Prediction Best 22 - 2021

[BrizzyBandit]

Yeah this is early.... But the general consensus is that we're two to three years away from real success. I wanted to take a look at what our team could look like and the age of the group.

Tall backline..... But still lots of speed and foot skills....

Whitherden(22) Payne(21) Andrews(24)
Cox(23) McStay(25) Rich(30)

Very young midfield.
McCluggage(23) Beams(31) Allison(22)
McInnery(26) Mathieson(24) Berry(23)

Forward
Elite talent everywhere.... Zorko slowing down...but damaging up forward.

Rayner(21) Hipwood(23) Cameron(26)
Zorko(32) Ballenden(22) Christensen(29)

Interchange
Taylor(26), Baily(21), Robertson(25), Starcevich(21)

Tough... But in the mix:
Mayes(26) Lester(28) Gardiner(25)

Retired
Robinson.
Martin
Hodge
Bastinac

 

[AFLQLD]

Skinner still bloody injured!

 

[charles202]

Super draft strikeout

 

[irel]

Luscious traded out back to Adelaide for Candy Floss in 2020

 

[jjami15]

Yeah this is early.... But the general consensus is that we're two to three years away from real success. I wanted to take a look at what our team could look like and the age of the group.

Tall backline..... But still lots of speed and foot skills....

Whitherden(22) Payne(21) Andrews(24)
Cox(23) McStay(25) Rich(30)

Very young midfield.
McCluggage(23) Beams(31) Allison(22)
McInnery(26) Mathieson(24) Berry(23)

Forward
Elite talent everywhere.... Zorko slowing down...but damaging up forward.

Rayner(21) Hipwood(23) Cameron(26)
Zorko(32) Ballenden(22) Christensen(29)

Interchange
Taylor(26), Baily(21), Robertson(25), Starcevich(21)

Tough... But in the mix:
Mayes(26) Lester(28) Gardiner(25)

Retired
Robinson.
Martin
Hodge
Bastinac

When I first saw the thread title I thought, here's another one but it was really good reading but just shows you how far away we are. Obviously it would be great to say that all of those listed make it and there's a couple of All Stars but excitingly there will be a couple more highly rated draftees to add to that as well. Just another bloody three seasons to go, I'm patient but come on.

 

[BrizzyBandit]

Skinner still bloody injured!

Yeah left him out.... Just too unknown.
The glimpses we've seen though he could easily be in

 

[briztoon]

As others have pointed out we’ve got three more drafts before 2021.

There should be at least 3 to 5 kids pushing the top 22 from those drafts.

I really can’t see Rich still being in the best 22 by then.

What I am interested to see if we start losing younger players outside the best 22, similar to what has happened at the Giants in the past couple of years.

Looking at that list, that’s a lot of young talent just starting to reach their peak years. Going to be hard even top draftees to crack a regular spot.

And you know the Southern clubs will come hard for “their” kids.

 

[BrizzyBandit]

When I first saw the thread title I thought, here's another one but it was really good reading but just shows you how far away we are. Obviously it would be great to say that all of those listed make it and there's a couple of All Stars but excitingly there will be a couple more highly rated draftees to add to that as well. Just another bloody three seasons to go, I'm patient but come on.

Yeah that's why I did it. Even in 3 years time we're still horribly short of 26,27,28 and 29 year Olds. Footballers in their prime (Look at Beams and Zorko now).

I hate to say it... But we might be waiting until McCluggage, Andrews, Rayner crew are between 26-30 before we're really pushing hard.

Of course Zorko and Beams etc are all gone then so maybe we'll still have gaps.

Our only chance is that our young crew are super stars..... Early.

 

[trikster]

Our only chance is that our young crew are super stars..... Early.

Or we can bring in an A grade free agent to speed things up. While it's very unlikely at the moment, in 3 years time if we are still very much on the up then players will be interested in heading north again.

 

[Forward We Go]

As others have pointed out we’ve got three more drafts before 2021.

There should be at least 3 to 5 kids pushing the top 22 from those drafts.

I really can’t see Rich still being in the best 22 by then.

What I am interested to see if we start losing younger players outside the best 22, similar to what has happened at the Giants in the past couple of years.

Looking at that list, that’s a lot of young talent just starting to reach their peak years. Going to be hard even top draftees to crack a regular spot.

And you know the Southern clubs will come hard for “their” kids.

Agree with what you say above 100%. My fear is that Fagan doesn't extend after his current contract & we lose momentum which inturn has an effect on our list of ALL our players...not just the ones from southern areas. Don't think that players originally from QLD are guaranteed to stay if the don't see opportunities to play finals. At their age (approximately 22-24) they will have a huge hunger to one day play finals & if Brisbane cant offer that (for whatever reason) I am sure you will see them put theirselves on the market. We need this culture that Fagan/Noble/Swan are developing to stay and grow year after year.

 

[Jivlain]

Agree with what you say above 100%. My fear is that Fagan doesn't extend after his current contract & we lose momentum which inturn has an effect on our list of ALL our players...not just the ones from southern areas. Don't think that players originally from QLD are guaranteed to stay if the don't see opportunities to play finals. At their age (approximately 22-24) they will have a huge hunger to one day play finals & if Brisbane cant offer that (for whatever reason) I am sure you will see them put theirselves on the market. We need this culture that Fagan/Noble/Swan are developing to stay and grow year after year.

Can't imagine he'd want out.

 

[briztoon]

Agree with what you say above 100%. My fear is that Fagan doesn't extend after his current contract & we lose momentum which inturn has an effect on our list of ALL our players...not just the ones from southern areas. Don't think that players originally from QLD are guaranteed to stay if the don't see opportunities to play finals. At their age (approximately 22-24) they will have a huge hunger to one day play finals & if Brisbane cant offer that (for whatever reason) I am sure you will see them put theirselves on the market. We need this culture that Fagan/Noble/Swan are developing to stay and grow year after year.

I’m not worried about not re-signing. Unless something really bad and out of the ordinary happens, I’d guess Fagan is here for at least one more contract, if not until a real crack at a final.

 

[SizeMatters]

Fagan still has question marks for mine. Will wait until his last season though considering the steaming pile of crap he had at his disposal.

 

[a mayes ing]

Don't have any issues with Fages, has gotten the best out of some of the players, morale is up and honestly if Fages does leave then l wouldn''t be surprised if players leave too

 

[Forward We Go]

Don't have any issues with Fages, has gotten the best out of some of the players, morale is up and honestly if Fages does leave then l wouldn''t be surprised if players leave too

I think Fagan has been fantastic & has also made a huge positive impact on our list. Players leaving &/or player retention will be the main challenge over the next 3-5 years. All these young kids doing their apprenticeship will be tradesman in 3 years. A good tradie is always in demand.

 

[POBT]

You’re either being overly cautious or just a contrarian if you doubt Fagan’s ability as our coach.

I’m fairly sure he’ll stay too, based on his response when asked about it on the podcast.

 

[buttermuffs]

It’s hard to guess who will be in our best 22 in three years because there’s going to be a large amount of incoming draftees and hopefully some decent free agents.

Witherdon Payne Gardiner

Cox Andrews Mayes

Robertson Beams McCluggage

Taylor Hipwood Rayner

Cameron Wooller Zorko

Fol: Ballenden Berry Bailey

Int: Rich Mathieson Lester Christensen

Notes:

It’s very hard to do this honestly. There’s still a multitude of young and middle age players that I’ve completely ignored. Like I have not included McStay, Keays, Robinson (if he isn’t retired), Allison, Starcevich, Big O, Archie, Cutler, Barrett, and the list goes on. So many of these players are interchangeable; Wooller or Ballenden can come out for Archie or Big O; McStay (or Skinner) can come in for Gardiner or Payne; Keays and Allison can replace midfield players.

Anything is possible, any of these players could be delisted as well. There will also be about 6-8 new players from picks in the drafts and considering we played four players from last years draft on the weekend it shows how easily it can change. We will also probably pick up at least two free agents along the way.

It is fun though to see people’s thoughts in the end. I’m hoping that Mayes can still provide and be useful. Rich will probably be a great utility who can play anywhere. I’m banking on the idea that it is better to have a skilled ruckman than a tall one, and Ballenden has showed that he can play an stacking and defending role. We have so many wingers and flankers at our disposal as well. I’m excited for the future.

 

[marooned]

It’s hard to guess who will be in our best 22 in three years because there’s going to be a large amount of incoming draftees and hopefully some decent free agents.

Witherdon Payne Gardiner

Cox Andrews Mayes

Robertson Beams McCluggage

Taylor Hipwood Rayner

Cameron Wooller Zorko

Fol: Ballenden Berry Bailey

Int: Rich Mathieson Lester Christensen

Notes:

It’s very hard to do this honestly. There’s still a multitude of young and middle age players that I’ve completely ignored. Like I have not included McStay, Keays, Robinson (if he isn’t retired), Allison, Starcevich, Big O, Archie, Cutler, Barrett, and the list goes on. So many of these players are interchangeable; Wooller or Ballenden can come out for Archie or Big O; McStay (or Skinner) can come in for Gardiner or Payne; Keays and Allison can replace midfield players.

Anything is possible, any of these players could be delisted as well. There will also be about 6-8 new players from picks in the drafts and considering we played four players from last years draft on the weekend it shows how easily it can change. We will also probably pick up at least two free agents along the way.

It is fun though to see people’s thoughts in the end. I’m hoping that Mayes can still provide and be useful. Rich will probably be a great utility who can play anywhere. I’m banking on the idea that it is better to have a skilled ruckman than a tall one, and Ballenden has showed that he can play an stacking and defending role. We have so many wingers and flankers at our disposal as well. I’m excited for the future.

If Lester is still in the best 22 we wont be contesting for anything and no C.Rayner in your team?

 

[buttermuffs]

If Lester is still in the best 22 we wont be contesting for anything and no C.Rayner in your team?

Cam is on the forward flank. I still have Lester in due to his leadership and general all-around flexibility. Honestly he doesn’t have to be in the side; like I said, it’s challenging to predict these things and I’m banking that he also improves his skills along with the rest of the team.

 

[marooned]

Cam is on the forward flank. I still have Lester in due to his leadership and general all-around flexibility. Honestly he doesn’t have to be in the side; like I said, it’s challenging to predict these things and I’m banking that he also improves his skills along with the rest of the team.

I even looked twice my bad

 

[SonnyBoy1]

My worry with our team at the moment with our players under 25 is that we have no genuine stars or players that are dominating at the moment in the midfield, we have no youngsters like Oliver or Crouch who are getting all Australian whilst being so young, Players like Berry, Mathieson, Keays, Mccluggage are just gonna be good players none of them look like being all aus any time soon.Not sure how our rebuild has been going for so long and we still haven't drafted a star mid we need to stop relying on Zorko and Beams. Scared we might end up like St Kilda who have gone through a rebuild just to end up with a average team, We really need to find a star player under 25

2013 Draft is starting to look like a massive Fail for the club not because the players we drafted but how good the draft was for the players we got if only we got 1 star mid from that draft

hopefully the club proves me wrong

 

[a mayes ing]

My worry with our team at the moment with our players under 25 is that we have no genuine stars or players that are dominating at the moment in the midfield, we have no youngsters like Oliver or Crouch who are getting all Australian whilst being so young, Players like Berry, Mathieson, Keays, Mccluggage are just gonna be good players none of them look like being all aus any time soon.Not sure how our rebuild has been going for so long and we still haven't drafted a star mid we need to stop relying on Zorko and Beams. Scared we might end up like St Kilda who have gone through a rebuild just to end up with a average team, We really need to find a star player under 25

2013 Draft is starting to look like a massive Fail for the club not because the players we drafted but how good the draft was for the players we got if only we got 1 star mid from that draft

hopefully the club proves me wrong

Definitly feel some of them will be stars. McCluggage, Berry, Rayner will all be stars and probably the player we get in this years draft too. Just because some other players are already stars doesn't mean ours wont be in the future. Berry especially could be someone of Cripps ability.

 

[BrizzyBandit]

Definitly feel some of them will be stars. McCluggage, Berry, Rayner will all be stars and probably the player we get in this years draft too. Just because some other players are already stars doesn't mean ours wont be in the future. Berry especially could be someone of Cripps ability.

Yeah I also have really high hopes for Baily. Huge speed and ball winning ability in and around clearances.

 

[a mayes ing]

Yeah I also have really high hopes for Baily. Huge speed and ball winning ability in and around clearances.

Havent seen too much of Bailey. People say he is very quick but how does he compare to the Jetta's, Rohans, Camerons etc?

 

[jackess]

Havent seen too much of Bailey. People say he is very quick but how does he compare to the Jetta's, Rohans, Camerons etc?

Burst of speed probably similar to Rohan but maybe not as quick in full flight. Good vision of it from the intraclub highlights on the lions website