shintemaster
Brownlow Medallist
I thought as we approach the 2021 season it might be fun to put a thread out there with a slightly different take. What I'm after here is not so much the players you think are ready to explode onto the scene (LDU for example) or those that you're most excited to see play good football (Thomas, Larkey, McKay) but those that you see as having a unique path to walk in 2021 and why. For mine these are the 3 that I'll be watching with interest from a medium term POV:
Jed Anderson - He looks absolutely primed physically this year, has all the confidence of his last 12-18 months and physically is at his peak. I've been an avowed fan from very early on but I will admit that I felt at times last year that in spite of his exceptional numbers teams effectively sweated on him at times as his disposal can be susceptible particularly in heavy congestion. He gets it done and often has brilliant passing but for mine at times his ability to hurt the opponent with the ball was often lacking. Game style didn't help either. For mine 2021 is an open book for him - we saw that physically and from a leadership POV he stepped up in the absence of some key players last year such as Cunnington.
I'm very curious to see whether Cunnington back and extra time into Simpkin - who was our most damaging mid last year IMO - and LDU who showed the highest ceiling of any of our pure mids - albeit coming back from injury and with ups and downs from that. What does all that mean for Jed - does the extra capability around him make it easier for him to shine or does it actually overshadow him / potentially mean that his role adapts more to suit the new team balance.
Turner - Big year ahead for Turner. This is the one. I'm in the boat that says he was a critical loss to our forward line last year due to the significant team first game that he plays. A thankless role that covered a lot of the gaps left by a Brown anchored forward line and style that needed dedicated defensive play. He comes into 2021 off some interrupted previous seasons though and now has some significant competition in the smaller forward ranks. Is there a need for someone purely in his previous role with a more skilled small brigade (Stephenson, Thomas, Taylor etc) and does opening up to a faster, more attacking plan allow him to shine and play a defensive forward role that can actually hit the scoreboard - or does it become the beginning of the end as his weaknesses are more of an issue with more attacking talent that can play tight and press up around him?
Xerri - I was torn on the 3rd player. There were a couple I considered including Zurhaar who I feel is at a real crossroads. Tough season due to injury last year, poor plan for his strengths and more pressure due to Brown leaving - I think he'll be a critical factor in how we develop or not over this year. That said I settled on Xerri. For mine he is the player that we have the most skin in the game from a gameplan and medium term planning POV. We don't need him to star from the start but IMO this new plan being a genuine chance of fast tracking towards top 4 over the next 12-36 months requires Xerri to come in and be able to play a genuine role relieving Goldy and structurally in the forward line. He needs to be there to protect Larkey and a smaller forward line physically while still pulling the forward line structurally together. Doesn't need to kick bags but we have a lot riding on transition to a 2 ruck structure over the next couple of years. At the end of this year we arguably need to be shopping for KPP's either ready made or drafted explicitly based on how he tracks this year. Will be very interesting to see where he plays his game time and whether he gets games in the AFL almost irrespective of how he is tracking week to week on field.
Jed Anderson - He looks absolutely primed physically this year, has all the confidence of his last 12-18 months and physically is at his peak. I've been an avowed fan from very early on but I will admit that I felt at times last year that in spite of his exceptional numbers teams effectively sweated on him at times as his disposal can be susceptible particularly in heavy congestion. He gets it done and often has brilliant passing but for mine at times his ability to hurt the opponent with the ball was often lacking. Game style didn't help either. For mine 2021 is an open book for him - we saw that physically and from a leadership POV he stepped up in the absence of some key players last year such as Cunnington.
I'm very curious to see whether Cunnington back and extra time into Simpkin - who was our most damaging mid last year IMO - and LDU who showed the highest ceiling of any of our pure mids - albeit coming back from injury and with ups and downs from that. What does all that mean for Jed - does the extra capability around him make it easier for him to shine or does it actually overshadow him / potentially mean that his role adapts more to suit the new team balance.
Turner - Big year ahead for Turner. This is the one. I'm in the boat that says he was a critical loss to our forward line last year due to the significant team first game that he plays. A thankless role that covered a lot of the gaps left by a Brown anchored forward line and style that needed dedicated defensive play. He comes into 2021 off some interrupted previous seasons though and now has some significant competition in the smaller forward ranks. Is there a need for someone purely in his previous role with a more skilled small brigade (Stephenson, Thomas, Taylor etc) and does opening up to a faster, more attacking plan allow him to shine and play a defensive forward role that can actually hit the scoreboard - or does it become the beginning of the end as his weaknesses are more of an issue with more attacking talent that can play tight and press up around him?
Xerri - I was torn on the 3rd player. There were a couple I considered including Zurhaar who I feel is at a real crossroads. Tough season due to injury last year, poor plan for his strengths and more pressure due to Brown leaving - I think he'll be a critical factor in how we develop or not over this year. That said I settled on Xerri. For mine he is the player that we have the most skin in the game from a gameplan and medium term planning POV. We don't need him to star from the start but IMO this new plan being a genuine chance of fast tracking towards top 4 over the next 12-36 months requires Xerri to come in and be able to play a genuine role relieving Goldy and structurally in the forward line. He needs to be there to protect Larkey and a smaller forward line physically while still pulling the forward line structurally together. Doesn't need to kick bags but we have a lot riding on transition to a 2 ruck structure over the next couple of years. At the end of this year we arguably need to be shopping for KPP's either ready made or drafted explicitly based on how he tracks this year. Will be very interesting to see where he plays his game time and whether he gets games in the AFL almost irrespective of how he is tracking week to week on field.