Fat Tony

Great to see Viney and Gawn return to form. Petty showed he’s a better forward than defender. He’s a great mark and a touch slow to be a great defender. That kick from 55m was spectacular. It’s amazing what a difference a full preseason can have. Bowey was excellent and Kossie was brilliant. Oliver still makes too many errors. I didn’t like the coaching to have Langford on the wing but he played a solid game. The ability to kick 55m on the left is a real weapon. Fullerton was just ordinary.

The peak years for an AFL player are much younger than you think. The top ranked players in the AFL this year are: Rowell 24 Brayshaw 26 Holmes 23 Sam Darcy 22 Miller 29 Serong 24 McCluggage 27 Richards 26 Jackson 24 Anderson 24 T De Koning 26

Oliver is ranked 144 in the AFL this year on Wheelo Ratings but he is being paid as a top 10 player it the competition. He is also a difficult player to manage and declining with age. He is a negative trade asset. Petracca will hopefully improve. He is ranked 65 in the competition this year. I still think at his age (30 next year) and salary the market will not be as hot as you think.

I don't think there is much trade value in Petracca or Oliver unfortunately due to their contracts being so big. Petracca might be worth a late first round pick in a poor draft and Oliver is a late pick only. I think we need to move Oliver on to free our cap and inject some pace into the midfield. Langford is very slow and needs to be complimented by quicker midfielders. I also don't think you want to be completely rebuilding because it can destroy your club like WCE and North.

Obviously there needs to be a balance (and I did not say that those players should play in the middle at the same time, but they all should go through there). I think our lack of speed around the ball and lack of skill is killing us. Viney and Oliver are the main culprits. Viney is ranked as the 336 best player in the AFL this season. (Last season he was ranked 78.)

Viney needs to be demoted to sub. We need to get more pace and skill around the ball. Oliver, Langford and Viney together in the midfield is killing us. Kossie, Chandler, Petracca and Windsor need to be given time through the midfield.

Still think Van Rooyen would be a much better defender at AFL level than forward. He’s not quick enough or tall enough or good enough on the ground to be a spearhead but he could be an elite defender like May or Weitering.

I think the balance of our side looks so much better going smaller. Fritsch plays better as a full forward and Melksham plays better as a tall forward. And Petracca, Kossie and Chandler can play more minutes in the forward half if we add another midfielder to the side. That said, I cannot understand how Spargo keeps getting a game. He is way too slow for his position and has no ability to hit the scoreboard. I also feel a bit for Turner getting dropped. He must be doing something wrong, because he dominated last start at VFL level and he has all the tools to be a good AFL player.

I think Worpel is worth looking at if he can retain his power and speed.

The biggest issues with Oliver are due to his lack of pace. As a result, his defensive game has declined. He is now averaging 4.0 tackles per game and 22 pressure acts, which is 2 fewer tackles and 5 fewer pressure acts per game. (The tackling stats may be partly due to his hand injury.) Offensively, his possessions are back near to his 2021-2023 peak this season, but metres gained is 315 versus 423-453 in those seasons. He has never been a great kick, but he was getting a lot more penetration 2 years ago. This season he has a Wheelo Player rating of 10.43, which is 149 in the AFL. If we can get off his contract without paying any salary, I would be in favour of a trade.

Obviously this makes sense, but you would still prefer to have inside players with speed like Dangerfield and Judd who can win it inside and break away. My initial post said he needs to become he needs to get incredibly strong to be a good AFL player (because he is going to need to overpower his opponents to win contested possessions). I don't think this is a controversial statement, because that's how most of the slow inside mids make it at AFL level.

If there was no problem with Langford's pace, you would not need pace and power around him. He needs to become a brute to be a good AFL player (which I think he will). The game is moving against slow, contested beasts towards skill and speed.

Langford is very classy but his lack of pace means he needs to get incredibly strong to be a good AFL player. He needs to lock himself in the weight room over summer.

Time to deploy Windsor in the midfield. We need some breakaway speed and he hasn’t worked that well off half back. Viney as sub.

The original deal was to 2025. He is now signed for 3 more years.