Prediction Squad in 2023

[BeornJ]

Feeling bored and pessimistic about the club's futures so I reworked my squad resource to look at the potential AFL Squad and WAFL Squad (AFL listed) for next year.

The following assumes:

Retirements: JK and Hurn
Delisting: Trew, Joyce, Nelson
No Trades
and 3 Players selected in the National Draft.

Obviously, who makes the AFL Best 22 is open for interpretation. (EDIT: The team I selected was my best guess of what the match committee will feel is the best 22 )I was curious to see where the depth is if any.

What are everyone's thoughts? I feel we could bounce back up next year, even for a couple of years, but then after Shuey, Redden, Yeo and Naitanui goes, we are in for some more lean year unless whatever mid we take in the draft this year can explode, or if our best hopes for L. Edwards, O'Neill, Chesser, Hough and Culley are realised and some superstars emerge there.

 

[Doashuey]

Yuck.
Rotham, Witherden and Naish have no place in the B22 and in fact may well be luck to be on our list in 2023. Redden should only be depth as well if he is still contracted next year.
Hough, Jones, SPS and Clark should all be in ahead of those four.
Chesser and Culley should also be pushing for one of those bench spots if they come on,but they are young and have no exposed form so fair enough. Possibly in for Shuey if he continues to have soft tissue injuries and decides to hang up the boots.

Jamison should also be ahead of Williams to back up Nic NAt at this stage.

 

[KERRPOW]

Redden should be delisted/retired or be advised hes depth in 2023.

If XON and rotham wernt contracted next year they should be delisted also.

Retire: kennedy, hurn, redden
Delist: trew, nelson, joyce, winder*, dixon*, Ledwards*

*Re-rookied for 2023

 

[KERRPOW]

Next years retirements and delistings is where its at.

Retire: cripps, nicnat (assumed 1yr contract extension)

Delist: XON, waterman, foley, langon.

Others out of contract that may be on the chopping block: SPS, naish*, Ledwards*, dixon*, witherden* petch (if he doesnt show improvement/keeps getting injured)

* Assumes re rookied/contracted for 2023.

Futher add to this a big haircut for gov

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

Best 22 might be something like this imo, unless we get any other ready to play recruits.
FB Foley Barrass Cole
HB Hough McGovern Duggan
C Gaff Kelly Yeo
HF Sheed Darling Cripps
FF Ryan Allen Rioli
R Naitanui Petrevski-Seton Jones
INT Jamieson Shuey Chesser Culley
EMG Clark West Petruccelle Redden
WAFL: Naish H Edwards J Williams Waterman B Williams L Edwards Winder Bazzo Rotham Langdon O'Neill
Retire: Kennedy Hurn
Delist: Dixon Strandica Joyce Trew Nelson Witherden
Probably going a bit early on Chesser and Culley. Clark, West, Redden, Naish could easily take their place.
With 37 players on the list we would only be opening 5 spots tho.
Winder, Naish, Luke Edwards and maybe even Foley probably aren't certainties to be given extensions yet.

 

[BeornJ]

I probably should have added that the 'best 22' is my best guess of the 'credits' side that younger players need to break into. Not necessarily who I think is the best 22 for now and the future.

 

[Patron]

It looks okay on paper, but all the good names we had that won us matches over the past decade are cooked, or are well past their prime (which leads to a tendency to overrate them).

• Sheppard - Sadly gone.
• Hurn - Holding up better than most but he will likely retire next year.
• Kennedy - Hangs up the boots at years end.
• Shuey - Still good, but his body is cooked, may even retire this year.
• Mcgovern - Still good, but not quite the level he used to be, is over 30 now and body starting to fade. At 31 he'll be well below AA level next year.
• Yeo - Body may be cooked, turns 30 next year, we don't even know if he'll be anywhere near what he was athletically.
• Gaff - Efficacy was always debatable, but he's clearly just an average foot soldier now.
• Darling - Has been a shell of his former self, also 30 next year, can still play a role.
• Ryan - Still genuinely talented matchwinner but body getting iffy.
• Rioli - See Ryan.

The rest like your Coles, your Reddens were never really matchwinners just solid contributors and even those types have gone downhill.

The only potential match winning young talent we've seen to push from beneath is Allen. But his body is letting him down and at 24 next year he should be entering his prime.
Kelly we acquired, and looking at the above, I expect he may be considered our best player next year. That says it all really.

Essendon may be a basket case but I look at players like Merrett, Parish, Ridley - I don't think we have any that good.

We are gonna be down in the doldrums for a couple years.

 

[WCE1698]

Best 22 next year

Cole Barrass Hough
Yeo Gov Duggan

Kelly Sheed Gaff

NN L.Edwards Shuey

Chesser Darling Cripps
Rioli Allen Ryan

Witherden, Petrucelle, B.Williams Wardlaw/Sheezle

 

[BeornJ]

Best 22 next year

Cole Barrass Hough
Yeo Gov Duggan

Kelly Sheed Gaff

NN L.Edwards Shuey

Chesser Darling Cripps
Rioli Allen Ryan

Witherden, Petrucelle, B.Williams Wardlaw/Sheezle

That side has a nice mix of established and younger players. I would be pretty pleased if we saw that side named a few times next year

 

[dajesmac]

Upon some reflection these are my current list changes:

Main List:
Kennedy
Hurn
Redden (dependant on Shuey going on one more year)
Winder
Nelson

Rookie List:
Naish
Dixon
Joyce
Trew

Personally I'd like to see Jamieson, Williams and Jones retained in addition to some of the more obvious re-signings (Naitanui, Rioli). Witherden also survives for me whilst acknowledging his limitations as a player.

I think we should look at taking 5 picks in the national draft as a minimum. With those list changes that adds up, however there is the possibility of everyone getting an extra two list spots this year. If that's the case, I think Jones and West are worthy of main list spots. If not, they are unlucky.

Despite being a bit of an optimist, I do find myself thinking we are going to win the spoon. Take picks 1, 19, 25, 37 and 73 to the draft. I don't expect us to realistically land a midfielder such as Bruhn but I fully expect us to trade creatively to land another top 40 or so pick. With our two top 20 picks likely off limits, I wonder if we could swap our future second with the Suns for 26 and 28? It's probably not a good enough deal for them, but they are soft traders who hold way too many picks this year and they may be banking on our second rounder being another top 20 pick next year.

Using that trade as an example we could go to the draft with:

1: George Wardlaw
19: Jackson Broadbent
25: Adam D'Aloia
26: Lewis Hayes
28: Kane Bevan

Then potentially trade 37 back into the future second round for ideally a pick in the 30's.

Pipe dream stuff I know but it's 11:20pm on a Friday night in June and my team ****ing sucks.

Round 1:

Cole - Barrass - Yeo
Foley - McGovern - Duggan
Chesser - Kelly - Gaff
Rioli - Allen - Ryan
Cripps - Darling - Waterman

Naitanui - Shuey - Sheed
BWilliams - Ledwards - Clark - Hough

Beagles:

Rotham - Hedwards - Witherden
Bevan - Bazzo - Jones
? - West - O'Neill
Langdon - JWilliams - Petrucelle
? - Broadbent - ?

Strandica - Culley - Wardlaw
Hayes - ? - ? - ?

Plus rookies. I'm probably missing a few other names here but oh well.

 

[CursoryMercenary]

I'd be mortified if that is all we did during trade week. We'd might as well not win any games in 2023 either.

Feeling bored and pessimistic about the club's futures so I reworked my squad resource to look at the potential AFL Squad and WAFL Squad (AFL listed) for next year.

The following assumes:

Retirements: JK and Hurn
Delisting: Trew, Joyce, Nelson
No Trades
and 3 Players selected in the National Draft.

Obviously, who makes the AFL Best 22 is open for interpretation. (EDIT: The team I selected was my best guess of what the match committee will feel is the best 22 )I was curious to see where the depth is if any.

What are everyone's thoughts? I feel we could bounce back up next year, even for a couple of years, but then after Shuey, Redden, Yeo and Naitanui goes, we are in for some more lean year unless whatever mid we take in the draft this year can explode, or if our best hopes for L. Edwards, O'Neill, Chesser, Hough and Culley are realised and some superstars emerge there.


View attachment 1418655

 

[KERRPOW]

Whats the odds our starting midfield line up will be:

Nic, gaff, shuey
Kelly, redden, yeo

YUCK

 

[BeornJ]

Whats the odds our starting midfield line up will be:

Nic, gaff, shuey
Kelly, redden, yeo

YUCK

2 years ago, if that midfield was on the park most weeks and were fit and firing, we would have finished in the top 4 and had a real crack at another flag. Especially if Sheed was the 7th on the bench.

But now we need to plan for the team without Redden Shuey and Naitanui in 2024. And Gaff a couple of years after that.

If we nail drafting/trading/development we could possibly try for another flag tilt before Kelly and Yeo retire but who knows

 

[Patron]

2 years ago, if that midfield was on the park most weeks and were fit and firing, we would have finished in the top 4 and had a real crack at another flag. Especially if Sheed was the 7th on the bench.

But now we need to plan for the team without Redden Shuey and Naitanui in 2024. And Gaff a couple of years after that.

If we nail drafting/trading/development we could possibly try for another flag tilt before Kelly and Yeo retire but who knows

Even if we draft insanely well I think having another go before Kelly and Yeo's decline is a bit of a pipe dream tbh.
Yeo may already be cooked and Kelly turns 28 this year. WCE players normally decline significantly after 30 which give us 3 years?
Pick one this year would need to be the next Judd and even then, they just wouldn't be able to do it solo. We've got 3-4 years in the absolute doldrums before this years draft crop starts entering that 21-23 age bracket where they can start lifting us up.

Its basically this reason that most of us hate the Kelly trade so much.

 

[eaglesfan84]

Best 22....

FB: Foley Barrass Duggan
HB: Cole McGovern Yeo
C: Clark West Sheed
HF: Shuey Darling Rioli
F: Cripps OAllen Ryan
R: NicNat Kelly Chesser

Int: Rotham Winder XONeill Williams

Medisub: Waterman

Now tell me that backline is not solid as **** with a shitload of drive off it, Yeo can pick up any of the super mids that push forward, perfect match up for em and that forward line would be full of goals. With Nic Nat feeding Kelly and Chesser we'd have quality ball going forward from stoppages and Connor West holds their best mid, plays the defense game around stoppages, provides the grunt, is nice and balanced with Clark and Sheed running all day out on the wings....

Hurn and Kennedy retired. Gaff traded for 2nd rounder probably. Redden held as back up.

 

[eaglesfan84]

Whats the odds our starting midfield line up will be:

Nic, gaff, shuey
Kelly, redden, yeo

YUCK

Don't depress me

 

[eaglesfan84]

Upon some reflection these are my current list changes:

Main List:
Kennedy
Hurn
Redden (dependant on Shuey going on one more year)
Winder
Nelson

Rookie List:
Naish
Dixon
Joyce
Trew

Personally I'd like to see Jamieson, Williams and Jones retained in addition to some of the more obvious re-signings (Naitanui, Rioli). Witherden also survives for me whilst acknowledging his limitations as a player.

I think we should look at taking 5 picks in the national draft as a minimum. With those list changes that adds up, however there is the possibility of everyone getting an extra two list spots this year. If that's the case, I think Jones and West are worthy of main list spots. If not, they are unlucky.

Despite being a bit of an optimist, I do find myself thinking we are going to win the spoon. Take picks 1, 19, 25, 37 and 73 to the draft. I don't expect us to realistically land a midfielder such as Bruhn but I fully expect us to trade creatively to land another top 40 or so pick. With our two top 20 picks likely off limits, I wonder if we could swap our future second with the Suns for 26 and 28? It's probably not a good enough deal for them, but they are soft traders who hold way too many picks this year and they may be banking on our second rounder being another top 20 pick next year.

Using that trade as an example we could go to the draft with:

1: George Wardlaw
19: Jackson Broadbent
25: Adam D'Aloia
26: Lewis Hayes
28: Kane Bevan

Then potentially trade 37 back into the future second round for ideally a pick in the 30's.

Pipe dream stuff I know but it's 11:20pm on a Friday night in June and my team ******* sucks.

Round 1:

Cole - Barrass - Yeo
Foley - McGovern - Duggan
Chesser - Kelly - Gaff
Rioli - Allen - Ryan
Cripps - Darling - Waterman

Naitanui - Shuey - Sheed
BWilliams - Ledwards - Clark - Hough

Beagles:

Rotham - Hedwards - Witherden
Bevan - Bazzo - Jones
? - West - O'Neill
Langdon - JWilliams - Petrucelle
? - Broadbent - ?

Strandica - Culley - Wardlaw
Hayes - ? - ? - ?

Plus rookies. I'm probably missing a few other names here but oh well.

I'm glad someone else has the idea of slotting Yeo back to defence, people have gotta let go of him being a starting mid anymore, and I like how you have Chesser running in the midfield straight up

 

[jdisc]

Senior Outs:

• Sheppard (Retired)
• Kennedy (Retired)
• Hurn (Retired)
• Gaff (Trade for picks)

Should allow us to front-load picks in the draft. Also Wouldn't mind moving B.Williams to the rookie list to free up a fifth senior spot (pending any form changes in the back-half of the year).

Rookie Outs:

• Dixon
• Joyce
• Trew
• Strnadica

Best 22 (Understand this is unorthodox):

FB: Cole Barrass Duggan
HB: Yeo (Def/Mid) McGovern Foley
C: Chesser West Redden
HF: Sheed Darling Cripps
FF: Rioli Allen Ryan
Fol: Naitanui Shuey (Fwd/Mid) Kelly
Int: Winder (Fwd) Hough (Def/Mid) Clark (Mid) Jamieson (Ruck)