goals/game each. The thought of them fronting the Swans together for another decade or so gives me goose bumps.

Going forward, we have a lot of other young players with a lot of upside. Teams' defences will also have to contend with guys like Heeney and Hayward, both of whom can trouble a medium defender with their strong overhead marking. Parker too, if he spends his twilight years as a forward.

Add in aggressive quick smalls like Papley, Wicks and maybe Konstanty. A host of goal kicking mids like Mills, McInerney and Adams who know when to press up, plus guys like Campbell and Gulden who can launch long goals from 70m or switch attack from a wing to the opposite half-forward flank before a defence can rally. Throw in agressive defenders who are not afraid to launch rebound attacks at speed through either wing or straight down the corridor. Our midfield is boosted and young mids coming through, like Sheldrick, give us more depth in the guts and Grundy as an attacking ruck effectively gives us another mid. We'll see more attacking launched from midfield which will make many defenders very nervous.

Anything less than a whole team defence will see teams fold before our fire-power. As long as we can keep our keys fit and firing and we can shore up our own defence, we should win a lot of games. We need a good year from Hamling plus one or two of our fringe key defenders need to make the step up. A fit Reid gives us extra depth to cover key positions all over the ground, if he can stay fit.