Last year there was a general consensus, from outside, but also within the club, that we;
1) lacked a second deep forward or tall forward option. Hammer seems partly to have filled that void, but it remains a real concern.
2) lacked a quality inside mid that might fetch more ball for the runners. This has been an issue for a long time, with McClean brought in as potential solution, and Curnow. No one yet has filled the hole.
You could make a case that we lack another tall defender, but Bower seems to be doing all right so far, and was far from worst against the Saints.
My worry is that the club has known about these fairly obvious holes in the list, but hasn't been able to do much about it. Mitchell constantly going down doesnt help either. We all know how the McClean trade has turned out.
Can we take the next step without addressing these holes? Can we lure another quality insider over the trade period? Will Mitchell come good this year, or is it a write-off for him?
Some of the players we need are injured:
Carrazzo, Laidler, Davies & White are all capable of filling some of the roles you guys are all talking about.
Yarran will come in their week.
We have have injuries to all the talls Mitchell, Rowe, McCarthy (back now))we got to protect ourselves from the problems of last year where we were terribly exposed with a shortage of falls.
Davies is capable of being that aggressive on baller to protect Judd etc. But he needs to get more experience/ games under his belt. Can't do that sitting on the sidelines injured.


Andrew Carrazzo Shoulder 6 weeks
Blake Bray Shoulder 1 week
Chris Yarran Toe Test
Jeremy Laidler Knee 4-5 weeks
Levi Casboult Knee 5 weeks
Luke Mitchell Shoulder Test
Marcus Davies Shoulder 6 weeks
Mitch Carter Back 2 weeks
Sam Rowe Testicular Cancer Indefinite
Simon White Knee 5-6 weeks