At the end of the day, Brown and T. Mac have 1 year left each. They probably play 10 games between them next season.

Schache is not the answer, the club knows it but are holding onto him because he is cheap.

Jefferson's development will be one to watch, he didn't impact the VFL like JVR did so he might be another year away from the senior side although If we were a better ball movement team in transition I could see him getting games, he is a great lead-up target.

JVR, Petty, and Smith are going to be the key talls we run with next year, absolutely no doubt about it. The club will rely on Fritsch, McAdam, Pickett, and Chandler to be the main goal threats.

I think we need to look at KPD, not heard much about Adams and Turner just seems to randomly get picked for no rhyme or reason. Hibberd can't go again and we can't rely on May for much longer, he's had some serious form dips this season. The one thing I don't understand is why are we not looking at speedy midsized defenders. Rivers is the only with any dash and how many times did we get burned over the top on Thursday night?

Edited September 9, 20231 yr by MurDoc516
schache

We need fresh faces into the midfield, we need Trac playing more forward

I don’t care if a player is currently not a best 22 at their current club, change of scenery can be good.

For me I hope we at least have a chat to these guys 

Paddy Dow, Liam Henry, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Riley Bonner, Mabior chol 

 

 

Just now, Demongirl35 said:

We need fresh faces into the midfield, we need Trac playing more forward

I don’t care if a player is currently not a best 22 at their current club, change of scenery can be good.

For me I hope we at least have a chat to these guys 

Paddy Dow, Liam Henry, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Riley Bonner, Mabior chol 

 

 

•Zerk Thatcher had 9 kicked on him against Jesse Hogan. No thanks

•Henry is off to the hawks.

•All the Dow talk is that he's off to the saints

•Chol is one of the least competitive big man of thr competition.  Pass.

4 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

•Zerk Thatcher had 9 kicked on him against Jesse Hogan. No thanks

•Henry is off to the hawks.

•All the Dow talk is that he's off to the saints

•Chol is one of the least competitive big man of thr competition.  Pass.

Then draft kids and hope for the best..

They’re the most likely that would leave their current club. As I said, I hope we have a chat…

With chol at least he’s what we’re desperately looking for.. a forward/ruck, there’s unfortunately no one else out there gettable for that position 

Edited September 9, 20231 yr by Demongirl35

47 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

•Zerk Thatcher had 9 kicked on him against Jesse Hogan. No thanks

•Henry is off to the hawks.

•All the Dow talk is that he's off to the saints

•Chol is one of the least competitive big man of thr competition.  Pass.

Daniel Turner will be at least a good AFL player and is the answer down back.

I think Chol is worth going for because he can play ruck/forward. 

5 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

We have significant midfield depth issues.

When Brayshaw went down I was hoping Sparrow could stand up and provide some cover.

He was incredibly disappointing and having only 2 disposals to half time for a midfielder is simply unacceptable. Working out what exactly his role is confusing. At some stage he needs to step up and not live off just getting 12-15 disposals per game.

With Jordon, Harmes and Dunstan potentially all gone, this will now cut deep with midfield experience and depth. 

Unfortunately I don't know what's out there in terms of midfield depth. My hope is a out of the blue scenario ala Lachie Hunter.

Everyone I sat with on Thursday felt Sparrow really lifted (irrespective of actual possessions) in the third quarter and that goal he kicked, gave us a sniff. 

But each to their own.

We also have guys like Bowey and Rivers waiting in the wings. There's no reason both can't step into the midfield in the next 18 months IMV.

Our midfield problems are overblown IMO, but I wouldn't mind adding a player like GWS' Callaghan to the mix as well as Bowey and Rivers.

Edited September 9, 20231 yr by Binmans PA

Just now, Binmans PA said:

Everyone I sat with on Thursday felt Sparrow really lifted in the third quarter and that goal he kicked, gave us a sniff. 

But each to their own.

We also have guys like Bowey and Rivers waiting in the wings. There's no reason both can't step into the midfield in the next 18 months IMV.

Our midfield problems are overblown IMO, but I wouldn't mind adding a player like GWS' Callaghan to the mix as well as Bowey and Rivers.

One quarter as a midfielder doesn't cut it for me. Especially when the opportunity opened up for him after the Brayshaw incident. 

We couldn't throw Rivers into the midfield role because he was playing a complete lock down role. This is why I'm still annoyed we didn't play the extra tall defender because then it created more pressure on the likes of Rivers who at one stage was locking down on McStay. 

If Brayshaw is going to miss some significant time or retire then once again it exposes us greatly. Can't just pretend we can rely on Petracca Oliver and Viney moving forward all the time.

Someone eventually has to step up if that's Rivers and Bowey then the coaching staff to do transition them both into more midfield craft over the preseason. 

Even now the thought of Jordon now replacing Brayshaw is making me scared.

50 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

One quarter as a midfielder doesn't cut it for me. Especially when the opportunity opened up for him after the Brayshaw incident. 

We couldn't throw Rivers into the midfield role because he was playing a complete lock down role. This is why I'm still annoyed we didn't play the extra tall defender because then it created more pressure on the likes of Rivers who at one stage was locking down on McStay. 

If Brayshaw is going to miss some significant time or retire then once again it exposes us greatly. Can't just pretend we can rely on Petracca Oliver and Viney moving forward all the time.

Someone eventually has to step up if that's Rivers and Bowey then the coaching staff to do transition them both into more midfield craft over the preseason. 

Even now the thought of Jordon now replacing Brayshaw is making me scared.

Agreed that it's likely Gus retires now, so we will need to find someone else and it's not JJ.

I wouldn't mind trying McVee in Rivers' role next year and shifting Rivers into the midfield. You then have Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Sparrow, Rivers and hopefully Gus can get back. If he goes retire, that would change my position.

In the middle of the year, I wasn't sold on Gus being in my 22 at the end of this year, but he proved how important he was at the back end of 23 IMO. So it's a huge hole, if he does hang up the boots.

Just bring Jesse Hogan home! 😅

5 hours ago, Lewis said:

When/ if north get their pick 3 compensation for McKay, can they split it? Maybe it’s more realistic for us to target that pick and try and get Duursma before the Hawks? Offer them 5+ whatever else ? Not sure on the rules there though  

It will all depend if they are also handed priority access to Sanders. If they do and can match a bid on him then I think it’s unlikely they will split 3. They would already be getting 3 top 10 picks at that stage effectively. Don’t think they would need any extra picks. 

My (very amateur) view is we should be drafting multiple picks across multiple positions this draft with our hand. Get 4 and 5 and pick the best available. O Sullivan, Caddy, Watson- whomever. I think going for Reid imperils our next few years’ attack at the flag. Top up / bolster with McAdam and the Brodie ruck stop gap, and other cheapies. 

3 hours ago, Redleg said:

Just re signed and after last night, probably his best game, he is going nowhere.

Amartey could be a chance if Grundy goes there, as they also have McDonald.

JT and TL may be totally uninterested in him of course.

Everyone has a price Red, liked what he showed last night.

They’d love Grundy

Gus retire? The guy will be playing in our prelim! Tougher than a cats head.

49 minutes ago, Pennant St Dee said:

Everyone has a price Red, liked what he showed last night.

They’d love Grundy

I think they love McLean more.

On 9/9/2023 at 12:57 AM, Demon Disciple said:

No no no.

we know what they produce and it’s not going to help us improve.

Footy is a cut-throat business, we’ve gotta be too if we want to improve.

everyone seems to moan about our lack of depth and here we have two mids who are clearly not first choice but are available as required when we lose our first choicers to injury. shouldn't we be pleased that harmes after 10 years has fallen out of the best 22? does that show improvement in our side to some degree

I would look at Travis Boak as a short-term option. Great team player and example and could give us depth in the midfield.

On 9/8/2023 at 11:19 AM, SthSea22 said:

Experienced and decent KPF is a must

 

Brown and T Mac are done 

 

Do we go for Darling? 

Swans give up one of Amartey/McLean for Grundy? 

Jack Silvangi?

Chol?

Darling is as done as BBB and Tmac!

4 hours ago, Fat Tony said:

I would look at Travis Boak as a short-term option. Great team player and example and could give us depth in the midfield.

I would if he wasnt turning 36 next year.

But he's genuinely cooked mate. Not that he was overly quick but his awareness and sharpness around stoppages have declined significantly.

Champion player, but he needs to.retire gracefully. 

Just now, dazzledavey36 said:

I would if he wasnt turning 36 next year.

But he's genuinely cooked mate. Not that he was overly quick but his awareness and sharpness around stoppages have declined significantly.

Champion player, but he needs to.retire gracefully. 

You might be right. His output has declined this year but that could also be due to being shifted out of the midfield. He has still looked to be a good kick from the Port games I’ve seen this year. 

On 9/9/2023 at 2:12 PM, Binmans PA said:

Everyone I sat with on Thursday felt Sparrow really lifted (irrespective of actual possessions) in the third quarter and that goal he kicked, gave us a sniff. 

But each to their own.

We also have guys like Bowey and Rivers waiting in the wings. There's no reason both can't step into the midfield in the next 18 months IMV.

Our midfield problems are overblown IMO, but I wouldn't mind adding a player like GWS' Callaghan to the mix as well as Bowey and Rivers.

Sparrow does have good moments, more often than not when the team is in need. 

That's a good attribute to have, but for a starting mid in this league it's not enough. If he's to elevate, he needs to start hitting 25+ disposals consistently.

My concern on him is he doesnt seem to have that natural knack for finding it. Jordon does, but he's too vanilla and doesnt have any of Sparrow's weapons. A combination of the two would be ideal...

39 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

Sparrow does have good moments, more often than not when the team is in need. 

That's a good attribute to have, but for a starting mid in this league it's not enough. If he's to elevate, he needs to start hitting 25+ disposals consistently.

My concern on him is he doesnt seem to have that natural knack for finding it. Jordon does, but he's too vanilla and doesnt have any of Sparrow's weapons. A combination of the two would be ideal...

Our midfield group can’t all have 30 plus possessions. Sparrow is a defensive mid who rotates into HF. 15-20 is about right for him. His KPI will be more about pressure acts, tackles and other defensive metrics. The fact that he can  kick a snag or two is great. 
 

I’ll maintain my view that we need more kicking class off HB that can also play through the middle.

We also need to start looking at our wingers and planning to replace  both of them in the next 1-2 years. Being able to run up and down is not enough to cut it. You need to be smart and be able to influence the game from the outside. I hate to say it but Langdon has been worked out - his impact on games is to a much lesser extent than prior years. All duck no dinner? Liam Henry will be an upgrade. Give up a current and future 2nd I think. That’s if we are even talking to him.
 

Alternatively, If Gus gets back to it, then I think to preserve his career and health, better if he stays on the outside and has proven he can play wing. 

1 hour ago, fr_ap said:

Sparrow does have good moments, more often than not when the team is in need. 

That's a good attribute to have, but for a starting mid in this league it's not enough. If he's to elevate, he needs to start hitting 25+ disposals consistently.

My concern on him is he doesnt seem to have that natural knack for finding it. Jordon does, but he's too vanilla and doesnt have any of Sparrow's weapons. A combination of the two would be ideal...

Can't train a brain 

Okay, so in the wild world of quantum draft picks, I have a fantasy that has come back now that Curtin seems to have slipped ever so slightly down the order and might make it to our first pick. Add a little bit of ducking and weaving to get a second early pick and aim for a complete restock of our talls.

Curtin at approximate pick 5, then O'Sullivan at around 9. Both, but particularly Curtin, have been noted as versatile and able to play forward, which helps both our options and theirs, and makes for a very interesting mix with these two and Petty as our long term core of talls.

(Kalana White being named All-Australian under-16s center-half-back a couple of months ago - and already 197cm! - also helps with my succession anxiety)

Adding a little bit of run with Brown Jr. as a fairly cheap father-son is a handy bonus, and I suspect we'll have at least one more pick on top of those three which should come before the F/S selection if we're smart.

Here is the latest "Phantom Form Guide" from Cal Twomey for this 2023 AFL Draft.

 

Please find the article via this link: https://www.afl.com.au/news/1030664/cal-twomeys-phantom-form-guide-top-draft-prospects-september-ranking

 

Would be very happy with either....

● Zane Duursma

● Nick Watson

● Nate Caddy

● Connor O'Sullivan

At pick #5 for the Melbourne Demons.

 

Personally, not too keen on drafting the Tasmanians just because we will probably end up losing them once the new Tasmanian side enters the AFL in a few years time.

O'Sullivan looks like the next Steven May.