Not sure how I feel about this.

Had a good start, don’t know what happened after that.

I don't mind him actually, happy to get another look in

Just now, GawnOfTheDead said:

Not sure how I feel about this.

With Spargs going it makes some sense, low cost depth signing - probably plays less games in 2026 but solid enough option.
Him and Laurie will be in last chance saloon in 2026, hopefully it lights a fire under them

With Spargo leaving and Kozzy shifting further into the midfield, this signing is insurance policy for smaller forward depth.

Hendo appeared to start well last year. Hopefully he can build on that and have an impact. Seems a smart player, but probably limited long term.

Would be nice if we had some clarity about his form at Casey and injury.

Spargo is gone. He’s ahead of Sharp and Mentha. Langdon and Sparrow aren’t world beaters (or even perfectly suited for the position) and Kolt has to make the leap to afl standard. Someone has to play half forward and it can’t just be Chandler.

If King can get the team making faster and easier decisions he has the right attributes to contribute across half forward.

i like this, deserves another go around, clearly has footy smarts so we'll see how he goes

Very simple make or break scenario for him. Ace the preseason, gain a step and a little extra strength, put it to work.

He has on-field initiative and is smart enough, but it's no use falling 10% short every contest and moment.

A really good preseason, though, and he'll be better than just depth.

Meh…

He’s not ahead of Sharp, he’s behind him, given that one regularly appeared in the afl side

Arguably behind Mentha too given that Henderson can’t get on the field in the back half of the season

Availability is of course the #1 ability a player needs

These are the list decisions that we should be making after the trade period, and probably after the draft, not before.

Leave a couple of list spots open, and dangle them as a carrot to get the likes of Henderson training their backsides off and stepping up their game in the pre season.

Maybe we find a hidden gem somewhere.

3 minutes ago, poita said:

These are the list decisions that we should be making after the trade period, and probably after the draft, not before.

Leave a couple of list spots open, and dangle them as a carrot to get the likes of Henderson training their backsides off and stepping up their game in the pre season.

Maybe we find a hidden gem somewhere.

I’m ok with signing Henderson now and a guy who gave himself a chronic groin injury doesn’t need to train any harder.

But I 100% agree we need to leave list spots open for train on players and keep a spot for the mid season draft whilst we’re projected to pick early in that draft too.

We didn’t have a spot for Culley or Henderson last year, couldn’t even invite Hendo to train with us given he was signed at Werribee, nor did we have a spot for mid season when we could’ve got a handy pick up.

Fantastic news.

Hendo a brilliant kick (something we lack). Was made a scapegoat for our 0-5 start, had groin issues mid year which prevented him from seeing the year out at VFL level.

Also, was never played as a mid/hb as he was at Werribee which got him drafted/noticed by recruiters in the first place. Was in no man's land in a poor team/i50 team like us as a high HF.

Good call to keep him as a rookie for another year

People questioning list decisions/spots.

Currently 3 senior spots available, with Woewodin and McVee OOC. If other players are traded, this can open up more spots.

Given lack of quality draft picks, bringing in Kalani White and Toby Sinnema is a great result. Adding a Flanders, Max Heath and/or Mihocek would be helpful. I'm tipping we will have more than 3 spots after the trade period...

38 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

Hendo appeared to start well last year. Hopefully he can build on that and have an impact. Seems a smart player, but probably limited long term.

did he start well or just start? i thought it was quite obvious in his 5 games what he lacked, his composure was an issue ball in hand making the step up a level, he isnt tough or particularly agile. he's just small. hope he proves me on, but i would have liked to see us reinvest his spot again, jackson voss for example who has shown heaps at vfl level or sinnema, the way i see it we probably pass on toby now

We just delisted nearly 3/4 of cat A rookie list. We can retain Henderson comfortably and still have plenty of list spots.

He gets a chance to go again with a full preseason. Makes sense with Spargo's move.

We have a really weak draft hand at the moment. Recycling rookies without giving them a real chance gets you nowhere.

24 minutes ago, Red and Blue Flame said:

People questioning list decisions/spots.

Currently 3 senior spots available, with Woewodin and McVee OOC. If other players are traded, this can open up more spots.

Given lack of quality draft picks, bringing in Kalani White and Toby Sinnema is a great result. Adding a Flanders, Max Heath and/or Mihocek would be helpful. I'm tipping we will have more than 3 spots after the trade period...

so you have to take 3 picks at the draft, if we're bringing in 3 players from other sides, either we need to move 1/2 to the rookie list or maybe we're screwing the giants and waiting for derksen to sign as a SSP as a delisted player onto the rookie list for us after they didnt come to the table last year.

but as it stands if we were to sign sinnema and white we would only have 1 live selection. if flanders/windhager comes woey is done unless trac/may leaves too, even then if sinnema is to be signed its probably in place of woey if trac is replaced by flanders.

all these scenarios leave us with no train on or MSD slots without a LTI and given its a weaker draft state players will probably be looked at more closely around the competition

*i'm not adding OBerry to any list of mine until i see a statement from us regarding him so the other option is Sinnema as a B rookie, pre covid you could have 3 B rookies, maybe thats been reinstated?

Edited yesterday at 01:471 day by Turner

We don't have to take 3 picks to the draft, we have to make min 3 list changes, which we've already done - with possibly more to come.

appreciate the graphic - nice and accurate :)

10 minutes ago, Turner said:

did he start well or just start? i thought it was quite obvious in his 5 games what he lacked, his composure was an issue ball in hand making the step up a level, he isnt tough or particularly agile. he's just small. hope he proves me on, but i would have liked to see us reinvest his spot again, jackson voss for example who has shown heaps at vfl level or sinnema, the way i see it we probably pass on toby now

Disagree on most points. IMO he did start well and showed footy smarts with and without the ball. He struggled as the year went on though. He showed decent agility and ability to work his way in and through traffic, though he isn't overly quick. I don't expect him to play AFL seniors next year, but he's depth and insurance in a position we're low talent in (outside Kozzy, who is moving more midfield now also).

In terms of list spot, we've already turned over a fair few with more to come. We've delisted the other 3 rookies. Signing him as the fourth on lowest possible wage won't impact our list at all. Sinnema will come to us via NGA onto senior list regardless of Henderson re-signing.

Edited yesterday at 01:541 day by Lord Travis

7 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

He’s not ahead of Sharp, he’s behind him, given that one regularly appeared in the afl side

Arguably behind Mentha too given that Henderson can’t get on the field in the back half of the season

Availability is of course the #1 ability a player needs

Mentha might be playing for Casey but he’s not a consistent performer nor does he have an afl tank, so he’s not really available for the senior side (which is fine, he’s a kid).

Sharp can have all the availability in the world, he can’t pick the ball up under any pressure and can’t handball. Maybe a new coach can fix him but I’m so skeptical on players who are just awful at the basics.

32 minutes ago, Red and Blue Flame said:

We don't have to take 3 picks to the draft, we have to make min 3 list changes, which we've already done - with possibly more to come.

appreciate the graphic - nice and accurate :)

Clubs have recently used the rookie draft to 're-draft' players they have recently delisted. Under AFL rules, clubs must have at least three list senior list vacancies in order to take part in the national draft. Before the national draft, clubs will delist a player to open up a senior list spot, but commit to re-drafting that player in the rookie draft. This year, clubs have delisted a total of 16 players and committed to taking them in the rookie draft.

afl.com.au

AFL Draft explainer: Everything you need to know

Check out this explainer as the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft approaches

taken from a draft explainer on the afl website from last year

Totally underwhelmed. I thought Sestan showed more.

28 minutes ago, Red and Blue Flame said:

We don't have to take 3 picks to the draft, we have to make min 3 list changes, which we've already done - with possibly more to come.

appreciate the graphic - nice and accurate :)

Plenty of ways to manipulate the list but so far we are:

-7: Spargo, Billings, Fullarton, Verrall, Sestan, Brown, Hore

+2: Henderson, Culley

Strongly linked with 2 more: Heath, Derksen

Probably drafting 2 more: White, Sinnema

Hopefully anyone of quality that we trade brings in quality picks and/or players, but I’d have Woey competing for that last spot in Feb (if he wants it)

I must admit I'll be just a little sad if we go into the draft already knowing every choice we'll make.

Where is the joy of speculating about random obscure picks?