Prediction 2026 Best 23 Discussion

[anchor man]

Agree that Switta is an auto selection and a great connector but I would like to see him stay deeper forward a bit more. I feel like his pressure inside 50 could be more impactful than at half forward.

For me, his pressure is more around mid half forward where he tackles the most and wins free kicks.Wins a lot of frees when the ball is in the centre corridor.

 

[Jezzitizle]

He was terrible v Gold Coast. Just can't trust him anymore. Legit lost is the game twice.

Hence why we went with forwards in the draft.

Such a mercurial player.

I just hope the coaches actually address his weaknesses, bizarre this far into his career his tackling technique is so bad and he is easily shrugged off.

His 30 goals need to be replaced if someone takes his spot.

 

[WilloTree]

Nah, a fit Switta is one of the first magnets on the board. His burst and agility in traffic plus great vision and high footy IQ make him a creative connector piece. Him and Reid are dynamite at working together to create opportunities.

I agree but we're starting to sound like Eagles fans with Yeo.

At some stage you just acknowledge the obvious starring you in the face.

 

[Rhufus]

If Switta gets injured again, (touch wood) there is a lot less pressure on him and the club to rush him back. He can have an extra week, even play a game at Peel to ensure he is fully ripe to go in the next match. Thats the advantage of having all these three new forwards we just recruited back in Peel awaiting their chance.

A Switta injury and a Young injury are our two big achilles heels last year and one at least has been addressed.

 

[chaosball32]

I agree but we're starting to sound like Eagles fans with Yeo.

At some stage you just acknowledge the obvious starring you in the face.

He's not AFL capable.

Ok let’s not go too far. Switta has played 73 games in the past 4 seasons compared to Yeo’s 35. Yes he’s injury prone but not in the same stratosphere as Yeo.

 

[Barnabus]

For me, his pressure is more around mid half forward where he tackles the most and wins free kicks.Wins a lot of frees when the ball is in the centre corridor.

I get your point but imagine if he could get a couple of those free kicks in range of goal. I would rather we turn the ball over in the F50 or at HF then in the midfield.

 

[Jezzitizle]

I get your point but imagine if he could get a couple of those free kicks in range of goal. I would rather we turn the ball over in the F50 or at HF then in the midfield.

Actually suspect coaches would disagree, prefer to go into an open f50 with defenders who have run off/freddy or shai getting out the back.

 

[Barnabus]

Actually suspect coaches would disagree, prefer to go into an open f50 with defenders who have run off/freddy or shai getting out the back.

How often has that actually happened. The way I see it he gets the turnover and has to stop because the opposition are set behind the ball. If we had another small forward who could apply pressure inside 50 I would probably agree with you.

 

[Jezzitizle]

How often has that actually happened. The way I see it he gets the turnover and has to stop because the opposition are set behind the ball. If we had another small forward who could apply pressure inside 50 I would probably agree with you.

I mean we are pretty good at turning midfield turnovers into shots on.

Also a great way to give a kpf a 1v1, happens a fair bit I think.

 

[Suma Says]

You take the turnover closer to goal all day every day

 

[Boomer93]

You take the turnover closer to goal all day every day

Ofc but the oppotunites to cause a turn over closer to goal are far less. I played for peel as a small forward and the only thing i could really do at WAFL standard was apply forward pressure, they played me higher up the ground and the more dangerous small forwards closer to goal. This makes total sense imo. Its so hard to apply pressure deep where the space is more open and the other forwards supporting you are talls, you cant chase 2 blokes at once in a paddock.

 

[Barnabus]

Ofc but the oppotunites to cause a turn over closer to goal are far less. I played for peel as a small forward and the only thing i could really do at WAFL standard was apply forward pressure, they played me higher up the ground and the more dangerous small forwards closer to goal. This makes total sense imo. Its so hard to apply pressure deep where the space is more open and the other forwards supporting you are talls, you cant chase 2 blokes at once in a paddock.

My point is I think Switta can be a dangerous small forward. He has a decent kick and is generally pretty good at ground balls. He is not a long kick so playing him close to goal maximises his chance of direct scores.

 

[E Shed]

7 players for each zone of the field and 2 spares.

Back
Pearce, Cox, Ryan, Clark, Mcvee, Chapman, Simpson.

Mid.
Darcy, Serong, Brayshaw, Young, Erasmus, Johnson, Sharp.

Forward
Treacy, Voss, Amiss, Reid, Bolton, Switta, Freddy.

Utility
Jackson, Wagner.

Unlucky
Banfield, Walker, Draper, Sweid, Wombat, kickett, Worner, O’Meara, O’Driscoll, Murray, Murphy, M Cox.

 

[DocT]

7 players for each zone of the field and 2 spares.

Back
Pearce, Cox, Ryan, Clark, Mcvee, Chapman, Simpson.

Mid.
Darcy, Serong, Brayshaw, Young, Erasmus, Johnson, Sharp.

Forward
Treacy, Voss, Amiss, Reid, Bolton, Switta, Freddy.

Utility
Jackson, Wagner.

Unlucky
Banfield, Walker, Draper, Sweid, Wombat, kickett, Worner, O’Meara, O’Driscoll, Murray, Murphy, M Cox.

Brilliant list thx E Shed. That's a great list of Unluckys. They'll get their chances depending on week-2-week match-ups and injuries.

 

[Big Animal]

7 players for each zone of the field and 2 spares.

Back
Pearce, Cox, Ryan, Clark, Mcvee, Chapman, Simpson.

Mid.
Darcy, Serong, Brayshaw, Young, Erasmus, Johnson, Sharp.

Forward
Treacy, Voss, Amiss, Reid, Bolton, Switta, Freddy.

Utility
Jackson, Wagner.

Unlucky
Banfield, Walker, Draper, Sweid, Wombat, kickett, Worner, O’Meara, O’Driscoll, Murray, Murphy, M Cox.

we're finally building some walk up reliable depth on every line

 

[gungho]

Ryan Pearce Chapman
Mcvee. Cox. Clarke
Simpson. Young. Brayshaw
Freddy. Treacy. Reid
Voss. Amiss. Switta


Darcy. Jackson. Serong.

Bench: Erasmus, Johnson, Murray, Bolton, Wagner.

Notes: if the rumours are true, Jackson is becoming a mid. I reckon a defender has to become a winger this season. (Simpson was my guess. Reid could play there too).

Some solid depth with Cox, Worner, Walker, Banfield, JOM and Dudley.

Big year for Erasmus and Johnson. They need to step up.

I have this feeling Murray will play 15-20 games and have an impact. It might spell the end for Banners.

 

[gungho]

I reckon our entire season will come down to how many of the below can put together 20 games:

Serong, Brayshaw, Pearce, Reid, Clarke, Treacy, Voss, Bolton, Young, Jackson.

If 8-10 of them play 20 we will be in the thick of it come September. If 5-8 of them play 20 we should hover around 13/14 wins, and if less than 5 of them play 20 we will struggle.

I still don’t reckon the depth is there.

 

[Patty_Moz]

I reckon our entire season will come down to how many of the below can put together 20 games:

Serong, Brayshaw, Pearce, Reid, Clarke, Treacy, Voss, Bolton, Young, Jackson.

If 8-10 of them play 20 we will be in the thick of it come September. If 5-8 of them play 20 we should hover around 13/14 wins, and if less than 5 of them play 20 we will struggle.

I still don’t reckon the depth is there.

Difficult to argue with that as they are our best bunch of players however I see the next bunch as the group that determine our finals chances next year:

Switta, Wags, MJ, Raz, B Cox, Chapman, McVee, Amiss, Voss

If a bunch of these guys step up to support the guys you mention then I think we should really challenge the top 4. If not it will be left to too few again and we won’t really challenge.

I feel the depth is there but needs to improve.

 

[Boppo]

I have this feeling Murray will play 15-20 games and have an impact. It might spell the end for Banners.

If we can get a Shaun Mannagh type performance from Murray then we’re gonna be in great shape.

 

[Docker82]

Difficult to argue with that as they are our best bunch of players however I see the next bunch as the group that determine our finals chances next year:

Switta, Wags, MJ, Raz, B Cox, Chapman, McVee, Amiss, Voss

If a bunch of these guys step up to support the guys you mention then I think we should really challenge the top 4. If not it will be left to too few again and we won’t really challenge.

I feel the depth is there but needs to improve.

I've said this many times but...

Replace player 12-23 within our best 23 and I reckon our depth is good enough that you won't notice the difference.

Those players 12-23 aren't good enough to replace the top ten players on our list. Most of the time 7-8 of best ten will be enough but against the really good teams there's a good chance we'll need others to genuinely step up.

Think our depth from player 24-32 or so is some of the best in the competition tbh. The second half of our best 23 doesn't stack up with the best teams though.

 

[pK75]

I've said this many times but...

Replace player 12-23 within our best 23 and I reckon our depth is good enough that you won't notice the difference.

Those players 12-23 aren't good enough to replace the top ten players on our list. Most of the time 7-8 of best ten will be enough but against the really good teams there's a good chance we'll need others to genuinely step up.

Think our depth from player 24-32 or so is some of the best in the competition tbh. The second half of our best 23 doesn't stack up with the best teams though.

Just curious, do you have Switta, Johno or Wagner in your top 11 players? I thought we really missed these guys in the Suns final, if Wagner or Johnson replaced NOD on the wing and Switta replaced Dudley, IMO we win that game.

 

[Docker82]

Just curious, do you have Switta, Johno or Wagner in your top 11 players? I though we really missed these guys in the Suns final, if Wagner or Johnson replaced NOD on the wing and Switta replaced Dudley, IMO we win that game.

Switta yes.

Don't think Erasmus plays if both Johnson or Wagner play and he was one of our best in that final.

 

[pK75]

Switta yes.

Don't think Erasmus plays if both Johnson or Wagner play and he was one of our best in that final.

Agree, just needed one of Johnson or Wagner to replace NOD who was awful. Not really any gain replacing Ras with the other one though.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Switta yes.

Don't think Erasmus plays if both Johnson or Wagner play and he was one of our best in that final.

He is every chance with 5 on the bench. He needs to really perform in training though.

They will rotate Wags back and Young forward a lot , especially early season.

We got smashed R1 by the cats last year, they are a good match for his strengths on paper.

This is definitely the make or break year for Ras though, needs to average 20+ touches, and win enough contested ball and use it pretty well, at least similar to Serong levels of ball use.

Also needs to be a workhorse defensively, can’t afford to get lost in transition or get lost behind play.

 

[Docker82]

He is every chance with 5 on the bench. He needs to really perform in training though.

They will rotate Wags back and Young forward a lot , especially early season.

We got smashed R1 by the cats last year, they are a good match for his strengths on paper.

This is definitely the make or break year for Ras though, needs to average 20+ touches, and win enough contested ball and use it pretty well, at least similar to Serong levels of ball use.

Also needs to be a workhorse defensively, can’t afford to get lost in transition or get lost behind play.

Don't take my previous post the wrong way - Reckon Erasmus is best 23 now.

Wasn't when Johnson and/or Wagner went out of the side.