Rate your(please restrain yourself from making it godlike)

[pazza]

Rate out of 10(10 being excellent and 1 being crap):

- Depth(How good is your club's player list's depth, does it have a great spread of talent?)

6.5. Probably should be better, but changes to the list have had a factor in that.

- Flexibility

8. The spread of 6"3' to 6"6' players gives Essendon a lot tall/key position player options.

- Young talent (are they something to write home about?)

7. Given the list itself has an average age of just over 22, we have a lot of younger and inexpereinced players...long term planning is good. Watch for Winderlich..has that natural gift at 18.

- Senior players (are they playing at their peak or wasting space)

7. Hird naturally stand out, but, with Misiti, Mercuri, Alessio, Fletcher and Wellman in the really experienced group, plus Barnard, Lloyd and Lucas now around the 150 game mark, the experience is there.

- Attack

7. Lloyd is the best full-forward in the competition by a street. Having the likes of Cupido, Richards, Bolton and Lucas helping him out up there will be good. Courtney Johns' expected elevation will provide further strength.

- Defence

6.5. Fletcher when on song, is the competition's stand out full-back. Jacobs has a great set of hands, whilst Solomon and Mark Johnson add body strength.

- Midfield

5. Pace is the problem here, yet guys like Jason Johnson, Marc Bullen and Adam Ramanauskas, plus the versatility of Hird and development in the ruck of Hille give cause for future optimism.


- Coaching staff

7. After 23 years, Kevin Sheedy continues to show that he can coach with the best of them. His team of assistants are of quality. Senior experience in Robert Shaw, club names like Mark Harvey, Simon Madden, John Barnes, David Flood and Bendigo coach Peter Banfield, fitness coaches John Quinn and Glenn Turner and a guy like Kevin Morris behind the scenes, are a real help.

- Consistency

3. We have the hallmarks of a yo-yo.

 

[Lockyer24]

Originally posted by grayham
Fair point. Who are you going to give us this year?
I hear Tarrant (like many before him) cant stand Buckley or Malthouse.

He'll do. Can he play down back?

Taz wants to play for a club who can win a flag, so that's ruled you out of the race. Unless you wanna organise a 3 way trade and pass Voss or Judd onto us for the complete forward Barry Hall wishes he could be

 

[grayham]

Originally posted by hotpie
Self defence

At least mine was an honest assessment.

 

[grayham]

Originally posted by Lockyer24
Taz wants to play for a club who can win a flag, so that's ruled you out of the race. Unless you wanna organise a 3 way trade and pass Voss or Judd onto us for the complete forward Barry Hall wishes he could be

2nd round draft pick is the best deal you'll get. You know the Swans make you guys look like amateur negotiators.

Collingwood is like the old Swans reserves. Every year we do an assessment of the list, and promote one to the seniors.

 

[noodle]

Re: Re: Re: Rate your(please restrain yourself from making it godlike)

Originally posted by grayham
Attack -10/10 - Possibly the best forward line in the comp.

although its bloody obvious that you over rate your team in all the categories (you're not the only one though) this one is screaming a lie. Port Adelaide, West Coast, Brisbane, Adelaide and Essendon all have better attacks than sydney this year.

 

[hotpie]

Originally posted by grayham
At least mine was an honest assessment.

Yours was a naive an uneducated assessment.
Let me illustrate:
BTW Leon Neon is not currently getting a game contrary to your claim
No flexibility at CHB and FB does not add up to a rating of 3. All our midfielders are multidimensional and Tarrant and Rocca can play a few positions
Our only "journeyman" is Molloy. You seriously underrate our senior players especially Burns Licuria (thanks) Rocca (thanks) and Clement
Defence is settled and extremely effective - if admittedly ugly. You can keep Schauble thnks. We will find another replacement for Wakelin in future years, possibly Walker.
Midfield poor on teamwork??? - troll

 

[pazza]

Collingwood

Now part of this is only in jest.

Depth:

6. Can Mark Richardson get a game some time this year..he can only play so many good games for Williamstown!!!

Flexibility:

6. Need to find more places for Buckley to get kicks.

Young Talent:

5. Lokan looks a likely type and Walker's game against the Tigers wasn't the worst debut I've seen. Swan will be great long term.

Senior Players:

6. Buckley, Burns, Rocca. The more that can be gained from players like Molloy, Prestigiacomo and Richardson the better it will be.

Attack:

6. Tarrant is a good player, but, more need to assist him.

Defence:

4. I'm sure Presti would love to have a Scarlett or a Fletcher giving him a hand down there.

Midfield:

7. The injection of Woewodin hasn't been that bad.

Coaching staff:

7. Malthouse is doing well. Be interesting to see how much Terry Daniher will learn in his time there.

Consistency:

6. Apart from not having much idea how to get close to Essendon, they are about right.

 

[Big Boss]

Originally posted by Lockyer24
grayham

flags seen: 0

as opposed to your lonely 1, when you were all of 10 years old?

 

[Big Boss]

Originally posted by hotpie
Rocca can play a few positions

No, he can't even play 1 position. Biggest dud in the game. A few good early games last year and suddenly he's a star

 

[grinspoon]

- Depth- 10

- Flexibility- 9

- Young talent- 10

- Senior players 10

- Attack- 9.5

- Defence- 9

- Midfield- 9.5

- Coaching staff- 9.5

- Consistency- as of now 10, otherwise about 8.5

go pies!!!

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Depth - 10
It's amazing how deep the hole that we have found ourselves in is! Oh alright ... reverse that 10 into an 01. Practically everyone outside our top 22 will be delisted at season's end.

Flexibility - 2
We have a fullback who only plays fullback, 4 ruckman and only one of them can ruck and a heap of fill in players who can only play VFL. On the plus side Whitnall can play at CHF and CHB, Lappin has proved to be handy across HB as well as in front of goals and our full forward often has to lead down to the wing to get a kick.

Young talent - 9
I'll see your rising star nomination and raise you a further two. Our only real strength at the moment but as is the nature of youth development, the jury takes a long time to deliver its final verdict. Fisher, Sporn, Waite, Thornton, Angwin, Wiggins, Davies, Norman should be the core of our side in years to come. More are getting the chance this weekend and rejuvenated youngish players in Fevola and Houlihan have hit their straps in a big way.

Senior players - 5
Senior players we have and some big names as well but this is where we have been struggling. 'Big names' Hickmott and Martyn will retire this year, Ratten has already gone, next years captain is injured more often than not, players who should be showing the way (Murphy) are dragging us further down. Fortunately, three of the biggest names, Kouta, Campo and McKay are our brightest shining lights.

Attack - 7
We have a great attack. All we have to do is get someone to get the ball to them and teach them how to take marks again. McKernan, Fevola, Whitnall, Hickmott, Fisher, Angwin ... a lot of goal scoring potential there. Always looks better on paper doesn't it?

Defence - 3
Thornton is a saving grace as is Sporn when he is playing. Martyn is a non performer, Beaumont is struggling when not allowed to play his preferred running half back role and Norman and Livingston are still finding their way into a regular spot. Andrew McKay remains a rock although his lack of pace these days finds us out. Am again warming to Franchina if he continues to create headlines and make opposition small forwards cry.

Midfield - 2
We have two rippers in Kouta and Campo, a couple of youngsters coming along nicely rotating in and out and the rest are a pile of buffalo dung. Put your hand up if you want Fletcher, Eccles, Plunkett and Prendergast patrolling your midfield. Fortunately Wiggins, Davies, Waite and Simpson are the new breed that will see that rating rise significantly next season and beyond. We are rebuilding after all.

Coaching staff- 5
Great coach though I reckon he didn't know what he let himself in for and has been set back on his heels as a result. The game plan has not worked as it should have and there is little more the coaching panel can do right now but batten down the hatches and ride the season out. The youngsters are the clay in which to mould your plans and the end of season clean out will enable that to happen. Loses a couple of points by having about 20 apprentice deputy vice assistant specialist skills just putting in my two cents worth coaches .. oh and Barry Mitchell.

Consistency - Pfft.
Well we are consistent ... just not in a good way.

I can say all this with tongue slightly in cheek with a great deal of confidence that we have set the wheels in motion towards addressing most of our weak areas. This is another of those years we had to have, you can't delist a whole side in one year you know.

 

[Stocka]

Depth - 7
The fact that we have so many top-liners in the side to begin with, is of obvious benefit in this regard. The stocks aren't thin outside of the best 18 either, however, the replacements in mind aren't necessarily going to do the same job as those they replace. When you're wanting to win a Premiership, however, you need to be able to replace quality with quality.

Bradshaw, Weller, Morrison, and Brennan all provide reasonable back-up options for key positions. We certainly would not want more than 1 injury to our top-line key position players however, as I have my doubts that we could cover such losses.

Caracella, McGrath and Shattock are the immediate names who spring to mind to fill in small man, or utility roles (Copeland as well, although, I am not particularly a fan of his work).

With that said though, we also have the likes of Hart, McRae, Power, Notting, Pike, B.Scott and others who all perform "lesser" roles normally, who can be given extra duties if needed. These names would all clearly be in our best side, however.

Luckily, we have four rucks on the list as well, as we have been stretched in this area this season.

IMO, we have been somewhat carrying the likes of White and Ashcroft this year as well. They'll need to find some form before the finals in order to be really convincing in selection choices.


Flexibility - 8
Most key position players are capable of being rotated, and we also have a few good utilities. However, opponents are starting to nullify the Pike/Leppitsch wildcard moves, by virtue of them being a bit 'old'. Perhaps the coaching staff might like to experiment with a few different players (ie: playing Shattock as a small key forward, etc.).

Apart from that, as long as we don't have to cover too many losses to key players, we are fairly good in this area.


Young Talent - 6.5
McGrath, Shattock, McLaren, Weller, and Morrison are the names with some degree of experience and youth. A solid bunch, but not a list of top-liners.

Brennan has been given big wraps already. He looks like he could go somewhere - I am yet to be convinced though, that he'll be as good as some people think. IMO, his best role would suit stopping the "unstoppable" forwards.

Gram and Hadley have had limited runs, although, they have at least done a few impressive things in their time. The likes of Selwood and Wright would appear to be in the next line of young players who we're yet to see, who would appear to be likely prospects.

With this in mind, Brown, Black and Power are by no means "old" either, and neither are Bradshaw and Notting.


Senior Players (Leadership) - 9.5
Voss, Lappin, C.Scott, Leppitsch, Lynch and Johnson would amount to the premier names in this category, however, we also have a host of other experienced senior players who could be mistaken for top-liners in other clubs.

Only issue is the occasional brain explosion from a few players.


Attack - 9
Lynch and Brown would amount to one of the best two-punch key forward combinations in the league. Both are hard working, highly skilled players, who require defenders with a 4 quarter concentration span.

Power, Akermanis, and McRae provide excellent small-man coverage and are all capable of kicking 4 goals or more a game on their day.

Notting can certainly play a role, and is very hard to match up on, however, I do prefer him on a wing. The same goes for Pike, who has had some excellent games across half-forward, but ideally, you'd have him on a wing, or elsewhere, as opposed to plugging key roles in attack.

White, IMO, is of little more use to us these days, than as a pinch hitting forward pocket. It bemuses me as to why Matthews does not play him in this role, as he would be perfectly suited to applying his opportunisitic skills in the air and at ground level along side Lynch. I don't think he can really offer much more these days.

Outside of this, Bradshaw, Caracella and Shattock would be the immediate back-up names that spring to mind. Neither have been particular consistent, due to a variety of reasons, including form (Bradshaw) and opportunity (Shattock). (Caracella for both of these reasons).

Injuries to the likes of Lynch and Brown would significantly reduce our rating in this area, unless Matthews was prepared to pull something out of the box, or unless someone else was able to stand up in replacement (Bradshaw, Weller, Morrison, etc.).


Defense - 9.5
In a mirror of attack, Leppitsch and Michael would almost amount to the best two-punch combination in the league, regarding key position defenders.

Similarly, Johnson and C.Scott are just about as good as it gets in regards to small defenders. I doubt there is a skill area that these two don't cover for such players.

Those four are certainly the nucleus of our defense, and we have a great number of additional players who can play a role when needed.

The only issue that could be mentioned overall, is the potential for brain explosions, and the fact that we can get caught out when playing loose. When the side is cruising, these issues don't seem to apply, however.


Midfield - 9.5
Voss, Lappin, and Black are the mainstays this year. That's top quality in anyone's measure, now, and historically.

Add in the likes of Akermanis, Power, and B.Scott into the immediate rotation, and the likes of Hart, Notting, and Pike in the next line, and you still haven't used up all the options available!

Injuries to Akermanis and Notting have robbed us of pace, and we've been found out a couple of times in this regard.


Coaching Staff - 9
Solid, in the sense that Matthews rarely varies in his approach, and considering he has found the right measure with the team in the past, this would appear to be the best approach more often than not.

Matthews, however, may need to be more open to Sheedyesque experiments in the future, in order to snare the elusive 3rd consecutive Premiership in amongst a host of contestors who are rapidly making ground in the chase.

Apart from that, the assistant roles all seem to be filled with well credentialed names.


Consistency - 6.5
We have not played at our best often enough this year. We have been reasonably consistent, in terms of doing enough to win, however, even in doing so, we do not play 4 quarters of good football often enough. As I said earlier, I also believe we are carrying a few players.

Injuries have affected us somewhat, however, form of individual players, and team form as a whole has been down beyond the degree of which injury can account for. With that said, I do think that injury to key players seems to affect our "psyche", and confidence levels quite a bit.

Hopefully, games against Essendon, Port Adelaide and Collingwood will assist us in hitting some top form.