hmm best 22 based on Mature players worth keeping and only includes players who have shown they can consistently play to a decent afl level.
FB: Grimes - #### - ####
HB: #### - Rance - ####
OB: #### - Cotchin - Miles
MID: Deledio - Martin - Yarran
HF: #### - Riewoldt - ####
FF: #### - #### - ####
INT: Vlastuin - McIntosh - Edwards - ####
Obviously it does not include juniors as none have reached a good level of afl consistency. The blank spots where possible should be filled with juniors or at seasons end with very good mature recruits.
juniors for the backline
Castagna, Menadue. there are no decent talls mature or junior to fill the holes. Mcintosh, Vlastuin and Conca are options
Mids/Onballers
we dont have a top flight ruckman or decent junior. juniors are
Drummond, C Ellis, Menadue, Markov. there are mature options. Greatest need here is a high quality big bodied mid.
Forwards
We have no junior tall fwds ready.
McBean is as good as gone it leaves McKenzie, Chol, C Moore, sml/med fwds who could fill the blanks are Lennon, Rioli, Butler.
There are 20 odd players not mentioned and over the next few years i would be looking to trade them out or delist them.
We are going to have to go into a very heavy rebuild phase .
I don't get why you have 3 guys on the bench and not in the starting 18?
Don't you think Vlastuin is in our best 18?.. And even Edwards?
And up until this year I wasn't sold on McIntosh but him playing across HB has been good for us. And he will get better the more he plays there.
We need to be tougher..
We draft such soft kids IMO. It seems like a prerequisite of late. CEllis, Menadue, Rioli I know are all young but all are pretty soft if we are being truthful.
Like you said we need a big bodied mid that can actually use it to his advantage. North's midfielders last night made ours look small and skinny. We need a couple of 190cm beasts who can bully teams in the centre. Cripps would be handy right about now. In stead we have Lennon who realiscly a very one dimensional player, that cannot even force himself into our side. Hardwick in his wisdom wants to try and play him everywhere except as a leading forward. He is not a backman or a midfielder.
The rest of your team is 100% right which is really sad after 7 years with Dimma. And FJ.
The likes of Grigg, Houli, Hunt, Maric, Moore, Townsend, Chaplin, Ellis, Astbury, Vickery, Griffiths, Morris and Batchelor should be shown the door. All have shown they are either past their best or let the club down too many times to be retained.
Some decent picks should come from the likes of Vickery, Griffiths and BEllis. And even Lennon if we were serious.
The other I think might get us a decent pick is Miles. I like the kid but I just don't think he is damaging enough. He works his arse off but we need better. We have Vlastuin that should be playing that roll and another big bodied mid that is needed. I know that's probably not that popular but I've thought that for a while. We need guys that can break lines and be damaging and Miles is dower and really quite slow.
And of course the last one is Lids. But it's all been said before.
There are 22 players on a field. The interchange makes up part of those 22. They are mids and they will spend just as much time on the ground as the starting 18. Does it really matter whostarts on the bench
The blank spaces should be taken up by genuine fwds and defenders whose primary role has always been specialised in those roles.Ben Lennon is one he is primarily a fwd.
If i had to pick a side to take us thru the rest of the year and players were available i would do the following
FB: Grimes - Elton - Conca
HB: Yarran - Rance - McIntosh
C: Deledio - Martin - Edwards
R: Hampson - Cotchin - Miles
HF: Lennon - Chol/McBean - Lloyd
FF: Rioli - Riewoldt - C Moore.
Int: C Ellis - Menadue - Vlastuin - Drummond - Griffiths could come to the bench as a utility player if need be. second ruck and flexability for the talls.Would also give Townsend a few games primarily as a lock down tagger on the bigger opposion mids.
Plenty of kids 10 or 12 aged 22 and under with enough experience and quality around them.
Those blanks are basically filled with specialists who are primarily fwds or defenders.
You know as well as me this is never going to happen while Hardwick coaches for his life.
