I am really interested to see how the list depth, and especially the talent we have in the defensive area of our list, is managed and developed. This is a bit of a long ramble, but I see this as pivotal for the club, and an excellent discussion for the preseason.
It follows from two articles on the club website.
One features comments from Luke Ryan highlighting the training of Pearce, Hamling and Logue, and he also mentions the potential of Young and Chapman.
www.fremantlefc.com.au
The second is an interview with Justin Longmuir in which he comments that he sees Cox playing as a defender.
www.fremantlefc.com.au
The mathematics is tricky when you try and fit the defensive depth into a theoretical best 22. For the record, my current best defensive set up is;
Ryan Hamling Logue
Wilson Pearce Young
A seventh defensive rotation would be drawn from Hill, Cox, Hughes, Conca, Duman. The only player there I feel comfortable leaving out of our best 22 is Duman, and while most of them have the potential to play other roles they probably are not first choice in those other roles. Watson deserves a mention. All of the above players apart from Hill would have 3+ years of AFL life to look forward to, although injury has been a cruel factor in several of their careers.
It is further complicated by the recruitment of Chapman and Walker, and to a lesser extent, O’Driscoll. The lot of them have been primarily defensive side players in their predraft careers.
Strategically I propose three things the club could consider;
It follows from two articles on the club website.
One features comments from Luke Ryan highlighting the training of Pearce, Hamling and Logue, and he also mentions the potential of Young and Chapman.
No rest for Ryan
Sure 2020 was great for Luke Ryan, but he wants to get even better
The second is an interview with Justin Longmuir in which he comments that he sees Cox playing as a defender.
Why JL wants to keep Cox in defence
The key attributes that make Brennan Cox a valuable defender for Fremantle
The mathematics is tricky when you try and fit the defensive depth into a theoretical best 22. For the record, my current best defensive set up is;
Ryan Hamling Logue
Wilson Pearce Young
A seventh defensive rotation would be drawn from Hill, Cox, Hughes, Conca, Duman. The only player there I feel comfortable leaving out of our best 22 is Duman, and while most of them have the potential to play other roles they probably are not first choice in those other roles. Watson deserves a mention. All of the above players apart from Hill would have 3+ years of AFL life to look forward to, although injury has been a cruel factor in several of their careers.
It is further complicated by the recruitment of Chapman and Walker, and to a lesser extent, O’Driscoll. The lot of them have been primarily defensive side players in their predraft careers.
Strategically I propose three things the club could consider;
- Depth; in the past the club has often had the services of good depth for critical positions. Silvagni comes to mind as someone who was plausibly best 22-25. Excluding Chapman and Walker I think we have 6 players who sit in this position, and it creates some list imbalance for us. It also makes a development pathway for Chapman and Walker a little murky. I see Cox, Hughes and Conca as more than sufficient depth, and expect Hill will be in his final year.
- Re positioning some players; if defense is an over developed part of our list, forward is a work in progress. And while midfield is bursting with potential, ruck and wings have some fragility about them. Given the skills of the players mentioned in my Depth, and especially the new recruits, there is value in considering alternative roles for them. My personal view is that all of Chapman, O’Driscoll and Walker should be groomed for the wing. Wing seems like a skill fit for them and can provide a potential point of entry to the side. I could see potential in developing Logue and Hughes as multi positional as well.
- Trade; In my opinion our wing deficiencies are a little over played with several capable players available right now for those roles in Acres, Aish and Bewley. Frederick has shown a lot of potential. Giro sits as a wildcard for me. Our tall forwards remain a concern especially when the development time of a tall forward is factored in. The club has often preferred the trade strategy for tall forwards in the past, and rarely been successful, however our history of developing tall forwards has been equally abysmal. It is plausible that Chapman may in time fill a role in the forward line alongside Treacy. Longmuir has indicated that we could use a forward/ruck on the list, and as post Taberner and Lobb that makes a lot of sense. Taberner remains a Free Agent this year, which is a concern.
