Best 22 - 2022

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RowellAnderson12

Norm Smith Medallist
Nov 4, 2019
6,411
8,426
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Other Teams
Liverpool, Max Verstappen, Pacers, DR3
Hopefully i don't forget anyone haha, Best 22 in my eyes overall not round 1.

B: S. Lemmens, S. Collins, W. Powell
HB: O. Markov, S. Day, C. Ballard

C: J. Lukosius, H. Greenwood, B. Ellis

HF: B. Ainsworth, M. Chol, I. Rankine
FF: D. Swallow, B. King, N. Holman

R: J. Witts, T. Miller, M. Rowell

I: J. Bowes, N. Anderson, L. Weller, B. Fiorini (Sub C. Budarick)

Backline 7;

Collins, Day & Ballard are all capable of taking the talls, we need Day to give Ballard more freedom to intercept like Jake Lever. Powell, Bowes will be our designated kickers out of the backline who are capable of intercepting. Lemmens to be our small/medium sized forward lockdown defender and Markov to add speed and movement out.

Midfielders;

Witts is safe as houses and will be a welcomed return, don't forget he hit 1008 hitouts in 2019 breaking the record. Miller, Rowell, Greenwood has been and will be our starting trio, all capable of two way running. All 3 are capable of scoring goals, spreading out the contest, laying tackles and ooze leadership. I have Swallow, Anderson & Weller as the rotations in, Swallow is a contested/clearance animal, Anderson is so juicy to break out, he averaged 23 touches and 4 clearances in his 2nd year just quietly. Weller adds class and speed into that midfield, we need him to be able to hit targets inside 50. Fiorini gets the last spot on my bench as his form last year is too hard to ignore.

Yes the recent article of Lukosius states he will be playing forward but i feel he's still a weapon on the wing, if Dew decides to go Lukosius forward, simply swap Weller or Anderson onto the wing to accomodate Fiorini. Ellis is a lock on the other wing.

Forwards;

King will be in for a big year on and off the field, hopefully for our sake he signs on which i do believe he will. Chol will be interesting if he can provide solid support for King and Witts.

Ainsworth, Holman & Rankine get the nod for me. Ainsworth is a workhorse who provides plenty. Every team needs a Holman, he is all heart and a barometer easily makes my team until Flanders can prove he can outwork Holman. Rankine will be back, but if he can't fix his mental woes on the field, i feel he may request a trade home.

Sub;

Could be anyone really but Connor Budarick was an undersized midfielder in his draft year who averaged 8 tackles a game, he can play back and play forward, coming off an ACL he is the perfect Mr Fix It.

Players who missed out & What they need to do;
#2 Rory Atkins - I'm willing to give him another chance, didn't have a full preseason last year and will definitely be doing his best to get a gig on the wing.
#6 Alex Sexton - Can easily be in this side, but i've gone Rankine because of ceiling potential. Goes invisible when we get pumped, no defensive pressure.
#16 Rory Thompson - Would love to see him back, would start over Day. Time will tell.
#19 Josh Corbett - If Dew keeps Luko on the wing i would start Corbett, only left him out as we would be too tall.
#26 Sam Flanders - Could of been the sub, just waiting to see some A Grade traits before i put him in, not sure of his best position.
#29 Chris Burgess - Not sure how he gets in, would be Chol's insurance at RUCK/FWD.
#30 Alex Davies - Hopefully can develop in the VFL and can only see him come in for Greenwood.
#36 Elijah Hollands - X Factor, could be anything. Pretty excited for Hollands return, no expectations, just want to see him play.
#37 Jeremy Sharp - Sharp takes the 2nd wing / 3rd man rotation if Lukosius ends up forward.
#38 Rhys Nicholls - May need some luck with injuries for a sniff.
#40 Joel Jeffery - Keep adding size, may see sporadicly.
#41 Malcolm Rosas - Work on his goal sense and crumming, we need a small forward not a forward flanker.
#42 Patrick Murtagh - Kick a bag of goals and stay in games longer.
#43 Jez Mclennan - Can't see him getting a game.
#44 Darcy Macpherson - Would be fighting Flanders, Holman for that role. Could feature this year.
#45 Luke Towey - No Chance.
#46 Caleb Graham - Break incase of emergency, needs to keep adding size, needs more time to develop.
#47 Hewago Paul Oea - No Chance.
#48 Matt Conroy - Keep biding his time, see how his knee goes.
#49 Ned Moyle - Keep learning from Witts and co, get some muscle.
#50 Jy Farrar - Needs to start racking it up more in the VFL, great user of the football needs to be touching it more often.

Leadership:
Co Captains; Jarrod Witts, Touk Miller

The rest; David Swallow, Sam Collins, Wil Powell
 
Dec 5, 2015
3,757
6,640
Bueng Kan,Thailand
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Hopefully i don't forget anyone haha, Best 22 in my eyes overall not round 1.

B: S. Lemmens, S. Collins, W. Powell
HB: O. Markov, S. Day, C. Ballard

C: J. Lukosius, H. Greenwood, B. Ellis

HF: B. Ainsworth, M. Chol, I. Rankine
FF: D. Swallow, B. King, N. Holman

R: J. Witts, T. Miller, M. Rowell

I: J. Bowes, N. Anderson, L. Weller, B. Fiorini (Sub C. Budarick)

Backline 7;

Collins, Day & Ballard are all capable of taking the talls, we need Day to give Ballard more freedom to intercept like Jake Lever. Powell, Bowes will be our designated kickers out of the backline who are capable of intercepting. Lemmens to be our small/medium sized forward lockdown defender and Markov to add speed and movement out.

Midfielders;

Witts is safe as houses and will be a welcomed return, don't forget he hit 1008 hitouts in 2019 breaking the record. Miller, Rowell, Greenwood has been and will be our starting trio, all capable of two way running. All 3 are capable of scoring goals, spreading out the contest, laying tackles and ooze leadership. I have Swallow, Anderson & Weller as the rotations in, Swallow is a contested/clearance animal, Anderson is so juicy to break out, he averaged 23 touches and 4 clearances in his 2nd year just quietly. Weller adds class and speed into that midfield, we need him to be able to hit targets inside 50. Fiorini gets the last spot on my bench as his form last year is too hard to ignore.

Yes the recent article of Lukosius states he will be playing forward but i feel he's still a weapon on the wing, if Dew decides to go Lukosius forward, simply swap Weller or Anderson onto the wing to accomodate Fiorini. Ellis is a lock on the other wing.

Forwards;

King will be in for a big year on and off the field, hopefully for our sake he signs on which i do believe he will. Chol will be interesting if he can provide solid support for King and Witts.

Ainsworth, Holman & Rankine get the nod for me. Ainsworth is a workhorse who provides plenty. Every team needs a Holman, he is all heart and a barometer easily makes my team until Flanders can prove he can outwork Holman. Rankine will be back, but if he can't fix his mental woes on the field, i feel he may request a trade home.

Sub;

Could be anyone really but Connor Budarick was an undersized midfielder in his draft year who averaged 8 tackles a game, he can play back and play forward, coming off an ACL he is the perfect Mr Fix It.

Players who missed out & What they need to do;
#2 Rory Atkins - I'm willing to give him another chance, didn't have a full preseason last year and will definitely be doing his best to get a gig on the wing.
#6 Alex Sexton - Can easily be in this side, but i've gone Rankine because of ceiling potential. Goes invisible when we get pumped, no defensive pressure.
#16 Rory Thompson - Would love to see him back, would start over Day. Time will tell.
#19 Josh Corbett - If Dew keeps Luko on the wing i would start Corbett, only left him out as we would be too tall.
#26 Sam Flanders - Could of been the sub, just waiting to see some A Grade traits before i put him in, not sure of his best position.
#29 Chris Burgess - Not sure how he gets in, would be Chol's insurance at RUCK/FWD.
#30 Alex Davies - Hopefully can develop in the VFL and can only see him come in for Greenwood.
#36 Elijah Hollands - X Factor, could be anything. Pretty excited for Hollands return, no expectations, just want to see him play.
#37 Jeremy Sharp - Sharp takes the 2nd wing / 3rd man rotation if Lukosius ends up forward.
#38 Rhys Nicholls - May need some luck with injuries for a sniff.
#40 Joel Jeffery - Keep adding size, may see sporadicly.
#41 Malcolm Rosas - Work on his goal sense and crumming, we need a small forward not a forward flanker.
#42 Patrick Murtagh - Kick a bag of goals and stay in games longer.
#43 Jez Mclennan - Can't see him getting a game.
#44 Darcy Macpherson - Would be fighting Flanders, Holman for that role. Could feature this year.
#45 Luke Towey - No Chance.
#46 Caleb Graham - Break incase of emergency, needs to keep adding size, needs more time to develop.
#47 Hewago Paul Oea - No Chance.
#48 Matt Conroy - Keep biding his time, see how his knee goes.
#49 Ned Moyle - Keep learning from Witts and co, get some muscle.
#50 Jy Farrar - Needs to start racking it up more in the VFL, great user of the football needs to be touching it more often.

Leadership:
Co Captains; Jarrod Witts, Touk Miller

The rest; David Swallow, Sam Collins, Wil Powell

Well presented post.....can see a bit of thought has gone into it.....:thumbsu:
 

The Kings Ransom

Premiership Player
Aug 30, 2021
3,421
4,138
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Michael Whitings attempt on AFL website
Few interesting takes

no Greenwood, no Weller, no sexton.

4C1D3465-5CF5-442D-837B-ED817665AF1E.png
 

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Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Michael Whitings attempt on AFL website
Few interesting takes

no Greenwood, no Weller, no sexton.

View attachment 1261445

No Markov??!
The guy plays simply because he's twice as fast as everyone else has elite endurance and breaks lines
I'd also play him in the ruck, defence forward in fact anywhere anywhere ahead of Caleb Graham
 

KaySwizzle

Club Legend
Aug 19, 2020
1,552
2,324
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Michael Whitings attempt on AFL website
Few interesting takes

no Greenwood, no Weller, no sexton.

View attachment 1261445
Unless injured, there is no chance Greenwood isn’t best 22. None. He starts in the middle every week.

Lachie Weller still probably makes the best 22, even after a disappointing 2021 season for him for a number of reasons—specifically concussions. Sexton too, probably starts the season for his experience and ability to kick goals, but could easily be pushed out if he underperforms.

Markov, Corbett, Day are other players that could probably be shuffled in and played significant best 22 last year.
 

The Kings Ransom

Premiership Player
Aug 30, 2021
3,421
4,138
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Think Whitings comment in the text about pressure in the small forward line was telling.
Still agree that Sexton starts round 1 but by no means a guaranteed best 22 week in week out.

I'd also have Markov in there.
Gives us another angle to goal.
 

Disambiguous

Water Boy
Jan 12, 2016
281
232
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Think Whitings comment in the text about pressure in the small forward line was telling.
Still agree that Sexton starts round 1 but by no means a guaranteed best 22 week in week out.

I'd also have Markov in there.
Gives us another angle to goal.

Would you please tell us more about your thoughts on Markov up forward?


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 

The Kings Ransom

Premiership Player
Aug 30, 2021
3,421
4,138
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Yes, as the above posters said - more his ability to break the lines from defence.
In saying that, only 2.7 score involvements last year, which isn't great.
Could get involved a bit more often.
 

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Jul 11, 2006
5,805
6,718
Chermside
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Gold Coast
Other Teams
See Below
Speed kills

The more damaging Markov is the more opposing teams have to think about him the more it frees up other players when we rebound

He's Adam Saad but more than cheap bounce stats for us, love it
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
2.7 per game

Looked at the. 'premier' half backs in the league

Short 3.1
Bailey Dale 4.1
Salem 3.9
Hind 4.5


So bit below, but not as far off the mark as I thought
You take Salem who I probably rate the highest in that group in a premiership winning team
I was a bit below in my estimate of scores per game for us at 18.5(not 20)
Melbourne averaged over 25 scores per game
So Markov is involved in around 15% of our scores per game which is about the same as Salem
I sometimes wonder what team some of these sporting journos are watching?
It's pretty obvious Legs is a walk up for us to anyone who goes to games
 

Jirik13

Norm Smith Medallist
Jan 22, 2018
8,176
10,759
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Markov's in my first XI
I am a fan. Just hoping that the team will use Markov much more. So many times he run hard into spaces only to be ignored. Markov's disposal was average at best early in the season. He made some real blunders. As the season progressed, with more games under belt, he improved his kick and decision making significantly.

Personally, I would play both Markov and Farrar. Farrar also provides drive, breaks lines, has a good kick and makes sound decision.
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
I am a fan. Just hoping that the team will use Markov much more. So many times he run hard into spaces only to be ignored. Markov's disposal was average at best early in the season. He made some real blunders. As the season progressed, with more games under belt, he improved his kick and decision making significantly.

Personally, I would play both Markov and Farrar. Farrar also provides drive, has a good kick and makes sound decision.
I would have Farrar over Budarick because I think Jy will be able to play big and small while Connor is strictly small forward lockdown
Farrar is still only 19 yoa!!!!-so much upside there
I have no fears for the development of our defence(injury permitting) which is still the basis of team building
 

Jirik13

Norm Smith Medallist
Jan 22, 2018
8,176
10,759
AFL Club
Gold Coast
I would have Farrar over Budarick because I think Jy will be able to play big and small while Connor is strictly small forward lockdown
Farrar is still only 19 you!!!!-so much upside there
I have no fears for the development of our defence(injury permitting) which is still the basis of team building
I am also happy with our defence. We just need to win more in the midfield to give our defence a chance. For me Farrar over Budarick too (or Bowes for that matter). I would not mind at all to have Powell and Farrar initiate our runs. I like Budarick but his disposal was average in his first year. Interestingly, Budarick is actually a midfielder, his tackling is top class.
 

RowellAnderson12

Norm Smith Medallist
Nov 4, 2019
6,411
8,426
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Other Teams
Liverpool, Max Verstappen, Pacers, DR3
I would have Farrar over Budarick because I think Jy will be able to play big and small while Connor is strictly small forward lockdown
Farrar is still only 19 yoa!!!!-so much upside there
I have no fears for the development of our defence(injury permitting) which is still the basis of team building

Jy is 24 mate
 
Dec 5, 2015
3,757
6,640
Bueng Kan,Thailand
AFL Club
Gold Coast
I would have Farrar over Budarick because I think Jy will be able to play big and small while Connor is strictly small forward lockdown
Farrar is still only 19 yoa!!!!-so much upside there
I have no fears for the development of our defence(injury permitting) which is still the basis of team building

Think you're mixing up Farrar with Budarick, Sandy...

Budarick turned 20 in April and Farrar turns 25 in December....
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Jy is 24 mate
I thought he was the oldest looking 19yo on the planet which is why I did the three !!!!
Footywire definitely says 19
Jy Farrar
#50 Gold Coast Suns
Age: 19yr 10mth Games: 11 Born: December 7, 2001 Origin: Scotch OC
Height: 191cm Weight: 79kg Position: Defender, Forward
Last Drafted: Round 4, Pick #60 2019 National Draft by Gold Coast Suns
Supercoach Price: $261,700 Supercoach Profile
AFL Fantasy Price: $393,000 AFL Fantasy Profile
Contract Status: Out of contract at the end of 2023 AFL Player Contracts
 
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