The five players you want to have an impact in 2021

[Harbinger43 101]

Need a good percentage of those outside our “best ten” to really step up.  Of those I think most upside can come from

Harmes- return to 2018 form

Baker- become the 2nd wingman 

Pickett

Weid 

Lockhart 

 

 

 

[WERRIDEE 5,352]

1 hour ago, Unleash Hell said:

Don't take it personally i am just having some fun.

Give me a best 22.

Well here it is.

 

B: HIBBERD, MAY, LEVER

HB: SALEM, TOMLINSON, RIVERS

C : LANGDON, PETRACCA, BAKER

HF: MELKSHAM, JACKSON, FRITSCH

F: PICKETT, B.BROWN, WEIDEMAN

FOLL: GAWN, OLIVER, VINEY

IC: BRAYSHAW, HARMES, HUNT, HORE

EMERG: VANDENBERG, NEAL-BULLEN, SPARROW, LOCKHART

[Biffen 12,841]

Trump, Charlie Sheen, Nick Kyrgios, Boris Johnson and My good self.

[Turner 1,489]

Petty

Hore (both best 22 if fit i believe)

Melksham (step up or step out)

Bedford (deserves a consistent run)

Jordon (hype but is it mislead)

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

Seems everyone has written off Neville Jetta.  What chance he can bounce back to something like his old self for just one last season?  Would be a huge boost for us.

[4_Kent_Watts 861]

Ben Brown... kicks 50 we make the 8.

Weeds... he improves and gets a second or third best Defender. Definitely sends us on our way to where we need and want to be.

Bailey Fritsch...This lad improves will be the icing on the cake in the Forward Line.

Kozzie Pickett... want him to get the goals he should get.  Tackling is good. Just improve young fella. 

Tom Maccas... gets back to his best wherever he plays whether it's backline, wing or forward goes a fair way to us being Finals bound. 

Finals is all that matters.

Also I want Angus Brayshaw and James Harmes playing in the middle where they are most damaging, hopefully kicking the odd goal up forward. NO backline roles for these two players on our list. Thank you Simon. 

If we improve Forward of centre, we make the 8. Backline is fine, no complaints. Also when we aint got that ball get back to being nasty, tackle tackle tackle. 

[old55 22,843]

My response is not exactly what the OP is asking for but it's worth noting that we've got a block of 20 - 22yo who will have been on the list for at least 3 years and it's reasonable to expect that some of them will establish as regular AFL players:

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/tp-melbourne-demons?year=2021&sby=15

Baker, Petty, Spargo, Chandler, Nietschke, Bedford, Bradtke, Sparrow, Jordon

These in addition to 2020 recruits who I expect to all make a significant contribution: Jackson, Pickett, Rivers 

And this year's recruits who will will get an opportunity if they can show something: Bowey, Laurie, Rosman

There's 15 players that Mark Williams will be working to develop.

[DubDee 24,440]

Clearly it is up forward where we need players to have an impact as it is our clear weakness

Jackson - so much potential, has bulked up a bit.  could explode on the scene 

Kozzi - keep chasing but hit the scoreboard!

Weed - use your size and stay angry

Melksham - chase, tackle, focus and be the link man

Fritsch -  kick straight and enjoy going from being our Number 1 fwd target to hopefully 3 or 4

[640MD 3,326]

Must be the silly season, BUT,   I will have a go.

Spargo,   football brains

TMac,     huge incentive, get lighter, get fitter, get faster.

Jackson,      potential unlimited, please, no second year blues.

Brayshaw,    huge ability  but needs to lift, and take pressure off Oliver and Viney

Rosman,     I just think his application to fitness in a Covid year with no football, stands out, exceptional potential 

 

Forwards and Centres,   If they do well by 10% it will be a goodwin year.

[Nascent 8,646]

1. Harmes - Was a damaging weapon with his ability to shut down the oppositions premier ball winners and hurt them the other way. Has the ability to hit the scoreboard and seems to be lost in the back half. Perhaps a return to a mid/forward role will be the catalyst required to return to form.

2. Wiedeman -  The time is now for the weed to impose himself in the forward half and become a consistent threat. With Brown taking the number 1 mantle and defender, conditions are primed for him to cause headaches for opposition.

3. Brayshaw - We've all seen him at his best and want him to return to that form as soon as possible. Delayed start to pre-season with a foot injury so has a bit of work to do to catch up. Time for him to stamp himself as a starting centre square mid or at least in the first rotation.

4. Petty - Have high hopes for him as a key position player and suspect he will he more suited to the backline. Only had the few games to show his wares but displayed great hands and reading of the play. I believe he would suit as the second key back position allowing lever to zone off more and enable him to play his intercepting game more effectively. Has shown he is capable of holding his own and providing a target in the forward half.

5. Rivers - Love the kid and was stoked he slide through to us on draft night. Will be vital in the back half as our defence unit goes through a small transition period with the likes of Jetta and Hibberd moving into the end stages of their career.

Apologies to T-Mac, Lever, Pickett, Sparrow and a more accurate Fritsch.

Players like Gawn, Oliver, Petracca Langdon and May are crucial to our performance and I have high expectations for them to perform regularly.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Nascent

[Lil_red_fire_engine 10,852]

The 5 players we need to have the biggest impact in 2021. 1. May 2. Trac 3. Oliver 4. Brown 5. Langdon

The 5 players we want to have the most improved impact in 2021. 1. Lever  2. Brown 3. Brayshaw 4. Pickett 5. TMac/Weid

 

[BDA 22,289]

1.       Clarry – figure out how to harness his full potential and get him working in tandem with the rest of the midfield unit and we’re well on our way

2.       BB – kicks the goals. If he can win the Coleman we finish top 4

3.       Weid – takes his marks and contributes 35-45 goals

4.       Trac – aim for Dusty level

5.       Melks – somehow rekindle 2018 form and provide the supply to BB/Weid

Honorable mention:

Lever – freed up to assume intercept role. Hoping for a Top 5 B&F placing

Fritsch – finds his kicking boots

Brayshaw – 2018 version please

[58er 5,996]

19 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

Seems everyone has written off Neville Jetta.  What chance he can bounce back to something like his old self for just one last season?  Would be a huge boost for us.

With great respect I would love Nev to recover his 2018 firm again but as a team we are going to improve far more if Jay Lockhart is given a fair go to become our future small defender in the backline. He players fast and aggressive footy which our backline Needs in our game plan.
 
Goodwin mysteriously missed a trick in 2020 to not give Jay opportunities in the last half a dozen games.
 

Reckon Jay is a potential bp fir the next 8/10 years!

[DeeZone 8,993]

I agree with all on the site, I believe that our top 15 players including B.B. can match it with any team, so providing these top line players hold form and continue to improve we are well on the way to finals. However if we are to really rocket back up the ladder our top liners really need a lot of support from our next 10-12 best players to step up and cement a place in our best 22.

i am looking forward to seeing Baker, Sparrow, Jordon, Jackson, Kozzie, Rivers, Bedford, Melksnham, Harmes, ANB, Bowey, Laurie, Rosman & Nietzsche buy in and push really hard to make us a much, much, better team. I know that it is a big ask but these are the young men that will help our guns decide our immediate and long term future.

[dl4e 5,850]

The weed, Lockhart, Rivers, Jackson and Baker.

[Kent 2,863]

Certainly Weideman Brayshaw Melksham Harmes and hopefully Jackson

 

There are a few that need a real rocket like Melksham. Impovement is likely if the coach decides to play the players in the right positions

Need to see Kossie come on and the new men could be any thing 

A lot to look forward to in 2021

[Half forward flank 1,022]

On 1/6/2021 at 8:50 PM, NeveroddoreveN said:

The Five players i would like to impact.

1. Petracca

2 Oliver

3 May 

4 Ben Brown

5 Langdon

We need all these guys to regularly impact and the whole team to to lift around them, i really believe each of these guys can go another level or two in terms of impact and consistency,

Add Gawn to this list and raffle one of the other players would wrk as well.  Jackson a smokey.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,384]

Not sure how Brayshaw and Harmes can step up next year (after poorish seasons) when Petracca, Viney and Oliver own the centre square.

Brayshaw is an absolute inside midfielder by trade and is simply not that good as a winger or flanker with only limited inside minutes. I could be wrong but I assume that Brayshaw played far more minutes in the guts in 2018 when he finished 3rd in the brownlow.

Harmes clearly has played his best AFL footy as a run with player in the midfield, as evidenced by back to back BOG's (according to the coaches votes) in 2018 in round 23 and the week 1 final V's Geelong. He hasn't really provided any point of difference as a half back flanker. 

Petracca clearly can be thrown forward more often, but Viney is untried as a forward and Oliver never really provides scoreboard pressure when he's resting forward.

 

[Wrecker46 2,864]

Lamumba

Colin Silvia

Cale Morton

And then we should be right 

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,384]

43 minutes ago, Wrecker46 said:

Lamumba

Colin Silvia

Cale Morton

And then we should be right 

Don't like your chances.

The first one has an attitude problem, the second has sadly been laid to rest and the third one is too skinny for league footy.

[Vitamin Dee 855]

Salem

Fritch

Baker

Weideman

Lockhart 

[Deemania since 56 6,562]

On 1/6/2021 at 5:45 PM, Krackered said:

Come on demonlanders  

Who will shine in 2021 and lift the team 

Tracca, once again and Clarrie with more thought and resolve with the ball.

[Half forward flank 1,022]

11 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Not sure how Brayshaw and Harmes can step up next year (after poorish seasons) when Petracca, Viney and Oliver own the centre square.

Brayshaw is an absolute inside midfielder by trade and is simply not that good as a winger or flanker with only limited inside minutes. I could be wrong but I assume that Brayshaw played far more minutes in the guts in 2018 when he finished 3rd in the brownlow.

Harmes clearly has played his best AFL footy as a run with player in the midfield, as evidenced by back to back BOG's (according to the coaches votes) in 2018 in round 23 and the week 1 final V's Geelong. He hasn't really provided any point of difference as a half back flanker. 

Petracca clearly can be thrown forward more often, but Viney is untried as a forward and Oliver never really provides scoreboard pressure when he's resting forward.

 

It mightbe horses for courses with Harmes play as run with according to opposition, overall tactics.

[CBDees 3,165]

Weed

Kozi

Jackson 

B. Brown

Trak

 

[DeeSpencer 24,787]

1. Oliver - it's vital that he returns to a multiple AA trajectory and he'll do that by panicking less with the ball, absorbing contact to release team mates and knowing when to use his legs.

2. Petty - the CHB role is vacant and ready for him if he's physically ready and is trained in proper defensive techniques. Needs some Burgo time and then May to coach him up in defensive skills (May not Chaplin).

3. Weid. Could take the improvements made in 2020 to a new level and own the forward line

4. ANB. It will be easy to see him overtaken by Koz, Spargo and Laurie but I get the sense he's got another level that he might just be ready to go to now it's finally been made clear he has to play with more skill and composure. And be an aggressive tackler not just a prolific one. He's not a fashionable player and I've been as down on him as most but we aren't going to achieve consistent defensive pressure unless we've got someone with his physical capabilities in the side.

5. Hunt. He's never had the tank to be a legitimate wing option before. More of a hope than anything but maybe that changes this year.