Good question @Binmans PA
Key Forward:
- JvR: now established best 22
- Petty: is the question mark. Does he play forward, back or play as a genuine swing man.
- Jefferson: developing and probably minimum 2 years away from being relied on to contribute.
- Ben Brown, T-Mac and Schache all could be in the their last year next season and realistically we wouldn't want to be having them in our plan A.
At the very least, depth key forwards will need to be considered either this off-season or next. An established key forward to pair with JvR would be amazing. None on the market this year unless we can somehow pry someone like a Naughton or Allen which I can't see happening.
Georgiades a possibility but has a similar profile to JvR both in height and athletically, crashes packs in a similar fashion and is a great contested mark but poor finishing in front of goals. Recovering from an ACL.
Harrison Jones could be available as an ooc player, plays slightly differently to JvR which may compliment. Been chronically injured with back problems this year.
Neither of these two players are worth pick 5 or used in a slide with ports poor draft picks.
Some have the view the JvR plays his best footy in defence. Could he be the ideal candidate to take over May when he retires. If so, does that leave Petty to pair with Jefferson in due course? Perhaps not but something to consider.
Ruck
- Gawn: will be 32 by the start of next season, how much can he carry and when will his performance start to dip?
- Grundy: does he stay? If not then a mature ruck between 23 - 27 would be an absolute priority.
- Verrall and KFW still developing but would be years away and wouldn't be ready to take ruck responsibilities if Gawn were unavailable next year.
Key Defenders
- May: 32 at the start of next year, playing good footy but perhaps past his peak.
- Lever: plenty of footy ahead of him, plays best as an interceptor with two key backs around him.
- Petty: forward or defence?
- D. Turner: developing and looks ready for senior footy, perhaps undersized to take on huge key forwards and plays similar to lever with his ability to intercept mark.
- Adams: could use another year of development but showing good signs at Casey.
- Tomlinson: seemingly out of favour and looking for more senior opportunities, depth if he doesn't find a home.
- K Turner: lightly built rookie with limited exposure due to injury this year, may be given another year.
We need to plan for life after May and decide where we want to play Petty. Both factors could contribute to a very depleted back line lacking in experience.
Mids:
Oliver - 26yrs - star for another 6 years+ hopefully.
Petracca, Viney, Brayshaw, Langdon, Hunter will all be >28 next year. Viney 30. Most should still have great footy for 2-4 years but will need to think about the next elite batch of midfielders. Might need to replace Hunter after next year.
Sparrow, Jordon and Woewodin coming through although Jordon might leave. Harmes & Dunstan out of favour and both might be moved on/delisted.
Our starting midfield is fine for now but will need to consider the next generation of mids come 2026/27. May need short term depth if Harmes, Dunstan and Jordon all move on.
Small/medium defenders
- Salem
- Rivers
- Bowey
- McVee
- Hibberd: likely to retire
- D Smith: rookie that is playing good footy at Casey but needs to be promoted or delisted this year, probably 50:50 to be one the list.
Solid mix of small defenders. Think we have a genuine star in the making with Rivers and could see him progress to the midfield. Salem will be 29 next year, hibberd likely retired, perhaps another medium defender is in order.
Small/medium forwards
- Fritsch
- Pickett
- ANB
- Melksham
- Spargo
- Chandler
- Laurie
- AMW
- Sestan
Fritsch, Pickett permanent best 22 with ANB a solid senior player. Spargo, Chandler and Laurie all rotating through the team throughout the year. Melksham having a career revival currently but still might be without a contract for next year. If he does play-on, I wouldn't want to be relying on him playing his best footy week-in week-out. A top 5 pick should net us a player of similar ilk as Rankine in a trade, none in that class appear to be on the move this year that I'm aware of. Watson and Duursma may serve as fwd craft and x-factor additions via the draft.
Utilities
Joel Smith, Blake Howes
To sum up, depending on how we utilise our list, we could use a;
Key forward
Key back
Ruck
Small/Medium defender
Small/Medium forward
Midfielder for future planning
Key forward/back and ruck would obviously be best addressed via trade if we went down that path due to their long development time. The other positions we can look to address via the draft unless an opportunity presents itself.
If we can land an elite key forward that would be the dream.