Finally, does anyone know, with certainly, the nature of the injury / injuries that killed his 2022, and their current status and prognosis? Surely this is the most important issue right now?
Surely we all know that BB is not and never will be a strong pack breaking pack marking FF: great on the lead so we need to learn to do just that, kick to a lead (Harmes to leading BB Q3 2021 GF for example).
Petty couod only be a better KPF than anyone else if he is played there.
Maybe not quite yet, but why not later?
Well at least I hope and expect he will at least show a bit of flexibility in the game plan, or at very least reset what didn’t (for many reasons) work in 2022.
Having competitive strong men up forward makes a huge difference and gives the mids confidence that every forward thrust won’t be immediately returned.
Past tense - Franklin WAS a key forward, a great athlete but well past his prime.
Didn’t watch the ceremonials but did I hear correctly that Nathan Buckley was presenting the Norm Smith - the guy who regarded it with such esteem that he chucked it into the crowd? Amazing.
What surgery?
Nobody is suggesting that all 11 injured players be dropped together - but perhaps resting some as their inability to perform at 100% became apparent would have allowed a more even balance over the whole year eg Salem wasn't right from round 1 : had he been 'rested' for a few weeks then maybe he would have been as dominant and reliable as he had been the previous year. Who knows?
Still, we won the big one in 2021 and never forget that. (Not being complacent or self-satisfied: just emphasising that almost everything needs to go right to go back to back and that AFL footy is a brutal business).
Who knows? Unless “the reinjury” bent the plate or screws I would doubt it would be removed at this stage had it actually been “reinjured” in the sense that the same place had fractured again.
Webber?
But were they injuries or were they injuries?
I imaging nearly every player on every list is carrying “an injury” - I must say I was surprised that it suggeats that 11 others had no injury.
As we are delving into ancient history, I seem to recall Tassie Johnson - probably the best full back of the golden era af the 50-60s) - played CHF (as well as ruck-rover) a bit late in his career.