Potential list changes for 2011

[Belisarius]

Re: List changes for 2011

We should retire some of our senior players at the end of the year. Perhaps Milburn and Corey (if his knee is a problem), who else??

We must be carefull of an ageing list with players out all of the time with injuries. Our average age for our playing list is way higher than other teams.

We may have played a very strong team against Collingwood however one third of them need game time as they are coming back from injury or are playing injured. Time to freshen up the side next year

Depends on your perspective. I do not think GFC is building for a future run at a flag. I think we are trying to win as many as we can while we have the players to pull off some success.

Milburn has been really good this year - and Corey - if his knee comes good - is a gun player we need.

To freshen up the side as you suggest may see us lose really good players before their time - and make next year a lot harder to win a flag.

Geelong supporters should be careful not push the panic button just yet. We will not win every game - and we do not have to. Just need to win enough to get into top 4 position for the finals - and then win those games. That's when it counts.

Yes the Pies will get a lot of confidence from last nights relatively easy win. They played well and we did not. Plenty to work with however and I do not subscribe to the belief that was our best team in for 3 years. On paper we looked good but we have some injury concerns and it seems a few players are not really match fit yet.

We have had so many players out over the season we have not had a good run with all key players in the team at the same time and so this has also contributed to a few poor games and inconsistent performances.

Little time to get this right - but we will see. Its not over yet.

This has been a great side - and up for so long - what did we expect - to keep winning forever against good opposition ? - which the Pies are.

As long as we can re-group - start to pick fully fit players - and bring back some hunger - we will still be a serious chance this year. Maybe no longer the favourites - but who cares about that ?

My assessment of the game V the Pies - was they outplayed us. They probably cannot play much better than they are right now and they have no injury concerns. We can play better and have some injury concerns.

Bad loss - yes - terminal - NO.

 

[Turbocat]

Re: List changes for 2011

No matter how the year ends , I feel next year is the time we must start to put of couple of younger kids in and leave them in. Varcoe has taken a while but is now showing why he was given so many games.

This may pull the rug on a couple of our regular players but its just impossible to believe that basically the same core side would be able to go around again without some freshening. Duncan ,West and THunt have been given games this year. Next year it may be Menzel, Weston, Brown and Christensen with Duncan and Hunt probably becoming regular players.West? Just how patient is he. I think given games he could become that 2nd ruck guy their trying to get Hawkins to be but while Ottens is around its going to be tough to give him enough games

If we are not going to give games to Gamble & Djekurra then it maybe time for them to move on.

 

[Vdubs]

Re: List changes for 2011

I think Ottens, Corey and Max may/should consider retirement given their recurrent injury status. Milburn/Wojo are still performing but may be pushed. Ling is getting slower if that is possible.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: List changes for 2011

Dasher really is going to have to retire given the salary cap.

Wojo is playing his best footy but may well be pushed out.

Ottens may only have one more year in him at best, and who knows on Moons.

Ginger Ninja is also rapidly slowing up-whether that is just an injury that needs to be well managed, or a more terminal issue, time will tell.

I definitely don't want to "play the kids" for the sake of it, but we need a gradual transition so we don't replace half the side at once, and more importantly the kids who are clearly up to playing AFL footy now (taylor hunt for example) really need to be playing seniors next year.

 

[Turbocat]

Re: List changes for 2011

Dasher really is going to have to retire given the salary cap.

Wojo is playing his best footy but may well be pushed out.

Ottens may only have one more year in him at best, and who knows on Moons.

Ginger Ninja is also rapidly slowing up-whether that is just an injury that needs to be well managed, or a more terminal issue, time will tell.

I definitely don't want to "play the kids" for the sake of it, but we need a gradual transition so we don't replace half the side at once, and more importantly the kids who are clearly up to playing AFL footy now (taylor hunt for example) really need to be playing seniors next year.

Expand on this PO. At what point is it"just for the sake of it" , at what point is putting games into kids the foundation for the future. It would be easy to play a kid if he could step in like a Scully or a Trengove and demand a spot as he was in our best 22 but its far more likely that we will have to give games to players , grooming them , probably in preference to an other seasoned player who maybe be better. We have done it in the past and if we don't want a vacuum in a couple years we will probably have to do it again.

The question for me is , Can player like Ling , Corey and perhaps Mackie & Byrnes play different roles , if they cant they will be under pressure because its these roles I can see others performing.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: List changes for 2011

Expand on this PO. At what point is it"just for the sake of it" , at what point is putting games into kids the foundation for the future. It would be easy to play a kid if he could step in like a Scully or a Trengove and demand a spot as he was in our best 22 but its far more likely that we will have to give games to players , grooming them , probably in preference to an other seasoned player who maybe be better. We have done it in the past and if we don't want a vacuum in a couple years we will probably have to do it again.

The question for me is , Can player like Ling , Corey and perhaps Mackie & Byrnes play different roles , if they cant they will be under pressure because its these roles I can see others performing.

Poor use of cliches on my part. I know what I meant though. To give an example. North have Corey Jones running around dominating in the VFL (in some of the best form of his career). Now it's clear that he'll never play another game for North, despite the fact that he's playing better than other players from their team in the same position, simply because of the age on his birth certificate, and those players will continue to get games simply because of the age on their birth certificate, which really gives them no incentive to improve because they know theý're not going anywhere no matter what. To me that is what you call "playing the kids for sake of it" rather than because the kids have shown ability and performance to the extent that they're legitimately better options than what they're replacing.

I'm certainly not against youth, I just don't want to see us dump 6 players who aren't at the end, simply because they're old, and bring in other players who may not be tearing it up and haven't earnt their spot, simply because they're young, to me that is "for the sake of it", as distinct from if an older player retires, and you bring in a Taylor Hunt type because he's young and he's playing great and showing he can play at the level and earning his spot, rather than simply because he's young.

I think we'll see a few players retire after this year, and guys like Taylor, and others, will have opportunities to step in if they work hard enough.

 

[year of the cat]

Re: List changes for 2011

Ling for me is an interesting one. Has been written off before and was able to re-invent himself back in 2007 after a poor 2006 season. Father time appears to be catching up with him this year though. His disposal and decision making are still top notch but his lack of pace is now becoming a bit of a liability against quicker midfielders. I haven't looked at the stats (so are probably wrong) but my perception is that he hasn't been as effective in shutting down opponents this year as in the past. Rule changes have also not helped his cause.

He will be around next year. Beyond that it is probably very much a year to year proposition.

 

[Cats408]

Needs for 2011

Have not seen a thread for this so I'd figured that I'd make my own. So which players do we need or do you think we should take in this years draft?

 

[Turbocat]

Re: List changes for 2011

..I'm certainly not against youth, I just don't want to see us dump 6 players who aren't at the end, simply because they're old, and bring in other players who may not be tearing it up and haven't earnt their spot, simply because they're young, to me that is "for the sake of it"..

I don't think we are too far apart. Our Premiership player must be treated with respect due , we must never forget what they have brought us and at some point in time they will be past their best. Is that now? Probably not for most of the players if not all.

Conversely , we must also think about our club and the team for the future.
Dumping 6 players before their time would be too many in one hit but I'd hate being compelled to replace 6 in one go because we left it too long and they all hung their boots at the same time.

Maybe retirements will make it easy but I think at least 2 , probably Duncan and THunt should be given a really strong go next year.

 

[vinum coupe]

Re: Needs for 2011

There has been plenty of chat. See thread for 2011 list changes

You didnt look very hard !!

 

[burto]

Re: Needs for 2011

Pick 1 best available talent.

Then defenders, and maybe a midfielder or two.

In my opinion.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: Needs for 2011

Need a ruckman (if the club seems to think Blake doesn't have a future) although that's more a trade need than a trade need. Vardy will be good down the track it would be a matter of bridging the gap until then.

Could use a big bodied KPB.

These are the two main needs.

A young midfielder or two wouldn't go astray but we have some good talent on the list in that area.

Anyway this really should go in the list changes thread, or the draft thread, we have been discussing this stuff there for ages mate.

 

[Cats408]

Re: Needs for 2011

Need a ruckman (if the club seems to think Blake doesn't have a future) although that's more a trade need than a trade need. Vardy will be good down the track it would be a matter of bridging the gap until then.

Could use a big bodied KPB.

These are the two main needs.

A young midfielder or two wouldn't go astray but we have some good talent on the list in that area.

Anyway this really should go in the list changes thread, or the draft thread, we have been discussing this stuff there for ages mate.

Ah ok could you please give me a link to the draft thread?

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: Needs for 2011

Ah ok could you please give me a link to the draft thread?

Go to Cat Scan-we've been discussing this year's draft in there.

 

[bulletproof]

Re: Needs for 2011

Midfielders, midfielders, midfielders, quick running defenders.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: Needs for 2011

Midfielders, midfielders, midfielders, quick running defenders.

Taylor Hunt, Jack Weston.

Having said that, I wouldn't be averse to one more.

 

[vinum coupe]

Re: Needs for 2011

If you're really looking at this years draft then it should be.

What sort of player would we like to fluke at pick 20+ that will be handy in 2015

With all due respect.

If anything we should start a farm for bigger players.

We all know we're going to be stuffed in 3 years.

So breed a dozen big guys and trade for picks / develop them for a run at the flag in 2016/17/18

 

[The Governor]

Re: Needs for 2011

We don't need midfielders for 2011!!

We need to look at our goal to goal line with the view of adding more depth to our list of key position players (Centre Half Forward, Centre Half Back and a Full Forward).

And, with Dean Cox being mooted around for trade at the end of the year, I hope we do make a play for him. Gee, having Brad Ottens and Dean Cox working together would give us a huge edge in the centre bounces.

As a result of this, the club can trade Mark Blake (he is coming out of contract) to another AFL club who is in need of a tap ruckman!!

 

[bulletproof]

Re: Needs for 2011

We don't need midfielders for 2011!!

We need to look at our goal to goal line with the view of adding more depth to our list of key position players (Centre Half Forward, Centre Half Back and a Full Forward).

And, with Dean Cox being mooted around for trade at the end of the year, I hope we do make a play for him. Gee, having Brad Ottens and Dean Cox working together would give us a huge edge in the centre bounces.

As a result of this, the club can trade Mark Blake (he is coming out of contract) to another AFL club who is in need of a tap ruckman!!

Desperately need some long-term replacments for Ling, Corey and possibly Ablett. You need 15 midfielders on your list at anyone time and we are running low on people in the 20-25 age bracket.

The good old trade Blake idea eh? Always pops up, two main problems with that, no one else wants him and he is still very much in our plans.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: Needs for 2011

Desperately need some long-term replacments for Ling, Corey and possibly Ablett. You need 15 midfielders on your list at anyone time and we are running low on people in the 20-25 age bracket.

The good old trade Blake idea eh? Always pops up, two main problems with that, no one else wants him and he is still very much in our plans.

To be fair, given what the coaches have said recently, I think we can at least ask the question about that.

Make no mistake, while Blake does have his deficiencies, good ruckmen are very hard to find so he'd be wanted somewhere. I wouldn't ship him out, but if he decided to leave, I'd certainly send a phone call Cox's way (FWIW Governor I think Otto won't play on much longer mate sorry).

In regards to whether we draft midfielders it really depends on whether you think Djerrkura and Hogan have futures, and whether you see Christensen, Hunt and Menzel as midfielders or forwards or backs. We could certainly use another midfielder but having said that it's hard to draft players in an area of the ground where there might not be opportunities for another 3-4 years. I'm more keen to get another key back or ruckmen as I think those needs will be more immediate.

 

[Turbocat]

Re: List changes for 2011

Unless we need to fill a hole , we probably will draft with 2013+ in mind , so I'd say we would just go for the kids deemed the best potential talent. Add another couple kids with the talent of Menzel and Duncan and we will be well on our way to next group.

They may slant their picks to grab a key back , it may depend on how they rate they guys they have got and who's available. No doubt by 2013 , we will have new backline and as the best teams always seem to be built from the back it will be important that we have raw material to build it upon

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Re: List changes for 2011

Unless we need to fill a hole , we probably will draft with 2013+ in mind , so I'd say we would just go for the kids deemed the best potential talent. Add another couple kids with the talent of Menzel and Duncan and we will be well on our way to next group.

They may slant their picks to grab a key back , it may depend on how they rate they guys they have got and who's available. No doubt by 2013 , we will have new backline and as the best teams always seem to be built from the back it will be important that we have raw material to build it upon

I would agree.

I certainly think another key back is the most pressing need but that maybe hard because I think GC will need KPP, and other clubs will also pick for needs, so there may not be a lot of good key back's around by the time we have picks.

 

[Gogeelong]

Re: List changes for 2011

Two certainties to play next year

Taylor hunt will be played next year for sure. Backline then into midfield, pace to burn
Menzel will be on the bench and could play in a variety of positions

 

[wizardmiller17]

Re: List changes for 2011

Crows 1st round draft pick(10 or 12) for Travis Varcoe

 

[Belisarius]

Re: List changes for 2011

Crows 1st round draft pick(10 or 12) for Travis Varcoe

Never happen. We have cultivated Travis for quite some time and we are just starting to get some real value out of the guy. And he will probably only get better !

No way the draft picks you mention would be high enough to cover a young gun at the GFC.