Excellent thought provoking post D_I_O – some of Meggs thoughts since you asked:
• Best new player - Gay, agree . Maddie looked better and better as the season went on. Hanks looks such a natural and I thought Emonson was a worthy addition
• Most improved player – Cordner, yes she was great. Lauren Pearce took her game to a whole new level in 2019 and really influenced games
• Most underrated player - Downie was always there providing support. Kat Smith is another one who plays her role. Needs to be able to run off not just run with her direct opponent.
• Player we missed the most from the 2018 list (aside from Daisy!) - Cranston 100% concur
• 3 players we can least afford to lose to expansion - L.Pearce, Paxman, Hore. Young guns Mithen, Zanker and Hanks. Agree that we need to keep most of our senior players to help support the youngsters
• 3 players you wouldn’t mind having a chance at another club - Ones we could cover and that have been in and out of the team - Guest, Patterson. Phillips, who's a good player but I think we could upgrade a similar type. A bit controversial but Shelley Scott would be one, Claudia Whitfort and agree with Guest and Patterson. Also I was surprised how far off 2019 recruit Jordann Hickey looked in the practice match, not surprised she didn’t play a game
• Best win - A lot of our wins felt like not enough, but I guess Brisbane was most comprehensive. Agree with both points
• Worst loss (apart from Round 7!) - Freo. Could have won, should have won. Would have shaped the season. 100% agree. The backline didn’t work, not enough midfield support plus losing Shae Sloane to a season ending knee injury
• Best goal/other highlight - Zanker v. the Bulldogs. Can't go past it, not even Newman on the run v. North. Love Zanker, that goal was truly impressive
• Keep the coach Y/N? - Y. Continuity between seasons overrides any misgivings at this stage. NFI but probably Y if the Club thinks so. He was able to play a fairly settled team throughout the season apart from losing Sloane early
• Player with most potential in 2020 and beyond - Hanks. Great one-touch skills and movement, will find more consistency with experience. Yes indeed, a beauty. Zanker and Mithen worthy of mention
• Most important area for improvement in 2020 (besides goal kicking accuracy!) - Better handball-kicking balance. Need to know what to do when the handball game is shut down. V good observation
• Type of player most needed in the draft/trade - We definitely seemed to lack strength around the ball in comparison to the Crows. Unfortunately, this type of player will be in hot demand from expansion teams. Yes contested ball winners and girls that have better natural kicking and handballing technique
• Off-season wish list – what needs to happen for success in 2020? - As many players as possible to play VFLW, preferably together at Casey. Alignment between the levels is becoming stronger and teams that can have that continuity in the second best comp. will be advantaged. Concur
• How should the season be structured with 14 teams in 2020? No conferences! Ideally, a 13 game H&A season. Realistically, a straight ladder with most teams playing each other. And an easier draw for North and Melb to make up for this year Scrap the US style conferences and have one ladder with each team playing each other once