Team Mgmt. Talk about the makeup of our list - midfield balance, height profile, endurance runners

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Was more referring to these sorts of posts (quoted below). In the last month Myers has dropped himself, Begley and Laverde have come back from injury, the back 6 has solidified, Parish has found some form in the rain with more midfield minutes, and D.Clarke has got a rising star nom. Even Ambrose and Guelfi have been getting some recognition. So with regard to recontracting perhaps the landscape has changed a bit, or we’ve learnt a bit more about what the kids are capable of and what our best 22 might look like moving into next year.

It is hard to move on contracted players unless they are wanted elsewhere so I won't talk about them.

Our uncontracted players though I would like to see.

Ambrose - 1 year
Baguley - Cut
Myers - Cut
Brown - Cut
D Clarke - Cut (maybe re-rookie)
Francis - Trade
Guelfi - 1 year
Hartley - Cut
Tippa - 2 years
Parish - 2 years
Redman - 2 years

As for the rookies

Clarke - Cut
Dea - Cut
Draper - 2 years (maybe upgrade)
Jok - 1 year
Long - Cut
McNeice - Cut
Mynott - 1 year (maybe upgrade)
Would be keeping Brown for another year. He has played some good games despite him being a B grade third forward / defender.
The rest I could deal with.
redman 4 years
Agree with most of that.
Im not sure i'd cut Brown given what he's shown in patches. If Joey goes down, Brown can come in for him and do a job.
But that doesn't excuse us from looking for a 3rd tall forward. We are too short in the forward line.

Francis i wouldnt trade. Play him back where he belongs. That patch in 2018 wasn't a fluke. That's what he can do. Can we bloody get him there.

If we can i'd give Parish and Redman 4 years each. Both are long term parts of our future.

I would be aggressively looking to trade some senior depth for whatever we can get
Zaharakis
McKenna (Brissy were keen a couple of years ago)
Hurley - get us back into the early 1st rd (Bonar and our 1st back from GWS would be ideal)

These are players we won't miss as much as other areas and have currency we need.

Stop with the flankers and small mids
Get a tall mid and tall forward.
A tackling fiend would be nice too.
Trade out anyone to get enough cap to get Grundy in and build around him. We need a decent ruckman for once. Give him 1.5mil a season he is pace setter.
Trade Zaha, Myers, Langford, Leverde, etc use cap space on Grundy and fill the remaining spots with kids from the rookie draft.
Agree with this except for Francis, he has shown enough to stay so no to trading him, I would trade Zakka ahead of Francis, and keep Brown for depth.
I would trade Francis


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i would train Francis
Think Myers and Baguely should be done, Clarke is what he is - emergency ruck / tall forward cover - hard to be too critical that he’s not all that good given we’re running an injury list to our talls a mile long.

Brown stays, he works his ass off to offer a marking target up the ground every week, kicks straight, and actually leads at the ball. Plus can play at either end.

Zaharakis needs to go back to the VFL and either show he can bust a gut every week like a Gaff, or stay there.

Don’t mind Ham playing in Baguely’s spot for now, he runs hard to constantly offer an option and his disposal is neat enough.

Think with Draper injured it’s shown how thin we are for young tall forward / ruck talent, and we aren’t going to be much better off in 2 or so years down back if Zerk Thatcher and Hartley can’t fill the void of Hooker and Hurley.

Laverde is probably worth another year, but his constant run of injury is putting him in the realm of plenty of other talented players who never quite made it due to their bodies, not lack of talent.

Long we need to make a call on at the end of this year, either he plays AFL or he goes. D. Clarke and Mynott probably have another 12 months in them if their VFL form is strong come the end of the year.

Like to see;

Out: Baguely, Dea, Long. Calls made on McNiece, Laverde and Langford.

Bring in one or two SPP and Worpel types who will compete hard and are natural midfielders, not flankers, use Dodoro’s knack for spotting talls to grab some late to chance on development.
A lot of our players are either just coasting through their careers (Zaharakis), chronically underperforming (Myers) or just getting games from a lack of better options (Bellchambers).

Polarising players:

Langford - not a mid but should be persisted with as a marking half forward. Keep.

Brown- isn't a super star, he is reliable, works hard and most importantly he can kick straight. Worth keeping on the list.

Paddy Ambrose - not the most dynamic user of the ball but he is safe and shows physical hardness. Has elite endurance and as a point of difference to any key defenders on the list. Gives us a good match up for the aerobic forwards. Keep keep keep.

Bellchambers - can't stand this glacial cream puff. Unless we can lure a number 1# ruck from elsewhere we might need him for a bit longer unfortunately.

Dylan Clarke - a rare young mid on our list who isn't built like a twig. Kicking isn't great but I would give him another 12 months because there is so much else to like about him.

Trade:

Zaharakis - peaheart. Sends a message to the rest of the group.

Gleeson - behind Redman, Ridley and Francis for a spot in the backline. An extra pick for him third could be handy unless the club the has plans for Ridley, Redman and Francis in other spots on the ground, then he should stay.

Hartley - handy player but doesn't look like getting a game anytime soon. Perhaps trade him or just delist so he can get to a new club easily.

Delist:

Long - should have been delisted two years ago.
Dea - thanks for the service, no longer needed.
Myers - the embodiment of all things wrong with this club over the last 10-15 years.
McNeice - battler, not up to it.
Bags - thanks for giving 100% each week, no longer up to it.
Zac Clarke - only saw his debut game for the club. Absolutely nothing to be gained by keeping him around.

Rookie list:

Laverde - last chance to salvage a career from the rookie list, otherwise delist.

Draft:

No more small/medium forwards or small/medium defenders, we need some tall timber across the ground and another genuine mid.
Gleeson plays pretty much the same role we are expecting Francis to and so far he has proven to be a better player
Gleeson if he comes back like he was playing towards the end of 2017 is ahead of Francis by a fair margin.

No body is going to trade for Zaka or Hartley.
Gold coast could take Zaharakis for pick 30 odd.
I would have said Zaharakis was the embodiment of what's wrong with our club over the past decade. Soft front runner that goes to water under pressure.
Gleeson played all of ten good games, loose at half back 18 months ago. If he's really ahead of Francis then he needs to prove it all over again. Also noting it took Gleeson 4.5 years to actually put that form together.
We certainly need to change something structurally. I'm a big fan of trying Ridley and Gleeson as wingers. We get very little from Zaharakis, Smith and Parish playing there currently.

Part of our poor transition is our midfielders don't lead well and with the exception of Heppell are incredible poor over head. Having them there would help elevate the lack of presenting from HF and give us another option outside of counter attacks off half back that often go over the midfield altogether. Another thing I really like about them is tidy and effective disposal without needing to take risks. Good at quickly hitting the 45 that Shiel, Myers, Parish and Heppell struggle with.

They also offer natural defensive positioning, that can help both set up the wall at half forward for repeat entries without rolling up the entirety of the defence allowing protection down back and help with general defensive transition.
 
Was more referring to these sorts of posts (quoted below). In the last month Myers has dropped himself, Begley and Laverde have come back from injury, the back 6 has solidified, Parish has found some form in the rain with more midfield minutes, and D.Clarke has got a rising star nom. Even Ambrose and Guelfi have been getting some recognition. So with regard to recontracting perhaps the landscape has changed a bit, or we’ve learnt a bit more about what the kids are capable of and what our best 22 might look like moving into next year.
i still maintain that we should train Francis, yes.
 
Was more referring to these sorts of posts (quoted below). In the last month Myers has dropped himself, Begley and Laverde have come back from injury, the back 6 has solidified, Parish has found some form in the rain with more midfield minutes, and D.Clarke has got a rising star nom. Even Ambrose and Guelfi have been getting some recognition. So with regard to recontracting perhaps the landscape has changed a bit, or we’ve learnt a bit more about what the kids are capable of and what our best 22 might look like moving into next year.
I stand by what I said about Gleeson, but swap Francis with Redman. And I'd still play Francis ahead of Gleeson too. Sorry Marty.
 
Jun 11, 2007
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Was more referring to these sorts of posts (quoted below). In the last month Myers has dropped himself, Begley and Laverde have come back from injury, the back 6 has solidified, Parish has found some form in the rain with more midfield minutes, and D.Clarke has got a rising star nom. Even Ambrose and Guelfi have been getting some recognition. So with regard to recontracting perhaps the landscape has changed a bit, or we’ve learnt a bit more about what the kids are capable of and what our best 22 might look like moving into next year.
With mine, I'll withdraw the Hurley suggestion to try get an early pick in. The midfield appears to have settled nicely.
A couple of top 10 talents (bonar plus the pick) aren't worth disrupting the best defence in the league

McKenna and zaka I could still happily trade should the right deal come along

Still keen on a tall forward.
Parish, Francis and Redman are still required for mine
 
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We certainly need to change something structurally. I'm a big fan of trying Ridley and Gleeson as wingers. We get very little from Zaharakis, Smith and Parish playing there currently.

Part of our poor transition is our midfielders don't lead well and with the exception of Heppell are incredible poor over head. Having them there would help elevate the lack of presenting from HF and give us another option outside of counter attacks off half back that often go over the midfield altogether. Another thing I really like about them is tidy and effective disposal without needing to take risks. Good at quickly hitting the 45 that Shiel, Myers, Parish and Heppell struggle with.

They also offer natural defensive positioning, that can help both set up the wall at half forward for repeat entries without rolling up the entirety of the defence allowing protection down back and help with general defensive transition.

I think most of this is still to play out. Obvious Parish and Langford have found their spots but still a lot of questions to be answered. Defensively very solid, but as we saw last week and versus Fremantle on a dry deck we can bleed goals in a hurry.
 
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A lot of our players are either just coasting through their careers (Zaharakis), chronically underperforming (Myers) or just getting games from a lack of better options (Bellchambers).

Polarising players:

Langford - not a mid but should be persisted with as a marking half forward. Keep.

Brown- isn't a super star, he is reliable, works hard and most importantly he can kick straight. Worth keeping on the list.

Paddy Ambrose - not the most dynamic user of the ball but he is safe and shows physical hardness. Has elite endurance and as a point of difference to any key defenders on the list. Gives us a good match up for the aerobic forwards. Keep keep keep.

Bellchambers - can't stand this glacial cream puff. Unless we can lure a number 1# ruck from elsewhere we might need him for a bit longer unfortunately.

Dylan Clarke - a rare young mid on our list who isn't built like a twig. Kicking isn't great but I would give him another 12 months because there is so much else to like about him.

Trade:

Zaharakis - peaheart. Sends a message to the rest of the group.

Gleeson - behind Redman, Ridley and Francis for a spot in the backline. An extra pick for him third could be handy unless the club the has plans for Ridley, Redman and Francis in other spots on the ground, then he should stay.

Hartley - handy player but doesn't look like getting a game anytime soon. Perhaps trade him or just delist so he can get to a new club easily.

Delist:

Long - should have been delisted two years ago.
Dea - thanks for the service, no longer needed.
Myers - the embodiment of all things wrong with this club over the last 10-15 years.
McNeice - battler, not up to it.
Bags - thanks for giving 100% each week, no longer up to it.
Zac Clarke - only saw his debut game for the club. Absolutely nothing to be gained by keeping him around.

Rookie list:

Laverde - last chance to salvage a career from the rookie list, otherwise delist.

Draft:

No more small/medium forwards or small/medium defenders, we need some tall timber across the ground and another genuine mid.

Lore

I would still stand by 95% of this - perhaps trading Gleeson so early was a bit silly given that Francis is still a fringe player and Redman/Ridley could both be used else on the field (i.e wing/midfield).

Laverde is probably the other one I would reconsider.
 
this little mid-season review has been good!
let’s do it on some player threads maybe?
JMOO MODERATOR just doesn't have the same ring to it
 
Bit about us from an article on the AFL website;
Free agents: Mark Baguley (unrestricted), David Myers (unrestricted)

Whispers: Myers will likely be weighing up his future after omitting himself from Essendon's side a month ago following a form lapse and wanting to see younger teammates get an opportunity. Baguley has also been in and out of the senior side and, at 32, may be into his final season at the club.

Re-signing priority: Darcy Parish has hit form in the past month after being given more midfield time, but is yet to sign on beyond this year. The Bombers need to lock up their top pick from the 2015 NAB AFL Draft. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti also remains out of contract and will have plenty of rivals circling if that stays the case much longer. Next year, captain Dyson Heppell and star forward Joe Daniher will fall out of contract so loom as priority re-signings. - Callum Twomey

 
I wouldn't mind if Myers stuck around on the senior list on minimal pay to help with the development of the younger players, or was given a captain/coach type role in the VFL side. I guess whether he'd be open to that sort of thing would depend on what his ambitions are post footy. If he wants to get into coaching then that sort of thing would be pretty good experience I'd imagine but if he wants to get into business or something he'd be just wasting his time.
 
If we lose next week to GWS in Zaka's 200th time to play the kids and turf a few:

SIGN: Parish, Redman, Franga, D. Clarke, the Guelf, Houlahan, Mynott, Jok, Hartley, Draper
OUT/TRADE: Zaka, Myers, Long, Baguley, Ambrose, McNiece, Dea
LOOK AT: Sier and Jack Martin
 
28 at end of the year and IMO his spot can be filled by other defenders.
I was far from an Ambrose fan but he's probably top 5 in our BnF right now
 

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Trade Ambrose our best lock down defender, and re-sign Hartley a VFL defender. Makes sense.

If 28 is too old, I'm going to retire tomorrow.

Doodoo my doodo done.
 
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Can someone please explain to me the logic of having Matt Dea, Jake Long, Ben Mcneice on the list along with Baguley. Somebody please.

There would be a dozen players that we could have taken a punt on. Ones that we think may be project or may take an extra year, bottom agers. Another Guelfi, Fantasia.

Highly unlikely to find someone but its more of a chance than guys you've seen for a number of years not capable of AFL football.
 

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Can someone please explain to me the logic of having Matt Dea, Jake Long, Ben Mcneice on the list along with Baguley. Somebody please.

There would be a dozen players that we could have taken a punt on. Ones that we think may be project or may take an extra year, bottom agers. Another Guelfi, Fantasia.

Highly unlikely to find someone but its more of a chance than guys you've seen for a number of years not capable of AFL football.

Baguley has been good depth this year and now we have Begley and Laverde occupying spots. That's a good result. Made sense to keep Baguley on the list for this year. Should retire at years end.

No idea why we are persisting with Long or McNiece. Have never really shown anything worthwhile at AFL level. Plus McNiece is closer to retirement than becoming a regular. Should have been delisted last year or earlier.

Matt Dea was handy depth last year but with Redman, Guelfi and Ridley all emerging and now Gleeson seemingly successfully recovered from his long term injury there's no spot for him. I think it was reasonable to keep him on the list for this year but should be delisted at years end. Its good for our young backline players to learn from someone with significant AFL experience, even if he is no star.
 
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