Opinion Round 1 2016 - Best 22

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ShaySwannies

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Love all of that but as you said the coaching panel will be more conservative and make the safe decisions. I expect Dawson, Newman and Papley to play in the NEAFL. Playing Dawson and Papley too young could affect their development. I think (hope) that Hewitt will play as he has already served his apprenticeship and played very well in the pre-season. I think that Newman is also deserving, especially as he is older, but he's still (at the moment) listed as a rookie.

Totally agree.

Hoping Newman might get elevated with someone like Rohan going to the long-term injury list, at least for the first portion of the season.
 
Jun 19, 2011
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He probably could do with some more time killing the NEAFL before he gets a shot but I hardly think he looked out of place. His skills stood out obviously but I think he managed to win himself space quote effectively as well.

He'll need to be physically tested of course and playing him on progressively better forwards would be a good idea in the NEAFL. He'll immediately get dragged to dangerous areas in the AFL by smart coaches until he has proven himself.
 

J_Moore

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My thoughts from the interview with Nic Newman: he speaks well and seems intelligent enough, which I feel is an important quality in project/rookie players, as it helps them develop their game in a more systematic way. If you're a natural footballer, then you can afford to be stupid.

edit: lol 'natural football'
 
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Feb 28, 2007
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My thoughts from the interview with Nic Newman: he speaks well and seems intelligent enough, which I feel is an important quality in project/rookie players, as it helps them develop their game in a more systematic way. If you're a natural football, then you can afford to be stupid.

Like Shane Crawford.
 
I think the 1st half of Friday Night is the closest we will get to a look at how we'll line up in Round 1. I suspect if Richards plays in the Reserves on the weekend then he'll play Round 1. Other than that its a case of working out who the 3 or 4 players are from the 24 from NAB 3 who'll miss out for Round 1 are. I think Hewitt has done enough to stake a claim for the team and I wouldn't be surprised to see Papley promoted over Newman.

B: Rampe Grundy Laidler
HB: Jones Richards K.Jack
C: Hannebury Kennedy Cunningham
HF: Towers Franklin Heeney
F: Rose Sinclair Papley
R: Tippett Parker Mitchell
Int: Smith (7th Defender) Mills Hewitt Lloyd
Emg: Talia Nankervis Robertson

By Robertson you mean Robinson? Anyway, apart from positional changes that is the 22 I would have picked.
 
19 Possessions @ 78% efficiency. 64% TOG.

You are a tough marker.

Around half of his kicks were either clangers or sideways/backwards kicks that bumped up his efficiency.
 

Jack2Jack

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B: Smith, Grundy, Rampe
HB: Jones, Talia, Laidler
C: Hannebery, Mitchell, Lloyd
HF: Towers, Franklin, Parker
F: Heeney, Tippett, Cunningham
R: Sinclair, K. Jack, Kennedy
Int: Mills, Hewett, B. Jack, Papley

Emg: Robinson, Nankervis, Rose

Points -
- No way in hell would I be playing a 33 year old Richards with no match prep, it would be rushing him and probably end up very regrettable. Talia was recruited for this reason exactly. Grundy & Rampe will probably have to handle Cloke or Reid/Moore. Talia needs to be good enough to handle a Jesse White level player to be of any use what so ever.
-Cunningham & B. Jack very, very, very, lucky but almost get their spots by default. After being merely ok in NAB 1, neither of them have come close to earning it over the last 2 games. Towers pretty much in that group too, the only difference being his NAB 1 game was decent.
-Quite possible we could get 3 debutants which seems very high amount for a team who finished 5th last year:
-Mills is a dead set certainty.
-Papley plays a role we need and did ok. Interesting to see if he or Newman will be upgraded this week (depending on which position needs to be filled more urgently in the coaches eyes, Newman isn't ready imo though). 3rd gamer Rose or Robinson may get the nod but haven't performed as well over NAB to earn it, but because they've played at the level they may get the nod.
- Unless all those guys play there's another spot, Hewett as the best performing fringe/'yet to debut' in NAB almost would have to get that spot.
- Get a feeling however, Nankervis may play over one of those listed debutants as the extra tall. If this happens, dear god, it better only be to allow Tippett to spend 80% of the game at FF. Because if Sinclair and Tippett still do the bulk of the rucking and Nankervis is spending all his game-time up forward, defenders will be dropping/rebounding off him all day.
-If Reid gets the nod on the injury front, reckon they'll take the gamble and slip him, which they probably shouldn't but the cupboard is bare.

Unless I've left out someone blatantly obvious, it really shows up how light on the depth is and how urgently we need 3-4 fringe/young players to come on in a hurry:
McVeigh & Reid are the only players who are genuinely best 22 missing, and already there is some trouble filling the last 6 spots.
Rohan maybe a best 22er, but really he'd be on the fringes if we had alternative options because he goes missing too much.
McGlynn SHOULD be a fringe player at this stage of his career, but isn't when you look at the alternatives (B. Jack, Robinson etc.).
Richards is probably still best 22, despite the fact he's another we shouldn't be relying or expecting too much from him at this point in his career.

So it's a little worrying that veteran/depth/bottom 6 players like Rohan, McGlynn, Richards are such massive outs. At the same time exciting to see if some next gen players can step up to keep us in the upper regions of the ladder.
 
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Pretty solid summary there Jack2Jack

It's looking increasingly likely that both Reid and Richards will miss.

Richards out means Talia is a lock. Without Reid then Nankervis may come into calculations, but it would be inteeresting to see how we manage the Tippett/Sinclair/Nankervis three headed monster.

Hannebery, Heeney, Mitchell, Tippett, Laidler, Kennedy, K Jack, Sinclair, Franklin, Rampe, Parker, Grundy and Smith are certainties
Cunningham, Jones, Mills, Towers, Talia and Lloyd are near certain.

That leaves three spots up for grabs.

The players in the running for the last three spots seem to be Hewitt, Papley, Nankervis, B Jack, Rose, McGlynn, Robinson and Newman
X Richards, Hiscox and Dawson are long shots but maybe in the mix - particularly XR if an extra key defender is needed

Hewitt has been handy over the pre-season, but from reports didn't stand out in the NEAFL match today. Nevertheless he's probably the frontrunner.
Papley has shown some promise, and fills a role that we lack, he'd be a good chance
Nankervis comes into the mix with Reid out. Selectors will probably want another tall. The problem with Nank is he has a 5 minute purple patch and then is unsighted for the rest of the game.
B Jack's best is reasonable, his worst is not up to scratch. Not convinced he has another level in him. Would prefer us to look at other options unless he shows dramatic improvement.
Rose burst on to the scene in dramatic fashion, but since then hasn't exactly set the world on fire. Would like to see more of him this year, but not sold on him for Round 1 at this stage.
McGlynn is a known quantity and capable at AFL level, but he's 30 and coming off an injury. No guarantee he'll even be ready to go Rd 1. If he's fully fit he's likely to get the nod over Papley at this stage, but he's not necessarily a guaranteed selection anymore.
Robinson, like B Jack hasn't shown me any evidence that he has another gear in him. He's passable as the 22nd man in, but he needs to be better than that.
Newman seems a reasonable kick, but maybe still a bit raw. There's potential there, but at this stage he's not necessarily ahead of the likes of Jack or Robinson.
X Richards, with Ted out and Collingwood likely to run with Cloke, Moore and Gault we may need the extra height down back. Haven't seen anything yet to convince me that he can make it, but he'll do as depth for the moment.
Hiscox is a good runner, but can he play football at AFL level? Not convinced.
Dawson's highlights are fantastic, but just flashes at the moment, still very young and raw but significant potential there

Hewitt, Papley and Nankervis are my guesses

B: Smith, Grundy, Laidler
HB: Mills, Talia, Rampe
C: Hannebery, Kennedy, K Jack
HF: Lloyd, Franklin, Towers
F: Cunningham, Sinclair, Heeney
R: Tippett, Parker, Mitchell
Int: Jones, Hewitt, Papley, Nankervis

Emg: B Jack, X Richards, Newman
 
Mar 1, 2002
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I would think Talia might go to Moore, and if XR is required he would get Gault. But even then those match ups don't fill me with great confidence. We will need to win the midfield battle as our defence looks mighty thin. Laidler punches above his weight but he's only 189. Getting him to mind a 200cm monster is a big ask.
 
Feb 28, 2007
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- Get a feeling however, Nankervis may play over one of those listed debutants as the extra tall. If this happens, dear god, it better only be to allow Tippett to spend 80% of the game at FF. Because if Sinclair and Tippett still do the bulk of the rucking and Nankervis is spending all his game-time up forward, defenders will be dropping/rebounding off him all day.

Got this nervous feeling as well. I don't want Longmire to play all 3 but if he does, then Sinclair and Nankervis need to do almost all the rucking together and Tippett needs to be up forward at least 80% of the time. I do not want to see a situation where Tippett is in the ruck and for some reason Nankervis is spending a lot of time in the forward line.
 

Lakeside Swan

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My thoughts from the interview with Nic Newman: he speaks well and seems intelligent enough, which I feel is an important quality in project/rookie players, as it helps them develop their game in a more systematic way. If you're a natural footballer, then you can afford to be stupid.

edit: lol 'natural football'
Dane Swan must be the most natural footballer playing the game in that case
 
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