Round 1 team 2021

[Scorpus]

Tried to put together a best 22 and it was far too difficult.

Various iterations had a combination of players like Pedlar, McHenry, Worrell, Lynch, Walker, Fogarty, Keays, Jones, Thilthorpe missing.

We'll have to choose a group of younger players to back in for the first 5-7 weeks of the season, then reassess based on form. The worst thing would be chopping and changing between (for example) Jones, McHenry, Pedlar and Schoenberg in a single spot. Some players will just have to accept being out of the team for a couple of months as we rotate through younger players in blocks.

These are the ONLY locks I'd have in the side:

Doedee (if fit), McPherson, Smith
Laird, Milera, Sholl, Crouch, O'Brien
McAdam

Likely locks due to political reasons, not form: Lynch, Sloane

---

Young players I'd back in for the first 5-7 weeks of the season: Hately, Jones, McHenry, Rowe, McAsey, Schoenberg

Players I'd back in for the second block, dependent on form and available spots: Pedlar, Worrell, Butts, Hamill, Berry

Thilthorpe to play as soon as ready.

Players that I would not consider for any matches: Strachan, Davis, Mackay, Kelly, Seedsman, Frampton

 

[Cleric]

What I would like to see

FF Rowe Thilthorpe Fog
HF Cook Tex McAdam
C Pedler Crouch Sholl
HB Smith Doedee McAstey
FB Brown Talia McPherson
Ruck ROB Sloane Laird

Int Himmelberg Milera Hatley Schoenberg

What we will see I have no idea.

 

[Mutineer]

What I would like to see

FF Rowe Thilthorpe Fog
HF Cook Tex McAdam
C Pedler Crouch Sholl
HB Smith Doedee McAstey
FB Brown Talia Doedee
Ruck ROB Sloane Laird

Int McPherson Milera Hatley Schoenberg

What we will see I have no idea.

Tommy's good but I reckon playing 2 positions will test him...

 

[Cleric]

Tommy's good but I reckon playing 2 positions will test him...

Lol.

 

[ADL9798]

Don’t know about round 1 2021 but would love to see us work towards a side like this by mid-season:

B: Brown Talia Doedee
HB: Smith McAsey Laird
R: O’Brien Sloane Schoenberg
C: Milera M. Crouch Hamill
HF: Lynch Fogarty Keays
F: Rowe Thilthorpe McAdam

IC: Hately, Pedlar, Jones, McHenry

Round 1 prediction:

B: Brown Talia Doedee
HB: Smith McAsey Laird
R: O’Brien Sloane Schoenberg
C: Milera M. Crouch Hamill
HF: Lynch Fogarty Keays
F: Rowe Walker McAdam

IC: Hately, Pedlar, Jones, McHenry

• Of the draftees I think we'll see Pedlar and Rowe in the 22 from day dot.
• 3 of Jones, Scholl, McHenry, Hamill
• Obviously still up for grabs over the remainder of the preseason but I think it'll end up being Fogarty/Walker as our starting tall forward combo, with Thilthorpe/Himmelberg/Frampton snapping at their heels to get a game (and I expect 1 or 2 of them will after a few weeks of strong SANFL performances).
• Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Butts get a game either because of Talia’s limited prep.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

We had proper umpires on the weekend right? Because I saw plenty of movement on the mark and don't remember it being penalised once??

The good umpires won't bother with it, hate the rule as much as we do and hope it goes away in time

The look-at-me sticklers will need a new pea by Round 3 and are salivating

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Doedee back in full training, not sure he's out of R1 calculations just yet.

Given his injury issues, I would not be rushing him & giving Worrell a debut.

We should be playing the long game.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

If we're basing things on the internal trial then Hamill isn't making the side, and Hately isn't missing.

Both Hammil & Hately should be picked if fit.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

The only player in our midfield that can only play inside midfield is Matt Crouch. Every other player can rotate through half back, wing and forward. I don't see it as a big issue.

Ultimately we need 4-5 guys or more that can play inside midfield, so I'd expect Hately to be part of that rotation

Agree.

We should be aiming for a bigger rotation of midfielders with our forwards/defenders... with only Crouch suited to playing only as a mid.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

And Worrell isn't playing CHB at this point in time, Lynch is a lock and Fogarty close to a lock.

Worrell should be playing as our 3rd tall defender with Butts & McAsey in the key posts in Talia's (& Doedee's) absence.

 

[hey shorty]

Both Hammil & Hately should be picked if fit.

Hately yes, Hamill no.

He's not at the point where he's a best 22 lock.

 

[hey shorty]

Given his injury issues, I would not be rushing him & giving Worrell a debut.

We should be playing the long game.

Yet you'd rush Hamill back even though he hasn't gotten through an AFL without a concussion since about R5 last year.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

What I would like to see

FF Rowe Thilthorpe Fog
HF Cook Tex McAdam
C Pedler Crouch Sholl
HB Smith Doedee McAstey
FB Brown Talia McPherson
Ruck ROB Sloane Laird

Int Himmelberg Milera Hatley Schoenberg

What we will see I have no idea.

Cook won't be playing AFL anytime soon... & is a longer term prospect.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Hately yes, Hamill no.

He's not at the point where he's a best 22 lock.

He should be.

Will be a gun.

The only reason Hamill shouldn't be playing is if we are managing injury concerns.

 

[hey shorty]

He should be.

Will be a gun.

The only reason Hamill shouldn't be playing is if we are managing injury concerns.

He MIGHT be a gun, but the head knocks and how easy they seemed to occur are a massive worry.

 

[Mutineer]

Yet you'd rush Hamill back even though he hasn't gotten through an AFL without a concussion since about R5 last year.

Hammill did nothing in the intraclub that fills me with confidence he would be a lock in round 1 unless he has a big game the next 2 weeks I think he misses.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Round 1 prediction:

B: Brown Talia Doedee
HB: Smith McAsey Laird
R: O’Brien Sloane Schoenberg
C: Milera M. Crouch Hamill
HF: Lynch Fogarty Keays
F: Rowe Walker McAdam

IC: Hately, Pedlar, Jones, McHenry

• Of the draftees I think we'll see Pedlar and Rowe in the 22 from day dot.
• Obviously still up for grabs over the remainder of the preseason but I think it'll end up being Fogarty/Walker as our starting tall forward combo, with Thilthorpe/Himmelberg/Frampton snapping at their heels to get a game (and I expect 1 or 2 of them will after a few weeks of strong SANFL performances).
• Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Butts get a game either because of Talia’s limited prep.

Not a fan of McPherson?

He is a Monty for round 1... unless injured.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

He MIGHT be a gun, but the head knocks and how easy they seemed to occur are a massive worry.

He's had a whole pre-season to recover!!!

You may as well delist him then.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Yet you'd rush Hamill back even though he hasn't gotten through an AFL without a concussion since about R5 last year.

One has had injuries pre-season... & the other hasn't...

 

[hey shorty]

He's had a whole pre-season to recover!!!

You may as well delist him then.

So has Paddy McCartin.

If he gets another one early in the year then yeah I would delist the poor kid. Also as Bicks said, he was virtually unsighted in the trial when other put their hands up.

 

[Golumless]

So you think we can have a midfield rotation that includes Crouch, Sloane, Keays and Hately? Your not worried about the number of inside mids? I am.
Unfortunately, I think we have to accepts that Sloane has lost his run. His legs aren't the same. So effectively he's just a bash and crash inside mid.

Yup. It needs work for the future, but history has been very clear, you want a midfield that contains Crouch and Sloane to work, you need a 190cm+ midfielder to accompany them, and provide that point of difference. Hately also has some flexibility to his game being able to play forward so we're not stuck with another pure mid. We need 5-7 players who are able to rotate through.

Mind you, I'd be moving on Keays sooner rather then later. I like him a lot, but he doesn't offer a point of difference outside of tagging to save him from Pedlar/Berry (though Keays might be able to reinvent himself, and I'm pretty comfortable with us exploring that). I'd also heavily consider moving Matt Crouch on at the end of the year due to the aforementioned Pedlar/Berry and us being in a rebuild if we really rate the pair. Retaining both Crouch and Laird for another contract doesn't make that much sense if you think both are going to be our starting midfielders in the next couple of years (and if the internal trial showed one thing, the Berry/Pedlar/Hately combo has a lot of potential).

 

[CrowBox89]

Yup. It needs work for the future, but history has been very clear, you want a midfield that contains Crouch and Sloane to work, you need a 190cm+ midfielder to accompany them, and provide that point of difference. Hately also has some flexibility to his game being able to play forward so we're not stuck with another pure mid. We need 5-7 players who are able to rotate through.

Mind you, I'd be moving on Keays sooner rather then later. I like him a lot, but he doesn't offer a point of difference outside of tagging to save him from Pedlar/Berry (though Keays might be able to reinvent himself, and I'm pretty comfortable with us exploring that). I'd also heavily consider moving Matt Crouch on at the end of the year due to the aforementioned Pedlar/Berry and us being in a rebuild if we really rate the pair. Retaining both Crouch and Laird for another contract doesn't make that much sense if you think both are going to be our starting midfielders in the next couple of years (and if the internal trial showed one thing, the Berry/Pedlar/Hately combo has a lot of potential).

So going on from the moving on Matt crouch idea, should the club be putting a time line on it with him, Doedee, McAsey and others OOC this year? Say if crouch hasn’t signed by round X then the club sits him out the rest of the season like teams in the NBA do to protect an asset from injury and also with where the club is at those 10-15 games can be valuably put into a young mid like berry, pedlar, Schoenberg and co rather than wasted on a bloke who isn’t going to be there in the future?

 

[Golumless]

So going on from the moving on Matt crouch idea, should the club be putting a time line on it with him, Doedee, McAsey and others OOC this year? Say if crouch hasn’t signed by round X then the club sits him out the rest of the season like teams in the NBA do to protect an asset from injury and also with where the club is at those 10-15 games can be valuably put into a young mid like berry, pedlar, Schoenberg and co rather than wasted on a bloke who isn’t going to be there in the future?

You use Crouch for every game he's available for, barring a massive downturn in form. Doedee is guaranteed to stay and the worst thing the club could do is hurt McAsey trade value, if he goes, it's imperative we recoup as close to pick 6 as possible. Butts, whilst looking like he'll be a good player, just is nowhere near as important compared to that.

The key to this year is to remain competitive, and to limit blowouts whilst we start to pump games into a lot of our youth. Someone like Crouch is necessary this year because the biggest issue we face is how much disparity with experience on our list, in that we could be seriously facing half of our best 22 starting this season on < 25 games. We can afford to take more time on a Berry, O'Connor etc and use them as an addition next year if we have to as a part of the '2nd wave' of youth coming through. Mind you, I would be surprised and concerned if Schoenberg got under 15 games, seeing he all but sealed a best 22 spot last year.

 

[Cleric]

Cook won't be playing AFL anytime soon... & is a longer term prospect.

Hence my "want to see" tag.

 

[Sidthehat]

I take it that's a moment when you ask a question that sounds smart in your mind, but doesn't when said out loud.

Hately is a 191 cm/91 kg midfielder (Torpedro posted numbers from last week, which I'm inclined to believe). Sloane is 183 cm/83 kg. Not only that, but the only times our midfield has been genuinely competitive in the past four years, bar a small burst in early 2017, it has required a player built like Hately to be in our inside mix. It's been that required that even an incredibly limited player in CEY had this impact in early 2019.

You can not only fit Hately and Sloane in the same side, you absolutely need a Hately or an O'Connor to be in that set up if you want us to be even remotely competitive. They're your genuinely big-bodied midfielders, and a line up that doesn't have one of those two in it is a terrible lineup for the tools we have at our disposal.

Think both have points. Looking back at that early 2019 when we were in the top 8, we were so dire and felt we kept competitive it because of Greenwood and CEY trapping play inside, whenever the opp got any spread we were killed. Without them two we were murdered for most of 2020 in and out. Still think we start with Sloane, Laird, Crouch, Keays at most bounces but hope we quickly bring in Hately and speedy option too.