Keys
Looking for a cloud to yell at
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- #1
Now that the Round 1 side has been named and we have a best 22 in the selectors eyes, I thought it would be an idea to look at who's out of the side to judge the strength of our depth from the players available.
In 2016 part of our problem was a lack of pressure on the best 22 for places which I believe allowed a degree of complacency to settle in so the quality of the players on this list is important in ensuring we don't have a repeat of that problem on 2017
So here goes :
Round 1 Depth :
Tall Defenders
1) Barrass* - arguably should be in the 22 already and Mackenzie should be feeling sexuals hot breath on the back of his neck
2) Schofield* - misses out due to a reversion to the 2 tall strategy that worked in 2015. May yet be a late in and will be first back in if we go back to 3 talls as he offers more as a 3rd tall than Barrass or Mackenzie
3) Gorter - third tall option only if injury strikes 2 or more of our main quartet.
Small/Medium Defenders
1) Butler* - expect it's line ball between him and Nelson but the younger Nelson gets the nod with an eye to the future. His form has been solid so it won't take much of a drop in form from one of the 22 for simmo to go back to a faithful servant
2) Watson - has been electric for EP and if he can polish up his disposal may well knock down the door for selection through weight of performance. Offers something unique but status as a cat B rookie may be problematic
3) Rotham - Slight build counts against him but has looked composed for EP so far
4) Brophy - playing reserves for EP so if we get down this far we're in trouble
Tall Forwards
1) McInness - Depth here is a worry and if we need a tall forward it's more likely we shuffle our rucks/KPDs before big Fraser is promoted off the rookie list
2) Lamb - not a true KPF as he's a 3rd tall at best. Playing poorly and might be in front of Mcinness but at least Fraser can sort of play in the ruck
Small/Medium Forwards
1) Venables - Rioli would be here but he's injured. Ultimately DV is a mid but if he gets a game this year it'll be as a half forward with an occasional rotation in the midfield. Still playing in reserves to build up his match conditioning. As with our KPFs it's more likely players are reshuffled from elsewhere before Venables gets a game at this stage
2) Bayok - Cat B rookie playing ressies and a long way from playing in the wings. We're cooked if he gets a game in the seniors this year
Rucks
1) Giles* - the only fit pure ruck on our list. Needs to be better than his effort against Peel to ensure he gets a game should the undersized Vartrie not work out as hoped
2) There is no (2) which is a massive concern
Its the Midfield Stupid
1) Sheed* - would be in the side had it not been for a slow healing knock to the calf from JLT3. Assuming he plays for EP on Sunday and gets through unscathed he'll be replacing the worst performed mid from the NM game I expect
2) Duggan* - has come on a bit slower due to a hamstring strain that's been managed through the preseason. Needs to build some form and consistency with EP before he can genuinely be considered for a promotion
3) Partington - has put together a solid body of work through the preseason and arguably has his nose in front of Duggan if someone had to be brought into the 22 right now
4) Mutimer - is doing some solid work at EP but is a ways off being genuinely considered for the senior side. Needs to keep pushing and improving
5) Karpany - struggling for impact as he's not getting enough of the footy right now which puts him behind the moot
6) Snadden - may well be playing reserves for EP this weekend so he's a long way back
Unavailable
1) Cole - has a quad strain and is 1-2 weeks away. Likely to slot in as second small/medium defender behind butler when he returns.
2) Allen - still 3-4 weeks away with a recurrent hamstring. Adds depth as a 3rd tall up forward but will still be a fair way off after he gets his body right
3) Rioli - still hasn't returned to running after having his hamstring operated on. Will be first in line as a small forward if he can pick up where he left off prior to his hamstring injury
4) Waterman - in a moonboot with no real timeframe for a return other than a generic 8-10 weeks. Long way off
5) Tunbridge - recovering from a knee reconstruction and will hopefully be back mid season
6) Lycett - recovered from a knee then dislocated his shoulder requiring another operation. Mid season maybe
7) Naitanui - slowly recovering and every possibility it'll be 2018 before we see him again
* These players (there's 6 of them) are all borderline best 22 and as such are the ones we most want to be performing to exert maximum pressure on the current 22
In 2016 part of our problem was a lack of pressure on the best 22 for places which I believe allowed a degree of complacency to settle in so the quality of the players on this list is important in ensuring we don't have a repeat of that problem on 2017
So here goes :
Round 1 Depth :
Tall Defenders
1) Barrass* - arguably should be in the 22 already and Mackenzie should be feeling sexuals hot breath on the back of his neck
2) Schofield* - misses out due to a reversion to the 2 tall strategy that worked in 2015. May yet be a late in and will be first back in if we go back to 3 talls as he offers more as a 3rd tall than Barrass or Mackenzie
3) Gorter - third tall option only if injury strikes 2 or more of our main quartet.
Small/Medium Defenders
1) Butler* - expect it's line ball between him and Nelson but the younger Nelson gets the nod with an eye to the future. His form has been solid so it won't take much of a drop in form from one of the 22 for simmo to go back to a faithful servant
2) Watson - has been electric for EP and if he can polish up his disposal may well knock down the door for selection through weight of performance. Offers something unique but status as a cat B rookie may be problematic
3) Rotham - Slight build counts against him but has looked composed for EP so far
4) Brophy - playing reserves for EP so if we get down this far we're in trouble
Tall Forwards
1) McInness - Depth here is a worry and if we need a tall forward it's more likely we shuffle our rucks/KPDs before big Fraser is promoted off the rookie list
2) Lamb - not a true KPF as he's a 3rd tall at best. Playing poorly and might be in front of Mcinness but at least Fraser can sort of play in the ruck
Small/Medium Forwards
1) Venables - Rioli would be here but he's injured. Ultimately DV is a mid but if he gets a game this year it'll be as a half forward with an occasional rotation in the midfield. Still playing in reserves to build up his match conditioning. As with our KPFs it's more likely players are reshuffled from elsewhere before Venables gets a game at this stage
2) Bayok - Cat B rookie playing ressies and a long way from playing in the wings. We're cooked if he gets a game in the seniors this year
Rucks
1) Giles* - the only fit pure ruck on our list. Needs to be better than his effort against Peel to ensure he gets a game should the undersized Vartrie not work out as hoped
2) There is no (2) which is a massive concern
Its the Midfield Stupid
1) Sheed* - would be in the side had it not been for a slow healing knock to the calf from JLT3. Assuming he plays for EP on Sunday and gets through unscathed he'll be replacing the worst performed mid from the NM game I expect
2) Duggan* - has come on a bit slower due to a hamstring strain that's been managed through the preseason. Needs to build some form and consistency with EP before he can genuinely be considered for a promotion
3) Partington - has put together a solid body of work through the preseason and arguably has his nose in front of Duggan if someone had to be brought into the 22 right now
4) Mutimer - is doing some solid work at EP but is a ways off being genuinely considered for the senior side. Needs to keep pushing and improving
5) Karpany - struggling for impact as he's not getting enough of the footy right now which puts him behind the moot
6) Snadden - may well be playing reserves for EP this weekend so he's a long way back
Unavailable
1) Cole - has a quad strain and is 1-2 weeks away. Likely to slot in as second small/medium defender behind butler when he returns.
2) Allen - still 3-4 weeks away with a recurrent hamstring. Adds depth as a 3rd tall up forward but will still be a fair way off after he gets his body right
3) Rioli - still hasn't returned to running after having his hamstring operated on. Will be first in line as a small forward if he can pick up where he left off prior to his hamstring injury
4) Waterman - in a moonboot with no real timeframe for a return other than a generic 8-10 weeks. Long way off
5) Tunbridge - recovering from a knee reconstruction and will hopefully be back mid season
6) Lycett - recovered from a knee then dislocated his shoulder requiring another operation. Mid season maybe
7) Naitanui - slowly recovering and every possibility it'll be 2018 before we see him again
* These players (there's 6 of them) are all borderline best 22 and as such are the ones we most want to be performing to exert maximum pressure on the current 22
