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No current season stats available
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What suggests this lolWe may not have as many, but we may very well have the best.
How is the club going to be able to draft 3 or 4 gun mids?Of the young players, my thoughts are:
Potential superstars of the AFL:
- SDK. No doubt he will become one of if not the best key defender in the AFL. He is not just a spoiler, he will outmark his opponents. Reminds me of both Harry Taylor and Stewart, but talker.
I don’t see any other young players on our list of becoming A grade(except maybe Dempsey but it’s hard to predict). They haven’t been drafted yet. This is a worry considering our better mids are all 30+. Midfield is in a pretty dire situation and we need to draft 3 or so more with A grade potential. Jury is out on the mids we’ve recently drafted.
Potential good players for the club:
- Holmes. Reminds me of James Kelly. He’s good as a wing now but he’s impressive in the contest, clean hands. Don’t think he is a team’s no.1 or 2 mid but he should be a consistent cog for us.
- close. Really underrated and think he can make it as a wing. Very clean and wins 1-1s. Will be a good player for the club, already is.
- Stengle. Will be our best forward pocket over the next 10 yrs. don’t think he’s Cameron/Pickett potential but will be important for us. He’s different to our other small forwards, he actually consistently kicks goals.
- Miers. Some fans have dropped off him, and he has had a poor year so far but he’s also been injured. Still think he will be a decent FP for us. Prefer closer to goal, it limits his kicking weaknesses.
- Conway. Hasn’t played yet but from his 2 vfl games, what I have read he just seems a safe bet. Old school ruck who grabs it out of the ruck and imposes his big frame. Complete utter unique type of ruck that we’ve had… similar to ottens. Will be a great player for the club imo
- Dempsey. I almost put Dempsey in the superstar bucket but I thought that was a little foolish given he’s played about 12 games ever! However I have a really strong feeling he is going to surprise. Reminds me of Brett burton from Adelaide, freakish goal sense, elite marking ability. X factor. We should be excited.
Have shown little / jury still out:
- Stephens. Tries hard, can’t doubt that. But his kicking is rushed and poor… doesn’t exhibit composure which is usually a trait of good up and coming mids. He bustles through with 12m kicks from contests but would like to see him do something with a bit of spark to feel confident. I just haven’t seen anything yet that makes me go “ahhh there it is”. Doesn’t have much flexibility either.. seems it’s either in the guts or nothing but I don’t feel he has anything greatly unique that will keep any good mid out (we just haven’t drafted them yet). He appears to have a good head and no doubt he will do the work… needs a block of games now to see how he goes.
- knevitt. I think has more chance of making it than CS purely because of his overhead marking. Then again, I was underwhelmed with him pre-draft and havent really seen anything to warrant a change on my mind from watching. Jury is still out and I expect improvement obviously, but I worry about his kicking technique and his aggression (or lack of). I know he’s slight but he looks timid. Dempsey on the other hand is even skinnier and shows way more aggression so it’s not just a ‘slight’ build thing. I think best case scenario he can be a wing, with a uniquely strong contested mark, enabling a good bail out option around the ground. But he just reminds me of blitz as a pure mid, a little awkward and mostly a hand baller. Needs a couple preseasons.
- Evans. I really liked him in his first game but hasn’t done much since when in the 1s. Has a body like Chappy and is more a lead up small forward that’s good at ground level. It’s a hard role to play in modern footy. I feel he needs confidence and would like him to stay in the 1s a bit more to see if he has it.
- Neale. I know this is controversial and he’s done well in the 2s but I think the fan fair was a little unjustified over the weekend. He’s big and would’ve loved if he hung on to a few on the weekend but he didn’t look ready. He could be one a good player for us but let’s just see how he goes for the rest of the year.
Can’t say with zero output:
- Willis
- Kroeger
Delist:
- Stevens
- tsap
Summary:
We need to draft some gun mids. Like 3 or 4 depending on whether CS or MK make it. Right now I’m only really confident with Holmes and we all know you need about 3 or 4 gun mids to be competitive for a flag.
Next we urgently need to draft a good KPD to partner SDK. We have nothing coming through the 2s. Henry is more a third tall.
We have a couple years to worry about a key forward, I think Hawkins has 2 yrs and Cameron 5. Esava and Neale as backup is not as dire as our defensive stocks or mids.
SDK, Dempsey, Conway and Holmes have me excited… but we have a long way to go with this rebuild
Referring to Sam DeKoning. Thought that was obviousWhat suggests this lol
Strauchnny is all over it with his analysis.... He could almost be me with those views.How is the club going to be able to draft 3 or 4 gun mids?
I have this nasty feeling the Blues will go all out for SDK or Ben McKay.Referring to Sam DeKoning. Thought that was obvious
I have this nasty feeling the Blues will go all out for SDK or Ben McKay.
They apparently still have salary to burn. The ridiculous 800k McGovern deal finishes next year as well. Liam Jones would’ve been on how much also?You wonder if they'll have the cap room for that. Hewett, Saad, Cerra, Williams... all imports you would think are on big (or big-ish) money. And that's not even talking about McKay, Cripps, and Walsh. It's a good list that's under-performed for at least the last year - but it would also be an expensive list.
Plus, a quick scan of their 22 on the weekend shows they didn't play a single 30+, so there's no obvious retirements on the horizon to free up cap? Unless there are some fringe players who missed - I don't really keep up with other teams' list management, so might've overlooked something.
Crunch will come for the Blues in 2023 when a host of their better players are up for new contracts. If they make finals this year and continue to improve next year then they might struggle to keep everyone. I'm not sure they could fit SDK in unless they shed a few.You wonder if they'll have the cap room for that. Hewett, Saad, Cerra, Williams... all imports you would think are on big (or big-ish) money. And that's not even talking about McKay, Cripps, and Walsh. It's a good list that's under-performed for at least the last year - but it would also be an expensive list.
Plus, a quick scan of their 22 on the weekend shows they didn't play a single 30+, so there's no obvious retirements on the horizon to free up cap? Unless there are some fringe players who missed - I don't really keep up with other teams' list management, so might've overlooked something.
If Williams and Saad are getting a reported 1.7 between them and McGovern on some stupid contract it is hard to believe they have enough to pay those they already have. A few of those boys will be looking for big pay increases shortly, including Tom DeKoning.They apparently still have salary to burn. The ridiculous 800k McGovern deal finishes next year as well. Liam Jones would’ve been on how much also?
Crunch will come for the Blues in 2023 when a host of their better players are up for new contracts. If they make finals this year and continue to improve next year then they might struggle to keep everyone. I'm not sure they could fit SDK in unless they shed a few.
They apparently still have salary to burn. The ridiculous 800k McGovern deal finishes next year as well. Liam Jones would’ve been on how much also?
Tom Hawkins needs a replacement at the end of next year. Curnow is from Gtown. Sounds good get it done.Thanks for the article, I forgot how much they were overpaying McGovern! That said, I forgot about Curnow - who comes out of contract next year and is looking just as important up forward as McKay is.
And who are the 10 young gun players that came in the five years after him?What if our build started with Kolodjashnij back in 2013, then we're looking good for next year.
And who are the 10 young gun players that came in the five years after him?
Tomahawk will be a bigger spot to fill then anyone else in our team.
A very fair and balanced take on the list. Thanks for sharing. I'm more bullish on Knevitt though mainly due to his marking.Of the young players, my thoughts are:
Potential superstars of the AFL:
- SDK. No doubt he will become one of if not the best key defender in the AFL. He is not just a spoiler, he will outmark his opponents. Reminds me of both Harry Taylor and Stewart, but talker.
I don’t see any other young players on our list of becoming A grade(except maybe Dempsey but it’s hard to predict). They haven’t been drafted yet. This is a worry considering our better mids are all 30+. Midfield is in a pretty dire situation and we need to draft 3 or so more with A grade potential. Jury is out on the mids we’ve recently drafted.
Potential good players for the club:
- Holmes. Reminds me of James Kelly. He’s good as a wing now but he’s impressive in the contest, clean hands. Don’t think he is a team’s no.1 or 2 mid but he should be a consistent cog for us.
- close. Really underrated and think he can make it as a wing. Very clean and wins 1-1s. Will be a good player for the club, already is.
- Stengle. Will be our best forward pocket over the next 10 yrs. don’t think he’s Cameron/Pickett potential but will be important for us. He’s different to our other small forwards, he actually consistently kicks goals.
- Miers. Some fans have dropped off him, and he has had a poor year so far but he’s also been injured. Still think he will be a decent FP for us. Prefer closer to goal, it limits his kicking weaknesses.
- Conway. Hasn’t played yet but from his 2 vfl games, what I have read he just seems a safe bet. Old school ruck who grabs it out of the ruck and imposes his big frame. Complete utter unique type of ruck that we’ve had… similar to ottens. Will be a great player for the club imo
- Dempsey. I almost put Dempsey in the superstar bucket but I thought that was a little foolish given he’s played about 12 games ever! However I have a really strong feeling he is going to surprise. Reminds me of Brett burton from Adelaide, freakish goal sense, elite marking ability. X factor. We should be excited.
Have shown little / jury still out:
- Stephens. Tries hard, can’t doubt that. But his kicking is rushed and poor… doesn’t exhibit composure which is usually a trait of good up and coming mids. He bustles through with 12m kicks from contests but would like to see him do something with a bit of spark to feel confident. I just haven’t seen anything yet that makes me go “ahhh there it is”. Doesn’t have much flexibility either.. seems it’s either in the guts or nothing but I don’t feel he has anything greatly unique that will keep any good mid out (we just haven’t drafted them yet). He appears to have a good head and no doubt he will do the work… needs a block of games now to see how he goes.
- knevitt. I think has more chance of making it than CS purely because of his overhead marking. Then again, I was underwhelmed with him pre-draft and havent really seen anything to warrant a change on my mind from watching. Jury is still out and I expect improvement obviously, but I worry about his kicking technique and his aggression (or lack of). I know he’s slight but he looks timid. Dempsey on the other hand is even skinnier and shows way more aggression so it’s not just a ‘slight’ build thing. I think best case scenario he can be a wing, with a uniquely strong contested mark, enabling a good bail out option around the ground. But he just reminds me of blitz as a pure mid, a little awkward and mostly a hand baller. Needs a couple preseasons.
- Evans. I really liked him in his first game but hasn’t done much since when in the 1s. Has a body like Chappy and is more a lead up small forward that’s good at ground level. It’s a hard role to play in modern footy. I feel he needs confidence and would like him to stay in the 1s a bit more to see if he has it.
- Neale. I know this is controversial and he’s done well in the 2s but I think the fan fair was a little unjustified over the weekend. He’s big and would’ve loved if he hung on to a few on the weekend but he didn’t look ready. He could be one a good player for us but let’s just see how he goes for the rest of the year.
Can’t say with zero output:
- Willis
- Kroeger
Delist:
- Stevens
- tsap
Summary:
We need to draft some gun mids. Like 3 or 4 depending on whether CS or MK make it. Right now I’m only really confident with Holmes and we all know you need about 3 or 4 gun mids to be competitive for a flag.
Next we urgently need to draft a good KPD to partner SDK. We have nothing coming through the 2s. Henry is more a third tall.
We have a couple years to worry about a key forward, I think Hawkins has 2 yrs and Cameron 5. Esava and Neale as backup is not as dire as our defensive stocks or mids.
SDK, Dempsey, Conway and Holmes have me excited… but we have a long way to go with this rebuild
You get that sense watching.. but I think our conversion per i50 has actually gone down pretty significantly this year. We're getting it i50 a lot more than our opponents, but converting those i50s into goals much less frequently than in previous years. Sort of belies the conventional wisdom that our midfield is weaker than our attack, but it's probably a direct result of the generally quicker (and often less controlled) ball movement than anything else.We have seen this year easier conversion of inside 50s that is due to Stengles superb goal sense, Cameron's ability to nail the most difficult ground level opportunities, and the improving creativity of Close.
Agree with 2 to 3 years.The title of this thread sounds like a Terminator question...
We have more chance to find youth now that we are playing them but I probably agree with Catempire that its a convenience atm due to injuries more than our youth being so strong that they have pushed their way into our side.
Purely on talent, I think our youth are not elite atm, although they could well develop into elite players. Like with most kids on time will tell if we have the start of the next group. I suspect we still have a big hole in our middle 20's and it will be difficult for our youth to shoulder the load as the older players depart with some additions to the side. Add a couple of really classy young mids and ...just like Sam Dek has done to oru backline , our side will look a lot different.
Id probably say we are not set...and it will take another two to three years of heavy list movement to be so. So not just Bruhn , we will keep adding talent as not all our likely types will succeed.
Really. Hopeful. Which FSs look like being something. Riccardi?If I were in charge of the GFC my focus now would be in getting as many pieces of the premiership jigsaw puzzle in place now through youth to be in good shape to integrate the raft of father/sons expected to land over the next decade.
I believe that has started under Hocking and hopefully a period of dominance will follow from 2025 on similar to 2007/2011.
No we are not set but there's a pathway to medium term premiership success.
The way Stengle approached the kick sent in over his head last week was all class. No panic, no fuss just watch the ball and wait for it to bounce and then pounce. Plenty would have tried too hard to trap the ball early and lost it . Stengle is the unsmiling assassin.Stengle is a huge win for Geelong...could have 10 years in front of him and has that touch of class so few have.
Could well be the first delisted free agent to be All Australian.