Opinion A Graders

[72 years a slave]

Heeney, Gulden, Warner, Curnow, Grundy, Mills, Blakey, Papley, McCartin and McInerney now by my reckoning, as it stands. Nearly half the side if/when all fit. Wow.
Suddenly, we’re loaded with top end quality, which helps explain why our younger guys are also playing so well and with such confidence.
Perhaps aside from the Lions, I don’t think any team has as many A Graders, none have more.

 

[liz]

Heeney, Gulden, Warner, Curnow, Grundy, Mills, Blakey, Papley, McCartin and McInerney now by my reckoning, as it stands. Nearly half the side if/when all fit. Wow.
Suddenly, we’re loaded with top end quality, which helps explain why our younger guys are also playing so well and with such confidence.
Perhaps aside from the Lions, I don’t think any team has as many A Graders, none have more.

You need to define what an A grader is before any meaningful discussion can ensue.

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

Just wait when Errol’s back !

 

[ashep]

As liz said, you'll want to define it, but yep, I'd say your list passes the sniff test.

 

[72 years a slave]

You need to define what an A grader is before any meaningful discussion can ensue.

I’d define an A Grader as an elite player, circa top 5%-10% in the competition. I suppose I’m interested in whether I’m being overly optimistic?
Right now, I estimate at least 6 of them would be in the AA squad.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I’d define an A Grader as an elite player, circa top 5%-10% in the competition. I suppose I’m interested in whether I’m being overly optimistic?
Right now, I estimate at least 6 of them would be in the AA squad.

Mills, McCartin, Papley and McInerney, while travelling well, would be fortunate to make the AA squad.

 

[72 years a slave]

Mills, McCartin, Papley and McInerney, while travelling well, would be fortunate to make the AA squad.

I reckon Heeney, Warner, Grundy, Blakey, McCartin and McInerney would all make the squad right now, if not the team itself. Time to finally capitalise with a flag, I think the stars have aligned for us this season.
Then again, we’ve only played 7 games and had a pretty good run with injury, thus far.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

I’d define an A Grader as an elite player, circa top 5%-10% in the competition. I suppose I’m interested in whether I’m being overly optimistic?
Right now, I estimate at least 6 of them would be in the AA squad.

Based on that criteria, no way Papley is an A.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Based on that criteria, no way Papley is an A.

Yep much as I love Paps, he’s not Charlie Cameron.

 

[DeathlyAccurate]

To me, an A grader is a player that’s regularly in All-Australian contention even if they don’t make the team. It’s not clear cut because aside from stats, the rest is a matter of opinion and the AA team has many flaws but that is a good baseline. If you’re not thinking about them as at least being on the cusp of that conversation then they’re not A grade.

Based on that, your list looks reasonable to me. Though, Heeney and Gulden are a step up and on an elite level (top 10-15 players in the game) so I feel like they’re in a separate category if you’re strictly talking A grader vs Elite.

 

[MF]

Yep much as I love Paps, he’s not Charlie Cameron.

I'm not sure there's really much between them to be honest. Papley is one of the best small forwards of this century.

Definitely behind the likes of Betts and Milne but I wouldn't say he's not in the same category as Cameron unless we're using premierships to judge individual success.

Im not sure if he's an A grader as people's definition varies but he's definitely in the top 5 to 10% for his position

 

[Pugnacious1874]

For a definition, I'm visualising the folks in the AA selection meeting discussing who could be in the squad of 40 odd before they whittle it down to 22 (23 now?)
A graders are those whose names come up in that discussion and most folks nod and think worthy of looking at some stats/vision. If the reponse is everyone rolling their eyes at Kane Cornes then that's a B grader.

On the list from the OP (21 years free?) I like it, except Papley, who has potential to be in the mix, but needs more impact beyond being "best celebrator"

 

[72 years a slave]

Due to a several years of being a highly regarded player that coaches would clearly worry about, as well as having a previous AA year, I rate Papley as a topliner, especially after the last few weeks where he seems to be fit again & causing serious damage. He may not be kicking a heap of goals, but he's creating plenty & the opposition would definitely be planning for him.
Agreed DeathAcc - Gulden & Heeney are in a league of their own in the top 5-10 players in the game.
I feel we're top heavy with top quality players at present, reinforcing our need to capitalise with a flag, as our list likely won't remain in this position for more than a year or two. Plus, surely we're due to actually turn up on GF Day this season if we make it there. Surely...