The AFC in both the short and long term has some tough decisons to make in the next few weeks and months.
The next two weeks we have critical 8 pointer games against Geelong and Sydney. We need to win both of these games and one at the very least to keep out top two spot. We do not want to be going over to the west for the finals. Yet we have a few players who obviously need a rest and even surgery- Mcleod and Roo for example.
We do not want to have a situation where Roo and Macca are under performing in the finals because of injury. Should we therfore rest them now to make sure they are chery ripe for the finals.
The success of any team is a balance between wise experience and the spontainety and exhuberance of youth. I do not think we should at any time get rid of all of the younger players in our side - players such as VB, Knighter, Vince, Maric. You need to get the balance right and often in finals a few younger players get under the guard and if surrounded by wise older heads can caause havoc, by getting under the radar - a young Kane Johnson, Andrew Mcleod, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards did this in 1997.
I therefore hope the Match Day Committee will not simply bring in Torney, Clarke etc at the expense of some of the younger guys who bring some other intangible qualities to the side.
The even bigger task for the AFC will be the mangment of the list over the next 6 months. How would you like to decide now who should get dropped off our roster. I like many others on the BF board and I bet the AFC as well had Massie, Stevens and Bode as potential delistings. One would think that would not be the case RIGHT NOW. But then who do you drop? Hinge - maybe in a 2 year contract anyway. Jericho - will that come back to bite us in the bum a la Stevens and Bock. It is so difficult to determine who should go. Try and pick out 4-6 obvious options.
Yet this is regarded as the strongest draft for years. If we do not go into the draft do we cause ourselves long term harm for the next 5-10 years after.
This happened in the Ayres years and led to a significant stagnation of our list. Witness the benefits of Knights, Vince, Maric, Douglas, Meeson, VB, etc coming onto our list over the last two years to the current strength of our playing list.
And dont forget our age structure. Our elite players are all experienced older hands. They will retire in two, three or four years time. Although our younger players are wonderful team members, we need to make sure we get some more elite players into our side. You can often only do this through trading if you do not have access to high draft picks. It looks as though in 2006 high draft picks, because of our position will not be available. But we know that Craigy has an abhorence for trading and it can undermine the unity of the team if done poorly.
And all of this at a time when the rumour about the Big Pav continue to gain some momentum about wanting to come back to SA and the Crows. What do we do here?
And then of course the rucking dilemma. It appears we have 2 ten year ruckmen potentially on our books in the case of Maric and the Meese. Do we keep them both for the longer term or run the risk of losing Meese in the trading period, or the pre-season draft for no compensation. What do we do with Huddo - very few ruckmen come back as good as before -and it often takes two years to do this - by this time he will be 28 or 29. Do we trade Meese to get the high draft pick we need for a tall CHF or KPP or as an attempt to get enough picks to get a Pav. What do we do with Clarkey? And then again Jonno Griiffin??
How would you like this job in the next few months? I would like other people's thoughts here!!!!
The next two weeks we have critical 8 pointer games against Geelong and Sydney. We need to win both of these games and one at the very least to keep out top two spot. We do not want to be going over to the west for the finals. Yet we have a few players who obviously need a rest and even surgery- Mcleod and Roo for example.
We do not want to have a situation where Roo and Macca are under performing in the finals because of injury. Should we therfore rest them now to make sure they are chery ripe for the finals.
The success of any team is a balance between wise experience and the spontainety and exhuberance of youth. I do not think we should at any time get rid of all of the younger players in our side - players such as VB, Knighter, Vince, Maric. You need to get the balance right and often in finals a few younger players get under the guard and if surrounded by wise older heads can caause havoc, by getting under the radar - a young Kane Johnson, Andrew Mcleod, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards did this in 1997.
I therefore hope the Match Day Committee will not simply bring in Torney, Clarke etc at the expense of some of the younger guys who bring some other intangible qualities to the side.
The even bigger task for the AFC will be the mangment of the list over the next 6 months. How would you like to decide now who should get dropped off our roster. I like many others on the BF board and I bet the AFC as well had Massie, Stevens and Bode as potential delistings. One would think that would not be the case RIGHT NOW. But then who do you drop? Hinge - maybe in a 2 year contract anyway. Jericho - will that come back to bite us in the bum a la Stevens and Bock. It is so difficult to determine who should go. Try and pick out 4-6 obvious options.
Yet this is regarded as the strongest draft for years. If we do not go into the draft do we cause ourselves long term harm for the next 5-10 years after.
This happened in the Ayres years and led to a significant stagnation of our list. Witness the benefits of Knights, Vince, Maric, Douglas, Meeson, VB, etc coming onto our list over the last two years to the current strength of our playing list.
And dont forget our age structure. Our elite players are all experienced older hands. They will retire in two, three or four years time. Although our younger players are wonderful team members, we need to make sure we get some more elite players into our side. You can often only do this through trading if you do not have access to high draft picks. It looks as though in 2006 high draft picks, because of our position will not be available. But we know that Craigy has an abhorence for trading and it can undermine the unity of the team if done poorly.
And all of this at a time when the rumour about the Big Pav continue to gain some momentum about wanting to come back to SA and the Crows. What do we do here?
And then of course the rucking dilemma. It appears we have 2 ten year ruckmen potentially on our books in the case of Maric and the Meese. Do we keep them both for the longer term or run the risk of losing Meese in the trading period, or the pre-season draft for no compensation. What do we do with Huddo - very few ruckmen come back as good as before -and it often takes two years to do this - by this time he will be 28 or 29. Do we trade Meese to get the high draft pick we need for a tall CHF or KPP or as an attempt to get enough picks to get a Pav. What do we do with Clarkey? And then again Jonno Griiffin??
How would you like this job in the next few months? I would like other people's thoughts here!!!!
