So for mine I've gone with the following assumptions:
Midfield
Rucks
Lycett (#1 ruck)
Ladhams (Get games into him for the future coach)
First / Second Possession Mids
Boak (Our best player in his best position in 2019, long may it continue)
Rockliff (Solid enough ball winner without hitting the heights we hoped for)
Wines (Will be a bull again with a full-preseason, but still won't be able to kick)
Quality User Mids
Houston (give him more midfield time please)
Duursma (runs all day, can kick better than most of our mids, play for development)
Amon (I'm not super enthusiastic but he can kick and had a decent 2019)
DBJ (This is going to look super weird and out of place but I think he's very versatile and in my 22 could play in the guts and down back if required)
Forwards
Talls
Dixon (best tall option by far, is pretty good at forward pressure and playing on the ground inside 50)
Marshall (is tall, play for development, but does put good pressure on and tackling inside 50)
Pressure Forwards
Ebert (can take a contested mark, good tackling and pressure - suits the game plan and can play in the mid rotation)
Rozee (freak but does alot of team things as well, including pressure - I'd have him increasing midfield time as well)
Freak
R.Gray
Finishers
Butters (has x-factor, puts pressure on as well, is strong at converting opportunities)
Farrell (possibly a controversial choice but he is an excellent finisher of both set shots and general play. We struggle to convert opportunities into goals - he needs to work on getting the ball more but if we can find a way to get him the ball more often, our overall conversion will increase)
Defence
Talls
Jonas (what choice do we have?)
Clurey (he's pretty solid)
Third Tall
Watts / Burton (Tallish, can kick, good at rebounding)
Flanker Force Three
Lienert (ok 1-1, can kick)
The other of Burton / Watts (tallish, can kick, good at rebounding)
Hartlett (Contested beast in the back half, mopping up ground balls)
Lockdown Small
Garner (good on the ground, but in his few games had a really good 1-1 contest win rate)
TL;DR
B: Burton, Clurey, Garner
HB: Lienert, Jonas, Hartlett
C: Duursma, Wines, Amon
HF: R.Gray, Dixon, Ebert
FF: Butters, Marshall, Rozee
R: Lycett, Boak, Houston
I/C: Watts, Ladhams, DBJ, Farrell
Notable Omissions:
Hoff - great utility and can come in as soon as someone goes down
SPP - love his contest but is an absolute liability by foot - depth option unless we go full rebuild and swap for Rockliff
Motlop - is it a notable omission?
Hayes - I'd definitely try and get him in at some point though not sure how if rucks stay fit
Drew - solid but not spectacular so far, around the mark
- The forward press game plan is staying the same
- We need to the ball in the hands of better kicks more often all over the park, but we're struggling for numbers in that department
- Any tall defenders we bring in through DFA will be s**t
- I've not included draftees and would potentially update with first rounders...maybe Mead
- We're rebuilding
Midfield
Rucks
Lycett (#1 ruck)
Ladhams (Get games into him for the future coach)
First / Second Possession Mids
Boak (Our best player in his best position in 2019, long may it continue)
Rockliff (Solid enough ball winner without hitting the heights we hoped for)
Wines (Will be a bull again with a full-preseason, but still won't be able to kick)
Quality User Mids
Houston (give him more midfield time please)
Duursma (runs all day, can kick better than most of our mids, play for development)
Amon (I'm not super enthusiastic but he can kick and had a decent 2019)
DBJ (This is going to look super weird and out of place but I think he's very versatile and in my 22 could play in the guts and down back if required)
Forwards
Talls
Dixon (best tall option by far, is pretty good at forward pressure and playing on the ground inside 50)
Marshall (is tall, play for development, but does put good pressure on and tackling inside 50)
Pressure Forwards
Ebert (can take a contested mark, good tackling and pressure - suits the game plan and can play in the mid rotation)
Rozee (freak but does alot of team things as well, including pressure - I'd have him increasing midfield time as well)
Freak
R.Gray
Finishers
Butters (has x-factor, puts pressure on as well, is strong at converting opportunities)
Farrell (possibly a controversial choice but he is an excellent finisher of both set shots and general play. We struggle to convert opportunities into goals - he needs to work on getting the ball more but if we can find a way to get him the ball more often, our overall conversion will increase)
Defence
Talls
Jonas (what choice do we have?)
Clurey (he's pretty solid)
Third Tall
Watts / Burton (Tallish, can kick, good at rebounding)
Flanker Force Three
Lienert (ok 1-1, can kick)
The other of Burton / Watts (tallish, can kick, good at rebounding)
Hartlett (Contested beast in the back half, mopping up ground balls)
Lockdown Small
Garner (good on the ground, but in his few games had a really good 1-1 contest win rate)
TL;DR
B: Burton, Clurey, Garner
HB: Lienert, Jonas, Hartlett
C: Duursma, Wines, Amon
HF: R.Gray, Dixon, Ebert
FF: Butters, Marshall, Rozee
R: Lycett, Boak, Houston
I/C: Watts, Ladhams, DBJ, Farrell
Notable Omissions:
Hoff - great utility and can come in as soon as someone goes down
SPP - love his contest but is an absolute liability by foot - depth option unless we go full rebuild and swap for Rockliff
Motlop - is it a notable omission?
Hayes - I'd definitely try and get him in at some point though not sure how if rucks stay fit
Drew - solid but not spectacular so far, around the mark
can’t there be two bolters. Hayes only because everyone is thinking Ladhams a walk up start
