Analysis Future B22 the catalyst for sustainained success

[King Huskii]

This year we have seen the rise of Freo and a drop off in form. People are divided over talent, list management and coaching.

We can debate these topics in other treads. This thread is a look into the not too distant future and how the teams best 22 might shape up and the youth factor that could push for sustainained top 4 finishes. The question is will the talent be enough for the grand prize.

I'm not adding in players other than Jackson who might be drafted or future picks. I'm assuming Lobb is moving east as it sounds highly likely.

F Jackson Amiss Fredrick
HF Switta Tracey Sturt
C O'Driscoll Eurasmus Aish
Ruck Darcey Brayshaw Johnson
HB Young Cox Chapman
B Walker Pearce Ryan

Int Serong Brodie Clarke Logue

Emg Henry/Acres/Western/Banfield etc

IMO this side has top end elite with a lot of strong role players. I am looking at 3 years time approx and is the reason why I haven't named senior players in Tabs, Walters and Fyfe. Tabs and Fyfe could very well be best 22 if still playing.

 

[eastfreo75]

100%.

The job is keep the team together and will be playing finals for the next 10 years.

 

[go_the_dockers]

This year we have seen the rise of Freo and a drop off in form. People are divided over talent, list management and coaching.

We can debate these topics in other treads. This thread is a look into the not too distant future and how the teams best 22 might shape up and the youth factor that could push for sustainained top 4 finishes. The question is will the talent be enough for the grand prize.

I'm not adding in players other than Jackson who might be drafted or future picks. I'm assuming Lobb is moving east as it sounds highly likely.

F Jackson Amiss Fredrick
HF Switta Treacy Sturt
C O'Driscoll Erasmus Aish
Ruck Darcy Brayshaw Johnson
HB Young Cox Chapman
B Walker Pearce Ryan

Int Serong Brodie Clarke Logue

Emg Henry/Acres/Western/Banfield etc

IMO this side has top end elite with a lot of strong role players. I am looking at 3 years time approx and is the reason why I haven't named senior players in Tabs, Walters and Fyfe. Tabs and Fyfe could very well be best 22 if still playing.

Backline looks really good.
Bench looks strong. Midfield is good.
Forward line is still clearly a weakness.

Amiss, Jackson, Switta are all clearly best 22 (hopefully Switta stays fit)
Treacy, Sturt and Frederick could all be improved on, and none of the bench or Emergency are an upgrade.

I think we could easily spend 2 drafts just on the forward line.

 

[King Huskii]

Backline looks really good.
Bench looks strong. Midfield is good.
Forward line is still clearly a weakness.

Amiss, Jackson, Switta are all clearly best 22 (hopefully Switta stays fit)
Treacy, Sturt and Frederick could all be improved on, and none of the bench or Emergency are an upgrade.

I think we could easily spend 2 drafts just on the forward line.

Yes agree totally

Although ill back Fredrick and Sturt to improve. Especially Sturt.

If Freo can find a few gun small forwards Freo could well and truly be heading to greatness. That's why I would like Zuharr to speed this process up as he fits the time frame.

 

[go_the_dockers]

Yes agree totally

Although ill back Fredrick and Sturt to improve. Especially Sturt.

If Freo can find a few gun small forwards Freo could well and truly be heading to greatness. That's why I would like Zuharr to speed this process up as he fits the time frame.

I was super excited about Sturt, but now I am more pessimistic. Hopefully he plays a few games this year, does well and has a big preseason.

Zurhaar would be massive for us. Not sure we have enough draft capital to get him.

 

[TheMcManusNose]

Backline and mid pretty much filled out. Backs are basically locked assuming a Logue signature. Mids I think we can be happy with 2 high picks starting to dominate at Peel.

I think the biggest mistake we can make with this group is thinking we've got forwards sorted because a few have shown they might have promise. Talls and smalls both.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Same as the start of the year, getting the most out of Sturt is incredibly important, he's one of the few natural goal kickers on our list. Last week at Peel was hopefully the start of him realising his potential again

 

[GingerDocker]

Same as the start of the year, getting the most out of Sturt is incredibly important, he's one of the few natural goal kickers on our list. Last week at Peel was hopefully the start of him realising his potential again

Would you play him this weekend?

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Would you play him this weekend?

Yes because Tabs back is clearly ****ed

 

[Boomer93]

I'm not really prepared to consider Lobb gone with out considering someone like Zurhar coming in. We simply can't allow thay to happen for next season, otherwise it is a write off. Amiss won't be ready to fill that hole just yet.

I see Jackson as ruckmen who rests forward. Whe our tall forwards to be able to mark the ball or bring it to ground. Jackson is a tall midfielder who really struggles to mark the ball. Darcy is better off being the ruck that rests forward the majority of the time imo.

Sturt is closer to being desisted then taking a best 22 place. His form at peel has been terrible most weeks, on top of providing no defensive pressure.

Ryan Pearce Cox
Clark Chapman Young

Aish Brayshaw Acres

Frederick Treacy Swittowski
Schultz Amiss Darcy

Jackson Serong Brodie

Walker Erasmus Henry Logue

 

[King Huskii]

I'm not really prepared to consider Lobb gone with out considering someone like Zurhar coming in. We simply can't allow thay to happen for next season, otherwise it is a write off. Amiss won't be ready to fill that hole just yet.

I see Jackson as ruckmen who rests forward. Whe our tall forwards to be able to mark the ball or bring it to ground. Jackson is a tall midfielder who really struggles to mark the ball. Darcy is better off being the ruck that rests forward the majority of the time imo.

Sturt is closer to being desisted then taking a best 22 place. His form at peel has been terrible most weeks, on top of providing no defensive pressure.

Ryan Pearce Cox
Clark Chapman Young

Aish Brayshaw Acres

Frederick Treacy Swittowski
Schultz Amiss Darcy

Jackson Serong Brodie

Walker Erasmus Henry Logue

I doubt Sturt will be desisted

He's been decent at wafl and his potential is huge. When he gets a good run, he could be anything. Freo need a few agile mid sized forwards.

 

[King Huskii]

I honestly believe this 22 listed is good enough to win a premiership within thr next 3seasons.

 

[Mikevk123]

B Chapman Cox Ryan
HB Young Pearce Clark
C Aish Brodie Acres
HF Henry Logue Fredrick
F Schultz Taberner Walters
FOLL- Darcy Fyfe Brayshaw
I/C- Jackson, Serong, O’Driscoll, Switkowski

 

[Cobbler]

I honestly believe this 22 listed is good enough to win a premiership within thr next 3seasons.

It’s impressive. They’re not being carried by the vets this year, which means the improvement has simply come through connection, development and talent.

Another way to look at it is to list the names removed and the impact they’re having:

Fyfe - Cleary a gun but hasn’t done anything this year.
Mundy - Great on field leadership and coaching but if someone can’t fill his production from this year I’d be amazed.
Walters - If it wasn’t for credits in the bank would he be playing? I’ve admired his clear change in buy in this year. Replaceable.
Taberner - Personally for me, I’ve always enjoyed what he brings when fit. Won’t be easy to replace but you hope we can.
Lobb - Great attitude and buy in this year, but realistically someone else needs to provide his production.
Colyer - Great few years but often in our bottom 6 when in best 22. Replaceable.

Probably missing someone but those 6 have far from carried us this year.

Our future is incredibly bright, but question marks will remain on our forward line.

 

[poshman]

I honestly believe this 22 listed is good enough to win a premiership within thr next 3seasons.

Big call. I like it but don’t quite have your confidence.

I think our midfield is short and we need both Ras and Johnson to turn into B+ to A grade talent. That would be remarkable.

I think we need both of Amiss and Treacy to turn into solid B graders and one of them into an A grader.

I’m not sure I’d back out odds to have that type of success.

I do think we should be playing finals for a long stretch. As stated elsewhere I also think we will finish 6th-9th next season.

 

[G Mus]

Really need a Pearce replacement, can’t see him getting better as he approaches 30

 

[poshman]

Really need a Pearce replacement, can’t see him getting better as he approaches 30

Yep - although in general the backline is stacked but just not for KPD. I think when to draft a KPD who is 196~ is a challenging question for the team to answer.

 

[Outshined]

AP cops a fair bit of (imo) unfounded flak on here but Ryan had an AA season playing as an undersized KPD in tandem with Cox and to a lesser extent, Logue. Even as recently as the St. Kilda game, we were freaking out about what King would do to us but managed him with ease.

As the midfield matures and improves with Erasmus and Johnson presumably starting to get serious minutes, we'll have sustained periods of dominance where the opposition won't be getting clean entries. I think we'd be more than capable of putting together a top 4 defence even if Pearce can't be relied upon, with the added bonus of some awesome rebounding as Young, Clark and Walker mature and become more confident to continuously hit those corridor kicks.

Stating the obvious but the forward line remains our Achilles' heel. It's arguable that we're still short a KPD, medium sized forward and quality small forward given Switta's issues. Frederick will improve and is also occasionally unfairly maligned as a second year small-mid forward but needs time. Schultz is solid but inconsistent. Sturt hasn't had the impact we'd have all hoped given his first consistent run of injury-free football. The KPF issue is only compounded if/when Lobb goes. Amiss and Treacy are promising but very raw. Kuek is a completely unknown quantity and as great as his potential might be, we can't be pencilling him in yet. If Jackson comes he's not a KPF, in the short term at least, and we also lose a significant amount of draft currency where we might be able to address those list hole.

Realistically, some clever FA moves and trading might be needed from Bell to make sure we capitalise on what will be a good defence and a (likely) A-grade midfield. Along the lines of Bolton, Georgiades or even Zurhaar. Obviously those players might all be completely unattainable but unless all of our recent forward picks develop to be AFL quality, we might be on track to be stuck in a similar pattern to 12-15. If that does happen it's not the end of the world, we just need to do better than Scott Gumbleton

Scott Gumbleton

Age

35

Ht

197cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.9

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

4.1

3star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.4

5star

No current season stats available

D

10.0

3star

K

5.8

3star

HB

4.2

4star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.0

4star

this time around.

 

[Freomaniac]

Backline looks really good.
Bench looks strong. Midfield is good.
Forward line is still clearly a weakness.

Amiss, Jackson, Switta are all clearly best 22 (hopefully Switta stays fit)
Treacy, Sturt and Frederick could all be improved on, and none of the bench or Emergency are an upgrade.

I think we could easily spend 2 drafts just on the forward line.

I agree forward line is a weakness.

I don't mind freos current tall forwards for now. Taberner and Lobb are capable of kicking 66 goals between them or 3 goals a game or average 1.5 goals a game.

Tracy is in his 2nd year at 20 years old. Amiss is only a rookie at 18 or 19 years old.

If Taberner and Lobb were not both 29 years old each but 22-25 years old, I would be confident freo could make finals each year from 2022-2027 as Switkowski and Schulz are both 24-25 years old and Fredrick is only 21.

 

[theGav56]

A best 22 being good enough to win a premiership doesn't equate to winning a premiership. We've been there before.

We need players who can and do take the game on and a game plan that delivers it. That is the reason our defence is exciting and why our forward line isn't.

Developing a genuine swingman is the right type of thinking, and if Jackson is coming he is a variation on this theme. His nature is to take the game on and dominate and we are at the point in our development where he can measurably impact games. Logue is unconvincing as a forward but the disruption he causes can be effective if it is not a predictable move.

We won't immediately transition to a quality forward set up, but with Erasmus and Johnson I think our midfield can give more scoreboard impact.

 

[blue shark]

A best 22 being good enough to win a premiership doesn't equate to winning a premiership. We've been there before.

We need players who can and do take the game on and a game plan that delivers it. That is the reason our defence is exciting and why our forward line isn't.

Developing a genuine swingman is the right type of thinking, and if Jackson is coming he is a variation on this theme. His nature is to take the game on and dominate and we are at the point in our development where he can measurably impact games. Logue is unconvincing as a forward but the disruption he causes can be effective if it is not a predictable move.

We won't immediately transition to a quality forward set up, but with Erasmus and Johnson I think our midfield can give more scoreboard impact.

Well with Mundy halfway out the door now is the time to look at Johnson to
Debut against WC, GWS.
Even if it’s the medi sub, for me it’s all about next year.
Erasmus should of been in lately too.
Team needs some injection of youth, exuberance and let’s face it Neil is
also a tough hombre.
He always seems to hit the scoreboard, like NOD, and that’s something that should
be encouraged.
Johnson is a long accurate kick, seems like a no brainer that they have offensive
mindsets and their size is badly needed.

 

[go_the_dockers]

I agree forward line is a weakness.

I don't mind freos current tall forwards for now. Taberner and Lobb are capable of kicking 66 goals between them or 3 goals a game or average 1.5 goals a game.

Tracy is in his 2nd year at 20 years old. Amiss is only a rookie at 18 or 19 years old.

If Taberner and Lobb were not both 29 years old each but 22-25 years old, I would be confident freo could make finals each year from 2022-2027 as Switkowski and Schulz are both 24-25 years old and Fredrick is only 21.

Lobb will be out the door at the end of the year.

I am not sure if any of Schultz, Frederick or Treacy should be best 22 in a top 4 side, but they all should not be (maybe 1 of them could improve and squeeze in).

The fact that Schultz and Frederick offer nothing through the midfield is a major issue. Ideally, one or both of them should be able to run through the middle for 5 mins a quarter.

 

[Freomaniac]

Lobb will be out the door at the end of the year.

I am not sure if any of Schultz, Frederick or Treacy should be best 22 in a top 4 side, but they all should not be (maybe 1 of them could improve and squeeze in).

The fact that Schultz and Frederick offer nothing through the midfield is a major issue. Ideally, one or both of them should be able to run through the middle for 5 mins a quarter.

If Lobb is traded out at the end of this season, then it's essentially Taberner as our only full forward.

That means either Tracy or Amiss is CHF.

What's Tracy's ceiling? A 50 goal a season forward?

If Amiss is a 30-40 goal 2nd or 3rd tall like cam McCarthy should of been, than that's fine.

Schulz or Fredrick is best 22 in a top 4 side? I am not sure either.

Both can be best 22 or 23 in a side that finishes 5th to 8th.

Hayden Ballantyne kicked 49 goals in 2014. Out side of his best year in 2014, he was a 30-35 goal a season small forward.

 

[go_the_dockers]

Schulz or Fredrick is best 22 in a top 4 side? I am not sure either.

*TREACY, not TRACY - grrr



The other issue they have is a lack of second thing they bring to the team. Frederick or Schultz do not bring elite pressure, they can not run through the midfield, their kicking is not elite.

That means either Tracy or Amiss is CHF.

What's Tracy's ceiling? A 50 goal a season forward?

If Amiss is a 30-40 goal 2nd or 3rd tall like cam McCarthy should of been, than that's fine.

Interestingly Treacy is shorter than Amiss.

Assuming we get Jackson, then the 3 talls are Taberner, Jackson and Amiss.

Amiss plays closer to goal, with Taberner playing CHF. Jackson can roam as he likes.

Amiss hopefully will be a 50 goal forward we have dreamed about, he can kick straight at least.