Just wanting to get some opinions on what others think may happen during the year next year in regards to our best 23.
I've grouped the team by ages to get a good idea of what our age profile is like and then put them into colour groups for where I think they may sit in the squad.
Green = players who will keep their spot in the 22 unless injured.
Yellow = first 22 players whos automatic selection could be under pressure
Orange = players who could lock down automatic selection with some improvement.
Red = players who only get a game through injuries. This can be because of age, their position or that they need to show a lot of improvement to get a game.
Purple = unknown draftees. It's unlikely they will get a run of games.
Over 30's
Dayne Zorko
Jarryd Lyons
Ryan Lester
Lachie Neale
Darcy Fort
Lincoln McCarthy
Going into 2023 our age profile is pretty good. We have 6 players over 30, Lachie Neale is the only irreplaceable player in that group. McCarthy is very handy but not irreplaceable.
Zorko had some good games last year but IMO struggled a little bit to get up week after week. I love him as the 23rd man though. He could be a serious impact player for a quarter.
26-30
Joe Daniher
Charlie Cameron
Oscar McInerney
Darcy Gardiner
Conor McKenna
Harris Andrews
Josh Dunkley
Darragh Joyce
Eric Hipwood
Callum Ah Chee
Jarrod Berry
Hugh McCluggage
Tom Doedee
Brandon Ryan
No Suprises that the majority of the guys in this age group are locks. Doedee still needs to come back from his injury but I am confident once fit and healthy he becomes an automatic selection.
Cal Ah Chee's position could be under threat on a wing/HFF, not because he isn't a quality player but because we have a lot of talent looking to push into those positions.
Jarrod Berry is an interesting case. He should be an inside bull but his shoulder issues are letting that side of his game down. He does have an excellent mix of attributes for a winger. At 6'4 he towers over most wingers and should be a good get out of trouble target. He runs all day, has decent albeit not great pace and is generally a good user of the ball. His problem like Ah Chee is that a good chunk of our up and coming talent is looking to break into his main position. I don't see him being dropped but with the arrival of Fletcher last year, Ashcroft to come back, Clugg potentially being pushed back out to the wing and some of our HBFs having attributes to push up to a wing. His lack of versatility could count against him.
21-25
Brandon Starcevich
Noah Answerth
Zac Bailey
Jack Payne
Cam Rayner
James Madden
Keidean Coleman
Jaxon Prior
Deven Robertson
Carter Michael
Henry Smith
Harry Sharp
Kai Lohmann
James Tunstill
Darcy Wilmot
Bruce Reville
I think Rayners spot could be put under some pressure. Not because he isn't good but because the guys I have above him are such locks that he is one of the only ones who the younger guys can realistically put under pressure at this point.
I expect Dev will play the majority of the season. I am just not sure where. GF aside the club must have made some promises to keep him around rather than going back to WCE for a boat load more money. Where he plays though? I'm not sure. We know he can play as a defensive forward or as an inside mid, he has been used as a wing but our other options on the wing are better by foot.
Kai will be looking to put pressure on Linc and Rayners spot.
Sharp needs to show a decent amount of improvement to usurp Ah Chee, Berry, Fletcher or McCluggage for a spot on the wing. Ah Chee is the most vulnerable I see of that lot but he is miles ahead of Sharp as a footballer.
Prior for a HBF or wing spot again but unless one of Wilmot or McKenna is moved to a wing, I don't see that happening without injuries.
18-21
Shadeau Brain
Jaspa Fletcher
Will Ashcroft
Zane Zakostelsky
Reece Torrent
Logan Morris
Luke Lloyd
Will and Jaspa are lock IMO. Time will tell on the others. If we are lucky we might have a dark horse to push into the team by mid season and cement their spot.
2023 Grand Final Team
B: Brandon Starcevich Harris Andrews Darcy Gardiner
HB: Conor McKenna Ryan Lester Keidean Coleman
C: Hugh McCluggage Josh Dunkley Dayne Zorko
HF: Charlie Cameron Eric Hipwood Callum Ah Chee
F: Cameron Rayner Joe Daniher Zac Bailey
Foll: Oscar McInerney Lachie Neale Jarrod Berry
Int: Deven Robertson Lincoln McCarthy Jaspa Fletcher
Darcy Wilmot Jarryd Lyons (sub)
Possible 2024 Finals Team
B: Brandon Starcevich Harris Andrews Tom Doedee
HB: Conor McKenna Jack Payne Keidean Coleman
C: Hugh McCluggage Josh Dunkley Jaspa Fletcher
HF: Charlie Cameron Eric Hipwood Callum Ah Chee
F: Cameron Rayner Joe Daniher Zac Bailey
Foll: Oscar McInerney Lachie Neale Jarrod Berry
Int: Deven Robertson Lincoln McCarthy Will Ashcroft
Darcy Wilmot Dayne Zorko (sub)
The easiest changes are that Gardiner and Lester come out for Payne and Doedee. That immediately will add some strength to our backline. Ashcroft comes straight in for Lyons who goes out and Zorko goes to the sub role.
I see Fletcher becoming one of our full time wings next season. It will be his second year, and he will have his first full pre-season under his belt.
Clugg and Berry probably swap around, though I am not a huge fan of having Clugg and Neale in the same rotation. It does make us a bit one speed IMO. Dev could be used in Dunks' role which would allow Dunks.
We have 5 or 6 guys in that orange bracket that will be looking to push some of the guys in the yellow section out. No surprises that it is really only HFF and Wings that could be up for grabs.
Left field moves that could give things a shake up:
Starce to a wing or in the midfield.
I doubt it happens because he is arguably the #1 small to mid lockdown defender in the comp but you never know. He is quick, has a great gas tank and plenty of experience. His disposal can let him down at times but I don't think I have seen him take a kick that isn't under pressure.
Fletcher to inside mid instead of on a wing.
Plenty of athleticism and a proper preseason could see him given the Ashcroft role on the inside. He is probably the only one of our mid/wings with the skills and athleticism to carry out that role as well as Will did. I think we can all see him on the inside in the future but is the future earlier than we expected while we wait for Will? Fletcher is only going to improve from here on.
Where do we need to improve?
I still think our run, in particular our defensive run could improve. Going forward we are the most dangerous team in the comp. A more even midfield spread and not relying on Neale to win the ball would make us more unpredictable at stoppages. More goals from our midfield would always be handy.
Although we only lost by 4 points at the GF I felt that we were at least a 3 goal worse team on the day. Our accuracy kept us in it and we came ever so close to stealing the game.
I've grouped the team by ages to get a good idea of what our age profile is like and then put them into colour groups for where I think they may sit in the squad.
Green = players who will keep their spot in the 22 unless injured.
Yellow = first 22 players whos automatic selection could be under pressure
Orange = players who could lock down automatic selection with some improvement.
Red = players who only get a game through injuries. This can be because of age, their position or that they need to show a lot of improvement to get a game.
Purple = unknown draftees. It's unlikely they will get a run of games.
Over 30's
Dayne Zorko
Jarryd Lyons
Ryan Lester
Lachie Neale
Darcy Fort
Lincoln McCarthy
Going into 2023 our age profile is pretty good. We have 6 players over 30, Lachie Neale is the only irreplaceable player in that group. McCarthy is very handy but not irreplaceable.
Zorko had some good games last year but IMO struggled a little bit to get up week after week. I love him as the 23rd man though. He could be a serious impact player for a quarter.
26-30
Joe Daniher
Charlie Cameron
Oscar McInerney
Darcy Gardiner
Conor McKenna
Harris Andrews
Josh Dunkley
Darragh Joyce
Eric Hipwood
Callum Ah Chee
Jarrod Berry
Hugh McCluggage
Tom Doedee
Brandon Ryan
No Suprises that the majority of the guys in this age group are locks. Doedee still needs to come back from his injury but I am confident once fit and healthy he becomes an automatic selection.
Cal Ah Chee's position could be under threat on a wing/HFF, not because he isn't a quality player but because we have a lot of talent looking to push into those positions.
Jarrod Berry is an interesting case. He should be an inside bull but his shoulder issues are letting that side of his game down. He does have an excellent mix of attributes for a winger. At 6'4 he towers over most wingers and should be a good get out of trouble target. He runs all day, has decent albeit not great pace and is generally a good user of the ball. His problem like Ah Chee is that a good chunk of our up and coming talent is looking to break into his main position. I don't see him being dropped but with the arrival of Fletcher last year, Ashcroft to come back, Clugg potentially being pushed back out to the wing and some of our HBFs having attributes to push up to a wing. His lack of versatility could count against him.
21-25
Brandon Starcevich
Noah Answerth
Zac Bailey
Jack Payne
Cam Rayner
James Madden
Keidean Coleman
Jaxon Prior
Deven Robertson
Carter Michael
Henry Smith
Harry Sharp
Kai Lohmann
James Tunstill
Darcy Wilmot
Bruce Reville
I think Rayners spot could be put under some pressure. Not because he isn't good but because the guys I have above him are such locks that he is one of the only ones who the younger guys can realistically put under pressure at this point.
I expect Dev will play the majority of the season. I am just not sure where. GF aside the club must have made some promises to keep him around rather than going back to WCE for a boat load more money. Where he plays though? I'm not sure. We know he can play as a defensive forward or as an inside mid, he has been used as a wing but our other options on the wing are better by foot.
Kai will be looking to put pressure on Linc and Rayners spot.
Sharp needs to show a decent amount of improvement to usurp Ah Chee, Berry, Fletcher or McCluggage for a spot on the wing. Ah Chee is the most vulnerable I see of that lot but he is miles ahead of Sharp as a footballer.
Prior for a HBF or wing spot again but unless one of Wilmot or McKenna is moved to a wing, I don't see that happening without injuries.
18-21
Shadeau Brain
Jaspa Fletcher
Will Ashcroft
Zane Zakostelsky
Reece Torrent
Logan Morris
Luke Lloyd
Will and Jaspa are lock IMO. Time will tell on the others. If we are lucky we might have a dark horse to push into the team by mid season and cement their spot.
2023 Grand Final Team
B: Brandon Starcevich Harris Andrews Darcy Gardiner
HB: Conor McKenna Ryan Lester Keidean Coleman
C: Hugh McCluggage Josh Dunkley Dayne Zorko
HF: Charlie Cameron Eric Hipwood Callum Ah Chee
F: Cameron Rayner Joe Daniher Zac Bailey
Foll: Oscar McInerney Lachie Neale Jarrod Berry
Int: Deven Robertson Lincoln McCarthy Jaspa Fletcher
Darcy Wilmot Jarryd Lyons (sub)
Possible 2024 Finals Team
B: Brandon Starcevich Harris Andrews Tom Doedee
HB: Conor McKenna Jack Payne Keidean Coleman
C: Hugh McCluggage Josh Dunkley Jaspa Fletcher
HF: Charlie Cameron Eric Hipwood Callum Ah Chee
F: Cameron Rayner Joe Daniher Zac Bailey
Foll: Oscar McInerney Lachie Neale Jarrod Berry
Int: Deven Robertson Lincoln McCarthy Will Ashcroft
Darcy Wilmot Dayne Zorko (sub)
The easiest changes are that Gardiner and Lester come out for Payne and Doedee. That immediately will add some strength to our backline. Ashcroft comes straight in for Lyons who goes out and Zorko goes to the sub role.
I see Fletcher becoming one of our full time wings next season. It will be his second year, and he will have his first full pre-season under his belt.
Clugg and Berry probably swap around, though I am not a huge fan of having Clugg and Neale in the same rotation. It does make us a bit one speed IMO. Dev could be used in Dunks' role which would allow Dunks.
We have 5 or 6 guys in that orange bracket that will be looking to push some of the guys in the yellow section out. No surprises that it is really only HFF and Wings that could be up for grabs.
Left field moves that could give things a shake up:
Starce to a wing or in the midfield.
I doubt it happens because he is arguably the #1 small to mid lockdown defender in the comp but you never know. He is quick, has a great gas tank and plenty of experience. His disposal can let him down at times but I don't think I have seen him take a kick that isn't under pressure.
Fletcher to inside mid instead of on a wing.
Plenty of athleticism and a proper preseason could see him given the Ashcroft role on the inside. He is probably the only one of our mid/wings with the skills and athleticism to carry out that role as well as Will did. I think we can all see him on the inside in the future but is the future earlier than we expected while we wait for Will? Fletcher is only going to improve from here on.
Where do we need to improve?
I still think our run, in particular our defensive run could improve. Going forward we are the most dangerous team in the comp. A more even midfield spread and not relying on Neale to win the ball would make us more unpredictable at stoppages. More goals from our midfield would always be handy.
Although we only lost by 4 points at the GF I felt that we were at least a 3 goal worse team on the day. Our accuracy kept us in it and we came ever so close to stealing the game.
