Which player(s) do you think will step up this offseason and either cement themselves in the team or go to a whole new level?

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While everyone develops at a different pace, having a few full years in the system and 50 games of experience is as close to a reliable indicator as it gets for a breakout.

For us, the two in that range are pretty interesting. The first is Dylan Stephens. He probably still thought of himself as a kid while at Sydney, but when he shows up to Arden Street for his first session he'll probably be a little shocked to see that he is in the top half of our club for both age and experience. We will give him every chance to succeed, so hopefully that confidence takes him to another level. I think Clarkson will get the best out of him this year, but what that best looks like we will have to find out.

The second is Tom Powell, who I don't think would surprise anyone if he broke out. He obviously has the talent but has struggled a little over his first three years, as you'd have hoped by now to have seen a game where he was in our best handful of players. He was a ball magnet at u18 level, yet outside of the first couple of months of his first year, he hasn't shown any signs of it. Bailey Scott was in a similar position where for the longest time his best game was his first game, and we all wondered why he hadn't improved, but he eventually got there. For Bailey Scott it was basically that 50-game and four-year mark that Powell is up to now where it all clicked.

Speaking of that point of being in our best handful of players, it's why I'm bullish on Will Phillips. He picked up his first brownlow vote this year, and that first vote is the hardest to get. We've seen him be in our bests a few times already, but now we just need to see consistency. We've seen in the past Simpkin, Cunnington, Ziebell, and LDU follow very similar trajectories as inside mids, and Phillips is more or less exactly on that pace. You look back at their fourth years, and they were all inconsistent, but it was when all of them (except Ziebell at 19.7) started averaging 20 disposals a game. I'd expect the same from Will. For all of them it was the 5th year that started to be special (B&Fs for Simpkin and Cunnington, LDU dominating, and Ziebell having one of his best years), but the 4th year was when they all established themselves.

Apart from that, I like Archer as a smokey to become best 22 this year. I also really like the call on Xerri. If I had any confidence in his body, I'd be really excited for the Comben FB experiment, as otherwise, I think he has the tools to be really special in that role. There's also a few like Bergman, Curtis, Goater and Ford who have the talent, but just need maturity. Bergman in particular is a guaranteed 200-game player, but just needs his body to catch up to his talent. At the other end of the spectrum LDU, Thomas, and Sheezel should be pushing for their first AA selection, and Wardlaw will go as far as his body lets him.
 

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Harveysuth said:
If it’s even possible for Sheez to reach another level he will. Arguably the most driven player on our list
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yeah he can! While he won the BNF, no doubt TT, LDU, and Jy would have been ahead of him if not for injuries (who knows maybe Wardlaw too!). Absolutely he can reach higher levels!
 
Liam Boy said:
Will Phillips. William A. Phillips. It will retroactively have become obvious and inevitable that once he'd shaken off the lingering effects of glandular fever, he would become one of the most exciting young midfielders in the league. Everyone will pretend to have always known this and always been in his corner. As Logan McDonald slinks back to WA, all the assertions that everyone in our club involved in the decision to pick Will over him should be sacked, it was akin to tanking for us to so egregiously neglect our key forward stocks and therefore we should be given no assistance ever etc, all shall miraculously vanish. It'll be like blinking into a new reality. No one will have ever called him a bust after not even two seasons of senior football, because such a person could never credibly hold a job in the media.
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amen

and then the media will scorn us for ever getting an assistance package because somehow our existing players all of a sudden got 10x more talented with 1 more preseason/season under 1 consistant coach and where the coach wasn't dragged through the mud and had to take time off.
 
The obvious ones are the highly talented types who have had a few injury or off field concerns like Wardlaw, Comben, Powell, Phillips and Thomas. If all of them start to develop quicker than they have done over previous seasons then our climb up the ladder will be faster than most of us think.

Personally, though I think the two who will have breakout years are:

Jackson Archer - was tracking along beautifully last pre-season but over did it and ended up on the side-lines for most of last year. If he has a full pre season I'm confident he'll lockdown a spot in the back line and continue to take his game to another level.

Josh Goater - With another pre-season into his legs I think he is every chance to take his game to another level. Has bucket loads of potential, just needs a little bit of continuity to settle and make that half back position his own.
 
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The acurate one said:
For mine Crafty, Bonar, Young are three I feel could really embarrass a few posters.

Have a good feeling around the terrific trio as they will be known as .
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Cmon mate. Let it go. This is meant to be a positive thread about future players.

They gave it their all for the jumper. Didn’t work out.

Move on.
 
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I love this thread - really good opinions posted so far. We have so much emerging talent + the coach we need uninterrupted this time around. I'm only worried about our backline holding up, but having said that, we won't get opened up through the middle or on the rebound the way we are all used to anymore (I don't think). Phillips, Comben, Ford are biggest watches for me alongside obvious improvement across the board. The biggest story about us will be the sooking that we didn't need help after all. We'll be in that 6-14 group pushing finals imo.
 
I like the way Paul Curtis battled through 2022 and I would love to see him increase his running capacity and hit 2024 like a young Cam Zurhaar.

Goater and Bergman going into their 3rd seasons have a real opportunity to take their games to the next level. Both have tools that we are need and i think as long as they stay injury free we will see continued improvement from both and they will become regular starters.

Powell is approaching 50 games and into his 4th year where a lot of players pop - big season for Powelly.
 

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Tiberius said:
Unpopular opinion perhaps, but I still believe there's a pretty handy player lurking inside CCJ. He needs a decent injury free run though.
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WE need him to progress as much as he needs to for his own career longevity. Fingers crossed he bloody well does. 🤞
 
I still think big X has the potential to be a decent ruckman which is why I'm not all doom and gloom about our ruck stocks. He just has to stay healthy during the season so we can find out for sure! Too many times he gets 6 games in a row (including being paired with Goldy!) then cops a month+ long injury. That's been his tale the last 2 maybe 3 years.

Get some continuity, get some consistency, get some confidence, start marking more of those high balls, keep refining the physicality, learn which types he can play off of and which he has to stick to, build a rapport with the senior mids. Suddenly he's a lock in the team for 6+ years of decent service. Won't reach Goldy's highs, but not many rucks do! We were spoilt for a long time.
 
By the end of the trade period almost half our players will have been on a AFL list for less than 5 years, so it's difficult name just 1 or 2 players.

I hope that players like Wardlaw, Bergman and Goater could have an injury free preseason and build on the improvement they showed last season.

Phillips, Ford and Dawson finished the last season well and would love to see them take the next step.
 
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