from plugging holes to upgrading. we are improving albeit very slowly.

[the claw]

For yrs ive been saying we have taken players under hardwick that we will have to eventually upgrade on.
When i look at the list and look at the areas that we lack in i remain adamant that quality wise we have miles to go i cant stress that enough. But when you look at each area of the list  the numbers needed in each area is almost spot on.
 
Tall defenders - rance,chaplin,mcintosh,grimes, darrou and hopefully astbury. thats 6 the numbers are spot on. astbury and darrou are concerns and i dont think grimes or mcintosh kpds.we could do with one more body type like chaplin.

Tall forwards -  riewoldt, vickery, elton, griffiths, possibly mcbean thats 5 the numbers are darn close, one short i reckon possibly two depending on what mcbean becomes. concerns about vickery,griffiths,and elton so make that a definate 2 more needed.

Rucks -  maric,hampson, stephenson, possibly mcbean. the numbers are adequate. but there is a huge reliance on hampson becoming a good player. with orren at 31 and a battler we need one more at least imo.

Mids -  arnot, conca, cotchin, deledio, ellis, foley,   grigg,helbig, jackson,  lennon, martin,miles, thomas,vlastuin, williams. 15 genuine mids again getting  close and adequate if blokes like knights gordon mcdonough can spend significant time in the midfield.

Defensive flankers - batchelor, dea, houli, morris, newman about right with newman close to retirement. concerns over batchelor dea and houli.

Attacking flankers - a edwards, s edwards, king,mcdonough, ohanlon, petterd, lloyd, banfield, possibly lennon. gordon,knights  way too many.  possibly lennon/mcdonough aside there is no real class

The thing is as far as numbers go we are where we need to be more or less right across all areas.

The point im making is we are finally numbers wise past the filling gaps stage in the list.We are now entering a period where upgrading becomes all important.
Kudos to them for getting this part of the equation right.Now for the dirty work and harsh decisions to begin.

As i said at the start.  quality wise we have a fair way to go in all areas imo.
we have enough experience, by seasons end  we did last yr as well.  we have more than enough players in the right age groups  we did last yr as well.
 
 The thing is its no good having enough players in the right age groups or the right number of players in each player category if they cant take us to where we want to go.
To me the key role for the footy dept now is actually upgrading players. there is now no longer any reason for why we cant vigorously pUrsue this line.

[Judge Roughneck]

Lennon mcdonuts will be able play mid with more preseason. Lennon is class and classy. Knights left peg is pretty smooth. The real class comes with playing deledio martin cotchin vlastuin Foley Ellis conca forward. Due to increase mid deaph could realistically play forward line of: riewokdt mcbean Maric Lennon deledio cotchin/martin. With replacements like hampson Griffith's like for like.

Gordon is a mid

Tactically small-mid forward and midfield is pretty much the same thing nowadays. Outside Aaron Edwards all of your attacking flanker group is capable of midfield rotation

You a made a post how the reserve side should mirror the senior. Its going well

[pmac21]

"concerns over batchelor dea and houli."

What is with people questioning Houli.  He's sits comfotably in our best 22, is our best kick and has 2 had excellent seasons. 
No concerns as far as I'm concerned. 

[big tone]

"concerns over batchelor dea and houli."

What is with people questioning Houli.  He's sits comfotably in our best 22, is our best kick and has 2 had excellent seasons. 
No concerns as far as I'm concerned.

Hey pmac21, I said in another thread I think we could upgrade Houli from our backline, I still think we could do better in his position. Someone a tad more desperate, that is a better one on one defender. Someone a little harder that loves to tackle (like Morris) but still has his run and carry. I would like to see Matty Dea get some time there to develop. People see 5 games of a kid like Matty Dea and think that's all he has, but with experience and time to develop, I personally think this kid will be in our best 22 by years end. It's just a hard side to break into at the minute.
On Houli I agree with you as I wrote in my other post, I still think he could be best 22, just in another position. I recon he would be an upgrade on Grigg on the wing. He has a really good tank now, is a beautiful kick, runs and carries more than Grigg and is more accountable now he has had time to develop in the backline.
What are your thoughts on all of that?

[Stripes]

"concerns over batchelor dea and houli."

What is with people questioning Houli.  He's sits comfortably in our best 22, is our best kick and has 2 had excellent seasons. 
No concerns as far as I'm concerned.

I agree pmac21. I think people judge Houli predominately on his defense and aggression. He doesn't approach the game with the fanaticism as Morris does (but who else does?!) but his role in the team is not as a shut down player. This year Houli improved his defense considerably because it was an area that teams were exploiting in the past.

What Houli does offer the team is his disposal. I do not have the stats in front of me but I remember reading that Houli's record of setting up link plays which ended up in goals was one of the highest in the league. He makes excellent decisions and is cool under pressure. He often breaks open zones with clean footskills. Dimma has stated this year that Houli is his first choice kicking the ball out and moving it out of our D50.

Our defense at present is an excellent blend of smalls and talls. I feel our weakness at present is our third tall but both Grimes and Astbury can play tall and short and have pace. I'm hoping this year Grimes can finally finish a season injury free and consolidate that position and our backline in general.

[Phil Mrakov]

"concerns over batchelor dea and houli."

What is with people questioning Houli.  He's sits comfotably in our best 22, is our best kick and has 2 had excellent seasons. 
No concerns as far as I'm concerned.

He's not as white as clawski would like him to be

[Stripes]

I think you should add a few more categories claw.

Small lock down defender, Attacking Defender, Tagger, Defensive Forward, Ruck/Forward and Outside Midfielder, I'm sure there are more (and humourous position we could create too  ) as well.

The point I'm making is that some players are picked in the side because they fulfill specific roles in our structure and game plan. Kingy, Houli, Vickery and Grigg are all maligned players who may not measure up when put along side other higher rated players but are in our best 22 because they do exactly what is asked of them every week.

This is why our Reserves side will be so important. We can create more depth in these roles too with individuals playing that role over long periods of time which will then allow the selection panel a clear comparison and an easy transition of players.

[pmac21]

"concerns over batchelor dea and houli."

What is with people questioning Houli.  He's sits comfotably in our best 22, is our best kick and has 2 had excellent seasons. 
No concerns as far as I'm concerned.

Hey pmac21, I said in another thread I think we could upgrade Houli from our backline, I still think we could do better in his position. Someone a tad more desperate, that is a better one on one defender. Someone a little harder that loves to tackle (like Morris) but still has his run and carry. I would like to see Matty Dea get some time there to develop. People see 5 games of a kid like Matty Dea and think that's all he has, but with experience and time to develop, I personally think this kid will be in our best 22 by years end. It's just a hard side to break into at the minute.
On Houli I agree with you as I wrote in my other post, I still think he could be best 22, just in another position. I recon he would be an upgrade on Grigg on the wing. He has a really good tank now, is a beautiful kick, runs and carries more than Grigg and is more accountable now he has had time to develop in the backline.
What are your thoughts on all of that?

Fair enough big tone, would also like to see him on a wing but love to see him running off half back kicking it low and flat.  We have very few players like him.  I also like him kicking out from a point and he is the best at that also so be hard to move him from the back half.  One player I do not like kicking in is Deledio.  Really cost us vs Carlton kicking to poor one on ones every time. 

[Stripes]

  One player I do not like kicking in is Deledio.  Really cost us vs Carlton kicking to poor one on ones every time.

Lids is a great field kick but he doesn't seem to have the same decision making capabilities or patience to measure the options that Houli does. If a option doesn't present itself quickly he likely to play on and kick it long to the boundary whereas Houli almost always looks for a precise kick within 30m and trusts his disposal.

[Chuck17]

I like the way Houli gets knocked over by a puff of wind and he goes plummeting backwards with arms and legs going like a windmill.

Other than that he does OK.