Opinion Who is playing for their career in 2021?

Jan 31, 2012
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Francis & BZT would want to shift it up a gear, in light of our draft. Personally I don’t rate BZT & have grave doubts Francis will ever amount to much, but happy to be proven wrong.

Those two aside Laverde would want to put it together next year. The injury narrative is getting a little boring now, so if he can’t stay on the field & give us some good service I’d be offloading him. It’s now or never.
 

blitzer

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I thought TheFrenchCut nailed it with his post but just talking about the blokes he named.

Phillips - If Bryan really comes on he's probably gone. Wright gives us a mature backup ruck if needed and Draper will be the man for a while.
BZT - If we really rated him I don't reckon we would have drafted as many talls as we did.
Ham - Has some AFL attributes but lacks size and his impact is inconsistent. If he doesn't play a fair bit of seniors next year I could see us doing a deep midfield and smalls draft next year and cutting him.
Francis - he'll be on a list somewhere regardless. He's been somewhat disappointing but he's not in our top 8 or so problems on our list. Could get traded i guess. Would be nice if he got himself fit and showed the intercept marking that he was drafted for and has showed at times.
Hooker - Completely done by end of next year. He's been semi cooked for a while. Would take a near miracle for him to reverse that form. His body just can't handle a full season anymore.
Zaka - He probably should be finishing up next year but I reckon he could go OK as a half forward. The experiment in the backline was a total waste but he is a good finisher and I think he's a good clubman type with experience so we'll see.
Smith - No idea what we'll do with him. Did alright as a backman but is that his long term plan? Will he be actively seeking offers elsewhere to play in a midfield?
Clarke - I didn't mind the defensive forward role for him. Could either play with us for years or gone next year, kind of hard to tell.
Moz - I'd say if he trains and works hard on his recovery should get a further extension. I'm a bit concerned with his long term future. He's ended both years with pretty serious injuries (first a major hamstring and then an ACL). Looked exciting on the field but i'm not sure its backed up by a body that can handle AFL.
Laverde - A genuine make or break. Thought his play went up a gear in 2020. Can't play the injury card again though. Needs a season similar to what Langford had in 2020 (doesn't need to be quite as good but just to give an broad idea).
Johnson - Hard to comment we've never seen him since he's had the ACL since we drafted him.
Gleeson - Rookie listed and not the same player as pre ankle. I was disappointed with how much his marking has dropped off. I reckon may be gone at end of next year and we just needed some depth because we lost multiple players from the backline and it takes time to replace them.
Ambrose - I reckon he's gone. I am a fan of Ambrose as a player but he is limited, he's getting older and he's always injured.
Cutler - Was disappointing by any metric. He'll be given chances to prove himself as we aren't strong on the wing. He's competing with Ham and I guess Guelfi for spots on the wing. We may throw Langford and Heppell there occasionally. Its in his hands and other players have struggled first year at a new club but he's got a lot to do.
 
Dec 18, 2007
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- Phillips
- BZT
- Ham (shouldn't be on this list imo but has a one-year deal)
- Francis (as in playing for his career at Ess)
- Hooker
- Zaharakis
- Smith (playing for his career at Ess, hopefully)
- Clarke
- Moz (probably safe but we don't know the exact context for the one-year deal)
- Laverde
- Johnson
- Gleeson
- Ambrose
- Cutler

Would take Mozzie off this list because we have seen enough in his first few games to suggest he is a play maker when around the ball but how he comes back from his ACL will determine his future.

Agree that the rest on the list have question marks and i would add Langford because if Cox makes an impact on the wing then that will lead to a reorganising of the mid-field with Langford potentially pushed out.
 
Dec 18, 2007
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Francis & BZT would want to shift it up a gear, in light of our draft. Personally I don’t rate BZT & have grave doubts Francis will ever amount to much, but happy to be proven wrong.

Those two aside Laverde would want to put it together next year. The injury narrative is getting a little boring now, so if he can’t stay on the field & give us some good service I’d be offloading him. It’s now or never.

I think Francis is under more pressure than Thatchy. Thatchy has been okay whereas Francis has under delivered what many of us had hoped for.
 
Aug 15, 2011
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I think going into 2022 with Draper, Wright and Bryan as the only rucks would be dangerous

Guys(Rucks) like Phillips linger on list as pure depth. Giles, Mummy, Brooksby, Hickey, Vardy ect He will either be replaced by a mature ruck or kept for another year id imagine. Cant see any other club offering him more than 1 year going forward

Devon Smith will be on an AFL list until the end of 2023 at least, whether he request a move or not im not sure. He doesnt seem in the plans to be a midfielder which he came across for and Dodoro discussed as his role
 
Jan 31, 2012
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Devon Smith will be on an AFL list until the end of 2023 at least, whether he request a move or not im not sure. He doesnt seem in the plans to be a midfielder which he came across for and Dodoro discussed as his role

Dev’s an interesting one, ideally we need him to get back to being the small pressure fwd who can hit the scoreboard, but given the void left with Irish & Saad, we may need him back there giving us some drive.
 

blitzer

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Would take Mozzie off this list because we have seen enough in his first few games to suggest he is a play maker when around the ball but how he comes back from his ACL will determine his future.

Agree that the rest on the list have question marks and i would add Langford because if Cox makes an impact on the wing then that will lead to a reorganising of the mid-field with Langford potentially pushed out.

Langford came 4th in the B&F last year. Cox is a first year 200cm KP (and maybe possibly wing). Langford also can easily play up forward and spent a fair bit of time between the forward line, midfield and wing. Also he probably was one of our most damaging forward half players only behind Tippa and Stringer earlier in the year when he was fit.

So whilst B&F results aren't everything and it was a weak year for us I can't see Langford's spot being in jeopardy.
 
Aug 15, 2011
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Dev’s an interesting one, ideally we need him to get back to being the small pressure fwd who can hit the scoreboard, but given the void left with Irish & Saad, we may need him back there giving us some drive.

Yeh i know what you mean in terms of looking for half backs and it wont surprise ne one little bit if we see Hind and Dev Smith there round 1 or thats out current thinking. I just dont think it works for me hes not a driving player and is his kicking thst great?

Hes Cale Daniel a bit taller but without the kicking ability and decision making i feel but maybe im wrong on that
 
Dec 18, 2007
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Langford came 4th in the B&F last year. Cox is a first year 200cm KP (and maybe possibly wing). Langford also can easily play up forward and spent a fair bit of time between the forward line, midfield and wing. Also he probably was one of our most damaging forward half players only behind Tippa and Stringer earlier in the year when he was fit.

So whilst B&F results aren't everything and it was a weak year for us I can't see Langford's spot being in jeopardy.

I want to see Landford play up forward more because that is where I think he plays his best footy.
 
Apr 23, 2016
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Yeh i know what you mean in terms of looking for half backs and it wont surprise ne one little bit if we see Hind and Dev Smith there round 1 or thats out current thinking. I just dont think it works for me hes not a driving player and is his kicking thst great?

Hes Cale Daniel a bit taller but without the kicking ability and decision making i feel but maybe im wrong on that

Smith is quite a creative decision maker from what I saw of him back there, just doesn't have the leg on him to really slice up an opposition side the way someone like Daniel can when left unattended. Daniel had half a dozen games where he got 400m gained, one in the 500s. That's the kind of area we'd like to see Smith reaching if left unattended as it forces teams to play an accountable half-forward on him.

Saad could do that. McKenna could do that. Ridley can do that (had 564 against Port) and should flourish if we get 2 genuine KPDs in there to allow him to be a very loose intercept player.

If he accepts that he's not going to get many minutes in the midfield he could comfortably play that high half-forward role Snelling did to similar effect. He's a strong tackler and knows how to set-up scores and find the goals. Just whether we can see the work-rate and discipline required from him to do it from the half-forward line.
 
Dec 18, 2007
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Didnt he just have his best year on the wing?

Think hes an attacking winger and with his increasing running ability that looks like suiting him best

I didn't see many of our games this year and I find matches on TV very different to watching live so I didn't notice him having his best season but I don't mind Langford on the wing.
 
Aug 15, 2011
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I didn't see many of our games this year and I find matches on TV very different to watching live so I didn't notice him having his best season but I don't mind Langford on the wing.
Yeh it was actually very good. Back to his most comfortable position i still think he can continue to slim and increase his running ability by stripping off the weight they made him add on for an inside role. Still havnt ruled him out as an inside mid as he continues to gain confidence and feel a secure position in the team which sounds like he does a bit now.

His year was recognised by many on here but clearly still a little under rated it seems

His last 5 weeks were huge when the side was getting pumbled and from the 11 games before that he hit the scoreboard kicking 2 goals on 4 seperate occasions

To put his year into perspective he had his highest avg disposals in his career and in 80% game time (game time reduced). If he simply maintains his TOG and form he avgs 22.5 disposals a game from a wing. Regarding goals with the above calc he also kicks 19 goals. Thats ridiculously good going

Looking at this, it probably shows it was still an under rated year.

Not sure where he featured in the B+F?
 

ghostdog

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Would take Mozzie off this list because we have seen enough in his first few games to suggest he is a play maker when around the ball but how he comes back from his ACL will determine his future.

Agree that the rest on the list have question marks and i would add Langford because if Cox makes an impact on the wing then that will lead to a reorganising of the mid-field with Langford potentially pushed out.
Langford was one of our strongest improvers last year, playing on a wing and HF. Cox, if he plays on a wing, will pressure Ham and Cutler before Langford, who is turning into a gem.
 
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