Replacement forward (if needed)

[cooper6]

It appears unlikely to me now that both Neagle and Gumbleton will make it. I think this is our biggest concern by a long way. With Gumbleton's injuries and Neagle's future as a Fevola-like forward looking very unlikely, I think we need to look at replacement scenarios. If at least one of these two fail to make it, wat move would people favour?
- Hurley forward with Hooker, Pears and Daniher back.
- Hooker forward, with Hurley, Pears and Daniher back.
- Daniher or Laycock (or maybe Still) forward, maintaining our strongest backline.
- Ryder / Hille combining in ruck and FF
- Use our first pick in the next draft on recruting another key forward, again, maintaining our strongest backline.

I have no solution, redraft scott cummings?

 

[George Washington]

- Daniher or Laycock (or maybe Still) forward, maintaining our strongest backline.
- Ryder / Hille combining in ruck and FF
- Use our first pick in the next draft on recruting another key forward, again, maintaining our strongest backline.

Mixture of these 3 I would think. Would love to see Daniher given a go up forward, from all reports he plays quite well there. Unfortunately Lloyd and Lucas are clogging it up and he won't get a chance for a while. Give Ryder time in the fwd line and he will come good, I love his seemingly effortless 60m kicks.

 

[Shane Hird]

It appears unlikely to me now that both Neagle and Gumbleton will make it. I think this is our biggest concern by a long way. With Gumbleton's injuries and Neagle's future as a Fevola-like forward looking very unlikely, I think we need to look at replacement scenarios. If at least one of these two fail to make it, wat move would people favour?
- Hurley forward with Hooker, Pears and Daniher back.
- Hooker forward, with Hurley, Pears and Daniher back.
- Daniher or Laycock (or maybe Still) forward, maintaining our strongest backline.
- Ryder / Hille combining in ruck and FF
- Use our first pick in the next draft on recruting another key forward, again, maintaining our strongest backline.

I have no solution, redraft scott cummings?

Sorry mate, but thats a ridiculous statement. Fevsnoller is his own person. i can't see the point in comparing Neagle to him..I really don't.


BTW..Gumbleton isn't finished yet. There's been alot of time and effort spent by the club on this bloke and they arn't gunna give up on him as quick as you're suggesting.

 

[geodke]

BTW..Gumbleton isn't finished yet. There's been alot of time and effort spent by the club on this bloke and they arn't gunna give up on him as quick as you're suggesting.

totally agree, theres no way the dons are going to give up on gumby just yet. the kid is our no.1 draft pick and the wraps on him are still huge. we just need to get his body right, get a good season under his belt.

winderlich has the exact same back injury/ survgery. so the fact he has made a full recovery to be such an important player is only a positive for young scotty. lets not become like other clubs supporters and start writing players off before theyve even been given a fair shot

 

[fishguts]

Sorry mate, but thats a ridiculous statement. Fevsnoller is his own person. i can't see the point in comparing Neagle to him..I really don't.

Fevola is the type of forward that Neagle would/will become. Sure mentality wise they may be different, but they have quite a few similar attributes.

BTW..Gumbleton isn't finished yet. There's been alot of time and effort spent by the club on this bloke and they arn't gunna give up on him as quick as you're suggesting.

Agree, just because he has been out for 2 years doesn't dismiss the talent. For an example I will use Joel Selwood. He suffered an ACL in his draft year which left serious question marks over him. Geelong showed a lot of balls in picking him, gave him a chance and once he got over the injury, he won the rising star.

For Gumbleton, one thing and one thing alone will decide whether he lives up to his potential, and that is character.

 

[fishguts]

winderlich has the exact same back injury/ survgery. so the fact he has made a full recovery to be such an important player is only a positive for young scotty. lets not become like other clubs supporters and start writing players off before theyve even been given a fair shot

Not totally the same back surgery, but similar enough. What we are hoping on is that the back was indeed was the cause of his hamstring issues and thus ending the Gumbleton debacle.

Winderlich is a very lucky man, that needs to be noted. DOn't expect Gumby to come out of it as well as Licha has.

 

[cooper6]

Sorry mate, but thats a ridiculous statement. Fevsnoller is his own person. i can't see the point in comparing Neagle to him..I really don't.


BTW..Gumbleton isn't finished yet. There's been alot of time and effort spent by the club on this bloke and they arn't gunna give up on him as quick as you're suggesting.

what? the thread says 'if needed', not 'when they dont make it'. i have not said that either of them cannot make it, nor have i said essendon shouldnt persist with either of them, they certainly should. i have expressed concerns that at least 1 of them will not make it (which is highly possible). therefore, it would be ridiculous for essendon to not consider back up plans, like ones i have suggested. IF either dont make it, who should essendon look to?

 

[cooper6]

Sorry mate, but thats a ridiculous statement. Fevsnoller is his own person. i can't see the point in comparing Neagle to him..I really don't. .

i used the fevola comparison due to the fact that he is regularly described by others to have similar attributes.

 

[Donakebab]

Neagle is 21 and has played about a dozen games and you're saying he's done already? Do you know Fev's stats at the same point in his career are pretty much the same? Maybe you should know what you're talking about and give the kid some time to develop before you say he's finished.

Gumbleton is 22 and being given as much time as he needs to get up and fit. Thought that would be obvious with how much talk there is constantly about him. The club has faith, why don't you?


All that said, I'd love to see Darcy get a chance to play up front. Nice size, can take a good grab and already proved he can kick goals both in his junior days and at Bendigo, but with Scotty finding form again this isn't looking all too likely right now.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Simple, we have to draft another tall, but not this year we need a gun midfielder first!

 

[bombersrbest05]

Neagle is 21 and has played about a dozen games and you're saying he's done already? Do you know Fev's stats at the same point in his career are pretty much the same? Maybe you should know what you're talking about and give the kid some time to develop before you say he's finished.

Gumbleton is 22 and being given as much time as he needs to get up and fit. Thought that would be obvious with how much talk there is constantly about him. The club has faith, why don't you?


All that said, I'd love to see Darcy get a chance to play up front. Nice size, can take a good grab and already proved he can kick goals both in his junior days and at Bendigo, but with Scotty finding form again this isn't looking all too likely right now.

He is actually only 20 turning 21 in August, so this mean he is probably still growing and I agree with your statement of him giving as much time as he needs. We are not talking about Kepler Bradley here we are talking about a player that is 2nd pick overall in the "super draft" and has been compared to as a Nick Reiwoldt/Chris Grant type.

 

[cooper6]

Neagle is 21 and has played about a dozen games and you're saying he's done already? Do you know Fev's stats at the same point in his career are pretty much the same? Maybe you should know what you're talking about and give the kid some time to develop before you say he's finished.

Gumbleton is 22 and being given as much time as he needs to get up and fit. Thought that would be obvious with how much talk there is constantly about him. The club has faith, why don't you?

again, i never desicively said neagle wouldnt make it, i just have my doubts like many others. gumby i have big hopes for, although several years of injuries means it is a no-brainer to consider other options as BACKUPs, rather then saying 'theyre our men'. yes, these two are our priorities but as i keep saying, we need to consider BACKUPS! so who are our preferred backups?

 

[Knight Ryders]

Michael Still - "What about me?".

 

[stay true]

Jeez, Gumby is 20 years old.

Beau Muston had what... 3 knee reco's? He'll get over his injuries and show us all why we picked him at number 2.

 

[Godzke]

All I will say is this, if we are looking for KP forwards in the long run, aside from Gumby and Neagle, then I want them to be exactly that and ONLY that. I don't want rotations between the backline and forwardline with players like Hurley.

Now, I dunno, I've seen enough of the game to know it can change at rapid pace. However, I highly doubt the game will develop into a utility-based team where the majority of the players are expected to play well enough as a forward, or backmen or even a midfielder if called upon. Sure some players rotate between a few, but until that day comes ... I want an out'n'out full forward lining up inside the square. None of this "let's push fletcher to full forward bullshit" -Kevin Sheedy.

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

Ok fellas this is aint rocket science we need another Gun key forward. It should be our first priority in the 2009 Draft.

I am not talking about a replacement for our Gumby or Neagle.

We need to draft another genuine proven gun key forward to add depth & compete with Neagle & Gumby for a spot in the best 22. This new Key Fwd would also act as an insurance just in case neither of these guys reach there potential. Hey why cant this new guy be better than Gumby or Neagle ?

Will both Neagle and Gumby make it ?

It is up against them, especially Gumby. He's injury situation seems to be getting very challanging. It gets more difficult each year he's out of the game. His already low fitness base is suffering further. The back surgery was very serious and we should not assume he will be 100% fine afterwards ( as suggested by Fishguts in reference to Winda). He may never ever reach the lofty heights he was drafted for. - I pray he does but lets foolishly assume he will.

Neagle's rare ankle problems have limited his running and severly curtailed his already average fitness base. At the moment his deadly kicking & great marking keep making him a very interesting prospect bursting with promise. But his fitness is sub par. He desperately needs additional work in this area - I dont imagine he will be able to play consistant AFL standard footy for a year or two. It will even longer before we know
if he is to be relied upon every week to gig bags of goals week in week out. Where's Jobes' boxing coach ?

Our midfield, defence & ( with the development of Ryder) our Rucks are maturing very fast - our forward line however may not be ready if we simply rely on existing stocks - it makes complete sense to draft the best young proven gun key forward we can get our hands on it. If we dont we may simply miss the finals boat..

 

[GmeUP]

I think our best bet would be to develop one of our young defenders preferably Daniher who from most reports was able to swing through both ends of the ground comfortably as a junior.

Would be interested to hear Ants thoughts on the potential key forwards in the current draft as most indications i've seen around the boards point towards it being a rather weak draft so a first round pick should be spent on the best available talent instead of a horses for courses pick, if there's another Selwood/Rich left when we pick this year we should definitely jump at them instead of picking a tall who otherwise wouldn't be a first rounder.

 

[daffo]

I don't think we need to rush into this again. Gumby will hopefully fire next year, and we still have Still to come in next year or the following year.

 

[Jesse Custer]

There is a lot of hope, without substance.

The fact we have these kids such as Gumby and Neagle, and they're stagnating due to a variety of reasons is very worrying.

Ideally, they should both be playing each week. But they're not and that concerns me greatly for the future. We haven't even seen Still yet. Therefore, we don't know if he can cut it. Don't get me wrong fellow brothers, i want to see Gumby, Neagle and Still make it and become champion forwards like the rest of you, but im really worried.

It will be interesting at draft time this year.

 

[table tennis]

I suppose Cleve Hughes is the answer.............


GIVE THE BLOODY KIDS SOME TIME. FFS

FEVOLA TOOK 5 YEARS TO COME ON.

 

[Rack Watts]

GIVE THE BLOODY KIDS SOME TIME. FFS

FEVOLA TOOK 5 YEARS TO COME ON.

Well said, this topic is stupid.
Gumby will make it, Neagle will too, just needs a pre-season and this year in the seconds.

 

[Slatteryexpress]

It is up against them, especially Gumby. He's injury situation seems to be getting very challanging. It gets more difficult each year he's out of the game. His already low fitness base is suffering further.

Gumby was running super human times in the beep test in this preseason, there is no problem with his fitness. As soon as he is 100% it won't take long to tap into that fitness base.

 

[BrunoV]

This was the point of the Cleve Hughes thread (whether you agree that he may be a realistic option is another story).

I am confident that Neagle's development is tracking with Hawkins' and that they are on par for young key forwards. I am confident that Neagle has enough about him to kick 100 in a year.

Gumbleton looks something special. It is all in the way he moves, he is so tall, yet he moves like a smaller bloke.

You can say that they will make it all that you want (and that they deserve time) but it seems to be a little risky to pin the hopes of the forward (in the long and short term) on a player who cannot get on the park and another player whose has to have question marks over his dedication and fitness (Neagle is not a pretty sight and there are plenty of players with injury problems that dont carry the excess baggage that he does).

Alternatives need to be explored because, if nothing else, competition for spots can only ever be a good thing.

 

[Colin D'Cops]

Would be interested to hear Ants thoughts on the potential key forwards in the current draft as most indications i've seen around the boards point towards it being a rather weak draft...

I'm not ant555, but I'll post my thoughts on that matter anyway. Obviously if you're even remotely interested in the draft happenings, John Butcher (VC) is the head of the KP range at the moment. He is a lovely mark and can kick a nice goal. Played really well in last years Champs, and has done what is required this year to cement his spot in the top 3 you would think. Jack Fitzpatrick (VM) is another who is a nice KP/R prospect, versatile tall that can take a nice mark. Stands at 201cm, and is above average for his height in the speed department. Sam Day (WA) looks a nice prospect as well with his height (196cm) & agility combination, but he is a bottom-ager and you would suspect the GC might swoop on him in 2010. Matthew Panos (SA) has played at CHF for the majority of the carnival thus far, and has impressed a few people. Great marking capabilities overhead, quick off the lead and is quite an accurate quick for goal. Is available to be picked up this year, but unsure where he may be taken. Possibly early second round, but still plenty of time yet to make more accurate judgements. Troy Taylor (NT) is another likely KPF prospect that could feature early in this years draft. You could say the same for David Astbury (VC), who stands at 193cms but not quite as classy some claim.

 

[hateitorlovett13]

Why do you think we drafted Still? Leading goal kicker in the TAC cup as an underage player, no mean feat.

Hurley can be used forward, as can Daniher; get a decent pre season and some fitness under Neagle's belt, and Gumby another year at least.

We'll be right.