The any player for free thread

[shawthing09]

It's a new year, new list and new needs. So I thought I'd raise the question again if you could pick any one player from any other club and have them slot straight into the Collingwood side without having to give anything up who would it be?

Gary Ablett Jnr was not my number one last year but he is now. Over the course of the year we have seen enough in almost every area of the ground and game to be confident we have good players in all areas other then an elite outside mid who can break the lines and hit ****.

Other more left field suggestion Chance Bateman, had a rough year this year but is a great gut runner, breaks the lines, uses the ball well and goes hard when it's his turn.

Daniel Rich young has one of the best kicks I have seen in a long time. Not a line breaker but a tank of a mid who will more then likely end up inside / outside.

 

[Histrionics]

Gazza Jnr for me.

We would start winning clearances and our midfield would turn into one of the best in the comp.

 

[Snag Breac]

Cyril Rioli - I'm planning for the future.

 

[shawthing09]

Cyril Rioli - I'm planning for the future.

Good non obvious choice. Cyril is another skillful runner who would suit us well in the future.

 

[mdc]

I don't think I'd want Cyril Rioli. I'm just not sure Buckley could handle coaching someone who is clearly better than he ever was.

 

[ralu]

Id take matthew pavlich id say, we need to kick more goals!

Riewoldt would be my next choice.

Maybe Kurt tippett, cos he will be quite the star in future years

 

[Optimax]

I don't think I'd want Cyril Rioli. I'm just not sure Buckley could handle coaching someone who is clearly better than he ever was.

 

[Zahki]

Lance Franklin, kicked a ton, premiership player and coleman medalist at 22 years old. Great player, exciting to watch and having such a dangerous forward would do wonders.

Riewoldt a close second, but he has a nasty habit of spoiling his own team mates marks.

 

[Rustin Cohle]

Nick Riewoldt. We need a forward more than a midfielder.

Jarryd Roughead is a close second, though.

 

[Tranquilli37]

Adam Goodes, because he seems to be getting better with age. You could almost slot him in any position around the ground.

 

[Kirby]

Gary Ablett

 

[smiddaz123]

Rioli is the most talented player in the AFL, he's a joke. He'll quite possibly end up the best indigenous player to play the game by the end of his career. Absolute freak, and I'd lean towards him.

I'd also throw up Natanui. For somebody so raw, he has played some quality games already. His ability at ground level is insane, and his handballing is near elite already. His football smarts are fine as well. He just needs a tank, confidence and basic kicking skills (which I think he has, but he lacks the confidence in them). His tap work is also quite clever and effective. People overlook his intelligence because of his 'oh wowee look at him runz' effect.

Apart from the obvious ones (Ablett, Riewoldt and co), I'd be throwing up Rioli, Natanui and Hurley.

 

[Jonno_]

Selwood or Tippett. It would be line ball.

I also don't understand the Rioli > Buckley call? Is it a joke?

 

[mdc]

I also don't understand the Rioli > Buckley call? Is it a joke?

Just a pre-emptive strike in case the Hawks flogs get a whiff of this thread.

 

[hellfire]

Joel Selwood.

 

[dayna36]

hey did u hear earlier on SEN that Geoff Walsh was seen having coffee with ex-tiger Nathan Brown??? sorry if its been already mentioned..

 

[Histrionics]

hey did u hear earlier on SEN that Geoff Walsh was seen having coffee with ex-tiger Nathan Brown??? sorry if its been already mentioned..

A thread has just been started about that now.

 

[Quicky]

1 - Brett Kirk - Kirks a bit left field but we'd get leadership, character, hard bodied clearance winning ability and quality tagger all in one awesome package. Probably my favourite non Collingwood player.

2 - Gazza Jnr - Bit of a no brainer. Match winning, line breaking, goal kicking, hard running midfielder. All class.

3 - Pavlich - Super consistent CHF, versatile enough to move back, great field kick, awesome goalkicking potential, at his peak and with leadership. Really like Pav - more than Reiwoldt and Franklin but I don't know why.

I would have had any of Petrie, Clark or Tippett if we hadn't recruited Jolly.

 

[mattys123]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Buddy Franklin yet.

He would add that strength and danger to our forward line that was missing in the finals, and would help Jack Anthony out to no end.

If we got Buddy or Riewoldt, we would be flag favourites in my books, especially with Jolly in the ruck now, and Sidebottom and Beams ready to boost our midfield rotation.

 

[Dylz48]

1. Lenny Hayes best pure inside mid in the business ATM and I think we are deficient in this area
2. Brian Lake we need a good KPB in between Presti retiring and Nat Brown and Reid reaching there peak.
3. Buddy Good KPF are always nice

 

[Forgotten Legend]

Gary Ablett Jr. or Nick Riewoldt. They are both excellent players in there own right and either would be a vital addition to Collingwoods structure. We seriously need a forward like Riewoldt who can take the marks and kick accurate at nearly any angle and range.

~FL

 

[Muse]

Lenny Hayes or Pavlich

 

[Pie eyed]

I've always been a believer in "growing" our own "players you'd want in your side".

Simply grabbing "stars" from successful sides is rarely the answer for another side.
The history books a chokers full of examples where getting the best player or players in your side has failed to deliver even finals success let alone flags.

The emphasis on these "stars" largely has to do with the success of the side in which they play and it's success......
Flag success has to do with the quality of the worst player in the side as much as the best.

Let's build the best side and then before you know it we'll have all the stars.e

 

[shawthing09]

I am not sure about in the past Pie Eyed as I am not old enough to have a great knowledge. I do however know that in the present day and age a lot of the reason that getting big names fails to have a real net positive output is that you generally have to give up value or greater then value to get the player in a trade. Therefore you don't really improve.

Take the Judd trade for example. Whilst Judd is a superstar giving away 3 players one of which a key foward (an area Carlton already lacks) in actual fact probably puts them about where they were. Had it been a side that was closer to a flag it may have helped more but had it been a side closer to a flag they would not have had the draft picks to get the trade done.

Also in many other free agency sports and even local level sports movement of top quality players influences things extremely heavily. Boston go out and get Garnett and Allen and become a powerhouse in the NBA. Man City get a sexy new owner with bundles of cash and buy every one they can get there hands of and go from middle of the table no man zone team to contenders.

As I said even in local level sports. I remember a cricket season two or three years back here in melbourne where the same grade and same league there was about 4 players who played in consecutive flags but for different teams. As in, after winning the flag they all moved for more money to another side in the same league and won the flag again for their new team.

I also don't buy the bottom rung players being more important then the top end. For example I would dare say our bottom end players are better then Raph Clarke or Shannon Byrnes yet both played off in the grand final. Sure if your top end is great and the rest is rubbish your not going to get anyway but there is a balance that needs to be found. Even Sydney who where the most blue collar premiers in recent years had Goodes who has star quality in absolute spades.

 

[Pie eyed]

I'm not contending that a certain player could not or would not be an important addition to a side in search of a flag, but the "quick fix" is over-estimated as a method for building a successful side.

Basketball is a sport where a single dominant player can make a huge difference due to it's small team size and the fact a score can be achieved single handedly very often without reliance on other player delivery or support.