I have been thinking about this one for some time now. And would like to know what other posters think.

Obviously we are still rebuilding. But what do we need to finish the rebuild? What type of players do we need to draft?

Defenders

IMO the backline is looking good. Warnock, Frawley, Martin, Garland, Rivers, Bennell, Cheney. With Grimes and Strauss also developing there over the next couple of years, and Davey, Green also rotating through. So there is no need for immediate attention.

Midfield

Inside we have Brock, Moloney, Jones. While being a bunch of great players, They are all about the same pace. Outside we have Morton, Blease, Strauss, Grimes all developing. Add in Green and Davey. Bruce is in steep decline. Buckley is the forgotten man at the moment and big question marks over Dunn and Bartram. Haven't seen enough of Bail at this point to form a judgement.

Rucks

Jamar can certainly ruck, but is still not great around the ground.

Johnson is decent around the ground but can't ruck.

Meeson has shown that he might actually make it before getting injured. He is clearly very injury prone looking at his history from the crows.

Spencer, could be something.

Forwards

Talls we have Miller who tries hard but is not going to be the superstar we need up there. Newton has had almost 4 and a half years on the list and so far the best things he has done is take mark of the year and he has kicked 9 in a VFL reserves match. Watts will develop and take a KP spot.

Mediums we have Jurrah who will be awesome, but I reckon he will take a pocket or flank rather then FF or CHF. Bate is taking awhile to come on, but will be better once we have some decent talls to take the pressure off him. Sylvia will hopefully keep playing the way he is and spend more time in the midfield next year. Pettard still needs to develop.

Regarding the smalls, we have Aussie, Maric, Jetta all developing.

So What Do We Still Need?

Defenders -

We finally have a good developing backline of talls and smalls. No need for action here.

Midfield -

(1) A Superstar outside midfielder who can get his own ball.

(2) A good inside player with pace.

Rucks -

(3) A Genuine ruckman who can ruck all day who is also good around the ground (Might be Spencer but time will tell)

Forwards -

(4) A Full Forward.

(5) A 200cm player who can rotate between 2nd ruck and 3rd tall forward eg. Paddy Ryder type. (Martin might already be this player)

I think that this year the way we are headed we will hopefully get Scully and Butcher who will hopefully take up two of these problems. 2nd round pick I hope we use on the (2) A good inside player with pace. The rest of this years draft will be pretty shallow.

This is what I think we still need to complete the rebuild. What do you think we need?

I have been thinking about this one for some time now. And would like to know what other posters think.

Obviously we are still rebuilding. But what do we need to finish the rebuild? What type of players do we need to draft?

Defenders

IMO the backline is looking good. Warnock, Frawley, Martin, Garland, Rivers, Bennell, Cheney. With Grimes and Strauss also developing there over the next couple of years, and Davey, Green also rotating through. So there is no need for immediate attention.

Midfield

Inside we have Brock, Moloney, Jones. While being a bunch of great players, They are all about the same pace. Outside we have Morton, Blease, Strauss, Grimes all developing. Add in Green and Davey. Bruce is in steep decline. Buckley is the forgotten man at the moment and big question marks over Dunn and Bartram. Haven't seen enough of Bail at this point to form a judgement.

Rucks

Jamar can certainly ruck, but is still not great around the ground.

Johnson is decent around the ground but can't ruck.

Meeson has shown that he might actually make it before getting injured. He is clearly very injury prone looking at his history from the crows.

Spencer, could be something.

Forwards

Talls we have Miller who tries hard but is not going to be the superstar we need up there. Newton has had almost 4 and a half years on the list and so far the best things he has done is take mark of the year and he has kicked 9 in a VFL reserves match. Watts will develop and take a KP spot.

Mediums we have Jurrah who will be awesome, but I reckon he will take a pocket or flank rather then FF or CHF. Bate is taking awhile to come on, but will be better once we have some decent talls to take the pressure off him. Sylvia will hopefully keep playing the way he is and spend more time in the midfield next year. Pettard still needs to develop.

Regarding the smalls, we have Aussie, Maric, Jetta all developing.

So What Do We Still Need?

Defenders -

We finally have a good developing backline of talls and smalls. No need for action here.

Midfield -

(1) A Superstar outside midfielder who can get his own ball.

(2) A good inside player with pace.

Rucks -

(3) A Genuine ruckman who can ruck all day who is also good around the ground (Might be Spencer but time will tell)

Forwards -

(4) A Full Forward.

(5) A 200cm player who can rotate between 2nd ruck and 3rd tall forward eg. Paddy Ryder type. (Martin might already be this player)

I think that this year the way we are headed we will hopefully get Scully and Butcher who will hopefully take up two of these problems. 2nd round pick I hope we use on the (2) A good inside player with pace. The rest of this years draft will be pretty shallow.

This is what I think we still need to complete the rebuild. What do you think we need?

Two gun mids, a key forward, a gun ruck and good negating tagger, we are really lacking a good tagger

We also need a pacey small defender.

Turning over the list never stops

Our current problem is what we failed to do in the past

Procrastinating on players that were never going to make AFL standard and being too late to move on tradable players for high draft picks for a better chance of future success

When people make desperate decisions to try and keep their jobs and fail then the result for the club and supporters is having long periods of being in the football wilderness

Some good points there Swampfox.

Back to the original post, I agree that our defence is looking ok. Up front, I see it as having potential but that's at least two seasons away. Next year if we can get a consistent front six consisting primarily of Watts Jurrah Miller Robertson Wonnaeamirri Sylvia/Maric/Green/Jetta we will be getting there. If we get Butcher, he will go in to the mix provided he is ready for senior footy but there obviously would be no rush on a first-year key-position forward. Robbo will probably be gone after next season and then Butcher would hopefully be ready to step in to the team full-time. So that's looking ok provided we get Butcher/another decent KPF prospect. (Newton is rubbish. End of argument.)

The midfield will take longer to become quality as we are starting from a lower base than our defence. Moloney and Sylvia will (should) be there for a few more years, hitting top form, Brock, I hope so too. Greeny, he will rotate in and out and will be quality for us for a few more years yet. Nate Jones will continue to improve. But we need that quality outside mid who is reliably quality by foot. We are yet to see Blease and Strauss and I will reserve judgement here obviously. Even if they come we need pace and quality disposal by foot. Morton just needs to put on 10kgs of muscle, plain and simple. Hopefully he can get a fair chunk of that done by February next year. So hopefully we get Scully and then another top-20 pick for two class mids. Our midfield will be a huge weakness for at least a couple of years even if Blease/Strauss/Morton/Scully/other pick(s) develop in to quality. So we have to hope that Sylvia can become a B+ grade midfielder or even an A-grader (which his form has been).

For me a huge weakness is in the Ruck. Jamar is a great tap-ruckman but is atroucious by foot and hand and is completely dominated around-the-ground by any decent ruckman. Look at the clinic Jolly put on against Collingwood on Saturday night; this is the type of ruckman we need. (Jolly...!!!) Johnson is never going to be a good ruckman, he is sloppy with his disposal - although he can be quality which is all the more frustrating: at least with the Russian you know he's going to kick it out on the full or off the side of his boot, so it comes as no surprise, and PJ is weak at the tap. He will be here for a year or two more at the least, as we have no one else, but he is really no good. Meesen has shown signs that there could be some potential there, but he needs one full season and then we make the call on his future, that has to be next year. Pencil Spencer, too early to say. Has a lot more time to develop. I really hope that one of Spencer or Meesen comes on to be the #1 ruckman as Jamar/Johnson is going to get dominated most weeks.

We also need a pacey small defender.

Jamie Bennel???

I have been thinking about this one for some time now. And would like to know what other posters think.

Obviously we are still rebuilding. But what do we need to finish the rebuild? What type of players do we need to draft?

I think you've done a very good summation.

We're developing some potentially very good players. A couple of genuine stars is my greatest wish because they will make others around them better. That said, we're 4 years away from having stars due to our age group.

We also need a pacey small defender.

Jamie Bennel???

That's what I was going to say, and is Bennell pacey enough for the small defender post?

Cheney, on Friday night wasn't quick enough IMO.

That's what I was going to say, and is Bennell pacey enough for the small defender post?

Cheney, on Friday night wasn't quick enough IMO.

hell yeah he is...

hell yeah he is...

Well, there you go then. Maybe Rogue's concern is we need another, to release Bennell to half-back?

I have been thinking about this one for some time now. And would like to know what other posters think.

Obviously we are still rebuilding. But what do we need to finish the rebuild? What type of players do we need to draft?

Defenders

IMO the backline is looking good. Warnock, Frawley, Martin, Garland, Rivers, Bennell, Cheney. With Grimes and Strauss also developing there over the next couple of years, and Davey, Green also rotating through. So there is no need for immediate attention.

Midfield

Inside we have Brock, Moloney, Jones. While being a bunch of great players, They are all about the same pace. Outside we have Morton, Blease, Strauss, Grimes all developing. Add in Green and Davey. Bruce is in steep decline. Buckley is the forgotten man at the moment and big question marks over Dunn and Bartram. Haven't seen enough of Bail at this point to form a judgement.

Rucks

Jamar can certainly ruck, but is still not great around the ground.

Johnson is decent around the ground but can't ruck.

Meeson has shown that he might actually make it before getting injured. He is clearly very injury prone looking at his history from the crows.

Spencer, could be something.

Forwards

Talls we have Miller who tries hard but is not going to be the superstar we need up there. Newton has had almost 4 and a half years on the list and so far the best things he has done is take mark of the year and he has kicked 9 in a VFL reserves match. Watts will develop and take a KP spot.

Mediums we have Jurrah who will be awesome, but I reckon he will take a pocket or flank rather then FF or CHF. Bate is taking awhile to come on, but will be better once we have some decent talls to take the pressure off him. Sylvia will hopefully keep playing the way he is and spend more time in the midfield next year. Pettard still needs to develop.

Regarding the smalls, we have Aussie, Maric, Jetta all developing.

So What Do We Still Need?

Defenders -

We finally have a good developing backline of talls and smalls. No need for action here.

Midfield -

(1) A Superstar outside midfielder who can get his own ball.

(2) A good inside player with pace.

Rucks -

(3) A Genuine ruckman who can ruck all day who is also good around the ground (Might be Spencer but time will tell)

Forwards -

(4) A Full Forward.

(5) A 200cm player who can rotate between 2nd ruck and 3rd tall forward eg. Paddy Ryder type. (Martin might already be this player)

I think that this year the way we are headed we will hopefully get Scully and Butcher who will hopefully take up two of these problems. 2nd round pick I hope we use on the (2) A good inside player with pace. The rest of this years draft will be pretty shallow.

This is what I think we still need to complete the rebuild. What do you think we need?

its nearly all about the forward line and we need one superstar midfielder

In no particular order.

The backline looks good but is still lacking that 'quarterback' style running backman to replace Brad Green. Buckley looks great until he is under pressure, has to pick up a man or dispose of the ball and Davey cannot do it on his own and is probably better suited, and more dangerous, further up the ground. Bennell might develop into this role but I think that drafting a kid who does it as his natural game, and building on his ability, is far better than trying to 'develop' a player for the role and in doing so kerb his natural game at the same time.

Through the middle we do look slow this year. It is not that we don't have some players with pace to play through there it is more so that they are injured (Blease, Wona?) or playing in other positions (Davey, Bennell, Maric). I am not too worried about the pace through there as much as I am about getting a hard nuggety tagger who can shut down an opposition player every week, get and then dispose of the ball accurately. Good disposal through there is another issue at the moment but with the above mentioned players playing there it will be vastly improved.

While it is one thing to build a midfield that looks balanced between inside and outside players with pace and good disposal a critical aspect to a good midfield group is being able to stop the opposition too. The best place to start is a dedicated stopper.

In the forward half we are desperately lacking a big bodied tall marking forward. A 'stay at home' type who can make the forward 50 arc and especially the goal square his domain. At the moment we have a forward line full of utility types, and Miller who is just not big and strong enough (or doesn't play 'big and strong', enough). We also have the prospect of Watts developing into a solid KPP. But lets NOT put all out eggs into one basket; another one or two likey types would be handy. Martin could fit the bill here but this could be stealling from the defence(?). The jury is out on Newton and Dunn making it as KP forwards or forwards for that matter or even making it at all. Another explosive small forward would not go astray to add to the mix of players being able to play in that role or allow Wona and Davey to hunt further up the ground.

The rucks are an interesting prospect at the moment. All four (five with Martin) are completely different types making for some good versatility that I believe, overall, covers all bases. But, not all bases with any two that might be playing together on any day!! I believe the game plan and playing style of the team determines the role of the ruckman beyond the inital ruck contest. We don't need a high possesion ruckman if the ball is coming through the midfield in the hands of small running players and we have a decent forward as a marking target. I am convinced that Jamar can fill the role of the centre circle ruckman who can go deep forward and back and take telling contested marks. PJ is a ruck rover who should play taller than he does and use his size better. Meeson could be a mix of both from the few glimpes we have seen so far. Spencer the very tall rangy tap ruckman could be anything. He looks and plays a lot like the early descriptions of Dean Cox with legs and arms going everywhere and plenty of enthusiasm and run but a bit uncoordinated. I would elevate Spencer and look to rookie another likely prospect and keep the rest.

All that said I would take the best prospects in the first round (picks 1 and 2 hopefully) and worry about needs more after that. BUT, if it comes down to splitting hairs between a 'can play back and forward blah blah blah' or 'dominant player in X position' I would prefer the later.

Go Dees - Building for the Future (not tanking just 'working to aquire compensation for an AFL sanctioned football landscape designed to make MFC success, and respect, all but impossible' (at the moment).

Well, there you go then. Maybe Rogue's concern is we need another, to release Bennell to half-back?

You're right.

Do you think he'll end up playing a shut-down role, a la Wheels?

Maybe he will, although I was thinking we might look to use his talents in a more offensive role.

The backline looks good but is still lacking that 'quarterback' style running backman to replace Brad Green. Buckley looks great until he is under pressure, has to pick up a man or dispose of the ball and Davey cannot do it on his own and is probably better suited, and more dangerous, further up the ground. Bennell might develop into this role but I think that drafting a kid who does it as his natural game, and building on his ability, is far better than trying to 'develop' a player for the role and in doing so kerb his natural game at the same time.

I think Strauss is one we'll look to give the ball to when we come out of defence.

In a word FORWARDS. We have a pretty good backline, ok midfield, but no forwardline. They get it down there and there is no one there except Robbo who might kick a couple but no where near enough!

The backline looks good but is still lacking that 'quarterback' style running backman to replace Brad Green.

James Strauss

We need some gun mids that are quick (Scully+Trengrove) as well as a key forward. Rucks arent as important but it would be nice to have some that could kick.

Even though we will have improved facilities as of next year, our biggest priority (IMO) besides more talented players in the middle and up forward is a bigger football department at the club. I still think that too much is being left to too few.

A Ruckman

James Strauss

Any supporting evidence or is this just wishful thinking on your part?

From what I've seen he hasn't shown much if any run for Casey so far.

I am not trying to be critical just asking.

Go Dees - Building for the Future (Not tanking just 'working to aquire compensation for an AFL sanctioned football landscape designed to make MFC success, and respect, all but impossible' at the moment).

I also believe Strauss will be our quarterback in 2 years or sooner.

Like all its going to take time, but Strauss from what i saw of him in the un18 carnival has class by foot and is quick off the mark but most importantly made good decisions and kicked to advantage. Has the tools to be a great pick up for our club.

Any supporting evidence or is this just wishful thinking on your part?

From what I've seen he hasn't shown much if any run for Casey so far.

I am not trying to be critical just asking.

Go Dees - Building for the Future (Not tanking just 'working to aquire compensation for an AFL sanctioned football landscape designed to make MFC success, and respect, all but impossible' at the moment).

I almost wet my pants watching him win the hardball on a back flank, burst away from a pack hit a teammate in the middle, run past to receive the handball, keep running and perfectly hit the leading forward about 40 out.

Can't remember who it was against, but I'm pretty sure it was when Casey were wearing the pink jumpers.

He didn't do much for the rest of the game, but it was enough of a glimpse into the future for me to get excited.

This is what I think we still need to complete the rebuild. What do you think we need?

A gym with a decent instructor to help each player put on 5kgs of muscle

Great summary Davis.

Well, there you go then. Maybe Rogue's concern is we need another, to release Bennell to half-back?

Or he believes he's no good

I almost wet my pants watching him win the hardball on a back flank, burst away from a pack hit a teammate in the middle, run past to receive the handball, keep running and perfectly hit the leading forward about 40 out.

Can't remember who it was against, but I'm pretty sure it was when Casey were wearing the pink jumpers.

He didn't do much for the rest of the game, but it was enough of a glimpse into the future for me to get excited.

Brilliant piece of play that one!

It was against Weribee, and the leading forward was Brad Miller. It was the highlight of the match for mine, along with LJ's form.

I was impressed with Strauss that day. Sure he didn't get a lot of it, but he used it magnificently on every occassion, and surprisingly showed he is also capable of playing taller too (made a couple of great spoils one-out on Marty Pask).