Glaringly obvious..
1. Ruckman, need a ready made one. Maric as serviceable as he is, is 30 and probably done.
Gettable Options: Kruezar, Leunberger, Hickey/Longer. Don't see Hampson as a serious option.
2. Small Forward, deja vu. Need one desperately. Ideally ready made.
Gettable Options: Steve Johnson
3. 3rd Backman/Swing Man. Wasted a position in Bachelor and Griffths. Should have a swing man that can play a 3rd tall forward or 3rd tall backman depending on match ups.
Gettable Options: Lachie Henderson, Carlisle.
4. A Grade Mid/ Elite Mid, we rely on too few. Weve said for a long time our 2nd tier cant be relied upon in big games if our top tier go down. Grigg, Ellis and co are not Kelly/Ling like or Shiels/Burgoyne like. Need another reliable mid.
Gettable Options: Treloar, Bennell
Roughy: Would look at Armitage again. We were close last year in a trade.
Thats a great op and i agree with those sentiments. I would also add a young key forward to the list and there is a great need for a big inside mid around the 190/90 mark. I think our mids get shut down because of their size. One reason why i have thought Matt Thomas should have been played again this yr is his inside ball winning, cps, his tackling size and willingness to lay a block to help out fellow mids. A quicker higher quality version of Thomas would be ideal.
Would add Jarred Redden to your ruck list of targets..
Would persevere with Butler as a small forward and if we managed to snare Bennell he could spend time in the role as well as in the middle..
Johnson would add to our midfield as well as help out our fwd line.
Would add Henderson to the tall backline list of targets with Carlisle the priority. Carlisle and Rance would be a formidable combo. Would look at Plowman or Litherland for the third tall role to replace Batchelor.
Litherland at 193cm would not only provide support in the air but plenty of run out of defense.