List Mgmt. The Core - 2026 Onwards

[roos_fanatic08]

I’d say Powell is a question mark in terms of his safe place in the midfield.

I can see Kerch and FOS steam rolling past him.

I hope Payne gets a fair crack at it and that Archer, George and Harvey can be mainstays but other than that totally agree with everything else.

The reality is 4.5 wins and sitting 17th is indicative of where we’re truly at.

That's why I have Powell on the bench. Definitely don't see him being a centre square midfielder in the longer term with the others you mentioned pushing him out.

I guess the frustrating thing is despite so many opportunities to improve our list we still are in this holding pattern while other clubs fly past us.

It's an indictment on the list management that we haven't been able to identify and recruit at least one or two opposition players that will end up being long term players for us.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

If Comben and Wardlaw’s injury histories don’t warrant question mark status, then I’m not sure Archer’s does either? Even with 2025 as a write off for Jackson, I’m happy to regard him as part of the core.

Also if there is a question mark against Stephens, it must be imperceptibly small to me.

The dearth of reliable talls is a real problem. Good as they are, Chom, Larkey and X is a tiny nucleus to work with.

Comben played 19 last year and is likely to play over 20 games this year. Wardlaw, I agree with, but he is such a high level talent, that you can't ignore him as a key part of the core.

Arch has only player 23 games across the last 3 seasons, and his latest setbacks are pretty significant. I'd argue that Wardlaw and Comben have contributed at a higher level than Arch at this stage.

I still think there are big questions marks on Stephens. While he has played his role this year, he needs to take his game and physicality to another level, if he is going to be a key contributor in a side that's pushing the top 8.

 

[tazaa]

That's why I have Powell on the bench. Definitely don't see him being a centre square midfielder in the longer term with the others you mentioned pushing him out.

I guess the frustrating thing is despite so many opportunities to improve our list we still are in this holding pattern while other clubs fly past us.

It's an indictment on the list management that we haven't been able to identify and recruit at least one or two opposition players that will end up being long term players for us.

Its the core senior players we gave long term contracts to in LDU, Xerri, Larkey, Zurhaar and next one up in Comben which sounds alarm bells.

They are woefully under supported and all are entering their prime with a bunch of 1st to 3rd years still finding their feet.

It’s disastrous and if we tried to take the blinkers off, arguably the rebuild is never gonna get going.
We are all just too invested and heavily biased to see it.

 

[Arthur Cloke]

Its the core senior players we gave long term contracts to in LDU, Xerri, Larkey, Zurhaar and next one up in Comben which sounds alarm bells.

They are woefully under supported and all are entering their prime with a bunch of 1st to 3rd years still finding their feet.

It’s disastrous and if we tried to take the blinkers off, arguably the rebuild is never gonna get going.
We are all just too invested and heavily biased to see it.

I do a fair bit of cycling & often wear blinkers to minimise the distractions. It's amazing how much more you can see when you take them off. That's when you can actually cut through the nonsense & assess where we're at.

 

[Sticksphat]

I guess the frustrating thing is despite so many opportunities to improve our list we still are in this holding pattern while other clubs fly past us.

I have to pull you up on this statement. No clubs are flying past us. They would need to be behind us to do that. They are either pulling further away from us, or they are West Coast.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

I have to pull you up on this statement. No clubs are flying past us. They would need to be behind us to do that. They are either pulling further away from us, or they are West Coast.

Adelaide started their rebuild at the same time as us…Richmond started their this year and have already gone past us

 

[groovyroo]

Adelaide started their rebuild at the same time as us…Richmond started their this year and have already gone past us

Adelaide and Richmond have better seniors players who have been around for years. Our better senior players only just walked through the door.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Adelaide and Richmond have better seniors players who have been around for years. Our better senior players only just walked through the door.

Excuses.

Adelaide were starting from a pretty terrible base back in 2020, they really only had Walker, Laird, Smith and Crouch as leaders. They’d also torched plenty of 1st and 2nd rounders on poor picks on the likes of Jones, McCasey and McHenry. Since then though their recruitment as nailed just about every trade.

We have had plenty of opportunities to go out and get older/more mature recruits. Outside of Parker they have all been duds. Tucker, Logue, Fisher, Stephens and Daniel. Our talent ID and recruitment is a ****ing shambles.

 

[Arthur Cloke]

Adelaide started their rebuild at the same time as us…Richmond started their this year and have already gone past us

Incredible

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Excuses.

Adelaide were starting from a pretty terrible base back in 2020, they really only had Walker, Laird, Smith and Crouch as leaders. They’d also torched plenty of 1st and 2nd rounders on poor picks on the likes of Jones, McCasey and McHenry. Since then though their recruitment as nailed just about every trade.

We have had plenty of opportunities to go out and get older/more mature recruits. Outside of Parker they have all been duds. Tucker, Logue, Fisher, Stephens and Daniel. Our talent ID and recruitment is a ****ing shambles.

We just continue to recruit the wrong type of player and then double down.

 

[Passmore]

Be nice to get a Rankine, Dawson, Neale-Bullen...we'll not be in the market for a long time, if ever, unfortunately.

We'll just end up paying overs in trade capital and/or contract length for ordinary footballers.

Parker and Darling are the exceptions but I'd be drawing the line at that older type for now.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Be nice to get a Rankine, Dawson, Neale-Bullen...we'll not be in the market for a long time, if ever, unfortunately.

We'll just end up paying overs in trade capital and/or contract length for ordinary footballers.

Parker and Darling are the exceptions but I'd be drawing the line at that older type for now.

Could've got someone like Matt Kennedy on the cheap over Daniel. It's decisions like that that continually hold us back.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Could've got someone like Matt Kennedy on the cheap over Daniel. It's decisions like that that continually hold us back.

I’m really hope we have a significant change of fortune and Urquhart somehow gets to the level as he’s exactly what we need.

 

[Passmore]

Could've got someone like Matt Kennedy on the cheap over Daniel. It's decisions like that that continually hold us back.

Unfortunately we're probably last on his preferred destination list.....we need to break this cycle somehow.

 

[Makeshift Park]

Excuses.

Adelaide were starting from a pretty terrible base back in 2020, they really only had Walker, Laird, Smith and Crouch as leaders. They’d also torched plenty of 1st and 2nd rounders on poor picks on the likes of Jones, McCasey and McHenry. Since then though their recruitment as nailed just about every trade.

We have had plenty of opportunities to go out and get older/more mature recruits. Outside of Parker they have all been duds. Tucker, Logue, Fisher, Stephens and Daniel. Our talent ID and recruitment is a ****ing shambles.

Adelaide's draft work lately has been elite. And their style is great to watch.

But lets not pretend that having a duopoly on all South Australian players wanting to come home doesn't give them a massive advantage that we don't have.

Jordan Dawson joined them after they had a 7 win season. Rankine joined them after they had 8.

Once those two elite pieces were in place, they were immediately a mid-tier team again.

 

[Dinkers]

Backs 2026/27
Goater, Hardeman, Comben, Whitlock, W Dawson, Archer, Powell.

Centre 2027
Sheezel, Wardlaw , LDU, McKercher, FOS, Scott, George, Xerri, Good Goad (27)

Forwards 2027

Duursma, Curtis , Zurhaar , Logue, Larkey,
Harvey, CCJ.

Taken some liberties, have moved Powell down back as the next step is over the fence.

Swung George into the midfield mix. Kept Scott over Stephens as he does use the ball better

Moved Logue fwd as his big arse may come in handy from time to time.

No more undersized plodders in the middle. Big call for one of my favs in Simpkin, but think he's cooked. No Powell, Phillips, Parker.

Think Whitlock being mobile and Charlie no slouch, we can go with 3 bigger bodies down back as an advantage.
Run from Hardeman and Goater ( fingers crossed)

Goad is a head scratcher as he or Xerri aren't forwards, but he'll be in the mix .

I'm actually feeling a little bit more confident, especially when I look at the midfield mix. Will **** a lot of sides. And then everything becomes easier.

 

[Themanbun]

Backs 2026/27
Goater, Hardeman, Comben, Whitlock, W Dawson, Archer, Powell.

Centre 2027
Sheezel, Wardlaw , LDU, McKercher, FOS, Scott, George, Xerri, Good Goad (27)

Forwards 2027

Duursma, Curtis , Zurhaar , Logue, Larkey,
Harvey, CCJ.

Taken some liberties, have moved Powell down back as the next step is over the fence.

Swung George into the midfield mix. Kept Scott over Stephens as he does use the ball better

Moved Logue fwd as his big arse may come in handy from time to time.

No more undersized plodders in the middle. Big call for one of my favs in Simpkin, but think he's cooked. No Powell, Phillips, Parker.

Think Whitlock being mobile and Charlie no slouch, we can go with 3 bigger bodies down back as an advantage.
Run from Hardeman and Goater ( fingers crossed)

Goad is a head scratcher as he or Xerri aren't forwards, but he'll be in the mix .

I'm actually feeling a little bit more confident, especially when I look at the midfield mix. Will **** a lot of sides. And then everything becomes easier.

Unfortunately the midfield mix still has only one bloke who runs both ways.

 

[Dinkers]

Unfortunately the midfield mix still has only one bloke who runs both ways.

Yes my master plan only requires one way running. I think we will improve in that space. McKercher has already got better after the talk about what's required. That's a young group and LDU won't ever but the others may well .

 

[hilly]

Unfortunately we're probably last on his preferred destination list.....we need to break this cycle somehow.

I feel like we put a lot of these in the 'too hard' basket.

 

[Passmore]

I feel like we put a lot of these in the 'too hard' basket.

Dunno. We were talking to Houston apparently. Never likely, but still had a crack.

 

[Newbie Real Talk]

Archer Dawson Goater
Mckercher Comben Hardeman
FOS LDU Duursma
Curtis Whitlock Payne
Harvey Larkey Zurharr
Xerri Sheez Wardlaw

McDonald Konstanty George Goad

2027 finals run could look a bit like this. Plenty of flexibility through half forward, wing and CBA. Plenty of scoring options, some good tackling pressure up forward. Some good mongrel, toughness and rebounding capabilities down back.

A lot of assumption. I'm assuming that speculative, constantly injured players are going to come good in a big way but I have liked what I have seen from them so far and think that they have a future.

 

[Frank Thring]

Sheezel
McKercher
FOS
Hardeman
Xerri
Wardlaw
LDU
Larkey
Curtis
Wawson

Maybes
Archer
Zurhaar
Goad
Goater

That is all

 

[Better Loosen Up]

Backs 2026/27
Goater, Hardeman, Comben, Whitlock, W Dawson, Archer, Powell.

Centre 2027
Sheezel, Wardlaw , LDU, McKercher, FOS, Scott, George, Xerri, Good Goad (27)

Forwards 2027

Duursma, Curtis , Zurhaar , Logue, Larkey,
Harvey, CCJ.

Taken some liberties, have moved Powell down back as the next step is over the fence.

Swung George into the midfield mix. Kept Scott over Stephens as he does use the ball better

Moved Logue fwd as his big arse may come in handy from time to time.

No more undersized plodders in the middle. Big call for one of my favs in Simpkin, but think he's cooked. No Powell, Phillips, Parker.

Think Whitlock being mobile and Charlie no slouch, we can go with 3 bigger bodies down back as an advantage.
Run from Hardeman and Goater ( fingers crossed)

Goad is a head scratcher as he or Xerri aren't forwards, but he'll be in the mix .

I'm actually feeling a little bit more confident, especially when I look at the midfield mix. Will **** a lot of sides. And then everything becomes easier.

I would be playing one of CCJ or Teakle as our full-time ruck in the VFL next season and have Goad playing 90% forward, 10% Ruck to see if he can be a viable forward option for us. If Goad is going to be a best 22 player for us in the future, then he needs to take that key forward/ secondary ruck role so that should be his primary focus for his development next year.

 

[backtothedraft]

B:
HB: Hardeman, Comben, ****
C: ****, Wardlaw, McKercher
HF: Sheezel, **** , Curtis
FF: Zurhaar, Larkey, ****
Foll: Xerri, Davies-Uniacke, O'Sullivan
Int: Simpkin, Powell

Despite injuries and inexperience i'm hopeful the following can play some regular senior footy next year and establish themselves in the side: Archer, George, Goater, Whitlock, W.Dawson, Duursma.

 

[Passmore]

Backs 2026/27
Goater, Hardeman, Comben, Whitlock, W Dawson, Archer, Powell.

Centre 2027
Sheezel, Wardlaw , LDU, McKercher, FOS, Scott, George, Xerri, Good Goad (27)

Forwards 2027

Duursma, Curtis , Zurhaar , Logue, Larkey,
Harvey, CCJ.

Taken some liberties, have moved Powell down back as the next step is over the fence.

Swung George into the midfield mix. Kept Scott over Stephens as he does use the ball better

Moved Logue fwd as his big arse may come in handy from time to time.

No more undersized plodders in the middle. Big call for one of my favs in Simpkin, but think he's cooked. No Powell, Phillips, Parker.

Think Whitlock being mobile and Charlie no slouch, we can go with 3 bigger bodies down back as an advantage.
Run from Hardeman and Goater ( fingers crossed)

Goad is a head scratcher as he or Xerri aren't forwards, but he'll be in the mix .

I'm actually feeling a little bit more confident, especially when I look at the midfield mix. Will **** a lot of sides. And then everything becomes easier.

Has old mate hacked your account?