Lil_red_fire_engine

On May I think the truth is somewhere between the two opinions. There was a sizeable gap between his best and worst games where historically he has been ultra consistent. His worst games came when he was manned on mid-sized leading forwards, something he has excelled at in the past but age has caught up with him. He now also struggles to bend and therefore his ground ball game which used to be serviceable has deserted him. May on the right match ups in 2026 will be a benefit but this might be a week to week proposition. If King is looking for the future and not the now then having others ahead of him in best 23 is likely.

MIhocek integrated back into full training this week and Petty trained with the non contact cap on. I assume both will be ready round 1.

Jake at his best is a great interceptor. However unless he has learnt to actually defend one on one and improve his agility at ground level I worry he will constantly get burnt when our new attacking game style gets spun in the opposition direction. To also not understand why he did not warrant games at the time he was dropped is also concerning to me. Whilst possibly due to no preseason and/pr mounting injuries his form at the time was putrid.

B: Lever Petty Jiath HB: Salem Disco Lindsay C: Langdon Steele Langford HF: Chandler JVR Laurie F: Fritsch Kentfield L.Pickett R: Gawn Culley K.Pickett I/C. Taylor Rivers Windsor Jefferson Sparrow Assumed not ready: Bowey, Viney, AMW, Mihocek, Campbell, Melksham, McAdam, Henderson

Per Pickfence at start of thread K&L Pickett were not present.

Thanks for the report. I watch a lot of Essendon as the wife barracks for them and LuLu did not look out of place at AFL level in their injury ravaged side last year. Both of us were very surprised they chose to delist him and recontract some of their in-season additions. I reckon he lands back on a list ours or other at some point.

@Slartibartfast if you were to pick one tall (either end) that has stood out who would you choose?

My take. Gawn, Laurie and Sharp sound short term and completed nearly all sessions pre Xmas. TC maybe slightly longer but again did most load pre Xmas. McAdam, Matthews, AMW, Mihocek - rehabbing last years problems Bowey, Viney, Henderson really the only new injuries where significant amounts of preseason missed. We would not want to add many more over next fortnight but to me it feels like a good amount of the likely best 26 have done most of the preseason thus far.

Opinion not knowledge. There is no possible way Viney plays round 1. I would be surprised if we see him even in the first month all going well. Maybe in his prime and with the prior coach but not in 2026. Bowey is the only big loss with a watch on Mihoceks recovery (seems to me more a tailored plan recovery for a mature ager). The rest appear short term, 2025 on the way return or not impacting likely best 26.

Good to hear Metha mentioned. When match sims are conducted where is Lindsay being positioned?

It won't surprise me if we do a better job of spreading the load but it is the main watch point for me.

He was top 15 in the league last season for score involvements. It is a decent gap to fill in a side wanting to score more.

Salem will have a massive year I reckon if he stays fit.

Agreed. Nothing stationary there. That's ball in motion footy. A slimmed down JVR is moving so much better.

6 win minimum. 8 wins the line. 10 wins my hope. King is inheriting a good list that got stale with some high quality kids to develop and some quality role playing recruits added to the mix. As I have stated in other threads the loss of 2025 McVee and 2025 Oliver (negated by Steele) is negligible. Trac is a heavy loss but structurally Mihocek if fit is a strong gain. List looks more balanced and if we get a decent injury run who knows. It will likely take time for a new gameplan to embed but we will also be very unpredictable to opposition planning.

Thanks for posting this. Have you forgotten Rivers? Like the positional flex and attack in that backline. Forwardline really lacks defensive pressure and crumbers,

As you know I was hot on him this time last year but whilst he dominated at Casey he did not get a fair look in by the old regime compared to some others. I hope he realises his best bet with his skillset is to duplicate the Miers style role at half forward. He now has a reset with a coach that has seen it up close and is on record of wanting to play smaller ahead of the ball and more attacking and instinctive in general. Agree 2026 is his best chance to earn and maintain a best 23 spot.

Thanks for validating my point. Lets check in at end of season to see. I assume you didn't rate ANB either? His workrate and pressure numbers are already elite for a high half forward and his disposal numbers are above average in a role where consistency in that area is difficult. Needs to increase his score involvements in 2026 which I suggest a less constrained game style will show quickly.

Culley 2. JVR 3. Lindsay to be the three to have the highest increase in consistent impact compared to last year. Special mention to Chandler who will start to get better recognition outside of just being a role player and Kentfield who at minimum will start consistently dominating at VFL.

A thread about a mature aged role player taken at pick 64 who did not come through academy paths and played 5 games in his first year may not make it. A quarter of players taken 60-70 never play a game, almost half play less than 10. I don't think he'll be a world beater but seeing his body shape significantly change in a year and his application to not die wondering I would not write him off. At worst he will put pressure on our other forwards to perform and bring their all constantly. Not every player on the list can be in the 23 but everyone needs to make the most of what they bring if their opportunity arises.

GO YOU LIL RED FIRE ENGINE. Great news. Such an important part of our current side and future success. Now just need Chandler to sign up then really aside from Sparrow the remaining are unproven or mainly veterans (30+) and can see how the year plays out.

1+1 will not equal 2 in this situation. Oliver having a good or great year at GWS does not mean regret and it certainly does not mean he would have had the equivalent output at MFC. If anything it will justify moving him on being best for club and player/person. In my view both were too comfortable in the existing situation. Granted he would have had a new coach as a changing factor but the time to cut our losses for the overall good was still the best move.

We lose a mass of possessions and first hands at stoppage without Oliver and Petracca and you lose a high score involvement volume with Petracca but not much else based on 24/25. You don’t lose anything defensively at stoppage or on transition and we lose little in quality clearances. A recharged Steele and a mix of Rivers, Culley, Windsor, Chandler…. looking to make it as mids to complement Kozzie may not look as pretty on paper but statistically will end up more balanced and dynamic than 2025 and certainly less predictable. There might be a want to push Langford and Lindsay in there but I would look to keep them on flanks and wings to continue to build their game and protect their bodies in 2026.

Sharp's endurance is SO GOOD he can cover both wings 😀

I am quietly confident we will finish higher than 2025. I don’t think we will surge into top 4 but with a good run with injuries and a strong preseason we will improve particularly second half of season as the best 23 settles and game style starts to gel. Yes we have lost McVee and Oliver but neither of them were the best versions of themselves in 2025. The loss of Trac and how big an impact this is on field is the unknown. The recruitment of Steele and CJ will balance out the form loss of Oliver and McVee. Whilst not a like for like Mihocek will be a major boost to our tall forward game and should have strong flow on to the development of JVR, Kentfield, Jefferson. Again injuries aside whilst we moved on some other mature age back ups and profile younger, the depth of AFL potential quality on our list is better in my view and should mean pressure for spots across all roles which is always a good thing.