for list balance we had to take some older players.
we have as of march 26 2013
22 yolds and under or junior players, 22 players.
23 yo - 27 yo or mature and developing players , 18 players.
28 plus or veterans, 4 players.
i still believe we could have 3 or 4 more players aged 22 plus. lets not forget we actually cut 4 or 5 players aged 23 plus. connors 24, moore 28 miller 29 graham 25 and webberley 24.
one thing for sure with the older types taken it helps to really balance out the list with younger blokes now a yr older.
its when you break it down further into player types, games played, and quality that the real problems start to appear.
the way i look at it we have effectively after retirements and delistings gained one mature player on what we had last yr.
i would think that because the under 22yos that we have recruited recently, have more mature heads and mostly more mature bodies it will enhance what you are trying to balance..
Is this the Pelchan brief you are trying to have Richmond follow
nothing to do with pelchen though i lke a lot of what he does.
just plain old common sense and learning from other clubs things that have worked.
all clubs have age brackets that go hand in hand with games played brackets. you could theoretically have an older list than most other sides but be less experienced in the games played category. is steven morris an experienced player in age ? yes he is. but as far as time in the afl system and games played goes no.
age brackets are important to adequately insure you have enough players for depth, development, and game day. . eg for me the ideal number of tall forwards on your list is 6. preferably 2 juniors 18 to 22. 2 development 23 to 25 and 2 mature /vets. then you need to look at type and roles they perform and work out what you are lacking. ie the club recognised the need for a 195/100 kg kpd and went and got chaplin. no problems here. the only debate or difference of opinion is how people rate him and what role he should perform. to me he must play fb as a shut down player on the bigger key forwards in the comp. should we be looking for a junior player of his size possibly.
seems to me the closer you get to finals the more players you need to fall into the 23 24 25 plus age brackets with 80 or 100 games behind them. i dont believe any club can build a premiership side without taking its share of mature types as well as kids. i also recognise that your top picks like cotchin dont fall into these categories but their quality elevates them.
our aim is clearly finals taking mature types was a must we should have taken a few more imo. i have no gripe with us taking mature players but i do gripe on type and weather they are good enough and where we get em from.
me i would have been real happy to take
moloney mid f/a
stefan martin back up ruckman trade.
jack hannath 21 yr old junior ruckman capable of playing straight away. psd
kyle martin mid 22 yr old state league player. nd
sam dwyer mid 26 yr old mid state league capable of playing straight away rookie.
these to go with
chaplin kpd
knights mid
edwards medium forward.
howson kpf 18yr old kpf.
colqhuon mid 18yo nd
thats 7 seniors. 2 juniors of an age that says they can play straight away and two 18 yr olds, kpf who meets a list shortfall and a mid.
these are without the 4 nd picks that we used, thats 15 all up we cut 12 it wasnt hard to cut a few more.
new mids
moloney short term a player to take us to finals.
dwyer short med term better prospect than lonergan. this bloke can play. at the least he can run and has good skills.
martin long term prospect and has shown he can play.
knights short med term mid who should help get us to finals if he can stay injury free and find form.
colquhoun. long term prospect. would happily have given him a go at 33 or 42 nd.
new ruckmen
martin 26 yr old cant understand why melb let him go was just starting to get it together when injuries hit this yr.
hannath 21 yr old long term ruckman looks more likely than any ruckman we have other than ivan atm.
both have to be infinately better prospects than stephenson. if we were after a one yr player why not hudson.
kpd
chaplin short to medium term fix. we probably need another 195/100 kg or future 195/100 kg player in our system to take his place in 4 5 yrs time.
kpf
howson. 195cm goal kicker keep on saying if the club insists griffiths and astbury are defenders then a kpf or two is a must. young or mature.
medium forward
edwards. just needed a player of his type for lots of good reasons. we now also have petterd and knights to go with ohanlon.
