Where to next year?

[Scaley mate #4]

Well, the season is over for us for 2008, and we can now reflect on what went wrong/right for us, and will we improve?

I am asking myself the following home truths;

a) Am I happy with 2008?
b) Will we improve our finishing position in 2009?
c) Can I see a flag for us in the next few years?
b) Should we keep hold of our current list and coaching staff?


If I am to be brutally honest to myself, my answer to all the above is NO!

I'm just sick of waiting for a flag. It will now be a minimum of 19 years since our last, and I can't really see it for a long long time! There is only 16 teams in the comp for crying out loud! And we are the biggest and best! We are well over due for a premiership. But where and when will it arrive?

I believe it's time for a total overhaul.Even MM said during the year that we haven't got the stock on the paddock, so what does that tell us?

Give us a flag soon pies, please, please, please?

 

[tess]

I expect same old same old...... we will be courageous and never say die and will win the wins we never expected but will drop the "easy" ones.


Same old Same old, we need change .... yes for changes sake it might not be broken but it ain't working so good.

 

[Pies_10]

If our younger brigade (Reid, Brown, Goldsack, Anthony, McCarthy etc)
I can see us improve next year
Collingwood Hawthorn and Geelong next year i reckon

 

[The Royal Sampler]

We finished 6th by playing on one leg. If we don't improve to top 4 next year, despite the possible retirements of Wakes, Burns and co., then we're kidding ourselves.

 

[Axl the great]

The playing list needs serious attention, Talent wise we are probably middle of the road and i beleive that the fact we are very well coached and play the style of game we do has kept us so competitve in the past few years so we are actually punching above our weight IMO.
If we were to play a less accountable style with so many young guys we would be murdered some weeks a la essendon.
Stick with mick and the game plan and when these boys get 50 to 100 games under their belt then look out because im telling you now we will be unstoppable i have no doubt about this and am excited to what the future holds.
A layered cake always beats a plain sponge!

 

[didaka]

We need to chop of some dead wood no doubt, but the base of the list is good IMO.

I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if we had of had a transitional year this year and fallen back into the pack a little and dropped outside the 8 (shades of Geelong 06), but to the credit of the club they stuck through and played in 2 finals with a young squad playing senior football which is valuable experience.

I think this season will really help us move forward.

 

[hellfire]

Where to?

Thomas to the midfield. No ifs, buts or maybes. It will be his fourth year, it's time to unleash the kid. A BIG pre-season in the gym, and some work on his tank, and he'll be ready to rumble. Our midfield needs some spark, some youth, some pace and class. And there are none better to fill this void than this future star.

Another crumber forward. We can't afford to keep playing Didak and Davis up the ground. Too often the ball goes forward, and it's only Medhurst down there waiting for the scraps. And in reality, he's more of a marking forward anyway. One/both of Leon and Didak must be forward at all times, because it makes us much more dangerous.

Cousins into the midfield. Obree has been a fantastic servent, but his time has come unfortunately. He is very good in at clearances, but he's a liability the rest of the time. His 5 clangers last night really hurt us. We need to land a big fish in the midfield, and none will come cheaper than Cousins. But if we don't land someone - whether it be Cousins, Kerr or someone unexpected - Obree must stay.

Change of style. I'm not saying we should turn into Geelong overnight, but we used the corridor a fair bit last night, and we looked very dangerous when doing so. You could argue it doesn't suit us because of the result, but our forward line was decimated with injury, and terribly out of form for the night, and the delivery was high and woeful all night. With Heath Shaw back, together with Clarke and Harry we can run the ball out of defence through the corridor, and we can be confident of hitting targets (as I think Clarke has flourished in this role since Heath's been out). That doesn't mean we do it everytime, but we need to do it more. This will really suit the likes of Thomas, who don't like being confined to the space against he boundary line.

JA down back? I'm not sure with this one. It's certainly an option. The reason I suggest it is because Rusling should be fit and ready to go, and he can't play anywhere but FF. With Rocca back, we might be too top-heavy if JA stays forward and Rusling plays. I guess we'll have to watch pre-season form and judge then.

Reid to CHB? Another one I'm unsure on. I can certainly see him playing a similar role to someone like Nathan Bock. He's got the speed and athleticism to go with the best of them (save for Buddy perhaps), and when he fills out more, he'll certainly have the size - as he is 195cm. His goal kicking is very poor, which is why I don't like him up forward. Unless this can be rectified, this is the role he must undertake IMO. Though it might take some more time to get him some size and experience, given he is still 19.

Persist with the youth policy. We have to continue to give games to the likes of Wellingham and McCarthy, over guys like Johnson. Though I'm confident Mick will do this.

 

[Dave The Man]

Change of style. I'm not saying we should turn into Geelong overnight, but we used the corridor a fair bit last night, and we looked very dangerous when doing so. You could argue it doesn't suit us because of the result, but our forward line was decimated with injury, and terribly out of form for the night, and the delivery was high and woeful all night. With Heath Shaw back, together with Clarke and Harry we can run the ball out of defence through the corridor, and we can be confident of hitting targets (as I think Clarke has flourished in this role since Heath's been out). That doesn't mean we do it everytime, but we need to do it more. This will really suit the likes of Thomas, who don't like being confined to the space against he boundary line.

.

Agree 100% I hate going down the Wings and we can get Predictable and When he go down the Guts we look Better and We Score More Often and Stops teams Flooding the Forward Line like Last Night

 

[smiddaz123]

Another crumber forward. We can't afford to keep playing Didak and Davis up the ground. Too often the ball goes forward, and it's only Medhurst down there waiting for the scraps. And in reality, he's more of a marking forward anyway. One/both of Leon and Didak must be forward at all times, because it makes us much more dangerous.

Enter Dick!

 

[Dave The Man]

Enter Dick!

True Dick will be a Crumbing Forward but he will become a Midfielder with his Excellent Foot Skills and Speed

 

[alfio]

aka Lovett,Davey

 

[hellfire]

Enter Dick!

Hopefully, yep.

Though I'd like to see him put on some more muscle first. Another pre-season should do him the world of good. But he certainly looks the goods.